Two Teeny Tiny Years

I.Cannot.Believe.She's.Two!

Our sweet Little Miss is now 2 years and 3 months old. For this year's party, I actually went with a character theme. I had practically sworn that I would NEVER do a character theme for our birthday parties', but she's been obsessed with Dora the Explorer for a while now, so I just went with it. Hey, you're only 2 once, right!? I scoured the internet for cute Dora parties, and not just one's that come straight out of the box. I like things personalized, and don't we all to a degree?

I had a good friend bake her cake, and my mother and I also made cupcakes:

Instead of paying someone else to make cutesy little cupcake toppers, I just made them myself. Cute enough. It's not like our party will be mentioned in "TOPS in Lex" or anything! Hahaha.

Some of Ava's "auntie's", hahaha. (Only child here.)

We had wonderful family and friends share this special day with us...and I'm already planning her birthday party for next year! :)

Two Years...

First off, let me reiterate: I'm a self-professed horrible blogger! I have all of these fun and cute ideas for this little 'ol blog, and then...well, life happens. I'm Type A and have all of these to-do lists and things I want to do, but I'm a Gemini and get easily distracted! Ha! Sorry for such a long absence, if I have any readers out there! If not, well, it's fun for me, anyway! :)

Little life update: I'm no longer employed! Well, I'm working, but for free! I'm finishing my Masters degree for Elementary Education. My Bachelor of Arts degree is in Communication Studies. After working in a corporate setting, I just wasn't satisfied. About 8 months after Ava was born, I was so unhappy and frustrated. I decided to go back to school to be a teacher. My mother has taught for almost 30 years, so I've kind of been raised in it! It's one of those life things where you think, "Why didn't I do this 7 years ago in undergrad!?" But sometimes it takes living a little to really decide what you want to be when you grow up! So, I've been working a full-time job, taken on a full load of classes, and have tried to balance both of those with being a wife to my husband and a mommy to our little girl. I hope I haven't let either of them down.

I'm now almost finished with my Master of Arts in Teaching degree. In January, I started my student teaching requirement! I am having a BALL, let me tell you! I'm currently in a 3rd grade classroom in a public school in KY. The kids are sweet as pie, and I have the best supervising teacher I could be working under. With all of the snow days and holidays we've had this month, I've only been in the classroom for about 9 days...but I already feel like I've learned so much! She's just amazing! I'll graduate in May and hopefully find a full-time position in the fall.

Now, that little baby girl that convinced her Mommy to completely change her career will be turning TWO in just a couple of short weeks! Here's a little recap from her first birthday party! I LOVE planning her birthday parties, and have a little stash of ideas to pull from in these next few years when she's still young enough to let ME plan it all! Ha!

Her first party was a little ladybug theme. I made almost all of her decorations, and with the help of my cousin, and her nifty Cricut, even made the invitations!

Take a little looksie:

Homemade banner...Found a LOT of cute banners on Etsy, but thought I could make just as cute of one as I could buy!

Banner for her highchair:

Ladybug cake & cupcakes! :) Made by a dear friend.

My little lady at her first birthday party...Bib was ordered from Etsy.

For this year's party, I really wanted a cute Candyland theme...however, in this house, it's ALL about Dora the Explorer! So Dora it is!

I've been a little busy here lately with all of my lesson planning for school! So this year, I skipped the homemade invitations! I actually went with (gasp!) store-bought invitations. I know, bad DIY Mommy. Oh well. She won't even notice! Ha!

I do still want to make a banner for her highchair, and I've got several other cute ideas for the decor...more of that to come later!

I'm home today on another SNOW day, so I'm catching up with my blogging and the Real Housewives of Atlanta on another Bravo marathon! LOL

I really can't wait for the RHOBH reunion. Kim and Kyle's fight broke my heart. It really was like watching a train wreck. I couldn't tear my eyes from the screen. I really felt that they were genuine, and that the whole scene wasn't just for reality TV. Camille on the other hand, dirves me up the wall! Her voice alone is like nails on a chalkboard...ugh. That I could do without! But I love Kyle, Lisa, and Adrienne! Thursday will be a big night for sure!

