Teacher Appreciation Week: Fun

This stuff is a blast, but it's wearing me out, y'all.  Phew!  Thankfully, the most labor-intensive gifts are done.  Today and tomorrow's stuff was pretty quick to throw together.  I struggled a little coming up with something for the "fun" theme for today, but finally landed on this...

It's a survival kit stashed full of little goodies to help Sam's teachers make it through the day with all the sweet rugrats. I raided the section at Walmart with all the travel size tolietries and grabbed a few other goodies like Starbucks Via packs, Tazo Herbal Tea, a Luna Bar, and a 5-Hour Energy Drink.  My friend suggested throwing earplugs in there - that would've been hilarious, but the only ones I could find were like $4 a pack. Um, no.

I think these are my favorite so far this week.  Super easy, fun to shop for, and a breeze to put together.  I already had these favor boxes on hand.  I bought a bulk pack of these years ago from Bags & Bows.  Friggin' love that site... And side note - I have exactly 25 of those boxes left and I'm saving them to use for Sam's 1st birthday party!  They'll be perfect for the kids' treat bags. 

The ribbon and labels I of course already had on hand.  I used to run a small stationery biz if you remember, so I have ridiculous amounts of this kind of stuff.  It comes in handy!

Tomorrow's theme is "pampering!"  Ahhh... God bless Kohl's for helping me with that one.  More to come!

Teacher Appreciation Week: Favorite Thing

Especially since this is our first go ever at Teacher Appreciation gifts, I thought I'd show you our goodies day by day this week.  I finished up all the shopping at Wally World this past weekend, so now I'm down to just assembling everything.  Monday's theme is a "favorite thing" of the teacher's... and both of Sam's teachers love Starbucks. 

A sweet friend of mine shared an idea of giving Hershey's Hugs and Kisses with a note saying something about Sam's teachers needing lots of hugs and kisses... so I incorporated that with Starbucks.  Sure they need hugs and kisses... but I'm bettin' they need some real caffeine too. 

I'm curious to see what other mommas bring... I just have no idea what the "standard" is, but whatever.  I had fun with it and yeah, probably went a little overboard.  But I love this kind of stuff and I really DO appreciate all the ladies that love on my sweet boy everyday.

So the basics of this one... a clear glass mug ($2.50 at Walmart) filled with Hershey's Hugs and Kisses, with a $5 Starbucks card.  Tied up with cellophane and ribbon and this label...

Mmm... what's not to love?

Tomorrow's theme is "food" and yes... I will be baking.  Look out!

3 Months!

Our little man is becoming quite the chunk...

This month's picture session was much more fun.  He was laughing and giggling the whole time.  So much so that he threw up after the final shot.  Glad he held out till we got all the poses done!  Hahaha...

Our Easter weekend was fabulous.  But it turns out it was distracting me from the fact that I'm returning to work next week!  Ugh, I've been a mess the last couple of days.  Officially sporting waterproof mascara for the next two weeks.  I'm dreading leaving my little guy.  I know he will be great.  It's me that I'm worried about!  I know it will all be good - it's just a big adjustment.  Trying to soak up all the morning snuggles and afternoon naps in the rocker while I can.  Oh, this is going to be tough!

Getting ready for Easter!

Easter weekend is of course extra, extra fun this year.  For one thing, we got to go visit the Easter Bunny...

Sam was thrilled, obviously!  And yeah, I ended up getting Sam the little gingham Gap romper.  The Old Navy sandals too, but he kicked those off while trying to figure out the Easter Bunny!

And this week I also got a cute dress to wear from Old Navy.  Great dress sale going on this week!  I think it goes through Easter Sunday, so take a peek if you're on the hunt for a cute and affordable Easter dress.  Tons of styles!  Some as low as $15.  This one was $25...

And I finally put the kibosh on adding more goodies to Sam's Easter basket bucket.  It's way too easy to get carried away.  And it's ridiculous because he won't even thank me for it!!!  Here are most of the items...

