All things Fluffy...Fashionable...& Famous!

New blog

2011-06-10T10:17:00.001-04:00

See ya later All Things Fuffy, Fashionable & Famous...

Visit me at my new blog McMommy Daze!

12 Days of Christmas

2010-12-20T09:12:00.000-05:00

You might or might not have heard this version of the 12 Days of Christmas. It isn't a song. It's a story. A true story. For me, it's THE REASON I celebrate Christmas. I believe every word to be true. It's contents are pulled from my "guide for life" The Bible. I encourage you to take a minute to read this...even if you have read it before. It's a GREAT reminder of what Christmas is all about: not gifts, not money, not decorations, but it's about our precious, gracious Lord and Savior JESUS CHRIST and everything He has done for us! I serve one amazing God who sent his ONLY son (imagine...having a child only to KNOW He will die one day) to die for my sins! And this Christmas... I plan to give Him great thanks and worship Him like never before.

Enjoy!

On the 1st day of Christmas my true love gave to me...
A Partridge in a Pear Tree.

The partridge in a pear tree is Jesus the Christ, the Son of God, whose birthday we celebrate on December 25, the first day of Christmas. In the song, Christ is symbolically presented as a mother partridge that feigns injury to decoy predators from her helpless nestlings, recalling the expression of Christ's sadness over the fate of Jerusalem: "Jerusalem! Jerusalem! How often would I have sheltered you under my wings, as a hen does her chicks, but you would not have it so . . . ." (Luke 13:34)

On the 2nd day of Christmas my true love gave to me...
Two Turtle Doves

The Old and New Testaments, which together bear witness to God's self-revelation in history and the creation of a people to tell the Story of God to the world.

On the 3rd day of Christmas my true love gave to me...
Three French Hens

The Three Theological Virtues: 1) Faith, 2) Hope, and 3) Love (1 Corinthians 13:13)

On the 4th day of Christmas my true love gave to me...
Four Calling Birds

The Four Gospels: 1) Matthew, 2) Mark, 3) Luke, and 4) John, which proclaim the Good News of God's reconciliation of the world to Himself in Jesus Christ.

On the 5th day of Christmas my true love gave to me...
Five Gold Rings

The first Five Books of the Old Testament, known as the Torah or the Pentateuch: 1) Genesis, 2) Exodus, 3) Leviticus, 4) Numbers, and 5) Deuteronomy, which gives the history of humanity's sinful failure and God's response of grace in the creation of a people to be a light to the world.

On the 6th day of Christmas my true love gave to me...
Six Geese A-laying

The six days of creation that confesses God as Creator and Sustainer of the world (Genesis 1).

On the 7th day of Christmas my true love gave to me...
Seven Swans A-swimming

The seven gifts of the Holy Spirit: 1) prophecy, 2) ministry, 3) teaching, 4) exhortation, 5) giving, 6) leading, and 7) compassion (Romans 12:6-8; cf. 1 Corinthians 12:8-11)

On the 8th day of Christmas my true love gave to me...
Eight Maids A-milking

The eight Beatitudes: 1) Blessed are the poor in spirit, 2) those who mourn, 3) the meek, 4) those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, 5) the merciful, 6) the pure in heart, 7) the peacemakers, 8) those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake. (Matthew 5:3-10)

On the 9th day of Christmas my true love gave to me...
Nine Ladies Dancing

The nine Fruit of the Holy Spirit: 1) love, 2) joy, 3) peace, 4) patience, 5) kindness,6) generosity, 7) faithfulness, 8) gentleness, and 9) self-control. (Galatians 5:22)

On the 10th day of Christmas my true love gave to me...
Ten Lords A-leaping

The ten commandments: 1) You shall have no other gods before me; 2) Do not make an idol; 3) Do not take God's name in vain; 4) Remember the Sabbath Day; 5) Honor your father and mother; 6) Do not murder; 7) Do not commit adultery; 8) Do not steal; 9) Do not bear false witness; 10) Do not covet. (Exodus 20:1-17)

On the 11th day of Christmas my true love gave to me...
Eleven Pipers Piping

The eleven Faithful Apostles: 1) Simon Peter, 2) Andrew, 3) James, 4) John, 5) Philip, 6) Bartholomew, 7) Matthew, 8) Thomas, 9) James bar Alphaeus, 10) Simon the Zealot, 11) Judas bar James. (Luke 6:14-16). The list does not include the twelfth disciple, Judas Iscariot who betrayed Jesus to the religious leaders and the Romans.

On the 12th day of Christmas my true love gave to me...
Twelve Drummers Drumming

The twelve points of doctrine in the Apostles' Creed: 1) I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth. 2) I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord. 3) He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. 4) He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell [the grave]. 5) On the third day he rose again. He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. 6) He will come again to judge the living and the dead. 7) I believe in the Holy Spirit, 8) the holy catholic Church, 9) the communion of saints, 10) the forgiveness of sins, 11) the resurrection of the body, 12) and life everlasting.

O Christmas Tree

2010-12-17T09:58:00.000-05:00

I thought I would share some of our Christmas decor and traditions with you. As you will see... we went with minimal decor due to the fact that I have a VIBRANT, CURIOUS one year old roaming my house from 8 am - 8 pm everyday.

So we had to "trim down" our decorations for this year...oh who are we kidding...we will have to "trim down" for the next 10 years probably until all of our kids (present and future) are old enough to know what NOT to play with and touch! :)

I call my tree "Whimsy." I like bright greens, red, silver and gold. I have a hodge podge of ornaments. I don't really have a "theme" I like it that way. I buy random ornaments all the time but most always they fit in the "whimsy" family. If I had to choose a decor that's my fave... I would pick "The 12 Days of Christmas." I love it. I have several books, other decor and ornaments. I do have one set of ornaments that isn't whimsy. I got them in 2006. They are from House of Hatten designed by Denise Calla and made in the 80's. They are definitely a vintage item that I will cherish forever and pass down to my children. The no longer make them and you can only find them on Ebay and other auction sites.

11 years ago my mom began giving me a Hallmark Snowman ornament and those are VERY special to me. Each one is a snowman with a different animal on it (fitting for this animal lover? I think so!)

A tradition that my mom used to do for me, that one day I plan to do for Addison, was 12 Days of Christmas gifts. Starting on the 13th she would give me a small gift everyday. It would just be some chapstick, an ornament, lotion, pjs, fingernail polish, etc. Just a small gift. But OH how I looked forward to that. It was so much fun. She started doing it when I was about 16. I plan to start it for Addison when she is about 5. I want her to understand all about the 12 Days of Christmas (post to come on that Monday).

I have my Waterford 12 Days of Christmas crystal champagne glasses out as decor (brave I know). I also have some 12 Days glasses, plates, mugs, napkins and table runner. So yeah, I guess that's my thing :)

ALM's pink tree in her room!

My mantle. I do a little something different every year!

Living room pillows.

Pillows in the sitting room.

Our new tree. We are a fake tree family. Our old one was just too small and skinny! We upgraded!

Some of my favorite ornaments!!! We have one from our honeymoon to St. Lucia. The one with a picture from our wedding. I love sock monkeys. Noah's ark. Two owls. Family snowmen. NOEL. One of my Hallmark snowmen. House of Hatten 12 Days "7 swans a swimmin'".

The sled my MawMaw and PawPaw (both are gone to be with Jesus) game me for Christmas when I was about 10).

Our dining room display! My 12 days glasses. The nativity is the same one from my childhood. I loved it so my mom gave it to me this year. It is as old as me (28)!

My Waterford 12 Days of Christmas crystal champagne glasses. (Yeah I am still missing 2. They came out this year-hopefully a present in my future).

Front door: the wreath I made for mine and Adam's 1st Christmas as husband and wife!

Trans Siberian Orchestra

2010-12-15T13:32:00.000-05:00

A Christmas tradition my mom and I started four years ago after I stumbled upon an amazing orchestra... continued this year!

This past Saturday my mom and I went to Birmingham to see the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. If you haven't heard their music... RUN (do not walk) and download some of their music NOW! And next year... GO to a concert if they come near you. I am telling you, it's the best show I've ever seen. I mean best concert, play, musical... it beats them all. It's crazy good.

Trans-Siberian Orchestra is a rock opera. I am telling you... your husband, your kids, your parents, your friends, anyone... would love it! These are the most talented artists I have ever seen in person. The whole show is breathtaking and SURE to get you in the Christmas spirit. I'm actually jamming to it as I write this post.

It's a new way to enjoy Christmas music. I start playing their music in my car December 1 and don't stop until Christmas is over. It's so unique and different from any other Christmas music you have heard. I guarantee you that. You can get a little sample of their music and the show here. I HIGHLY recommend you go check them out.

You can download their music on iTunes. Some of my favorites are: Faith Noel, Queen of the Winter Night, O Come All Ye Faithful, A Mad Russian's Christmas, Good King Joy, Christmas/Sarajevo 12/24, Boughs of Holly.

Here is a YouTube video of a TSO song that someone synchronized with their Christmas lights on their house. ENJOY!

Budget Talk

2010-12-14T10:42:00.000-05:00

In February 2009, we kind of revamped our budget because we found out we were pregnant!

In March 2010, we totally revamped our budget due to some financial "surprises."

In August 2010, we fully committed to Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University.

So I think the questions most of you had in this post was just general info about our budget. any tips I have, grocery shopping, etc.

I am going to attempt to be as open as I can about our budget without sharing too much about my hubs salary.

The first thing I need to say is, we have no car payments. Why and how?? Well, when I started dating Adam (summer 2006) I was driving a 2004 Toyota 4-Runner. It only had like 15,000 miles on it. That fall, I traded it in on a 2005 used Nissan Altima with 55,000 miles on it. I actually got the car out right and made money back on it and used that money to pay off a credit card I had run up. Before we got married, Adam traded his car in on a truck. Looking back even he admits that was a bad decision. Well, he drove that truck and made about a $350 car payment for almost 2 years and then he got a job where they give you a company car. We kept the truck for almost a year after he got the job. It sat in our garage and was hardly EVER driven. So in March of this year, we sold it! God blessed us SO in that area. We sold it ourselves and got what we asked for it. So that is the story of how we have no car payment.

The next thing I need to share is, we SACRIFICED! My precious husband had a PAID FOR ski boat. He loved that boat (and so did I). But with a new baby (and hopefully 2 more in the future) we knew we wouldn't be on a ski boat for a while. And without me even asking or pushing, he suggested we sell it. And again, God opened up a door and we got what we asked for it. HE is so good. We used that money to pay off credit cards.
Last summer was the first summer that I can remember EVER that I didn't get to visit the beach. But that was just one more sacrifice that we were willing to make to get out of debt.
My hobby is shopping. It brings me great joy (sad I know). It came to a screeching halt. I learned to get my "fix" from grocery shopping. I am sure people think I am nuts when I say I am excited about going grocery shopping, but it's like a drug addict getting a high... shopping is my high :)
We used to eat out 3 or 4 times a weekend and after adding it up... we were spending $200 + a month eating out... that had to stop. So we went to eating out once a weekend. That is our "treat."

I had felt convicted for a long time about not tithing. And apparently so had Adam even though we never really talked about it. In April 2010 we began tithing our 10% because we wanted to be faithful to our God who had blessed us so much. we both felt very strong about tithing off of what Adam MAKES and not what he brings home. I am not saying that is what is required. I am just saying that is what WE felt like was right for us. And I can't begin to tell you the blessings God has bestowed on us since we began being obedient to what he calls us to do in the Bible.

Grocery shopping is different for us. We set a budget every 2 weeks. And I get cash out and keep it in an envelope. When that cash is gone... then we have to eat whatever is in our house (which is what we are doing this week). Adam gets paid the 1st and the 16th so we budget every 2 weeks for everything. We believe it's important to "rebudget" every two weeks because different things come up all the time...birthdays, doctor appointments, dog stuff, haircuts, etc. Sometimes our grocery budget varies but for the most part, it stays the same every two weeks. I go on one BIG grocery trip and then usually have to go get break and milk and a few other things once or twice. I do use coupons. I signed up for "Southern Savers" and "Coupons.com". I will be honest though, I am not GREAT at it. Sometimes I forget them, or sometimes the coupons just don't "fit" with what I will be buying. I know some of you won't agree with this but I do all of my grocery shopping at Walmart. The prices are by far the cheapest in my town and it's the closest to my house. It's just one stop shopping and with a one year old that is NECESSARY!

There are still some areas we could "trim." Like cable and cell phones. But for now, we are ok without having to trim them. If the time comes, we will gladly do that. We do both have a gym membership that we pay monthly for. I have considered giving mine up but I am afraid if I do that I won't ever workout at home. So for now we are hanging on to those.

What we have taken most from FPU is that if we want something or want to go somewhere, we save to do it. Which requires us to know plans WAY in advance. So that we can save how ever long it takes to be able to go on a trip or buy Addison something BIG. We believe we have established a way of budgeting that is best for our family. Are we following everything Dave Ramsey says to a T?? No. But we are putting things into place where we hope that soon, we will be able to. We were doing NO saving before Dave and we weren't even thinking about retirement, etc. Now we are. It's going to be a LONG process of getting where we want to be... but we are working on it.

I will be honest... when we decided I would stay at home... I had it pictured different. I pictured lots of lunch dates, taking ALM shopping and out and about. In reality... we stay at home, we play outside, we go on walks... that's what our budget allows right now. And I feel so blessed to be able to stay at home. I have my bad days of wanting to "go and do" but then I snap back into reality and remember all that God has done for me and my family so that I can be home with Addison and I am so thankful.

That ladies, is my budget info. If you have specific questions, leave them in a comment with your email and I will be glad to email you back and answer you as openly as I can. Or you can always email me.

Hope you are all having a great week!

Staying at home

2010-12-13T09:00:00.000-05:00

When I wrote a post on how I was struggling to find material to blog about, you kind readers gave me some suggestions and so I wanted to FINALLY get to talking about some of the things you inquired about!

Mrs H said...
I'd love to hear more about what you've learned from having ALM. What your routine is like, how having a child has changed your life, just about what you're up to in general. Also, how you have been creative with your new budget. I would be interested to read all those things.

Since having Addison I have learned so much. I have learned so much about being selfless. Bringing her into this world taught me so much about things I was lacking in life and missing out on. She just opened my eyes so much. In a nutshell, I guess she really made me grow up.

I don't think you can even begin to imagine how a child will change your life until you have one. I mean, I know I would have to give up "me time" and not have as much "us time" with my husband but until you have to actually do it... you can't get it. I won't lie, I struggle sometimes with not having enough "me time" or "us time". Sometimes I need to be alone and sometimes I want to be alone with my husband. But that's the selfish part of me. When Adam and I decided to have a baby we knew we would be giving up a lot of things, but TIME I don't think we really "got it" until she was here. I love every second I spend with Addison. She is an extension of me and I can't imagine life without her. But that's not to say we don't have our bad days. Just like you might have a bad day at work, we have them at home. There are definitely days when I think I need to go back to work, but then I remind myself that when I quit my job I quit because I knew this was God's plan for my life.

There are things I miss about working. I miss the adult interaction. I miss being appreciated (although I know Adam appreciated what I do). I miss accomplishing things. I miss being praised for good work. I liked my job. It was hard to leave. But I felt a calling to be a SAHM. And I feel so very blessed that I am able to stay at home. I know there are a lot of mothers that wish they could. I just never want people to think that being a SAHM is all glamorous and fun ALL THE TIME. It's not. There are days I miss "getting ready." Some days I never get out of my pj's.

Budget... I could do a whole post on this... actually I think I will :) Several of you asked about our budget and I am very open about things in our home so I will be glad to share tips and how we make it work for me to stay home. I promise that I will do a post on budget tomorrow.

Hope you all had a great weekend and have a great week! HUGS!

Breathtaking

2010-12-09T15:35:00.001-05:00

We just got Addison's 12 month pictures in. And can I just brag for a moment... these pictures are breathtaking to me. I know she's MY child so I think she is always beautiful but something about these pictures... they show off her sweet vibrant personality and I am telling you... I am just in love!

Enjoy and I hope these brighten up your day as much as they do mine!

This is her 1st year of portraits of my sweet baby!!

Itsy Bitty Designs

2010-12-07T12:49:00.003-05:00

So, my child rarely is seen (even at home) without a bow in her hair. I was spending a small fortune getting her bows to match all her outfits until I discovered I have a little hobby! What is that hobby... BOW MAKING :)

Turns out, I am not so bad at it. Well I made Addison about 20-25 bows and then said, why can't I sell these on Etsy...

The rest is history. I have officially opened my Etsy store, Itsy Bitty Designs. If you are wondering where the name came from, it's simple. I call Addison "Bitty" all the time and we all know "Itsy Bitsy" so I just changed it a little and TADA!

What am I selling... I am selling handmade bows and flowers (made by ME). I also have baby headbands for sell. I have 60 plus bows on there right now. They range in price from $2.50-4.50. And I will make custom bows at no extra charge. If there's a specific color combo you want let me know and I can do that for you and I will put up a private listing.

I have lots of Christmas bows listed right now so HURRY and get them for your sweet precious girls and contact me if you have any questions.

Here are a few that I have listed.

Thanksgiving 2010

2010-12-01T10:45:00.000-05:00

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! We always spend lunch with Adam's family here in the same town we live in, then we head to AL to eat dinner with my family.

Some people might think that is a lot to handle in one day but I like it because we get to see both of our families and no one has to sacrifice time.

We spent the morning tending to ALM and watching the parade. I absolutely love the parade. My mom and I used to watch it every year when I lived at home and I always wanted to carry that tradition on with my family. Addison wasn't too interested but she did like the singing and the balloons.

We ate lunch with Adam's family. I didn't overindulge because I know I had a dinner to come soon. Thanksgiving and the holidays aren't usually a problem for me when it comes to eating because I am so dang picky. I am strictly a turkey and mac and cheese girl. That's all I eat at the holidays so I usually don't over kill on the calories. I am not a huge fan of cakes/pies/desserts so I can usually keep myself within reason on caloric intake.

I did attempt to make a pecan pie... FAIL! I took it to my moms and it looked SO good but when we cut into it, it was kinda runny. Which is so weird because I followed the instructions to the T. Oh well, I shall try again at Christmas time perhaps.

You all know I love to shop. Haven't done a whole lot since quitting my job but nonetheless I love to shop. My mom and I used to go EARLY every year on black Friday and shop but the past 2 years, Auburn and Alabama decided to play on Friday at 1:30. So, that put a damper on my shopping. Auburn was victorious this year. WHOOOOO! We lost 2 years in a row so we were due. But it was an amazing game to watch. Final score of 28-27 will dang near give you a stroke. We are off to the SEC Championship this Saturday (post to come on that later).

Our Thanksgiving was pretty laid back. No family drama. No crazy shopping. Just an intense football game. That was about it. Here are a few pictures we took Thanksgiving morning.

Struggling

2010-11-19T09:15:00.000-05:00

I am struggling for content. I thought when I started blogging again I would have TONS to talk about because well I hadn't blogged in 3 months. But I am feeling STUCK.

So I am asking you to ASK ME! :) Ask me a question. Give me a blog topic you wanna hear about. I am open to any and everything.

Getting back in the swing of blogging is harder than I thought. I have the time and I actually suit down at my computer and then go blank.

I have at least a million thoughts run through my head a day that are probably good blog material but when I go to blog, I go blank.

My life is so different than it was when I was a "blogaholic."

I am a married, stay at home mom to a 1 year old, living on a budget. My life got busier yet slowed down at the same time.

So anyway... I am begging you. Help this mama with her blogging block.

Hope you all have a fabulous weekend.

Here's to me coming back next week with some good material thanks to you girls!

HUGS!

Love/ Hate with Dave Ramsey

2010-11-15T14:20:00.000-05:00

Early this fall, our church offered Dave Ramsey as part of it's Sunday night "Deeper Roots" classes. Adam and I had been introduced to Dave by Amy and Dusty. We had talked about the basics of it, but Adam and I were longing for a deeper understanding of Dave's "Financial Peace."

I didn't discuss it much on my blog (if at all) but earlier this year, Adam and I had some serious financial difficulty. It came right at the time that I was about to resign from my job to stay at home full time with Addison. I look back now and realize that was Satan attacking us FULL FORCE! And it was rough. But we prayed, sat down made some changes to out life style, began tithing what God asks of us and I can't begin to tell you the blessing we have seen since.

Once you truly rely on God to take care of you. WOW, what a deeper faith you will get!

If you aren't familiar with Dave Ramsey or his Financial Peace University... click on the links to learn more. Dave has an amazing story... in a nutshell, he came from nothing and by 26 he was making over $250,000 a year. Within 2 years, he lost everything. He then went on a "quest to find out how money really worked."

And now he offers "Financial Peace University" as a 14 week study to show you how you can be debt free and begin saving for your future.

Let me tell you... I do not have a financial mind. AT ALL. Until this study, I didn't know what an IRA, 401K or mutual fund was. Seriously. I have never taken the time to learn and I was a Public Relations major in the College of Liberal Arts. I was required to take ONE math class and that is IT! I have never wanted to know about things like that... until now. I realize the importance of it all.

We have one week left of our FPU classes and although I am glad they are over, our journey to saving and getting our financial life right is just beginning. Adam and I started last March working really hard to pay off small debts we had here and there. And I am proud to say that we now only have a small amount left on ONE credit card, my student loans and our house. Other than that... we are debt free.

Dave's goal is for you to get debt free except for your house. His basic outline in FPU is 7 baby steps. These are from the link above:

Baby Step 1
$1,000 to start an Emergency Fund
An emergency fund is for those unexpected events in life that
you can’t plan for: the loss of a job, an unexpected pregnancy, a faulty
car transmission, and the list goes on and on. It’s not a matter of if
these events will happen; it’s simply a matter of when they will happen.

Baby Step 2
Pay off all debt using the Debt Snowball
List your debts, excluding the house, in order. The smallest balance should be your number one priority. Don’t worry about interest rates unless two debts have similar payoffs. If that’s the case, then list the higher interest rate debt
first.

Baby Step 3
3 to 6 months of expenses in savings
Once you complete the first two baby steps, you will have built serious momentum. But don’t start throwing all your “extra” money into investments quite yet. It’s time to build your full emergency fund.

