Look what came today!

I opened my front door a little while ago and look what I found! They were in a fedex box with no information so I can only assume they are from the manufacturer since I emailed them to tell them how much we loved them :) If you haven't tried these yet...DO!!! Emilie loves them! This was the first time she'd had the appleapple and no surprise, she loved it. She's now had the applestrawberry, applepeach, and appleapple. All that's left to try is the applebanana and I have no doubt she will love it just as much. They are the perfect size for her little hands to hold herself and she's figured out how to suck the applesauce out of the packaging without my helping by squeezing. I seriously love these! They don't have to be refrigerated until its been opened so I just keep them in the pantry and throw one in the bag when I know she'll need a good snack. And only once has left anything to refrigerate!

My favorite thing about these is that they are all natural, so I can feel good about giving it to her. It's so hard to find easily portable healthy snack options and this is definitely a good one!

Enjoy!!!

My little project

Here's my little project I mentioned last week...I still want to make some alterations to it, but the idea worked at least. The lamp itself works too :) I had this empty wine bottle sitting around but couldn't bear to throw it away (I'm sentimental over stupid stuff sometimes) so I decided to do something with it. And this is the product of that.

Catching up

Ok, so my goal of posting daily didn't exactly happen last week...bummer! It's crazy how busy things can get when your chasing a baby around! She's going to walk any day now too, so I know that its only about to get worse.

One of the things I got the privilege of doing this week was make invitations for a friends little boy and his first birthday party. I had so much fun doing it and even though I'm definitely not a graphic designer they turned out pretty cute :) I attached it here for your viewing pleasure but I did make it a little more generic because I know he is just too precious and I don't need you hunting down my precious little man :D

Emilie had her first experience at the splash grounds on Friday and had a lot of fun, she was pretty nervous at first and didn't seem very interested but once the rest of the kiddos arrived (Mommy read the e-mail wrong and was early) she was all about it! I of course was soaking wet because she'd get wet and then want to be held, but it was a lot of fun. I wish I had pictures of her playing in the water but I couldn't hold her and snap photos. Saturday we went and did her first birthday photo shoot, it was HOT!!! but sooo much fun. We spent an hour and a half in the 104 degree Texas heat and we were all worn out and grumpy by the time it was over, but we had a blast. We had some trouble getting good smiles because on top of the heat (and lack of a good nap) she's getting her molars, but I THINK we got some great ones. We'll see in a few weeks!! EEEK sooo excited! Sunday we went to church and she went to the nursery again, she didn't do as well at all this week. She was screaming bloody murder until we got her moved to a different volunteer, she did finally settle down and we were able to enjoy the service. It was very hard for me not to go in and just scoop her up and get out of there but I know that its a good experience for her and she ended up doing just fine.

This week is going to be even busier than last, we have something planned every single day. I'm hoping the pain from her molars won't make her too grumpy and we can enjoy the last week before I have a one year old!! I can't believe how fast time flies!!!

People are genius!!!

The person who invented these GoGo's are first of all GENIUS and secondly...probably filthy rich! I cannot believe I am just now stumbling upon these, but I found then on an end cap in the main grocery section of Target (somewhere I need to avoid) and figured why not...she likes fruit...

Oh my...this child was IN LOVE!!! It was so cool, we were sitting in the floor together and I would give it a light squeeze and she'd pull away when she had enough and then come back for another squeeze a second later. She ate the entire thing and its a healthy snack!! The best part is they would be so easy to throw in the diaper bag and eat while we're out, which makes my day because I feel like our only easy snack choices on the go are usually cheerios or puffs and this is a much better option. I seriously wish I'd invented these!!

On a less random note, today was Kindermusik day. Em was a total ham!! She was giggling and yelling, dancing, you name it. She really enjoyed herself today. She was making herself heard at Target too...apparently had LOTS to say. Luckily she was doing it with a smile instead of throwing a fit so I just let her go. Yup...we were the obnoxious kid making noise in the store today, but she was having fun :) It's nap time so Mommy needs to get some things done and hopefully she'll wake up in time to get dinner out of the way early and go to story time at the Library. Happy Tuesday!!!

