Five on Friday

So, I never did post about my kitchen facelift, nor have I posted anything in almost 3 weeks....but I'm still here!  Life has just been a little busy - preparing for baby, moving Emmalee into a big girl room, going on vacation...oh, and did I mention preparing for baby???

But today is Friday, and everybody say "Praise the Lord for a 3-day weekend!"  So for today's Five on Friday, I thought I would post a few things that I am working on preparation of baby, which includes some of the project I want to do in Emmalee's new big-girl room!

We decided to leave the nursery as is, and move Emmalee to a big girl room because it was just an easier "plan," in my opinion.  But creating a whole new room on a budget is not the easiest thing.  The biggest problem I am running into with Emmalee's room is simple, but cute decorations, and I could use a few to spruce up the nursery, too.   Each of the ideas below are different things that I have now stuffed in my "book or ideas" for cute, but simple, craft or decoration ideas for the girls' rooms. 

So, without further ado, here is my Five on Friday!!

{ONE}

I am IN LOVE with this idea!  Let's be honest - paint samples are FREE!  You can get them at any home improvement store, and just a few of them gives you a ton of color options!  

This is also a great idea for holiday decorations!  Get a circle cutter & use hues of yellows, oranges, and other fall colors. Use some twine or raffia as your string, and you have an adorable Halloween or fall banner for any room of your house!  Heck, do the same for Christmas!  

If you have other paint sample projects that you have done, tell me!!!  I love these type of crafts because they are cheap and simple, but absolutely perfect for any room or occasion!  

{TWO}

 

This is another idea that I just love - button projects!  I actually plan on doing this on Monday with Em.  I thought it would be a fun project for her and I to do together for her new room.  On the wall with the window, the window is in the middle, but I need something on either side.  Since these projects can incorporate MANY colors, I love the idea of doing these (probably in a bit larger scale) on either side of the window.  I'll take pics and tell you how they turn out!!!

{THREE}

 I love this idea for an arrangement over a dresser.  Em's walls are light blue, and all of her furniture is white.  The dresser is long, like this pictured here, and I have been struggling with what to put above it.  I do have a mirror that I considered painting and putting up, but I'm worried about the scale of the mirror vs. the dresser.  So, I love the idea of making a wall arrangement like this one here.  

{FOUR}

You may have seen something similar to this before, because I know I have seen this style of door-hanger done many ways, but I was thinking this may be a great door-decoration for the girls' rooms.  My local Micheals has started carrying the thick cardboard frame in all these great boutique styles for just a few dollars.  I think I'll get some, paint them, then get a big "E" and "M" and put them on the front of the frames.  Then I can hang them on the doors to give a little added "somthin'" 

{FIVE}

I have fallen in love with this idea, too!!!  Emmalee has red curtains in her room, but they are simple and somewhat boring.  Madeline's are a little more "fru-fru", but they are still a solid pink, so I could do this in her room too.  But I love the pennant idea to put over the curtains just to add some pizzazz!  

I don't know about you, but each of these projects are so fun and simple, and I cannot WAIT to try them!  I promise to do a post next week of all the new things in the girls rooms!!! 

So what are your plans this weekend?  Can you guess what mine are????

Menu Monday

Since my new kitchen is finally finished, I am so in the mood to just get in there and cook my heart out!  So, this week I'm going out and making some {hopefully} great new dishes!

Monday:  Greek Slow-Roasted Chicken with side salad and pasta tossed in a lemon butter caper sauce. (The greek chicken will be cooked in the crockpot the same way I made my Greek Chicken pasta salad...find out how I did it here.)

Tuesday: Grilled steak & Georgia peach kabobs (recipe from last week's post)

Wednesday:  Chicken alfredo pasta with green salad

Thursday: Breakfast for Dinner!  Peach and Sausage Breakfast Casserole with fresh fruit salad. (Again, another peach recipe from last week's post!)

