Life {Sweet} Life

Happy Valentine's Day!

2012-02-14T09:53:00.000-06:00

Happy Valentine's Day from my little love doctor! Yes, I unintentionally continued the theme from last year. I bought this Dr. Love shirt from Baby Gap on clearance for $2 when I was pregnant with him, knowing he'd wear it someday. Can't believe it already fits! I wanted a picture of him to send out to the family for Valentine's Day, so the other morning I decided to take one before he left for MDO. The sunglasses seemed to be the perfect addition, and the sucker...well, that's what we call "the-secret-to-get-him-to-stand-still-for-longer-than-2-seconds-so-I-can-take-a-picture" trick. Luckily for me I'm a hoarder, so when he didn't want to participate in a photo shoot I ran to my stash and pulled out this sucker that was left from a party we went to last year, and that did the trick!

I loved the way the picture turned out, so decided to use it as his class Valentine too. I picked up a package of party favor sunglasses at Hobby Lobby, put the sunglasses in a little baggie from Dollar Tree, and tied his card to it.

My mom always had a little treat for us on Valentine's Day, so I've continued that tradition with Manny. Against my better judgment, I picked up some of the musical instruments at the Target Dollar Spot as I knew he'd love them. And he does - they're a smashing success for sure! He hasn't stopped playing "music" since he got up. :) I also bought the little mailbox at the Dollar Spot, and glued it to a candlestick from Dollar Tree. I first saw this idea last year on Emily's blog, and was so excited when Target put the mailboxes out again this year since they were gone by the time I went to look last year.

He was so excited about all the toys that he wasn't sure where to start. I think the xylophone is his favorite though...he even insisted on taking it with him in the car on our way to MDO.

My sweet mom & dad also sent him a Valentine's treat - he was very excited about that too! Thanks mom & dad...you guys are so thoughtful. :)

Happy Valentine's Day friends!

Our Love Story

2012-02-13T16:22:00.000-06:00

I've seen several of my blog friends post their "Love Story" as part of the From Mrs. to Mama What's Your Love Story Link-Up. Of course I'm way late to the game, but I thought it'd be fun to share our love story so it's "officially documented" somewhere. (Sidenote: does anyone else have grand visions of your children and grandchildren eagerly gathering around to read your blog book in the years to come? No? Um, me neither.) I know I've shared some of this before, and I'm also skipping some of the questions in the interest of keeping this post from being a novel. We all know brevity is not my strong suit.

1. How long have you and your significant other been together?

Patrick and I "officially" met on June 5, 2005, and began dating within a week. We were married April 8, 2006, so we're coming up on our 6 year wedding anniversary. That's really the only one we keep track of.

2. How did you meet?

We actually "knew" each other as kids. Patrick's aunt lived in the town where I grew up and we went to the same church. Patrick's family would come in to visit her, and so I knew of him from that. He's 5 years older than me though, so we never really hung out much as kids. Fast forward several years later, and my mom and his Aunt Treva decided to set us up. He was living in Chicago at the time, and I was working a job in Tulsa where I traveled quite a bit. However, thanks to mom & Treva's persistence, the stars aligned and we were both in my hometown the same weekend, and we met one Sunday morning at church. If you're itching for more of that story, you can read it here.

3. If you are married, where did you get married at? Big or small wedding?
We got married at The Dresser Mansion in Tulsa, OK. We had approximately 200 guests and it was the perfect day! We took a risk and scheduled an outdoor ceremony in early April. Thankfully the weather cooperated. If you're interested, a few years ago I posted more about our wedding as part of the Kelly's Korner Show Us Your Life series: The Wedding Party & Flowers, Our Reception & Honeymoon, and My Dress.

4. Do you have any nick-names that you call one another? Do share!

Patrick has called me Princess since we first stated dating, simply because Sarah means "Princess". :) He also calls me Radio. I mostly call him Babe, or Jeffy, or the newest one is 6. (All of these have pretty funny stories as to the origination but they're too long to share.)

5. Name 3 things you love most about your honey.

His patience, his thoughtfulness, and his humble spirit. He is such a good man - the Lord knew it'd take someone special to put up with me. :)

6. Tell us how he proposed?

Patrick had just started residency in Waco (I was still living in Tulsa) and things were pretty crazy. Since we had a long distance relationship, we often sent each other care packages, and I always joked that the FedEx man was quickly becoming my new favorite guy. A couple days prior to our engagement, he had told me he sent me a package so to be watching for the FedEx guy. Patrick was on his ER rotation, which meant he was working some long shifts. We talked on the phone one Friday morning, and he had told me he was getting ready to go in for his shift, so that he'd just talk to me the next day. Fast forward to that Friday night, where I was hanging out with my roommate eating Taco Bueno and watching Friends reruns. It was probably around 10 pm, and her phone rings and she takes off to her bedroom to take the call. In hindsight, I should've known then that something was up. She never came back out, and a few minutes later there's a knock at our door. I contemplated not answering since I was in my pj's and probably had hot sauce smeared all over me from the crunchy potato burrito I'd just inhaled, but I decided to answer anyway. Imagine my surprise when I found Patrick standing (actually kneeling) at the door when I opened it!! He had flowers, and the nurses he worked with had made him an official looking FedEx name badge that he was wearing. :) He said all sorts of sweet things, and I just stood there in shock, still not processing how he was here when he was supposed to be in Waco working. When he was done talking he handed me a clipboard that had what looked like a FedEx delivery confirmation on it, and said "Will you marry me?" The whole thing was so cute and unexpected, and just blew me away. I will never forget that night. :)

7. Tell us what you plan on doing on this Valentine's Day.
We were going to just go out to dinner tomorrow night, but our baby-sitter fell through. We have another one lined up for this weekend, so we plan to just do a date night then...probably dinner and possibly a movie.

8. Are you asking for anything this Valentine's day?
No, we don't really get into Valentine's gifts. We usually exchange cards but that's it.

9. Give us one piece of advice of keeping a relationship strong and full of love.
Marriage is work. If you expect to just go through the motions and keep your marriage fulfilled, it won't happen. Invest in each other and your marriage, whether it be through thoughtful actions, little gifts, doing a couple's devotional together, or attending a marriage seminar. Remember neither of you are perfect, and it takes compromise.