Baby Step 4
Invest 15% of household income into Roth IRAs and pre-tax retirement
When you reach this step, you’ll have no payments—except the house—and a fully funded emergency fund. Now it’s time to get serious about building wealth.

Baby Step 5
College funding for children
By this point, you should have already started Baby Step 4—investing 15% of your income—before saving for college. Whether you are saving for you or your child to go to college, you need to start now.

Baby Step 6
Pay off home early
Now it’s time to begin chunking all of your extra money toward the mortgage. You are getting closer to realizing the dream of a life with no house payments.

Baby Step 7
Build wealth and give!
It’s time to build wealth and give like never before. Leave an inheritance for future generations, and bless others now with your excess.

So, we are still working on Baby Step 1. If I have learned anything, it's that this is a SLOW process, but it's never too soon to start. I wish I had known this right out of college. Or heck, even when I was 17 or 18. My view of money and debt is completely different. I am so thankful for that. Because we are educating ourselves on these topics, Adam and I will be able to retire very comfortably one day. I find great PEACE in that.

Dave says throughout FPU... "Live like no one else today so that later you can LIVE LIKE NO ONE ELSE!" I have to remind myself of that statement OFTEN. It's tough when friends all around me are buying new LV bags, going on nice vacays and getting new cars. But God has provided for me GREATLY. It's an everyday struggle for me, but I am reminded everyday that I am richly blessed by God. And I am grateful for everything I have.

If you feel like you are "drowning" in debt or just want to plan for your future... check out Dave's FPU. I am confident that one day... Adam and I will be able to say "WE ARE COMPLETELY DEBT FREE!!!!"

Addison's Candyland

2010-11-09T15:26:00.000-05:00

It didn't take me long to decide on Addison's theme for her 1st birthday party. I knew I didn't want to do a "princess-y" theme and Candyland was one of my favorite games as a kid so it only seemed fitting.

Now I didn't spend $60,000 like Taylor did on RHOBH 9absolutely insane), but it was certainly a lot of fun and pretty dang cute!!!!

I started planning about 5 months out. Seems crazy but I am so glad I did. It was less stress when the party drew near and I already had most of the details all done.

I couldn't have planned or pulled the party off without help from my amazing mother, Erin and Karah! Deets to come. Thank you to you all. You kept me sane during all the crazy (but fun) planning.

One month ago today (Oct. 9th) we celebrated Addison's 1st birthday... here are the details...

Theme: Addison's Candyland

Location: Our home. We decided to have it outside because we have a big backyard that we could utilize.

Invitations: I ordered them from Little Beane Boutique on Etsy. I was beyond pleased with the quality and timing from this shop. They turned out so cute. They even came with pink envelopes and return address labels.

Favors: We had cotton candy and lots of other candy the kids could take away and the bags they candy went in had this sticker on it (or course with Addison's name). They were ordered from Little Beane Boutique too.

Outfit: I ordered her dress on Ebay (thanks to Karah's heads up). The brand is Claire and Charlie. It had smocked bubblegum machines on the top. I made her bow and we got her birthday hat on Etsy from Shop Lissy. I cannot express enough how awesome she was to work with on getting Addison's hat custom made and her prices... ummmm... AMAZING!

Food: We served hot dogs and chili with all the fixins. We had strawberry cupcakes with "1" toppers. Karah made the amazing toppers. My mom had this trash can made for the party!

Decor: The main decor was the table centerpieces, the "take away" candy buffet, homemade poms, about 180 balloons, pinwheels, Candyland games and "candy" hanging from the trees. I borrowed an idea from Kristin, we had a table with a picture from each month Addison has been with us. Karah made the numbers that we stuck in each bucket to coordinate with the pictures. We had two precious banners made by sweet Karah. One hung in the living room and one hung outside. Erin made me an amazing candy wreath that we hung on the back door.

Special tradition started: I borrowed this idea from Kristin also. We bought a tablecloth and had "Happy Birthday Addison" monogrammed on it. Each year we will have the number and the theme monogrammed around the bottom. This year is was (obviously) 1 with a lollipop. We will do it until she is 18.

Smash cake: It was supposed to be a large cupcake but it turned out not quite big enough so we had to run out last minute and grab a chocolate round cake. The only one the store had when we went. Oh well. It was fun anyway to watch her dig in and get so messy!

Presents: I wasn't going to do presents but ultimately we decided to do them.

Guestbook: We had everyone sign a Candyland board game.

There was a lot going on that day but it was so so fun. It was very special to have our friends and family there to celebrate Addison's special day with us. I was so excited to have Amy, Natalie and Jennifer there. Meant so much that they came so far.

We have a lot of great pictures from that day thanks to my friend Amy :) I will cherish these photos forever. This was my 1st baby's 1st birthday! I wasn't as emotional as I thought I would be. I took care of all that on her actual birthday (Oct. 5th). My baby is growing up. She is turning into a toddler right before my very eyes. I love her more everyday and thank God that he blessed me with this amazing child.

If you are curious about anything or have questions, I welcome them!

Wanna brigten up your Friday?

2010-11-05T10:50:00.003-04:00

If this doesn't brighten up your Friday... I don't know what will.

Today my baby turns 13 months! Crazy how time flies! My baby has grown so much since I took my break. She is no longer a baby... she is officially a toddler. And she even looks the part!

Enjoy and have a happy Friday and great weekend. I will return Monday with her birthday post... it's sure to be loaded down with pictures and lots of details!

Realization

2010-11-03T14:49:00.002-04:00

You ever just wake up... feel different... and know you need to make a change? That's what happened to me 3 months ago. I needed to focus on God, my family and myself more! So I did just that.

Exactly 3 months ago today was the last time I blogged. I honestly can't believe I went 3 WHOLE MONTHS without blogging but then again, since I had Addison, I haven't had a lot of time for blogging. To be exact... I have only blogged 42 times since my sweet baby was born 13 months ago.

When I became a SAHM in April of 09, things really went down for me on the blog. I no longer had the time I once had when I was working. I was busy being a mommy, wife, friend, daughter, etc. And I neglected my blog. So I wanted to take a break. I need a break. I didn't want to feel like I "had" to post. But honestly during the 3 months I was away from blogging I did miss it. I miss the connection I have with so many of you. I missed sharing.

So I decided a few weeks ago that I would start blogging again in November. I'm ready. I can take the time to blog several times a week. I don't promise a daily post but I am ready to start documenting our lives again.

I went back and forth on changing my blog name. When I started this blog my intention was to blog about "all things" fluffy (because I love me some animals as you know), fashionable (because I am a shopaholic) and famous (because I am obsessed with celebrity life), but now I will mostly be blogging about my sweet daughter and the happenings of our everyday life.

I want my blog to be more of a journal. A very open journal. I am an open and honest person that likes to share. So this time around that's what I will be doing, SHARING! And I look forward to interacting with all of my readers again :)

Things to come on my blog:
- Addison's 1st birthday party
- What I have been doing over the past 3 months
- Knee problems
- Budgeting and Dave Ramsey
- Shopping (or the lack there of)

And of course lots more. Thank you for sticking with me during my break and welcome to you new readers! I promise you... this will not be a boring blog :)

Blogging BREAK

2010-08-03T14:43:00.003-04:00

So it's been almost a month since I blogged. I am in a funk. Just not really WANTING to blog. I want to love it again so I am taking a much needed break. Well actually I guess I have been "breaking" for a month now. I am hoping in the next month or so the love of ALL THINGS BLOGGING will come back to me. It used to be such a passion and love of mine. Pretty much my only hobby-ha! But I don't know what happened.

Well one thing is for sure... I have less time on my hands than when I was working full time. Now that I am at home with ALM full time, she takes up LOTS of my time. I also have some other things that have been going on that take up a lot of my time (planning ALMs birthday party, cleaning, visiting family/friends, etc)!

I just ask that you not give up on me. I promise that my once witty and funny/crazy self will be back to blogging eventually. I hope you are all well... and when I do come back... boy do I have so many things to tell you about. I have a running list for when I feel the URGE to blog.

Who knows when my return will be, but I really do look forward to the day that I LOOK FORWARD to blogging!

Love to you all!

From one CRAZY busy mama!

Here is one thing that has had me insanely busy the past several weeks... I cleaned out my closet and posted it all on EBAY. Take a look if you might be interested.

4th of July 2K10

2010-07-08T08:00:00.000-04:00

So I warned you that this post would be boring... since ALM had her sickness going on, we were limited as to what we could do.

I wanted her first 4th to be fun and exciting, so we did our best to make it that way even though she was sick. By Sunday she was feeling much better, so she had some pool time in her giraffe pool and then we did sparklers and ate some watermelon! I got her out in her "parade" dress and took some pictures since we didn't get to show it off in the parade. Luckily she will be able to wear it next year too. It was big for her!

I will let the pictures speak for themselves. Our 4th was low key, but we spent it as a family and that is what's most important!

Hope you all had a FANTASTIC 4th. Thank God we live in a country that is free!

Hand, Foot & Mouth WHAT?

2010-07-07T12:16:00.000-04:00

Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease... yeah it's a real "disease." Although it's more of a virus/sickness than disease. Doesn't disease sound so SERIOUS?

Well, last Thursday, ALM woke up running a fever. I didn't worry because she wasn't fussy and seemed ok. Her fever was low grade. Well, by lunch time it was up to 102.7 and I was in full blown panic. But I always tend to think she's teething (she still only has 2 teeth). Well, she ran a fever off and on all day Thursday. We gave generic Tylenol and she seemed ok. That night she woke us up no less than four or five times, which you know is rare because she usually sleeps from 9 til 7.

Friday morning I called the Dr right when they opened. We had an appointment an hour later. She wasn't running a fever when we got there thank goodness, but you could look at my sweet baby and tell she didn't feel good. While we waited on the Dr, they drew blood. The Dr comes in and says (side note: this is a Dr we don't usually see-1st timer)... "Hi my name is BLAH. Her white count looks ok. If it were high I would think something like LEUKEMIA!"

WHATTTTTTTTTT?????????? Did you really just say that word within one minute of meeting me for the 1st time????? I about went super, psycho, BRITNEY SPEARS crazy on him. I just couldn't he used that word. I was so caught off guard that I didn't hear much he said after that.

He looked her over. She SCREAMED. A LOT. And my baby just doesn't get mad much. He believed she had Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease. She has ulcers in her throat. But nothing on her hands and feet. But she did have a little rash on her hiney which is a symptom of the disease. He sent us home with a large prescription of Ibuprofen and that's it. Nothing you can do for it except ride it out. She likely got it from the nursery at my gym.

She has to be quarantined for 7 days! She was supposed to be in a 4th of July Parade here on Saturday with some other babies but since she is highly contagious we couldn't be in it. We were sad! Friday night was the WORST night we have ever had with her. She was up about every hour. She didn't even do that as a newborn. But we made it through. Sleeping on an air mattress while Adam slept in the floor. Poor guy!

She is much better now. Back to eating almost normal again and playing and laughing like before. Apparently this is going around. Scary. But luckily it rarely ever gets serious. Just very uncomfortable for her. It broke my heart to see her in pain when she ate. I can't imagine!

I actually had it as a kid. I was older, like 7 or 8 but I remember how much my mouth hurt! She wasn't interested in a bottle for 3 days so we had to put her milk in a sippy cup. I was so scared she would get dehydrated but she didn't. She did however, get constipated. So Adam and my MIL did a baby suppository. I couldn't even be in the room. I can do/handle a lot of things but I just couldn't. I think for fear of her going bananas.

All is clear come Friday. We will be good to go to be back out in public :) I am excited and I know she is too! Probably will steer clear of babies and kids for another couple of days but all is well in our household.

Up tomorrow... a 4th post... Don't get too excited. We spent it on our back deck with a sick baby! But I do have cute pictures :)

COHEN

2010-06-29T15:34:00.003-04:00

After seeing this amazing support "day of blogging silence" on my friend Erin's blog, I wanted to spread the word about a special day coming up, for a special friend (Megan), celebrating a special little boy who went to be with Jesus. Megan’s friends and some other bloggers have gotten together to ask the blogging community to have a moment of silence for Baby Cohen.

Details below:

There will be a Moment of Silence for Cohen on Thursday July 1st from midnight to 11:59 pm.

In order to participate in this special event, just post the Cohen banner (below) or post Cohen’s name in large, bold, beautiful letters on your blog.

Why this day? July 1st Megan and Brent will be holding Cohen’s memorial service. The moment of silence is an opportunity for Megan’s blog community to stand behind her and support her on this difficult day. Linking up will give Megan a chance to see the support at a glance. Participating bloggers can Link Up on July 1st at Send Love To Cohen. Will you join us all and help spread the word?

Boobies

2010-06-28T11:00:00.000-04:00

In 1986, I was 4, and HAD to have a Power Wheels Barbie Jammin' Jeep. Got it.

1989, I was 7, and HAD to have everything Guess and Esprit (and wouldn't be caught dead in Jordache). Got 'em.

In 1992, I was 10, and HAD to have EVERY color Umbro shorts. Got 'em.

In 1995, I was 13, and HAD to have Birkenstock clogs. Got 'em.

In 2000, I was 18, and I discovered Louis Vuitton and HAD to have the Bucket. Got it.

In 2001, I was 19, and HAD to have Lucky Brand jeans. Got 'em.

In 2003, I was 21, and HAD to have a Shih Tzu. Got him.

It's 2010, I am 27, and I WANT boobs!!!! (no picture necessary, right?)

When I was 12 I swore I would have breast implants one day! SWORE! Then I got to my teens and said I never wanted a boob job. Didn't need one then. I had nice B/C boobs. Perky ones at that.

Then came a dramatic weight loss in 2008... a baby in 2009. And well... my boobs are the same size or in the same place as they once were and I want them BACK!

So this is my public announcement that I want some boobies!

I want to wait until I finish having children until I have the surgery and obviously will have to wait until we are in a better place financially but I WANT them. Actually, I HAVE to HAVE them... and you can see from my pattern above I typically get what I want (within reason). Ok ok, i know this is the most expensive by oh say THOUSANDS of dollars but pretty pleeeease (my plea ot Adam)!

Clearly not on the top of our "to buy or invest in" list but hey a girl can dream of perky boobies again, right?

I wouldn't get them to "show off" my boobs or to fit a certain "standard" I would like to just have my good ol' perky C's again. I want to look good for my husband and I want to feel good when I look in the mirror. Those are the only two reasons I would ever even consider this (just FYI).

Anyway... I just needed to declare that publicly! How do you feel about breast implants?? Pro/Con? Let me hear it!

ASOS: Lovin' it

2010-06-25T10:00:00.001-04:00

Don't you love it when you run across something new?? And instantly fall in love??

Are you familiar with the website ASOS?? Seriously, they have some of the cutest stuff! Some of which I am currently drooling over.

If you aren't familiar with them, here is a little about their company:

Established in June 2000, ASOS.com is the UK's largest independent online fashion and beauty retailer. With over 35,000 branded and own label products available and over 1500 new lines added each week, ASOS.com is rapidly becoming the market leader in the UK online fashion world.
Aimed primarily at fashion forward 16-34 year olds, ASOS.com attracts over 6.9 million unique visitors a month and has 2.9 million registered users.

I can't remember how I stumbled upon their site but I instantly fell in love with some of their stuff. I love how it's so unique and airy! I am into airy these days :)

The website is really a one stop shop for fashion and beauty! I am diggin' it!

The prices are amazing! I haven't ordered anything yet so I don't know about the quality but the stuff is just so stinkin' cute! I might be ordering a piece or two for events we have coming up. We shall see (thanks to budgeting)!

Allow me to share with you some of my faves and why don't you head on over and see if you find some of your own!

ASOS HANK Stud & Buckle Platform Sandal

$67.64

ASOS Heavy Ruffle One Shoulder Cocktail Dress

$67.64

ASOS Abstract Feather Print One Shoulder Dress

$64.25

ASOS Floral Bandeau Dress

$64.25

ASOS Fitted Waist Sundress

$37.20

ASOS Grecian Bandeau Maxi Dress

$60.87

ASOS Printed Colourblock Tunic

$54.11

ASOS Cut Out Sleeve One Shoulder Top
$42.27

ASOS Diamond Flower One Shoulder Dress
$50.73

ASOS Zip Front Camisole
$37.20

Belief and Faith

2010-06-24T12:00:00.000-04:00

As a Christian, I get asked sometimes, by unbelievers, what I believe and WHY I believe it! I think sometimes, some of them want a simple one or two sentence answer. I can't give them that. I could go ON AND ON about what I believe and why.

Usually I stumble around trying to find the "right" words and end up saying something along the lines of "I believe God created everything. I believe He sent His son, Jesus Christ, to die for my sins so that I may have eternal life with Him. I believe all this because it comes from God's Word, The Bible. I believe the Bible because I have FAITH! Faith that my God is coming for me one day because I chose to accept His son as my savior."

But see, just saying those words isn't enough for me. I want to go on and on about what all God has done for me, people around me... seriously could go ON AND ON!

My mom sent me something in the mail this week that I knew immediately I wanted to share with you! It really simplified it for me and I plan to make copies and keep them in my purse. And if I am asked I plan to just hand them one. It breaks down EXACTLY what I believe. Of course there's much more to my faith but this really is the core of my heart and my faith and what I believe to be true.

It is called the Nicene Creed. I encourage you to click on the link if you want more information about where it came from, etc. Now, I attend a Baptist Church but I am a first and foremost a Christian. Believer of Jesus Christ. This creed makes my heart beat faster. Makes my eyes tear up. Makes me draw closer to God. It is powerful and it is true!

The Nicene Creed

We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty,

maker of heaven and earth, of all that is seen and unseen.

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, light from light, true God from true God, begotten, not made,

one in Being with the Father. Through Him all things were made.

For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven,

By the power of the Holy Spirit he was born of the Virgin Mary and was made man.

For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; He suffered, died and was buried.

On the third day he rose again in fulfillment of the Scriptures;

He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.

He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,

and his kingdom will have no end.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father

(and the Son) Who with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified.

Who has spoken through the prophets.

We believe in one holy universal and apostolic Church.

We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.

We look for the resurrection of the dead,

and the life of the world to come. Amen.

Weekend happenings

2010-06-23T13:00:00.000-04:00

This past Saturday we hung out all day with our new friends, Amy & Dusty. We joked that we set our husbands up on a "blind date" haha! They had already met previously at a double date dinner. At that double date we discovered they knew each other in college (they both went to AU and what are the chances that among 24,000 students they would know each other?), hung out in the same group of friends, just two different groups but together-you know what I mean. They went to the same gym and knew a bunch of the same people! It was crazy! I remember sitting there in awe at what a small world it is and how God brings people in and out of your life for a reason.

Any who, Adam and Dusty have a lot in common. They both are outdoorsy guys guys! You know what I mean? Well, Adam had been wanting to take his bike on some trails and well HELLO, Dusty likes to bike so Amy and I set them up on a double date :) haha (I'm sure they both appreciate that).

We met them in their town and went to a swimming pool where we relaxed, laughed and played with ALM. Them a storm started rolling in and so we headed back to their house. The boys suited up (Adam in Amy's helmet) and went on their biking excursion. Why don't I have pictures of that?? I don't know. I blame being a busy mom! :)

Amy went out to grab groceries because we were cooking out and I stayed back and tried getting ALM to sleep. FAIL. Amy gets back and we are cooking, talking and enjoying each other and ALMs company (and of course Tucker and Sam-their beautiful labs).

Amy decided that at her house I am required to partake in her "one bite rule." Well if you know how PICKY I am I was NOT DOWN! However, I caved and she got me to try a sweet potato fry! Um, I REALLY liked it! Like, REALLY! Shocker I know. She them tried to persuade me to try asparagus. UM, no. It was a ONE bite rule. One new thing at a time! :) But I am glad I tried it because it was yum to my tum.

Then we sat around and chatted. It was sooooo good to be around friends that are in the same walk of life as us! Refreshing! And MUCH needed.

I wish I had a picture or video to show you of Tucker and his mischievous smile... but we failed at that too. I promise next time we hang with them, it's HAPPENING! What I am talking about is... if you leave a piece of food out, Tucker will snatch it, but he knows he did something wrong and when you get on to him, he smiles... SERIOUSLY, smiles! Big as life. It's the cutest thing I have ever seen and I plan to get it on video so Dusty and Amy can make a million dollars on America's Funniest Home Videos or America's Funniest Pets. Something! It. Is. Happening.

Here are some pics of ALM during our pool time. She loved it. Stayed in it over an hour, splashing, laughing and having the BEST time! Can't wait to do it again!

Miscellaneous Monday

2010-06-14T13:41:00.002-04:00

(because I am fresh out of blog material)

1. We relandscaped our front yard. FINALLY. It looks SO much better. And we did it on a really TIGHT/small budget. Post coming about that soon.

2. Addison is in the beginning stages of separation anxiety. She cried for the 1st time when we dropped her off in the church nursery yesterday. It was SO awful sad!

3. I am struggling with the gym. I have a love/hate relationship with the gym and right now I hate it! But once I get there I love it. It's the getting there part I hate so much. But nonetheless... I GO!

4. I have the shoppers itch lately! Not for anything BIG and WILD, just want to shop! Not sure what's going on with that.

5. July is going to be a DOOZY of a month financially for us! Will be very interesting. However, after August 1st, the only debt we will have will be my student loans and our house! WHOOP WHOOP!

6. I am so thankful for everything my mom does for me! SO. VERY. THANKFUL. Sometimes I don't tell her enough how much I appreciate her. I need to be better. I just always assume she knows! The big things and the small things... they mean so much!

7. I am also BEYOND blessed and thankful for my husband. He works very hard and sacrifices so I can stay at home to be with Addison. I will never be able to repay him or tell him how much that means to me. I married one amazing man!

8. I have more contentment that I have had in a very long time. Thank you God for that!

9. Our air conditioner has been running non stop for several days! IT'S SO DANG HOT IN GA! I mean can't breath it's so hot. I do not enjoy it!

10. My best friend of more than 20 years had a baby on 6/9/10. Rylee Layne is one gorgeous angel and I am so happy to be her AUNT LYNDS!

I hope you all had a fabulous weekend and have a GREAT week!