Friday: Steak dinner in a crockpot!  If you've never heard of this, then allow me ot enlighten you.  Get your crockpot out & spray it w/ a nonstick spray.  Put your steaks (seasoned) in the bottom, then add backed potatoes wrapped in foil, then add corn on the cob wrapped in foil on top of that.  Put the lid on & cook for 7 hours on low!  Everything comes out perfect & tender!!!

And be on the lookout this week for a post all about our kitchen facelift on a budget!  I am in love with the way things turned out! 

Let Me Be A Child, Again

A few days ago, Kelly, from Kelly's Korner, wrote a blog post about how she is always telling her girls to "hurry up."  Her post made me stop and think about how often I say those same words to my sweet 2 year old.

Then I saw an article in the Huffington Post titled The Day I Stopped Saying "Hurry Up."  The article is written by a mother who was over-taken by guilt one day when she realized how often she orders her children to "hurry up" and try to do things on her schedule. 

All I could do after reading this article is think about the past 2 mornings.  Brant has been very sick and in bed, so I have had to get Emmalee to her sitter every morning, which then makes me late for work.  I think I've told my child to "hurry up" more in the past 2 mornings than I have in the past 2 months.  I would be trying to walk out the door and Em would be putting Baby Girl (her favorite baby doll) in Madeline's swing and kissing her goodbye.  So out the door we try to go again, but Baby Girl needs her blanket in the swing so she doesn't get cold, and don't forget to tell Dax bye, and maybe we should give Daddy another kiss on the head so he can feel better...the list of things this child wanted to do before we left the house was exhausting, but then she had to go potty....and since we are in the middle of potty training, I immediately drop everything and rush her to the potty. 

15 minutes after I tried to leave the house, we were finally in the car pulling away.  My thought..."Praise the Lord we are finally in the car, but I am going to be sooo late."



Do you ever think back on times in your life and wish you could do them all over again?  Well I wish I could take back these past 2 morning and do them all over again.  I wish I helped my sweet child "mother" her Baby Girl, I wish I had encouraged her to kiss her daddy again so he could maybe feel a little bit better, I wish I had encouraged her to love on her puppy Dax....I wish, I wish, I wish.  I wish I had slowed down to see the beauty of life in those precious moments.

Children seem to "get it."  They understand that to learn and grow, they should take every moment of every day to see new things, to inquire, to enjoy the small moments of life.

This morning I can't help but think about Matthew 18. This is the parable where Jesus teaches His disciples that the greatest in Heaven are those with a child-like faith.  And unless we become like those children, we will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

Today this passage has new meaning for me.  Yes, I want a child-like faith - one that does not have to see to believe.  But I also want to become a child so that maybe I can slow down again.  I want to slow down and see everything the Lord has for me.  I want to see His truth, see His plan, see His power!  I want to enjoy the family He has given me and life He has provided for me.  I want to slow down and know Him more. 

So today, I encourage you to see the world through the eyes of a child.  Take those extra moments and hold your babies longer.  Take the time to care for those around you. Take a moment to play in the rain.  Slow down.  Don't ever hurry up.  Oh, how life would be different if we were like children, again.

Greek Chicken Pasta Salad

I don't know how many of you are like me, but I LOVE a good salad.  You know, the kind where you put anything and everything on it, with your favorite dressing, and just indulge yourself in the goodness? 

Well last night I decided to create my own little version of goodness. It was AMAZING!  I call it Greek Chicken Pasta Salad!

How did I make it?  

To start with, I got out my crockpot & coated it w/ a non-stick spray.  Then I put in 2 VERY large chicken breasts, still frozen.  I poured my favorite store-bought green dressing over the chicken - I'd say approximately 1/4 cup.  Then I turned my crockpot on low for 6 hours and just the chicken cook in all of the flavors while I was at work. 

