Finally!

It's finally officially here...my favorite time of year! Football season! Not UT football, not college, but HIGH SCHOOL! Maybe because high school is just what I've mostly been around (& its what my family does); but there's just nothing like it! And being a coach's wife makes it even better! Oh and it doesn't hurt living in a small town of football lovers! i love going to games where you hardly know a stranger! Ella Jane is fixing to experience her first season! Goooo Dragons (& Cougars)! I hope you BOTH have a fantastic season!

10 things I learnt this weekend

1. I had a really fantastic birthday! 

2. The party got started at the Pancake Pantry in Gatlinburg Friday morning. You can just never go wrong with that place. Always so great! I got pancakes, but next time I'll get the French toast. My Mamaw got that, and they are so mmmmm!

3. I love my new Nikes. A present from my mom and dad! Ella Jane loves them too. They have purple show laces which apparently she thinks is funny. ;) she gets in a dead stare at them and every time I move my foot, she just laughs. It's hilarious!

4. Josh got me a Nike pull over and 2 DIY books. He knows me so well! One is all about homemade remedies and the other is a DIY book on baby food! 

5. Mom cooked roast and potatoes Friday night. And Traci picked up Gigi's cupcakes. Needless to say I ate good Friday! 

6. Mom and dad kept Ella Jane all weekend (which was a present in itself)! So nice having a little break like that. :)

7. Mom got Ella Jane a baby walker that she walks backwards in Haha! 

8. Janie and Larry took josh and I to the Foothills Milling Company Saturday night. I ate Duck and Quail for the first time. If you know me, you know how picky I am! So this is major. And the fact that I loved them both is even more major. 

9. Ella Jane went to the nursery Sunday morning for the first time. I didn't expect to get emotional at all. But I did. I felt like I was dropping her off for her first day of kindergarten or something. They even put a little name tag on her back pack. :) She did really really good! They didn't have to page us one time. :) 

10. Ella Jane also experienced her first library story hour, called book babies (she actually went to this on Monday morning). It's for ages birth-24 months. She was the youngest one there though but such a proper little thing. She just sat at the carpet almost perfectly still the whole time, just taking everything in. I'm such a proud mommy. 

The BIG 3-0!

Used to when I thought about turning the BIG 3-0, I just thought it was dreadful. Like I was getting so old. Turns out, it was my very favorite year! we had our beautiful Ella Jane and bought a house! So yes it was BIG! And here I am now, 31! But let me tell ya what I've learned about getting older. The older you get, the better things get! And that is seriously the truth. Your life is totally different, yes - instead of a night out with a friend (or what have you), you look forward to play dates, the newest splash pad, library days, and MOPS. Instead of buying clothes for yourself, you now obsess over clothes for your baby. Haha! Your favorite show is now Mickey Mouse or Shushyby Baby. Ha! And you don't mind these things the least bit! 

31 has some big shoes to fill, but with Ella Jane around...I'm sure it'll be a great one!

10 things i learnt this weekend

1. Ella Jane is 7 months now! She's growing and changing more than ever, too. Rolling is nothing to her, she barely even cries when she poops (gross I know, but true haha), & most of her 6 month clothes are getting a little tight. I get sad every time I put one of her outfits in the "outgrown tub". *sigh*
2. I tried cutting Ella Jane's hair yesterday; what was I thinking?! Needless to say, next time I'll take her to someone who knows what they're doing. haha! Josh says she looks like a little orphan; and she kinda does. Aw, poor Ella Jane. She is going to have some bad hair days for a while.
3. Football season starts way too early. I actually learned this a loooong time ago, but it just gets re-confirmed every year, and this year is no exception. So.hot!
4. Ella Jane went to her first real scrimmage Friday night! Go Dragons! She did pretty good, but she did get cranky at the end. How are we going to manage football games being at the same time as "bedtime"? Not sure yet.
5. Ella Jane doesn't cry during church, but she sure does make noise! This morning she was singing along with the choir. ;) And it never fails when the preacher gets up to talk, she decides to really get going. Sooooo, needless to say, we signed her up for the nursery (starting next week). Aw, another indication that she is growing up on me!
6. Mellow Mushroom has really good Hawaiian Pizza! Mmm Mmm!
7. As a mother, blogging is really hard to get in during the day. Especially with a child like mine, who is on a constant move and needs entertained every waking minute. haha! I can't believe I haven't blogged the whole month of August!
8. So, this week I will turn 31! Yes, 31. No way do I feel 31 (however 31 is suppose to feel), I just know that back in the day, 31 sounded pretty old. So I guess I'm saying that I don't feel old. But I also don't view 31 as old anymore either. haha! Anywhoo. Friday is my birthday and I'm really looking forward to spending the day/weekend with family and eating really good.
9. Normally, I would be doing lesson plans right now. Getting ready to start a first full week of school. Let me just say how blessed I am to not be doing that right now. I love being home with Ella Jane! Absolutely love it.
10. I'm playing with the idea of getting my hair cut! Short! I want to bad. But I also loooove being able to throw it up in a top knot/bun. Maybe 31 needs to bring a new hair cut, though.? Josh tells me to go for it. ha!