Memorial Day Trip to VA

2010-06-09T15:24:00.000-04:00

Off to VA we went... a 12 hour drive. Would have been 10 but with a baby, no way NOT to add at least 2 hours.

Thank goodness my precious friend Erin, let us stay with her Wednesday night to break up the trip a little! I have gotten to visit with Erin and her sweet Hudson 3 times now and it's NEVER long enough! She and TC were kind enough to let us crash their house for less than 12 hours. They even fed us some AMAZING Bojangles biscuits!! If you haven't had them. You. Are. Missing. Out.

We headed out for a long haul at about 9:30 am. We were going to visit some good friends in Virginia. Lake Anna to be exact. Can I just stop and just say how beautiful it is there. So peaceful and serene. I couldn't wait for a long weekend of peacefulness with good friends.

Any of you remember, Newlywed Stilettos? She retired her blog, but we have been great friends for almost 2 years now. Regular emails, texts and phone convos have turned this sweet girl into one of my best friends. We were pregnant together and without her (and two other special ladies) I wouldn't have made it through that pregnancy as well. Our children (J and ALM) are even boyfriend/girlfriend! ha

The drive was GREAT. ALM did great, with almost NO fussing. We did have a big blowout on the way (and three coming home)! WOW-that was interesting. Thankfully we have a wonderful little traveling baby!

We arrived at around 6 pm and with BIG HUGS got the weekend started. She had margaritas and Mexican food waiting on us. She knows me too well :)

We spent that evening lounging and chatting. Then we spent the next three days, riding in the boat, enjoying the sun, taking pics of our sweet babes, eating (lots), playing with the kiddos and talking like we wouldn't talk again for years. I think we talked each others ears off... but that's what I had been looking forward to. This vacation EXCEEDED my expectations. It was absolutely wonderful for them to open their family lake house to us, feed us and gift us with their friendship!

We miss them all already. We miss the mean game of Uno, "that's what she/he said moments, confusion over what I was saying (GA talk vs Maryland talk... it's different)... we miss it all! But we know we will see them again SOON! And I can't wait. Until then, these pics will have to do :)

ENJOY!

This picture just cracks me up

Matching outfits-COULD JUST DIE FROM THE CUTENESS

Family photos

Will be used one day at their wedding-haha

ALM rockin' her bikini

Sleeping babies

Cutest piggies

holding hands (this was not staged)

addison kissing Jack's arms :)

LOVES her new sippy cup with a straw

Mommy love

Ready for the lake

Matching plaid babies

Addison's Dedication

2010-06-08T16:12:00.000-04:00

On May 23rd, Addison Leigh was dedicated to our Lord Jesus Christ. I am sorry I am just now getting around to posting about this amazing event in our lives. Our church does the baby dedications in a very unique way. They are held AFTER the service is over and are only for your family & friends. That, to me, makes it very personal and intimate. There was only one other baby dedicated that day. Another sweet little girl, that was several months older than Addison.

So, that morning we had breakfast, got ready, headed off to church and met our family. Celebrating this special day with us were: my mom and dad, Adam's mom and dad, his sister, her husband and their three boys, and Adam's grandparents. Also, our dear friends Leslie and Brandon (who are expecting a sweet little boy) surprised us and we were thrilled.

Sadly, that morning in the service our pastor retired. But we know God is going to go to work in our church and appoint the right man to lead our church in our mission of spreading His word to as many as we can.

Then came the dedication. They did a slide show for each baby. During the slide show the Minister of our Children's Department read a prayer that we provided for Addison from Adam and me. Here is the prayer that we pray for Addison. One we will ALWAYS pray:

Lord,
We come to you today and give Addison to You. We both agree that You alone know what is best for her. You alone know what she needs. We release her to You to care for and protect and we commit ourselves to pray for everything concerning her that we can think of or that You lay upon our hearts. Teach us know to pray and guide us in what to pray about. Help us not to impose our will when we pray for her, but enable us to pray that Your will be done in her life.
We thank you Lord that we can partner with You in raising Addison and we don’t have to do it alone. We are beyond grateful that we don’t have to rely on the worlds unreliable and ever changing methods for raising a child, but that we can have clear directions from Your Word and wisdom as we pray to You for answers.
We pray Lord that she always know Your will, have spiritual understanding and walk in a manner that is pleasing in Your sight. Help her to understand that true happiness and joy are found only in You. We pray that she will look to you for everything and not depend on her own understanding to make choices.
Thank you Lord for Addison, she is a precious gift. Your word says that every good gift comes from You and we know that you have given us Addison to care for and raise. Help us to do that. Show us places where we continue to hang on to her and enable us to release her to Your protection, guidance and counsel. Help us not to live in fear of possible dangers to her but in the joy and peace of knowing that You are in control. We rely on You for everything and this day we trust Addison to You and release her into Your hands. We promise to always raise her up in your eyes and to teach her to be more like you everyday. We promise to do this by living our lives to honor you.
Lord, we pray You will help her grow into a deep understanding of You and who You are. We ask that she fully believe in Jesus and all He did to give her eternal life. Help her to comprehend the fullness of Your forgiveness. We pray that you would pour out Your Spirit upon Addison this day and in your perfect timing, make known to her what Your calling is for her life. May she only follow you God and be a leader of people into Your kingdom. May she commit to you Lord and grow daily in the Holy Spirit. Amen.

We were also asked to provide a Bible verse. We chose Jeremiah 29:11, "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

Adam and I read a dedication promise. I barely made it through it. Actually, I didn't make it through it. I couldn't stop crying. I am an emotional mess at these kinds of things. (I can't imagine what I will be like at her wedding, etc) It was a wonderful day. One that we will always remember. And I am so thankful that I have faith in my God to help me raise her. I couldn't do it without Him.

Here are some pictures from that day:

Addison and I after the dedication

Mommy, Daddy and Addison

During her dedication, with our precious Preacher Max

Her cupcake cake

She snuck a bite or two :) haha

Boogie Wipes GIVEAWAY WINNER

2010-05-22T14:23:00.004-04:00

Thanks to the random number generator, we have a winner!

Congratulations to... Andrea!!!

AndreaLeigh said...
I'm constantly after my son with the nasal aspirator, so I think he would appreciate this. I'd like to try the menthol scent.

Girl I hope you enjoy them as much as we do. Congratulations!

And thanks to Boogie Wipes for helping host this giveaway. Now everyone run out and get your sweet babes some Boogie Wipes...

VLOG is the new BLOG

2010-05-21T10:12:00.002-04:00

Run, do not walk, over to

Amy at Chapters

blog to see our

"Curl Down Vlog."

It promises to be entertaining if nothing else!
My only regret in the video is NOT getting up and doing the 2-step or Soulja Boy!
DANG!

And don't forget today is the last day (you have til 5 pm)
to get in on my Boogie Wipes
GIVEAWAY!

Why do we connect: PART 2

2010-05-20T11:40:00.000-04:00

I wasn't planning on doing a "Part 2" to this post but I got some GREAT responses as to why you all think we connect so well over Blogger and Twitter. So I had to share some of your comments. Thank you all for your input, it was great to read that I am not alone here and you feel the same way! HUGS! You can go back to this post to read all the wonderful comments... here are some that really hit home for me!

The Shabby Princess said...

I think that it can be easier to find a group of people online who share
similar interests, circumstances, etc as you than it might be to find that "in
real life". One of my dearest friends is, like me, a redhead runner and she
lives in Florida. We "met" via our blogs. Sadly, I live in a huge city, and have
yet to find a friend who shares that common bond as much as she and I do. I know that blogging has introduced me to some amazing people and I'm so grateful for
it!

I couldn't agree more. We all find people that we connect with due to similarities we share. I first bonding with two wonderful women over weight loss, then I bonded with some amazing ladies that were pregnant at the same time as me. Then I began bonding with people over exercise, motherhood, SAHMisms, love for our Lord, Jesus Christ, shopping, you name it!

Lauren Kelly said...

I have seriously met some of the greatest people through blogging and what
blows my mind is that without this outlet our paths never would have crossed.
Crazy! You just can’t get it unless you are a part of it!!

Well said. If you aren't "in it" you don't get it!

Susannah said...

Great topic! Let me tell you my thoughts: we are all OURSELVES online and on
twitter-cause we are hidden behind our computers/phones. It makes it easier to
forge relationships. And, since you are likely to never meet these people and
they won't judge you, you can be real! I swear, I have met one of my BEST
friends through blogging-we met once and have a date to meet again this summer.
SHe and I talk about everything, and she has become closer to me than my real
life friends. And if people don't blog, they definitely DON'T get it! I love my
bloggy friends!

My thoughts exactly Susannah.

Karah said...

Love your post today. I also met one of my very best friends through blogging. I think you know her too. "Mrs. Stilettos" hehe. We actually bonded
over baby clothes before she was ever pregnant. We are seriously twins. It is interesting how you bond with people over the Internet but I truly call you and
others my dear friends. I definitely don't try to explain it to my friends at home because they don't understand. I also find it interesting how random people want to follow me on twitter, then we end up being friends. For instance one girl started following me and come to find out we went to the same college. Blogging makes the world so much smaller. Love you girlfriend. xoxo :)

True dat! It's amazing. The bonding and the relationships you build. Truly a blessing.

Melissa said...

You are saying what everyone else feels I think. I know that I have a great
group of girlfriends here in Texas that have been friends for years, but we are
on such different journeys in life at this time. So the blogging community helps
me stay in touch with ladies who are interested in the same things as me and who
are experiencing the same things I am now in my life. I love reading your
blog!!!

AMEN AMEN AMEN!

Blue-Eyed Bride said...

I think it's because we can really choose who we want to be friends
with and there is SO much disclosure in Twitter and Blogland. We know so much
about each other from our posts and then the communication via Twitter, email,
gchat, whatever, also breaks down more walls.I can honestly say that my blog
friends and Twitter friends are my best friends! And you're in that small group,
my dear! Love you so!

I agree Erin! You ladies are my best friends.

Sara said...

I agree with Susannah and Erin - it's because we are more our 'true' selves
online. I too moved to a city where I knew no one and I worked from home on top
of that. VERY hard to make friends. And who has time to have all those shallow
first time 'getting to know you' conversations over and over again, only to find
out you really have nothing in common and have to start over again online?
That's the beauty of blogs and Twitter. You can read & follow someone
quietly for awhile and 'get to know them' through their writing. THEN you speak
up and start to actually be friends. My online friends know more about my
struggle with infertility than most of my IRL friends do. My husband calls my
online friends 'imaginary' friends too!

I am with you on the "weird getting to know you convos."

**REMINDER about my BOOGIE WIPES giveaway... make sure you enter before Friday at 5:00 pm.**

Giveaway: BOOGIE WIPES

2010-05-19T08:00:00.000-04:00

Ok all you moms out there, you know about the runny noses, crusty boogies and dried/cracked/rad noses right??? Well, I have a solution for you.

Have you heard of them??? If not, allow me to introduce you to them.

BOOGIE WIPES

When I tell you we couldn't have survived the past 7 months without them. I MEAN IT! Remember this post, I have already bragged on them once! Addison hasn't been sick a lot but she has just had some allergy issues, etc. And these wipes are so gentle on her little sensitive nose. She has had NO cracking, peeling or dried areas around her nose and I am convinced that it's because of the Boogie Wipes. They aren't too wet or too dry they are PERFECT!

So what exactly is a "Boogie Wipe??"

Boogie Wipes are made with saline to dissolve boogies (mucus) caused by the common cold, allergies or otherwise booger-filled kid moments. Extra soft, alcohol, phthalate and paraben free, Boogie Wipes are available in Great Grape, Fresh Scent, Magic Menthol and Simply Unscented. Recommended by pediatricians as a gentle, effective alternative to a dry tissue.

We have tried (and loved) the "Fresh" and "Great Grape." I haven't seen the "Magic Mynthol" or we would have tried those too. My personal favorite it the Great Grape. Addison's face smells edible after we clean her boogies with one of those.

I have been buying these for baby shower gifts since I started using them. I can't get enough of them and once you try them you don't want to use anything else to get rid of the good ol' boogies that grace our children's nose.

Click here to see how Boogie Wipes got started. It's a cool story of how two mom's got tired of using rough tissue to wipe their kid's nose, and TADA, Boogie Wipes got started.

You can join the "Boogie Bunch" and get a $1 coupon for Boogie Wipes. You can also follow them on Twitter and Facebook. You never know what great information they will give you from those two sites. SIGN UP, FOLLOW... it's worth it!

The gracious people at Boogie Wipes have offered to partner with me for a giveaway. YAY! They have agreed to give ONE of you:

2 packs of Boogie Wipes in the scent of your choice!!

To enter, simply leave me a comment and tell me what fragrance you think you would like the best. On Friday at 5 pm, I will pick a winner by using the random number generator. I will post the winner that afternoon.

Why do we connect?

2010-05-18T11:00:00.000-04:00

Do you ever wonder why you connect so well with other bloggers or Twitter friends? Sometimes I sit back and wonder why I do?

I think people that don't understand blogging or Twitter think I might be weird or a freak for meeting up with people I have met online. But what they don't understand is that I have REAL relationships with these people I call friends. They are, no question, REAL friends.

Adam jokes with me sometimes that I have "imaginary friends." But the truth is... the girls that I talk with regularly through email, text, Twitter, Blogger, etc. are REAL friends. I don't try to explain it to my IRL friends because they don't blog.

Erin, Amy and I were discussing this during out meet up and one thing we have in common is we are all displaced. None of us are from the towns we currently live in. I moved to GA after graduating from Auburn in 2005. I knew NO ONE. Not one single person. That made it difficult to make friends. I am a VERY outgoing, talkative person but moving to a small town where everyone already knew each other and had their groups of friends, made it tough for me.

Don't get me wrong, I have several good girlfriends here who I love dearly. But each of them are from here and already have large groups of friends. I guess I just really feel like I have never "fit" in here anywhere. My roommate, before I got married, wasn't from here and she and I clung to each other. Then she moved to Nashville for 2 years and I got married. But she's back now, living only 30 minutes away.

Adam and I had a large group of friends here before we got married, most of them single. Then we got married and some fell off the radar. Then we had a baby and almost all of them did. I understand WHY it happened and am actually ok with it, but it doesn't make it any easier.

I have some best friends that live at "home" and I miss them so! I don't want you to think I am saying I don't have any friends... I do... Great ones. My point is that I have developed WONDERFUL friendships through blogging and Twitter and they are now some of my best friends.

I guess my question to you is... why do you think you bond so well with other bloggers/Twitter friends? Is it because you are like me? Or is it just easy to find people that share common interests with you online? I am just interested to hear why each of you bond with your friends you met through blogging, etc.

Sorry this post is all over the place...

Playdate for Me & Addison

2010-05-17T12:00:00.000-04:00

This past Thursday, we had 2 guests come to stay the night with us! We were beyond excited and couldn't wait to HUG both of them. Who was it????

It was Erin and Hudson.

They arrived at about 5:30 pm and the playing began! We let the little ones play and Erin and I chatted like we were long lost friends! Quickly, our sweet chunks dinner & bed times arrived and we fed them and laid them down! I will have to brag on our babies for a second. We fed them and then we put them to bed, never to hear a PEEP until about 7:30 the next morning! We are two blessed mommies, with GREAT eaters and sleepers!

After the little ones were in bed, Amy, came over and we had HOURS of girl talk and ate some seriously yummy pizza (I out ate them both-ha)! It turns out I have more in common with these two girls that I thought! It was amazing to sit and really feel connected with two girls that are in the same walk of life that I'm in. No question I share a special bond with both of them and only wished we all lived in the same town and could see each other more often. Fortunately, Amy only lives 45 minutes away and we have already planned our next two "dates."

After we chatted each others ears off, we finally turned in around 12:30. Poor Amy had to drive home (next time Amy, you slumber) :) The next morning, me, Erin and the babies headed to Fit Lab, Inc. This is Amy's business. Erin was going to be "testing." And I was the babysitter :) If you live in the Atlanta area and want to lose weight... GO SEE AMY! I mean it. You WILL get the weight off. Check out her website to learn more about HOW!

Erin did part 1 of the testing then we hopped on a golf cart to go grab lunch (Amy lives in a golf cart community/city). I failed to get a picture of us all on the "golf cart limo" (as I liked to call it). We decided to eat at this Mexican restaurant. We walked in... it smelled funny... and here is the conversation that took place (get ready to pee your pants):

Me to Erin: "It smells like baby poo in here!"

Erin: "Or big people poo."

We get to the table... and...

Amy: "It smells in here."

Me: "Yeah, like baby poo or as Erin said 'big people poo'"

We are all laughing hysterically at this point... then...

Amy (to the waiter): "Um, we are going to leave, it smells like BATHROOM in here!"

We all walked out in hysterics! I mean I was seriously about to pee my pants... Addison did! :) Ok, maybe you had to be there...but just typing that, I was dying laughing! We finally settled on this Greek place... there we had even more AMAZING conversation! I told them both, my friendship love tank was full after Thursday and Friday! So much laughter and bonding with girlfriends! It was amazing! These girls are so uplifting and precious to me. And I can't wait til we can all get together again! Love you both!

Ok, now let me share some pics of Addison and Hudson's play date! :)

Sweet babies

"HEY!"

"Look Addison... GIRAFFE!"

I think H was teaching ALM to read!

Hudson was a handful. He is a fast little crawler :)

Erin & Amy getting ready for the testing part 2!

I host... now I boast

2010-05-07T13:30:00.000-04:00

This past Sunday I hosted a baby shower for one of my lifelong friends. She is due with a little girl, Rylee, in June. I absolutely CAN NOT WAIT for this sweet baby to arrive. I would say this shower was a SUCCESS :) She got sooo many cute things. I don't think I have ever seen so many monogrammed things! Rylee will definitely know her name :)

I wanted to share some pictures with you of the decor and such, but I also wanted to share my first attempt at making "Monogrammed Onesie" cookies.

I have seen these things EVERYWHERE. They didn't look hard to make so I thought I would give it a try. I ordered the cookie cutter online from The Cookie Cutter Shop. Then I searched for the perfect recipe/design.

I have to say that without this post I would have never made it through. I took her advice on the cookie dough recipe. You can find it here. NOTE: You can't use the premade dough. It spreads and the cookies will turn out to look kind of like a... ummm...penis! (I'm just sayin')

So making the dough wasn't hard. It actually mixed pretty well and was easy to roll out... the key was DEFINITELY rolling the dough between two pieces of wax paper and then refrigerating it. When I make the cookies again I will make the cookies a little thicker. I followed the recipe to the T and took advantage of her "hint."

I made the cookies one day before the shower. I would suggest this due to time. It took me probably about 3+ hours to mix, roll, cut, bake, cool, etc.

Next came the most frustrating part. The Royal Icing. I have never used it before, heck, I didn't even know what it was! Well it's EASY breezy to make. However, finding meringue powder about drove me NUTSO! I looked at 4 different grocery stores before finally googling and seeing that Hobby Lobby carries it! WHEW. What is meringue powder you ask??? It's an egg substitute. If you were making royal icing for say a gingerbread house, and you weren't planning to eat it, you could use egg whites. But because of the risk of salmonella you have to use meringue powder for the cookies. The recipe is simple...

Royal Icing:

4 cups powdered sugar

2 tablespoons meringue powder

6 tablespoons of water (I had to use more)

Note: the recipe doesn't call for flavoring, but I added some almond flavor. If you don't, it will have no taste.

Mix on low for about 7-10 minutes. The icing shouldn't be runny, but it shouldn't be thick either. Should be easy to spread on a cookie with the back of a spoon. This recipe let me ice 50 cookies AND add the monograms.

I let the icing dry for about 2 hours before I monogrammed them. I added two drops of pink dye (regular food coloring) to color the icing. Make sure to mix well. Now, I found that a lot of recipes were telling me I needed: couplers, squeeze bottles, decorating tips, pastry bags. First of all, what the crap is all that. Second, I have NONE of that. So I made do with a good ol' ziplock bag. I used the quart one. I scooped the icing into the bag, sealed it and cut a TINY hole in the corner on the bottom and squeezed all of the icing to that corner and TADA.

I had to let them dry over night. I just covered them with paper towels and the next morning... they were ready to be boxed up, taken to the shower and gobbled up! I have to say, I was pleased for my first time. And they actually tasted pretty good. But I was going for looks not taste. haha!

Here is one of my finished cookies...

Her PRECIOUS cake! Isn't it doll??

The welcome table.

The dessert table.

The beautiful mommy to be!

SAHM in da' HOUSE

2010-04-30T08:30:00.000-04:00

So, since I became a stay-at-home-mom I kinda fell off the blogging bandwagon. I was overwhelmed with my transition and had A LOT going on and well... that's my excuse. Sometimes we need a break you know. I needed a blogging break. I didn't read many blogs, nor did I post. I needed to step away from the computer for a little while and focus on my family! I am learning how to balance everything at home and still do the things I love... one of them being blogging.

With that being said, let me share with you how being at home has been! To sum it up in one word... WONDERFUL! Absolutely wonderful! I feel so blessed to be able to be a SAHM. Beyond blessed. Undeserving even.

I got Addison on a great schedule that let's me sleep until 7 or 8. It's great! She has been on a schedule since she was about 4 weeks. Thankfully my child doesn't HAVE to be on a strict schedule so we always have some flexibility. I am not going to get too into her schedule etc. (saving that for another post).

So, what does being a SAHM mean to me? It means, I am a better mom. It means I am a better wife. It means I am a better daughter. It means I am a better friend. Overall... it means I am a BETTER ME!

Why? When I was working from 8-5 and going to the gym for an hour 3-4 days a week, I was STRESSED! Cooking dinner stressed me out. Grocery shopping stressed me out. Keeping a clean house stressed me out. Talking on the phone stressed me out. Why all the stress. Well at the end of the day... I only had about 3 hours with Addison before she went to bed. And 4 with my husband. It wore on me. BIG TIME! I wasn't being a good "anything." I was selfish with that time and didn't have the energy or time to keep up the important relationships in my life.

I am not perfect now by any means. I am still a busy lady. I have yet to be asked "So what do you do all day??" But when I am... I have a list of things to tell who ever so dares ask me that. Thankfully, I take care of things that I used to take care of on the weekends so I can enjoy my weekends with my family. No stress, no "have to's." It's amazing.

