Life In Dawleywood

Weekend Plans

2012-01-27T10:41:00.000-06:00

Y'all know the drill. I have to post my weekend t-do list on here to keep me accountable! Surprisingly, I got tons of laundry done yesterday and even sewed a quick and easy dress for Gracie that I'll post soon so this weekend will be dedicated to crafting for G's b-day and sewing, all during nap time of course =)

Tonight we're going to have supper at Eric's dad's house, but on Saturday, I have several things I need to do.

First of all, I need to create Gracie's birthday banner. I have something like this in mind:

Then, I need to create a high chair banner, something like this:

I'm really cheating for the rest of the decor. I bought paper lanterns in lieu of pom pom balls because the pom pom balls would be too time consuming. I bought a few other things for food decor but you'll just have to wait to see that =)

Also, I need to buy the outfits that I want G to wear for her 1st birthday pictures, and also make the hair pieces. I have something in mind but I want to see if I'm actually able to make it look decent before I let y'all know!

Also, we have a new short bible study in our women's discipleship training class at church. I can't even tell you how excited I am to be getting back into bible study. The last one I attended was right before Gracie was born and I am yearning to do another one. We have them in Sunday school too, but sometimes it's so hard for me to make it to Sunday school with Gracie's naps, so Sunday nights for bible study work much better for me.

My weekend is going to be so exciting I know you just want to live vicariously through me right?? =)

I'm hoping to get these crafts done this weekend and post pics. Does anyone have any fun weekend plans?

The longest post ever

2012-01-26T19:15:00.001-06:00

No Lie, y'all, this is really going to be the longest post ever. I was recently tagged with a little "blog award" by Erika, Michelle, Joeylee, and Kelly. Here are the rules:

1. You must post the rules.

2. Post eleven fun facts about yourself on the blog post.

3. Answer the questions the tagger set for you in their post, and then create eleven new questions to ask the people you've tagged.

4. Tag eleven people and link them on your post.

5. Let them know you've tagged them.

Okay, let's see if I can think of 11 fun facts about me, I know you're just dying to know **sarcasm**

1. I am addicted to sweet tea and coffee. Like, if I don't have coffee within an hour of waking up, I start shaking and get really nauseous. I guess you could call me a "junkie" =) I really am trying to cut back though

2. I'm a monogram freak. This quote describes me perfectly! It's too funny because I think I said this exact thing to a friend the other day and then I saw this:

Source: hphotos-sjc1.fbcdn.net via Andrea on Pinterest

3. I could honestly do without my cell phone and most of technology. If I forget it at home, I totally don't stress over it. Honestly, I love not having to answer my phone/text/email. If I'm at home, chances are it's on silent in my purse and I'll get back to you the next day.

4. I am a total nerd/bookworm. I could spend hours upon hours in a book store. I get really addicted to the book I'm reading, usually fall in love with the characters, and actually miss them when it's over, maybe I'm delusional. This quote is totally me:

Source: bookfessions.tumblr.com via Andrea on Pinterest

5. I graduated high school early. Kind of. I didn't have to go at all the 2nd semester of my senior year. I started college early and came back to do graduation and all the activities with my class.

6. I cheered all through high school and was offered a cheerleading scholarship through UCA. I didn't take it because I was sick of cheering at the time. Fast forward to student loans and I'm really wishing I would have just sucked it up and did it!

7. I taught myself to sew by making my doll clothes when I was little. Before my mom let me play with her sewing machine, I would cut out the clothes and hot glue them together. ha. I thought I was pretty cool, I was going to be a fashion designer.

8. Before I was pregnant I really only drank red wine. After I had Gracie, I only like chilled white wine. I think that's pretty weird that my tastes changed like that. Did that happen to anyone else? I really miss red wine but it's just not the same

9. I absolutely hate horror movies and refuse to watch them.

10. I could eat Mexican food every day

11. I cannot stand anything "Jersey" related. AKA Jersey Shore and Real Housewives. No offense to anyone living in NJ, I'm sure you're super normal. But the only thing I know about anything Jersey is what's on TV and I absolutely cannot stand it. I cannot stand the accent and everything these characters do is tacky. My momma would slap me if I ever acted like that, let alone on national TV. It's like a whole different world.

Okay, wow, so I'm really surprised that I could think of 11 super exciting things. Maybe I should add #12 in there and say that I am full of super dry sarcasm =)

Here are some questions that Erika asked me:

1. Favorite book? It's so hard to pick! Julie Garwood has a series about the fictitious Buchanan family and I have read each book probably 3 times.

2. Favorite thing to cook? I really love making enchiladas, not sure why...

3. Sports fan? Favorite teams? I like college football and that's about it

4. Favorite vacation spot? I haven't been to a ton of places, but Playa del Carmen has a little piece of my heart. Also, new Orleans was pretty amazing. I loved the culture and would go back in a second

5. DisneyLand or DisneyWorld? I haven't been to either, but I think I would be more of an East Coast girl rather than a West Coast girl, so I'm saying Disney World based on that

6. What color nailpolish are you wearing? au natural

7. Have you ever broken a bone? Which one(s)? Yes, I actually broke my foot on the side. I was picking up a golf ball several years ago, threw it over the fence, turned, and FELL IN A HOLE. I'm graceful, let me tell you! This was when we were in college and I was going to Eric's apartment and he lived on a golf course. I was so embarrassed I RAN up the stairs to his apartment, broken foot and all where he proceeded to tell me to "walk it off". I think that, and the combination of me running up the stairs probably broke it where it would have only been fractured before.

8. iPhone or Droid? I have an iphone, but I seriously don't know what to do with it. I was looking at my friend's Droid and I think I prefer that though. Mostly because the font and screen are bigger. Gaw, I sound like my grandpa!

9. Most visited website? Probably Pinterest

10. Favorite lip balm? I use plain Vaseline

11. Best dressed female celeb? I will have to think on this one

michelle:

1.) What Is One Thing You Can’t Live Without? Chapstick

2.) Where is Your Favorite place to shop? Target

3.) What is Your Favorite Nail Polish Color? I usually like something pale like nude or pale pink. I'll do red around the holidays.

4.) Do You Prefer Coffee or Tea? I would die if I had to pick

5.) If you could only pick one blog to read a day which would it be? I can never choose

6.) Best Vacation You Have Ever Been On? All were fun for different reasons. I have taken many trips with my friend Heather to Vegas, Cancun, and Los Angeles and they were fun girl trips. I love alone time with my hubby on our Mexico trips, and New Orleans was great with Eric and my parents.

7.) Do You Have a Bucket List? If So, What Are 2 Things On Your Bucket List? I don't have a list, maybe I need to make one

8.) Something You Are Afraid Of? Whales. Seriously. I pray to God that Gracie never wants to watch Free Willy

9.) If You Could Only Eat One Thing For The Rest Of Your Life, What Would It Be? Mexican food

10.) Favorite Movie? The Notebook or Walk the Line

11.) What Is The Last Item You Bought? Probably something at the grocery store

joeylee:

1. Where is your favorite place to shop for clothes? Target

2. What kind of car do you drive? Nissan Altima

3. What chore do you hate the most? Unloading the dishwasher

4. What is your dream job? I would love to own an antique store with new and old things mixed in. Like old furniture, and maybe a few boutique things mixed in. And maybe throw a flower shop in part of it.

5. How do you punish your kids when their bad (if you don't have kids how would you punish them if you did)? Well Gracie is still pretty young, but she will get spankings if she needs it

6. What is the first thing you do when you wake up? Get Gracie because she is the one who wakes me up =)

7. How many kids do you want? 3 or 4. Don't tell my husband

8. What is your favorite activity to do (whether with your family or friends)? Maybe this is weird, but I really love to go on walks, especially in the summertime in the evenings as a family. I love that neighbors are sitting on their porches and wave, I love when kids are running in the yard playing in sprinklers or eating popsicles

9. If your significant other had an accent - what would it be? He has a southern/hick accent if I had to name it LOL

10. What is your most searched thing on Pinterest? I don't even know what this means

11. What shows do you HATE watching TV? Anything Jersey. See above

kelly;

My Questions for you guys:

1. If you could meet one famous person to sit down and have a conversation with, who would it be and why? Carrie Underwood because I am borderline obsessed with her

2. If you had a day off with nothing that you HAD to do- how would you spend it? I would find something to do I'm sure. I hate just sitting around the house.

3. What is your favorite fashion item that you own? I love my BCBG shoes. I have a few pair

4. If you were to paint your nails today, what color would you paint them? See above, I've already answered this

5. What was your favorite cartoon growing up? I loved The Popples. Did anyone else watch that?

6. If you were given $500 how would you spend it? I would probably put it in savings or pay extra on the house. Because I'm exciting like that...

