Friday Randoms

Thank goodness it is Friday, people. I almost titled this post FriNAY-- pretty much sums up our week. Slightly exaggerating. ;)

Poor E is teething hard. She's going to bed earlier (6:30) and therefore waking up earlier. Some mornings as early as 5:20. Yawn. I feel bad waking up Nathan and don't like her sitting in front of the TV, but I'm kind of at a loss some mornings. She whines and whines and I'm 3 days away from buying her a miniature pony if it makes her happy. 

My poor baby! Shout out to grandma for the jammies with POODLES on them. I think she needs them in every size (we have 2 miniature poodles). :-)

Emma is totally smitten with Aunt Caralyn here. Thank GOD for Caralyn's month long stay. Every 3 minutes Caralyn says: "How do you do this without me?", "Kids are a lot of work", "What about people with multiple children?" "How do you go shopping?", "Wow". And so on.

Long story short, our air unit is not working well. It gets up to 83/84 in the afternoons! The guy is coming this afternoon and hopefully we'll get some answers. 

C left to get us some ice cream and Emma does not do well with goodbyes (above). 

Sent that pic to everyone we know because it's hot and last night our TV didn't work. When I went to bed the sun was still out.

If you made it through that you're a saint! Happy Friday, folks! 

Living Room Gallery Wall

Or in my husband's words: 45 minutes of hanging hell. I thought he was going to kill me with dull knives every time I said "We only have 9 more!". Ha. 

For completely winging it, I think it turned out pretty good. I didn't want it to be matchy-matchy, and I wanted to incorporate some gold. 

I laid it out on our dining room the way I wanted it to appear. Of course I didn't take a photo so that was fun. Nathan was really ready to kill me at that point. 

We started in the center and moved out.  

We only purchased one frame-- the rest came from our questionable room. 

I found the signs at TJ Maxx for under $10! The "sea urchins" were from Target. Totally random but they add some color and texture. I sound like I know what I'm talking about. News flash: I don't. 

                                 

Poor Nathan is only on our little wall two times. We really really need to get some professional pictures done of our fam bam. Maybe this fall? He doesn't even care. 

At any given time, at least 3 of the frames are crooked. We advise not to look at the wall too long. ;) 

Nathan made me promise no more gallery walls. I agree. Biggest pain ever. 

A Peek Into Our Week

So so sad the weekend is over. :( Boo! Last week was short and sweet-- it also rained every day which made for lots of snuggle sessions inside with my girl! 

I think I mentioned last week (?) that we went to get Emma some "work out clothes". They look so cute on her! TJ Maxx has them for $3.99 and the tops for $4.99-$5.99. It takes a few minutes to find them through the racks, but it's totally worth it. 

Little E loves watching Daddy mow or the dogs run through the yard. Obviously it goes without saying that I stand over her while she sits up on her table. :-)

Maybe I'll post more about this but we have been eating very clean lately! So proud of us-- it was Nathan's idea. I actually was okay being fat and happy. BUT, these things are pretty tasty! They also have sea salt flavor but caesar is way better. 

Everyone has this app and it's totally legit (ha!), so I had to try it out. My dad is really the only person who insists that Emma looks like Nathan-- nobody else has really shared their opinion. Regardless, this app is total crap but fun. 

I am still loving our TV stand and the baskets! Totally unsure about the "B"-- note the tags still on it. ;) And I have no clue what we will do in the cubbies on top? 

It looks so much cleaner with our TV up and the cords hidden. I am going for a cleaner/crisper look and I think we nailed it. Also love that we can sweep under the stand. Not loving the tennis balls the dogs put under there, LOL. 

Nathan sent me that pic (below) while I was showering one morning. Note the poof. :-) She's so beautiful and has the cutest features! 

It finally stopped raining on Friday, thank goodness. It was so cold! I've mentioned this before but anytime we go outside Emma just starts walking to the playground. I follow her around like her security escort. 