That's all for now, ya'll! Have a wonderful Monday!

PS-Can someone please help a girl out with my blog header? I have tried several templates, made my own in Photoshop, and finally just ended up with this plain 'ol thing...and it's still fuzzy and out of proportion...I want a CUTE header! Not a happy girl right now!

6 Months

Our sweet baby girl is 6 months as of yesterday! I can't believe how big she's gotten!

PS-Sorry I've been such a bad blogger...it's been crazy lately! Hope you all are having a great August so far!

The Babe's Room

I had planned on posting the rest of the pics of our new landscaping, after it was finished, but alas...I can't find them, and I'm too lazy to go get up and get the card out of my camera. I instead have my external hard drive plugged in and went looking around on it, and found these instead: My precious girl's nursery room...Her Daddy put long hard hours in on the paint, chair rail, and molding (moulding?). I think it turned out pretty cute. The crib and chair are from JC Penney's, and the bedding is Wendy Bellisimo "Floral Patchwork," {or something like that!} I love how it turned out...simple, soft, and sweet. Just like baby A!


The chair side table is one of the cheap-o 3 legs-screw-into-table-top that you can find at good 'ol Wal-Mart, and I just threw a simple brown cover over the top with the round glass topper also. The lamp was a bring-over from our old apt...The changing table is my old desk, with new knobs, fresh paint, and a changing pad we threw on top. (Gotta love re-purposing and recycling!)



I can't wait until she finally actually uses this room!{lol}

Five Months...

Hangin out...

Sweetie pie is five months old already! I can't believe it! Time definitely flies when you're having fun!

I've taken her picture on each "monthly" birthday to document her growth! It's a really cute idea, I recommend it to any new mom!

See ya later alligator!

6/4/09-Big day!

Baby girl is getting so big! On 6/4/09 (my birthday) our baby girl turned 4 months old! She's getting such a big and fun personality!


This picture was taken with my new 50mm...For those DSLR owners, you NEED this lens! It's wonderful, and I'm having so much fun getting to play around with it!


On another note, in a previous post I had mentioned some adorable necklaces I had found on www.etsy.com and my sweet, wonderful hubby bought two of them for my birthday! Here's one, seen below:

It includes three charms, with each family members' name and their birthday...I think it turned out beautifully! Very simple, neat. I love it. He also bought me a 2nd necklace with a single charm, with the letter "A" for baby girl, and a single pink "pearl," included on the chain. I'll have to get a picture of it later...

Big weekend coming up...I have a wedding on Friday, a Busch race on Saturday (don't get me started on the Nascar/redneck argument! Have you taken a good look at Dale, Jr. or Kasey Kahne? Enough said.), and then a family cookout on Sunday...it's gonna be great! I love summer!

Any more Nascar fans out there? *crickets*

Hmmm....

I Survived!

I actually did it! I re-joined the workforce! And I survived! If you read my previous post, from my first day back at work, it sounded like the world was ending. And I guess, on that day it felt like it was. But by Friday, I was in much better spirits. I am SO thankful for my husband and mother...I truly couldn't do it with out them, they are so wonderful! While I'm at work, my husband watches baby A, and when he leaves for work, my mom, who is a school teacher, comes to our house to care for her. About an hour after that, I'm home. I also have a wonderful aunt who comes when Mom has after school meetings! It is so reassuring to know that she is being cared for by people who truly love and care for her. It brings me peace of mind. We are very lucky!

Work is actually kind of nice, it gives me a little break, and lets A know that she can be taken care of by someone other than Mommy. I love my work schedule, 7am-4pm, and getting home before 5 is great. Less traffic to put up with. Less yelling on the interstate! Plus, it gives me something great to look forward to at the end of a long day! There is nothing better than snuggling her and holding her while she sleeps!

To those of you who are expecting, or dreading going back, it is possible! You might even enjoy it! It's nice to have a conversation with people my age, and to see what's going on in the world...I felt like I missed out on a lot of public happenings and goings on, being at the house all the time. And for the first month and a half of her life, I was too paranoid and germ-a-phobe to take her out too much. But I got over that real quick! Cabin fever sets in quick!