As soon as I got home, I took the chicken out to let it cool, and started my pasta.  I use tri-colored spiraled pasta.  Just cook it like normal.  While the chicken is cooling & pasta is cooking, go ahead and get all of your greek-goodness ready!  I used cucumber, tomato, black olive, green bell pepper.  Of course, clean your lettuce too. Toss everything into a bowl, or leave it on the side if your prefer

When your pasta is finished, drain it and let it sit in an ice bath for about 2-3 minutes.  I prefer my salads cool-room temp, so I try to cool my pasta before eating.  Then dice up your chicken.  My chicken was so tender from slow cooking all day long and it just shredded itself almost as soon as I started slicing it.  I LOVE that! 

Now, just assemble your salad, and don't forget the feta to top it off.  Dress it with your favorite greek dressing and I promise you don't be disappointed.  

I will say, that I love the flavor of this chicken so much, that it would be great just served on its own in its breast-form.  Pair it with a nice salad and some a side of rice and OMG I bet it would be great!  

I hope you enjoy this as much as I did!

Perfectly Peach

 Well, I was going to do a typical "Menu Monday" post, but trust me, there is nothing special about my menu this week.  We're still having the finishing touches done to our kitchen, so I'm not cooking as much as I'd like to. So instead, I thought I'd post about what I WANT to cook once my kitchen is complete!!!

 If there is one great thing about summer, its the fresh fruit!  I love all the great deals you can get.  Our local market has fresh peaches for only $0.99/lb.  AWESOME!SO I've been looking at all kinds of new things that I can't wait to cook - all with fresh peaches!!!
 

Of course there is the typical peach cobbler or dump cake, but I want new things.  If you've looked over any of my recipes, you might has been this one:  Chicken & Peaches - its a Rachel Ray recipe and is absolutely delicious!  I want more things like it!!

So in my search, I found these:

Southwestern Chicken and Mango-Peach salsa


Grilled Steak Salad with Peaches, pecans and limes! (sounds like a little piece of heaven to me!)

Grilled Chicken Breasts with Spicy Peach Glaze

Or this - Beef Kabobs with Georgia peaches! Yes Please!!! 






Then I found these for breakfast.  I might be trying the pancake recipe this Saturday!

 Peach and Ricotta Pancakes

Peach & Sausage Breakfast Squares

And of course, I do need some great new dessert recipes!  These are already making my mouth water!!!


Peaches and Cream Bread Pudding with Amaretto Sauce! 


Peach Mug Pie


Cinnamon Pound Cake with Stewed Peaches

Or maybe I'll even be daring and make my own peach jam!!!

Spiced Peach Jam

What are some of your favorite peach recipes?

Five on Friday

 {ONE}

My sweet, darling child was up from 1:21am - 4:58am this morning.  When you get up at 5:45am to start your day, this little interruption makes for a VERY rough morning.  

Bring in the coffee!!!!

Brant and I tried this coffee creamer from International Delight several weeks ago and it has definitely become a favorite.  We love it. You can definitely taste the sweetness and cinnamon of a Cinnabon.  

 {TWO}

We are starting "Operation: Diaper Freedom" at our house this weekend!  We tried potty training in June, but it didn't work so well.  So we didn't force her to do it.  Well, now it's time!  So, I found this website that talks about fast and easy potty training.  I actually paid and bought the book because $17 is about the price of a small package of pull-ups!   And if we succeed at potty training, then it was well work it in my mind! 

{THREE}

This is definitely my new favorite paint - the Sherwin Williams ProClassic Interior Acrylic Latex.  This is what we used to paint our kitchen cabinets last weekend and I couldn't be happier with the results.  It just looks amazing and this dried so quickly. 

I promise to dedicate an entire post soon on our kitchen facelift and include all of the items we used, and our step-by-step process on how we managed to paint an entire kitchen in a weekend!

{FOUR}

With Baby #2 on the way, I've been looking at different things to put into a special basket of goodies for Emmalee as her "Big Sister Basket."  But at the Rangers baseball game on Monday, I met a sweet older lady and we began talking.  She had 3 girls, and she said the best piece of advice she could give me was to make sure that the "Big Sister Basket" was a gift to Emmalee FROM Madeline!   I now consider this woman to be a complete genius! 