7. What is your least favorite chore to do? Unloading the dishwasher, I don't know why but I hate it.

8. What is your favorite website to visit? Blogger or Pinterest

9. Do you prefer lipstick or lipgloss? I like lip stick with vaseline over it. Gloss is too sticky for me

10. What is your best childhood memory? I don't have one in particular, but I loved going on family vacations with my parents and two brothers. We did this for several years and I cherish those times.

11. Where are you going to vacation this year? I wish!

I'm having issues

2012-01-26T13:37:00.002-06:00

Since changing the URL of my blog to a custom domain I have had some issues. Hopefully it will work itself out in a few days. In the meantime, if your feed is not updating, you might want to remove my old blogspot.com address and re-add this new one. Thanks for being patient and hopefully it will work itself out =)

Gracie: 11 Months - LATE

2012-01-26T08:10:00.000-06:00

I really wanted to get this out on time but since my blog was in "transition" (whatever that means) I had to post a little late. Gracie was 11 months old on 01.22.11. I cannot believe my baby is almost ONE! It is so fun to see her little personality come out and boy does she have one. Here is Gracie at 11 months:

* Started taking steps on 01.16.12 and walks about half the time now. She does it mostly when she's not realizing what she's doing

* Loves to see pictures and video of herself. She also loves to look in the mirror and give herself kisses. She's such a ham!

* Feeds herself most meals by hand. We are introducing the spoon but so far she has no interest in it

* Nurses in the morning and takes a bottle or sippy cup at noon and at dinner. She really REALLY does not like sippy cups. Right now she takes one about 25% of the time but it's a real battle

* Can say Mama, Da-da, Layla, Bye, and No * Can splash, dance, give hugs and sugar when asked. She also points her finger in the air and says "no no no no no" quite a bit.

* LOVES babies, real one or toy ones. She loves to hold them and love on them, it's the sweetest little thing

* Loves to run into things and people with her push toys. She literally falls down laughing when she thinks someone is hurt. We'll have to work on that

* Is SOOOO ticklish and has the cutest little belly laugh

* Loves when I help her do flips

* Weighs about 18 pounds and is about 25 1/2 inches

* Is in a size 3 diaper, size 2 shoe, and 6-9 month, 9 month, and some 12 month clothe. She can still wear some 3-6 month dresses. I think 9 months probably fits her best right now, and sometimes that's even a little big

* Hates to change her diaper or change her clothes. Hates to have her hair brushed

* Loves to play with cell phones, remotes, or anything electronic

* It's hard to say who her favorite is. She definitely loves her daddy and likes to keep him close, but she's attached to me most of the time, especially when she's tired .

* Loves anything to do with water

* Loves to play peek-a-boo. Especially in her crib right when she wakes up

* Is very independent

* Loves to watch Pajaminals and read a book before bedtime

Last Weekend Recap

2012-01-26T06:45:00.000-06:00

I didn't do a recap post of our weekend. One because my blog was broken, and two because nothing too interesting happened. Friday we over to our friends house for dinner and to let the girls play. Erin just started her blog and does really awesome custom distressed furniture. Check out her blog here: 2 Blessed to be [di]stressed. Logan is only a few months younger than Gracie, and Kennedy is about 3 and a half years older. Gracie loved playing with both girls, but I think she thinks she's a lot older than Logan because she kept giving her kisses and she normally only does that to her baby dolls, LOL. I can't wait to see how these girls interact as they grow.

Saturday we didn't do much of anything besides grocery store/housework/etc. I really need to buckle down and sew some things. I ordered a new rotary cutter that will make cutting out things way easier and quicker so I'm excited to use that once it arrives. Remember the romper I posted about here, I finally had a chance to put it on Gracie and she looked adorable! It was a little long so it was kind of hard for her to walk in it, but still cute, nonetheless.

Here is my sweet girl before church on Sunday, I just loved getting her all dressed up:

Also, I made this over the weekend. It won't fit her for a while, probably fall, so I think I'm going to make some matching ruffle pants:

Gracie is having a hard time keeping a bow band in her hair. Her hair is a little long for a band anyway, so I decided to try a pony tail-pebbles style. I think it's too precious for words. Also, it helps keep her bangs out of her face. Not completely, but somewhat. Here is my sweet girl with her pony:

Here she is without her pony. If her hair is not out of her face, it is sticky and stiff from some kind of food because she cannot keep her hands out of it. I think this particular picture it was yogurt that was her styling product of choice:

BIG CHANGES

2012-01-24T21:11:00.001-06:00

Notice anything different around here??? I wrote a few days ago about wanting to have a blog where I can showcase all of my "creations" and the consensus was that that I should just have one blog that combines the two because it would be easier to manage. I went ahead and just took the plunge and designed my new header and navigation bar. I did this all by myself, y'all. If you know me at all, this is amazing because I know NOTHING about computers and honestly have no desire to learn. However, it did take me a while.

Anyway, I PROMISE that this isn't going to be a blog where I beg you to buy my stuff =) I have just had several people ask if I sell things so I decided that I would add a tab where you could shop if you wanted. If you click on the "shop" tab you will obviously notice that there is nothing there. It will take me a while to get things on here, I just wanted to move forward with switching everything over so it won't be so overwhelming to do it all at once. Although I changed my header, in blogger it's still called "Life in Dawleywood" and I'll probably leave it like that until I move further along with the shop.

Also, I updated the "about" tab with bits and pieces about my family if anyone is just bored and wants some reading material.

I have a super long post I'm trying to finish. I was tagged in several "blog awards" so I'm off to finish that! I just wanted to give everyone a heads up on the new look.

I hope y'all enjoy the rest of your week!

A bunch of nothing

2012-01-18T09:45:00.003-06:00

I really haven’t had too much going on to blog about. Gracie was a little sick last week, then Eric and I started feeling it over the weekend so we just hung out and did a bunch of nothing. I hate that! I felt more blah after relaxing. I did read two books over the weekend though, so that was nice.

I did still get my massage because I didn’t want to cancel at the last minute because I still would have been charged for the massage. My back feels a lot better now, but a few hours later I started feeling really nauseous. Is that normal after a massage? I have heard that it is because it releases toxins or whatever, but I haven’t had one in forever before that so I couldn’t remember?

In other news… my sweet girl took SIX steps this weekend!! We were so proud of her, but to be honest, it was a sad day for momma. My baby is growing up. I had her b-day cards designed and somewhere on it is says “our little girl is turning one”. I just about started bawling that she’s not a baby-baby. I’m sure many of you can relate.

Gracie has started to LOVE LOVE LOVE her little riding car toy we bought her for Christmas. But instead of riding on it, because her legs are too short, she pushes it across the room and she like… SPRINTS… holding on to it. It’s the funniest thing! She is so proud of herself when she makes it to the other side of the room. Also, she has never in her life laughed so hard as when she runs into us with her car. She literally falls down laughing when we pretend to fall over from the crash. That girl cracks me up! She has started having this HUGE open mouth smile when she is amused by something. Of course I think it’s adorable.

Also, she is loving her playroom and so am I. It is so much easier to keep the house picked up when I can just throw everything in that room:

Also, I was thinking about changing the name of my blog. I decided to open an Etsy store and start selling some of the things I sew along with custom and monogrammed boutique items, and I really just want ONE blog that combines the two. I would still blog about my usually day to day randomness just like I always do, so really nothing would change but the name. I already put what I make on here, I would just add a separate tab to “shop” for those who wanted to. What are y’alls thoughts? Or do you think I should have two separate blogs? I’m hoping for some feedback on this before I proceed either way =).

Am I the only one that thinks non-stop about spring? I am so over winter at this point. I am SO thankful that we haven’t had major snow or ice. **knock on wood**

I think that’s all I have for today!

Gracie's B-day Inspiration

2012-01-18T07:40:00.002-06:00

Source: lovelylittlepartiesky.com via Andrea on Pinterest

Source: cakeeventsblog.com via Andrea on Pinterest

Source: southernmommas.ning.com via Andrea on Pinterest

Source: whimsyandwise.com via Andrea on Pinterest

Source: frogprincepaperie.com via Andrea on Pinterest

Source: hatterandhareevents.blogspot.com via Andrea on Pinterest

Source: hwtm.com via Andrea on Pinterest

linking to:

Last Minute Christmas Craft

2012-01-17T08:13:00.002-06:00

While I am aware that Christmas has come and gone, I couldn't help myself so I went ahead and completed a Christmas craft for next year. I bought bulbs and wreaths last year (2010) after Christmas and never did anything with them, so they just sat in my closet this Christmas. So I decided to do something with them before I put them up for the year so they'll be ready for Christmas.