Decisions.

Why are decisions so hard... at least for me. Josh and I have been going back and forth with a big one for the last few weeks. And even though I'm pretty sure we've made up our minds (99.9% sure), I can't help but be scared of what we've decided.

I never thought that staying home with Ella Jane was really an option for us. It's nice having 2 incomes. It's nice not having to budget and being able to buy things we want -- with out having to think about it. That's what we're use to (before we got married, and after). So, for me, I've always planned to go back to work. First, back in April (but we all know that didn't happen) Then in August. But now August is almost here...and my heart is telling me to stay home. Pretty crazy uh, coming from someone who always said, "I could never be a stay-at-home-mom". I guess I'm eating those words now, cause the thoughts of leaving my sweet baby girl makes me so sad. I don't want to miss a single second of her precious moments. So even though we will have to have a budget for the first time, and watch our spending a lot, and maybe even make some sacrifices along the way this year, I'm pretty set on staying home for one more year. Scary? Oh yeah! But work will always be there, right? My baby is only a baby once.

Play date

Ella Jane had the funnest play date with Rowen, Charlie, and Ben today! :) see her on the mat? She's been rolling over like crazy today!! Woohoo Ella Jane!!

Rolling over!

My baby girl rolled over for the first time the night before last! We've known for a few weeks that she was really trying so hard to do it and that it'd be any day. Saturday night I put the gym mat on the floor in the living room, with all her toys around. She kept reaching for one of them, and then sure enough...she rolled over. It was a slow roll. We actually weren't so sure she was going to get all the way around. Haha but she did. I went crazy of course. Haha! I'm glad josh and I both got to see that first rolling moment. 

6 months

blogging.

So I'm really gonna try to do better about blogging. It's not like me to not blog, like every day. haha!  And I've really missed it. But believe me when I say, the last month 1/2 has been INSANELY busy. Mostly with getting our house ready, and planning for a 1/2 birthday. :)  Josh and I have about killed each other, like 100 times...he takes his time with stuff...& I want it done RIGHT THEN. So we've had to compromise. haha! But it was all worth it because I can FINALLY say that our house is basically done, at least the main rooms are done. The garage, laundry room, and the bonus room/playroom need work. But these are rooms that I can really take my time with. My next project will be the laundry room. But I'm not thinking about that today. haha! I just want to enjoy the rest of the summer with my sweet girl!

1/2 BIRTHDAY!

Where does time go? Our little girl will be 6 months old tomorrow. Even though Josh made fun of me (I still think he secretly liked the idea, haha) we had Ella Jane a 1/2 birthday party yesterday afternoon. Nothing fancy, just family. And Melissa. But we consider her family. :) haha! We grilled hotdogs and hamburgers! I just love celebrating life's precious moments like this! And I just love being Ella Jane's mommy so much. Every day is an adventure. There's nothing like it in this world. Here are a few pics from her 1/2 birthday party. :)

Updates!

Man I haven't blogged in a while. :/ I have a good excuse though. Life has been pretty insane, to say the least! We've been craaaazy busy-in the best possible way. 

...we've moved into a new house

...we've painted walls

...we've painted trim

...we've painted furniture

...lived with grandmother (yep)

...we've took down old doors and found new ones

...bought a lot of new furniture

...bought some antiques too :)

...shopped at target and hobby lobby too many times to count

...hosted a bridal shower

...attended my brothers WEDDING! *sigh*

...celebrated Father's Day!

...welcomed a new baby (Ben)

...and have constantly kept a little 5 month old girl entertained. 

We're seriously exhausted these days. But we'll take it. :)

Pics!