My idea for this basket was to make it have items that Emmalee can use on her baby dolls when momma is taking care of Madeline.  My thoughts are items like...

{FIVE}

Its been somewhat of a slow week at work, so I've been watching a new show.  I've seen episodes here and there, but never watched a whole season.  But thanks to Hulu, I can actually see an entire season of....

The Tears of a Parent

The past two years of being a parent has taught me more about my relationship with the Lord than I ever imagined it would. 

During my pregnancy with Emmalee I used to think "I want to be the most Godly woman I can be because that is what I want my child to be.  And how will she ever know how to become that woman if she doesn't see it in her own mother?"  I remember that during my pregnancy, my walk got deeper because I wanted to be stronger. 

Now, being a parent for the past two years, I don't see my walk getting "deeper," I see my understanding getting "stronger."

Emmalee has recently started battling us when its time to go to bed.  For her, this is completely unusual because she has always been so easy to put down. I've tried to blame is on the "terrible 2's", or my being pregnant, or her realizing that her world is about to change...but regardless of the reason, she has decided this is a battle she will fight...EVERY NIGHT!

One of the first nights we encountered this battle was last week.  We went through our typical routine, and I put her in her bed. She got out. I put her in again. She got out. And this went on for at least 10 minutes.  Then her daddy got involved. 

He went through the bedtime routine as well, and put her in her bed.  She got out.  He put her back in her bed, came out of her room, and held her door shut so she couldn't get out.  Which, she quickly tried to do, and when she realized she couldn't, she begged and sobbed for mommy. 

Can I tell you that it broke my heart into pieces.  I knew that my sweet little 2 year old needed to go to sleep, and by going into her room, I would make things worse.  So I was letting her daddy handle it.  But it still broke my heart, although pregnancy hormones were, I'm sure, playing a role. 

Brant went back into her room.  Five minutes later he emerged, feeling accomplished and exhausted because she was finally in bed, and he was certain she would not get up.  He was wrong.  About 5 minutes later, a figure emerged from her room and went down the hallway into the living room calling my name.  I could hear her from our bedroom, and after several minutes of hearing this tired little voice, I walked into the hallway.  My daughter turned to look at me and I looked at her.  I sat down on the floor in the hallway and she walked straight into my lap and buried her head in my chest.  She was exhausted.  I was exhausted. 

And  as I sat there on the floor holding my sweet baby girl, I let me tears fall.  They were tears of frustration, exhaustion, and pleading.  All I wanted was for this baby to understand she NEEDED to go to bed.  She needs rest.  Her little body can't "do it all" but doesn't grasp that.  I do.  And as her mother, I want only what is best for her, which was good rest. 

And as my tears fell, my mind finally began to understand our Father's love for us.  I can't "do it all", but sometimes I think I can.  But my Father wants only what is best for me, but how often do I fight Him?  If you're like me, I fight Him all the time. I battle with Him over what I think is best and what I think I need.  But He knows what is waiting for me on the "other side," just as I knew that a night full of rest would help Emmalee have a smile on her face in the morning light. 

So just as I cried over my child, how many times has He cried over me in anger, frustration, and as a simple plea to just trust Him?  And the honest answer is that I don't want to know the true number of times. 

So tell me, as a parent, how has your walk changed?  Is it deeper, do you have a better understanding of the Father's love? 

Commenting Challenge - Day 5

I'm kind of sad this is the last day of Jenna's commenting Challenge.  I've had so much fun blogging, and "meeting" new blog friends.

Today's last blogging topic is you all-time FAVORITE meal - be it homecooked, Grandma cooked, or restaurant cooked.

When I first read the topic, I thought this would be a hard decision, but within a few seconds, I actually had my answer.  Its actually one of our family favorites - Salmon Croquettes!

