27 Weeks

Pregnancy Highlights

 

How Far Along: 27 weeks

Size of baby: About 14.5 inches long and two pounds (although he was measuring over a week ahead at my last appointment, and while that doesn't always mean anything, Avery was a pretty big baby, so I'm terrified that he'll be even bigger!)

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Gained 17 lbs. Um, yeah. I gained nine pounds between my last two appointments. That is outrageous for one month! Oh well, I've caught up to average now, so here's to hoping these gains slow down a little in the future. My appetite seems to be decreasing a little, and I remember being so not hungry when I was pregnant with Avery in the last couple of months. We'll see.

Maternity Clothes: I'm in mostly maternity clothes because I don't want to stretch out my "real" clothes, but I still wear some regular tops.

Gender: We're having a boy! Introducing.... Landon Matthew. :)

Movement: I feel lots of movement all the time; surely he can't be as active as Avery, right? I think I might be in trouble. You can seriously see my belly moving now, and it still creeps me out!

Sleep: I'm sleeping okay for now once I actually get to sleep.

What I miss: Being skinny :) Okay, so that's a little vain. Sorry.  

Cravings: I have a major sweet tooth these days. 

Symptoms: I have to pee like all the time. TMI, but annoyingly true.

Best Moment this week: Getting my glucose test over with. I haven't heard anything from the doctor, so I think at this point I'm clear. Woohoo!

At some point this week, I'll hit the 3rd trimester! I almost can't believe it's gone by so fast, but looking back it also seems like forever since we found out I was pregnant.

I also finally finished clearing out Landon's room (excluding the closet-- eek!) this week, so once we get it painted, we can start the big furniture switch!

Kindle Case

I finished this project awhile ago, but I couldn't post it until now because it was a birthday gift for my mother-in-law (happy birthday, Arlene!). So without further ado, my first attempt at a non-skirt, zipper project...

I found the crocheted Kindle case tutorial at Little Birdie Secrets about a month ago, and I thought it would be a fun gift to make for Matt's mom since she just got a Kindle. But at the end of the post, she mentioned having a sewn case tutorial that she would be posting later, so I held off and waited for her to post the fabric option. I'm so glad I waited because it ended up being (relatively) easy and so stinkin' cute!

Matt even got to pick out the fabric (after I texted him the picture of my top three options). He picked my third choice, but it ended up being perfect for this project (plus I went back and got my top choice for another project, haha).

I had never sewn a zipper or used interfacing (well, there are a lot of sewing techniques I've never done, considering that this was only my third project), so the task seemed a little daunting. I followed all the steps in the tutorial, but my machine kept stopping when I tried to sew over the zipper. It freaked me out, so I just skipped that part. Once I finished the bag, I realized the error of my ways. The zipper that just pulled straight off might have helped a little with that realization. After a brief moment of panic, I emailed my friend Jessica (seriously, click on that link and check out her blog; she's so talented!) and asked begged her to tell me what I did wrong and how I could fix it.

After backing up a few steps, I was able to re-attempt sewing over the zipper, and sure enough, when I went slowly enough over it, the machine was fine. Problem solved.

I wasn't sure the opening was big enough for the Kindle to fit through it comfortably, but I'm assured that it does. I would call this first bag attempt a success.

And oh my goodness, I cannot wait to post the latest project I finished because I quadruple love it. But alas, I keep making gifts and can't post the pictures until I send them off. Argh.

52 Weeks of Organizing: Kitchen Tool Drawer

I missed posting my organizing challenge last week, but lest you think I've been slacking, be advised that I have essentially cleared out Landon's room (minus the closet). So I've been working; there just hasn't been much before and after to show you lately.

Yeah, that pile in the corner is the ongoing collection of baby boy stuff. This time around I'm very thankful for consignment sales and nice garage sales. Also, the dreadful curtains are hitting the road once we get some blinds for the window (we have psycho backyard neighbors). And obviously the ladder isn't staying, but its appearance means that Matt is getting ready to paint. Woohoo!

Anyway, I did tackle a smaller organizing project on Thursday, hence today's post.