There's a huge thrift store on our way to DC so I thought we'd hit it up. It must be her age but Emma acts like she's never left the house before. Good God. She grabs everything, does not listen, and runs away from me. 

Maybe one day I'll sneak out without her but it was fun to look around. We didn't find anything but Emma screamed when it was time to leave the toy section. Good times. 

Was out jogging Saturday morning and a lady said to her little boy "Look at that lady's pink shoes!". I didn't realize how neon they look. 

And the biggest news of all. . . Auntie Caralyn is here! For a month! 

Emma's face pretty much says it all. Ha. Totally kidding. We picked her up on Saturday and headed to the National Harbor. They have lots of shoppies, restaurants, a farmer's market, a beach, and a ferris wheel. 

We opted for $22 worth of ice cream. I like DQ blizzard prices better. 

On the way home we saw a cop "light 'em up" at some geese! 

It was so sweet that he got out and helped the mama & babies cross the road. They took their sweet time. I saw them outside of Emma's gymnastics class so they must have walked pretty far! 

Okay that's all the excitement going on in our life. The laundry saga continues. Hope everyone had a great weekend! xoxo

Day By The Hour

Taking these photos is about ten times harder than one would imagine. . . 

7AM: Up, watching some Mickey while I start breakfast and put away clean dishes. We got her that kitten (Mr. Cat) at Books a Million for $5 and she's been smitten since Saturday. He comes everywhere with us. 

8AM: Fulfilling Emma's relentless requests to fill up her play coffee mugs with water. We had the colander out for the pipe cleaner activity and this is how I found Mr. Cat! 

9AM: Wake up Daddy and realize his anniversary present has been sitting outside all night. Whoops. 

10AM: Home from my jog. It's hard to see but Emma's face is so big with excitement. 

11AM: Emma is asleep and I'm starting lunch prep. Chili is in crock pot! 

12PM: Having my smoothie for lunch. E is still asleep-- sweet. :-) 

1PM: Someone is up and ready for lunch! Nathan & E eat and I talk to them before he runs out the door. E has some sick obsession with crumbling the cornbread into teeny tiny pieces. I cry because I spent a ridiculously long time sweeping/mopping last night. 

2PM: Still looking to make sure Daddy really left. Update: He did. We color the free coloring sheet we got from the library yesterday. 

3PM: Mr. Cat, Emma, & I head to Lowe's for light bulbs and to look at paint samples. 

4PM: Already regretting this project. 

5PM: Food and toy cleanup. Love that I captured the dogs begging! 

6PM: Starting to wind down and playing dollies. Emma is so sweet with her baby and we practice body parts. 

7PM: No picture. Homegirl asleep! 

8PM: Dishes from the day= done. Boom. PS-- Started using that purple water bottle for Emma while we're out and it's been awesome. 

9PM: Watch the Duggar interview and text Nathan every question/answer. I'm obsessed. 

Okay that's exhausting. Hope everyone has a great weekend! xoxo 

Confessions

Haven't done this in a while, so lucky for you: 

:: This (below) is how Emma rode home from her checkup on Monday. She's usually so good about sleeping for long drives but finally crashed after 20 min of Sofia. We stopped at our old stomping grounds for drinks for the long drive home. 

:: I don't know what to think of this whole Caitlyn Jenner stuff.

:: We ordered pizza for our anniversary dinner. It was delicious.

:: I want a kitten. Don't worry, we won't get one but oh my gosh..

:: Some days N & I want a bajillion more children and others we can't even handle one. Maybe we'll just settle for a kitten.

:: I'm ready for lunch and it's 10:49.

3 Years Ago

Today we got married! Happy anniversary to my sweet, cute, funny, strong, and leader of a husband! 

In 3 years we have: moved 3 times, started a new job, had a baby, made new friends, and survived being over 700 miles away from our family. 

We've learned so much it's hard to really put it into words. We just go with the flow of life and learn as we go. 