My mom used to make Salmon Croquettes when I was growing up and I always loved them.  Then I grew up and got married.  When I really started "getting into" cooking, I subscribed to Cooking Light magazine.  One day I saw a recipe for Salmon Croquettes and was thrilled beyond belief!  So I made the recipe, hoping Brant would like them, and he LOVED them....and so did I.  It is now one of my favorite things to make!!!

This pairs perfectly with a side of grilled or roasted asparagus and side salad.

Here is the recipe from the Cooking Light Magazine! 

And of course, no meal is complete with out a decadent dessert!  My personal favorite, a good ole' brownie hot fudge sundae!!!  

Scrap Happy

If you're looking for day 4 of Jenna's Commenting Challenge, keep scrolling down...you'll see it! 

So y'all know how I love my digital scrapbooking.  Well I am so behind on Emmalee's baby book that I am trying to kick my own rear into gear and get as much of it done before Madeline comes as I possibly can.  And you also know that I love showing off what I've done - its kind of like a motivator for me to keep going, LOL! 

And if you're a scrapper too, tell me!  I love looking at other's work and getting new ideas!!!

So here are some of the pages I've completed lately!

Day 4 - Commenting Challenge

Today's topic on Jenna's Commenting Challenge is Christmas in July!  What a fun topic, or at least I think so!

I LOVE everything about the Christmas season: the sights, the sounds, the smells, the family,  and most importantly, the reason!  I remember my first Christmas after I had Emmalee and I was so emotional over celebrating the birth of my savior.  I guess as a new parent, I celebrated my child's birth in so many different way, but to celebrate the birth of a SAVIOR...now that is just incredible! 

I will say that this year's Christmas will be a little different having 2 babies girls in the house instead of just one.  I've already started buying present - yes, you heard me right!!!  That is part of the "reasoning" I used when I spent a "little" bit of money at the recent Remember Nguyen "4th of July" sale! I mean, my girls NEED coordinating outfits next spring/summer, right? 


But, if I could get one "big" gift for the girls, it would look something like this!

Emmalee LOVES being outside!  She loves swinging, sliding, playing - she loves it all.  I told Brant that I would love the get a nice swingset for our backyard so that she has a place to play. 

Now, what does this Momma want for Christmas, well I'm already getting it - a new kitchen!!! I am beyond thrilled that I'm getting the kitchen "facelift" that  I have been wanting for 3 years now! So in my book, I'm just happy with my new kitchen, and my sweet family of 4! 

But, the best gift I've ever received is this guy!

I mean just look at that sweet face!  When Brant and I got married I begged for a dog. He consistently told me "no," only because he had already planned for that to be my birthday/Christmas present.  I came home from work a few days before my birthday (Dec. 12th) to find this sleepy little 6-week old pup in my living room.  He has definitely been my favorite gift and is certainly my "firstborn".  Just take a look at our sweet Dax Honey Williams of Maxwell (and yes, that is his full registered name)!

So what are you hoping is under your tree this Christmas season???

Day 3 - Commenting Challenge

 

Today's Jenna's Commenting Challenge is all about Pintrest!  Let me be perfectly honest here: 
I like Pintrest.
I use it as a resource when I need ideas.
But I don't LOVE it like a lot of people do. 

Please don't hate me!

I think Pintrest is a fabulous place to get creative ideas, especially for holiday crafts, DIY stuff, parties and recipes, but I get one maybe once every few weeks and that's about it.  But I do love to get new recipes and treat ideas from it, and here are just a few of the items that I've made.

Like I said, I love that it has a lot of holiday ideas.  I made these items last Halloween for Emmalee.  She even got to help!

Fall Candy Kiss Acorn Treats - recipe here.

 

Graveyard Dirt Cake

 

Honey Apple Pork Loin - You can read the recipe and my review of it here. 

So again, don't hate me that I'm Pintrest-Rookie.  Show me how you use Pintrest - maybe you'll be the one of give me advise and make me a Pintrest-Pro!!!