My cooking utensil drawers are out of control. One of them is back under proper reign; the other, while in an improved state, is still experiencing a little bit of anarchy. Can you have just a little bit of anarchy? I digress.

BEFORE

AFTER

I obviously added the measuring cups and spoons to this drawer, so maybe the picture isn't entirely accurate. It just didn't make sense for them to be in the neighboring drawer, so I pulled a little switcheroo. I'll show the other drawer once I get some dividers for it and am happy with it. Don't get too excited now; I'm not highly motivated to organize kitchen drawers when I have bigger projects waiting in the wings.

Coming soon: Avery's room transformation!

Friday Five

1. I'm writing this post from our new laptop! We've been looking to get a new computer for awhile (our desktop is over 6 years old...), so after stalking the Dell Outlet online for awhile, we finally found one in our price range with the specs we wanted. It pays to be patient! It also pays to save up enough money in your savings account when you have two incomes so you can have a little cushion when you only have one.

2. How much TV time does/did your toddler get? I was such a great mom before I actually had a kid; I knew exactly how I would handle each hypothetical situation, allotted TV time included. Now that I live in reality, I'm having to figure out how much Elmo is okay before I cut the munchkin off. She loves to play (inside and outside) and read and talk and sing and all that stuff, but I'm pretty sure she'd sit on the couch (or, uh, in her wagon) and watch Elmo's World all day long if I let her. We usually keep it to a 30-45 minutes after naptime (although the first thing out of her mouth in the morning is, "Watch Elmo?" Haha!). I used to feel guilty about parking my child in front of a DVD, but honestly, I'm not too concerned anymore since she gets tons of conversational interaction during the day and is definitely not behind developmentally, but I'm just curious how other people handle the TV situation.

3. So if you've been watching the news at all, you've heard about all of the budget cuts going on in the education world. As a (former) teacher (and wife of a current one), I have opinions on the matter. Oh yes I do. But don't make any assumptions yet. Hopefully I'll find some time to write a separate post about the issue soon. Just wanted to throw that teaser out there so I'll have a little accountability to write something substantial in the near future.

4. Today we were planning on going to an old friend's house so she and I could do some sewing (and have adult conversation, haha) and Avery could play with her kiddos. And when I say "old friend," I'm talking back up to junior high (and high school) days. Gotta love Facebook for reconnecting people.  :) Anyway, Avery woke up with gunky eyes and a cough on top of the runny nose she's had all week, so we're postponing. I'm pretty bummed, but since we're already up and dressed, we'll use the morning to run some errands instead.

5. This weekend looks promising. We finally have a free Saturday, and if the weather cooperates it could be a very productive day. Think painting, yard work, cleaning, and car maintenance. Try not to be too jealous, and have a great weekend yourself!

Today is Wednesday.

Yesterday I got up at the atrocious hour of 5:45 (in the morning!) so I could go judge a speech meet up in Rockwall. My mom would be taking Avery to Mother's Day Out, so I had already gotten her clothes, bag, and lunch all ready to go. I felt like a working mom all over again, not getting back until dinner time and completely worn out by the time I did get home. (Props to you ladies who do this all the time; it's a completely different type of exhaustion!) While the extra money was nice, I was thrilled to be back in stay-at-home mode today. We didn't make it to Bible study this morning (I'm actually thinking about giving up BSF and just doing my own; that's another blog post), but I had a couple of errands to run and wanted to get caught up from my day "off" yesterday.

Avery had other plans though because after a very pleasant wake-up and breakfast time, she threw one of the biggest whiny tantrum I've ever seen from her, so it was almost impossible to get out the door (much less bear the thought of taking her in public). So much for being glad to be home, right? Kidding. Anyway, I'm thinking she's getting some more molars because after some Tylenol and lots of hugs/cuddling, we were able to get loaded up in the car (albeit much later than intended) and on our way to Costco and the post office. Of course my precious angel fell asleep a few minutes into the car ride (poor baby!), and I couldn't stand to wake her up (come on, she was snoring), so we had a little impromptu naptime in the Costco parking lot.

We also got a bonus lunch with Whitney and Pearson who were out at the same time, and fortunately after her little snooze, Avery was much better. She's even sleeping again now, so all is not lost.

