What We Did Over Our Holiday Weekend.

First, we tried on hats and went for our first cart ride at Hobby Lobby...

...where I bought the supplies to make this adorable onesie*

*it was actually supposed to say "wipe me booty", but I used the wrong iron-on because I'm tired...

worked on the garden I've managed not to kill (yay!)


planted a garden of sweet corn, sweet peas, tomatoes, basil, mesclun and green beans:

tried desperately to crawl(!!!)

Can you see both teeth in the picture above?



..and last but not least, laid around in our comfy PJs!

Project Updates!

Ava's Keepsake Box:




And Ava's toybox with her favorite toys:

How Does Your Garden Grow?

Successfully, it seems! Check out these seedlings after just ONE WEEK!!!


And the new (or blooming) additions to our garden:

Seedlings & Other Successes!

I had it in my mind for some reason it would take at least a week, if not weeks, for my vegetable garden to start sprouting. Apparently, I was wrong.



This is great, but it's also unfortunate. Why, you ask? Well, I thought I had some time to recruit some sucker to help me build a raised garden box. Now, though, I'm thinking I'll have to do it this weekend, and beg D to help me on the premise of it being my birthday and all (on Sunday - YAY!!!!!!!!!!). Anyone with any pointers? I'm not exactly an expert woodworker...

On a side note, here is a tissue box I painted for Ava's bathroom since I couldn't find one to go with her bathroom set.

What do you think? These colors would be tacky alone, but I think they work with the towels/decor...or at least I hope so! I'm currently working on putting the finishing touches on her keepsake/memory box, and then I'll share that as well!

Yesterday Ava went for her first walk in the stroller without her trusty old car seat - she's getting to be such a big girl! She LOVED the fresh air and the unobstructed view. The hat? Not so much. We're still working on that, since summer sun is out in full force! Check my cutie pie out:


Funny story about the stroller. I'm home alone tonight, as D went to trivia with the guys, and the stroller is sitting at the base of the stairs, hidden from view by the banister. Earlier, while going downstairs for some iced tea, I came around the corner and the stroller spooked me so badly I screamed! Yep. That's me. The soon-to-be 26-year-old mother who's scared of being home alone. Ridiculous.

Another recent first - her exersaucer! First, can I share with you how happy I am to have gotten this and Ava's jumper off Craigslist for a total of $30 for BOTH?!? Sometimes I totally rock, and the Earth is thankful too, since isn't this reusing at it's finest??? Anyhow, here's some pics of Ava rocking out in her exersaucer!



And another jumper pic:


All that jumping makes for a tired baby!


Speaking of, I am one TIRED mommy. Ava has been waking up twice a night again sometimes (teeth???), so I'm not getting as much sleep as I'd like. Plus, I have my doctor appointment tomorrow morning, so it'll be yet another busy morning!

Nighty night, and happy hump day!

Great Weekend!

We had such a lovely (albeit nonstop busy!) weekend!! I know most people prefer their weekends to be relaxing and lazy, but I'm quite the opposite. Productivity and family time is the name of the game around this household, and this weekend embodied both of those!

Lately, I've felt that our yard needs a major pick me up. When I first bought my house I still lived and worked in NYC, so I had no time to landscape (nor the ability to water regularly enough to keep anything alive for long). Luckily, the summer following the purchase was the rainiest on record in Austin, so by the grace of God my sodding grew in to resemble a half-decent lawn, but that's about all we've got going for us around here. We have two trees in the front yard that are growing, slowly but surely, but definitely give away the young age of our neighborhood, since there aren't any mature trees (which I would LOVE!) Anyhow, this weekend I decided it was time to do a little something about the yard, and tried my hand planting some flowers. Normally I just buy a bunch of cheapie zinnias or other annuals, forget to water them, and start the cycle again in the next season. Truth be told, I have a black thumb. This time, though, I did my research, and made more informed choices for the front flower beds. Check it out:

Our beautiful hydrangea plant, considering starting to bloom:


Flower Beds:


Mexican Heather:


Lantanas:


Pentas:


Lantanas & Pentas (aren't you just on the edge of your seats haha):


English Ivy (will spread to cover area around trees):


Front View of Flower Beds:


Smaller Tree:


Slightly More Successful Tree:


Then, last night, D grilled steaks for dinner and made homemade Mexican rice, while A and I planted a home farm garden! I've been wanting to get in on the home farming movement for some time, but wanted to do my research on this as well given the aforementioned black thumb, so it's taken us some time. We found this great greenhouse kit that should get our plants started, though, until we can recruit someone more handy than D to help me build a raised garden box to transplant the plants to as they grow! So excited! We planted snow peas, sweet corn, tomatoes, green beans, thyme, rosemary, zucchini, morning glories (we needed some flowers for color), and perhaps one more thing? I can't remember. I'm so excited for our little seedlings to grow. Here's A helping me out:


She's such a great helper! Alright, time to go pump. Ava woke up at 8, ate, and promptly fell back to sleep, where she's been ever since. Homegirl would NOT go to sleep last night until literally the second the Lost finale was over (10:30 CST), so needless to say she a.) has great taste, and b.)is exhausted. I, however, am getting SO much done with her sleeping! Later today we're picking up an exersaucer, so stay tuned for how much she's probably going to LOVE it!