His Nana got him the Peter Rabbit doll - it is so sweet!  I also snagged a clearance Peter Rabbit bib and burpee set from Pottery Barn Kids (sold out - can't find a good pic) that I got personalized with Sam's name.  Even his spit-up will be stylin'!  Ugh, and as I was looking for the link to the bib set, I saw that the Peter Rabbit bucket I bought at full price is now on clearance.  Drives me insane!!!  I didn't want to risk it selling out - I've missed out on several seasonal PB things before because I waited.  But they got me this time. Drats... oh well, it's still stinkin' cute!

We plan to do the early service at church that Sunday.  The 11am is nuts anyway, but on Easter - especially nuts.  No thanks!  Then we'll have an Easter lunch at my parents' house... about 12 or so people altogether.  I'm attempting cake pops for the first time ever.  This will be interesting... I'll take pics!  Just remember, I'm not a baker.  Should be fun!  And on another note, did I tell y'all we put Sam in the nursery (Waumba Land) at church last week for the first time?  He did great!

Here is one of the sweet volunteers loving on him...

Hope you all have a fantastic weekend!  Gosh, only 3 more weekends before I return to work from maternity leave.  I hate thinking about leaving my little man, but at the same time - I can't say I'm dreading going back to work.  So that is good... I'm going back at the best time possible - it will be our slow season.  And I AM looking forward to getting back into a routine.  Plus we really love Sam's daycare/school - I think he will have fun there! 

We have already established a nighttime routine for Sam, as far as having a consistent bedtime and bedtime routine (the 4 B's: Bath / Book / Boob / Bedtime Prayers)... so that has helped me prepare for the inevitable early mornings yet to come!  And the best news... as of a few nights ago, he started sleeping through the night!  It's only been four nights total now, but we're hoping this is our new normal.  He has slept between 7 and 8 hours each night.  So let's pray this continues!  I totally don't mind getting up for that 2 or 3am feeding... but a full night's sleep is awfully good.  Sure is!

Enjoy this weekend and Spring Break if that applies to you... I'm working on getting my baby item favorites post up shortly.  It's a long one, so it takes me several sittings (read: Sam's naps) to get it all finished.  :-)

Ridiculous.

Ridiculously cute, that is!  OMG... Sam needs these.  I love all the Trumpette socks.  (Not only are they stupid cute, but they stay on.)  These boat shoes take the cake though!

Also love these little Vans-like skater shoes... swoon!

And don't get me started on the Trumpette socks for girls.  Shut up.  Shut your mouth!

Someone's getting bigger!

Yesterday was Sam's 2-month birthday! He was a good sport, but was OVER it by the time we got to this photo...

Easter Musings

One of the most exciting things to me about becoming a mom is introducing Sam to all the fun holidays and celebrations throughout the year and years to come.  Though I've yet to purchase any scrapbooks or memory albums, I've got a big collection of things to put in books and one specific scrapbook I want to put together is a "Book of Firsts."  We'll have a lot of those this year!  And next up is Easter...

Perhaps it's silly to go nuts over an Easter basket for a little munchkin that spends the bulk of his day doing nothing but sleeping and pooping... but hey, I can't help myself!  But what do you put in an infant's Easter basket?  I mean, it's not like he can eat a chocolate bunny (though Momma can totally help him with that).  I was thinking books and maybe a couple of toys. But then earlier this week, Sam and I were on a date with my friend Pam and her newborn and we walked into Pottery Barn Kids at Lenox and it was like a beautiful Easter explosion!  Sure, I'd seen all this stuff in the catalog, but it didn't really do much for me till I saw it in person.  (This is why I try not to shop.)

They had lots of cute basket options and all kinds of goodies for filler, but I especially fell in love with the whole Peter Rabbit collection.  And though it's a lot more than I'd pay for a comparable basket at Hobby Lobby or wherever else, I'm totally smitten over this bucket...

I can't find it on their site, but in store they had a mini bucket and a large one.  I could be sensible and get the mini one for my little mini man. But sometimes sensibility goes out the door when I look at those sweet cheeks! I mean, seriously, just look...

Exactly.  So now I'm all inspired by the Peter Rabbit theme.  It's just so sweet and timeless.  Plus, I can only justify buying this bucket if I can get another use out of it.  It will look so great on Sam's bookshelves in his nursery (yes, getting those pics up soon - promise!).  Makes for a great looking toy bucket and I'm always keeping an eye out for fun things to go on his shelves. 

