Time to start planning!

This weekend we went to Leigh Anne's in Nashville to celebrate Lawsons SECOND birthday! We talked about how it seems like yesterday when we were planning their first birthday. We've been fortunate to plan the most special occasions with each other. We both got engaged around the same time, so we naturally planned our weddings together. Our children are 6 weeks apart, so we planned nursery's, holidays, play dates, and birthdays together too! Its so much fun to have a best friend to share these moments with.

Lawsons party was sooo stinkin cute! I will have to post some pictures later on tonight! It also kicked me in gear to start planning Presley's. I had wanted to do a so-called garden theme since her first birthday. Leigh had given me so many good ideas though, that I decided to hold off till this year so she would enjoy it more.

As I started looking online for flower and bug ideas, I kept being drawn to ladybug stuff more and more. I just think ladybugs are so precious! Plus I call Presley my little love bug all the time!

However, I didn't want everything ladybug and red and black. So now Im on the hunt to figure out ways to bring in other colors and ideas. Here are the invitations I'm ordering on Etsy...


Yes I know I could make these myself. But I just dont have the time.

I've pretty much decided on doing cupcakes instead of a cake. However, I think I'm going to use a 3 tier cake stand and display them like a cake. I want all flowers on the cupcakes...red, pink, light blue, and yellow....then little ladybugs and bumble bees on a few here and there. Im also going to bring in those colors through plates, table clothes, serving pieces, etc.

I'm also going to try and make these....


I can't decide if I want to do just red and black to kinda play off the lady bug thing, or different colors like the cupcakes. What do y'all think?

I'm pretty excited about the goodie bags too. Im getting little flower pots for all the kiddies, painting their name on them, and then giving them little stickers and stuff to decorate them. I also found some cute little shovels at Hobby Lobby to put in each flower pot. Then I'll just add some soil, seed, and VOILA! Now I just need to find plastic ones. Thankfully LA reminded me that we have 2 year olds that would love to throw them on the ground and watch them bust into a million pieces :)

If y'all have any other ideas, please let me know! I love coming up with different things. Have a good week ladies!!

Thankful Thursday...continued

I'm not sure how many of y'all read my blog yesterday...probably not many...but it was a post on Thankful Thursday.

I started off yesterday on the wrong foot. I even came in to work and asked Laura if I could just go back home and start over. It was just one of those mornings....you know, where it takes you forever to get ready, your child is not cooperating, you forget your breakfast and have to stop to get something to eat...which takes 10 minutes bc they are moving at a turtles pace...arrive 10 minutes late to work only to find out you left your laptop at home too. Then I learned about some new things going on at work which you can read about on yesterdays post. But all in all, I tried to be positive and to be thankful.

Little did I know that I would really find out yesterday what it means to be thankful. Shortly after I wrote my post, I received a text from my friend Betsy. Her sister in law is pregnant, about 2 or 3 months along with her 3rd child. When she went to the doctor, they could not find a heartbeat. This hits very close to home with Betsy. She had 3 miscarriages herself, and knows what heartache is involved in losing a child. She is now pregnant and is expecting a precious little girl in March! That is definitely something to be thankful for.

But the heartache definitely didn't stop there yesterday. In fact, it just got worse. One of my friends, Christin, lost her father unexpectedly yesterday. Everyone is just so devastated. I am friends with all three of his children. His oldest son is also a neighbor of mine, and he's married to a girl I have known since 2nd grade. Eric, his middle son, and I met our Freshmen year of high school....seriously, the nicest guy I know. Christin and I have known each other for a long time, too. We met through mutual friends in high school and I love her to death. I just dont understand why this happened to such a wonderful family. I probably never will. There are so many of my friends that are hurting right now. So many of them were raised with the Austeins and viewed their father like one of their own.

As I sat at dinner last night, I thanked God for allowing me to have another day with my father. I thanked him for allowing me to have a healthy pregnancy, and to be sitting there with my daughter 2 years later. The truth is, we never really know how much time we have with our loved ones. People always tell you this, but I think we subconsciously think it'll never happen to us or our family and friends.