**OH!...I've been working on a project...I love projects! It's coming together, I need to switch some pieces around and then I'll show it off...but I'm proud of myself for thinking it up and then DOING IT! I'm trying to make it a practice to get things done that I think of...even if I just make one and give it as a gift...projects are good for me! Unfortunately I didn't find the right piece for it today and Em's patience had run out...so maybe tomorrow we'll go out searching again and see if we can wrap this one up. I like how its turning out so much I've already bought a piece for the 3rd one, lol! Ok...I'll stop talking about it until they're finished, but I'm trying to make sure I'm doing the things I think up instead of keeping them swimming around in my head forever so I'm proud of myself for meeting this goal so far.

Sunday was a fun day

Ok quick post then I have to go figure out what to do for dinner (because we ate what I planned for dinner at lunch and now sandwiches don't sound good to anyone...sigh!)

We went to church this morning at Heights Baptist in Richardson. We really enjoyed the service and the pastor was great. We took Emilie to the nursery which I dreaded all night last night and all morning because I had never left her with a stranger...NEVER! I was teary eyed but it went really well. They checked us in to their secure login...we had to show i.d. just to drop her off and pick her up which I loved! And unless your wearing a sticker that shows you dropped a kid off back there...well forget getting near their rooms! We took her to her room and introduced ourselves and they quickly snatched my little one from my arms and said she'll be fine...I about THREW UP! But she was fine, they sat her down and she immediately found toys. We wandered to get our complimentary coffee and donut for being a guest (well he did...I couldn't think about eating) and I quickly snuck back to her room to peek. She was fine, playing with what looked like a plastic bell pepper. They nursery attendant said she never cried, and apparently they usually do for a minute or two. We enjoyed the service and then I practically ran to pick up my baby. She was strapped into a four seater stroller and had just been for a ride, she looked very relaxed and frankly about to fall asleep. They said she'd done wonderfully, never got fussy but they could tell she was getting tired and noticed they had to keep her busy to keep her happy...yup thats my kid! My only frustration was that we picked her up with a very wet diaper and since I'd counted the diapers in the bag before we dropped her off I could tell she hadn't been changed. But it had only been an hour and a half...so I guess I'll let it go. It will take a few more nursery visits before I'm comfortable with the idea, but so far so good.
We made my grandmothers chicken spaghetti recipe for lunch after church, ran some errands, played in the sun in the baby pool out back, and relaxed to watch a movie while she took an afternoon nap. It was a great Sunday. Now I've got to figure out dinner, cut some coupons, and work on my current project. Enjoy your Sunday!!!

Make that 10

Ten miles that is!! Emilie and I got up this morning and did two more to round us out at ten for the week. We'll take tomorrow off so we can get to church on time, but back at it on Monday!
Hubs had to work this morning so I didn't have my usual walking buddy, I decided to pull my old Ipod out and listen to music as we walked. Of course I hadn't used it since I graduated from KU four years ago...so the music wasn't quite what I listen to anymore but I hit shuffle and was surprised that the songs it played put me in a much better mood. I've had a rough week, let some anxiety get ahold of me and it was good to walk it off this morning. I came in feeling really refreshed and ready for our day. We spent the afternoon in the pool and all took a nap when we got home. Emilie loves the water and it does crazy things to her appetite! She ate like a little piggy tonight.
Tomorrow is a big day for us, it will be the first time we'll leave Em with a stranger...EVER. I'm already practically sick to my stomach over it, but I know its necessary for both of us. She'll get to play in the church nursery while we go to service and hopefully she'll have fun. She needs to experience us leaving and coming back (and I need to experience leaving her and being ok, lol) and I can't think of a better place for her to get an hour of (FREE) socialization. They have really strict rules about the nursery, we'll have to show ID to sign her in and pick her up and we'll be given a pager in case she needs me...she'll be fine...I'll be fine. But I'm a mess already regardless. I'll let ya'll know how it goes tomorrow.

