Things to do!

I have been sitting here trying to design Emma's birthday invitation on paint.net forever now. I just realized that I need my husband to do it. He is much better at it! I have an adorable picture of Emma holding her blanket up to her face and we are going to turn it b&w leaving just the blanket pink. We are going to write the info about her party in white letters on the black part. After we get them developed, I am going to stitch three pink buttons in two of the corners to give it an added element. I really need to get them in the mail on Tuesday so I really need to get this done! Right now is prime working time since Emma is down for a nap...but my husband is out in the garage brewing with a friend. He is a "home brew master" in his own words. Hehehe. Its an interesting hobby to have and it keeps him away from mine. Sort of. We are working on a scrapbook together with his mom for his sister's college graduation. I really need to get to work on Emma's again...its just hard to find the time with an impatient toddler, a seemingly constant messy house and a full time job. I love my life though and would not trade it for the world!

Here is a picture he took of Emma in his new cooler that he is going to convert into a "mash ton" and please don't ask me what that means because I don't really know!

My understanding of it is that its what he pours oats and hot water into that eventually become beer. He likes to go on and on and on about the brewing process but he loses me pretty quick so I just nod and say uh-uh. :) I hope that doesn't make me a bad wife!

Okay, enough rambling on this blog. I have to fold a ton of laundry, put it away, clean the bathrooms, work on the invitations for Peytonn's baby shower before my Mom kills me, run to Hobby Lobby to look for the cake pan, hopefully find the said cake pan and bake a trial cake tonight so we can have it as desert tomorrow when Jon's family comes over to scrap. I'm hoping I will be able to accomplish a little on Emma's book too.

Memorial Day weekend

It is a day to remember the soldiers who have given their service to our country. If you know a soldier please thank them for me. :) My brother was in Iraq for ten months, three years ago and his time in the National Guard ended in April. It is getting scary over there and the soldiers deserve everything of us regardless of anyone's feelings on the war. Okay, I am stepping off of my soap box now. I knew I should not have turned on the news. I am so excited to put Emma in her adorable red, white & blue apron dress from Old Navy this weekend!

I stopped by a local boutique here in Murfreesboro, Whipper Snappers, to see if they carried the Pediped shoes that I was hoping to get Emma for her birthday. They did so I bought them and looked around at their hairbows hoping to find one to match her dress. The bow lady had been on vacation so they didn't have any red, white and blue so I bought a red & blue one. I knew better than to buy without a price tag there...it was $9 and they offer no refunds. Yikes! The blue doesn't even match her dress. I guess I'll consider it a lesson learned. I did find a lady on Etsy that makes custom korker hair bow sets for $5 plus shipping. I just ordered two sets...one set in Colts blue & white and the other in red, white & blue.

My hubby also surprised me by coming home with a Gymboree bag last night. He had met his Mom & sister in Green Hills for lunch and they had gone to the mall. He had seen the Island Getaway collection that Lovelyn had given me the link to and had to get it for his girl. :) He also had picked up about five hair bows since they were marked down to $1.50 each ... that really put my $9 hair bow to shame. I went ahead and bid on the made-to-match hippo bracelet on eBay today. :) Thanks Lovelyn!

We dressed her in it today to try and get a cute picture of Emma for her birthday invitations. She was not too interested in picture time and soon turned foul on us so it is now nap time in our house. She is so adorable in that dress and check out the hippo!


My husband had also thought of me on his shopping trip (with just a wee bit of prodding...) and brought me home samples of the CLEAN perfumes. I spritzed on a little of the Warm Cotton one last night at dinner and I still smell like I just stepped out of the shower and into an outfit fresh from the dryer. I know thats not what everyone wants in a perfume but I happen to *love* the light clean scent!

I was reading an article in a magazine the other day about shopaholics and I am beginning to think that is me. I have an urge to splurge when it comes to clothes, shoes, accessories, etc for my baby girl. I have decided that it needs to stop and it stops today. Well...maybe tomorrow since I have already done more than a little damage today. I noticed this morning that I was outbid on a Princess Picasso custom set that I fell in love with on eBay the other night. I told myself then that I would go to $40 even though I really should not have. Well, today I went a little crazy and upped my bid so I am now the high bidder again. My husband is going to kill me if I win...I guess it might be a good thing if I get outbid. :( It is just so easy to shop online. I am handing over my card to my husband. I will only be shopping in actual stores now and only for things like groceries and other necessities. We had to put new tires on my car this week and we realized we are busting at the seams of our budget! Besides...I know Emma doesn't *need* most of the stuff that I've bought...I just get drawn in by the cuteness factor. As does my husband, apparently, after his recent Gymboree splurge.

Thinking about birthdays

Emma and I both have one coming up. She will be the big ONE on June 15th and I will be 28 on June 4th. Yikes...I am getting old! My husband asked me the other night for some "ideas" for my birthday present. I had to admit that I hadn't really thought about my own birthday. I've been in Mommy mode and planning Emma's party in my head for months now!