I'm not very good with lovey-dovey words but I'm very thankful to have found this guy. We started dating (whatever that means when you're in high school) in 2006 and he's been by my side ever since.  

Nathan has taught me so much-- most importantly how to fight off bad guys (always make eye contract, people) and how to appropriately make eggs (he doesn't use milk or water). He talks me off the ledge when I'm stressed, and always makes me laugh. Usually at a very inappropriate time. 

 We try to keep our marriage a priority. When our kids grow up they will (hopefully if we did it right) leave the nest and we'll be stuck with each other. That's when we'll sleep until noon, go out for brunch, travel, and have all the fancy Pottery Barn furniture we want. ;)

Okay I don't want his head to get any bigger. Cheers to 3 years!

A Peek Into Our Week

Can't believe the weekend is almost over, boo. Luckily my husband surprised me and has tomorrow & Tuesday off! Our 3 year anniversary is Tuesday so I thought that was super sweet. :-) 

Anyway, last week: 

Monday he woke up and picked up this bad boy from Ikea. We were a little unsure of the color and size, but we really love it. It's just very clean and not bulky. Bonus: We'll be able to hide some of the kid toys. ;)

After a SAMs haul we got a giant watermelon. We cut it up and ate a bunch outside. Emma loved every second of it. I even froze a piece on a popsicle stick and she thought it was Christmas. 

Several weeks ago I randomly found some athletic type clothes for E at TJ Maxx. When Nathan saw her wearing them he thought it was too cute. He never really takes interest in her clothes (Most dads don't, LOL), so I thought that was funny. I should find some more next time we go! 

Her shirt (above) is Nike and the dry fit material-- so funny to see her running around wearing it. I think it was $3.99 or something crazy like that! 

I should totally work at a restaurant. Ha. Emma took an extra long nap so I embarked on this lovely mess. Technically the crust is whole grain and the pepperoni is turkey, so that counts for something, right? 

After dinner shenanigans in our yard. We have been working on not running in the road and she really understands that she has to hold my hand or be held when we cross our (quiet) street. 

I was trying to show off my skills and the ball rolled waaaaaaay down the road so imagine me having to run/walk with her on my hip. I should work on my skills. 

My dad found her that romper (above) from SAMs. After my MIL sent E some jammies from Costco, I thought we should check out the clothing section at SAMs. They didn't have PJs but they had a ton of stuff for very reasonable. 

That pic was after I said "Emma! Smile! We are going to send this to Papi!".

I take her places and she literally acts like we have never been in public before. I believe this is the trip some guy saw me chasing her and said (sarcastically, I assume), "Wow. She looks fun". 

I don't know how or why she has Skittles. No we didn't buy them but they sound delicious right about now. 

Trying out different baskets for our little TV stand. Nathan likes the two on the left and I'm too lazy to try out anymore so he wins. I like the wire look best, but they won't hide the kid toys so well. ;) Also love Cocoa's photobomb. 

Had a playgroup and did these (above). More to come but it was a fun project to work on colors! Pretty self explanatory-- just paint the sections & clothespins different colors and have the child match. 

Speaking of learning, I have been doing a lot of reading on Montessori pre school, so we've adapted some of those practices into our home. I can post more about this later, but it is basically "help me do it by myself". 

One of the suggestions was to have your child's snacks/dishes/whatever within their reach. Obviously not my brightest move. 

While this is an awesome concept, I will probably be moving the messier snacks out of Emma's reach. Plus, we want her to ask for her food. Again, more later. 

Back to Target because we had to return those dumb baskets. Emma was very well behaved so I got her a cake pop. No pink so she had chocolate for the first time! 

She ate about half of it and her chocolate-y face was pretty hilarious. They know us at the little Starbucks cafe and when we left they gave me a giant (Trenta?) sized water. For free! 

Sent this to my dad-- little bird bathing in our bath! Emma stalks them all day long so I think this guy was glad he could bathe without her banging on the window. The 2 feeders we have have brought so much joy!

And that's a wrap. Off to bed. xoxo