Happy Monday, friends!

Productive Weekend!

*Meant to be published Sunday night - oops!!*

Hello, friends. You still reading?! Sorry I've been absent, but we've been SO busy this weekend. Doing what, you ask? Let me fill you in.

Despite our house being a mere three years old and purchased new, there are some repairs/renovations we're wanting to do in the upcoming year or two. First and foremost, we don't have ceiling fans. Don't ask me how I failed to notice this, because frankly I'm not entirely sure, but seriously - what kind of builder doesn't add ceiling fans? We have marble bathrooms, and no fans? I digress. Anyhow, this weekend started our first ceiling fan installation project. I'll let you know when it's finished - haha. We're also wanting to plant 10 or so bushes along the back fence since it's wrought iron to give ourselves some privacy, and to stop the neighborhood kids from messing with our dog. I'm a kid lover and all that jazz, but the neighborhood kids leave a little something to be desired.

I'm also starting some new painting projects, including a serving tray to match the downstairs remote caddy I recently finished, and a garbage pail for Ava's room that isn't totally ugly, plain and stinky!

What else? I got my highlights touched up, for one thing. My hair has been looking...well, pretty terrible. I hadn't had it done since right before Ava was born, so we're talking about four months of growth on my highlights. Not a nice look for anyone. D was awesome and brought Ava by the salon so she could meet the nice folks at Avant - I've been getting my hair done there for almost EIGHT years. Whoa - they've got to witness me growing up, and so naturally they all wanted to meet our little bundle. She LOVED it in there - apparently she had a sixth sense alerting her to how much fun can be had at the salon in her future, since she was all smiles.

I've also done a little shopping, since my wardrobe could use a bit of updating. I'm pretty sure the only clothing I've bought since before this time last year has been for Ava. Holy moly.

We've also managed to squeeze in a trip to Lowe's, an oil change, weekly grocery shopping, and my favorite - a trip to Build-A-Bear to make Ava's Christening bear. She turned out great! I've been trying to get her baptism on the books now for weeks and months, but due to our Reverend's retirement, and then surgery, and then rehab, it's been continuously pushed back. Now it's looking like we're going to get to move forward with it, so I've been planning the details, guest list, place, time, etc, and making sure my Christening gown from 25 years ago (!!!) will fit, since my Christening was at 6 weeks, not 4 months! Here's a sneak peek:



She more or less picked the bear herself. There was one I had my eye on going in to the store, but she just kept staring at this one, and who am I to say no to this face:



Here's another couple pictures for your troubles:




TTFN!

Ava's New Toybox.

Lookie what I made over the weekend :)

You've Got Mail.

This is a pretty cool project a friend forwarded me:



Why Not Send Me Some Real Mail?

When is the last time you sat and wrote a letter or mailed a postcard? Have you ever stuck a stamp on some random thing and dropped it in a mailbox?

Many of you have already begun sending things to me and they have been amazing.

If you have not, I encourage you to embrace the time-honored tradition of handwritten, mailed correspondence and mail something to a little project I call:
You've Got Mail.

Send whatever you wish through the mail. This mailed menagerie can consist of illustrated cards, letters or just stick some stamps to some random object you like or find ironic.

It is really simple to participate.

Just sit down, spend a few minutes writing a card or note, and drop it in a mailbox.

The more artful examples of mail received will be shown in an exhibition at the end of the year.

Keep Those Cards and Letters Coming:

Your Pal Carl
P.O. Box 10401
Austin, Texas 78766

I would be honored to hear from you.

Always thinking,

Your Pal Carl

Here's our letter:

Dear Carl,

My name is Ava. I'm just three-months-old - too little to write a letter or draw a picture on my own - so my momm is transcribing for me so that I can have a neat keepsake and also help the post office - I'm a very civic-minded baby, you see.

Are you enjoying this lovely weather we've been having? I sure am! I love sunshine and warm breezes. I also love pacifiers, my lovie, my mommy & daddy, and boobies. I'm sure you can relate, at least to that last one.

I hope you have a lovely Easter. I'm not sure what Easter is, but my mom sure seems excited about it. I swear, if she puts those bunny ears on me and then blinds me with her camera's flash one more time, I'm going on a sleep strike (That's how I get my point across, you see!).

Happy Easter!
Ava