Okay, you will need some spare bulbs, a wreath, and some twine/ribbon/wire ( I used twine)

Cut a piece of twine and string your bulbs onto it. I used 2 gold and 2 red.

Put the bulbs where you want them on the wreath and pull the twine through the back of the wreath. Tie in a knot. Be sure not to pull too tight or the tops will pop off the bulbs

When you flip it around, this is what it will look like

I added three more of these and this year I will "fluff" it up some more, but at least it has a good head start.

This way, you don't have to mess with messy hot glue, and also, it's more secure to tie it off rather than hot glue it.

Let me know if anyone does this, I would love to see it!

A little bit of random…

2012-01-14T09:43:00.000-06:00

1. I made this hooded towel for a friend’s daughter a few weeks ago for practice. I made Gracie and my niece Layla one before that, so they really didn’t need another one. And I used a different method on this one that was SO much easier and I think I’ll use it from now on. She is going to be my practice run to see how it holds up. I will need to make the font bigger next time:

2. Gracie is cutting her two top teeth and one on the bottom, poor thing! She has been periodically waking up at night and just wants to be held. I’m such a needy momma so I’m always happy to oblige. Usually. However, the other night at about 3AM I found myself praying to God for a patience pump where I could just go fill up when I’m running low. ha. This is a true story y’all. I think I’m majorly sleep deprived.

3. I am having so much fun planning G’s birthday party. I still can’t believe that I’ll have a one year old next month. I’m sure I will be hysterical. I am going with a mod monkey theme and the colors will be hot pink, green, yellow and brown. There is an obnoxious bow and outfit in the works.

4. I was supposed to have my wisdom teeth taken out, every year for the past like 8 years, but I always chicken out. 2012 was going to be the year, but I was going to have it done in the office instead of going to an oral surgeon until my co-worker told me it was the worst thing in the world. I immediately chickened out *again* and decided that 2013 will definitely be the year. My reasoning was that I can’t come home on pain medicine and take care of a 1 year old. I’m sure coming home on pain med and taking care of a 2 year old will be so much easier, right? **sarcasm**

5. I have had the same Netflix movie for like, 6 months. At least! I’m ashamed.

6. I am getting a massage today and couldn’t be more excited. Eric bought me a gift card on my birthday in September and I have yet to use it.

7. Back to the not sleeping thing… Coffee is my very first thought in the morning. Eric says that before I even hit the snooze button on my alarm, I’m usually mumbling something about coffee. I think I would benefit from a coffee maker on my nightstand…

8. Gracie has decided that spinach is her new favorite food:

9. I have a couple sewing projects I need to finish up this weekend and I bought a new pattern that I’m hoping to try out. Hopefully I’ll post pics if I finish them. Also, I plan on going through Gracie’s closet looking for things to monogram. I haven’t embroidered in a few weeks and I’m getting withdraws!

10. Back to the birthday thing… I was so stressed out about when to schedule her birthday party. Everyone is either out of town or I have a baby shower or another birthday party to attend. To tell you the truth, I’m a little annoyed about the whole situation. I called Eric’s mom last night almost in tears and felt so much better after talking to her. Without going into too much detail, I just decided that if this one particular person has to be left out, it will be ok. I have been trying to pretty much force a relationship between Gracie and this “particular person” for a while for Gracie’s sake. But if it was important for “particular person” to be there then they should have checked with me before deciding to leave the country 3 days before her birthday. Anyway, Gracie is certainly not without love or people who want to share her birthday with her. DON’T MESS WITH MY BABY’S 1ST BIRTHDAY! =)

11. Back to the not sleeping thing.. ( I told you this is completely random and all over the place) Gracie woke up the other night with a croupy cough. She has never had that before and it was pretty scary because she couldn’t catch her breath. We spend the night in a steamy bathroom to help loosen it. My baby is such a trooper though. She just wanted to play like nothing was wrong. She is feeling much better today:

12. There is nothing sweeter than a baby sleeping in momma and daddy’s bed:

How I save money without couponing

2012-01-12T19:26:00.001-06:00

Hi friends! Let me preface this by saying that I am a chepo! I'm not even lying, I'm so cheap and hate to pay full price for anything. That said, I SO don't have the patience or the time to coupon. I live in a small town and we have an IGA and a wal-mart supercenter so it's not feasible for me to go to several different stores to get the best price. Saving money is also a huge importance to me. Not necessarily saving, although we do have savings, but making it a priority to pay off our house and cars all within a few years so that I can stay home with Gracie and future babies. Obviously, this requires throwing a LOT of money on the principle of these loans. We're following Dave Ramsey's plan and he's a big advocate of snowballing. I want to share a few ways that I save money without couponing. These are so easy that anyone can do it!

1. Amazon mom: I think there is currently a waiting list, but when I joined, it was free and I received a year of free prime 2 day shipping. I am able to save 30% on diapers, every single time I order. We use Luvs diapers now and for one month of diapers, I only spend $24. I know those who coupon get free diapers, but we've already discussed me and coupons. $24 for no time spent but logging on and clicking "purchase" Also, I am on subscribe and save so it automatically sends me a new box each month without me having to log on and re-purchase. Gracie wears size 3 diapers now, and up until then, I used Pampers swaddlers, just because they were so soft, but Luvs are cheaper and work great for us. I never liked using huggies diapers, they just didn't work well for us, although I know you will find the most coupons for Huggies.

2. I make my own baby food: This honestly doesn't take much time if you only do a batch every week or so. I wrote a post on my process here, but I didn't go into price breakdown. The day I made my post, I used the following:

fryer chicken: $3.00
oatmeal: used about $.50 worth
1/2 bag of brown rice: $.44
4 apples: $1.25
2 sweet potatoes: $1.76
2 green peppers: $.88
bag of whole carrots: $.88
2 zucchini: $.96
bag of frozen fruit: $2.00

total: $11.67

This is how much food it made:
Apples and oatmeal mix for breakfast: 104 ounces
Chicken/pepper/rice/zucchini mix: 72 ounces
Sweet potato and carrot bite sized pieces: 12 ounces ( I didn't puree these so it made less)
fruit cubes for yogurt: 36 ounces
2 mason jars full of "apple juice
total: 224 ounces

That equals to between $.05 and $.06 per ounce! Compare that to about $.25 per ounce and you will see substantial savings. If I would have bought packaged food at the store, it would have been over $60 for all of this.

3. Meal plan: I like to go to the grocery store about once every 2 weeks for bigger trips, and I usually stop in about once a week for fresh produce and it never fails I always forget one thing from my list. I usually find my recipes from Pinterest, and make sure I have a detailed list of everything I will need. If I have ingredients left over that I will not use that week, I make an extra batch of the recipe and put it in the freezer for later. Sticking to the shopping list requires that you leave your husband at home and never let him do the shopping. Just saying'.

4. Credit Cards with points: I know I said earlier that we are following Dave Ramsey's plan and he does not like credit cards. However, we do have one that we use daily and pay off the balance EVERY.TIME! We have never paid any interest on this card. We put every single little thing on it. Gas, groceries, electric bill, internet bill, cell phone, etc. If I could pay my mortgage and car payments with this card I totally would. The particular credit card we have has 1% cash back on all purchases, 5% cash back on special categories that change quarterly, and anywhere from 3-15% back at certain retailers. On the quarterly categories, this quarter it's amazon.com and gas purchases. This is free money people. I will say that we started using this card in February, and we already have over $500 that we could cash in or request gift cards. We didn't do anything special or buy anything out of the ordinary to receive these points, it's just from every day purchases.

5. Buy clothing ahead of time: I have bought about 90% of Gracie's clothing out of season. And have saved anywhere from 50-90% by doing this. It's true that with kids you don't really know what size they will wear, but G has stayed consistent so I haven't had that problem. Target, Dillards, and The Children's Place is where I normally get these deals.

Here are some of Gracie clothes for Spring and Summer. (ignore the coats on the right side, those are obviously for Winter, that's just where I put them). I also have a lot of size 18 month summer clothes that are still in the grey tub.

I bought the following three items at Target.com in October for less than $3 each. You can't beat that!

I bought these next two at Dillards for less than $10 each. They each have cute little matching capris too.

It really does save so much money to buy ahead of time when things are on sale. Most of what you see G wear was purchased at rock bottom clearance, or I made it myself.