10 things i learnt this weekend

1. It's amazing what paint can do to a piece of furniture!
2. I've always wanted an antique trunk for a coffee table, and now I have one! I am in LOVE with the one I bought off Craigslist! I just had to put a little paint and some legs on it - & it was perrrrfect!
3. Once I painted the trunk...I got in the painting mode! Let's just say I've painted a lot this weekend! haha!
4. I am in love with Benjamin Moore paint. It's like an addiction (which you probably already know if you've seen my Pinterest boards)! One of my favorite colors for furniture right now (besides the classic black or white) is Day's End. I painted the table that sits on our porch this colors! It's such a good mix between black and gray! LOVE IT! I'm thinking of painting our guest bedroom furniture this color, too!
5. Ella Jane ate (well, tried to eat) with a spoon for the first time yesterday. We're not quite ready for it though. haha! It was the funnest thing!
6. Ella Jane has started going to sleep a lot earlier these days (8:45). So Josh and I got to have a little movie night last night, which was nice. We watched "The Vow". What a precious movie! I just love Rachel McAdams.
7. So we're moving in 2 weeks! And there is still so much packing to do. I get a little overwhelmed thinking about it. One good thing....the kitchen is ALMOST done!
8. I need to get back to my goal of cooking one new thing every week. I've really slacked with that lately. All I can think about is "house stuff". haha!
9. I'm addicted to Sunflower seeds right now, Josh finds them everywhere. haha!
10. I finally (after 4 months) have figured out my daughters schedule and her little wants. Things are so much easier now!

10 things I learnt this weekend

1. Mom, me, and Susan worked a long time Friday getting ready for Justin and Traci's shower. I had no idea getting ready for a shower was such hard work (but so worth it)!
2. Traci's Bach party was this weekend too. It was so cute! Tiffany did a wonderful job planning it.
3. We ate at Cafe 4; they have an amazing roasted chicken, FYI
4. Knoxville now has an urban outfitters!? What? Ella Jane and I will def be making a trip there one day this week.
5. I also want to check out the French Market. It just looks like a place I'd like.
6. The bridal shower was a success! Mom was stressed most of the time (lol) but things went great and we had such a good turn out. Justin and Traci got some pretty great stuff too, just to add to it.
7. My dad is officially the hardest working person I know.
8. Ella Jane is the life of a party.
9. Josh and Ella Jane got me nerds on a rope for Mother's Day and a collage picture of me and Ella Jane. So sweet!
10. We spend this Mother's Day in baneberry with Josh's family. It was a really good day! Feeling so blessed to be a mom.

10 things i learnt this weekend

1. We have a house! And I just love it.
2. Ella Jane had a blast at her first birthday party! Happy birthday, Cade!
3. One day I will have a porch, with a fireplace. :)
4. I sold my first items on Craigslist. Now our condo looks really bare. But now we can get NEW stuff! yeah!
5. Ella Jane can roll to her side! She's done it twice now, aww!
6. Home Depot is better than Lowe's.
7. I love the movie, We Bought a Zoo. It's been on HBO a lot lately, and I want to watch it every time.
8. I love the idea of buying a house that needs a little bit of work. It's so fun picking out colors and doors!
9. Chickfila is giving away free sandwiches to teachers for teacher appreciation day...I'll so be there!
10. Our new house doesn't have a fireplace. So I'm really excited to get a fake one (Josh thinks I'm crazy).

WE BOUGHT A HOUSE!

Josh and I bought a house today! :) I am so excited about this one, too! OK. So. We saw this house a while back on Zillow or Trulia...one of those sites. But we weren't real interested in it. The outside was really cute but the inside just wasn't very "eye-catching" in the pictures. I mean it had some cute things about it, like hardwood and a nice big living room and dining room that had been re-done. But we just didn't think we would like it very well - and didn't think it'd be worth looking at. So anyway, long story short. Josh and I have been house hunting like crazy the last 2 weeks. We have looked at numerous houses, and were honestly at the point of "ok, let's just rent the farm house in Andersonville for a while, and just keep looking." Luckily, we decided to just give this house a look today because we were in the area. Boy, am I so happy we did!! We kinda fell in love with it. haha! Like really fell in love with it - making an offer a few hours later, in love with it. :)))The moment I walked in, I knew it was "the one". It was the exact feeling I had with the house in Norris. Except I was the only one who had that feeling with the Norris house haha! BUT this time....WE BOTH DID!! The house is totally empty, so we'll be able to move in really soon (in about 3 weeks)! There are a few things we're gonna do before we get moved in. We wanna paint the inside walls and trim, in all the rooms. This isn't a must...but it's just going to make the house look better. And we also have to change out all the doors. For some reason, when the owners re-did the house, they left the old (like really ugly old) doors on. UGH! They are so cheap looking. So they have to go! But other than that, we're golden! I can't wait to get in it and get started! This house has so much fun potential!! And the best thing is, we got it for a wonderful price. So we've got money to dress it up! :) Yayyyy! So so happy and blessed today! I'll definitely post some pics in a few weeks!

Park Day!