So then to fill it... definitely some Peter Rabbit themed goodies.  Which PBK has a ton of, but I will *probably* refrain from getting any of it there.  Sure, a lot of it is their exclusive collection, but not the books.  Um, unless you happen upon a clearance deal or great coupon, don't ever buy kids' books at these stores!  Make a mental note and then run to Amazon or another bargain book dealer.  Kids' books are seriously so stinking expensive.  So yeah, I've already been adding some stuff to my Amazon wish list while I'm pulling ideas together, including this...

Yeah, that won't exactly fit in the bucket, but I love it.  So it may have to just sit beside the bucket.  The Easter Bunny often had "extras" outside my basket, so I'm confident he still does this.  And there are like a million little Peter Rabbit stuffed animals out there, including this sweet one that plays a nursery rhyme...

Pam and I also strolled around in Anthropologie while at the mall and I found these GREAT flash card sets for kids.  It'll be a while before Sam is ready to actually learn this stuff, but the colors and pictures are so darn fun.  Eric Carle, of The Very Hungry Caterpillar fame, has several box sets of gorgeously illustrated cards for kids.  And they're really good quality - like similar to board books as far as thickness and glossy appearance.  Anthropologie had a few of the sets selling for full retail at $14.95, but I found the same thing on Amazon for about $10 (and hello, free shipping and no sales tax).  Yeah, so I'm pretty sure he's getting a set of these...

Lastly, I think I will find a little Bible to include in the bucket.  You can never have too many life manuals, and Easter is about Jesus after all, right?!  Can't wait to start putting it together!  Oh and then wrapping it all up in cellophane with fabulous ribbons... OMG too fun.  We'll be lucky if we get an unintentional smile followed by a fart from Sam after seeing his first Easter basket, but it'll certainly make my heart swell!

And speaking of my dapper little dude, I've been on the hunt for the perfect Easter duds for him.  I know it's still a couple of months out, but so far I'm pretty unimpressed with the selection for boys out there.  Easter to me means PREPPY and COLORFUL.  Sans dinosaur and truck images.  Love those, but not on Easter.  So, I think I finally found "the one" at Baby Gap...

Also saw these sandals at Old Navy a while back - how stinkin' cute?!  Hopefully it will be warm enough for this ensemble.  You just never know.  But that little Gap romper is on sale this weekend, so I may have to go and snag it.  If you're looking for cute Easter looks for your little one, Baby Gap by far has the best selection I've seen yet (especially for little girls - swoon!).  I've looked at Carter's, Osh Kosh, Gymboree, Target, BRU, Buy Buy Baby, and Old Navy... and none of them had anything that got much more than a "meh" from me. Gymboree had a few cute things, but ugh - too $$$ for me.  I'm cheap.

So yeah... getting awfully excited about Easter Sunday!  We haven't made it back to church since Sam arrived, but I think we will give it a go Sunday week.  Not ready to put him in the nursery (he'd be old enough but Momma's not ready!), but he should do just fine in his Baby Bjorn or Moby Wrap.  He LOVES being held or carried.  Such a sweet boy. :-)

Back soon with nursery photos and my maternity favorites...  Until then, TGIF and have a fabu weekend!

One month, already?!

It's true... today Sam is ONE whole month old!

We of course had to come up with some creative ways to document his monthly growth.  My SIL sent us a fun idea she found on Pinterest where you put baby in an outfit that's entirely too big for him at first, and photograph him in the same one every month to see how he grows into it.  So we did that with a size 12mo sleeper - which totally swallows him right now!

Then we put him in one of the PB Kids baskets from his changing table... (OK that reminds me that I totally need to get nursery pics on here!)

And the "main" pic is this one - just a simple overhead view of him on a blanket with one of MY old toys - a crocheted Cookie Monster doll.  Love it!

I always love seeing how people document the actual month.  I've seen onesies and tees and stickers/patches you can use to put on the kid.  I liked that idea, but of course decided to do a budget-friendly version with stuff I already had.  So the solution?  Iron-on printer paper.  It's so darn easy...

