picky sticky

i'm a bad blogger....

Ok - moving on.

i've recently had a lot of people ask where i got C's onesies for her monthly pictures:



well, i'm here to share that they are not onesies. that's right, they are stickers. re-usable stickers at that!

check out {picky sticky's website} and browse their super cute selection of picky sticky stickers. i didn't realize these existed until C was 6 months old. this is what i used to do:



and this was the next month:

i love how the pictures turned out from there on out. i continued to lay her down next to her bear, but was also able to get some cute shots of her playing in her room.

i'll always know how old she was by the sticker on her shirt. and it's so great that they are re-usable. picky sticky has tons of designs to choose from for boys or girls. they also have neutral designs, and designs for a mommy's growing belly. such a great idea that i'm so glad i finally stumbled upon.

a great gift idea too! enjoy!

wedding bells

meet lizzie and trey

she's my cuz and one of my favorite people in the whole world

he's...growing on me...;)

they are awesome and so happy and so perfect for each other. and this weekend they are getting hitched! YEAH!!

i'm taking some time off work this week to hang out with them and help with last minute wedding details. my plan this week will consist of whatever the bride needs. and hopefully a lot of this



i hope to have some fun pictures to share next week. this will be the first wedding caroline gets to come too. her gran jan bought her a super sweet dress and i know she will look just precious.

i always have so much fun with my cousins. i only have a younger brother, so i've always been thankful and feel really feel blessed that i have these two amazing cousins that have always been like sisters to me. i'm so honored to stand up with lizzie this weekend and support her and trey as they enter into marriage.


pray for clear skies and cool summer air this week/weekend. everything is outside. a shower, the rehearsal dinner and the wedding. we don't need any mothers-of-the-bride flipping out on us! =)

have a good week blogland!

DIY chalkboard

i thought i would share a little craft i did about a month or so ago. shaun and i are always trying to cook at home more, and we always say that we just need to sit down and make a menu. well, i looked around our kitchen and noticed that we don't have anything hanging on our walls. we bought our house knowing that we were going to gut and re-do the kitchen as soon as possible. i haven't decorated in there at all. i don't want to spend money on stuff that possibly won't work in our new kitchen. so, out walls are bare and it's very boring in there.

so, i thought i would add a little something to the wall the would be functional but also cool and kind of like art.

how about a chalkboard for a menu? great.

i went to a local 2nd hand store called Restore and bought an big, old ugly picture frame for i think $15.

i already had some green paint, so i just painted the frame. it's an awesome color. the bathroom in our old house is this color and i'm thinking about using it in our kitchen/dining room once it's finished. it's tansy by sherwin williams.

while the frame was drying i painted the back panel (the mdf part that had the hooks on it for hanging on the wall) with chalkboard paint. i got the chalkboard paint at Home Depot for $11. it's tintable and i decided on the dark brown color. i think it was called espresso.


the directions for the chalkboard paint said to let it sit for 3 days before using. then "condition" the board by rubbing the chalk sideways over the whole board. i'm not really sure what this does, but i did it.

Once everything was dry, i attached the painted mdf back to the painted frame and hung in the kitchen.



we have used it as a menu and for weekend to do lists. i was very pleased how it came out and it was pretty easy. once C gets older, she is definitely getting one for her room.

enjoy!

i'll listen

life has been different lately. i've been wanting to blog, and i have things to blog about (i've been getting a little crafty), but things have been so different lately, i haven't been able to work blogging in.

i've gained some perspective lately. this whole "this would never happen to someone i know" perspective that i walk around with has been shattered. for the past month and a half, God has shown me that no one is the exception. and that life and love and everything in between is a gift. and now i know that that could happen to them, and i know that that could happen to me.

i've taken for granted my husband and my baby and my life. but i've had my eyes opened so big this past month that all i can think about now is how wonderful they are. and how much i love them. and how thankful i am for them. and how that no one is immune to divorce or cancer or hurt or devastation.

i want to blame the devil. i want to tell him to get out of my life and my friends lives and stop wrecking everything. "you are hurting people i love and that makes me hurt. leave them alone!"

but then the people that bring me back to reality are the people who are hurting. they are glorifying God through their circumstances. they are finding blessings in times of despair. i am in awe. we have nothing without God. we don't have health or love or joy. we have nothing. we can pretend and try to live without Him, but he is what brings the good things in life. and unfortunately the bad things too.

what is going on? what are you doing God? i trust and know that you have a greater plan and that you know what you're doing, but why? why are these things happening?

you can tell me, i'll listen...