And **I can't believe I'm actually saying (typing?) this out loud**, but a lot of what you see me wear is from....
Goodwill! I'm not even kidding. There is one not far from my work and a co-worker talked me into going with her. They have **BRAND NEW** Target, Ann Taylor Loft, J Crew, American Apparel, Banana Republic, and White House Black Market. I seriously feel like I hit the lottery every time I go in. I usually walk out with bags and bags and bags full of goodies and spend less than $30. I would show you a picture of my closet but I'm entirely too embarrassed. I have way too much stuff. BUT, all the Goodwill proceeds are for a good cause =) Here are some of the things I have found at Goodwill:

I will go ahead and admit I have way too many cardigans. I’m totally a cardigan and tank girl. The last pic is only a fraction of the cardigans I have picked up from there

6. I buy my make up and shampoo from **gasp** the drugstore! Or Wal-Mart or Target. It doesn't matter where I get it, I buy the cheap stuff. Let's get real, when is $40 mascara better than $5 mascara? NEVER!
These are a few things that stick out in my mind for how we save money. I know I could save more by couponing, but I usually don't even use the stuff that I find coupons for. Wal-mart does price match though, even groceries, so if any other store has a listed price, Wal-mart will match it. Also, Becky from Mrs. to Mama always has really good Totsy, Plum District, Zulily and more deals listed on her blog at least once a week. I always check there to make sure I'm not missing anything good I need.

Sometimes I feel like I'm the only one who doesn't coupon, What are your strategies for saving money?

Mom Style

2012-01-11T08:40:00.002-06:00

I know a lot of moms fall into a style funk after their babies are born. And believe me, I would totally be like that if I didn't have to get dressed for work every day. Luckily for me, I am able to wear jeans to work. I try to keep it to only once or twice a week, and it's always dressed up. Here are some looks I'm loving right now. Linking to The Vintage Apple

Source: polyvore.com via Andrea on Pinterest

What Miss Gracie is up to

2012-01-10T20:08:00.000-06:00

1. Teething. Major, major teething. She is cutting two on top and one on the bottom, my poor precious baby. She has really been a trooper though, except for a few episodes of bi-polar behavior. She can go from laughing and smiling one minute, to throwing a fit the next. See examples below...

Daddy can always make it better =)

Example 2:

Example 3:

2. In the above pic she was my little laundry "helper". Helper meaning that we put all the laundry in the wagon WITH her and pull her around while I put it up. She loves it, but usually all my folded towels end up strung along the wagon trail

3. She loves to look outside and under things for her cousin Layla. They love each other

4. She is such a happy little thing and brings us so much joy!

5. She has discovered my eye lashes and wants nothing more than to rip them out. But she's still such a sweet girl!

6. Standing independently and can walk holding on to one of my fingers:

Lots more but I have to save that for her 11 month post in a few weeks!

Blast from the past!

2012-01-09T13:30:00.002-06:00

I was going back through my old posts to check out some of the craft things I have done and get inspiration for more craftiness. I came across this post and decided I would post it again, 1. because I still love these and they are still and great condition, and 2. It had a ton of views and comments. I'm just going to post some pictures from the original post and add the link.

Click HERE to see the transformation on these chairs. This was really fun and really easy to do. I also noticed that these pillows were pinned on Pinterest. They were so easy to make. I posted a semi-tutorial on the original post, but didn't get too detailed. I will tell y'all that ANYONE can make these whether you're crafty or not! I didn't even sew them, I used hot glue! I wrapped the burlap around the pillow, tucked the edges in, poked two holes for the ribbon and that's it! Super easy

Also, I debuted my new front porch. I didn't really have a front porch originally so when we added on, we decided to make a front porch. I am longing for hot steamy weather where I can sit on my front porch all day. I know when the hot steamy weather gets here, and I know it will, I will be regretting saying this =)

You can read about this HERE

I completely re-did my garden last summer, I'll have to post pics as soon as everything is blooming. Can y'all tell I have spring and summer on the mind?

Also making it to the list are my shower curtain tutorial:

And my coffee table turned bench:

There is a tutorial listed for this

And this cute little sign. I really need to make one of these for Gracie:

tutorial listed for this as well

There were a couple more posts throughout my blog that made me really want to head to the junk store and re-purpose some things. I'm pretty sure my husband will kill me if I bring home anything else =)

Thank you for reminiscing with me!

Relaxing Weekend

2012-01-06T22:46:00.001-06:00

First of all, I want to say thank you so much for the encouraging words on my last post. I really was just going to write it all out and NOT publish it. I was just going to keep it to myself because I really don’t like putting that all out there. But it was so refreshing to know that I’m not alone, although I hate other people struggle with it as well. I want to tell each and every one of you how sweet your comments were and I would love to reply back to everyone, but some of you don’t have your e-mail linked to your comments so I’m not able to tell you how much I appreciate you! There is a so simple tutorial on how to do that here.

Okay, so on to my weekend. In my mind I always start my weekends on Thursday because I have off then, even though I go back for Friday. But it’s my post so I’ll go ahead and start on Thursday =)

Thursday I had big plans to get a few sewing projects done, but nevertheless, it turned into a typical housework/grocery store day. Of course Gracie and I played while she was awake but there was tons to do once she napped. She started looking underneath everything recently, it’s the cutest thing.

Please ignore all the stuff you see under my dresser. I put it there so she would look under it

I also went ahead and cleaned out my closet. AGAIN. I did this back in September when we had a garage sale and got rid of seven huge trash bags full of clothes then. This time, only 3 1/2 months later, I got rid of 2 more big bags.

Before:

After:

Much better. As you can probably tell, I didn’t get a chance to go through my shoes. All the shoes you see in there are sadly mine. There are two whole rows on the right you can’t even see in this pic.

My not so secret obsession The Vampire Diaries came back on after being gone for a month so we pretty much made an event out of that!

I made a hooded towel for Gracie, I attempted to get a picture of her in it, but she wouldn’t cooperate, it just has her monogram on it, nothing too fancy, I’ll try to get a better pic when she’s not using it:

Friday I worked, came home to a nice duck dinner. If you have never had duck you really should. I didn’t think I would like it at first, but I almost prefer it over steak now. Anyway, after dinner and putting G to bed I made this:

I have been wanting to make Gracie a ruffle romper pants set for a while now and never got around to it. I’m hoping to make a few more this weekend. My good friend and I decided to rent a booth at An affair of the heart in October. She does custom distressed furniture and I do baby stuff so we’re going to display it together. I think it will be pretty dang cute. I’ll give more details on this later.

Saturday we just relaxed around the house, caught up on laundry, and I made this while G was napping. It’s so easy and I have a tutorial for it coming up:

Saturday night, my mother in law came over to watch Gracie and Eric and I had a date night and ate yummy mexican food.

Today we didn’t go to church because Eric didn’t feel well so we just laid around the house, and you guessed it….LAUNDRY. I swear I don’t know how I always have so much.

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Living Proverbs 3:5

2012-01-05T14:21:00.001-06:00

I hope you don't get the impression from the title of this post that I'm going to tell everyone the secret on how to "trust the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding..." because I am certainly not qualified to do that, nor have I figured out the secret.

Last night, I was nursing Gracie before bed. She stopped, reached for her paci, laid her head on my shoulder and fell soundly asleep. This is not too uncommon her her to fall asleep this way. But for some reason, tears just started running down my face. I said a prayer before I laid her in bed that she will always be as carefree as she was in that moment. Not carefree because she's lazy, not carefree because she has no ambition. But carefree because she will trust in the Lord.

I have so many prayers for her, and I want so badly for her not to struggle with what I do:

FEAR & WORRY.

Maybe you can relate, maybe you can't. The truth is, we are all fighting some kind of battle with our enemy. I have a personal fear of disappointment and what others think of me. I think it's common for a lot of women to try to hold ourselves to a standard of perfection. Perfection in other people's eyes, when all we should really focus on is pleasing God.

I have a fear that Gracie's life will somehow be incomplete because I'm not able to stay home with her. I fear something happening to her when I'm not there. I fear her not being chosen to be on the team, hurt feelings, broken hearts, and the rejection of the world. I want to shield and protect her tender little heart.

Let's just get real for a minute and call it what it is:

Disbelief

It's me not believing that God's word is true, and not believing this His plan for our lives is perfect. I KNOW His word is true, I KNOW He is good, and I KNOW that His will for our lives is even better than anything I can imagine. But I don't always believe it.