Here's a very quick how-to if you're interested in doing something similar...


Easy Month-by-Month Iron-on Decals

1. You will need a plain onesie or tee for each month.  I just went with plain white onesies by Carters.  (Or sorry, "bodysuits" since Gerber officially coined the term "onesie" - whatev.)  And I'm doing these month-by-month because who knows what size Sam will need as he grows!

2. Assuming you've got an iron and a printer at home, the only other thing you need is iron-on printer paper.  I have found this at the grocery store, but Walmart usually has it and certainly any office supply store would.  It comes in the same packaging as labels - so look for those.  I used Avery brand and it comes in two varieties - one for light fabrics and one for darker fabrics. 

3.  I designed my own image just using Microsoft Word - I went really simple.  But you can get as fancy pants as you want.  Design your own decal, or find some clip art or other pictures to use.  The big thing to remember here, once you're ready to print, is you'll need to print a mirror image of the decal.  Some programs have you do this through the print menu, or you may be able to flip the image itself before printing.  I created my image in Word and then copied it into Paint (yeah, that free program under your Accessories - love it) and printed from there.  So I just flipped the image itself before printing.

One other thing to note - this iron-on paper is designed for inkjet printers.  I broke the rules and used a laser printer though.  It worked fine for these small and simple images, but really an inkjet printer will do best.  The heat from a laser printer screws up the iron-on material some and may affect your decal.  But the image itself transfers fine if the paper around your decal survives the printing (which mine did).

4. Transfer the image!  Follow the instructions on the iron-on paper package - they are plenty detailed and easy to follow.  It takes a matter of seconds to transfer the image - especially a small one like this.  And then you're done!  Come month #2, start back at step 1.  :-) 


So there you go.  We are obviously having a complete BALL with Sam.  Love him to pieces.  He is ridiculously cute.  He's a good sleeper too.  The nights are hard... we've had to grow accustom to "naps" rather than getting a full night's sleep, but we're coping well.  He's a fabulous eater and pooper too.  The plumbing is definitely working.  His projectile pee and poo range is quite impressive.  I just recently had to start a clothes bin for items he's already outgrown!  I mean, really!  He's out of most of his NB items and is in 0-3mo or 3mo sizes now. He's growing like a weed, that's for sure. 

I've got lots of great post ideas swimming in my foggy head right now... it's just a matter of finding the time and opportunity to sit down at the 'puter and get them posted.  I definitely want to share my favorite maternity items and baby items so far, among other things.  You know I love dishing on fun clothes and products!  And as I mentioned, I need to get our nursery pics up!  My Dad took a bunch of great ones after we got everything finished, so I'll have to get those on here shortly. 

Also... any fun Valentine's Day plans, y'all?  We typically stay in and do fondue for V-Day, but seeing as we stay in like ALL the time lately, that's not quite as appealing this year!  So we are having our first official date night on Tuesday!  Well, date afternoon really.  My parents are going to watch the little man at our house while the hub and I go to see "The Vow" and then have an early dinner at a local Italian restaurant.  We have 5pm reservations - which officially makes us old farts.  Seriously, who eats at 5pm?  People with one-month-old's at home with grandparents waiting to have their own Valentine's dinner out.  Yep, Nana and Grandpa have 7:30pm reservations, so we'll be home in time to relieve them.  And we thought caring for the dogs was hard enough to coordinate!  Ha!  Looking forward to it...  you know I love Valentine's!  Any reason to celebrate is... well... a reason to celebrate!  Hope you all have a great one filled with lots of love!

Baby Shower - Nov 6th

We had a double header that first weekend in November!  This second shower was put on by my best high school girlfriends and another one of my sweet girlfriends that I used to work with.  This one was a lot more intimate and girly... all the details were so sweet!  What a fun weekend, huh?!

The lovely food table with all kinds of sweet goodies - including a bike-shaped diaper cake!

Delicous cake pops made by one of my girlfriends

A watermelon baby carriage - too cute!

Sam's going to one dapper little dude!

More great gifts... Sam is really loading up!