Being home with Addison means that I will never miss any of her "firsts." I am so thankful for that. It means having SO much time to love on those sweet cheeks. It means going on play dates with other sweet babies.

I am working on a few things to be able to have some income. We shall call this income... "play money." It's what Adam and I will use to "play" some. Go on a small beach vacay perhaps... shop a tiny bit... who knows! I will let you in on those secrets when they are more firm :)

I realize being a SAHM isn't for everyone. Some people don't want to and I think that's completely a personal choice. Whatever is best for YOU and YOUR family! Some people can't do it because of finances. That makes me SAD! I had a friend say to me once "I am a better mother when I come home after being with uplifting adults all day!" And I totally get that! But this is what is best for ME and MY family! I wouldn't trade it for anything and I wouldn't change a thing! This is the hand of God playing out His plan for me and my family and I feel that 100%. And I am so beyond thankful to Him for all He has provided for me to be able to be a SAHM!

My beautiful family out for my dad's birthday dinner! How can I NOT stay home with this beautiful angel I call my daughter??

ALM with her Grammy

ALM with her Paw

BM ATL: Lovely Ladies

2010-04-28T16:18:00.000-04:00

Since I shared what God laid on my heart in the last post, I think it's only fitting to show you some pics and tell you about the lovely Christian ladies I met & spent Saturday with!

I have been looking forward to meeting some of these girls for a LONG time. I love their blogs, follow them on Twitter, email, Skype and even have phone chats with some of them! So it was almost like seeing a long lost friend, except I hadn't ever SEEN them before.

The day started off with me getting up at 5 am to make it to our 7:30 breakfast at Cracker Barrel in ATL! I rode with Amy and Lianna to Atlanta and you would have never guessed we hadn't met before. We were like 3 best friends catching up. And it turns out, we all have a lot in common and we might have laughed a time or two (or a thousand)!

Amy and I had lunch recently (I didn't blog about that bc I was still on my hiatus-whoops) and we will have many lunches, dinners, double dates, shopping trips, etc in our future. So thankful God placed her in my path! I had been praying for an "Amy" and there she was. She is absolutely stunningly beautiful and you know what... she has no idea!! She is beautiful inside and out. This woman has a heart for the Lord and after everything she has been through in her past, she looks positively ahead to her future and what God has planned for her... her personality and positive outlook is infectious.

Here's Amy, Lianna and me at breakfast.

Along with these 2 lovely ladies, Saturday morning, we went to breakfast at Cracker Barrel where we met some new friends... fellow bloggers and Twitter friends, Erin, Mrs. NCF , Trina, Megan, Rachel, Natalie, Kim, Jennifer, Rachel, and Kelly. It was WONDERFUL to meet them all and finally put personalities and voices with their faces :)

Here we all are at Cracker Barrel!

Here I am with Erin. I mean, GORGEOUS, YES! She is absolutely a sweetie pie. We have been friends since 2008. We met when we both had some "after marriage weight" issues :) So we started Weight Watchers Wednesday with Mojito Maven! Then we were pregnant together. I leaned on her a lot for advice because Hudson and Addison are exactly 5 months apart so she had been through everything I was going through. She was a HUGE source of strength for me for lots of reasons. And yes ladies, she is as sweet as she appears on her blog.

This is me with the beautiful Natalie.We are recent Twitter friends, but OH, I can tell you I will be making some trips to Atlanta to see this woman! She is a hoot and we are pretty much two peas in a pod I'm afraid! (that could be bad).

And here I am with Natalie and Jennifer. And NO they are not twins! hahaha. Of course they are... and the three of us could prove to be a real problem if we get together. I kid. They are pretty & sweet ladies. They even got ALM a present! Thoughtful ladies.

I was thrilled to get to meet Kelly. She has so much grace and she is such a sweet, beautiful soul.

Here I am with Mrs. NCF. Ladies, I always knew she and I would love each other when we met but we were like 5 year old kids. We linked arms and practically skipped to the bathroom together! She is just so genuinely sweet and such a beautiful lady! A true lady!

During the conference I also met some other sweet ladies... Jenna and Lauren. I sat by Jenna and had some good chat time with Lauren! Glad to call them both new friends :)

Here's Beth during lunch in the overflow room... she was doing a Q & A. During

Here's two group shots. One after the conference was over and the other was at the West Egg Cafe where we ate dinner with Pink Sass. She and I sat together and we were cracking up A LOT! Ignore my greasy/gross look :) It was a rainy day! And well... this girl's hairs frizz!!!!!!!!

Now before I go... it was THIS moment, oh no wait... it was when she called Coke, "Pop," that I realized Megan was NOT a Southerner. To understand the intensity of this... you had to be there! But we had earlier discussed what was considered "south." When we were ordering and she asked "What's a grit?" and she used the word "Pop" I realized NOT HER STATE :) ha! She is such a fun, sweet, beautiful girl!! A real JOY to be around! So refreshing.

Pink Sass, Amy and I enjoying some desserts!! Mmmmmm

It was wonderful to meet them all! Each and every one of them are amazing women and I blessed that blogging brought us all together. It was one AMAZING weekend. One that I really needed! Love you all! XOXO

So Long Insecurity... PEACE OUT! Beth Moore ATL

2010-04-26T11:09:00.003-04:00

Hi strangers. Expect another post about my sabbatical from blogging. I have a GREAT excuse. :)

But on to what I am making my BIG COMEBACK with! You have probably seen on other blogs and on twitter that a lot of bloggers were headed to see Beth Moore in Atlanta. "So Long Insecurity" is what the conference was about. And if anyone says they aren't insecure; they are telling a big one.

If you are an insecure woman and I would go with 99% of us are (about something) then please read this post. Some of this came straight from Beth Moore's mouth and some comes straight from God Himself (scripture). The rest is my opinions on this subject.

I am going to break this ATL trip into two parts but first I think it's important for me to share what God has laid on my heart. Tomorrow I will share pics from some wonderful Christian women (all bloggers) that I met. We got to worship together, learn together and just have some good ol' fun!

We all feel insecure about something, right? Or if you are like me, it's lots of somethings. My insecure thoughts consist of things like:

- I am not skinny enough.
- I am not pretty enough.
- I don't have the nicest clothes.
- My skin isn't clear.
- I am getting wrinkles.
- I look different after having a baby.
- Will I ever look "normal" again?

Most of my insecurities lie in my appearance. SAD, but true.

But after this conference, I realized I had insecurities in other areas of my life. I wasn't ever really aware they were insecurities.

I first want to share with you what I took away from this conference. It was amazing to see how God used this wonderful woman (Beth) to get some serious points across that I know hit home to all 300,000 women nationwide that were either there or watching the simulcast.

We, as women, have NOTHING to gain from our insecurities. NADA! Our insecurities are not our weaknesses, they are UNBELIEF! When she said that, I felt a knot in my stomach. "Holy cow, she was right! I don't believe I am skinny enough/pretty enough, etc!" But why? His name is SATAN! And he works through the media A LOT!

Jeremiah 9:20 "Now, O women, hear the word of the LORD; open your ears to the words of his mouth. Teach your daughters how to wail; teach one another a lament."

I haven't been listening to God. I have been letting other people (tv, magazines, etc) how I should feel about myself. After all, I am God's child. I am all His. He made me the way HE wanted me made. Who am I to detest that?

If we as women were more SECURE, we would think less often of ourselves. Makes sense right? If I thought I was skinny enough, I wouldn't feel the need to spend 2 hours in the gym, just maybe 30 minutes and donate that other hour and a half to serving others for GOD'S GLORY! That is what all this is about anyway!

I won't put the entire chapter of 2 Timothy 3 in this post, but please read it.

I was sharing with my husband, Adam, what all I learned and took away and the biggest thing I took away was a statement Beth made about midway through the conference. She said, "How much more likely would we be able to forgive if we were secure?" HELLO! AMEN! That's it! If I was a secure woman, I would be able to forgive MUCH easier. And I said right then and there to myself and God. "I want to be better at forgiveness!" To do that, I need to gain some security in areas of my life. I can only do that through God and His amazing love and grace!

I realized that not only am I insecure about my physical appearance, I am insecure in my faith. Often times I don't feel worthy of God's love, grace or forgiveness. But I was reminded this weekend that He gives that freely, I just have to take it and know that it is mine. I am to be an imitator of God and I have to feel secure in my walk to do that.

Two other BIG statements Beth said: "To be secure we have to know that someone unfailingly loves us." That person is GOD! "You can't run Him off or out sin His forgiveness!"

WOAH! That's a big one to process!

Romans 8:28 "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."

Girls, I could go on and on about what I learned and what God laid on my heart, but I wanted to share the high points that I took away. God speaks to each of us differently. But after hearing everything Beth had to say, God spoke to me LOUD AND CLEAR! I will never be the same after that. I feel changed in my thinking and am going to work hard in changing my doing.

I am not perfect. FAR FROM IT! But thankfully my God forgives me and leads me. I am of the flesh and we are sinful people. But God offers HIS forgiveness FREE! We just have to ask for it and accept Him!

Our insecurities hold us back from more than we can imagine. I, for one, want my daughter to be more secure than me. I want to shield her from the ways of the world and the ONLY way to do that, is through prayer to the One who can shield her, Jesus Christ!

Let's talk bodies.

2010-03-25T13:11:00.000-04:00

I realized today I haven't updated my weight loss progress in over a month so I am here this morning to do that and get some advice on bathing suits!

As we remember (or not) here are my last stats I reported:

Before baby: 145

Before delivery: 210 (holy moly)

5 week ago: 155

Currently: 152

My loss is slowing down! But that's ok! I have good news to report!

I am officially back in my pre-preggo clothes. Jeans and all! whoop whoop!

My main focus was on the Seven jeans I got for Christmas. I wore them 2 months and got pregnant. So they were my "skinny" jeans that I was trying to get back in them. And yesterday, I was brave enough to try, it worked! :) Yippee!!!!!!!!!!

I have slacked off of the diet some lately but I have to get back to it! That has always been my problem. I work hard to get where I want to be and then I slack some and end up gaining 5 or 10 lbs and have to start over! NOT DOING THAT THIS TIME!

I do have one BAD confession. I haven't worked out in a month! Working full time and taking care of my family just hasn't allowed me the time. But in one week and one day I will officially be a SAHM and I will be getting back into the workout routine then. Excited to get back to it!

Ok, speaking of bodies and being in shape.... have any of you noticed this AWESOME Spring weather we have been having (of course you have)!!?? So it's truly time to start thinking bathing suits!! I am on a budget so I can't go all crazy and spend a ton of money but I would like to get one that will last this summer! And I am good with one (maybe two)!

So here's the problemo... I am not crazy about my stomach. It's still a little "soft." I am thinking about a tankini, although my husband would object! He thinks I look great (of course you do honey, I am your wife and you love me) and I should wear a bikini and I am considering it!

You have prob see other bloggers talk about the Land's End Canvas line. Well I received an email with these awesome swimsuits this morning! I need your help deciding!

All photos are from the Land's End Canvas site.

Women's Heritage Mini Dot Bandeau Halter Swim Top

I like this top with...

...these, or...

Women's Heritage Retro Hipster Mini Dot Swim Bottom

...these

Women's Heritage Stripe Wideband Bikini Bottom

Women's Swim Essential Bandeau Tank Swimsuit

Women's Heritage Even Stripe String Bikini Top

What do you think? Any secret bathing suit websites that you want to share?? I want affordable but cute and most def age appropriate! I am not trying to look 18! :)

No words.

2010-03-23T14:44:00.006-04:00

There are really no words for these pictures. They absolutely take my breath away!! These are Addison's 4 month pictures. She is now 5.5 months and much bigger but these are just so sweet!

I won't bore you with words I will simply let the pictures speak for themselves.

All pictures were taken by Melissa with Honeybee Photography.

And something to make you laugh!!! The one on the left was her NEWBORN pic and the one on the right is 4 months! YEP, my baby is one sweet chunkeroo :)

As of April 2nd...

2010-03-18T15:40:00.003-04:00

... I will be a STAY AT HOME MOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It is with much excitement that I make this news public. Our good friends and family know and now I am so excited to share that I will be making this big change in just 2 short weeks!

After much prayer, discussion, budget tweaking and tears... Adam and I decided it's best for our family if I am a SAHM at this time in our lives. It's what is best for our family!! It's what's best for me personally, but most importantly it's what's best for our family!

Most of you know I really struggled with this decision. I think a lot of the times it was so hard because I wanted it soooo bad! But I wanted to do what God wanted me to do. I wanted to make sure I was living out HIS plan for me! And I am finally at peace that at this time in my life I am living His plan! Who knows what He has in store for me in the future but I feel GOOD about this decision!

I have gotten an amazing response of support from friends and family and even had some emails with lots of questions like: how, why, when, where... etc! And I want you to know that if you have any of those questions I will be glad to answer them.

I struggled a lot with a few aspects of being a SAHM. I struggled MOST OF ALL with the financial side of things! I am pretty much an open book... I am not ashamed to say that Adam and I don't come from wealthy families but we were loved beyond measure and always had what we needed and wanted (within reason). Adam and I are not wealthy. We do not have lots of money stored away. We haven't hit the lotto (nor do we play-ha). We don't take big vacations (yet!) And I don't shop til I drop (anymore)! But we are taken care of. We have what we need. We are making HUGE financial sacrifices for me to be able to stay at home and raise our sweet Addison.

It's important for me to give my sweet husband lots of credit here. He wanted me to stay at home just as much as I wanted to! And THAT, my friends, made all the difference in the world as to how this came about! He was 100% supportive and was willing to do ANYTHING to make this work and without going into too much detail, he has SACRIFICED so much so I can do this! And will continue to in order to support our family so we can have the kind of life (in his words) that we "deserve to have!" I am married to a wonderful, godly man that loves me and our family so much that he would do anything to make us happy! He is so supportive and understanding and just really wonderful!! I am one lucky lady to be married to such a handsome, sweet man!! (I love you!)

So anyway, that's my big news. The decision is made and I can't wait to be at home with this precious face all day!!!

Fluffy meets Bower Power

2010-03-08T11:45:00.001-05:00

Email convo:

Me: I am going to be in Atlanta for work on Thursday. Want to meet for lunch?

Katie: Sure!

Immediately I thought oh great, she thinks I am a stalker/creeper! We exchanged a few more emails and presto, we had plans!! (and WHEW, she didn't think I was a stalker!)

Who, what, when, where, why?????

Sweet, crafty, beautiful, pregnant, ah-mazing, Katie from Bower Power of course! We had a lunch date. In Atlanta at the Raging Burrito! Just because she is awesome and I wanted to meet her. And IT. WAS. FABULOUS.

This was my first blog friend meet up so I was nervous. But those nerves immediately went away when we sat and started chatting!

You know, you have this perception of someone and then you meet then and usually you are either dead on or WAY off. Well, I was dead on! Except for some reason, I expected her to have a southern accent. She does not :) But I am from Alabama and mine is UBER thick!

We had a blast chatting about babies (she's due with sweet Will in April), home renovations, jobs, husbands, thrifting, other bloggers! We laughed! Got free cheese dip! :) She learned that I am an open book, I don't hold anything back. What you see is what you get. I am not modest. I say what I think! She learned about my WEIRD pickiness! And I learned that she is WAY more than just this super awesome "do-it-yourself-er". I learned about her awesome family & boyfriend, her previous job, her involvement at her church. I learned that I am usually referred to as "Fluffy" when she and Sherry at Young House Love speak of me (this cracked me up). I learned she is just so very nice, open and friendly. Genuinely friendly. You don't meet many people like that. I felt instantly comfortable with her. It wasn't awkward at all. Like we had been friends for years and were just catching up! I confided in her about some things and never felt judged. To sum her up: AMAZING! Really, just an awesome person to be around!

We talked of getting together with our boys and hanging out. Seems they might have a lot in common (and Jeremy can teach Adam some things about men's fashion, right Katie?-haha). I am so glad to know that I have made an "in real life" friend in Katie. And she's only an hour or so away! I can't wait to meet sweet Will. You and Jeremy will be wonderful parents and Will is so lucky to be raised in a household with so much love.

You can read her synopsis of our date here :)

If you don't know who this awesome Katie is, check her out at Bower Power. Her blog is one that I have read since I even knew what a blog was. She is an amazing decorator. She and Jeremy have renovated a lot of their home and it's absolutely stunning! One of my most recent loves they have done: Will's accent wall in his room. At least go look at that!

And a funny tidbit (THIS WILL MAKE YOU LAUGH) that I have been meaning to share... as we were leaving, Katie asked a random guy to take our picture, he obliged (see pic above) :) After she and I chatted a few more minutes and went our separate ways... a guy (remember him Katie, the one that walked by us like twice I think he was the one that asked you how pregnant you were???) kept talking to me. Wouldn't leave me along. I only had to walk about 50 yards to my car, but he wouldn't shut up. He was walking like 4 feet behind me. When finally he said, "Hey, you know you kinda look like Kim Kardashian!" At first I was kind of flattered, then I realized he was looking at me from BEHIND! Great! Then he said, "You know who (insert some name) is?" I said, "No!" He said, "That's her boyfriend!" (Note: he didn't say Reggie Bush) "Ahh, ok." And finally he said, "I could be him and you could be Kim." And laughed and just stopped following me. I have never been so happy to get back in a minivan (my rental for the work trip) in my life :) haha THE END!

Decision time.

2010-02-25T16:50:00.000-05:00

Most of you know I have really been struggling with the decision of whether or not to be a stay at home mom. I needed to share this today because I feel like there are other women out there that may be struggling with the same decision. Or just maybe one of you are struggling with something even bigger or something small. What ever it is, you NEED to read this. It made the BIG picture clearer for me and I feel peaceful about the decision I believe I have finally made.

It amazes me everyday how God works in my life; when and where he reveals Himself and what exactly He is telling me! Amazing. I am so thankful that I am finally in a place that I have full faith in His plan for my life.

With all that being said, here is what I wanted to share... I have blogged a couple of other times about Proverbs 31 Ministries. I get a daily email with a devotion and almost everyday, it's EXACTLY what I needed to read and be reminded of. Today's email stunned me. Seriously... with teary eyes I read it and whole-heatedly prayed the prayer at the end! If you are struggling with a decision, I pray you find peace and guidance in this mini-devotion.

Trusting In Princes

by Marybeth Whalen

"It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in princes." Psalm 118:9 (NIV)
I had looked forward to this moment for days. I sat across the table from my friend and poured out my heart about a big decision I had to make. As I looked into her eyes, I just knew she would have the wisdom I needed. I waited expectantly for her advice.

Instead of an answer to my problems I got a mini sermon. One I needed to hear. My friend pointed out that I was looking to the answer and not the Source of all answers. I thought if I just made the right choice, I would solve all my own problems. "You need to take your focus off making the right decision and trust God," she said. "No matter what you decide to do, He will still take care of you and He will accomplish His purpose for you." (from Psalm 138:8)

I nodded soberly. My friend was right. I had gotten caught up in the outcome. I was placing my trust in princes—looking to people and circumstances for the answers—instead of accepting the truth that, no matter what decision I made, God was going to take care of me. I had made the decision so uber-important that it had eclipsed God's place in my life.

I had prayed to make the right decision. I had journaled pages to Him about it. But ultimately, I reasoned, since He hadn't written the solution in the skies for me, I had to make my own choice based on what I felt was right. I had forgotten that He would still be there working all things together for my good after I made the decision, just as He had before.

If you are facing a big or little decision in your life, seek Him above all. Don't let the outcome or the opinions of others become more important that the One who "opens His hands and satisfies the desires of every living thing" (Psalm 145:16).

No matter whether you make the right decision or the wrong one, He will still be there walking with you, loving you, and helping you. Pray about your decision. Read His word. Seek out godly counsel. And then make the best decision you can. Sometimes the biggest decision is to simply make one. Place your trust in Him and rest in the fact that He will meet you on the other side of whatever decision you make.

Dear Lord, thank You that because of Your grace I know You will always be there. Thank You for the promise in Romans 8:28 that You will work all things out for good. I pray that my life brings You glory and I trust You to work in all circumstances to make that happen. Help me to place my trust in You and not in princes. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

Boogie Wipes & such...

2010-02-23T16:40:00.004-05:00

Over the past 4.5 months, several products (and lots of prayer) have saved me in my journey of motherhood and some were a waste of time. I thought I would share my opinion of those products and give you a brief review. I know that my posts seem so “baby related” but I can’t help it, I have little time (and $) to shop or do anything else fun or “adult-like.” But I promise that “baby posts” won’t always consume my blog. It’s just what consumes my life right now, so I am sharing and thankful that some of you are actually interested in reading.

Boogie Wipes
I seriously couldn’t live without these. ALM has had a runny nose more often than not, so we have run through these things. They are wet saline wipes. We have been able to find them in “Fresh” and “Grape” scents. May I just say how AWESOME the grape ones are? They will leave your baby (or toddler or even child or heck, even you) smelling edible! They are $3.99 a pack. SO WORTH IT!

Little Remedies, Little Noses

Little Remedies products are ALL NATURAL. This saline spray is wonderful and doesn’t burn. Well I haven’t actually used it myself, but ALM doesn’t seem to mind it at all. And it keeps her little nose moisturized and helps clear out any boogs.

Dr. Brown’s bottles

We registered for these and the Playtex ones. We tried the Playtex ones and had some issues with leaking so we turned to Dr. Brown’s and have had NO ISSUES! I heard great things before I had ALM and turns out they were all true. The only downside to these bottles is they have lots of parts so it takes longer to clean, but totally worth it!

Swaddles

I had heard such good things about “Swaddle Me” blankets. So I registered for 4. And got all 4. And used 1, for a week or 2. They are great if your child likes to be swaddled. But I urge you to register for maybe 2 and use one for a while to see if your child likes being swaddled. Now I have 3 swaddles that are just hanging in a drawer. Waste of $$. Instead we started sleep sack (more on this below) when Addison was 1 month old and she loves it and it’s easy for us to change her in. I would definitely suggest getting at least one Sleep Sack and one swaddle. If you want to use both, Halo (the brand we use) makes a sleep sack swaddle. Perfect.