10. Show us a picture of what love means to you.
I can't help but choose this picture of Patrick & Manny. Seeing them together does something to my heart that is simply amazing. I love these two guys more than I ever knew was possible! I can't ever thank the Lord enough for the blessings He's given me. :)

Bunco Fun!

2012-02-10T14:53:00.005-06:00

Well I survived Bunco last night! We had so much fun but wow I'm exhausted. Remind me not to try to clean my house from top to bottom and throw a party all in one day. While 28 weeks pregnant. And keeping up with a wild toddler. I feel like I'm recovering from boot camp today. I actually felt pretty good yesterday. In fact, I didn't realize how tired I was until I sat down, and then it hit me hardcore. I kept hoping I'd lose just so I wouldn't have to get up and move tables. And I was pretty much successful at that. Ha!

Anyway, I took pictures of the setup, but of course didn't manage to get any once everyone got there...things just got crazy.

When I mentioned that I wanted to keep things simple, I basically meant I wasn't going to be doing a lot of fancy cooking. I'd pinned all sorts of fun treats, but the reality of me making them, and making them successfully?? Um...not gonna happen. So I went with things I knew would be simple, quick, and I couldn't screw up. We had Chick-fil-a nuggets, White Rotel Dip from BooMama's blog, Alabama Fire Crackers, Funfetti cupcakes, kettle corn with peanut M&M's, and chocolate covered pretzel rods. If I'm throwing a party, you can almost guarantee those will be served. They are easy to make and add a fun decorative touch. I just melt the chocolate in a mug in the microwave, then dip the pretzel rod in the mug, shake a few sprinkles on it, and lay on wax paper to dry. (And if the chocolate is too thick, add just a bit of vegetable oil to thin it out and make it easier to dip. Look at me giving "cooking" tips - who am I becoming?!)

I forgot to take a picture of the drink area, but we had sweet tea, strawberry lemon water, and strawberry limeade daiquiris.

I picked up these cute Valentine's cupcake wrappers and toppers for a couple bucks at Wal-Mart. I have noticed more places (like Michael's and Target) selling cupcake wrappers with toppers, and the price is so reasonable!

Since I had a few items that weren't obvious as to what they were, I decided to make some food labels. If you'd like to download the (blank) chevron food labels I made, you can do so here. And I would hope this would go without saying - but please don't sell this file or claim it as your own. I love sharing free downloads, as I appreciate those who share them also. So please don't take advantage of mine (or other's) willingness to share things for free. Thank you! :)
For the prizes, I picked up some stuff from the dollar spot at Michael's (which was actually $1.50 - sneaky sneaky Michael's!) and also added a $5 Target gift card.

For favors, I made heart shaped rice krispy treats on a stick, and drizzled some red chocolate on them. I didn't get a picture of them by themselves, but here they are on a cute tray I got at Hobby Lobby last week when they put their spring stuff out.

It was a great time but I'm glad to have it over with too. I love throwing parties but it's always nice when they're done. Happy weekend friends! :)

Thursday Tidbits

2012-02-09T12:57:00.000-06:00

--I was SO excited to see that How Does She? has partnered with Paper Coterie to offer a FREE $30 credit! They have so many amazing products (planners, books, memory boxes, etc.) that it was hard to choose how to use it. I ended up ordering a Memory Keeper box for Manny's keepsake stuff. These are so cute and I've heard they're great quality. It still ended up costing around $20 with shipping, but for a high quality custom memory box I think it's an excellent deal. Go to their site to grab the $30 off coupon code. I believe it expires February 17th.

--Have you heard of StickyGrams? It's a fun way to turn your Instagram photos into magnets. If you're not using Instagram for your iphone pictures, you're missing out. It's a free app and they have so many fun filters. I ordered some StickyGrams and love the way they turned out! After I ordered, they sent me a coupon code to share with friends. So if you decide to order them, you can use promo code sarahjanell123 for $2 off through February 18th.

--I am hosting Bunco tonight, so have been busy getting stuff ready for that. I'm trying to keep things simple and so far so good. I can't wait to eat all these sweets tonight!

--Speaking of sweets, I had my glucose test on Tuesday. Unfortunately due to a mix-up in the lab, they didn't draw my blood in time so it looks like I'll get to drink that yummy drink again soon.

Okay got to go finish up Bunco prep. Happy Thursday! :)

Olivia's Ice Cream Birthday Party

2012-02-08T15:20:00.000-06:00

My sweet niece Olivia turned 3 this weekend! Isn't she adorable in her SheSheMade shirt?!

Rachael (my sister) wanted to do an ice cream themed party, so I came up with these invitations and some cupcake toppers for the party. Olivia wanted to have the party at her favorite place - Chick-Fil-A - and it worked out perfectly.

Rachael made THE cutest cupcake ice cream cones ever!! She made mini ones to put at each of the kid's seats, then made a large one for the birthday girl. :)

I think they're just adorable, and they were SO good. I have a major love affair with funfetti cupcakes (unfortunately).

Since there wasn't anywhere to easily hang a banner, I also made a happy birthday sign to put on the table.

Rachael got ice cream from Chick-fil-A, then had waffle bowls & different toppings set out so the kids could build their own sundaes. She also ordered some cute ice cream themed favors from Oriental Trading that were a big hit.

And a few pictures of the family! Top left is Rachael & Matt's little boy Zeke (remember him from here? He's grown!), then we have Ellie, who is the oldest of their 3 kids. Of course I had to throw in a picture of Manny hanging out with my parents too. On the bottom is a picture of Rachael & her husband with Olivia, and then sweet Livvy being shy when it was time to blow out the candles. Bless her heart - the girl does not like attention. :)

This is our attempt at a family picture. What do you know - Manny is actually smiling! Nevermind the fact that it's probably because he's sticking his hand down my shirt (and I'm trying to remove it). Why is he obsessed with that?! Please tell me this is normal.