 

Day 2 - Commenting Challenge

Well today's topic for Jenna's Commenting Challenge is:  What's your favorite TV show/series/reality show? If you don't watch TV, what about a favorite movie or book series? 

Having a 2 year old certainly limits some of the TV watching that goes on in my house.  I mean if we get serious, I probably watch Disney Jr. just as much as I watch ABC or CBS.  But, I do have a few favorite shows that are on my DVR so I can watch in my "down-time".  Here's a quick run down:

• Amazing Race
• Duck Dynasty
• Next Food Network Star
• Chopped
• Deadliest Catch
• Pretty Little Liars

Can y'all tell that I enjoy cooking shows?  I used to be a huge One Tree Hill, Gossip Girl and Vampire Diaries fanatic, but OTH and GG are off the air, and VD just doesn't interest me anymore.   

I'm also a huge reader.  I love to read.  Before I had Emmalee you could rest assured that my nightly routine involved a nice hot bath, glass of wine, and a good book.  Those were the days.  Since motherhood encroached upon me, reading has become a favorite pastime, but I still try to sneak in a chapter or two when I can.  

Some of my favorite books/authors are:

• John Grisham - I grew up wanting to be a lawyer, and even worked at a law firm for a little while, so I love legal/crime novels.  I'm just a sucker for them. 
• Mary Higgins Clark - I haven't read anything from her in a while, but she is still a favorite. 
• Karen Kingbury - I love her novels!  
• East of Eden - John Steinbeck - in my opinion, this might be one of the greatest classic novels of all time. 
• The Twilight Saga - Yes, I'ill admit that I loved the Twilight Saga books, and the movies.  And if you enjoyed them, then read The Host.  Stephanie Meyer did a great job on writing that one too. 

Do you have any other authors that I need to reading?  

Day 1 - Commenting Challenge

I'm so excited to be participating in Jenna's 4th Annual Commenting Challenge.  If you're stopping over through her blog, WELCOME! 

I'm Ashley.  

If you're going to read my blog, here is what you need to know about me.  First, and foremost, I love the Lord.  He is my rock, my strength, and my savior.  Second, I'm a wife of 6 year to this wonderful man, Brant. 

He is my very best friend, an amazing father, and I consider myself to be one lucky gal to have him.  He is also the father to my two sweet girls:  Emmalee Caroline, who is 2, and Madeline Grace who should be making her arrival in September of this year. 

This spunky lil' blonde hair, blue eyed tot keeps us on our toes and fills our home with laughter.  We battled infertility for 2 years trying to have Emmalee.  Our doctor could never quite determine the root cause of our infertility, but God had a plan.  She is certainly our little miracle.  So imagine our surprise in February of this year when we discovered that we were expecting number 2, and not even trying.  We are thrilled to be adding Madeline Grace to our family.

And the rest you need to know is this:  I'm southern!  Born and raised in the GREAT state of Texas, I love sweet tea and good white wine.  I love to eat and try new recipes, and you can always find me looking for new way to use my crockpot.  I'm a mom-blogger.  Why?  Because my family is my great asset and blessing!  I love sharing them with you - whether through joys or challenges. I discovered early on that the blogging-world is full of knowledge and advice, so lets help and encourage one another.

You can also find me on Twitter as awilliams0720.  I LOVE to tweet and kind myself using Tiwtter as my #1 news source these days!  Its an incredible community!

You can also find me on Instagram as awilliams0720, or on Facebook (there's a link to the left on the sidebar.).

Leave me a comment so I can follow you and learn about who you are.  I hope that we can be great blogging friends!!!

Menu Monday

When I tell yall that I am trying to get out of my blog slump, I am super serious.  I've discovered that one of the best ways for me to do that is by participating in as many weekly posts as possible. Posts like Menu Monday, Wordless Wednesday, 5 on Friday, etc.  Its much easier to blog when you have "subject-help" that don't cause too-much thought, ha!