Sleep Sack

ALM wasn’t a big fan of being swaddled. She wanted her hands out and free. At first that concerned me because I didn’t want her waking herself up but I gave up and switched from swaddle to sleep sack and can I just say, this thing is AMAZING. It’s kind of like a snuggie for babies, except it zips. They come in a variety of sizes and there are all different kinds of designs/patterns/brands. The one we use is actually made by Halo.

Pampers Sensitive Wipes vs. Parent’s Choice
We used Pampers Sensitive Wipes for about 3 months, then, I will admit, decided to try the cheaper brand sold at Wal-Mart. We have no Target in the small town we live in so all things “baby” come from Wal-Mart. And by all things I mean, diapers, formula and wipes. This is one of those situations where “you get what you pay for.” I bought a small pack of Parent’s Choice first to see how they were and they actually were fine. We liked them, so we bought the HUGE pack that has like 900-something wipes. MISTAKE! They are thick and tough and hard to clean with. We learned our lesson here, back to Pampers VERY SOON!

Vaseline
Because my sweet ALM has big ol’ chunky cheeks, they get chapped and dry in this cold weather and we have found that Vaseline works the best. We use it at night while she sleeps and when she wakes up her cheeks are so much better. She also has begun sucking on her fingers and eating her hands and they are getting cracked and chapped too and Vaseline works miracles on her hands! No expensive creams, just handy dandy Vaseline.

Butt Paste
Enough said!! It’s paste for your baby’s butt (i.e. diaper rash)and it works! THE BEST WE TRIED!

Bumbo
Since ALM was 3 months, we started sitting her in her Bumbo. We now feed her in her Bumbo. She loves it. But she will let us know if she has had enough “Bumbo time.” It’s great practice for them to learn to sit up.

I will have more reviews the older she gets I know and I will be sure to fill you in on what works, what doesn’t and what wasn’t worth the $$.

All Addison, all the time.

2010-02-18T16:11:00.005-05:00

Lack of posting usually = new mom syndrome. But lately it = crazy busy work schedule. I am still busy but it’s slowing down a bit. Whew! So I have a few things to update on. Mostly baby related but some are just random. My mind is working on “get it out fast before you lose it” time! So if this post seems scattered, which I believe most have since October 5th, I am sorry.

Addison’s 4 month appointment was yesterday. It’s always exciting to find out how she has grown in weight and length! I was shocked though to find out she weighs 16 lbs 15 oz. and is 26.5 inches long. She is in the 95th percentile in both areas. What that says is, we have a very big beautiful baby. We commonly refer to her as our sweet “chunky monkey.” I knew a couple of weeks ago when we were around a baby that was 2 months older than her and not quite her size, that Addison was bigger than most 4 month olds but I didn’t think she weighed 17 pounds. My sweet baby is growing like crazy and it makes me sad but excited at the same time. It’s all happening so fast. I can’t believe she’s already 4 (really 4.5) months old! I am so thankful that she is such a good eater and good sleeper. We are just so blessed to have a healthy child and I am reminded of that daily.

We had her 4 month pictures made last Tuesday so be looking for a post with those. You will DIE when you see these pictures! You can really see how much she has grown and how precious she is! The photographer we use is amazing at capturing details! Here's a teaser...

She rolled over from tummy to back twice on Valentine’s Day but hasn’t done it since. After the 2nd time I went to grab the video camera and she was over it by then! I am soooo glad that Adam and I were both there to see it. I often worry about missing her “firsts” but so far we haven’t missed one.

She is eating 2 tablespoons of rice cereal before bed and we will be adding it at breakfast also soon. Our doctor told us that that would be good and that at 5 months we can introduce “1st foods” like vegetables and fruits. I am so excited to introduce her to all of these new things. I desperately want her to be like her father in the eating area. I am the pickiest of the pickiest and I want her daddy’s influence on food to be strong! And I can only hope that she continues to be a good eater.

For Valentine’s Day, Adam and I gave her a Sofie la Girafe. She stinkin’ loves that thing. I thought it would be like several of her other toys and she would just be over it so fast but she ADORES it. It’s so precious. I had toyed with getting her one since my friend Erin, at Blue-Eyed Bride, guaranteed me that it was just amazing. After looking online for one, I was skeptical about paying $23 for a teething toy. And when I caved and got her one, it was worth every bit of the $15 I paid for it on Amazon. I am now convinced that this is the BEST TEETHING TOY EVER.

She has officially grown out of her sleeper gowns (tear) and is sleeping in the “Sleep n” Play” onesies with feet. I like the ones that zip, because it’s easier to change her in. I was so bummed to find out that they didn’t make those gowns for bigger than 0-3 months. She has 1 or 2 that are 0-6 but they are too small too.
She is wearing 6-9 month clothes for the most part. She has some leggings that are 3-6 that she can still wear but they are getting snugger by the day!

She is eating 5.5 ounces of formula 6 times a day. So she’s getting 33 ounces a day. Her pediatrician said that she likes to see her 6 month olds eating 30 ounces a day and cereal or “1st foods” 3 times a day. I asked her if I was overfeeding her and she didn’t seem concerned so we will stay where we are with formula for now.

She is sleeping from 9:30 or 10 pm until 7 am when I wake her to eat before her daddy takes her to her daycare. She has been doing this probably since she was around 2 months or so but for about 6 weeks she woke us up around 2 or 3 am wanting her diaper changed but she would never even open her eyes and sleep through the change. She has now learned to sleep through the wet diapers. I can’t express how blessed I know I am. She is one amazing sleeper and I am beyond thankful.

She is “talking” more and more and it’s the sweetest sound in the world. She just goes on and on and I often wonder “What is she trying to say to me?” ha. We just laugh and laugh at her. She had her first REAL (defined) giggle last week. It was ADORABLE!

I still haven’t made a decision about work. I am continually praying about the decision and have others praying for me as well. I desperately want to make sure I am following God’s will for my life and not just doing what I WANT TO DO. I want to do what is best for my family and I want God to reveal that to me. When a decision is made, don’t worry, I will blog about it ASAP.

I haven’t done a WWW post in, what, like 2 weeks? It’s hard to commit to doing one EVERY WEEK. But I promised to keep you updated so here is my update:
Before baby: 145
Before delivery: 210 (still scare to type that)
Currently: 155
I lost 7 lbs in the two weeks. I was THRILLED with that. I am now trying to weigh every two weeks so that if the loss seems like “more.” I won’t weigh this Friday so I won’t have an update next week. But I am happy to report I am still truckin’ along. Not exercising like I would like, but doing the best I can. My priority is my baby so if I can only go 2 or 3 days a week for 30 minutes, then so be it! I want as much time with my sweet girl and husband as I can get!

Being a working mom proves more challenges every day. Some are funny, some not so funny, some make me cry, some make me laugh, some cause me to almost have an anxiety attack, some keep me grounded but all of them are learning experiences. I have been at this working mom thing for 6 weeks now and it isn’t any easier than it was the day I came back, Jan. 4th. I miss her constantly. I think “wonder what she is doing?” at least 947 times a day. I tear up several times a day. But I am here. I am making it work the best I know how and letting God guide me in this journey of “working mom & wife.”

Well, that does it for today. I am sure I left something off, but, alas, I shall blog again :)

Here's a picture we took Sunday, Valentine's Day, after church! Ignore the poor quality... taken via BB.

Mmmm...Rice Cereal

2010-02-09T13:06:00.003-05:00

Because I am SUPER DUPER, beyond explanation, CRAZED & just plain BUSY at work I don't have time to blog today and probably won't have much time this week! So I wanted to share something special with you all.
Last week we started feeding Addison rice cereal. She has been eating it for exactly one week. She loves it and can't get it fast enough! She is doing so much better now than she was a week ago!
I am sharing this precious video of her eating last night! It's all I can do not to laugh hysterically while she eats. She makes the funniest noises :)
Pardon the bad quality, I was recording with my Blackberry while feeding her! I call this MOMMY MULTITASKING!
To really enjoy the video you need to turn it up a little. Her smacking is just plain PRECIOUS (or is it just me that thinks that??) ha! Please excuse my loud/coooountry voice!

Enjoy!

Currently dreaming of...

2010-02-05T16:00:00.000-05:00

... and drooling over:

American Apparel Skirt

Lancome Color Fever Gloss in Hotness

Jennifer Zeuner Pendant

Laurie Jupiter Handbag in Cream

TB Revas

DiorShow Extase Mascara

Jump Dress

BR Rummer peep-toe

Loft Gold Hammered Ring Cuff

Michael Kors One-Shoulder Retro Leg Maillot

Electric Eclectic Top by Collective Concepts

B-A-D Blogger

2010-02-04T13:00:00.000-05:00

I know I have been a bad blogger! I also know my WWW posts don't always show up on WEDNESDAY! I can't say exactly when I started being a bad blogger, oh wait, when I became a mother, THAT'S WHEN! I miss blogging. I am constantly thinking of topics then when I actually have time to blog about them, I forget what I thought of. I refer to this as "mommy brain!" I truly have so many things I want to tell you all and blog about. From, baby products to fashion trends, to MY wants, house renovations, Addison, products I have tried and loved (or hated)! I am SWAMPED at work right now so I don't have much time to blog and blogging from home IS. NOT. AN. OPTION.

Most of you know I work for a small private college. I am the Associate Director of Admissions/Event Planner/Travel Manager! Right now the whole "Event Planner" role has me CRAZED!!!!!!!! Our biggest/most prestigious event is coming up Feb. 13th (yeah Valentines weekend). I will be working that day from about 10 am til 7 pm! SUCKTASTIC! Along with my everyday responsibilities of being a wife, mother, exercise enthusiast, cook, cleaner, clothes washer/folder/put awayer, organizer, bottle washer, dish doer... I am seriously almost completely nuts right about now! I barely have brain cells at this point to even type (so if the spelling/content of this post sucks, I blame it on that)!

For example, here is how my day went yesterday...

6:15 am - GET UP (half awake and somber)

6:30 am - Shower/Get ready

7:00 am - Wake ALM and get her dressed and fed

7:30 am - Finish getting ready and put on clothes

7:55 am - Rush out the door (running late as usual) for work

8:05 am - Get to work LATE

8:15 am - 5:00 pm - WORK LIKE A MAD WOMAN (with a couple of breaks and convos with coworkers/friends)

5:00 pm - Go to my friend Laura Lynn's house to see her baby's nursery and chat for a while (we were trying to make her baby jealous by her holding Addison so he would hurry and come out-poor girl is about pop!)

6:10 pm - Rush home and get Adam and we are off to our "Praying Parent" class at church (again, running late)

6:30 - 8:00 pm - Class (loved it-post to come about it sometime, no promises as to when) :)

8:15 pm - Arrive home, cook supper, cook meal for friend whose stepson passed away, make ALMs bottles for today, wash bottles, clean kitchen, fold clothes, put away clothes, tidy house (mom is coming in town today), feed ALM cereal/bottle, give ALM a bath, a little playtime with ALM, etc.

11:45 pm - BED!

What is missing from this outline????? WORKOUT!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yep, didn't get to. Mad about this, YES! Could I help it? No! Will I weigh myself this week? NO! Will I have a WWW post? NO!

Now, every day isn't like this, but days like this seriously stress me out! And MAJORLY make me want to be a SAHM! I am not always nice to people on these days. SHAME ON ME I know!

But on a more positive note... things are always fine, I am beyond blessed and every day is a NEW day!!

More up beat post tomorrow... that I do PROMISE :)

WWW: A Picky Perspective

2010-02-01T16:00:00.000-05:00

Note: I wrote this post Wednesday (1/27/2010) but then got MAJOR sick and didn't finish the very end. So I am posting it now! Sorry for the delay girls!

48 lbs down... 17 to go! That's right, I lost 4 lbs this week! Super excited about that! I was shocked to see that number, but totally PUMPED!

I am a little bummed about my workouts this week. I had a KILLER workout Monday. But Tuesday, Addison was sick and I was getting sick and today well, I am all out SICK! Ugh! So I won't be able to go to the gym today. Might go tomorrow if I feel better but won't be able to go Friday either! So pretty much best case scenario, I will get two workouts in before my weigh in on Friday!

Oh, and I meant to mention, I weigh on Friday because that gives me Sunday - Thursday to get back on track. I have one cheat meal on Friday and one on Saturday so I always like to weigh after I have had 5 days to detox and workout like a mad woman (well, most weeks anyway).

So this week I promised to give some "picky" recipes that i eat pretty much every week. I don't stray from these things because I don't like many things and hey, they help me lose weight and keep me full!

Let's start with my "Flatbread Pizza" (6 points)

- Take a Light FlatOut Wrap (1 point)
- 1/2 cup of Paul Newman Marinara (1 point)
- 17 Turkey pepperonis (2 points)
- 1/4 cup of 2% mozz. cheese (2 points)
- sliced banana peppers (0 points)
- 1 small roma tomato
- you could always ad any other veggies but that's all I put on mine

Put the wrap in the oven on 350 degrees for 7 minutes. Let it get crispy. Then take it out and add the marinara, cheese, peps ( i precook these in the microwave), banana peppers and tomatoes. Put back in the oven approx 15 minutes or until the cheese is melted.

This is SOOOO good and very filling!
Another fave of mine is Veggie Chili and by veggie chili I mean beans and tomatoes.

Veggie Chili (2 points)

1 can of chili beans (4 points)
1 can of diced tomatoes (i always put them in my mini mixer and crush them up) (0 points)
1/2 pack of French's Chili-O mix (0 points)

Mix all ingredients together, add a half cup of water, cook on medium for about 10-12 minutes... TADA! You have two meals that are 2 points each! I always eat 10 Fat Free crackers with it to make it a 4 point meal. It sounds plain but really is good. Sometimes I will add 1/4 cup of 2% cheddar cheese and make it a 6 point meal, depends on how many points i have left for the day :)

Next...

Simple, easy, pasta!

Ronzoni Smart Taste Penne (1 cup cooked) (3 points)
1/2 cup Paul Newman's Marinara (1 point)
2 tbsp of parmeasean cheese

Cook pasta and mix :) You could add any veggie's you wanted but I am not crazy about veggies!

There you go. I will be back next week with WWW! Here's to good eatin' this week ladies!

Catch Up, Pics, and Baby Secrets/Info (i.e. conglomeration of randomness)

2010-01-25T12:48:00.000-05:00

So I have a touch of "bloggers block" so I thought I would update you gals with some random bits and pieces of things going on in the life of me and my fam & of course, some precious pics of my sweet baby Addison!

- Addison is 17 weeks old today. I CAN NOT believe how big she's gotten.
- She hasn't been to the Dr since she was 8 weeks old so we aren't sure about weight, but best i can tell after pulling the ol' hold her, weight myself, then weigh just me... she weights 16 lbs.
- She is holding her head up better everyday.
- She is "talking" up a storm. Lots of jibber jabber :)
- She's officially out of size 1 diapers and into 2's. We figured this out after she had what her dad and I call "explosive poops!" We made it 16 weeks with no poop on either of us or out of her diaper... then 2 in one week. Conclusion... move on to size 2 diapers :)
- We are still using Pampers Swaddlers but have some Pampers Baby Dry diapers that we got at our showers and I really like them just as well!
- We recently learned that not ALL Pampers Swaddlers have the yellow line that turns blue when they are wet. We are sad about this, but have gotten used to smelling to see if she's dirty!
- She is now taking 5 oz of formula 6 times a day. Her schedule changed once she started going to her sitter, but she adjusted well and is satisfied.
- No cereal yet. Waiting to see what the Dr says at her 4 month appt.
- We use Dr. Brown's bottles and LOVE THEM! We have had no problems with them!
- We have upgraded her to the "Level 2" nipples! She eats SO FAST now.
- We have had no problems with spitting up, until about a week ago. I am worried now!
- She had had a cold for almost a month now, so she will be going to the Dr tomorrow to make sure it's not something else!
- She goes for her 4 month appt & 2nd round of shots the 2nd week of February so that will be fun. It's always fun to see how big she is! :)
- She is wearing 3-6 month clothes and some 6 month depending on the brand. 3 month clothes are pretty much out. Too small now. (she's not even 4 months yet).
- She hasn't rolled over yet. She did the other night but I think it's because I had her propped up on a pillow :)
- She is sleeping in her crib, has been since early Dec.
- Last Monday we began putting her in her crib awake and letting her "cry it out." It worked. She still cries a little but she puts herself to sleep.
- She takes her last feeding at 9:30 pm and we put her in bed about 10 or a little after. She's usually asleep no later than 10:30 pm.
- We had been allowing her to swing herself to sleep in her swing after her 9:30 feeding but i didn't want her to get too used to that.
- Our plan is eventually for her last feeding to be at 9, we are gradually getting there.
- She sleeps from 10:30 (ish) until 7 during the week. I usually have to wake her up to get her dressed and feed her.
- On the weekends she sleeps until 8 or so. So she is sleeping about 9-10 hours a night!
- She is beginning to drool a lot and wants to chew on everything, her favorite thing? Her fingers!
- We are BEYOND blessed with a good baby and I am sooo thankful!
- She hardly ever cries and other than two colds, she hasn't been sick!
- She is not a fussy baby at all!
- I still haven't decided about staying at home or working! I lean toward staying at home, but it's a very scary decision for me! As most of you know, Adam left the decision up to me and I am scared financially! I am the kind of person that thinks and thinks about something and give myself the most awful anxiety over it! Continuing to pray that God will show me what His will for me is!
- Adam and I start a class this Wednesday night at our church called, The Power of a Praying Parent. We will be studying from this book and we are so excited to get started. I have hear wonderful things about this class and book so I can't wait!

And now for some updated pics of Addison. Warning: picture overload :) I realize these are LONG over due but since I got my Canon Rebel, I have been downloading them at home and well, when I am at home, I have NO TIME to be in front of a computer.

This picture is the day of my grandmothers funeral Dec. 7th. This dress was mine. Made by my grandmother that passed away! Addison thankfully got to meet her great-grandmother before she passed. We have pictures that I will cherish forever!

"I do NOT like tummy time MOM"

So over tummy time. See drool... precious!

My sweet chunky monkey legs!

Distracted by Dansby and Daizy I'm sure!

I love my rattle!

Waiting to see my Aunt Jackie and Uncle Jarred!

"Me mad now!" This is her MAD face! She was OVER Bumbo time!

1st time in her Bumbo!

She didn't know what to think about it!

Drool! Who ever thought it could be so cute?

Boppy tummy-time. I don't hate this AS MUCH!

My Barrington Baby Lambie coat :)

This was my gown that I wore my 1st Christmas and Addison barely fits in it :)

My Life Is Good pjs :)

CHEEKS!

"I love to chew on everything!"

Ready for the Auburn bowl game!

Sweet cheeks and laughs!

Christmas time!

WWW: An update.

2010-01-20T10:23:00.001-05:00

Blogging Funk? Check.

I haven't been motivated to blog for the past week. Call it stress. Call it crazy busy mom syndrome. But I have been in a funk! I am trying to work my way out of it by coming up with fun blog posts but so far, FAILURE! I am open to suggestions!

But on to Weight Watchers Wednesday!

I always weight myself on Friday morning before I shower (and after I tinkle, of course). For me that's the best time because, I have worked my but off for 4 or 5 days and not cheated even once. This past Friday I was down 2 more pounds. :) SUCCESS! Still have a long way to go but progress = success for me these days!

The gym is harder than ever! It's hard to go when I don't see my baby from 7:30 til 5. I just want to rush home and cuddle her! But 4 or 5 days a week (including weekends) I am hitting the gym. But only for an hour or an hour and a half at the most! BIG difference from the 2 hours I used to put in 5 days a week when I lost all that weight at the end of 2008. I am doing weight training 2-3 days a week but my main focus is running and abs. I am training for some races so I am a running machine. My 1st race is Feb. 6th. Adam and I will be running the 5K.

When I went on that "diet" at the end of 2008, I was losing 4-7 lbs a week. Of course I hit a plateau for like 3 weeks where I lost nothing or only lost 1-2 lbs! But over the course of 3 months I managed to lose 25 lbs! It's coming off slower this time and my body's shape is different but the pounds are slowly melting away and my hips are VERY SLOWLY getting back in place!

I am saving all of my FLEX points for 2 cheat meals on the weekends! If I don't have something to look forward to, I will FAIL MISERABLY at "Getting Thin in 2010!" Here are the things I am eating...

Breakfast: Fiber One Chocolate & Oats bar (3 points) OR Blueberry Bagel with one tbsp of Fat Free Strawberry Cream Cheese (4 points)

Lunch: Grilled Cheese with light bread (2 points) with baked lays (3 points) OR Tomato sandwich (1 point) with baked lays (3 points) and 17 turkey pepperonis (3 points)

Dinner: 1.5 cups of Ronzoni Smart Taste penne pasta with Paul Newman marinara & one slice of light bread with I Can't Believe It's Not Butter Spray (6 points) OR Veggie Chili (and by veggie I mean tomato and beans with Chili-O chili mix) (2 points) & 10 Fat Free Crackers (2 points) OR Homemade Flatbread pizza (7 points)

I have mentioned before that I am SUPER picky. Like, beyond picky. So picky that I really don't eat veggies at all! I have found what works for me so I pretty much eat the same 4 or 5 meals ALL OF THE TIME! So for all of you other picky eaters, next week I will do a post with my "picky recipes"!

To keep me accountable, here are some stats so you get an idea of where I've been and where I am going :) (I can't believe I am about to put these for all the world to see-well, blogger world anyway)

164- How much I weighed before I started my diet in Oct 2008
139- The smallest I got In Dec 2008
145- Weight when I found out I was pregnant
210- Weight the day I delivered
166- What I weighed last Friday
18.4- Number of miles I have run in 2010

My first goal is 145 then I will get the last 5 off after I reach that goal. I always teetered between 140 and 145 so if I can get to 145 1st I will be THRILLED! So I have 21 lbs to go! If I continue to lose 2 lbs a week it should take me about 11 weeks to get there. That seems like FOREVER away but that's right at bathing suit season and one week before my 2nd anniversary! MOTIVATION? Yes! I have a long journey ahead of me but I am on the fit train for the long haul and thankfully so is Adam! That always makes it SO MUCH EASIER!

A Sign?