Anyway, we had so much fun and it's safe to say that if I never eat a cupcake again, that's still too soon. Great job on the party Rach! :)

Nursery Inspiration for Baby Girl

2012-02-07T08:00:00.003-06:00

I've had some people ask me what I have planned for baby girl's nursery, so I thought I would share where we are in the whole "process" at this point. As many of you know, we moved in September for my husband's job. Which also meant needing to sell the house we had been living in, and deciding to rent a house in the meantime. Unfortunately our house still hasn't sold - but we are praying it will SOON!

So why am I mentioning all of this? Well, because it really plays a role in setting up a nursery. Our lease is up in August (about 3 months after she will be born) and we don't know if we can/will be staying in this house or moving elsewhere. So it really made me think twice about setting up a nursery since I know she'll be in our room at first anyhow (yes, I'm one of those moms) AND it would mean giving up our guest room - which we're not completely ready to do. Plus I can't paint the room or anything fun like that since it's a rental...so I had just decided I wouldn't really set up a nursery.

Fast forward to present day, and I'm beginning to think that's not such a good idea. She really needs a space of her own, and three months is actually a fairly long time for her to basically not have a room. So much to Patrick's delight, I announced my change in plans at 27 weeks pregnant. :)

Up until this last week, I really hadn't looked at nursery stuff at all. I had no clue what I wanted to do, but after looking around I *think* I know what direction I want to go. I had been going back and forth on a few different looks and color palettes since I started looking. Then this weekend, my niece was given this dress at her birthday party and I loved it. It is the Sara Sara Vintage Rose Pocket Dress and I just adore the whole style of it. It kind of sealed the deal on me wanting to go with a vintage modern look. It doesn't have navy in it, but that was a color from the beginning I knew I wanted to incorporate so I started searching for navy and pink rooms. I came across this living room on this blog, and absolutely fell in love with it. The addition of mustard to the palette is perfect! So these are the basic colors I'm shooting for, and would like to do some mixed prints - like florals with stripes or possibly chevron. I haven't even started looking at fabrics or bedding yet, so that could end up changing things.

The awesome thing about blogs and Pinterest is there are SO many amazing ideas out there. I haven't even begun to search Pinterest, but there are 3 of my blog friends whose nurseries have that eclectic-modern-vintage-vibe I'm going for.

I absolutely adore Katie's nursery for her daughter Chloe. Couldn't you die over that yellow crib?! SO fun! Every detail in here is amazing. Katie, you better be careful or I might put you to work now that we live close to each other. :)

Megan's nursery for the twins is another one that I love the style of. It's so unique and has lots of fun touches.

Aja just shared her daughter Evie's nursery, and I think it turned out so great! I will say those stripes on the wall make me SUPER sad I can't paint the room though. And she made the LOVE sign on the wall herself - isn't that cool? Lots of DIY touches in here.

Like I said, there is tons of inspiration out there, so I suppose the fun has just begun. :) My sister has a daybed she's going to give us, so we plan to set that up in the nursery too. I'd like to find a dresser on Craigslist that we could refinish (and by "we", I mean my mom - love you momma!) and use as a changing table.

As far as a crib, I'm not sure if I want to try to find one to paint or just buy an antique white one. I guess I need to start looking to see what kind of deals I can find.

And finally - bedding. Can you please share your favorite places for crib bedding? There are so so many options out there, and I just haven't had the time to really look much yet. But if you have a place/person/site you've used and liked, I'd love to hear about it.

Well I'll wrap this up now. I know this post was kind of long and rambling, but that's what happens when people ask me to share what I'm thinking. :) I'm headed to my doctor's appointment and glucose screening - wish me luck! I'm hoping that bag of Starburst jelly beans I chowed down on last night doesn't come back to haunt me. Not my best idea ever. Happy Tuesday! :)

Project 366: Week 5

2012-02-06T08:00:00.002-06:00

Burlap Banner Tutorial

2012-02-03T08:00:00.003-06:00

It's February, which means it's time for some Valentine's decor! Honestly I don't do a lot of seasonal decorating, but I'm hosting Bunco this month so I thought it'd be fun to at least add a little banner to my mantle to make things a bit more festive. I decided to make the banner in bright colors to match some of the party supplies I picked up at Target and Wal-Mart. This banner was really simple to make and took no more than an hour tops. In case you're interested in making one too, here are the details.

What you need:
--burlap (1/4 of a yard is plenty)
--acrylic paint or paint pen
--paintbrush
--printed letters & triangle template (download below)
--scissors
--tape
--marker for tracing
--twine
--hot glue gun

1. Unless you want to freehand your cutting and painting, you can download the templates I used. Download the triangle template here and the LOVE letters here. Once you download them, print them out on regular paper. Cut the triangle out, and trace it on to the burlap 4 times. I used a sharpie and it worked well. (I did make sure that the side the showed the sharpie was on the reverse side when it came time to paint.) Cut the triangles out of the burlap.

2. Cut the LOVE letters into 4 squares. It doesn't matter if they're straight because these are just being used as a stencil of sorts. I saw this technique for stenciling burlap on Jessica's blog and think it's such a great idea. It's super simple and is great for someone like me who is horrible at free-handing! Since you can see through the burlap, it's perfect. I just taped the burlap to the piece of paper to hold it in place while I was painting.

3. Use a paint brush or paint pen to trace the letters on to the burlap. Once I had it completely painted, I went ahead and removed the paper from the back and laid the burlap on a paper towel to allow the paint to dry. You could just leave it on the paper to dry, but there will be paint build-up on the paper so removing it allowed it to dry faster.

4. Once the letters were dry, I laid them face down, ran a strip of hot glue across the top, and placed the twine on the back. I forgot to take a picture of this step so I hope it makes sense. :)

And that's it! It's definitely not perfect but that's kind of what I love about it...it doesn't have to be. I think this would also be really fun for a baby shower, birthday banner, or to make for other holidays.

Have a great weekend!

Thursday Tidbits

2012-02-02T08:55:00.000-06:00

--I have been eyeing the Clarisonic Mia for awhile, but just wasn't ready to drop the cash for it (about $115). I'm sure it's fabulous and will make me look 16 again, but I am notorious for buying products and gadgets, using them twice, then tossing them to the heaping mess under my bathroom sink. Because honestly? I am lazy when it comes to my beauty regimen. However, lately I've really been getting the urge to try to do a better job...perhaps it's those lovely lines that appear when my picture is taken. I try to wipe the screen off thinking there's something on it, only to realize that is just.my.skin.