When Gracie was born, I knew I had to get it together. I knew if I carried on and let my decisions be based on fear and worry, then my stronghold would be passed on to her. I have always been a believer, but something in me clicked after my child was born. Trusting God was taken to a whole different level when I was trusting him with the life of my child.

I will tell you that although I still fail every single day, I am getting better. I pray that even with my worries, I do not hinder her. I don't want to prevent her from growing, learning, feeling and learning from her mistakes. I know there is not a shield on this earth made for the challenges she'll one day face. But one thing I can do, is share with her the strength and truth of God's word:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your path" Proverbs 3:5-6

"Do not be anxious about anything. But in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus" Phil 4:6-7

"She is clothed in strength and dignity, and laughs without fear of the future" - Proverbs 31:25

I pray that her heart will be wrapped in words of God's promises. I know he will use each and every rise and fall in her life to prepare her for the future. The future is definitely not without uncertainty, but it is open to opportunity to glorify our God.

I pray every day that I can be the mother she needs me to be, and make the right decisions for her. All I can do is accept the free grace that He offers me in parenting her.

The rest of her story is with Him.

Congratulations if any of you actually made it to the end of this post. I know it's kind of all over the place, but this is what's on my heart today and I want to be able to look back and remember this.

Am I the only one out there struggling? What are you struggling with lately?

linking here

New Recipe

2012-01-04T19:44:00.002-06:00

So this isn't so much a "new" recipe, but it's one that I haven't shared before. It's one of my favorites for supper so I though y'all might want to give it a try too. I used to use the Zatarain's brand for this recipe, but it was a little too salty for me, so I switched to the generic brand and it was a little better. But then I found this recipe and to me it's perfect and so easy to make!

Stove Top Red Beans & Rice:

2 (16-oz.) cans light kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 pound turkey sausage, thinly sliced
1/2 pound pork smoked sausage, thinly sliced
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1/2 medium onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 1/2 teaspoons Creole seasoning
2 cups chicken broth
1/2 lb bag of brown rice

Okay, the first thing you want to do is start the rice, because it takes like 45 minutes to cook.

After you have the rice going, you will add the sausage to a big pot and brown. Once that's browned, add the garlic and mix together for about a minute

Then, you'll add in the onions, peppers, beans, seasoning and chicken broth. I like to put the onions and peppers in my food processor until they're really really chopped so I can't "feel" them in there, like this:

Also, I use Tony Chachere's for creole seasoning because I think it's the best

Once you have that going, bring it to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook for about 20 minutes. Then, once the rice is finished, I mix it all together in a big pot

And serve with a side, I used corn bread

That's it, you're done! It's so easy and so so good! This made about 8 servings.

Happy Cooking!

Homemade Baby Food

2012-01-04T08:35:00.001-06:00

When Gracie started eating solid food, I decided that I would try to make it myself, just to see how it goes. It turns out that I love making it and she loves eating it so that's what I've been doing for the last several months. I cook for myself and Eric so it just made sense that I would do the same for Gracie. Plus, I didn't want to have to worry about all the recalls and such. I DO, however, buy store bought baby food when we are going out somewhere because it's just easier because I don't have to heat it up and can throw away containers. So I don't have anything against store bought, it's just not what I do most of the time. And, my child eats A LOT and I don't have the room to store all the baby food jars and I don't have time to be at the grocery store all the time buying it.

First of all, I started off slowly just trying to see what she liked and what she didn't before I bought and made a big batch. Well, G is a natural eater because there has not been one thing she won't eat!

We started with sweet potatoes, oatmeal, carrots, squash, and bananas, then moved on into mixing fruits together and veggies together. A few months ago, I started adding spices to her food, just the regular ones that I cook with such as garlic pepper, so she can get used to the taste of our food. She had no problems with any of this.

Okay, so this is what my kitchen looks like at any given time:

Apples boiling: I like to add cinnamon and a bit of brown sugar. I'm not trying to deprive her of flavor =) I do leave the peel of because it has a lot of nutrition it in. Also, this will make your house smell amazing!

An assortment of veggies with chicken and rice in the crock pot. In here, I have whole grain brown rice, meat from half a chicken, green peppers, zucchini, and carrots

Carrots and sweet potatoes. I normally will mix carrots with something because although she'll tolerate them, they are not her favorite.

So what I do after they are all nice and soft is put them in the blender with a bit of water from the pan they were cooked in. So with the apples, I added a bit of the water they boiled in into the blender and just mixed it up. It's kind of a trail and error thing. I added too much water to this batch and it was really runny so I made a batch of oatmeal and mixed it in with the apples to give it a consistency she likes.

Then when it's at the desired consistency, I pour it into these ice cube trays. I have the Fresh Baby brand because they have a lid, but I also use regular ice cube trays as well.

And then I just pop them into the freezer and I'm done. Each cube equals one ounce. It's seriously so easy! Because it does involve clean up, I usually only cook about once every other week and make enough to last that long. When they're frozen, I take them out and put them in zip lock freezer bags and they are good for up to 6 months.

Also, on the sweet potatoes and carrots that were in the steamer, I cut them into chunks and keep them in a jar or container and let her practice with finger food.

I find myself doing this more and more often since she is older and wants to self feed. It's a lot less messy than her trying to feed herself with a spoon. Also, I very rarely puree meat. She just doesn't like the texture because it never is smooth. I just cut it into chunks for her and she picks them eat and eats them.

You can do any combo of food that you want and get your baby used to an assortment of produce and your cooking. I also like to keep pureed fruit on hand to add to plain yogurt. This is strawberries, peaches and bananas blended together and I just add one cube to about 1/2 cup of plain yogurt for a snack.

Also, with the left over water that the apples were boiling in, I just poured some into a mason jar for "apple juice". Obviously it doesn't taste just like apple juice, but it does taste like water with a strong hint of apple and she really loves it and it doesn't have all that added stuff and HELLO! It's FREE!! =)

Is anyone else on the homemade baby food wagon or are you strictly store bought? I would love to hear what swayed your decision!

"She is clothed in strength and dignity, and laughs without fear of the future" - Proverbs 31:25

10 things to smile about

2012-01-02T21:21:00.000-06:00

I'm linking with Emmy Mom today for 10 Things to smile about.

I have way more than 10 things to smile about. I try to make it a goal to count my blessings daily and not take one of them for granted. That's not always the case, but it is what I strive for. Here are 10 things that are popping into my mind today, in no particular order

1. This girl, can make me smile no matter what. Duh!

2. This guy, can usually cheer me up as well. I have the best little family in the world. I woke up at 4:30 the other morning and went into the living room because I couldn't sleep. This is what I came back to. #swoon

3. This box of fabric that I purchased, for about 50% off from fabric.com. I'm loving the prints and have all sorts of cute ideas in mind. Unfortunately, Gracie's closet is already stocked with a lot of spring and summer clothes so these will have to be for future seasons.

4. I am smiling that I was able to devour an entire chimichanga meal in QUIET at work! As much as I hate being away from Gracie, I have to think that there must be a reason for me still working. Maybe God just knew I needed a meal in quiet sometimes =)

5. Speaking of work, I am smiling that I have a job. I know I complain all the time about having to work, but I am so thankful that I do have a job and job security, because I know a lot of people don't right now, and I don't want to take that for granted. Plus, it enables me to make some extra cute things that I normally wouldn't make, like these stockings we hung up.

6. I am loving that my good friend is giving new life to this piece of furniture for me. I told her to surprise me. This is the before, she's not done with it yet. I think she might be doing greyish-green

7. I am loving these inspiration pictures I found for my living room. I'm doing a semi-makeover. I ordered new curtains, bought chairs that I'm reupholstering, and am purchasing a new rug. Also, I want to get rid of my coffee table and make a tufted big square ottoman.

Source: houzz.com via Andrea on Pinterest

8. SPRING is right around the corner, which means, Spring clothes!!

And other pretty things...

9. I am smiling because it's a new year and I have new goals. Somehow it doesn't seem like they can be put into place and "started over" until Jan. 1. I know it's a psychological thing, but whatever, it makes sense to me

10.I am still loving Baby G's nursery. I want to keep it like this forever.

also linking with Jamie

that's all..

Moving along

2011-12-31T07:51:00.000-06:00

Yay for another three day weekend and 3 day work week! I ended up working last Thursday because I had piles and piles from being off the entire week before, but I plan on taking off this Thursday, and we're closed Monday anyway, so yay!

Friday was a really long day at work and I was just worn.out by the time I got home. Have I ever mentioned that I have about an hours drive to and from work? Well I do, and that just adds to the worn-out-ness. We were planning on going to my BFF's surprise b-day party Friday night (which is another hour drive, both there and back). Instead, Eric and I just ended up going to dinner in town and when we got home, this is what we found:

My poor baby was so tired that she passed out in her wagon while her aunt Yaya (not her real name, that's just what we call her) pulled her around the house. This was just too cute for words. I could just eat that girl up!