2010-01-12T10:18:00.002-05:00

Really quick... Thank all of you for your kind words in my last post. It really meant a lot to me that you took the time to share your experiences and opinions. I value each of them and have shared them with my husband! A decision has not been made but I am beginning to lean one way a little more. I am continuing to pray that God will show me His will for my life and give me peace with my decision and when a decision is made, don't worry, I will share it with you!

Is it a sign that this landed in my Inbox today? I think not!! God speaks to us in various ways and this TRULY spoke to me in the midst of my uncertainty and struggle to make a decision about being a SAHM. I have posted once before about Proverbs 31 Ministries and highly recommend signing up for their Daily Devotions. I hope this speaks to you and you feel as blessed by reading this as I do today! Have a great Tuesday!

The Secret of Contentment
By: Micca Monda Campbell

"…for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances" Philippians 4:11b (NIV)

Have you ever noticed how overextending yourself tends to bring unwanted pressure into your life? I think we tend to busy ourselves in order to gain more, find acceptance among peers, land a better position, and gain riches of all kinds. Perhaps we live under the illusion that having such riches is what makes a person complete, content, and deliriously happy. Yet, when we discover that's not the case, we're left feeling empty and discontent.

Contentment and security are not found in career titles or in the kind of car we own. The logo on our car only tells others what kind of car we drive — not who we are. True satisfaction, in its purest form, is found in the wealth of who God is and the riches He graciously lavishes upon us.
Recently God's been showing me that when I constantly want more than He has given me, it reflects a heart that is discontent. What I'm saying to God is, "I'm not satisfied with what You have provided for me. I want more." In wanting more, I place undo pressure on myself in an attempt to get what God hasn't provided. Naturally, anxiety is the result when I focus on things other than God and His will for my life.

The pressure to have more and do more can lead us down paths we never intended. In our attempt to fill the vacuum of our empty souls, we discover that external luxury is only a cheap substitution for spiritual wholeness. As our key verse points out, Paul knew the secret of finding contentment. "…for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances."

Take note that Paul wrote these words in a high stress situation as he sat in jail awaiting a verdict for a crime he didn't commit. I don't know if I could find contentment if I were in his sandals. I would probably strum my wooden cage with a rock singing pitifully, "Nobody knows the trouble I've seen. Nobody knows my sorrow." Finding contentment doesn't mean we have to like our current situation, but it may require an appreciation for it. Let me explain.

Paul learned that the fruit of contentment is developed when we are thankful for what God has provided whether we like it or not. That's because peace isn't the absence of pressure. It's the presence of God and our attitude toward His provision in the midst of our stress. By expressing gratitude, Paul experienced richness of being, not having.

I realize you may be in a hard place right now and you're longing for freedom. Maybe you're in a job that feels like a dead end; perhaps you have two of them! It may be that you live in a space too small for your family and you hate it. You're not where you planned or hoped to be and you certainly don't like it.

The truth is, we don't have to like where we are or what we have, but if we will choose to thank God for His provisions regardless of our feelings toward them, we'll experience the same contentment Paul encountered.

We must understand that being thankful doesn't mean that God will eventually remove us from our situation. He may; He may not. Rather, being appreciative sets us free from the desire to have and lets us rest in the riches of contentment. And when we reach a place of contentment, we don't need earthly riches galore. God becomes our greatest treasure. In Him, we have everything we need.

Dear Lord, things could always be worse. I'm grateful for what You've provided for me. Fill me with Your peace so that I may be truly content in Your blessings. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

Working mom or SAHM?

2010-01-07T14:44:00.000-05:00

Warning: This post will be all over the place because my emotions are all over the place. So bare with me as I try to explain things and make some points (that I am sure will be all jumbled).

Being a stay at home mom (SAHM) isn't something every mother is able to do. In fact, very few are actually lucky and blessed enough to be able to. Most people would say "If you have the chance, DO IT!!" But for me, it's not that simple!

After being home with my baby for 12 weeks, I came back to work for three days the week of Christmas and those days were really tough but not HORRIBLE because I knew Addison was with her daddy. Then I had a week and a half with her but on Jan 4th, I came back to work and Addison had her first day at the in home daycare she is staying in and I've been a WRECK since! Now I realize I have only been doing this "working mom" thing for 4 days now, but I am a mess! I've cried everyday... on my way to work... on my way to the gym... after picking her up... at night in Adam's arm... lots of tears!

Here's the situation I am in. Since October Adam and I have been living off of only his salary and saving mine. We did that to see how it was without my salary so we had an idea of what it would be like if I were a SAHM. It was a HUGE change. BIG! But not completely undoable!

Let me explain what this would do to our "extracurricular activities"...

- no more shopping for me (thank goodness for my mom and our sprees she takes me on sometimes)

- maybe eating out once or twice a month at the most

- no more "fixing" up our house (would require months of planning and saving)

- no more vacations (would require planning way in advance)

- no more "extras"

We would both have to give up a lot. I don't even think it's hit me how much it would change our lives. It's hard to comprehend for me.

This decision would be BEYOND easy is Adam just said "I'm sorry honey, but you have to work. We can't make it without your salary!" I would be sad and pout a little but suck it up and get over it and figure out how to be a good wife and mother! BUT, what Adam says to me is "You have to make this decision honey. I don't want you to resent me when you want to go shopping and you can't! We can make it off of my salary but it will require a lot of cut backs!" Adam would LOVE for me to stay at home with Addison but he wants me to make the decision. We both know she is in great care at this daycare but it's not her mother's care, you know?

Let me say, I DO want to be a stay at home mom. BAD BAD BAD! But I have MAJOR anxiety over quitting my job. Let me say, I don't make TONS of money, but it's always kind of been our "extra" money. I know NOTHING can compare to being at home with my daughter! I KNOW THAT! It's the uncertainty of everything that scares me the most. This economy scares the CRAP out of me!

Let me explain something else, I have never led a life of LOTS of luxuries. I don't want you to think I will be giving up frivolous things. I mean I drive a paid for 2005 Nissan Altima. Adam's car is a company car. Adam and I bought a 1960s 3BR 2 bath house that was well within our budget! I am a big TJ Maxx shopper. Adam and I have no credit card debt, only I have student loans! Yes, there are times when I WANT something nice (like I am dying for a pair of TB Revas) but it's rare. (Of course like any woman I could make a list a mile long of luxeries I would like to have -but then reality sets in!) Usually I want to "fix" or upgrade something in our home. And now, I constantly want Addison to have the cutest clothes :) My husband does without a lot. Neither of us have an expensive hobby. We love Auburn football but we don't go to EVERY game or anything! So you see, we really do lead pretty simple (but wonderfully blessed) lives!

When I think about everything above I think, we really do live a pretty normal life! Nothing extravagant! Yet, it scares the crap out of me not to have my income contributing to our family. If I stay at work for a while then I am afraid I will "get used to" not being at home with her everyday! And I DO NOT WANT THAT!

I know there are a lot of moms out there that stay at home and a lot that are working moms. I am eager to hear your opinion on this topic and any advice you have for me!

Here are my biggest worries and scares: (this is honest and hard to make public but I want your opinions and advice so here you go)

- Will I regret the decision 6 months from now and want my job back?

- How do I know if being a SAHM is REALLY for me???

- Will I go stir crazy being at home all the time?

- Will I resent Adam and Addison one day (subconsciously)?

- How do some women do it all? How do they: attend a Bible study (or just study daily alone), be a member of Junior League or some other organization, entertain, clean, give baths, cook dinner, go to the gym, "please" their husband, play with their child AND work 40 hours a week??? That list is giving me a panic attack just typing it! Seriously, HOW???

I know I am new to all of this, but I can't fathom how I can do all of that and be the best wife and mother I can be and work 40 hour weeks! I have high anxiety and always have so you can imagine what I am feeling right now!

I am open to any and all advice! I know I might get some negative comments on this but I want to hear from all different types of mothers/women that are all in different situations.

I hope this made some kind of sense, probably not since my head it all over the place! :)

My sweet Addison is such a good baby! When I look at her when I get home, I could just cry that I had to leave her all day. I mean how could you not just kiss all over these cheeks??

WWW: Getting Thin in 2010

2010-01-06T16:42:00.001-05:00

I am bringing WWW BACK to my blog. Starting today! It's happening. Time to get back on the fit train and stay there!

For those of you new to my blog, Erin @ BlueEyedBride, Mojito Maven @ MakeMineAMojito and I started Weight Watchers Wednesday back in the fall of 2008 (that's INSANE to think about)! Erin found out she was pregnant that same fall and I found out I was pregnant in January of 2009 so WWW kind of got kicked to the curb! But I am here to proclaim: I AM BACK!

I won't go all into my weight gain/loss journey... you can read it here! But lets just say, it's been quite a journey! The key points to remember are...

At my biggest in September 2008, I weighed 164 and wore a size 10.

WWW started and I got on the fit train and lost 25 pounds and weighed 139 and wore a size 6. (see before and after below)

Got pregnant in January 2009

By the time I delivered on October 5, 2009, I had gained 65 pounds! (see picture below)

And now back to the present. Let me briefly explain how I gained 65 pounds! (well besides being pregnant) My doctor wanted me to gain 30-35 pounds. Well, that lasted about 6 months. I did great until I hit week 20. I don't know what happened to me. I started eating and couldn't stop! I also met back up with a familiar face, Mr. Dr. Pepper! He did some of the damage. Between pizza, Mexican, Italian, fast food and candy... and don't forget Dr. Pepper... that 65 lbs was on me in no time! I worked out until around week 24. Then my body ached and I was so tired, I just quit! The combo of my body not working out and eating like crap = FAST WEIGHT GAIN!

Of course the 25 lbs I had just lost right before I got pregnant came back fast. I had been on a strict diet and a crazy workout routine that my body could no longer handle now that I had a baby depending on me to grow and be healthy! I started our slowly getting back on a "normal" eating regimen... and then out of no where, I couldn't stop myself from eating like a cow. I will be honest and say I consumed a large thin crust pizza all by myself one night... ashamed? yes! was it good?? ohhh so good!

So where am I now? I've got good and bad news!

Good news is... I have lost 45 pounds in 13 weeks.

Bad news is... I weight 168 and can't get in my size 10's. (except 3 pair of Gap Trouser pants)

I am NOT ok with that, but I also realize that my hips spread (boy did they with an 8 lb 15 oz baby) and they aren't back to their normal shape (YET!). I am carrying a lot of weight in my hips.

What am I doing to "Get Thin in 2010"??? Six weeks after Addison was born, (and my Dr cleared me) I bolted back to the gym! Started running, lifting weights, classes, whatever I could! I had a wedding to be in January 2. I started eating better, but not great like I did before! The difference between losing weight now and how I did at the end of 2008 is I don't have the time that I did! I used to dedicate 2 hours to the gym at least 5 days a week. I can't do that now. I have a baby at home that I miss more than I can explain. I go to the gym now for an hour 4-5 days a week! I am focusing mainly on cardio and abs and I do lift weights about 2 days a week! My priorities have changed. If I was a SAHM things might be different but I work 8 hours a day, take care of my husband, baby and house (and by that I mean cook, clean and love) :)

These last 20 pounds are going to be the toughest I know! But I am determined to have them off in 4 months MAX! I can do it. I did it before. YES I CAN! We are back to healthy eating in my household, back to the gym and ready for some changes! (Adam may or may not have gained some sympathy weight while I was pregnant!)

I am training for my first 5K, to be followed by a 10K or 2 then a half marathon! Adam and I are doing these together so we have each other to motivate and encourage one another :) And I can be TOUGH!

Here is a picture from the rehearsal dinner from this past weekend, New Year's Day! You can get an idea of the progress I've made, but scroll to the top to see how I will look in 4 months MAX :) I am determined and I am READY! Here's to BEING THIN IN 2010!

Wraping up 2009 and Leaping into 2010

2010-01-05T09:42:00.000-05:00

Looking back at my last 20 or so posts there seems to be a theme/trend... BABY! :) I promise eventually I will have other things to blog about but right now, she pretty much rules my life so she is in all blog posts :)

I didn't wrap up 2009 with a post... I was too busy enjoying my sweet girl & husband and preparing for a wedding I was in on January 2. But I wanted to highlight a few memories...2009 was filled with so many blessings for me and my family that I can't begin to name them all. To name a few though:

- I found out I was pregnant in Jan 2009
- Celebrated my one year wedding anniversary in April 2009
- Found out I was having a little girl in June 2009
- Delivered this sweet baby in October 2009
- Had our 1st Thanksgiving and Christmas as a family with ALM
- Joined the church we had been visiting for over a year (we love it)
- Developed some AMAZING friendships through my blog (some of the girls I talk to by text or email almost daily)
- My mom turned 60 in Feb. and we celebrated with a big surprise party
- Found out my childhood best friend was pregnant in October 2009
- My best friend and roommate before marrying told me she was moving back to GA
- I turned 27
- Adam turned 30 (12 days after ALM was born)
- One of my dear friends beat breast cancer

Those are only to name a few! 2009 taught me a lot about myself and who I am as a person and who God wants me to be! Being pregnant and having a child changed me so much more than I ever thought possible. I am a better person, no doubt. I am thankful that I got to share all of 2009 with you girls! You have all encouraged me, been there for me, prayed for me... and for that I am eternally grateful! I never thought this blog would bring me such joy! But it has brought me friendships, given me an outlet to write and say whatever I want, and I've learned so much by reading you blogs!

Now, as for 2010. I am not HUGE on resolutions because I usually break them within the 1st month. But a few of my "goals" for this wonderful new year are:

- Study my Bible more and develop a closer relationship with God
- Join a Sunday School class and become more active in our church
- Be a better wife, mother and daughter
- Get rid of this baby weight (post to come on this tomorrow)
- Be a stay at home mom
- Run a 5K, 10K and half marathon with Adam
- Get my house COMPLETELY organized

I am sure there are other things... but those are on the top of my list!

Be sure to check back in tomorrow... it will be JAM PACKED with my info on my pregnancy weight gain, loss and how I plan to get all of it off!

XOXO

I leave you with these PRECIOUS CHEEKS!

My Birth Story: The Delivery

2009-12-28T08:00:00.001-05:00

12 weeks ago today, October 5 at 4:33 pm, Addison Leigh was born into this world by God's grace alone! The journey to how we got there was mostly captured on my blog... but I have let 12 weeks go by and haven't told you the birth story... UNTIL NOW!

My alarm went off at 4:00 am. My eyes popped open... and instantly I thought, "I am going to be a mother today!" Any other day if I had to get up at 4, I would be dragging. But I bounced out of bed and into the shower, but not before giving Adam a kiss and we both just looked at each other and we knew what the other was thinking ... today, WE would be parents! Wow!

I got ready, put on make-up, rolled my hair... I was determined to look "good" when I delivered this baby! We got the car all packed up and we were ready to go... but one more thing we had to do, love on our furbabies and let them know we would be home soon (my parents and in-laws took care of them while we were at the hospital). Before we walked out the door, we took one last picture of my big belly! HUGE is the only word to describe it!

We arrived at the hospital around 5:15 am (late as usual)! No one was in the emergency room so checking in only took about 30 minutes. Next thing I knew we were walking through the hospital to the Labor and Delivery floor. I get to my room and immediately they are telling me to change clothes into the backless gown (I was so concerned about my butt shining)! I crawled into the bed and only got out once (to tee tee) over the next 10 hours. Before any big events happened, Adam and I prayed together... I will never forget that moment as long as I live! It was so sweet and it gave me such a sense of peace! I knew God was in total control and I was ready! I was all settled in around 6:15 am and they started my IV and the Pitocin at 6:25. I was warned it could be a long day. I was ready. My blood pressure was good and I had no strange side effects from the Pitocin. WHEW! My Dr came in at and checked me, I was only dilated to a 2 so he broke my water at 7:26 am.

Let me pause here and say the worst pain I felt from beginning to end was when they out in the IV and when he broke my water!! After that, it was a dang breeze (pain wise)! I am not a big wuss, but I am not the best pain manager in the world, but holy moly when he broke my water I thought I might pass out, but the pain only lasted maybe 30 seconds! After that, it was relaxing time. My parents arrived around 8:30 am. So the 4 of us hung out in my room as things progressed. Looking back, the next 8 hours absolutely flew by. I remember thinking I wasn't ready... I wanted that day to last a long time... I wanted to remember every tiny detail. I remember feeling that exact way on my wedding day.

My Dr said he would like for me to get the epidural when I was dilated to a 4. Over the course of an hour and a half, I dilated to a 4... and was feeling the contractions. I had always heard contractions were like BAD menstrual cramps... and that is EXACTLY what they felt like. Not bad at all. I got my epidural at 9:00 am on the dot! There was never ANY QUESTION IN MY MIND that I wanted that thing! Yes, the needle is scary looking. But NO it does not hurt when you get it! They give you a little shot to numb the area before giving you the epidural and that hurt like, well, like getting a flu shot! Then I felt nothing until they pushed the medicine in and it felt like cold water running down my back! That's it. No pain. No tears. No nausea. No blood pressure drop. Just instant relief from the contractions! How in the world people do it without the epidural, I will NEVER understand!

After the epidural, I got a little loopy! I remember saying several times, "I feel gooood!" But I remember everything! We were watching contractions on the monitor and I couldn't feel a thing! It was insane! The Dr came back to check me several times... I wasn't progressing very well. But that is expected because the epidural usually slows labor down some, but not a lot like most people say (that's what my Dr said anyway)!

Over the next 8 hours or so I... ate ice, talking with Adam and my parents, updated Facebook and Twitter, relaxed, shut my eyes (but never napped), fixed my makeup, etc. I didn't play games or listen to my ipod or anything, I was too anxious! I remember being checked around lunchtime and I was dilated to like a 5. Then again at around 3 and I was dilated to a 7. At that point, I was hurting a little, the epidural felt like it was wearing off, so the anesthesiologist came back in and gave me some more meds in my epidural. Things were moving along and I was READY! That epidural really hit me hard that time and my legs were completely numb! That was the weirdest feeling ever!

Then all of a sudden, at around 3:45, I remember the nurse saying, "Ok, are you ready to push?" "WHAT??? NO I AM NOT READY!" I thought there would be some big production leading up to the pushing part. It was so fast and I wasn't ready. I wanted to hang out some more. But Addison had a different plan. She was ready. So I pushed with the nurse for about 20 minutes... my mom stood behind me and took pictures while Adam and another nurse held my legs up. I couldn't feel if I was pushing or what because I was so numb. My legs felt like they weighed 100 lbs a piece! I pushed and pushed and she finally crowned.

Then came in the Dr... yeah he was really only there for like 20 minutes. Side note: I had the BEST nurse ever. She was amazing. And as I talked to her more and more, turned out we went to the same church. She just attended the early service! And she was actually in the Sunday school class that we had been wanting to visit. Small world!

So back to pushing... I pushed for 45 minutes before Addison's arrival. I will tell you... that was exhausting. It felt like 12 hours of pushing! My body was completely worn out. I didn't say a word during the 45 minutes of pushing. I was completely focused and wanted to get her OUT! I didn't cry, I didn't scream. I didn't cuss. I just grunted. And finally at 4:33 my sweet baby girl was born! It was amazing. They laid her on my chest and then the tears started flowing. God had just given me such a blessing and I was completely overwhelmed! I remember thinking "She's so big!" And turns out she was. The doctor informed me that because she was so big, she broke her right clavicle coming out. I was worried at first, but he assured me that it would heal perfectly fine (and it is!) Turns out, that's pretty common.

Addison Leigh weighed 8 lbs 15 oz. And was 21.5 inches long. One more ounce would have given me a 9 pounder :) She was just perfect! I was literally awestruck! I don't know really how else to describe it! Adam cut the cord and then they took her away to begin working on me!

YES, working on ME! I barely remember the placenta being delivered. I didn't even push. The Dr pushed on my belly when a contraction came and it just came out. Blunt I know, but that's how it happened! Over the next 20 minutes, I was SOOOO uncomfortable! I had a 2nd degree tear so I was being sewn up. But that wasn't what was hurting. I couldn't figure out why I was hurting. But I was in pain! Turns out that all it was... I had to teetee! They took my catheter out before I started pushing and I couldn't feel anything so apparently I was holding it. They put my catheter back in (which didn't hurt at all-I was freaking out before they did it-i was scared i might die) and instant relief!

About 2 hours later I was moved into another room where I would spend the next 2 days. I will say, standing up was tough the 1st time. There was so much pressure on my bottom. I didn't understand (still don't). And of course I was sore and walking REALLY funny! I never felt any pain really from the stitches. Just soreness. And for you ladies that are wondering... the 1st bowel movement is scary, but not painful... yes I know... prob TMI, but I told you I would be honest and open about all this :)

Let's see, what next... everything else started getting jumbled together. Breastfeeding wasn't working out so well. So after the 1st day, I pumped. And I pumped for 6 weeks and she is now on formula. It's been 12 weeks and I just now feel completely healed "down there." It is true what you hear... you bleed a lot for the 1st 3-4 weeks. And wearing diaper-like pads isn't fun but you get used to it quickly!

Have I left anything out?? I am sure I have. But if you ladies have any questions about ANYTHING, I am more than happy to answer them. You know me, open and honest! I plan to do a post about weight and weight loss very soon. I would talk about it here but that's a story on it's own!

If you have questions, leave them in a comment. I will do a separate post answering them if there are enough, if not I will answer them individually. If you want to email me and ask me something, feel free! Giving birth was an amazing experience for me. I seriously enjoyed the entire pregnancy and delivery! I was beyond blessed to not have any complications for 10 months! And now that I am a mother, I know that this is what I was meant to do! I was DEFINITELY meant to be a mother and am thankful to God that he allowed me to be just that!

Um yeah, I lied.

2009-12-22T11:19:00.005-05:00

So I realize that the last post I did was titled "I'm baaaack!" But I really wasn't! Sorry for that little white lie! I really had every intention of blogging at least twice a week but I didn't! Having a sweet baby at home took most of my time and when she was napping, sometimes so was I :) Well, now I am back at work (SO SAD!) and I have lots of time to BLOG.