SO I was seriously considering getting the Mia and was reading reviews on Amazon when numerous people kept mentioning the Olay Pro-X being comparable. I decided to check it out, and the reviews on it were great - many people saying it was quite similar to the Mia. The bonus though? Less than $30! I decided to buy mine at Wal-Mart so in case I didn't like it, I could take it back. Good news though...I love it! My face feels so nice and tingly after I use it. And? We're going on 3 consecutive days of use with this thing. I can feel it shaving the years off already.

--I decided to channel my inner Wolowitz (Big Bang anybody?) and try out some red skinny jeans. Granted, he weighs about the same as my right thigh, so we don't exactly look the same. But I do think Manny liked them, so that's all that counts.

--Wal-Mart has these cupcake stands in their Valentine's stuff again. I think I mentioned them last year when I picked up the white one. They come in white or red, and are only $6. Definitely a cheap little investment for your party planning stash. I like that this could also be used to serve other things besides cupcakes. Just get some cute cupcake liners and fill them with candy, popcorn, cookies, etc. and you have some individual servings displayed in a fun and simple way.

Well that's all I have for today. Happy Thursday friends! :)

My Little Artist

2012-02-01T07:36:00.000-06:00

Today is all about a picture overload of my cute little guy. Boy is he a handful these days, but I wouldn't have it any other way. As I mentioned yesterday, he's all about coloring now, and I'm all for any activity that will hold his attention for more than .2 seconds. He likes to sit at his little table in the office and color, so the other morning I snapped a few pictures of him fast at work.

I mean...really. Would you look at that face? So sweet and innocent...who would ever know this kid is the master of mischief? I love the way his cheek is drooping as he tilts his head.

And his toes. Oh those toes. Bless his heart. As Patrick so delicately put it, my feet have been cloned. He even wriggles them around like I do.

And there's his little lip pushed out...his signature move when he's concentrating.

I just love how he has his eyebrows raised here. He's all-business. And yes, those would be his Santa pj's he's sporting. In this house, we wear our holiday pj's til they don't fit, even if the season is long since over. As my best friend so kindly noted, it appears Santa got a little dirty coming down the chimney. And yes, that would be the case here. If by "the chimney" you mean our couch, where he carefully smashed up his banana and then proceeded to play rolly polly in it. Awesome.

And this particular day? He colored with his right hand almost the whole time. Sorry mom. :)

I love you little stinks. So much more than you'll EVER know!!

DIY Craft Tray

2012-01-31T13:01:00.000-06:00

Manny really likes to color and do more "crafty" things now, much to my delight. :) The challenge, as with most things, is keeping it all organized. I love this concept I saw from Family Fun via Pinterest. It's quite simple and inexpensive, so I knew I had to give it a try. Less than $3 later, my little organizational heart was full of joy!

What you'll need:
--a muffin tray (more on this below)
--cups
--magnets or velcro

1. I bought my muffin tray at Dollar Tree, but they also have jumbo sized ones at Wal-Mart for $5. I wanted to keep this cheap so just used the $1 version and it's working fine. The jumbo ones would allow more room for the cups to sit, but the regular one works fine as well.

2. The original idea covered the bottom of the cups with a magnet sheet. I didn't have big enough magnets to do that, so I thought I'd just use magnet strips. Well those didn't hold all that well, so I decided to use a piece of velcro instead, and that worked great. I just attached a piece to the cup and the opposite piece to the pan and it holds them in there perfectly.
3. Fill your cups with fun stuff and you're good to go! Manny loves fuzzy pom poms and popsicle sticks (random that I know that, but that's what happens when you leave your craft stash where your toddler can get in to it), so I filled a few cups with colorful ones. I also picked up a small playdoh set at Dollar Tree with some letter cutters.
This little tray has provided lots of entertainment and I'd definitely say it has been a hit with Manny. So much so that it's impossible to keep his little paws away from it. :)

Project 366: Week 4

2012-01-30T09:00:00.000-06:00

Oh, Baby Sister {An Update}

2012-01-27T10:07:00.000-06:00

Well, I think it's safe to say it's long overdue for an update on Baby Sister. I have had good intentions, but clearly that's gotten me nowhere. I am definitely in the honeymoon phase of this pregnancy, and loving every minute of feeling good and being productive (most days). I am lucky that the sickness of the first trimester is behind me and this pregnancy has been enjoyable.

I've seen all sorts of cute pregnancy documenting ideas on Pinterest, but it's just not realistic to think I'll actually do any of those at this point. Of the ideas I've seen, I thought Manny holding the chalkboard would be the simplest. Ha! That is what I'd like to call a momentary lapse in judgment...oh how naive I can be. As you'll notice, he basically messed with the chalkboard the whole time, then decided to pick it up and run off with it like a thief in the night. For this type of photo shoot to be successful with him, we'd need at least 2 more people there to distract him. So yeah, definitely not happening here anytime soon.

In the end, we decided a solo picture might be best - though I didn't do a great job of positioning the sign where you can still see my belly. We took these real quick before Patrick left for work yesterday morning, and while they aren't the best pictures - for a 5 minute photo shoot, I can't complain. And now at least we have a few pictures to document my pregnancy (I'm 25 and 5 in these pictures). Better late than never, right?

Actually I do have one other belly shot - this was taken at 20 weeks exactly.