Gracie is cutting two teeth and I was up from 1-4 with her. I'm ashamed to say this, but I just burst into tears! I was so tired and all I wanted to do was sleep, haha. I know this sounds so stupid because a lot of babies never sleep through the night and on the rare occasion mine doesn't I totally freak out. Eric was already awake because he was going hunting and he tried to cancel his plans when he saw me crying. He was really scared of the consequences he would face later in the day if he actually went, haha. Maybe I need to add being nicer to my hubs so he's not scared off me to my list of 2012 goals =)

Being the good wife that I am (hehe) I told him just to go hunting. Gracie and I did some things around the house, she took a nap UNSWADDLED, yay!

It was NYE and we didn't have big plans. We went to dinner with Eric's dad and step-mom, made it home by 7 and spent our evening hanging and ironing curtains, haha. I'm a hot date, let me tell you!

This is the before:

Ignore my messy house please. I wanted to lighten up a bit, so this is the first step. Here is the after. I would have taken a pic from the same angle, but Eric said he wasn't getting off the couch since he helped me iron curtains on NYE

Sunday we had plans to go to church, but G and momma had another rough night, so we slept in (until 6:30) and then Eric and I started reupholstering the chairs (you can read that story here) and we got a little further than this:

We went to Eric's mom's house for lunch. Here is my sweet girl who loves her big girl carseat still

We went over to my parent's for supper, and then headed home and crashed. Gracie got lots of grandparent time and loved every bit of it.

Monday, our good friends came over a play date, we had lunch and let the babies play:

Gracie is still cutting some teeth and she's happy as long as she has something to chew on.

After they left, we headed out to do some shopping to spend some gift cards we got for Christmas, came home and geared up for the week. I am so not looking forward to going back to work tomorrow. Do I sound like a broken record? ha! I did some sewing and embroidery projects that I hope to get posted later this week.

In other news, all my shows come on this week again, and I watched The Bachelor tonight. I don't know why but I always get sucked in! What is with all the crazies this season? Eric walked during a particular dramatic scene, and his response before he walked out was "You watch some stupid sh*t". ha!

I hope y'all have a wonderful week!

2012 goals

2011-12-30T20:42:00.001-06:00

I have so many goals for 2012. I don't want to call it a resolution because I don't really feel like I need to "resolve" anything. These really should be more like everyday goals I started long ago, but you know how that goes. I feel like I need a fresh year to start. I'm going to list these for myself to keep me accountable, and check back periodically to make sure I'm behaving =)

1. Color my hair at LEAST every 8 weeks. I'm seriously seeing grey, y'all! You would gasp if you saw my roots up close
2. Use up all my gift cards for massages at the spa. I have got to learn to make "me" time, something I haven't even thought of since I've had G
3. Get pedicures once a month
4. Stick to my to-do list and actually DO WHAT'S ON IT! (this really should be #1, makes my life so much easier)
5. Print the pictures I take and not just leave them on the computer
6. Do a load of laundry every day from start to finish. Easier said than done
7. Get birthday cards for everyone I know
8. Study Scripture every day. I love the learning bibles rather than just reading a verse and moving on for the day without really thinking about it.
9. Look for at least a little bit of positiveness, no matter the situation
10. Have NOT ONE bad thing to say about anyone. I need to make Ephesians 4:29 become my life verse
11. Pray together before meals
12. Take more vitamins
13. Work towards paying the house off so in a few years I will be able to stay home with my babies
14. Make the bed every day

That's all I can think of for now. I'll add more as I think of it

linking here

Mommy Questions

2011-12-30T08:56:00.000-06:00

One of the hardest things for me after Gracie was born was figuring out if I was doing things right and normal. Instead of sleeping when she slept, I would spend hours researching if this or that was "normal". I finally snapped out of that bad habit and realized that what is normal for some people isn't right for others, and it was soon after that realization that we found "our normal" and I had much more peace of mind. However, I still love to check out what other moms are doing and get advice and just pick what I want to take from it and leave the rest.

I always have lots of questions I want to ask other moms but never want to bombard anyone with questions. I saw these questions posted on E, Myself, and I and I realized that a lot of other moms are like me, in that we want to ask each other these things, not to compare, but more to see if we can learn anything from one another and maybe see if something else will work better for our babies.

I decided I'm going to post my answers to these questions and see if y'all wanted to do the same, either in the comments section or your own blog and just see if any of us are going through the same thing. Also, I think it will be handy to look back on when I have my next baby because I already find it hard to remember what I did a few months ago!

1. When did you start giving your baby "solid" foods? Did you start with rice cereal or something else? What brands of cereal and/or babyfood did you use?

I started giving G plain rice cereal at about 5 months but she didn't care for it. The next day I added in a bit of veggies and we never looked back! That girl was born an eater and still to this day plain rice cereal is the ONLY thing she will not eat. And she has tried pretty much everything.

2. Did you let your baby cry-it-out? When? How could you tell the difference between night-waking out of habit and night waking because he (or she) was legitimately hungry?

I have let her cry it out, kind of. It's not very often though. Basically, I think this only works for some babies. We read the book "On Becoming Babywise" before G was born and it's a big proponent of cry-it-out. I just never felt comfortable to let her cry and do nothing about it. I would go in there in 5 minute increments and soothe her, but not pick her up.

For the second part of this question, Gracie slept in our room for the first 5 or 6 months in a cradle next to my side of the bed. And she slept 10-12 hours through the night at about 7 weeks old. So we didn't have a problem with her waking until about 6 or 7 months when she was so alert and nosy. She just didn't want to sleep, she wanted to play and that was not allowed. If she would fuss, I would let her fuss for a few minutes and she would normally soothe herself back down. If she was legitimately crying I would always to in there to assess the situation. She went through about a 2 month period where she was teething and super congested so I would not let her cry it out. I always picked her up and comforted her. If she was not teething or congested, I would go in her room, lay her back down (she would be standing) and scratch her head until her calmed down, then go back to my room. Then I would repeat the process as long as needed. For Gracie, it only took a maximum of 3 nights, sometimes only 1, and she would begin sleeping through the night again on her own. I could tell if she was hungry because she would try to nurse if she was. Most nights she wouldn't do that.

Also, I want to add that we do put her in her crib awake at night and she soothes herself to sleep. I rock her for a bit until she's good and sleepy, tell her that's she's such a good and precious girl, tell her I love her, give her a kiss and put her in bed. She almost NEVER fusses at this time and within 10 minutes is sound asleep. It's always about 2-4 when we have trouble.

I think the main thing is just to know your baby. I KNOW that Gracie never cries for longer than a minute unless she needs something. If she could not be soothed down by just me scratching her head, then I would evaluate the situation to see if she needed tylenol, fed, or whatever...

I do think every baby is different when it comes to this. What I wrote above pertains to night sleeping. I have tried to let her cry it out for nap times and she will cry for the entire 2 hours of her nap and not go to bed at all. I still swaddle her for naps. Yes, I swaddle my 10 month old =) Whatever works!

I could write an entire post about baby sleep, ha!

3. What did you give your baby for his/her first Christmas?

Not a lot actually! I didn't want to buy stuff just for the purpose of buying "stuff". She got lots of clothes (naturally! And you need clothing anyway, right?), a ball pit, some books and puzzles, and an indoor riding toy, I think the Playskool bounce and ride.

She really doesn't need a lot and believe me, the girl doesn't hurt for things to play with! One of the most overwhelming things to me as a parent is how to raise your child to be grateful, and not to focus on material and worldly things. Although we could have bought her more, I want to plant the seed now that whether she has a lot or a little, she is blessed. It's so easy in today's life to get caught up in what we want and who has what, and I want so bad for her to not focus on that.

4. How strict were/are you about bedtime for your little one? What time does he/she go to bed most nights? What is your bedtime routine?

We are pretty scheduled around here most days and she goes to bed around 7 or 7:30. I just watch for her tired signals and put her to bed as soon as she is sleepy. She reaches a point where she is overtired and is almost impossible to go to sleep. Sometimes that's 6:45

5. How often do you give your little one a bath?

She gets a bath every night. We have done this pretty much from the beginning. Her skin can get sensitive so I don't use soap and shampoo every night, but she does get at least washed off in the bath tub every night.