Amanda and her girls are in from NY so me,mom, mamaw, and Ella Jane had a fun day with them yesterday. We ate some Mexican then headed off to the park! Ella Jane's first time. She absolutely loved it! Mom and I had her playing on the slide and swings. Then when we got home she slept for 4 hours. Lol! The girl was wore out.

10 things i learnt this weekend

1. Josh and I are not getting the "N" house. He isnt' crazy about it, and I cant' be crazy about it knowing he isn't. :( I'm disappointed, for sure, but he really did try to like it. haha! And we'll eventually find a house that we BOTH love.
2. Actually, we did find a house that we BOTH love. ha! We went to look at it today (still had the for sale sign in the yard) but turns out that it had actually just sold. UGH! Isn't that just our luck?! Finally finding one we agree on, and it's not available.
3. A realtor told us today that it's pretty much a sellers market in Anderson County right now. There's hardly any houses to choose from. It's so frustrating!
4. We have one more house to look at this week (it's actually in the same area as the one we loved but had sold).
5. If the house we go look at on Wednesday doesn't work out - then we've decided to rent for a bit. I don't like the thoughts of that, simply because I hate moving and packing and unpacking. BUT this rental house we have set up is so so cute. It'll be a great house to be in, while looking for one of our own.
6. Mom and I headed to Campbellsville this weekend for one of Justin and Traci's wedding showers. They got some really pretty stuff. I can't believe Justin is getting married in like 7 weeks!!! It doesn't seem real!
7. Josh did so good with Ella Jane while we were gone!
8. Speaking of Ella Jane. Oh my goodness, my sweet baby girl is becoming so aware of everything now. I can really tell a big difference in her lately. Such a big girl!
9. She made her first craft today - Mother's Day presents. :) So fun...but messy!!
10. Currently, there is boxes all over our condo where I've started packing up! It's weird how empty and bare everything looks.

10 things i learnt this weekend

1. We got our home inspection "stuff" back, and...we did good! We have to fix a few little tiny things, but nothing major. :)
2. I really dread moving. Well, not so much the moving. I'm really excited about that. I dread the packing.
3. Josh and I found a rental house (if we have to rent for a bit). It's sooooooo sooooo cute. It's out in A-Ville. It's this old farm house, with lots of character. The inside is mostly wood and brick. Ah! I fell in love with it right away. Plus, we know the owner - so we'd have a great landlord. This house has a lot of potential, if we could only buy it -- and really do as we please.
4. We also have some "potential" houses to buy. We have appointments to check them out this week (so fingers crossed) we love them as much in person as we do in pictures.
5. We started Josh's bday weekend off right at the Virginia Creeper . Talk about so much fun! And the easiest 17 mile bike ride you'll ever do! :) We definitely want to go back again! And next time take Ella Jane.
6. Josh actually can ride a bicycle better than I thought (he only fell once - haha). And mom only fell (at home) while practicing for the creeper (lol). I can laugh now, but that really did scare me to death.
7. Next time we go, I'd like to take fishing poles - and fish a long the way. :)
8. Susan is a terrific babysitter - which, I knew she would be.
9. We celebrated Josh and Traci's bday with Larry, Janie, and Grandmother at Louie's. Mmm! Still the best spaghetti I've ever ate.
10. My man is going to be 35 tomorrow!!
11. Ella Jane can sit in a bumbo seat good now.
12. She is soooo aware of everything now. You should see her on the gym-mat. She hung out on that thing for over an hour tonight. Between that and BabyFirst TV, she is set.

Things I've Learnt About Babies thus far (and about being a mommy)

1. Babies are hard work (period). 

2. I learned real quick how to become a morning person.

3. As soon as you think you've got your baby figured out...you don't! haha!

4. The "Miracle Blanket" is a must (at least for us).

5. The Sleep n Play - another must!

6. You get used to all the poop (it doesn't even phase me now).

7. Seeing/hearing your baby cry has gotta be the worst thing (cause sometimes there's nothing you can do).

8. Hearing your baby laugh...now that's the best!

9. Prune Juice will make your baby poop, so beware.

10. Acid Reflux is the devil!

11. Baby First is amazing. It's a tv show on Demand. Ella Jane will sit in front of the tv and watch it for a good hour. :)))

12. Carrying a carseat is serious business. 

13. 45 minutes here and there of down-time (for myself, when Ella Jane is napping) is precious. Because for most of the day, I'm on a constant go.

14. There's never a dull moment. :)

15. Having family near by to babysit once a week is such a blessing.

16.Colic Calm is a life saver.
17. It's always a good idea acing several bottles made in advanced. Ready to go!
18. I love being a mommy!!