I also realized I never blogged about my "official" ultrasound in which they would confirm gender. When I went in, the ultrasound tech was surprised to see I was by myself as she said normally people bring someone with them to that. Then she said - "Oh wait, are you one of those who cheated and found out early?" So I confessed I did, and she wanted to know what I was having. I wanted to say, "That's for you to tell me!" But instead, I told her that the last tech was fairly certain it was a girl. After taking a look, she said she "thought" it was a girl too. However, she wasn't super convincing. And to make matters worse? Do you see what she wrote on the picture? "LOOKS LIKE A GIRL" Really?! Whatever happened to plain ol' Baby Boy or Baby Girl. So it made me start second guessing, and I asked her and she said she was "fairly certain" it's a girl and would be surprised if it wasn't. So I guess it really is; I just thought it was strange that she said "looks like a girl". I mean come on people, commit already!! But the first tech was certain it's a girl, as well as Patrick, so I guess that's good enough. :)

What else? Ah yes...naming her. No, we haven't decided on a name yet, though I'd say we are really close and have it narrowed down to 3 choices. Patrick is Mr. Laid Back so is in no rush to name her. Doesn't he know there are monogrammed things to be ordered?! Actually now that I say that...I'm realizing maybe that's why he's dragging his feet on settling on a name. He's trying to buy as much time as possible before I start shopping perhaps? :) Actually I have only bought ONE thing for her so far...and it was just a pair of pj's. So I'm not going out of control as he anticipated I would. Honestly though, I think it all boils down to staying so busy, which can be a good thing!

Well hopefully it won't be so long before I update on this precious little girl again. She's really starting to move around a lot (at NIGHT of course!) and I forgot what a precious feeling it is. We are so thankful for an uneventful pregnancy thus far...keep behaving sweet girl! :)

Gabi's Sweet 16 Party

2012-01-26T13:17:00.000-06:00

As I mentioned last week, my lovely niece Gabi turned 16 this past weekend, and we had a wonderful time celebrating! I have to say I did a horrible job at taking pictures. The lighting in the place we were in wasn't great so a lot of the pictures just didn't turn out, and of course things were crazy. The saddest part is that I didn't get a single picture of me or Manny with Gabi! So instead, I will share this picture from when Gabi was my flower girl in homecoming many many years ago. However, it does seem like yesterday and it makes me feel so old to realize this little girl is now 16! (P.S. How about MY HAIR?!)
I shared about the invitations for her party here, and wanted to thank everyone for the kind words about them. I promise they're easy to make, so give them a try if you're looking for something different.
Gabi knew we were having a party for her, but she had no idea that my sister (Becky) had a lot of fun surprises in store. Becky rented out this huge lodge that was awesome and we all stayed there for the night. On Saturday, we went out there to set things up, but Gabi had no clue that's where we all were. Becky had dinner catered, and we also set up a sweets table with all sorts of snacks. For the backdrop, we did streamers taped to a strand of lights and hung them using 3M hooks. Thanks so much Ashley for this adorable idea! Our wall backdrop wasn't the best type for this (it was actually a rock fireplace), but I still think it turned out cute. It would be perfect on a solid color wall as I think it'd really give the streamers a chance to stand out.

The first surprise of the night was when Becky had a limo pick them up at their house! Manny was pretty excited about it too...poor guy thought he was going to get to cruise off in it. Not so fast buddy. From there, the limo took them to the lodge, and again, Gabi was surprised when she saw the place and everything set up.

We ate dinner and hung out for a bit. Manny loved hanging out with my nephews, and anywhere they were - you can guarantee Manny was only a few steps behind. He also took some time to love on my dad of course, and was a little pouty when I wouldn't give him anymore chips.

A little later, they went to pick up one of Gabi's friends who wasn't able to come earlier because of a basketball game. While they were gone, my sister's boyfriend brought Gabi's car to the lodge and had it sitting out front with a big red bow on it so it was the first thing she'd see when they pulled back into the house from getting her friend. Gabi had NO clue her mom had gotten her a car, and it was so fun to see her reaction! It absolutely blows my mind to see her behind the wheel. Remember Gab - NO TEXTING, TWEETING, OR FACEBOOKING WHILE DRIVING!! :) (And yes, I know you know...I just have to say it anyway.)

And I have to share this picture of Manny that my mom took. He kept lurking by the sweets table begging for handouts. It cracks me up that he is licking his lips here...who knows what he'd snagged.

So yes, it was a fabulous time and Gabi really appreciated everything my sister and everyone else did. It was a special weekend for a VERY special girl...love you and so so proud of you Gabbers! :)

Tuesday Tidbits

2012-01-24T08:00:00.004-06:00

--I shared about my love for Red Stamp here, and since then have decided to give their actual mailing services a try. I've used it to mail a few different postcards out - including one to Patrick while Manny & I were out of town this weekend, mostly so I could see first hand what the quality was like. :) I have to say I am SUPER impressed with the quality and overall service! Ordering through the app is fast and simple, and it took about 3-4 days for them to arrive. They were $1.99 each total, including postage. A few of the ones I sent were the pop-out kind, so the photo is perforated and can easily be popped out. (You can see an example of what it looks like in the top right picture - this was popped out of the postcard in the top left picture.) So yes, while a handwritten card is still #1 in my book, I have to say this is a very close second right now. It's just SO simple and I love that it can be personalized with a photo without me ever leaving my house or doing anything other than opening the app on my phone. The simplicity just speaks to this busy momma's heart.

Oh and I have to share a story about the one I sent to my niece Ellie (bottom left picture). The picture I used is one of her and Manny from last May, so it's a little old but I adore this picture so decided to send it. My sister said when she got it, Ellie asked, "Who's that little boy in the picture?" My sister told her it was Manny, to which Ellie responded, "Oh, from when he was a baby and still had long hair?" SEE?! Even she noticed Manny's hair got whacked!!

--A couple of weeks ago I saw a scarf tutorial via Pinterest that I wanted to try. I love scarves - I'm obsessed really and have way too many - and I'm always looking for different ways to tie them. I loved this particular method shown in the tutorial, but after giving it a try tweeted this picture and said that all it did was leave me sweaty, choked, and never wanting to wear a scarf again. Because after messing with it forever, this was the closest I got - which still wasn't it. I am pleased to say that I have since mastered the technique, and would like to retract the previous statement in which I may or may not have over-reacted. With a little more practice, I think I've finally gotten it down. So yes, this was a proud moment and what my accomplishments are boiling down to these days. You take what you can get, my friends. If you're interested in the tutorial, you can see it here.

--Since posting about How to Do Project 365 from your Phone, I've had some people ask me why their picture sizes are so small when posting from the BlogPress app. To be sure you're maximizing your picture sizing, follow these steps:

1. Open the BlogPress App.
2. Click on "Settings" on the bottom right of the screen.
3. Scroll down until you see the section that says "Editor Options" as shown in the screen shot above.
4. Click on "Photo Scale", and make sure your images are set to Large Size.