I think we are going to scratch the pink pajama hippo cake idea since I can't find anyone around here who can make it like the photo I found online. I'm sure that if I was able to find a person that was able to create the said cake that it would blow our budget anyways. I think I am just going to bake her cake myself now. I am thinking about getting the "1" cake pan from Wilton and a small flower cake pan to make her smash cake. My Mom and I tinkered a bit with cake decorating when I was in 4-H and I got pretty decent at it so I'll give it a whirl!

Emma is going to have an awesome outfit from ModKid to wear that day too. I can't wait to get it...Patty started on it today! We have talked about making that a birthday tradition for her...a special handmade outfit. Jon & I have also both asked off for her birthday so we can take her to get her one year portraits made before my family gets in town...and in case her smash cake gets a little too messy! I think we might take her to the Zoo for the first time that day depending on when my parents get into town. I am counting down the weekends!

Okay, so back to me...I am trying to think of something I would like. Lets just say that I had a bad birthday last year and he has said he is going to make it up to me.

**I love the Vintage Pearl bracelet Lovelyn got for Mother's Day but I am also not a big jewelry person so I'm not sure how often I'd wear it. Maybe a similar necklace with "Emma's Mommy" written on one side and a picture of her on the other. I know Erin makes those from her Etsy page. Ya know, my hubby loves all the ideas I discover on my own and through Lovelyn!
**I've always said that I'd like a nice pair of diamond stud earrings but I know we can't really afford to splurge like that right now. Not to mention the fact that Emma is a grabby toddler now and I would not want them catching her eye and her ripping them out!
**I love CLEAN perfume (the only perfume that doesn't leave me with a migraine) but I still have about half a bottle of CLEAN Sweet Layer. Although, I did notice on their website about a week ago that they have a new scent, CLEAN Warm Cotton.
**I don't really need any clothes either as I am hoping to lose about twenty pounds soon!
**I would like a new purse since I am carrying a small hobo bag from Old Navy that I paid $6 for about two months ago. It is simply convenient and it fits in the diaper bag!

So if any one has a link to some cute ideas please let me know...I'm afraid I'll revert to my habit of asking for stuff for Emma rather than me. I am such a Mommy!

I am so looking forward to the next few weekends...birthdays and family. I am off for the first time in years on Monday for Memorial Day! I just wish we could spend the long weekend with my family too. I think we are going to set up the little splash pool we bought Emma tomorrow so it'll get warm for the weekend. I can't wait to see how she reacts to the pool...she loves her "baa" time so we'll see. I'm sure I'll have pictures to post!

We are going back home to Indiana the weekend of June 8th so my family can share in Emma Cakes' first birthday too. We are also going back the weekend of July 7th for the "Meet the Baby" shower we are having for Den, Courtney and Peytonn. Yesterday was his due date and he's almost two months old! We were going to reschedule the shower but decided to leave it alone since he was a super-preemie. Besides, how cool is it to have a party on 07/07/07?! Speaking of which...I need to get on making those invitations.

Well, I guess that is all that I can babble on about for now. I need to go fold some clothes and head to bed. 5:45 AM is going to come early...if my husband doesn't make me late again by turning off the alarm!

I can't sleep

It is now 3:05 AM and I am wide awake. Emma is asleep in her crib and Jon is asleep in our room. I fell asleep with Emma in our bed around 8:00 PM and I woke up at 2:30 AM. Now I can't fall back to sleep! I know I will be regretting this online adventure around three o' clock tomorrow when I am ready for a nap...I guess I could always take a nap with Emma though. :) Nothing is sweeter than cuddling with my sleepy Cakes. I love the moment when I pick her up all sleepy from either her carseat or our bed to move her to her crib. I tell you there is nothing better in life. I just found this picture from Easter Sunday at Jon's grandparents' house.



I have to admit that I was a bad Mommy last night. I laid Emma down on the couch beside me to take her bottle. I left one hand on her leg and turned to look at Jon in the kitchen and boom. She fell off the couch and banged her little head on the coffee table. I was so upset and she was screaming. I was surprised when it only took about five minutes to calm her down...I was upset about it way longer than she was! I felt horrible about thirty minutes later when I felt a goose egg on her noggin and we kept her up past her bedtime just in case. I am so paranoid about her falling off the bed, falling backwards, etc with Jon and the times that she has gotten hurt have been with me! How do you keep your kids from getting hurt?

I had an idea of an "E" bow holder for Emma's hair bows. I saw similar ones on eBay but could not find the "perfect" one so I took my idea and created it myself. I am quite pleased with how it turned out! I bought a simple wooden "E" and some paint, scrapbook paper and Mod Podge at Hobby Lobby while I was unemployed. I finally found time to finish it the other night. What do you think?



One last picture...I am finally starting to get sleepy again. We have taken a picture of Emma Cakes with a sign that says "I'm ___ months old today" on the 15th of each month. It has definitely gotten harder to accomplish each month but I am so happy that we kept up with it. Here is this month's picture...it only took about ten pictures to get a smile!



Jon has been working on two collages of these pictures, the good one and the outtakes. He did it for me one night when I was kind of in a funk about stuff and he wanted me to smile. My big idea is to get them printed after we take her birthday one and display them both at her first birthday party!