Happy Thursday

There isn't much going on around here but I wanted to share of few pics with you. 





Olivia has recently become very attached to her
baby dolls. She will carry them all around the house
and wants to take them every where. It is very cute.
Until she gets tired of them and throws them on their head.




A quick stop at Home Goods and Olivia found a few things she
really wanted (but didn't get).




This is how we insisted on leaving the house Tuesday morning to go to Great Mommom's.
I tried to put them in the diaper bag so that I could more easily manage and that only caused a fit.
She wanted to carry them all, yea try getting them all in the car seat. FUN




Oh how I LOVE the OH face and I am so glad that it is still around.



Finally I leave you with an adorable video of Olivia giving Oakley kisses and hugs.

A First for Mommy

With all of the firsts that we have been celebrating for Olivia I thought that I must celebrate a big first for me. This past weekend I packed my bags and headed off to the west coast for a much needed girls getaway. Girl's meaning a weekend of adult conversation and not worrying about the little. It was my first time leaving her for more then one night (3 nights and almost 4 full days).

Kristen and I stayed at the Don Cesar in St. Pete, I have never been there and it was beautiful. It was like a beautiful pink sand castle on the water. We checked in and staked out our chairs by the pool so we could get some lunch. Which we repeated each day, breakfast on the patio after we snagged our chairs by the pool, lunch and drinks, and were a bit more adventurous for dinner.

We were lucky to have 2 friends that were able to join us at different points for our weekend Asia came Friday and Saturday and Carrie joined us Saturday and Sunday.



Drinks by the pool!



First Night




Second Night




Beautiful Night




Last Day and Night

 It was truly an amazing weekend and I was able to come back recharged and ready for another week. I couldn't drive fast enough to get back home to Ben and Olivia, I missed them so much.

14 Month's

14 month's is just so fun, she is like a little spounge and while that is wonderful it can also be hard on Mommy and Daddy. We have begun trying to work on discipling her now that she is into everything. She knows the word NO but chooses to listen when she feels like it, so we tried gently smacking her hand and saying NO when she would try to touch things that were very dangerous. Backfire: she began hitting back and telling us no. She began to think it was a game, time to come up with a different solution.

We have had to buy a gate which we haven't needed previously since we have the big circle pen. But, we now need to block her from the kitchen. Her new favorite game is to play in the dogs water bowl. Yes, it's gross but she goes right over and puts her little hands in and splashes around. Oakley dosen't seem to mind but we do.

This is what 14 Month's looks like when you have a child who won't sit or stand still long enough to take her photo.
But I love the way this turned out!

My girl is really loving on Oakley lately she loves to walk up to him with her lips pursed in a kiss and lay one on him. She always follows it up with a MUAH, just to make sure that you know she is giving kisses and being gentle. If he is being still and letting her get close to him she is always kissing and hugging on him.

Vocabulary and her animal impressions are growing by the day.
New Words:
Alligator                   Ready
Potatoes                  Nemo
Bubbles

Animal Sounds:
Duck
Elephant
Fish

Next month we have a doctor's appointment so we will have updates with weight and height.

My First DIY

Over the weekend I finally was able to finish my Trunk turned Bench. It would have been done over a week ago if the rain hadn't kept my stain from drying for 4 whole days.

This was my inspiration and the instructions I followed.



Before

After I stained it.

I white washed it and then distressed parts to allow the dark color of the wood to come through.




 

Turning the top into a bench.

Giving Daddy a pat on the back for reattaching the lid!



Yea I am pretty proud of myself! I can't wait to start on the next piece!!! Our bedroom is going to look amazing when I am done! Updates to come as we move along!



Olivia's First Year Book

Wow it has taken me a long time to post this! I made this photo book to commerate Olivia's First Year. I intend to do this each year until she yells at me to stop. It's such a great way to keep track of everything she has done.

Click here to view this photo book larger

Home Sweet Home (at least for another year)

Now that I am picking my hair up off the floor and taping it back on my head. I am greatful that the past 2 crazy stressful weeks are over! Ok so I am being less then literal, I love my hair and no matter how much stress I have dealt with I will not pull it out.

Pesonal and work related craziness had me at my wits end but this week everything has returned to normal. The best news is that after moving each of the past FIVE years, thats right FIVE times in FIVE years, we are not moving this year. We are setting our goals and sticking to them, that of moving into our own home by the time our lease is up next August. We have been renting and are so sick of not having our own home.

Well, here is how this started (just to give you a little back ground):

My sister told us July first that she would be moving out. We thought about it and decided we wanted to try to save a little more money and not pay the amount of rent that we would alone. Ben went to the property manager and asked if they would consider lowering the rent. Within a hour they came back and said NO!!! So, Saturday morning (7/17) we found a rental sign in the yard. Now, I had been looking for a rental home for the past 2 weeks, all with no avail. Everything that was not a complete dump was WAY out of our price range and with a large dog moving into an apartment was out of the question.