I don't know if that will completely solve everyone's problems, but I think that should help some of you at least.

--I have been wanting a few more canvases to put up in our house, so I was excited to see the deal on Doodle Deals today. It's $39 for $80 worth of product. I'll probably get the 16x20...now to decide which picture to use. Being indecisive is exhausting! If you're interested in this deal, you can see it here.

Happy Tuesday! :)

Project 366: Week 3

2012-01-23T08:00:00.002-06:00

Friday Fragments

2012-01-20T12:38:00.000-06:00

--I got an email the other day from someone who had been searching for BumpIt reviews, and came across a post I'd written a few years ago. I forgot about this, and more importantly this picture of my mom that I shared in that post. Isn't her hair something else?! I mean, the width alone is unbelievable. So if you're curious what this is all about, you can read the saga that was my attempt at using the BumpIt here, and you can also read about "the moment we first met" here...yes, I was a tad dramatic in these posts. And yes, I still have a special place in my heart for infomercials. And no mom, this picture will never get old. Sorry. :)

-- I realized last night that I never shared the birth announcement that I did for my friend Ashley awhile back. Her sweet little guy Judd was born at the end of October, and I was lucky enough to get to play photographer and take some pictures of him when he was just about a week old. Isn't he precious?! She wanted something simple, so I set up this picture so it would include lots of white space. Then to design it, I just put his info on the front, and the back was navy, green, and turquoise argyle. Very simple but I love it! It was inspired by this photo I saw on Pinterest.

--You may have noticed that some of my posts now have a "Pin It" button at the bottom of them (scroll down to the very bottom to see it on this post). This allows you to pin a post directly to Pinterest if you wish. Karen shared a great tutorial on her blog on how to do this. It was really simple, and I like the fact that I can just erase the html code as I'm posting if I don't want that post to have a Pin It button there. Thanks for sharing this Karen!

--I mentioned in my Project 366 post that Patrick and I went to a gala Saturday night. It was the Winter Gala for his work, and we had a lot of fun. I had a ridiculous time, however, trying to walk in heels again. I don't know what I was thinking, but it was a sight to see. I'm pretty sure at times it looked as if I'd had one too many drinks (which I hadn't) so I'm sure people were curious about if this pregnant girl was getting her drink on. Regardless, it gave us a good laugh, and we enjoyed getting out together for a bit.

Well that's all for today...hope everyone has a great weekend! :)

Candy Box Invitations

2012-01-19T08:00:00.004-06:00

My sweet "little" niece is turning 16 this weekend, and I absolutely cannot believe it! It seems like just yesterday she was born. We're having a party to celebrate, so I came up with some invitations to send out. We decided the perfect thing would be box invitations like the ones my best friend did for Manny's baby shower.

Her party is going to be red & turquoise, which I LOVE of course. These didn't quite print the shade of blue I wanted, but I still love the way they turned out. I bought the red boxes at Michael's ($1 each) and designed an invite the dimensions of the box to go inside. This box was 3.75"x3.75", so I made it just a little bit smaller so it would nest in there perfectly. I used a few glue dots to hold it down to the bottom of the box.

For the outside, I also just designed something a little smaller than the box and used glue dots to affix it to the box. And of course, I filled the inside with some yummy "sweets" to match the party theme. I tied it together with a coordinating ribbon, but forgot to take a picture of that part.

Can't wait to celebrate you this weekend Gabbers!! Love you so much!! :)

20 Months

2012-01-18T12:24:00.000-06:00

Dear Emanuel,

Oh buddy. It's been awhile, huh? I'm a little sad that I totally dropped the ball on the last few monthly letters to you, but I have a hunch you won't mind a bit. Yesterday you turned 20 months old, and I knew it was time for another letter. I'm not sure how often I'll be writing these from now on, simply because...let's face it. Life is so busy. But there are so many things you do that I want to remember, so hopefully I'll find a way to get those documented somehow.

--I took some pictures of you for a 16 month post, but I never got around to actually writing it. When I look back at these pictures now, your transformation into a little boy just blows me away!

--I remember the day I took these pictures you were being so funny. You kept pointing across the street and yammering away. You had one of your rubber duckies and a soccer ball, and wouldn't put those down. You are so funny about always having some kind of object with you. It doesn't necessarily have to be the same thing, though you do have your favorites, such as the horse from your barn set or either of your Curious George stuffed animals. You love to give kisses, especially to George!

--Around 16 months old, you started getting your feelings hurt. If we'd verbally scold you, you'd cry and be sad. It was SO pathetic, and always made it a challenge when it came time to discipline you. Fortunately (I guess?) now you throw fits when you get in trouble, so we don't feel all that bad. You're a strong-willed little guy who seems to carry a lot of my personality traits...which at times, is frightening. :)

We have started seeing a little bit of your temper lately...yes, it is shocking, but you do get worked up from time to time. When you get really frustrated trying to do something you can't, or if we're making you do something you don't want to (like put on a coat), you've started shouting "dadadadada!!!" It seems as though you're using daddy's name as a curse word almost, and daddy doesn't understand what he ever did to deserve this. He said he probably needs to spoil you more, but I don't think that's possible as he's pretty much wrapped around your finger as it is. You guys are the cutest buddies and watching you play together is so sweet. You get sad when he leaves for work and race to the door when he comes home, and I know it certainly makes his day.

--You love trains and cars, and are always on the lookout for them. You say "wheee" when you push your cars around, or sometimes even when we're riding in the car and take off you'll shout it (that's when I know I'm going too fast - thanks Safety Man). You love to say choo-chooooo and push your trains all over the place too. Drawing and coloring are some of your favorite things to do, and I'm sure your Mimi is thrilled to see the chalk in your left hand in these pictures. You seem to switch back and forth on which hand you use, though favor your left hand - same with feeding yourself. I'm curious to see if you'll end up a lefty like your Mimi! You love to play ball and have learned how to make baskets in your little goal. It's the cutest thing ever to see you so proud! You also like to spin in circles until you fall down...silly boy. :)

--You absolutely love to play with your belly button. It definitely has become like a comfort thing for you. If you're sad or tired, you are almost always playing with your belly button. It's kind of cute but also kind of strange. Your daddy says there are worse things you could be playing with though, and I certainly won't argue with that. Let's keep things north of the border, okay buddy?