4 years

happy 4 year anniversary shauny!! (a day late)

you are my best friend and i'm more thankful for you today than ever!

we have had some eye opening experiences lately and we have learned a lot these past couple of weeks. about ourselves, about our marriage, and about how wonderful our God is and how important it is to always keep him in the middle of our marriage.

thank you for taking care of your wife. you teach me everyday how to become a better person and a better follower of Christ. you love me unconditionally and always see me for who i am, even when i seem to be acting like someone else. ;)

you are an incredible father. i love you more every time i see you interact with our baby. she is totally smitten with you just like her momma. you are so good to your girls and we couldn't make it without you.

i love you shaun. i love the good, the bad and the ugly. i love how our friendship has grown deeper these past 4 years, and i love that we have so many more years ahead. i love you with all my heart and i promis i will never stop.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY BABE!

i'm out!

i don't know if anyone out there actually reads this blog, but just in case you do, i'm leaving for vacation tomorrow!! YEAH!!

i'm going to the beach with my three best friends and their husbands and their wonderful children.

please pray for the safety of our travel. every car will have a child that will NEED their mommy and be a distraction for daddy while driving.

and please pray that the oil and tar balls stay away. we will have 6 very disappointed kids if the beach is in sight but out of reach. and probably a few disappointed daddy's too...

i've got a little surprise for my bestiekids and will share that once i return. i hope to have tons of wonderful photos to share that will attempt to catch the memories we are making.

see ya blogland! have a great week!

i'm out!

10 months

i know i haven't been consistent in doing these monthly updates, but this past weekend when C turned 10 months, it really made me realize that almost a year has passed since she was born and very, VERY soon my baby will be 1. oh geez....

it also made me realize how fast she is changing. she is almost walking. WALKING! is this right? my little baby who just a month ago starting crawling is now almost walking? i have no idea how long it will take before she actually takes her first step, but her balance is already so good, i really don't think it will be that long. there are so many times that she will be holding onto the couch she just pulled up on and then just let go. just let go and stand there. no help. no wobbling. just standing. playing with the remote or iphone she just got her hands on. it's crazy and freaky and amazing all at the same time.

and her two top front teeth have pushed their way through. that just seems totally crazy to me. the two bottom teeth seem normal, but the two top front teeth seem crazy. she really seems like a big girl with 4 teeth.

she is talking all the time. babbling and saying things with real meaning in her voice. it's like she is trying to explain things to whoever will listen. she understands so much and i think when i ask her a question she really knows the difference between yes and no. i can hear the "yeah" and "na" in her answers. and of course, shaun and i are both smitten that her two favorite words right now are "da-da" and "ma-ma".

she makes us so happy. we left her for the 2nd time this past weekend, but it was really like the 1st. (when she was about 6 months old she got a stomach bug. after she recovered shaun and i got it bad. so bad C had to go to my Mom's for the night b/c we couldn't physically care for her) we attended a wedding out of town and decided to stay the night. i wrote out instructions for my Mom until about 2pm the next day and i told shaun to pack his swim trunks b/c we should take advantage of the hotel pool. yeah right. when we woke up a little before 9, we immediately packed our bags and headed home. i couldn't believe how much i missed my baby. shaun and i make a point to go on dates about every other week, but not being there when she woke up in the morning was weird. i couldn't believe how much i missed peaking in her room and watching her talk to herself before i went in to get her. and how that sweet smile and instant bouncing to get out her crib when she first sees me, really gets my day started. she brings me so much joy.


so happy 10 month birthday baby girl! you are so much fun right now and i can't wait to go on vacation next week. the beach is going to be a whole new adventure for you!

love you always and forever,

~ma-ma