6. How often do you do laundry?

I try to do at least a load a day. Normally, this does not include putting it up. I really hate that part. I am trying really hard to put it up each day so it doesn't get backed up, but it's hard to find time and the will power, ha. But I do have to do laundry every day because Gracie always has something that needs to be sprayed and immediately washed.

7. Any tips for a stuffy nose? How will I know if it's an ear infection too?

SALINE SALINE SALINE! There are times she gets saline every 30 minutes. Sometimes I let the snot run out, and sometimes I suck it out, it just depends on how bad it is. Sometimes she gets so frustrated with the aspirator and screams so much that I think it makes the congestion worse so that's when I usually let it just run out.

Gracie has only had one ear infection and she was just REALLY cranky and my baby is never cranky. I'm not sure how else I would be able to tell...

8. Working mamas: Do you pay your babysitter when you are off? What did you give the babysitter for Christmas? What does baby wear most days? What do you wear to work? (This is random, but I'm curious because I feel like I'm the only person in the world who doesn't get to wear jeans to work every day.)

I am a working momma but I am fortunate beyond words that my momma keeps G 3 days, and my mother in law keeps her 1 day. We are able to wear jeans at work, but I rarely do. I might do a What I Wore post of work clothes soon. That would be fun!

9. How long did you breastfeed?

G is almost 10 months old and I still breastfeed twice a day. She has one bottle of breastmilk while I am at work.

10. If you pump, about how many ounces do you pump at each session?

I did pump at work every time she would eat until she was about 8 months old. She would eat about 4 or 5 ounces per feeding and I would pump about 6 ounces per pumping session. I moved to twice a day at work and got about 8 ounces per session, then moved to once a day and got about 10 ounces per session. I stopped pumping all together about 6 weeks ago and just nurse in the morning and at night and my supply is still fine.

I have somewhere between 1000 and 2000 ounces of breastmilk stored in the freezer! That is not an exaggeration either! I would probably still nurse more if I didn't have that much of a stock built up! For 5 or 6 months I would pump after I fed her in the morning, and after the last feeding at night and that's how I built up such a large supply.

I was also obsessed with keeping my supply up so that's why I added in the extra pump sessions. I would read horror stories of women and their supply when returning to work, but I was so fortunate that I never had a problem with it and my supply has always been fine. Everyone is so different when it comes to this, but for ME, it was strictly a supply and demand thing, and extra water intake would ALWAYS make more supply.

Pumping and breastfeeding really are a post of it's own, I don't know if I have the courage to post it though so if you have any questions just let me know.

Please let me know if you do a post on this as well, I would love to see other answers!

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14

Crazy Beautiful Life

2011-12-28T20:10:00.000-06:00

First of all, I gave myself a little bloggy make-over. I wish I was better at this stuff and able to design myself a cool header in photoshop, but this is the best I can do =)

I've mentioned before that I was off work since last Wednesday and didn't go back until yesterday. Six glorious days!! I sooo didn't want to go back, but that's just the way things go, right?

Gracie started off the week sooo sweet, as usual. We played and went shopping and played dress up.

But then on Thursday she started getting really cranky! She was really clingy and would scream every time I left the room. I didn't think much of it because I know all babies go through this, and I think she gets frustrated because she really wants to walk, but isn't quite there. This is pretty much the only expression I got Friday - Sunday

Yep, that pretty much sums it up, crying and scowls, which is SOO not like my happy baby. WELL... Starting Sunday afternoon at Christmas lunch I noticed she was happier and more playful, and the same thing all Sunday night which is surprising because she was up way past her bedtime.

Y'all, here's where the mama-fail part comes in because my baby was happy because everyone was FEEDING her!! My poor baby must have been starving! IN MY DEFENSE.... Up until that point, she had been more than full with only 4 ounces of food per meal, plus bottle, plus snacks. She never cried when I stopped feeding her, it was just quite a bit of fussiness on and off all day.

So Monday I pretty much fed her ALL day long, pretty much every 2 hours and she was just as happy as could be. I just felt so awful. I swear... these first children are just trial and error I guess! =) Let's just say her food intake almost doubled. I'm thinking it's probably a growth spurt but we shall see!

I didn't get a chance to take a pic of all her Christmas goodies. Here they are

My den has officially turned into her play room. I haven't "fixed" it up like a playroom, but I'm gathering inspiration to start working on that soon. Some of these toys were from before Christmas, but 90% of them are new. And her b-day is in two months!!

Here is my sweet baby letting her new baby give her kisses. She is so sweet. She thinks her new babies are her little playmates.

I wanted to share this earlier on our Christmas post, but I totally forgot. This is Gracie's dress that she wore to church on Christmas morning. I am IN.LOVE! It reminds me of my wedding dress because of the sash and the bottom of the dress. It took everything I had not to break out my wedding dress and take a pic of me in it and Gracie in this dress, haha. My husband looked at me like I was about half psychopath when I mentioned it so I decided to wait until he's not home =) And, this came from a resale shop

Another cute Gracie pic with her party pants I made her a while ago. I can't get enough of these! She likes to sit in the sink and watch me put on my makeup. She's getting to be such a big girl. **cue sad momma face**

Also, some of you commented and e-mailed about Gracie's Christmas dress. First of all, thank you! And second of all, I made it! It's the same process as the ones I made here, but I just dolled it up a bit more with the ruffles and bow.

And lastly, baby G LOVES drinking from a cup! I don't know why I'm even using a styrofoam cup here, but regardless, she refuses to drink from her bottle and sippy if there is a regular cup around. Silly girl

Okay, so this is probably the most random, rambling post ever. Congrats if you made it to the end!

P.S. Has anyone been having problems with blogger taking like 20 hours to upload a single pic, or is it just me?

Wordless Wednesday

2011-12-27T19:56:00.000-06:00

Just playing a little dress up with my favorite little girl

that's all..

Christmas Recap

2011-12-26T21:49:00.001-06:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! I know we did. I was off work starting Wednesday and I don't go back until tomorrow. I enjoyed my time at home so much that I don't want to go back. Who am I kidding, I never want to go back =) I will do a post soon of how miss G and I spent our days.

We started our Christmas celebration Friday night at Eric's dad's house

Here is Gracie looking cute for the camera!

I don't have a good pic of her outfit, but this is the best I have

She got lots of goodies, but of course was most excited about the snacks...

and the boxes. Figures!

She was pretty cranky all night and we weren't up that far past her bedtime so I wasn't sure what was up

Christmas Eve we stayed in our pajamas all day. Here is the first pic I captured of G standing on her own like a big girl! She has been standing for about 30 seconds on her own for a while now and I have never had my camera with me. This is when she was in the process of sitting back down, but still! We are so proud of her!

We pulled her around in her wagon all day inside because it was too cold outside and honestly I didn't want to change out of my pajamas either =)

We went over to my parent's house that night for supper and to let Gracie play with my niece Layla, they LOVE each other!

Here is my big girl in her new big girl car seat. Still rear facing of course, but we could barely buckle her in to the infant carrier with her jacket on so it was time to move on. This pic looks like she is laying down flat on her back. I assure you we put the car seat in correctly, and it's just the angel. No DHS or CPS calls please =) thanks

I ordered her some really cute Christmas Eve pajamas but didn't get a good pic of them. I really wanted a picture of her sitting in front of the tree, but my husband took it so this is the best I got. Bummer!

This is a pic of her bounce and ride toy, stocking, and ball pit all set up by Santa for Christmas morning! She got other smaller things as well like a bunch of clothes (duh!) books and puzzles

This is kind of random but I really love it so I thought I would throw it in... I ordered a personalized family ornament this year for the tree and I'm in love with it. Here is a close up. The stockings say "Daddy, Momma, and Gracie" and the bottom says "Christmas 2011" so I will always know that was our first family of three Christmas ornament.

She woke up still pretty cranky on Christmas Day and was unsure what to think at first. I think the ball pit intimidated her...

but then she gave it a try and had a good time!

of course after 2 seconds in the ball pit she crawled over to her cabinet and grabbed her snacks =)

I made french toast casserole found here the night before and popped it in the oven the next morning, and it was delicious y'all! I'm not even kidding I could eat it every day! Instead of doing the slices, I pulled the bread apart in chunks and I omitted the praline topping. I did make the butter and brown sugar mixture, kind of as a crumb topping and sprinkle it on top.

We went to my parent's house around 8 and opened presents there and had breakfast. My momma also made a breakfast casserole. Gracie will never need clothes again, that's for sure! My mom and dad also bought her a baby and she loves it! We bought her a baby too, but for whatever reason, she loves this baby more. It's so sweet because she will give her kisses on demand and then is so proud of herself for being sweet:

After eating breakfast there, we changed clothes and headed to church.