So please pray for my friends today. Pray for understanding and a healing heart. And thank God for your blessings as well. Lets all make an effort to show those that we care about just how much we love them.

Wishful Wednesday

'I wish' .... I had the startup funds to build that company I have always dreamt about, and it would be a _______________!

This is easy. VERY easy. And probably the most exciting Wishful Wednesday topic because I get to daydream a little bit while I talk about it.

If I had the money to start up any business....ANY at all....it would be a little boutique that carries super cute and trendy house decor! Here is an example of a place here in the Memphis area called Bella Vita. I didn't want to post her pics without permission, so you'll have to check out her link.

I would also get my friend Leigh to go in with me because she is amazing at decorating and we pretty much share this same taste and dream haha! We would probably have a little side business too where we would be party planners and event coordinators hah! She's always one of my go to lady for things like that!

What would your dream job be? If you'd like to play along, head on over to Kelseys blog!

Lila Kate

One of my best friends, Kelly, had her THIRD little girl today!! Sweet little Lila Kate arrived this morning!!! Her husband Jason has posted a few pictures on his blog if you'd like to check it out :) I can't wait to meet the little angel! I'm very excited for them! I know they are counting their blessings tonight as they look upon their three beautiful, healthy girls!

A few months ago I would sit and think about how crazy it was that Kelly was pregnant with her third child, and I couldn't even imagine having a second one. For those of y'all that don't know, I had a pretty tough pregnancy. Let me rephrase that. I was very fortunate on SO many levels of my pregnancy. I should by no means say it was tough. I take it back completely. I didn't quite realize till after I had Presley, especially when I joined the blogging world, that so many women have gone through some traumatizing experiences during their pregnancies. I have no room to complain.

But here is a little sneak peak into what my 9 months of pregnancy was like...and the reason I initially said it was "tough."

4 weeks: typical morning sickness...thought to myself "hmmm, might wanna take a test...for the 36th time since we've been married." (I was just a little paranoid.)

6 weeks: throwing up about 3 or 4 times a day. no big deal...its normal. right?

8 weeks: go to the beach with my family, throwing up about 5-8 times a day while we're there. make clinton take me home a day earlier. thank god! the next day...the day we WOULD have been making our 7 hour trip home... I'm throwing up every 30 minutes and had to be admitted into the hospital for dehydration.

months 2-4: still throwing up about every 30 minutes to an hour. lost 25 lbs in 2 weeks. ate only watermelon, popsicles, and jello for two. months. straight. they were the only things that didn't "taste bad" coming back up. (sorry for all the details.)

months 5-7: begin to make progress...only throwing up about 5-8 times a day.

months 8-9: I only throw up twice every day and both times are before I leave for work. yay...no more throwing up in public restrooms!

So, as you can tell, the thought of being pregnant again makes me sick at my stomach...literally. I threw away clothes because the color made me sick. Ive repainted rooms because the color made me sick. I went a year without eating Chinese food because of one bad experience. The beach trip we went on was so horrific that I have still yet to put up any pictures from that trip because I can still get nauseous looking at them!

For all the people that said "Awww, well you'll forget about it when she gets here."...

Thats a lie.

I do believe that you forget about the lack of sleep, contractions, screaming baby, etc. But I do not think there is one thing on this earth that will make me forget that!! Will I be able to do it again though? Definitely. Was it was worth every second of it? Without a shadow of a doubt. BUT, I'd be lying if I said the thought of being pregnant again didn't make me a little uneasy.

But back to a few months ago when I had a mini panic attack about having a second child. That same weekend we had our monthly dinner club with some of my high school girlfriends, and found out one of them was pregnant again...who's first son is only 6 weeks younger than Presley. I was still freaking out at the idea. I just couldn't imagine. Why do all these people want another child...so soon??? I began to think there was something wrong with me!

The next day, it was like a light switch turned on. I was having baby fever like crazy! I couldn't stop thinking about, and honestly, I still can't! The thought of having another baby just makes me heart ache because I want it so bad.