So Monday after I found our house online with a raised rent, I called Ben went through our budget, and came to a decesion. Then I called our property manager and found out that his phones have been blowing up with people wanting to move in without even seeing it. I told him take it off the market we aren't leaving!!! Thankfully they love us and wanted us to stay as well.

Long story short, we aren't moving this year, for the first time in way to long.

I look forward to getting everything in order so by next summer we can begin the long awaited hunt for our very own HOME!

Little Miss Bed Head

We anticipate waking up each morning to just what Olivia's hair will look like that day. Every day it is different but it is never laying down looking perfectly quaffed. The funny part is that after about 30 minutes it lays down and looks perfect. I wish my hair did that.

Baby Food? NO THANKS!

Since we have had so much trouble getting Olivia to want to eat baby food, we tried something new the last few nights. What did the little princess have for dinner you ask? Well, what Mommy and Daddy had of course, Spaghetti and Meatballs. As I posted here Sunday night she had mashed potatoes, we definatly have the startch down.

What a beautiful site as my little baby sat at the table just like a big girl (her high chair converts into just a seat, so we put it on a chair at the big table) and happily ate her whole wheat pasta and meatball pieces. It is times like these that make Oakley very happy to have a little sister. He just laid under the table at her feet and licked up all the droppings. This also makes Mommy very happy as I have less to clean up afterwards. I have to figure out how to get veggies into a size that she will eat and not choke on. That will be tonight's task, luckily she likes veggies unlike her Daddy.

A Double Soap Kinda Weekend

Friday was a stay around home night, we even ordered food to pick up. On our way to get it, Olivia feel asleep and we thought 'Oh No. It's too late for a nap!' lucky for us after we got home she just laid on our bed waiting for her bottle after which she went right back to sleep. Yes, she slept from 6-7 was up from 7-7:30ish, and then back to bed waking for two bottles (hungry girl) sleeping until almost 8am!!! Umm, YEA!!!

Unfortunately for Ben he came down with a stomach bug Friday night, which subsequently changed our boating plans for Saturday. Boating changed into a fun day at Kristen's pool with our friends. Elizabeth and Jim were in town visiting! Still a great day filled with lots of WaWa time for Olivia. It also allowed me to leave her home with Daddy that night so that I could have dinner with everyone to celebrate the 3 July birthday's.

A bonus: She learned how to say cheese for pictures now. A big step for us because it helps her to look at me!

Thankfully by the time I returned home Saturday night Ben seemed to be feeling better so that our Sunday plans could remain. Which meant we were off to Cocoa Beach to frolic in the sand and sun. OK so there was no frolicking, but there was stumbling and falling on Olivia's part. She has not quite figured out how to walk gracefully in the sand yet, but she tries so hard. We also had a first, Olivia sucked on her first Cheetos, one of my favorite snacks. She LOVED it and had an orange smile and hand to prove it. Even with overcast skies we had a great time chatting with each other, and Olivia played with Annabell, which was adorable.

I am pretty sure that we brought home more sand then there was at the beach because after we all took our showers and bath's the bottom of the tub looked like the beach! Poor Olivia I had to wash her a twice just to get all the sticky sand off. That was even after we rinsed her before we left the beach. I guess I can see what it will be like when she is asking to be buried when she is old enough. 

We capped off the weekend with a quick dinner where Olivia got her first side off a real menu. She downed her order of mashed potatoes and our super nice waiter even brought her a little ice cream. She was so excited, but not when Mommy said she had enough. I wanted her to sleep and not be up all night! Yea a little selfish, but hey it was a work night after all.

Upper's

It has been a long time coming, waiting on those upper 2 front teeth. Finally last Friday morning after a horrible night we noticed that Olivia's top left front tooth had made a very small appearance. Praise the Lord, after 4 months since the last one came through we are thrilled. She won't be toothless.

Then I picked her up today and she was a little tired which meant I got my finger in her mouth before she could bar it shut. And there they were, the bottoms of not one but 2 upper teeth. She officially has 4 teeth, 2 of which came in one week.

Now maybe we can get back some of our nights, instead of waking up more then 4 times. Hallelujah!!!

When she is in the sharing mood I will try to get a photo but for now she is keeping a tight lip. Have a wonderful weekend, hopefully some of you will have a little sunshine this weekend.
 

My Favorite Recipe

I am not a cook, it's not one of my favorite things to do, now I will make cakes any day. But I wanted to share with you one of my favorite recipes that you can do almost anything with. It's a spinach pesto and this week I mixed it with pasta, squash, zucchini, and steak.

