10 things I learnt this weekend

1. Josh's team kicked off this season with the AC MAVS. We lost but it was still a really fun game! (Josh's team is really young so it was kinda sorta expected)

2. All us coach's wives baked up (or store bought - cough cough) some treats for the coaches before the game. I think we scored big time! 

3. Ella Jane sat up 4 hours past her bedtime to watch her first football game. We all kept thinking she'd fall asleep but she never did. Wide eyed and bushy tailed the whole time. In her baby carrier. 

4. My old high school friend, Cindy, is pregnant with her 2nd baby girl (how fun)! She had a little shower at Tomato Head Saturday morning. Always good seeing old friends. And let me just add that she is adorable pregnant. Adorable.

5. I found 2 awesome shirts at goodwill over the weekend! Spending a grand total of $3! Needless to say, I'll definitely be doing some more goodwill shopping in the near near future. 

6. Ella Jane made it through another Sunday in the nursery with out crying. When I picked her up she was sitting  in the middle of the carpet with a little red ball in her mouth, as happy as a clam. Awwww! I felt kinda sad when I left her (yes again) because she didn't cry. I know thats weird but its liike she didn't need me. But as soon as she seen me when I picked her up, she started crying for me to take her. So I was a happy mommy! :)

7. The boys came over last night to see Ella Jane. Even though we had just put her to sleep, we had to get her back up!  That girl has gotta learn to love her uncles. Hahaha! She may or may not still cry every time they hold her. :) 

8. Ella Jane has slept and slept all weekend. Friday really messed with her sleeping apparently! This morning I had to wake her up at 10 to get ready for church. 10:00!! that has never happened! Haha. I wish she slept that late every morning. ;)

9. I'm not the type to work out! Like at all. I hate it and so I just don't put myself through it. Haha! Walking to and from my car is pretty much the extent of my work out routine (well that and taking care of Ella Jane and walking to the mailbox). But I've decided to TRY to change my mind set. This week I'm starting Couch to 5K. I did this program before my wedding and I gotta say it wasn't that bad. And it really did work. Of course once I got married I stopped. But I've decided to pick it back up and try sticking to it this time. 

10. My man buzzed all his hair off. This happens pretty much before every football season. I miss the beard!

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!

Porch swing!

My dad came this morning to hang up our porch swing! Ella Jane is in love, of course! And so am I. My mom and I have always been porch sitters. For as long as I can remember...that's been our thing. We would grab us a drink (& the dogs) and go sit on the porch and talk. So it wasn't a surprise to me that Ella Jane is a porch sitter too. That girl can swing the day away on a porch swing. When my dad and mom surprised us with a porch swing for Ella Jane's 1/2 birthday, I couldn't help but tear up (well tear up a lot)! For one reason, my dad made this! also- Because the second I saw it, I thought about me and my mom. And I could immediately picture me and Ella Jane having those same kind of "porch days". I love this swing so much! Did I mention that it has cup holders and a detachable baby sit?

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. :)

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.

Pics from the Virginia Creeper and Bday lunch

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.

Home Inspection

So yesterday I spent all day (what time I wasn't taking care of Ella Jane), cleaning the condo to get ready for our home inspection!! My dad came over and fixed a few things that needed done (that josh nor I can do), like install a new garbage disposal. :) josh spent the evening installing new fire alarms, cleaning HIS bathroom because I refuse. Haha! I have no idea what to really expect with a home inspection, really. So hopefully everything will be good for the new owners. Fingers crossed!

In baby news: Ella Jane is at an all time cuteness with "baby talk". Last night she just talked and talked for like 10 minutes straight. I have to admit, I teared up a bit. :) it's just so precious.

This weekend the family is taking off to VA! We're gonna attempt a 14 mile bike ride (mostly down-hill)! Im excited! And can't wait to see josh do this (he can't ride a bike all that well). Lol!! So this should be interesting.