Showered with Love

Wow, what a weekend!  And thank goodness we have an empty room downstairs... or had I should say.  The "empty" room has now become storage for all of Sam's loot!  And the boy racked up this weekend.  We had two lovely showers thrown by sweet friends of ours.  My dad played photographer (in addition to grandpa-to-be) at the couples' shower Saturday night and he got a lot of great shots.  And one of my sweet hostesses from Sunday got some great pics as well.  I'll be back soon with more deets and pics (still waiting on some to get sent to me), but check out these adorable cake pops that one of my girls made for Sunday's shower...

And how stinkin' cute are these monogrammed petit fours from Saturday?  I'm a sucker for a monogram... especially with sugar.

Lots of love for little Sam this weekend...  so grateful.

Another one!

This is getting fun...

Eeks!  Sam is gonna be so spoiled.

TGIF by the way... it has been a looooooong week.  Very glad to see today.  Looking to get some painting done in the nursery this weekend.  More on that later!

First Shower Invitation!

Another one of those "is this really happening?" moments...

Back later with more updates.  I'm buried in work for the time being!  Hope you all are having a great week!

Sam's Crib Bedding!

So super exciting... our custom crib bedding and accessories arrived in only 6 days.  I wasn't expecting to get the order till next week, so it was a fun surprise to find it on our doorstep already.  I love it as much as I knew I would!  Here's a pic of the online version once I designed it (I just did a skirt and crib sheet, so ignore the "blank" quilt and bumpers)...

Nursery Designer by Carousel Bedding

And here's the sweet product on our crib!

Obviously I need to iron it to get that box pleat looking good, but I just had to throw it on there right away to see how it looked.  We also went with a longer skirt (20") since we decided to skip the bumper.  I know I'll have to either pin it up or get a standard length later when we move the mattress down, but I don't care.  I LOVE it!

Got a sweet little pillow for the rocker... I'm sure I'll end up monogramming Sam's name on it (er, having a friend do it). 

I also got extra fabric so bestest can sew our closet "door."  It'll be the same blue and white striped fabric on the bottom of the crib skirt.  Love it!

So we started our registry today at BRU and it was 10x more overwhelming than I thought.  The first aisle was all bottles and feeding accessories.  What the hell?  Like literally hundreds of products crammed on a wall and I'm supposed to know what to pick out?  Ha!  Most used sentence in there today... "Uhhh, just scan it and I'll research it more later."

So yeah it was more like getting a jump start on it but now I'm weeding through it online.  A couple of things scanned wrong too, so I corrected those on the website.  I'm thinking this registry is going to be a work in process for a while...

Um, hilarious.

Proof that true love still exists and men never get over their love of boobs.

Nursery Closet: The Finished Product!

I must say, we are doing a great job of getting our August nursery to-do's marked off the list. The big goals for this month were to order the crib (check), find a changing table (check), order blinds (check), paint the closet (check), and update the closet shelving (check). Look at us go!

So this weekend we added that second row of shelving I mentioned in the nursery closet, some hooks for the wall, and a couple of other organizer caddy things from Wally World to complete it all. (Hop over here if you want to see the "before" pics again.) Total spent on the closet makeover... about $120.

- Paint from Home Depot, $25
- Extra shelving and wall hook pieces from Lowe's, $47
- Canvas shelving and rolling carts from Wal-Mart, $48

And here's the end product! I'm in love. If the nursery itself is half as much fun as the closet is, I think we'll be in great shape...










Only thing left to do is add a tension rod and fabric for a "door." But I'm considering that more a part of the nursery room decor itself since we'll most likely use one of the fabrics to coordinate with the bedding. And seeing as my swatches still haven't arrived, we don't know what those fabrics are just yet! I did contact Carousel though and they sent another order out. They responded almost immediately to my email! Looks like my first batch (that I ordered over two weeks ago) got lost in the mail or something.

Alright, gotta get going. Meant to post an 18-week belly pic this weekend, but never got around to it. I'll get one up shortly! Oh also... the rocker hunt went well this weekend too! Nothing purchased yet, but we got a good feel for who has what. Probably will do a little more looking this weekend and make a final decision once our fabric swatches arrive.