--I'm not sure whether to be proud or ashamed, but you are a whiz with electronics. You love playing on our phones and the iPad. It always makes us laugh when you march right over, pick it up, and get your little pointer finger going to unlock the screen. Your favorite game by FAR is Tozzle (a puzzle game), and of course any of the games with animals. You also like to watch YouTube videos. Oh yeah, and tweet links to the videos you're watching. I can't figure out how to unlink my YouTube and Twitter, so I tried to hide the YouTube app in a folder...which, of course, you found. Little stinker.
--You are quite the little chatter box. As your cousin Ellie says, it seems you speak Spanish, though I think your English is starting to improve. You say a lot of basic words and will repeat many things we say to you. You used to say "a-weeeeeeze" for please, then you shortened it to "weeeze", and now it's usually just "wee". You still do a quick swipe across your chest like the sign language for please when you say it. You also sign thank you when you say "dank you" or just "danks". "Woah" and "wow" are other favorite expressions of yours, and you usually use them in the appropriate context so it's pretty funny. You love to make animal sounds, which comes as no surprise given your crazy love for animals.

--And I'm sorry Bub, but I have to include this one. Almost every time you take a bath, you poop in the tub. I don't know what it is - I guess it relaxes you? Pretty gross, but on the bright side? If you're ever constipated, I know I can put you in the bath to take care of it.

You are so much fun buddy, and you make the long days totally worth it. It is challenging but fun to learn and grow together. You have become my little sidekick and I just love you to pieces. You bring daddy and I more joy than you'll ever know.

I love you baby boy!!

XO,

Mommy

DIY Activity Center Tutorial

2012-01-17T13:02:00.000-06:00

I saw the idea - where else? - on Pinterest to use an oil drip pan as an activity center. With so many refrigerators not being magnetic anymore, I thought this was the perfect idea for an activity space for kids. The person who originally posted about this used it as a magnetic board just as it came, so that is a perfect and simple option, and still looks cute. You know me though - I like to complicate matters :) - so I changed it up just a bit. Here is what you'll need if you'd like to make one too.

Supplies
--Oil Drip Pan (I got mine at Wal-Mart for $10)
--Chalkboard Paint (I used Martha Stewart from Michael's)
--Spray Paint
--Painter's Tape
--Moulding (optional)
--Small paper mache' box (optional)
--Magnets (optional)

1. Spray paint your drip pan if you wish. Since I was running low on spray paint, I didn't paint the side where I knew I was going to put the chalkboard paint. You'll notice there are some words embossed on one side of the pan, but I don't think it's all that noticeable once you put magnets on it.

2. Use a foam brush (or brush of your choice) to paint half of the board with chalkboard paint. Now. As you can see, I let my impatience get the best of me, and painted despite the fact that I was out of painter's tape. I do NOT have a steady hand, so the results were a little rough. That decision still haunts me.

3. Because of my mistake above, I decided to pick up a piece of wood moulding from Michael's to cover up my messy line. It was on sale for $1, and I just used a regular pair of scissors to cut it the length I needed to fit the board. Then I spray painted it the same turquoise as I'd used on the rest of the pan, and glued it down.

4. Michael's also had some of their wooden shapes on sale for 17 cents, so I picked up a few and hot glued a magnet on the back. I also added some alphabet magnets from my teaching days.

5. For the chalkboard side, I bought a little box from Hobby Lobby and added a few old stickers to it. Then I hot glued 2 magnets on the back so I could use it as a chalk holder.

And that's it! Manny absolutely loves it and it is providing lots of great entertainment. The person who originally posted about this said she used 3M tape to hang it on the wall and that worked fine. Right now, I just have it propped up in the living room until I decide where I want to put it permanently.

Happy Tuesday! :)

Project 366: Week 2

2012-01-16T08:00:00.003-06:00

How to do Project 365 from your Phone

2012-01-13T08:00:00.006-06:00

One of the things that often gets brought up when I'm discussing Project 365 is how difficult it can be to keep up with. So after a few requests and one demand - you know who you are :) - I decided to share a way you could keep up with Project 365 from your phone. No, this isn't how I'm doing it right now, but I do think it's a great option and this is possibly a way I will stay caught up with it this year once I have a little baby and wild toddler to tend to.

There are a variety of apps that would allow you to do this fairly easily from your phone. For this post, I will focus on 3 apps that I think make a good combination for this purpose.

For starters, you need an app to blog with. BlogPress is definitely the best one out there. It used to be free, but then it went away for awhile. Thankfully now it's back, but it's $2.99. I will say it's definitely worth it though given the options it has.

Next, as I mentioned yesterday, I'd recommend the Project 365 app. This isn't a must, but it does make it easier to stay on track and know if you've taken your picture for the day. I love the fact that you can set reminders to take a picture. This is a free app.

Now for the picture & journaling portion of it, I would recommend the Red Stamp app, which is also free. I think this is such a fun app! You can basically build a little "greeting card" and then email, text, or save it to your phone for free. Or you can pay to actually paper mail your designs...pretty cool and very user friendly! I will say that if you save the design to your phone, etc., it has their little logo on the bottom, but I don't think it's bad at all - did you even notice it in the photo above? Anyway, let's get started!

1. Download Red Stamp and open the app. It will show all the options of card types. Most of the different themes have photo designs in them, but I think there are plenty of great designs in the "photo" section.

2. Browse through the designs, and select the one you want to use. I decided to go with a single photo design so I could journal about that particular picture and it still be large enough to read.

3. Once you click on an individual design, you just tap in the boxes to add text and a picture. You can even zoom or shrink to adjust your picture to the template. You'll also notice a variety of color options on the right side of the screen. Just click on them to preview the colors and choose the one you want.

4. When you have it the way you want it, click the "Send" button on the bottom right. This screen will pop up, and you can choose what you want to do with the image. I chose "Save to Photos" so it would be in my photo roll when I went to blog from my phone.