So whats holding me back? My freakin' W-E-I-G-H-T. I use to talk about how its not a good time because of work, school, Presley, this, that, blah blah blah....but now its just my weight. Clinton and I have talked about it though, and we both agree I have to get the majority of this weight off of me before we have our second child. That golden # is about 60 lbs away. So my goal is to be there this summer so we can start working on baby #2. Its definitely something to look forward too. And after seeing pictures of Emma and Ava with their new sister Lila, it just reassured me that I'm ready!

What is the deal?!

I think my blog is possessed. I did a blog this morning about my new crush, and Laura has just informed me that its not showing up on the updated bloggy thingy!!!!!!

First, I'm not able to see y'alls updates, now you're not able to see mine! Any idea what the problem is ladies?

I'm sure its me...the operator. I tend to have difficulties any time there is technology involved. Just ask Laura. She gets to hear me complain on a daily basis about all the issues I'm having with documents, laptops, printers, etc. I love you Laura! You deserve a pat on the back haha!

I have a crush

Isn't he a beauty?! I've had a crush on Gerard Butler for quite some time, but after watching The Ugly Truth last weekend, it was kicked into overdrive! He has pretty much made his way to my top 5...heck, maybe even my #1!

Nah. Rob Pattinson is there to stay. It's gonna take someone really really special to boot him out of first place!

I'm still working on my top 5 celebrity crushes hah! Candice and Leigh Anne did this a while back, and I'm just really struggling with this. Everyone who knows me, knows that I can't make a decision to save. my. life! Everything is life or death with me.

I really need to get control over that.

Anyways, I have guys that I think are hot, but the ones I'm most attracted to are not necessarily always the cutest. So I'm curious....

Who are your top 5 guys? Or even your #1??

This is it....

....my last weekend of freedom.

I start back to school next week. Excuse me for a few minutes while I SCREAM!!!

I'm just not ready this time around. This past semester just really played a toll on my sanity...or lack thereof. To the point where I'm contemplating dropping one of my three classes. Ok, not really contemplating because I've pretty much already made up my mind. I just need to check with the financial aid office before I do so.

For those that dont know, I started back to school in Fall of '08 after a 6 year hiatus. I finally took my dads advice to heart and realized that I have to get a degree and education. I had gone to college for two years right after high school, but stopped going after my sophomore year. At the time I was still undecided on my degree, and working full time and bringing in a paycheck seemed more appealing. Foolish young!

My dad has told me for years that I need to be a teacher...that I'm made for it. I cringed at the idea. I wanted to do something fun and exciting...like criminology or interior design. Only problem... you can't make any money in Memphis on Interior Design, and I couldnt get past a "D" in criminology. So, I quit.

6 years later, while I'm 8 months pregnant, I decided it was time to bite the bullet. I enrolled in college and applied for financial aid. I had known for a few years that I wanted to go back to school....and teach (yes, I should've listened to daddy the first time around). Everyone thought I was nuts and couldnt figure out why I thought this was a good time instead of the last 6 years. Well folks, because I always tend to learn things the hard way. Its in my nature. Plus that little girl made me realize that I need to complete college and get a career.

So I started back to school that fall even though I had a newborn and worked 40 hours a week. For the most part, it has been an easy journey. I've managed to pull off straight A's all three semesters...please do not ask me how because I have no idea. But last semester I had a mini breakdown at least once a week. I still pulled it off with all A's, but I was emotionally and mentally overwhelmed. I'm sure the holidays didn't make it any easier.

It also doesn't help that I try to still do everything I did prior to going back to school. I've been pretty determined to keep life as normal as possible. To spend as much time with Clinton and Presley as I can, to see my family throughout the week, to spend time with my friends, continue my Saturday shopping with Presley, monthly dinner clubs, crafts, and even my favorite t.v. shows. And quite frankly, I think its coming back to bite me in the butt. I have to realize I can't do it all. But what do I give up? I don't really no how to say "No, " but at the same time there isn't anything I want to say "no" to.

Oh well. As I was saying before I got off on this tangent, this is my last week of freedom. And I'm gonna enjoy every night of it! I get to see some of my favorite people this weekend!! We are going to Nashville to see the fabulous Smith family for Lawsons SECOND birthday!!! I can't believe he and Presley are turning two....TEAR!!!!

Well, I hope all you ladies have a wonderful week as well! Happy Monday!!