I just looked back and realized that I have only blogged 3 times since she was born! SHAME ON ME, I know! I realize I still have the birth story to tell and I think that might be a great story for next week :) So look for that post to be next week. I PROMISE! That is my Christmas present to you all... you can hardly call that a Christmas present but hey, it's the best I can do :)

Before the post I will give a warning. I think you all know I am very open and honest and NOT MODEST AT ALL! So it will have lots of details that some may or may not want to hear but I think it's things I need to share with those of you who are interested or those that might be having a baby any time soon (and I know I have some preggo readers and I want to make sure that you have the option of hearing my non-horrifying birth story because I am sure you have heard enough horror stories!)

Ok so enough about that... let's talk Christmas! MERRY CHRISTMAS to all of you ladies (and maybe a few gents)! What an exciting time of year, expecially for our family, with our new addition! We are so excited about Addison's first Christmas! We went to Alabama this past weekend to celebrate with my family and needless to say, Addison is a blessed baby!! She got lots of toys and fun clothes and even some diapers and formula (which mommy and daddy are mostly thankful for) :) Christmas Eve we will go to Adam's family and then my parents are coming in town to spend the night so they can be here to see what Santa brings Addison! Santa won't be going overboard but gifts will be dropped off for my sweet baby girl! Pics are promised!

I promise to post some December pics of Addison tomorrow, she is getting so big! Here are a few updates!

- She is 11 weeks old! HOLY COW, I know!
- She has her first cold and there is nothing more sad!
- She is currently flailing her arms A LOT!
- She coos a little, but it's more gurgling!
- She smiles big as life, but no giggle just yet!
- She weighs 12 lbs and 11 oz. and is 24.5 in long!
- Wearing 3-6 months clothes!
- She loves bath time.
- She is a teetee-ing machine!
- She loves to look at ceiling fans! It's hilarious! They mesmerize her!

More Addison updates to come... but for now I leave you with her newborn pics!

I'm Baaaaaaack

2009-11-18T15:14:00.000-05:00

And boy do I have have stuff to catch you guys up on! Oh... 6 weeks worth of stuff really! My sweet Addison doesn't allow me much blogging time but I have vowed to be better during her naps :)

It will take me a while to catch you up, but I am dedicated to doing so over the next two weeks so I can get back into blogging :) I have missed it but really haven't been motivated to do it! I have so much to tell but wasn't really in the mood or didn't have the time!

But here we go :) It's time to play catch up (I promise to try and NOT overwhelm you today)!

1. Addison is wonderful. She is 6 weeks old and growing like a weed! At her 4 week appt she weight 9 lbs 5 oz. and was 22.5 inches long! Her clavicle is healing great!

2. I am healed :) I obviously tore when my precious 8.15 baby came out but I am all good now. I tore to a 2 but have healed wonderfully! Stitches are out!

3. You know what that means... I am working out again. I started working out THE DAY the Doc told me I could. I went to my 4 week checkup, he said you are good to go on workouts, I hit the gym THAT AFTERNOON! I was SOOO anxious to get back to the gym! CRAZED REALLY!

4. I started back on Weight Watchers this past Monday and we have great success so far! A little background on my preggo weight gain, etc! When I found out I was pregnant... I had just lost 25 lbs and went from a 10 to a 4/6! Well that weight quickly piled back on plus another 40 lbs! YES, that's right, I gained 65 lbs throughout the pregnancy! SCARY! I went from 145 to 210 in 10 months! I was devastated! But nothing I could do at that point! After I left the hospital, I had only lost 10 lbs (more devastation)! But over the last 6 weeks I have lost 32 lbs (half way there)! But I have MUCH left to lose! So I am back to running and lifting and being VERY good about my eating so I am hoping the other 33 lbs melt off SOON! I am in a wedding Jan 2! So, WWW posts will resume next week (once I catch you all up) :)

5. I have cut 5 inches off of my hair and it's really freaking me out :) (pics to come)

6. Birth story will be another post this week :)

7. Being a stay at home mom is what I was meant to be! Will I? We shall see!

8. Adjusting to being a mom has been challenging but wonderful and I think I almost have the hang of it :)

9. I love this little girl more and more everyday! It's amazing what God does between a mother and child! It's just such a special bond!

10. Here are some updated pics :)

I'm Alive!

2009-11-03T11:25:00.002-05:00

I'm here.

I'm alive.

I'm busy.

I'm in a blogging funk although I have TONS of stuff to blog about (mostly motherhood related stuff)!

Hope everyone had a wonderful Halloween! (our pics are to come)

I really miss you all!

Please forgive me as I am adjusting to being a new mom :) I am loving it and promise to return soon with some good information and funny stories :)

Hugs to you all... I must run, I hear a screaming, hungry baby calling for her mama! :)

Introducing Miss Addison Leigh

2009-10-13T16:15:00.000-04:00

Hey guys. I am sneaking in a second to introduce you all to my beautiful daughter Addison Leigh! I am so sorry that I am just now getting to post this but as you can imagine we are busy busy but we are absolutely wonderful! I have such a great birth story to tell you in another post. It was amazing! I am one of those that has positive things to say. Not one horror story. But that's all coming later when I have a chance to type more. :) Typing with one hand is a skill I will have to acquire :)

A few details...

Miss Addison Leigh was born Monday, October 5, 2009 at 4:33 pm. She weighed 8 lbs 15 oz and wad 21.5 in long. BIG, sweet baby :) Doc estimated she was 7.5 lbs. I'd say he was a bit off :) haha. I did not have a c-section :) The only scary thing of the day was when I delivered, because she was so big, she fractured her clavicle. But that will heal perfectly and is actually pretty common I have found out. ALM had her first pediatrician appt today and it went great and all is well. She weighs 8 lbs 12 oz now so she is ahead of schedule.

And I must brag on one more thing... she is an amazing, content, no fussing baby! She has slept 4-6 hours every night since we have been home. And her daddy and I much appreciate it. :) We are amazingly blessed with this precious child from God. We can't say thank you enough for all of your sweet thoughts and prayers throughout this journey. I am lucky to have such a wonderful support system and sweet friends :) You all are the best!!

Now, here is Miss Addison Leigh... (lot more pics to come-promise!)

Getting ready to eat :)

ALMs 1st Auburn game day. It was a bad one for our tigers.

My sweet Addison bear :)

Sleeping beauty

Meeting her brother and sis for the 1st time

Baby and Me Update

2009-10-03T11:08:00.003-04:00

Hello ladies and GOOD SATURDAY MORNING! I don't know that I have ever blogged on Saturday :) But I am here and I wanted to give you some updates and some BIG NEWS!

Let me start with my appointment that I had on Tuesday. Adam couldn't go so my mom went with me because... well... those exams are not to be tackled alone! Once he examined me he said I had thinned a little more but wasn't dilated more so he wanted to see me again Friday! But he asked me if I would like to be induced on Monday Oct 5th? WHAT?????? Induced?? at 39 weeks 1 day??? Where's my husband? Why isn't he here for this?? I am sooo indecisive I can't make this decision alone! HELLO, isn't HE my Dr! I want him to decide. So I asked him what he would do if this were his wife and he said INDUCE! So ok, decision made! Let's induce! HOLY COW!!!!!!!!!!!!! I left a little disappointed because Adam wasn't there to hear all that and help me make a decision! Plus I wasn't thinned much more and I needed to be! When they induce if you aren't thinned enough you have a 50% higher chance of c-section! Which I am not totally opposed to but I don't want one at the same time if it can be avoided!

Friday appointment: Adam was there :) WHEW! He had lots of questions! I had another exam that I was DREADING but really hoping for good news... and we GOT GOOD NEWS! I am almost dilated to a 3 and almost completely effaced. He said he felt VERY GOOD about inducing now! WHEW! (and breathe)! I was going to be so torn if I hadn't thinned more! So guess what ladies... I will be induced,

Monday, October 5th at 5:30 AM!

I will get to meet my sweet girl that I have longed to meet now for 39 weeks! My Dr said to expect her arrival around 5-8 pm! I promise to keep you all updated via Twitter and through texts (those of you I have your #)! And I will blog about the journey as soon as we get home and get all settled! I can't wait to show you my beautiful daughter!! I would be lying if I said I wasn't freaked out and excited and anxious and thrilled all at once! We are over the moon and just praying that everything goes perfect and we have a healthy baby girl!! We know it's in God's hands and God is good and sovereign and we know that He will take care of us all!

Please keep us in your prayers and say a prayer for me Monday morning (although I realize most of you won't be up at 5:30-just say a quick one when you get up)! :) Thank you all for your sweet comments and support through this journey!! Come Monday, I will have a whole new journey to share with you!!

Have a great weekend ladies! HUGS!

And here is my 38 week picture!! You can tell, she's ready! (and so am I)! :)

Last Day

2009-09-25T14:24:00.000-04:00

Today is my last day of work until I go on maternity leave!! I am super excited but kind of nervous at the same time. That means, I truly am about to be a mom :) WOW! Amazing! There's a lot of anxiety that goes with that!! But I have full faith in God and I know He will take great care of me and Addison and we will be well cared for! I am so thankful for His mercy and many blessings in my life and through this pregnancy!! I couldn't have gotten through the last 9 months without His guidance!

So... What do I plan to do over the next couple of weeks before her arrival?? Well, besides lots of doctor appointments I plan to wash bottles, wash clothes, clean house, rest, sleep, relax (as much as possible) and get ready for the arrival of my precious sweet Addison Leigh! (Did I mention CLEAN CLEAN CLEAN???) Nesting much?

I had a doctor's appointment today and because of another jump in weight he took more blood to do more labs! I think he is really concerned about Preclampsia but I have no symptoms except swelling and weight gain and HELLO, don't ALL pregnant women gain weight and swell?? :) My blood pressure has literally been perfect since I got pregnant! The scale is an old school sliding scale and I am so serious, it's CRAP! I am not revealing how much weight I have gained just yet!! I promise to do so once she's here and I have slimmed down some! For now, I want to keep that to myself! But I am very open about my weight and weight loss/gain so I promise to talk more openly about that soon!

I want to personally thank each and every one of you for your support through this pregnancy! Your sweet comments and encouragement have meant the world to me. It seriously makes my day! I am very blessed to have such a great group of friends through this blog and I am grateful for each of you! I don't know how much I will be blogging as numb fingers are not fun to type with :) But I promise to update on my pregnancy status and everything via Twitter. So if you aren't following me, you can do so on the sidebar of my blog!

And know I am reading blogs, but I know I have been slacking on commenting! I will be back in full force hopefully next week on commenting!

I am sure I will post again before her arrival but if not, thank you for your thoughts and sweet prayers!! Love u all!

Progress

2009-09-23T09:00:00.000-04:00

Ladies, we have PROGRESS!!

I had a doctor's appointment yesterday and finally got some news that was something other than, "Everything looks great. Right on track!"

I wasn't prepared for what he said but he said "Today's the day for your exam!" What???

My sweet friend Tracy had told me about the exam and how unpleasant it was! Well, she didn't lie! It was not fun ONE. SINGLE. BIT.

But he did tell me I was dilated to a 2! And 50% effaced! GREAT! We have some progress! Wonderful! He said he could induce but he would like for me to be a little thinner before he entertained that idea! i would personally like to go into labor on it's own But if she's not here by Oct 11th (her due date) then, I am down with induction!

Another piece of good news... she is HEAD DOWN! :) I am so glad because I really want to give birth vaginally and not have a c-section! But if it's necessary for her health or mine, I am of course 100% ok with it!

So ladies, we have lots of progress! YIPPEE! I have another Dr appointment Friday! I am having BAD swelling. He diagnosed me with pregnancy Carpal Tunnel syndrome! SUPER! My hands are swollen so big and my fingers are numb! UGH! Hoping the braces he prescribed help me out some!

Please keep Addison and I in your prayers!! I know God is in complete control of this situation. I am not nervous or worried. Just anxious for her arrival!! God is good. He has been so gracious in blessing me in my life with this precious child! I can't wait to meet God's little miracle that I have carried now for 9 months!

Officially 27!

2009-09-22T13:39:00.003-04:00

What a weekend I had! I got surprised by my best friends, turned 27, ate lots of yummy food and spent some precious time with my husband! It was a FANTASTIC weekend!

It started off with a rough Friday at work, then when I left work, I got to my car only to find a sweet card from Adam, Dansby and Daizy with a Cherry Laffy Taffy (my thing lately) and money to go get a mani/pedi! So I did! And it was MUCH needed and wonderful! Then when I arrived home, Adam and I went to eat at a local pizza place here and as we are walking up, I could see through the glass a guy that looked an awful lot like my best friend Jackie's husband and I was about to say "Wow, that guy freakishly looks like Jarred," when we walked in and I saw balloons and Jackie, Jarred and Shell Bell! I was SOOO surprised and that never happens. I am always suspicious! :) It was a wonderful night of good food, lots of laughs and some tears (we busted out the wedding video-ha)!

Saturday I had to work until 1:00. Then when I got home, my husband had cooked up quite the spread, some of my favorite things! He even boiled me some peanuts! YUM! He had invited some of our friends over to hang out and watch football all day, so that's what we did! It was fun and sooo nice! Just to hang with our friends. We haven't gotten to do that much since I got pregnant! Auburn won- whoop whoop!

Sunday, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME! Adam and I were supposed to go to a family reunion but it was canceled so we were LAZY ALL DAY! It was awesome! We laid in bed and skipped church (BAD BAD)! We jut enjoyed being together and went to dinner later that night in Auburn for some YUMMY Mexican! For my birthday, besides all the precious sweet things he did for me, like clean, mani/pedi, invite friends to surprise me, etc... he got me two bookcases I have been desperately wanting to go on either side of our TV stand! It now looks like an entertainment center! :) I will post pics soon!

Needless to say, this birthday was special for so many reasons! It was the last one before I am a mom! My husband truly made it wonderful! So special! He totally spoiled me and I am sooo grateful for that! He is just the most amazing husband. I can't begin to explain!

Here's my 37 week pic :) Almost time! I will have to post pics from my birthday soon! They are all on my new Canon and I am not quite sure how to get them off yet :) ha!

I had NO idea...

2009-09-16T11:35:00.000-04:00

... all the things that would change the end of my pregnancy! I sailed through the first 34 weeks of this pregnancy with little to no problems. No sickness, no sleepless nights, etc! Well boy have things changed!! Here is my list of things that have changed since I hit the 34 week mark!! And now being at 36.5 weeks these things get harder and harder and some are funnier and funnier! Some are funny, some not so much, but all the same, I need to share with you just to prepare you if you have never been pregnant but will one day!! And it's funny to read even if you have been pregnant because I am sure you can sympathize :)

I can no longer paint my toenails. It's just funny to even try!
Going to the bathroom and wiping has just become plain comical!
Putting on pants, panties, skirts, etc is hysterical! I can't lift a leg without almost falling over!
Looking (or feeling) sexy! It's just not happening!
Getting in and out of the bath!! Someone really should video this (well if I am not naked!)
Hugging! I have to do the whole "ass out" hug thing! REALLY funny!
Even maternity clothes aren't fitting these days, my belly hangs over things and t shirts no longer cover it!
Walking, yep I am pretty much waddling and I said I never would!
Shoes... I said I would wear heels the whole 9 months, WRONG! My feet won't fit in any shoes, not even flats, so pretty much it's flip flops for this girl!
I think my thighs are as big as my waist once was! There's no baby in there why did they get big?
Numb finger tips! YEP my right hand finger tips are numb which makes for interesting typing, etc!
Emotions... they have been in check until now. I cry over ANY and EVERY thing!
Shopping, even THAT isn't fun anymore. It hurts to stand up too long. My hips literally feel like I am 100 years old! (So shopping online has been SUPER!)
HOT! I am constantly hot! My poor husband is freezing all the time. Our air stays on 68!
Sleeping, I am still sleeping ok! I do get up to tinkle about every 2-3 hours though!
Working, I sit at a desk all day! That has become COMPLETE misery! My mind isn't on work, it's on GET THIS BABY OUT!
Shaving, my legs still get shaved every day! HAVE TO! But it's quite uncomfortable so I do it FAST, therefore, more cuts!
Energy, some days I have lots, some days I have none! Just depends! Gets less and less everyday!

So pretty much my everyday chores and responsibilities are completely in chaos!! I don't do pain well so I will admit I am complaining a bit! But not much longer until I get to hold my sweet girl! I can't wait! But until then, I am enjoying time with my husband, just us! He has been wonderful through this whole pregnancy!! Tending to my every need and want! I definitely love him more everyday! God truly blessed me with an AMAZING husband!!

Here is my 36 week picture!! You will notice the swelling of the face and feet :)

Push & Birthday Present

2009-09-14T15:00:00.001-04:00

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend! I certainly did! I spent all day Saturday getting out and organizing my winter clothes! It was fun. To me, it's always like shopping all over again. The things I bought at the end of last winter have been in huge Tupperware bins all summer and I completely forgot about them! That took me about 6 hours to do! It was rough, especially being 9 months pregnant!

YEP, I said it... 9 MONTHS PREGNANT!!!

Yeah, holy cow! But I am so glad to be in the home stretch. The pain and discomfort has really set in and is taking a toll on me. Sitting at a desk all day is getting pretty rough but I am suffering through for 3 more weeks then my maternity leave will begin October 5 unless Addison graces us with her presence before then! We shall see!

Speaking of 9 months pregnant... guess what I got a week ago (shame on my for just now blogging about it). I got this...

It was waiting on me last Friday when I got home from work but my husband was no where to be found. The note said to open it, so I tore into that thing like I was a 5 year old kid at a birthday party! And inside I found...

Yes, that's right, a Canon Rebel XS! And I am in love. This thing is amazing. Of course I am still learning to use it, but the camera and picture quality is outstanding!! Pics from it to come later this week! :) My husband really went above and beyond!! He is the most wonderful husband in the world. He has taken such good care of me this pregnancy and literally waited on me hand and foot. He is the best and I can't wait to sit back and watch him be a dad. (and of course capture it all with this awesome camera!!)

And speaking of presents... my birthday is Sunday :) WOOT WOOT! We went to Alabama Sunday to celebrate my bday (9/20) and my brother's bday (9/16) at my parents!! It was so fun! Nothing like a 27 (soon to be) lady and a 39 (soon to be) man playing pin the tail on the donkey :) Even my 81 year old grandmother got in on the fun! I did TERRIBLE. I pinned the tail to the left of his face!! It was bad but hysterical!

My precious mom and dad who have been nothing short of OUTFREAKINGSTANDING during my entire pregnancy got me a wonderful present that I was hoping to have before Addison's arrival. I have been saying I really wanted to get a video camera. Nothing fancy but I want one to capture moments that pictures just can't! Well, my mom out did herself, I was thrilled to receive this...

It's a Kodak Zi6 Pocket Video Camera. It's literally the size of Adam's blackberry and it's even lighter! I love it. It's all charged up and ready to capture some video :) It holds 200 hours of video and I can't wait to catch Addison being silly :)

So I thought I would show off and brag a little :) Forgive me! But I am dang excited about my new electronics :)

Meet the Newlyweds!

2009-09-10T08:34:00.002-04:00

Yes we have been married for one year and almost 5 months (Saturday), but check out this awesome blog ran by Sweet Pea over at Newlyweds. Each week she posts a "Meet the Newlyweds" post introducing a couple to the blog world and this week I am lucky enough to be one half of the couple for this week-ha :)

The post tells a little about Adam and I, how we met and how our relationship evolved!! It was fun to read this over again! I love my sweet husband so much. He will never really know how much! We have been through our share of ups and downs but I have to say our relationship is stronger than ever and I grow to love him more EVERYDAY!

With us welcoming our first child in a few weeks, we both worry about how we will balance parenthood and our relationship, but I know we will be great at it. It will take some practice and getting used to but with God's guidance our relationship with flourish even more, I just know it!

So check out "Meet the Newlyweds"!!! Happy reading!

XOXO

Hello Old Navy!

2009-09-08T13:31:00.000-04:00

It's Fall! Yeah it still may be like 80 something degrees here in GA but to me, it's fall! It's September, the leaves are starting to change, football has officially kicked off and well... IT'S FALL! :)

I currently have no waistline, my boobs are ENORMOUS, my hands and feet are swollen like something I have never seen, but I can't help but shop for these beautiful fall clothes that are all around me. Everyday I have a new email from J. Crew, Old Navy, Victoria's Secret, Forever 21, Urban Outfitters, etc! The temptation is rough, but I have withstood it until now. How can I continue to be good with all these "sales?"

I think the answer lies within Old Navy! I will tell you, Old Navy has really stepped it up this year!! I am really digging a couple of their fall items so I thought I would share! Super trendy and super cute and we all know you can't really beat their prices!

1. Wool Coat

2. Pointelle-trim Cardigan

3. Cardigan

4. Swing Jacket

5. One Button Cardigan

6. Sweater Swing Coat

Where Addison will sleep sound and dream! (Right??)

2009-09-04T13:42:00.000-04:00

I am due October 11th. My goal was to have Addison's room finished and baby ready by September 1st so I could relax the last month! Well I am pleased to announce, it was finished and completed Aug. 31st. I was one day early! :)

We are all set for Addison's arrival! Thanks to wonderful family and friends for all their sweet and kind gifts, Addison is one spoiled baby already and she has no idea!!

Originally I wanted to go with something funky, because well I am funky a little :) but ultimately i decided to go the sweet baby route :) We did a color scheme of baby pink, bright pink, sage green and yellow. I have to say this room wouldn't be what it is without my husband. He loves this little girl so much already!! He painted her room, put up crown molding, put up chair rail, built and painted those fabulous bookcases, hung her letters and all the pictures and put together all her furniture. One day Addison will hear the story of how her daddy was so excited to get her room ready! (Almost as much as mommy!)

This is the view from the door into her room!

Her changing table!

A closer look :)

This door leads to the bathroom that connects her nursery and spare room but since she won't be using the bathroom anytime soon (well toilet) we won't be using this door either!

A DIY project mom and I tackled with some spray glue, Amy Butler fabric, cheap ribbon and a cork board from TJ Maxx!

The beautiful shelves Adam built for Addison! Remember this post about his project, well here's the final piece!! Amazing huh?

The two pictures above it say:

"For you formed my inward parts. You knitted me together in my mother's womb.I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well."Psalm 139: 13-14

"For this child I prayed and the Lord has granted me my petition that I made to Him."1 Samuel 1:27

Her closet and glider!

