Flipping the bird.

I wanted to write a post about what a disappointment Thanksgiving was this year.

But it would make me sound so ungrateful and totally out my true fatty self.

Ok, I can't resist a few complaints. My mom burnt the turkey. My brother over fried his turkey. The stuffing was gross. There were too many people there. The dessert (that I didn't have - it was reported to my by the Husband) was freezer burnt.

Yes, I know there are people all over the world (and country) starving. I know. I know. And it makes me feel guilty about not liking Thanksgiving this year.

Its just that I have always been able to hold Thanksgiving in such high esteem. It is the one holiday that I truly love.

Christmas has always been a circle jerk because my parents are divorced and trying to juggle everyone's schedule to get us all together without any major fights is stressful. And I am the oldest so if I didn't do, it wouldn't get done. It really takes away from what that time of the year is all about. Every year we swear we will go away to a tropical island for Christmas. And every year I find myself arguing with some one about their schedule and the importance of everyone getting together.

My birthday is usually a bomb because I have these big expectations and then it usually pans out to nothing. I have wanted a surprise party since I was 5. I am now 32. No surprise. Except when my mom put my dog to sleep on my 30th birthday.

Boo-hoo to me, right?

I don't think I am really an ungrateful person - at least as ungrateful as my above rant makes me seem.

I think I am appreciative and thankful for all the blessings in my life. Down to the (semi) clean under wear I have one (it's 5pm people, are YOUR undies considered clean after wearing them for a day?)

I tithe at church, I donate to adoption funds, and to NDSS.

I know that my money is not my own. That every Thing I have and every One in my life is because I have been blessed with them.

But I just wanted to get that out.

Because I can't really tell my mom her food stinks, right?

Happy Friday!

xoxo

Sorry I'm Not Sorry.

I was looking at the Googled phrases and words that referred a poor, unsuspecting person to my blog and most of them are people who Googled "stick figure decals" or "stick figure family stickers" and the like.

Searching for that references this post where I complain about random things that annoy me. One of those being those STUPID stick figure decals on vehicles.

And I felt kind of bad.

But then I didn't.

Because by that person stumbling upon my blog, maybe it saved them from a ridiculous purchase.

18 months (actually 19)

So I promised an 18 month old update (to you 3 readers) and I slacked. Big Time.

So much so that Sunday Avery was 19 month old.

Oh well. I never promised perfection.

Except when I [we] made her:

18 month old stats:

Weight - 31lbs 12oz (>95 percentile)
Height - 35in (>95 percentile)
Head - 19.5in (>95 percentile)

Clothes - Avery is in mostly 2T and some 3T clothes, depending on the brand. She is between a 6 and 7 size shoe, depending on the wideness as she still has cabbage patch feet. But she is getting better about not scrunching up her toes when I am trying to put her shoes on.

Food - ahhhh, the picky toddler eating days have been going on for some time now. You know, you spend over a year thinking about how this child is eating and then all of the sudden they are calling the shots. What she loves (for now): yogurt, fig newtons, goldfish, pretzels, applesauce, bananas - most fruit, pirates booty, chicken nuggets, mashed potatoes, corn, peas, pancakes, french fries, pb&j, chips, apples. Would I like her to eat healthier? Heck yes! Do I try? You betcha! 9 times out of 10, if I put something on her plate she doesn't like, it ends up in the pugs' bellies on the floor. Our peditrician gave us some literature on toddler eating and it really helped US. One of the points I remember is that if your toddler eats one full meal every 3 day, that is just fine. It said toddlers like to graze and snack and to not get frustrated when they don't want to eat each full meal you have painstakingly prepared. I've noticed that when Avery is ready for a "meal" she will ask to sit in her high chair - "up, up? up, up!" Otherwise we just make sure she has a cup full of water (with a splash of apple juice) and we just give her a snack when she asks. She has no problem going in to the pantry, pointing, and saying "this, this, this" until we pick what it is she sees that she wants.

Bottles and pacis, otherwise known as toddler bad habits. Avery gets a bottle of milk  before bed and one when she gets up. She also is allowed to have her paci when she is in her crib, although this is bent daily by her Auntie and I do still keep one on hand when we are out, just in case. We will be breaking these bad habits by her 2nd birthday (says the new mom).

After her 18mo shots :*(

Speech/talking - this kid never shuts up! But I have to say, she comes by it naturally. While most of it is adorable babble, here are some of the things she does say (and we understand):
Buh-bye
Hi
Mama (FINALLY!!!!)
Dada (of course!)
Boo (her stuffed animal)
woof-woof (whenever she sees a dog - anywhere)
nana (banana)
thank you
please
walk
up
down
watch
this
that
eyes
ears
nose
mouth
toes
hands
Melmo (Elmo)
Mimi (my mom)
Papa (my dad)
peach
tree
nomnom nommies (Grover, the youngest pug)

That is what I can remember off the top of my head after a long (Mon)day. She will try to say anything we ask her to and she wants to know the name for everything (over and over and over). She is learning her body parts but likes to point them out on other people instead of herself. She has a cute lisp so "this" sounds like "dith" and "watch" sounds like "wath". She understand everything we say, whether she chooses to listen is another story.

Teeth - She has 'em all except her 2 year old molars and I am so over teething - as I am sure she is too.

Some of my favorites from the month past:

Dear little girl,

You are funnier then I could have imagined you to be. You are always making us laugh and laughing right along with us. Your giggle is the best I have ever heard.