BTW-Today my baby is exactly 3 months old! Time definitely flies by!

How We Roll...

She rolled over on Saturday! Whoo hoo! Saturday afternoon I was in the bathroom getting ready, and the hubby had her laying on the bed, talking to her. She just kept pushing and pushing, and eventually, she flopped right over! Hooray!

T-1 Day until I'm back in the rat race...

It's called...b.a.l.a.n.c.e.

Balance: The process of juggling. Many things. {that's not Merriam's definition, either. Just mine.}

Something I've been contemplating lately...seeing as how I have about another week and a half left of maternity leave, unless I take the 1 week left that I have available through FMLA, until I go back to *work.*

Ugh.

Don't get me wrong, I love making money, (and spending it), and I love the people I work for and with, but I have no idea how I'm going to manage it all...the house, the husband, the baby, the job, the life, my life. It's a tad overwhelming, actually. Something I dread...I guess at the beginning of the week, I'm going to have start trying to get into bed before 11pm, and waking up at first light, since that is what I'm going to have to do for work. It actually kind of makes my stomach turn. I know I should be thanking my lucky stars that I have a great job in this economy, but it just doesn't make my heart go pitter pat like that baby asleep in her bassinette does.

Man, I wish we could just win the lottery. Boo.

Any tips?

Crap...

Literally. Only, I believe at 8am this morning, I used another word...As in, "I've got s*** on my sheets!" {Sorry Mom.} Lordy, that girl can let 'er fly! In mid-diaper change, no less...What a nice wake-up call...so out came the "Shout" and to the couch I went...looking back now, it was probably pretty funny...but not so much at 8am. Especially with the hubbly snoozing away...Of course, after that exclamation, he was up too...and he changed the bed sheet for me. How nice. We took a trip across the hall to her room, and as I was in yet ANOTHER mid-diaper change, she still wasn't finished! Oh, Lord!

That was my morning at 8am.

I can only imagine my mornings in two weeks when I go back to work...nice.

Wow

I'm actually embarrassed that it has been over three months since my last post...yikes. My one reader (my lovely cousin, Vanya) must think I've fallen off the face of the earth w/ no posts...LOL. What in the world have I been doing since then that I've been too busy to make a measly little post...oh wait. I had a BABY! Yeah that must be it...

{Baby A and I after her first "real" bath at home...no more sorry sponge baths for you, dear!}

So, in honor of her debut, I've decided to revamp the B's blog into the "Adventures of Mommyhood." No longer is it just the husby and I...oh no. She is beautiful, and wonderful, and we love her and wouldn't trade her for the world! So, I guess this is my first "new" blog post! {cheers!}

Welcome to our new little world!

Before & After: Round 1

The most recent room re-do we just finished is our baby girl's nursery! Before, this was basically the "office/catch-all/junk/least-worked-on" room in the entire house...We were more concerned with the more lived in areas of our home...and therefore this pitiful room fell to the back burner, maroon carpet be danged...(Which, as you will see in later posts, was not only in this room, but also the living room, master bedroom, hallway, and guest bedroom...*shudder*) So, you can imagine my immense joy when that hideous excuse for flooring was replaced! Basically, we slapped on some random blue color and threw some curtains on the window and presto! We were officially finished with that room...for at least a year and couple of months...sad, I know...but we had better things to do...like make babies...LOL.

Hideous maroon carpet is barely visible in this picture...but trust me, it's there!

Ahhh...that's better! Pretty pink and light cream walls with a little chair rail...there is nothing paint cannot fix! Not to mention new carpet! (Baseboards are now down, in case you were wondering...)


Her bedding that I just had to have...which was also a *deal* found at TJ Maxx in Cincinnati...Wendy Bellissimo's "Floral Patchwork", which originally retailed for $229.99, and was even on sale at BRU for $129.99...yeah, we paid $79.99 for the set! I love a good deal! It's adorable...I couldn't have lived with myself if I had passed this up..


My mom and I after the shower...we are so blessed! You can kind of see a little more of the room and decor...we've since added more to the walls, etc. I'll post a better picture later...