Our church normally has a Christmas Eve service but didn't this year, I'm assuming because Christmas was on a Sunday. We did the candlelight service at the end of the sermon. Of course I had to step out in the foyer with Gracie because the nursery was closed so everyone could attend the service and she was not having me trying to keep her quiet.

After church, she had her normal after church meltdown and napped for about two hours before we went back over to my parent's house for lunch. Here are a few pics from there

My sister, Gracie, Momma, me, and other sister

We only stayed there for about an hour or so before moving on to Eric's mom's house. We are so fortunate that we didn't have to leave town to go anywhere.

Gracie got a lot more goodies that she loved, but of course, she was most excited about the snacks!

Surprisingly, she wasn't very cranky at all Christmas afternoon, which is surprising because she only got about half of her naps. But she ate all her food I brought her, plus a little turkey, potatoes, green beans, and pasta salad. Maybe a growth spurt?

Here is my little angel having fun with the nativity scene. I am going to have to buy one for next year for sure.

We did all get a lot of gifts, but we are so thankful for the ultimate gift of Salvation through Jesus Christ. As Gracie gets older, I look forward to telling her the story of the baby in the manger all those years ago and how he came to save the world.

Linking here:

Gracie: 10 months

2011-12-22T14:25:00.001-06:00

Gracie~

You are TEN months old today! That's only TWO months away from your first birthday. I just can't believe it. Before you were born I would always wish time away hoping and looking forward to the next thing, and time would drag on. Ever since you have been with us, I pray that the minutes and hours and days pass slow and all they do is fly by. I guess that's just the way it goes.

First of all, you are such an angel baby! You really are such a joy to all that know you. You are very rarely fussy and if you are it's because you are tired or hungry. We have you on a pretty good schedule to prevent you getting hungry or over tired and it looks like this:

6 AM - Wake up for the day and nurse
7:30 - eat breakfast, normally 4 homemade cubes of food and some yogurt
8:00 - nap usually about 1 1/2 hours
10:00 - snacks and play
11:30 - lunch, normally 4 homemade cubes and 5 or 6 ounce bottle of BM
12:00 - nap about 2 hours
2:30 ish - more snacks
4:30 - Sometimes a half hour to hour nap
5:30 or 6 - Dinner, normally just whatever we are eating then bath
7:00 - nurse then bed

You are such a busy little girl and into EVERYTHING! You are very curious about the world around you. I try my best not to have too many worries so that I can help you grow and not hinder your ability to find out things on your own.

You are still pretty petite. You are 25 1/2 inches long and 17 pounds. You wear a size 3 diaper and 6 months, 6-9, or 9 month clothes.

You have four teeth, all on the bottom and you love to show them off!

You love to be chased around the house and you are quite the speed demon! You normally will crawl over to something, pull yourself up, and try to run around whatever you're hanging on to! You stand independently for about 30 seconds, then you decide you're done.

You love being outside and looking out the window. When you're at your Nina's house, you eat your snacks in the high chair looking out the window to watch the ducks on the pond. You LOVE ducks. You associate anything that is yellow with ducks. You will go up to it and say "ack ack" (like quack quack)

You can currently say mama, da-da, bye bye, no, and don't, and you can wave hi and bye. We're working on blowing kisses. You love attention when we go to the store and you're favorite thing is to be told you're pretty

You have a great sense of humor! You love to make us laugh and you thing coughing is hilarious. You also love to pout. Your little lip comes out and I can't help but laugh when you start it.

Your favorite toys are your horse jump-a-roo and your indoor riding car. Both of these are at your Nina and Papa's house. You love anything where you can jump or be pushed or pulled.

You did get a wagon this month and you love it. You bounce up and down when I'm pulling you so have made it into the best of both worlds =)

You love to watch TV and eat your puffs. Barney and the Mighty Jungle are your favorites.

I have so many prayers and hopes for you. Above everything else, I pray for your salvation and your happiness. I pray that you have a big heart and will love to help others. I pray that you know I'm always on your side. Even when it doesn't seem like it. I pray that I can be the mother you need me to be and love you the way God loves you.

I love you more than you will ever know sweet girl!

Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given.
John 1:16

What I should be doing...

2011-12-22T09:50:00.000-06:00

is finish wrapping presents, cleaning the house, and getting out of my pajamas.

But what am I going to do? Fill out this Christmas survey of course! I saw this on Life with the Edwards and Christmas only comes once a year so why not, right?

1. Eggnog or hot chocolate? Hot chocolate for sure. I always say how much I hate egg nog but the truth is that I have never had it. I always thing of it as drinking hot eggs. I don't even know if eggs are in it...

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just set them under the tree? This year with Gracie, most are wrapped, but the "santa" gifts will be assembled and ready to play with. of course they will have a bow, maybe even one she can wear afterwards =)

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? Only white! i wanted to incorporate some red or green outside, but I didn't this year. I want more color, but I still want it to look classy

4. Do you hang mistletoe? Nope. My husband would totally take advantage of that

5. When do you put decorations up? The day after Thanksgiving

6. What is your favorite holiday dish? I really love homemade cranberry sauce. And the dressing. I could make a meal out of those two!

7. Favorite holiday memory as a child? I guess I don't have one in particular, but I always loved getting Christmas pajamas and watching "It's a wonderful life" and "Miracle on 34th Street" with my family on Christmas Eve

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? I honestly can't remember thinking Santa was ever real. I mean, we "did" Santa at our house, but it was not ever the focus.

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? As a child we got to open one on Christmas Eve. I think we will start a tradition with Gracie this year of opening one on Christmas Eve and making it Christmas Pajamas. I always loved getting new pajamas

10. How do you decorate your tree? White lights and a hodge podge of ornaments! It's mostly red and gold. I incorporated a bit of green this year. I added a big ole' bow at the top with gold glitter swirly things sticking out the top. It's a bit more whimsical than usual and I love it!

11. Snow! Love it or dread it? I like it in theory, but I dread it. I like seeing it but if I have to deal with it, forget it.

12. Can you ice skate? It takes me a few minutes to get the hang of it again

13. Do you remember your favorite gift? I got a karaoke machine when I was probably 8. I loved that thing! I was going to be the next Shania Twain, y'all. When we would have company over, I made sure to go in my room and sing on it really loud so everyone could hear me.

14. What's the most important thing about the holidays for you? Remembering why we even celebrate Christmas. It's CHRISTmas for a reason.

15.What is your favorite holiday dessert? Chocolate cream pie

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? Hands down, going to the Christmas Eve service.  I love all the candlelight and Christmas music and worship of our Savior

17. What tops your tree? A red polka dot bow and gold swirly sparkly things

18. Which do you prefer: giving or receiving? Both are fun, but I prefer giving. It's the most fun!

19. Candy canes: yuck or yum? I'm impartial I guess

20. Favorite Christmas show? I love Miracle on 34th Street and A Christmas Carol. Also, anything on Lifetime, ABC family, and the Hallmark channel is great!

21. Saddest Christmas song? The Christmas Shoes song. So sad

22. What's your favorite Christmas song? It changes! Right now it's O Holy Night and Mary did you know?

These are my Confessions

2011-12-21T19:54:00.002-06:00

I'm just going to dive right on in...

1. I am already ordering Christmas labels for next year that I can leave on treat bags, etc and I really want it to say my name, along with Eric and Gracie's and not just our last name. BUT.. I am terrified that I will "accidentally" get pregnant and then won't be able to use the labels because it won't have the "new baby" name on there. I know how stupid that sounds, I mean, we're obviously not planning to get pregnant, but you know what they say about God and your plans right? I feel like I shouldn't test it.

2. I confess that I was off work today and don't have to go back until next Tuesday! Woo hoo! I only got out of my pajamas today to go have lunch with my mother in law, then back into my pajamas I went!

3. I confess that the main reason I'm still nursing Gracie is because I want to keep the weight off during the holidays. I know that is awful. I mean, I said before that we had a little biting problem that couldn't be controlled, and that alone is reason to stop. But, we worked through it, mainly because I really am enjoying being a smaller size than before.

4. I confess I am obsessed with ABC Family, Hallmark, and Lifetime movies. Especially during Christmas and Halloween!

5. Most Friday nights I'm lucky if I stay up late enough to watch Dateline and 20/20. This is what my life has become. But I wouldn't have it any other way =)

6. I confess that I got absolutely nothing done today because Gracie was clingy and wanted to snuggle. But since I wanted to snuggle her too it was a perfect day. I LOVE to love on that baby!

linking here