5. Next, go through and choose different pictures from each day of the week, change the text, and save them until you have a design for all 7 days. Then open BlogPress, insert your 7 images, and post it!

I think after doing this a few times, it would become fairly easy and quick to do. I did notice that some designs might be better than others in regard to being able to easily ready them. Generally speaking, the ones that have darker text seem easier to read, but that's not always the case...just a matter of personal preference I suppose.

Well I hope this is helpful to some of you, and if you use another app to do this I'd love to hear about it too. Go Team Project 366! (haha!!)

Thursday Randoms

2012-01-12T08:00:00.003-06:00

--So my newest obsession is this Fruit Infusion Pitcher. I pretty much just drink water and don't mind it, but sometimes it's nice to have a little something extra. This pitcher is such an easy way to get flavored water without having to add fruit to your cup every single time. This picture is of some blueberry cucumber water, which is so refreshing. I also like to put strawberries and lemons, or lemons and limes...there are lots of combinations I want to try. You can also make flavored tea with this. Can you sense my enthusiasm about this?! Ha! And no, I wasn't asked to post about this...but I love when simple things make me happy so I thought I'd share it here. I bought mine on Amazon but I've also heard Bed Bath & Beyond carries them. I checked a few stores though and they never had any so that's why I ended up just ordering online.

--Thanks for all the sweet feedback on my new Project ~~365~~ 366 format. (It's so hard for me to remember to say Project 366. It just doesn't flow.) It seems this new format is actually much easier to read, and I'm so glad to hear that! Thanks again for the input. I also wanted to mention an app I'm using to help me keep track of my pictures. It's just called Project 365 if you search the app store, and I use the free version. I started using it towards the end of last year and never posted about it because it went crazy on me when I did a software update, so I thought it might not be a good app. After a few people have recently mentioned how much they love it, I decided to delete the app and re-download it, and so far it seems good to go! It has a feature where you can set a daily reminder to take your picture too, so that's super helpful.

--I also wanted to say thanks for everyone's encouragement and support about my post asking for advice on Manny's attachment issues. He went to MDO on Tuesday, and it was a rough drop off. Quite a few people suggested having him walk in instead of carrying him, so I did that. And it was SO sad....as we started walking towards the building his lip started quivering and he started whimpering...he knew what was coming. But he kept walking, just very slowly. When we got to the room, it was crazy...LOTS of kids crying, I'd say probably because they were just coming back from break. Anyway, I dropped him off as quickly as I could, and he wasn't thrilled, but calmed down pretty quick. (I listened around the corner.) When I went to pick him up, they said he had a pretty good day overall. They noticed that he would go get toys to play with but bring them back over by the teacher; he just always wanted to be close to her. He wouldn't take a nap (which is a WHOLE other bag of issues I won't go in to) so during nap time, they ended up taking him to the nursery (6-12 month olds) to let him play. And you know what? They said he just took off running in there and had a great time playing independently. So they think his regular class just might be overwhelming to him...who knows. He isn't around kids his age really all that much. All his cousins are younger or older, and he loves playing with them, so I don't know if that has something to do with it or if this is just a random phase? All I know for sure is he's too stinking cute...and I'm praying he settles in soon. :)

Well this post ended up kind of long, rambly, full of run-on sentences, and the use of the word "so" at least 97 times...imagine that. Hope everyone has a wonderful Thursday! :)

Project 366: Week 1

2012-01-11T13:28:00.000-06:00

So here we go again! Yep, I'm jumping in to Project 366 (it's leap year!) and am a little nervous. I know this year will change greatly after the birth of little sister in May, so I might start doing my posts differently at that point. Who knows...only time will tell! I was so overwhelmed by all the template choices out there, and ended up buying this template and changing it up to fit my needs. I decided to include the daily summaries in the actual image, rather than separate text, so that way when I go to print the book all I have to upload is this image below. Again, that's what I've decided at this moment. But? I am SO indecisive, you might see something totally different next week. Oh the excitement, right? But for now, this is what I have this week. Let the fun begin! :)

I know not everybody reads these posts (understandably so), but if you do, I'd love some feedback on if this is too hard for you to read in this format or if it works okay. I'm particularly asking my email subscribers (read: family members) if this format translates okay to email? Thanks for your help!

A Day at the Museum & Some Advice {PLEASE}

2012-01-09T11:57:00.000-06:00

We enjoyed a nice weekend at home with not a lot going on...it was great to have nothing planned for a change! On Saturday, we decided to go to the Science Museum.

Manny was obsessed with the water table and we spent the majority of the time there. He would push the boats and ducks and say "whee" the whole time. There were some bigger kids there, but he bellied up to the table without hesitation and held his own.

Once we drug him away from the water table, he had fun checking out the optical illusion room. Of course he thought the table and chairs were cool, though he was a little frustrated he couldn't climb up on them on his own. They also had these little circle mazes on the floor and he would spin around on them until he got so dizzy he fell down. Silly boy.

Now. On to more important issues. I need your advice. PLEASE. For the past few weeks, Manny has not done well when I drop him off at nursery or MDO. As soon as we walk in, he immediately snuggles in to me and starts whimpering because he knows what's coming (which absolutely BREAKS my heart). When I hand him off, he starts crying but they can usually calm him down with toys or a snack. However, he still wants to be held, and if they put him down he starts crying and won't stop unless they pick him up. So it typically results in them calling me to come get him since it's not realistic for him to be held the whole time. I've only been called to come get him at MDO once right before Christmas break, but he starts back up tomorrow and I'm worried it's going to be more of the same. I'm fortunate that his MDO is great and always really patient with him. He does have a favorite teacher there though, and she's a sucker for holding him a lot...which I told her she doesn't need to, but I know she's just trying to be helpful.

Here's the thing...it's not like I hold him a lot at home, so I don't know why he's insisting on being held these other places. In fact, I rarely hold him at home because he's always on the go and is excellent at independent play. I've tried going in and helping him transition by playing with him there, etc., but that only seems to make it worse. I know most likely this is "just a phase" and will pass, but if you have any input or advice on what to try I'd love to hear it!