Her crib and the gorgeous custom bedding from Javis Davis by Amy Butler!

A closer look!!

The letters that I hand painted for my sweet little girl!!

Inside her crib where she will sleep so quietly every night right?? haha! yeah right!

Inside her closet, where some of the most beautiful clothing hangs!! :)

DIY: Rock-a-bye baby

2009-09-03T15:56:00.005-04:00

So I promised a DIY project reveal this week didn't I? Well here it is! And boy is it exciting. To me it is anyway.

A little background... When we found out we were having a baby, I immediately started thinking of names, planning his/her room and making all kinds of plans! Well, these plans turned out to be SUPER expensive so we thrifted in every way possible for furniture for the babies room. Soon after we found out we were having a girl, my mom (being the AMAZING MOM SHE IS) found the most amazing rocker/glider at a thrift store for $20. Yeah, that's right, $20. Now we all know they can run upwards of $200 plus so I was thrilled! That meant we could spend more on bedding right? Oh wait, we are being thrifty right?? Anyway, I was so excited to hear she found that, well when I saw it in person, I was less than thrilled... here is what I saw...

OH MY! My mom has an eye for these things... ME?? Not so much!! But I trusted her and her DIY skills and two coats of KILZ primer and some white paint, $10 worth of fabric and TADA!!!! We had the beautiful rocker you see below!! It doesn't even look like the same one does it?? And we saved ourselves a couple of hundred dollars going this route! Sure I would have loved to have one of those big comfy recliner gliders, but trust me, this thing is so comfortable and for about $50 it makes Addison's room look dreamy! Stay tuned for a post on her room tomorrow!

I present to you the DIY project of my amazing and talented mother! Whatcha think? And yes, that is a pink feather boa on the back--haha! And you can see a lil' sneak peek of her room in this pic too :)

Kim K

2009-08-31T11:13:00.003-04:00

I have MUCH to share this week and I promise to do so!! I have been slacking on my blogging I know!! But I will be back in the swing this week :)

I might (or might not) be sharing pics and stories from:

- Addison's room!

- My shower pics from this past weekend. The showers were amazing!

- A DIY project that my mom did for me. Wait 'til you see this!!

But before I get into all that, I saw this picture on People.com today and I had to do a double take! It's of one of my fave celebs, Kim Kardashian. Now, they did say she was leaving the gym and personally, I am NO BEAUTY QUEEN when I leave the gym. I am sweaty and stinky with NO MAKEUP on! I do look different with no makeup on. I think I look a little scary :) ha.

Anyway, take a look at this pic and tell me if at first glance you see the BEAUTIFUL Kim I usually see?? It's good to see a celeb look normal like the rest of us, not air brushed :)

Fall is in the air!!

2009-08-25T10:17:00.005-04:00

It's been a week since I have posted. That's weird for me! I didn't even realize it! I had a very busy week last week at work and then Wednesday and Thursday I was out of the office and Friday I took off to spend the day with my mom! Adam was at a wedding in Wisconsin!! We missed him DEARLY and are so glad he's home!

I am going to stray away from my usual baby posts! I will do one later this week!

Fall is coming... I can feel it in the air... I can smell it... And I CAN'T WAIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Fall is my favorite time of year. It used to be summer but now that I am older, Fall is definitely my favorite for so many reasons!

Here are just a few reasons...

1. Auburn Football

2. Cool weather and changing leaves.

3. Halloween

4. The smell of anything pumpkin... particularly loving Bath and Body Works "Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin" (now on sale for $3)

5. Fall clothes... here are some of my current faves I am eyeing!

- Victoria's Secret Silk & cashmere cardigan sweater -

- Victoria's Secret Fleece pleated jacket with hood

- Victoria's Secret Silk ruffle-sleeve top

- Steve by Steve Madden Flat Boot

- Nine West Gorn Boot

6. And of course this fall I am MOST looking forward to the arrival of my daughter Addison!

What are you most looking forward to for fall?

Announcement & 32 weeks

2009-08-18T16:23:00.001-04:00

Well let me start off by telling you what WAS a secret!! We all love those right?

Do any of you remember A Belle and Her Beau?? If you do, you know it's been about 5 months since she last blogged. I get on to her a lot telling her it's time to come back to Blogworld! Well, some of you know but most of you don't probably; she and I work together! And over the past year have become really good friends! We are a lot alike in so many ways, yet different in so many others! We went from strangers, to coworkers to good friends!! And have even forced our husbands to become friends! :) She is helping throw my baby shower here and she is a great friend and I know I can always count on her!

Well since she isn't blogging at the moment... I have okayed it with her to let you all in on a little secret!!

SHE IS HAVING A BABY!!!!!!!!!!!!

She is 14 weeks along and couldn't be more excited. I think I am almost as excited as she is! :) It will be great for Addison to have a sweet boy or girl to grow up around and be BFF :)

I won't give away too much about how her pregnancy has gone, etc, just in case she decides to grace up with her presence in Blogworld again soon! I know you all miss her RIGHT??? Take this opportunity to tell her congrats and you miss her! Here is a sweet picture that we took so she could tell her friends she was pregnant! :) Isn't she beautiful??

And here's my 32 week picture. I had a Dr appt this morning and he said everything looked good. I am measuring 33 weeks but that doesn't mean a lot! Just taking things one day at a time and praying my back doesn't break in half!! It's killing me!! ALL THE TIME! Other than that, no complaints! Well, except that here in GA it's HOTT AS HADES! Here's to 8 (or less) more weeks of just me and Adam before we officially welcome our first sweet baby to start our very blessed family! To God be all the glory!

Beaba Babycook, anyone?

2009-08-14T09:35:00.000-04:00

Is anyone familiar with the Beaba Babycook from Williams Sonoma??

There's a video you can watch on the product and it looks so easy, so fresh and so "green!" I think Addison is going to have to have this!! It seems so awesome!! And in the reviews, people PRAISE it! Do any of you have this? Know anything about it? Plan to use it? Have used it?

Here's what they say on the site about it...

The French baby-food maker that has won praise throughout Europe is
finally available to American families. This compact counter top appliance
multitasks as a steamer, blender, warmer and defroster to prepare fresh,
healthy meals for baby. It starts by steam cooking vegetables, fruits, meat
and fish in less than 15 minutes, preserving their vitamins and flavors, then purees or blends them to your desired consistency. You can also use it to quickly reheat
or defrost precooked foods.

Hometown Baby Shower

2009-08-11T16:50:00.001-04:00

Sunday I had my hometown, AL baby shower! It was so fun and absolutely beautiful!! 8 of my friends got together to throw it for me and they did a spectacular job with decorating, food and gifts!! :)

I started writing thank you notes today and it made me realize how blessed I am to have such wonderful friends! So many people showered Addison and I with gifts that are so precious and sweet that it's hard to even explain how blessed we are! She got lots of new clothes, diapers and toys!! We have yet to organize it all but I am working on it a little each night! :)

I thought I would share a few pics with you girls!! But before I do, I wanted to tell you about a good friend of mine that makes the MOST GORGEOUS wreaths. She is a life long friend with all kinds of creativity! She can do any kind of wreath but she is currently selling the one she made for my shower on Etsy!! You can find her here!! The picture is beautiful but trust me, in person it's AMAZING! If you have a shower you are throwing or going to, check out her Etsy store, these make great gifts!! One of my faves from Sunday! Here's the wreath!! and other shower pics!

My mom and I!

My mother in law and sister in law!

Really, a babies closet?

2009-08-07T14:56:00.000-04:00

Let me preface this post by explaining a few things! I will start off by saying that Addison is the FIRST grandchild for my mother! And the first grandDAUGHTER for Adam's parents! Let me explain our family history briefly. See if you can follow (it might be a challenge)! :)

- Adam's parents are still together after I believe around 35 years. AMAZING!

- He has one sister and she has THREE sons! So his parents have three grandsons!

EASY RIGHT??? Yeah my family, not so much! Here we go!

- My parents were both previously married! But have been married for 28 years now!

- My dad had 3 sons with his first wife!

- My mom had 1 son with her first husband!

- I am the only child from my parents marriage!

- So I have 4 HALF BROTHERS!

- All of which are AT LEAST 12 years older!

- They are: J, 38 (my moms son); K, 39; D, 41; B, 43

- I am not close to any of them but I am the closest to J. We are closest in age and I actually remember him living at home!

- My dad has two grandsons ages 21 and 24. And one granddaughter, 19,

- He also has one great granddaughter!

I tell you all this to make a few points... 1) my family is slightly dysfunctional like most are in some way! 2) I am pretty much an only child. I was raised like one anyway! 3) and out of 5 children between my parents, I am the ONLY GIRL!

What does this tell you???? I was spoiled! Not rotten. But was spoiled. I was taught to appreciate everything I got! And Addison will be the same! She will learn to appreciate everything she is given and she will know that everyday is a blessing! My family wasn't a wealthy family. My mom worked very hard to make sure that I could always have what I wanted. But I knew my limits. I would have never asked for a brand new car when I was 16. I knew better. We weren't rich and I knew that. I was just thankful to be getting a car at all. So I looked for something reasonable along with my parents help! Instead of a newer/trendier car like some of my friends had, I got a 1996 Mazda Protege :) And I loved it!

So why did I tell you this long story (well besides that fact that now you know me better :) )??? Just to say that I am the baby of my parents, I will always be their baby! And this is my mom's first grandchild and she has GONE NUTS FOR HER!! If you don't remember the video check it out! Addison is going to be one blessed child to have four grandparents that love her so along with a mommy and daddy that absolutely adore her!!! But I have to tell you that my mom is beyond ecstatic about her arrival. It's so sweet to see her so excited! I can't wait to see my mom ohhh and ahhhh over her! And because of this crazy EXCITEMENT, she has bought her some of the cutest outfits EVER!

Here is my darling daughter's closet... 9 weeks before her arrival and before EITHER baby shower we are having!

I thought I would share some of my favorite outfits she has so far! Here are just a few things that her Grammy (my mom) has bought her!

Push Present

2009-08-03T10:42:00.004-04:00

I am assuming that everyone has heard of a push present??? If not you can find the meaning here. I thought long and hard about what I wanted! It seems jewelry is the most popular push gift! I just wasn't sure that is what I particularly wanted. Several things came to mind as I pondered and dreamed ...

David Yurman Petite Albion Black Onyx Ring I have wanted a DY ring for a looong time and why not try for one now right??

David Yurman Cable Collectible Initial Necklace While browsing the rings, I ran across this... and absolutely fell in love!! PERFECT!

I even pondered hinting at a pre-planned 1st family vacation.

But ultimately I felt like I needed to ~~demand~~ ask for something I could USE! Something I have always wanted but never REALLY needed until now... a Canon Rebel. I could never justify asking for one considering most of my picture taking took place at bars, restaurants, family functions and outings with friends! So I have always had a pocket sized Kodak! Well ladies, what better reason to upgrade your camera that a beautiful new child. We have lots of memories we want to capture of Addison! I am quite sure I will be one of those annoying picture taking crazy moms :)

Here are the two cameras that are vying for my heart!! I lean toward the XS but I still have some research to do! And what better place to purchase than Amazon, right?? :) (hint hint)

Canon Digital Rebel XSi 12.2 MP Digital SLR Camera

Canon Rebel XS 10.1MP Digital SLR Camera

Any advice you ladies have on these cameras, I am open to!! I just can't wait to snap some beautiful pics of my precious little girl with one of these AMAZING cameras!! :)

Birthing Class and 30 weeks

2009-08-03T09:57:00.003-04:00

Saturday Adam and I attended our birthing class. Let me tell you, this class both EXCITED and SCARED the crap out out of me! Here are a few things I learned...

Why do epidurals go down and not up???? Um, they actually can go UP and you have to be rushed to the OR and intubated until it wears off. In other words, it numbs your brain!!! HELLO! Scary!
I will be having an epidural!! FOR SURE! We watched two videos. One of natural childbirth and one with the epidural... I want DRUGS!
If you breast feed, they recommend you not use ANY bottles for the first 12 weeks so the baby doesn't get "nipple confusion"! WHAT??? I will be using bottles! FOR SURE!
Now a days, they say do not let your baby sleep in a crib with a bumper. They could smother themselves?? Couldn't they also knock themselves out on the bars?? I was confused!
Gaining close to 50 lbs isn't abnormal. It's not the best thing, but more women get closer to 50 than the 35 recommended. WHEW!
They say don't come to the hospital until your contractions are like 3-4 minutes apart. I will be there as soon as I feel the FIRST contraction. I might be waiting forever til they give me a room but I am not hanging out at home and taking the risk of dilating really fast and not being able to get an epidural!
I have a whole new respect for women that don't get epidurals after watching that video!
C-sections aren't as bad as I thought they would be, but watching the video scared to POO out of me!
When the head is crowning they refer to it as the "burning ring of fire!" thank you for drugs :)
Apparently there is a right and wrong way for a baby to suck on your nipple and if they do it wrong apparently it can be pure HELL for the mother! GREAT! I mean I can't school my baby how to do this right! What do I do so my nipples don't crack and bleed???
I completely understand why people don't breastfeed these days! You are supposed to breastfeed every TWO hours from the time you START! Apparently that's all you do!
If you poop on the delivery table, no one will see but the nurse. They put up a curtain of sorts so no one sees it! I don't have a fear of this... I am just quite sure it's gonna happen and after this weekend it's VERY common!

I could go on and on but just know that I learned LOTS that got me very excited. Made the whole thing seem more real and she will be here in 10 short weeks. Could be as few at 6 or 7.

I have a Dr appt Wednesday and we will be hearing the heartbeat! I love that! So I can't wait!

I leave you with my 30 week picture! It is kinda scary how big I am!! I am large and she is too and she lets me know that daily by kicking my ribs so much that they are sore... like someone kicked me, oh yeah they did!

An amazing book & weekend update

2009-07-29T10:30:00.005-04:00

Sorry I have been MIA lately!! I have been preoccupied by something... what you ask?

Somewhere In Between Us By Mojito Maven!!

Let me say, I don't read. I have never enjoyed reading all that much. I love me some magazines, but never made time for reading. I have read some fabulous books and always say I need to read more but I never make time to do it!

This book had me so wound up, I cried. YES, I cried 3 or 4 times. I guess pregnancy and a good book and some emotional reading = tears from me :) I have to say that my friend MM is so talented and she is a WONDERFUL writer. I don't do book reviews because, well, I don't read :) But this is seriously one of the best things I have ever read. The plot, the characters, the storyline... FABULOUS FABULOUS FABULOUS! All of it!

So if you have time, head on over and check out Somewhere In Between Us! I promise you once you start, you won't be able to stop!!! I am craving that next chapter!

I knew MM was a cool chick, a great friend and one hell of a blogger, but I had no idea she was such a talented and spectacular writer!! Head on over now to check out her blog and her book!

................................................................................................................................................................

This weekend we made GREAT headway on Addison's room. My wonderful husband painted and put up chair rail while my mom and I shopped. While on our shopping excursion, we picked up a chandelier for her room. It's gorgeous and looks AWESOME in her room! We also picked up two rugs, neither of which looked good once we got them home! We got her some clothes of course! Her closet is officially RIDICULOUS! But I am so blessed to have such a wonderful mother who is so excited about her first grandchild she can hardly stand it! We also got window treatments for her room! We decided to go with something plain and sweet. Photos to come soon! :) Overall, my weekend was great. Love spending time with my mom!!

This weekend Adam and I will be going to our "Birthing Class." It's from 8:30 am - 5:00 pm! So that means NO sleeping in Saturday and I am not happy about that. But I am excited to learn more about our baby and what's to come with the birth! I am also prepared that I could walk out of the class crying and screaming "I can't do this!!" But I don't have a choice, this precious blessing is coming out one way or another in less than 11 weeks! HOLY COW! We are getting more and more anxious to meet her! We can't wait! I will have PLENTY to say Monday I am sure about all I learn! :) So get ready! ha!

Hope all of your weekends were great and your week is FAB! XOXO!

3rd trimester occurances

2009-07-24T10:36:00.005-04:00

Ladies (and maybe a few gentleman)... the time has come... I am officially in my 3rd trimester! YIPPEE! So with this comes MANY new things! For the most part, my pregnancy has been absolutely the closest thing to perfect I could ever have imagined. No sickness, no nausea, none of the HORRID things I had read about. Other than BAD sleepiness the first, oh say, 22 weeks or so, it's been absolutely wonderful! A pure blessing. I know I struggled with my weight at first, but I am embracing my "puffiness" more everyday and I know this sweet little girl I am carrying is all the reason for it! Well, her and a few candy bars and ice cream probably :)

So far I have gained 36 lbs! YEP. I told you that! ha! 36!!!! It's a scary number to me because my original goal was only to gain around 35 total! I still have 11 weeks to go so obviously my goal is out the window. That's ok. I will bounce back in no time! Probably looking like 45-50, but hey, that's ok. It's for a good cause right! however, my Dr does want me to watch it because he doesn't want me to get Preeclampsia. So I am trying to be better about watching what I put in my mouth! I mean hello some of the weight is inevitable, right?

Along with this 36 extra pounds I am carrying is a 3.5 pound baby! YES, I said it! 3.5 POUNDS! At this point she should be around 2-2.5 lbs. But not my big girl :) We got to see her for the last time until her arrival in October, on Tuesday. She did not want us to see her face, she kept her hands up the whole time! But we did get a glimpse of those precious cheeks :)

So along with my journey into the 3rd (and FINAL) trimester, a few things have changed for me! Along with a FAST growing bump (see pic below for proof) here are a few things that are rapidly changing:

- Harder to shave my legs and pretty much impossible to shave my "whooha"
- Harder to sit down and get up! I need a push and a pull most days!
- My belly is itching like crazy
- I have resorted to biweekly pedicures due to not being able to lift my legs up high enough to do it myself :)
- ALM is kicking me like crazy. It's amazing!
- My tailbone feels like I busted my butt while skating :)
- And my feet have OFFICIALLY begun swelling, however, I am still wearing my heels and wedges :) YEPPERS!
- My emotional craziness just kicked in recently. Mood swings are here and they are rampant!
- Things all over are swelling!
- Finally, people are saying "You're pregnant!??! When are you due?" So they don't just think I am getting chubby anymore :)
- I won't be able to wear my wedding rings too much longer. These phalanges are puffy :)

I won't bore you with more although I could go on for days :) I will leave you with this picture comparison of 25 weeks and 28 weeks. Amazing what has happened to my body in 3 weeks! I will be 29 weeks on Sunday... 11 weeks to go! HOLY BABY BATMAN! This weekend we are painting ALMs room and then we will be in the homestretch of decorating :) YAY! Have a fab weekend girls. XOXO

My husband's a genius!

2009-07-22T08:56:00.003-04:00

This past weekend we accomplished several BIG things that I have been wanting done for a while. I painted the master bath (pics to come) while my wonderful, sweet, hard-working husband built Addison's bookcase for her nursery!

The original idea for this bookcase came from Pottery Barn Kids... my mom and I saw it in their catalog about 6 months or so ago and we both fell in love. And with our last name beginning with an "M" and all it just seemed perfect for the nursery! Once we decided to name her Addison we did consider only building half of it so it would make an "A" but ultimately decided I needed more space to put more stuff :) ha!

This is the "Montgomery 4 Shelf Bookcase" from PB

The original bookcase on Pottery Barn's website was $600. It was called the "Montgomery 4 Shelf Bookcase"! I was in love! So I asked Adam if he thought he could build it seeing as how it looked simple enough I was sure he could. And sure enough, he could and DID! And it turned out even better than I had imagined! He worked so hard to get all the measurements perfect and it turned out just that way, PERFECT!

Instead of spending $600 on a PB bookcase, we have a family original that we will have for a long time to come that cost us $160! Thanks go Home Depot for having all the supplies we needed Saturday! :) Big help!

It took Adam about 5 hours to do all the measuring, cutting and building and I was so shocked it all got put together so fast! It is beautiful!

Our next step is to paint it! We will prime it of course then paint it white. That is my plan for now, but seeing as how I change my mind ALL OF THE TIME these days, it could end up another color but quite sure white it is! Time will tell!

Here is Adam's masterpiece. It is wonderful. We put it in her room last night and it fits perfect and looks AWESOME! Now, paint will make it even better, once I decide ha!

Baby Shower Hostess Gifts-HELP!

2009-07-20T14:29:00.003-04:00

Requesting advice!!! :)

I have my hometown baby shower in Alabama coming up on August 9th. It's being thrown by 8 hostesses! YEAH that's a lot! But I am so thankful that each of them volunteered to help throw my shower for Addison. I am beyond blessed to have such wonderful friends! I can't wait!

Now here is where your MUCH NEEDED ADVICE comes into play! With 8 hostesses obviously I can't go out and spend a lot on hostess gifts. But I want it to be something cute, unique and fun! I am open to any and all suggestions!! Obviously they are all ladies, but range in age from mid 20's to 60's! These ladies are good people and are doing a lot for me so I want to thank them in a classy, unique way!! Help me come up with a few ideas pretty please :)

I have a few idea floating around in this pregnant mind of mine :) But I want to hear what you ladies have done for your hostesses, gotten as a hostess gift or just what you think would be a great idea!! Thanks for helping this scatter brained pregnant woman out :)

A. Tierney Giveaway Winner

2009-07-20T08:07:00.003-04:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. I had a busy/crazy, but good, weekend. More details on that later! But just so you know what's coming... we finally completed the master bathroom! Whooooo! :) And Adam got Addison's bookcase built and it is BEAUTIFUL!! Pics to come.

Thanks to all 44 of you who entered the A. Tierney giveaway. I wish I could give all 44 of you a cute pink bag!! But hey, if you didn't win, you can still get your very own bag for $15. I used a random number generator to pick the winner. Here is my proof of how I got our wonderful/fabulous winner!

Congratulations to Tara at Jimmy Choos and Tennis Shoes!

She said her favorite thing on the A. Tierney website was "those bangles are so pretty! what a fun giveaway! I need that tote : )"

I hope you enjoy your tote girl. I was excited to see your name when I was counting! This is perfect for you! Email me with your shipping address and A. Tierney will mail your bag directly to you! Yay!

Happy Monday girls!