**Random side note...I noticed that Woombie was an ad displayed on my page, how fitting...we were HUGE believers in swaddling when she was a baby and the Woombie was one of that we liked alot!**

Running on fumes

My goal is to try to blog daily, we'll see if I can keep up. Today I'm running on fumes, I tossed and turned all night but my precious alarm clock went off at 7 on the nose regardless of my tossing. I've learned that unless we have real plans...Emilie is the best alarm clock I could ask for!! I don't think she slept well either as she's been tired today too.
Despite my poor nights rest I laced up my Nike's and hit the pavement for my fourth walk in five days. I try to go daily, but Wednesday I was sore and on a short time frame so I skipped. I walked eight miles this week!! I'm hoping we keep it up over the weekend but its less likely. I felt much better after the walk, it was almost like I'd been able to enjoy a nice hot steaming cup of coffee. Its been nearly 21 months since my last full serving of a caffeinated beverage. First because of the pregnancy and currently because of breastfeeding. I am VERY proud to say we've nursed exclusively thus far and she is just two and a half weeks shy of her first birthday and time to start weaning. I definitely don't knock those who can't/don't breastfeed and use formula, but it wasn't the choice for my family and I'm very proud that we've done so well. It's not easy, not at all. It's a sacrifice but such an amazing gift to be able to provide her with that kind of nutrition and to have that one special thing that only I can do for her. She never took to a bottle well, but will take a sippy with "Mommy's milk" if necessary but she'd prefer to snuggle up to me and get it straight from the source. And I'm OK with that. Its an amazing journey I can't believe is almost over. We've been through it all: having trouble with her latch, engorgement, lumps, MASTITIS!!!, hating the bottle, pumping,over producing, you name it. But even with all of those things, I love the experience and wouldn't do much differently.
Back to our day! LOL. After our walk we hit Kroger to do our grocery shopping, with our list in hand we were in search of two weeks of meals on a budget. We succeeded! We got two weeks of groceries for $100 by utilizing what we already have at home and planning ahead. Now we will have to go back to the store next week to stock up on fresh fruit, yogurt, and milk...we go through those rather quickly and usually require a restock in between big trips. It's amazing to me how much we were spending when I wasn't menu planning. We ended up at the store several times a week and spending nearly twice what we should be. I try to cut coupons but I haven't been very disciplined lately...I plan to do better. OH...and no eating out!! I can cook for a fraction of the price of being lazy and heading to the McDonalds down the street so that's exactly what we'll do!
That's about it for our Friday! The rest of our day has been playing with Emilie and trying to get a few things done around the house. Tomorrow we hope to spend some time in the pool and just relax and enjoy some family time! Hoping for a better nights sleep and maybe a nap after pool time tomorrow :)

Time to jump in

Today I realized that I'm a giant chicken...EVERYTHING seems to scare me lately. Yesterday as I was swinging with a friends kiddo and we were seeing who could swing the highest, I realized I didn't like swinging high, that it now made me very nervous. And today as my 11 month old slid into the pool with a smile from ear to ear, I realized she is more brave than I am! I've been twiddling my thumbs for nearly two weeks...NERVOUS to write my first post! WHY?! No one is reading it, no one even knows its out here! LOL Yet I couldn't dive in.
So in an effort to stop being such a chicken and to take steps in the right direction I'm forcing myself to be more like my daughter and just jump in and have fun. I have to be honest, I have no idea what this blog will be about from day to day. It's just something I wanted to do and I hope if anyone does read it, they enjoy laughing at my crazy life as much as I do! And just for grammie's sake since she's our only follower...here's a picture of my Emilie enjoying making a splash.