Ingredients

2 boneless chicken breasts
2 cups lightly packed baby spinach leaves (about 2 ounces)
1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 to 2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
1/3 cup plus 2 teaspoons olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan

Directions
Heat a grill pan on medium high heat. Lightly oil the grill pan. Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper. Grill the chicken until cooked through, about 5 minutes per side.

Combine the spinach, pine nuts, lemon juice, and lemon peel in a processor. Lightly pulse. With the machine running, gradually add 1/3 cup of the oil, blending until the mixture is creamy. You can add the parmesan either in the mixer or stir in after you transfer it to a pot.

Cook the squash and zucchini how you like, I sauteed it. Separately cook the meat and pasta. In a large bowl you can add all the ingredients and sprinkle with more parmesan.

Thankful

Today, I look at my little princess and thank God for the love she receives. Not just from her Daddy and I but from our entire family's and all of our friends. Tonight as I put Olivia to bed, I held her tighter then I normally do and kissed her a few more times. I thank God that she has been brought into our lives and that He has given me the ability to love and care for her.


Our Little Angel


Warning: Soap Box

On the heels of July 4th, where we celebrate our country and all the good that it brings us. I will remember that there is a greater being out there who will be the final Judgement. I will remember that there will come a day that justice will be served and a child who seems to have been forgotten, for champagne and parting will have that well deserved answer.

It was said today that he could go home and tell his daughter that he saved a life. But what about the life that was lost over 3 years ago? Who would have saved her life, when her own mother would not? My favorite quote speaks volumes:

Before you were conceived I wanted you.

Before you were born I loved you.

Before you were here an hour, I would die for you!

Tonight I pray for all the families who have been wronged and grieve over the loss of a child or any family member, or friend. I pray for justice for those families, that they may have peace of mind. Mostly tonight we pray or little Caylee Marie Anthony!

I now step down from my soap box!

Happy 4th Weekend

I always wish that Holiday weekend's were longer, more time for family, friends, and relaxation. But instead we make the most out of what we have and boy did we ever. There were christening's, race days, beach days, bbq's, and birthday celebrations.

Saturday morning we went to Emma Grace's baptism and it was such a special day not only because she welcomed God into her life. But also because this was the first time we were able to meet Emma in person and not pictures. She is the most adorable baby and I can only hope that her and Olivia have a friendship like her Mommy Anna and I do.

Unfortunatly we couldn't stay long and our short visit with my BFF was over. It was time to race (literally) out to Daytona, after a quick pit stop to drop of Olivia and pick up Oakley. We need to be at the condo to meet up with everyone else if we wanted to make it to the Race on time. Make it we did with enought time to spare to get in on the bets. I got #20 Joey Longano, and #38 Travis Kvwapil (not sure on spelling), of course they are ones I haven't heard much about I prefer #88 Dale Jr. However you make the best and it sure did make for a fun and competitive race. We hung out in the pit's and fan zone with Julie and Wyatt and then made it to the stands in time for the race to begin.

My guy came in 3rd, behind Wyatt's who was 1st, and Chris' who was 2nd. Even Ben got some action with his guy coming in 4th! See I told you it was competitive, we had a blast.



Standing's...minus a lot of other people.

 Sunday was a nice relaxing day the first half we spent in the pullout bed watching the closing arguments and around noon we decided we should head down to the beach. The damn trial is just way to interesting!!! We commenced on the sand with some beer and Jellyfish wars. Who ever knew that I would be brave enough to pick up a jelly fish, even if they don't sting. But I did and I was right there throwing them with the rest of the boys. Even Olivia got to touch her first jelly fish and held it, my brave little punkin. A beautiful beach day was followed by a beach BBQ and Carribean Jacks for some dessert, Ben's favorite Banana's Foster!

Sunday was Funday in the pool for a couple hours before we headed back to Orlando to celebrate the 4th and my Mommy's birthday. Olivia got some much needed rest, sleeping the whole way there. We had some more pool time with Poppy and more BBQ. Of course topic of conversation was the Damn Trial (Casey Anthony), which is always fun.

Summer Projects

Ok if you have checked out my Inspiration page lately, you would see my summer project's list. Well, today I got a great phone call from Fallon, who found the greatest dinning room table. I sent Ben over right away and within 15 minutes, it was MINE. My search is finally over.

Here is a pic of our new table until, I have time to redo it!

 Then I decided to try the other restore store to see if I found anything else that interested me. So Jamie and I packed up Olivia and headed out. Of course I found the cutest (for lack of a better word) trunk, that once we remove the desk from our room will find a home under the window. I am super excited about the deal that Jamie haggled for me. I paid $60 they wanted $95!

Much larger then a trunk it is almost like a dresser only shorter.

Also, on my list is to finish our bedroom furniture redo! Pardon the crap in the pics!

Current State

The finished one piece of 3

What is your summer project? Happy DIYing!!!