Monday, July 21, 2014

It Takes a Wedding

My family of three spent the weekend celebrating my brother's wedding. It was a beautiful day that they made all their own. And getting to be a part of their day made it even more special :)

Watching my brother and his wife recite vows to commit themselves to each other reminded me of our special day 3.5 years ago. The feeling you get after you say "I do" is unmatched. The way you look into your husband's eyes and he in yours while you dance you first dance. The spontaneous laughs that come from singing songs together as you dance with your friends and family. Simply enjoying time together as newlyweds dreaming about the promise you made to each other and the journey ahead.

All of those thoughts and feelings flooded back on Saturday night and Sunday morning I felt like a newlywed all over again. So to me, I felt "more married." I found myself instantly more appreciative of everything happening in my relationship with Mike. After having our first child I admit that our relationship has taken a bit of a back seat. Date nights and spending time together just between us has become a rarity, which from what I understand is completely normal. I mean it isn't easy to have a romantic night out when your 10 month old is throwing cheerios and trying to climb out of her high chair. It took a wedding to remind me how it all began 3.5 years ago and how blessed I am to have the husband and daughter that I do. It took a wedding for me to feel that joy that needs nothing else but a quick smile from my husband to know how much he loves me.

All this to say it's not that I needed a wedding but it was a wonderful way to renew the love that we knew we had but were having a hard time expressing over diaper changes and spit up. If I could, I would attend a wedding every year just to feel "more married" again. In less than two weeks we will be attending another wedding and I cannot wait to celebrate this special time again.

Friday, July 18, 2014

That Time I Wore Fake Nails...

Someone special aka my brother is getting married tomorrow and I am really excited for it! I am a bridesmaid with my beautiful sister who I knew was getting her nails done. I have rarely gotten my nails done so much so I think I could count on one hand all the times I have gotten a manicure. Anyway being the sporty lady that I am I have also never used fake nails or press on nails. Yesterday that changed! I tried Nailene's So Natural Short Everyday French artificial nails from Wal-Mart. The kit comes with a manicure stick, cuticle pusher, glue, adhesive tabs and nails. I really liked how there were 28 nails and 14 sizes to pick from to best fit my nails.



Anyway, the process for putting the nails on was really easy. Buff your nails and clean them with the tools provided. Then begin to pick the adhesive tabs and nails that fit you best. I would suggest picking the sizes and setting them out before you start, which is not what I did and wish I had. I found myself fumbling around with these very light nails with half my nails on and half off. Bad idea!



Here are the before and after shots. My natural nails are in good shape but look how regal and long they look with the press on help! For the 20 minutes it took me to put them on and, did I mention the $5 out of my pocket, I will take it!


I put these bad girls on after my little girl was put to bed so I got to enjoy them hassle free for a good 12 hours. The only problem was when the morning came I felt like I couldn't do anything! Picking up bobby pins was hard, texting on my phone wasn't easy, scratching my head was rough, and taking care of Lily was another story. I felt like I was scratching her every time I picked her up and opening her formula can took some work. I am curious how people wear these all the time, obviously not press on, but having long nails is hard work! Needless to say these fun nails didn't even stay on until 9am. It was a great experience but for a mom of a 10 month old, not for me. Maybe I will try them again someday but for now so long pretty nails.

Good news, taking them off was a breeze! Press down on the nail and slide off. There was some leftover adhesive but it rolled off under my finger and I cleaned up the rest with nail polish remover. Great product but not for ones with young children :) Now I am off to decide if I want to pay for a mani or go DIY, decisions, decisions.

Thursday, July 17, 2014

Tutu's Etc.


Sometimes I get free time (I know what is that?) so last night I got to endulge in some premature birthday crafting. I finally decided on birthday colors after browsing Pinterest and Etsy for way too long and I am very pleased with how everything came out.

Craft 1) I set out to make a tutu and I did it! The fluffy skirt only took me 30 minutes total with this awesome tutorial from The Pinning Mama. Her instructions might seem long but they are just really thorough which I appreciated!

For my 16.5lb 28inch 10 month old this is how the 6-12 month measurements look with 2 colors. I used the Wyla 6"x 25 yd rolls of tulle from Joann Fabric. I used one roll of each color (gold rush and ivory) and had enough leftover to make another tutu of this size. When I make another tutu I will use three pieces of tulle just because of the extra fullness it will give the skirt.

As you can see I tried it on my little girl and I love that unlike with a dress she was able to crawl around and play while wearing it. Now this will be put away until her birthday :)

Craft 2) I really wanted to get a custom outfit from Etsy or another online store for little girl's birthday but the prices were a little out of our price range. So I set out to start finding things to make a gold and pink birthday for Lily. I found a Circo pink onesie with ruffled sleeves at Target because all good things come from Target :) and dimensional gold fabric paint by Tulip from Michaels. I sketched out what I wanted on the onesie and then painted over it. I was debating on the font being thin or bold and my better half convinced me that thin was the way to go. Here is the finished product. I think it is super cute especially paired with the tutu and I can't wait for Lily to wear it.

Craft 3) Lastly, little girl has been getting more and more hair lately so of course I have been putting some very fun bows in it. Only problem is that bows get lost easily if they aren't kept in one place so I wanted to make a bow organizer. I saw one at a local craft show for $10 and new I could make one for cheaper. I found her initial, ribbon, scrapbook paper, and these fun paper flowers at Michaels. I spent just under $6 and came out with this fun bow holder that will be put up on Lily's wall. I used Modge Podge to adhere the paper to the "L" and tacky glue to the ribbon on both ends to stick it to the "L" and the flower to the ribbon. Tada!


I have a lot going on the next couple of weeks so there will be another hiatus of crafts but no fear little spurts like these are bound to appear :)

10 Months What?

Yes at this point it is only 52 days until Lily's first birthday and I know the next two months are going to fly by with the start of soccer looming daily. Where has the time gone? I feel like I was pregnant yesterday but in reality this time last year we had just gotten the nursery painted, furniture put together and were patiently awaiting the arrival of our baby girl. How crazy!

Ten days ago when Lily turned 10 months old, Mike and I were looking through pictures and the baby we met has grown into this almost toddler with such personality, energy, smiles, bright eyes and red hair :) Her facial features have really become her own and we love watching how Lily reacts to everything she sees. She is very mobile, crawling everywhere, pulling up on everything, cruising across couches and tables. Lily is also very vocal saying "dada" mostly, "baba," "hi," and "mama" have all made appearances as well. Cheerios and anything else you put on her plate are Lily's favorite. And here are some of the highlights of Lily's 10th month...

Lily's first flight






                                             
Lily's first family reunion


                                                                                                                       







Lily's first time at the beach!




                                                                                                                                                     



Not too found of sitting in the sand by herself                                                
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     
Lily's first fireworks!