So I spent some time this afternoon, as I normally do on Sundays, and planned out our dinner menu for the week.  Here's our dining pleasures:

Monday:  Jalapeno Chicken quesadillas (adapted from the Pioneer Woman's Jalapeno Quesadillas, I'm just adding chicken to it)

Tuesday: Smoked Sausage and vegetable medley

Wednesday:  Roasted Chicken and Basalmic Peppers, sauteed green beans

I've posted about this recipe before - I LOVE it.  Its a Cooking Light recipe that can be found here.

Thursday:  "Poor Man's" Chicken Fried Steak with baked potatoes
(I found this recipe here, but I've never made it before.  Basically, its making a chicken fried steak with just ground beef instead of a cube steak.  I'll let you know what I think.)

Friday:  Crockpot BBQ chicken sandwiches

What's on your menu for the week?

5 on Friday

So I decided that today I would participate for the very first time in 5 on Friday!!!  I'm actually very excited about it.  I have had several people express to me that its a great way to get over my blogging slump, mainly because I can just talk about any ole' thing I want to- and what's better than that?

So without further ado, here are my 5 on Friday!

{ONE}

 Kelly's Korner is, of course, having her "Show Us Your Life" and this week is for freezer meals! 

Can I just say Praise the Lord!!!!!!  If there is one thing I know I need to do before baby #2 gets here is prepare some of these meals, and I honestly don't have but maybe 1 or 2 freezer meals recipes: chicken spaghetti and lasagna.  So I have a feeling my printer might be working overtime printing off every recipe posted! 

{TWO}

I know I posted about one of my new favorite Etsy stores yesterday, but I found another one!  My sister was looking for a gift for one of her girlfriends, and found this site.  She sent me the link and now I am in love!  Its Rosie Posie Designs. Her stuff is adorable, and the shop owner's name is Ashley, so how could I NOT love her stuff?  This is probably one of my favorite things she sells:

I do not have any rights to this picture, it was used from the linked website above.

I am seriously in LOVE with it!  I think I need it.  But she has these personalized trays (in practically EVERY color/pattern known to man)  She also has notepads, coasters, etc.  I think these are perfect for wedding presents! 

{THREE}

 Halloween.  It may seem far off, but considering I'll have a newborn - one month old at Halloween, I'm trying to plan ahead...way ahead!  Last year Emmalee was the Chick-Fil-A cow, and one of the cutest CFA cows I have EVER laid eyes on!  

I had originally planned on dressing her up as a cowgirl this year, and putting a saddle on Dax, our loveable lab, and he would be her horse.  Of course, I wasn't planning on having a new baby this Halloween either, so that has interfered with my plans a bit, unless I just stick Maddie in my moby wrap and go on our merry way...who knows.  

Do you have any cute suggestions for coordinating Halloween costumes for a 2.5 yo and newborn???

{FOUR}

I think I want a new blog design.  I haven't changed this one up in a long time, and I don't really design them anymore.  They are just so time consuming.  I really prefer to just stick with card/party printable designs.  I like the simpler blog designs - you know, the muted colors, simple patterns, etc.  Maybe I'll work on creating a new design this weekend....or I'll wait until Madeline comes.  Who knows. It seems like these pregnancy hormones have me changing my mind every 5 minutes...just ask my husband! 

And speaking of my husband, my

{FIVE}

is him - my one and only.  Tomorrow we celebrate 6 wonderful years of marriage.  Its kind of crazy how fast 6 years can go by, especially once you add babies to the mix.  But the thing that has been on my mind the most lately is how I can't imaging being married to anyone else.  This man is my very best friend.

 He is an amazing father to our sweet girl. He loves her more than life itself, and she adores him.

He loves me like no one else can love me, and puts up with all my pregnancy hormones, emotions, and fits.  I mean truly, how could I ask for anything more?

Happy anniversary, my love!  Here's to the best 6 years of my life, and the next 60 to come!  I can't wait to spend them with you!