You love your puppies and want to be where ever they are, to their dismay. You still love Yo Gabba Gabba and can find an Elmo from a mile away.

I hope and pray you always know how much you are loved. I am so proud of you. You are smart and loving and tenacious and wild. And while you get bigger everyday, you will always be my baby.

I love you, sweet girl.

xoxo
Yo Mama

Living Room Make-over Part 1

After 3 long, crusty years of carpet, we were finally able to get hardwood floors installed in our living room. This inspired me to redo the rest of the room. For as little $ as possible.  We live in a middle unit town home which is nice for the utility bills but light is minimal. One of my goals was to lighten the room up. And I am no way a photographer so these photos are not the best example of how the room was lightened up by the changes we made so when I do an update post after we are done, I will make sure to take photos in better light and with a "real" camera, instead of my iPhone.We still need to paint, which I think will make a difference, but we are on our way...

Panoramic view from the awesome panorama camera option on the iPhone

Avery's play area

And here are the before and afters:

Before                                                                                            After

Before                                                                                           After

We still need to do:
- Paint the walls & trim
- Stencil the wall behind the couch
- Area rug for sitting area
- trim & paint Mantle
- Organize bookshelves
- Artwork & photos for walls.

So stay tuned for another update when it is all done (HA!)....


Where we got it:

- Floors - Home Depot $2500 (material + installation)
- Couch - repurposed from den, Ikea Ektorp, New cover
- Chair and ottoman - re-purposed from den, Ikea Ektorp, New covers
- Chair and ottoman - New from Ikea, Ektorp
- Media table - New from Ikea, Hemnes $160
- Lamps - HomeGoods - $40/pc
- Desk - repurposed from guest room - Pottery Barn Bedford collection, husband found on Craigslist a few years ago
- Sitting area rug - Still in need.

- Built-in bookcases - found on Pinterest from this blog. 3 11" depth (the original blog says 15" ones, but our Ikea was out of them and I was too impatient to wait, which I am glad I didn't because 15" would be too much) Billy bookcases = $59.99/pc = $190 and trim from Home Depot $60. Total: awesome built-ins for under $300!
*I do have to say while this was not too hard to do, with a lot of help from my talented woodworking brother and hardworking husband, it was not as easy as the original blog made it seem. But I still love it all the same.
- New light fixture - (to replace the outdated chandelier when it was our "dining" area) Allen + Roth at Lowes - $58
- Area rug - Lowes - $74
- Toy Chest - made with love from my once again talented brother - from scratch, I might add.
- Fireplace door - Home Deport $269
*See my Pinterest Living Rooom Redo Board here.

4 years.

It is amazing the changes that can happen in 4 years.

And I am not just talking about my marital status or becoming a home owner or a mother.

I am talking about the change the has been made in my heart. A change that I could not have done on my own. A change that only Jesus could be responsible for.

Four years ago I voted for the guy that seemed "cool". That promised a Change. And Hope for our future.

I haven't really seen that.

The only Hope for the future is that I am saved and I will be going to Heaven.

Every morning, while I eat breakfast, I do my daily devotional and read my Bible and pray. This morning, I got an extra helping of conviction to go with my pancakes.

The lesson was about making choices and making the choice as a reflection of our heavenly father.

So today, when I vote, I will vote for the man that has morals and beliefs that align with mine.

If we do not get our country back to the morals and beliefs and values that it was built on, the economy, the deficit, finances, it means nothing.

I will be voting for the person that does NOT believe in murdering innocent life - whatever stage of life that may be.

I will be voting for the person that does not believe in desecrating the union God created for a`man and a woman.

Our country is doing its best to be a God-less nation and where is that getting us? God does not bless those living in sin.

It's pretty simple.

One of the things about living in this country of ours is that we have the freedom to vote and the freedom to write and say what we think and believe. That is not something to be taken for granted.

So, no matter who you are voting for, take advantage of that freedom and honor those that have fought for it.

Go vote.

xoxo

Cutest Monster! Ever.

So here is the obligatory Halloween post from last night. If you follow me on Instagram, you have already seen most of these but I have to share them again.

We started the night in our neighborhood, where our dear friend and neighbor, Joyce, played paparazzi along with myself, documenting Avery's 2nd Halloween.

Headed up to her first house to trick-or-treat. She scored an entire bag of Goldfish! 

We stopped at my aunt's house and got 6 bags of animal crackers. Then a quick stop at Nana's to show off her monster costume.

And our final destination at my BFF Erin's house. She lives in a townhouse community like we do but her courts are a lot easier to walk around then ours and there are a lot more kids and we know most of her neighbors. I would go there before I had Avery and Erin and I would hand out candy (and drink) while her husband took their boys around. So it has become a bit of a tradition.

Here are a few from our third and final round:

 She made it to about 5 houses and then had enough - which was fine with us! It was cold and we were home by 7:30. She got the concept of picking candy and putting it in her bucket, she did not understand that she could only have 1 piece. She also did not get that she couldn't just barge into everyone's houses when they opened the door. She did say "Thanks" and "bye-bye" when we walked away. I'm guessing next year she will get the "Trick-or-Treat" part.

Avery's monster costume was from Old Navy, and I assume it is supposed to be for a boy (imagine that) but I tied a ribbon around one of her horns and a girl monster she was! I love that the entire thing is made of fleece so she was nice and warm all night.

We had fun and I hope everyone had a fun, safe, and happy Halloween!

Up next....Thanksgiving! My Favorite! Ever!

xoxo