10 things i learnt this weekend

1. I found another reason to just love Target. Elf makeup! How have I never noticed it before? Not only is it wonderful working, but it's sooo cheap. The whole line of makeup is either $1 or $3. The most expensive thing I saw was the powder (which is still only $6)! So long Bare Minerals.
2. My favorite Elf product...the Highlighting Whip!
3. Ella Jane's reflux is officially really bad. Needless to say, it's been a doozy of a weekend with her. But God love it, she's the sweetest thing. ;)
4. After ME going back and forth, back and forth, and back and forth, and Josh basically just saying "YOU'RE NOT GOING BACK!" haha! I have decided that I don't need to go back to work right now. Not with Ella Jane feeling this way. I'm gonna take the rest of the year off (there's just like 6 weeks left anyway), and start back in August.
5. Justin and Traci had their first Wedding Shower this weekend in Louisiana!
6. Josh has watched like 2 seasons of True Blood this weekend. haha! He's obsessed.
7. So far Colic Calm is working really good for Ella Jane. Fingers Crossed.
8. Josh and I have to work really hard on the condo this week. The Home Inspector is coming on Wednesday!! Dun dun!
9. My post-pregnancy diet is going pretty good!
10. House hunting is hard (period).

Easter Pics

10 things i learnt this weekend

1. Some people seriously have no boundaries!
2. (as old as I sound) You should only be "friends" with people on fb that you are actually "friends" with. haha! Oh, and for sure have privacy settings!
3. Being a parent really makes you more aware of things (and so protective)!
4. I've enjoyed Josh being home with Ella Jane and I so much this week (for spring break). I'm pretty sad that he has to go back to work tomorrow. :/ Plus, it's such a big help him being here with us. He's even made the bed all week. Yayy!
5. I wish I would've went ahead and ordered Ella Jane's Easter basket this year.
6. She wasn't being very cooperative for her pictures today (haha)! Not cooperative at all actually. :) She kept falling over (as Josh yelled "timber"!)! Or she was chewing/sucking on the bunny.
7. Josh and I went to church with grandmother. She was so cute showing Ella Jane off.
8. Afterwards we met my family at Outback for Easter and to celebrate Mamaw's birthday. There just isn't enough of Ella Jane to go around. She is so loved!
9. Mamaw loved her framed picture we got her of Ella Jane and the Easter Bunny!
10. Speaking of...the Easter Bunny was at Chick-Fil-A on Saturday morning! Josh and I took Ella Jane. She didn't cry at all (you know those pictures of babies who are crying/scared to death)! Not our girl. :)

Belated

10 things I learnt this weekend -anniversary edition

1. We think Ella Jane is lactose intolerant. So she is currently on soy milk. And feeling so much better. :)
2. My mom and Mamaw came over Friday. We all had lunch and shopped. (my mom got the organic bloom frames at hobby lobby for ella janes pics- they are gorgeous)! Then mom took Ella Jane home with her. First time we had been away from her for 2 nights!
3. Speaking of, being away from Ella Jane for that long was a lot. We missed her so much! We can get a lot done, but it just doesn't feel right her not being here with us.
4. Josh and I made it to our one-year anniversary! And i loved our celebration day!
5. Josh loved his Kings Island tix! We l've already been talking about a good time to go. ;) we loooove roller coasters!
6. My present didn't arrive in time, but josh got me a Red Bone watch (like the one he wears- but not as bulky)!!!!! He showed it to me online; it's so cute! I can't wait to get it.
7. Josh had me believing he was taking me to Bonefish for dinner (our first date restaurant). But he surprised me BIG and actually took me to Ruth's Chris!!!!
8. Our meal was delicious! The steaks were incredible. And our FREE strawberry cheesecake topped it off nicely! Of course having my handsome man there by my side was incredible too!
9. Our one year old wedding cake was still really really good. I was so surprised. I had josh take the first bite, thinking it would be totally gross! But it wasn't at all.
10. Going on 40 is a good movie, but kinda dirty.
11. Ella Jane is crazy over Baby's First on demand television!! She was just staring at it when i picked her up from mom and dads this morning! Haha!