Side note: there are two things I will probably never remember how to do in the kitchen. 1) How to cook rice, and 2) how long to boil a chicken breast. I feel like I'm constantly Googling both of those simple tasks and getting annoyed with myself for not remembering them! Ugh, cooking fail.

We're getting our new (well, scratch and dent super-deal) computer tomorrow! I'm very thankful that we saved as much as we did when I was working. It came in handy this month. :)

And now while Little Miss is asleep, I'm off to tackle a few sewing projects I've been procrastinating on. Hopefully I'll post them soon!

26 Weeks

Pregnancy Highlights

How Far Along: 26 weeks

Size of baby: About 14 inches long and a a pound and two-thirds

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Gained 8 lbs. If you're keeping track, that means that I gained seven pounds between my last two appointments. Yikes! That's one huge jump. So now I'm just trying not to repeat that this time, but check out how huge my belly got in the last few weeks!

Maternity Clothes: I'm in mostly maternity clothes because I don't want to stretch out my "real" clothes, but I still wear some regular tops.

Gender: We're having a boy! Introducing.... Landon Matthew. :)

Movement: I feel lots of movement all the time; surely he can't be as active as Avery, right? I think I might be in trouble.

Sleep: I'm sleeping okay for now once I actually get to sleep.

What I miss: Being skinny :) Okay, so that's a little vain. Sorry.  

Cravings: I have a major sweet tooth these days. 

Symptoms: I have to pee like all the time. TMI, but annoyingly true.

Best Moment this week: Picking out paint colors for Landon's nursery! We bought the paint and everything, so now I just need to clear out the rest of the stuff that's in there so we can get started.

And just for the record, I'm totally dreading my glucose test on Thursday. The only good thing about it is that it means I'm thisclose to the third trimester. One more week!

Bulletin boards, tacos, paint, and consignment sales.

This week has been such a nice turnaround from the past two. It's been absolutely gorgeous outside, and without any snow/ice days this week, we were finally able to get back in our little routine.

On Wednesday, we finally made it back to BSF. We hadn't been since the middle of January (thanks to Avery being sick and then two snow day sin a row), and I was scheduled to help with the children's program. I helped with the three year old class. What a fun age!

Avery went to her friend Pearson's house after her nap (thanks, Whitney!) so that I could go to a funeral for a sweet lady from our church. After the service, I picked up Avery and we took a little trip to Sprouts for some fruit and eggs. Um, does anybody else find it impossible to shop with a toddler? Maybe I'm just doing something wrong, but the battle of sitting in the cart vs. "helping" push the cart is completely draining. I don't mind her walking in a store with me, but whether or not she stays with me is a gamble; some days she's really great at doing what she's supposed to, but other days she's running all over the place, meaning that she goes back in the cart (with a fight and lots of glares from fellow shoppers, of course). I guess right now I'm just trying to figure out which battles are worth picking and which are worth holding my ground on. Parenting is so much easier in theory.

Thursdays are Mother's Day Out days, so I work at the church while Avery is at "school." I finally updated a bulletin board that hadn't been touched since August. It had been on my to-do list for months, and after I finished it, I had no idea why I had put it off for so long. In the process of putting it all together, I downloaded over 700 super-cute fonts to my new church computer (if you're a font-lover like me, check out the free ones here and here), so now I can go crazy with formatting! I'm such a nerd! Anyway, here's the new board. I love simple, colorful designs!

After MDO, we played outside (have I mentioned how much I LOVE this weather?!?) until Matt got home. We had planned a family date night, so once Matt joined us, we headed to one of our favorite food places, Fuzzy's Taco Shop. They just opened one about 15 minutes from our house last week, and we went as soon as we could!

Then we went to Lowe's and Home Depot to get some paint chips so we could finally decide on colors for all of our painting projects. We're painting Avery's new (used) dresser/nightstand, Landon's room, the guest/kids bathroom, and our bathroom, so we have some decisions to make, and I'd really like to get stuff painted soon and just get it over with. Painting is not my favorite. :)

Not that we need the extra calories, but we caved and stopped at Dairy Queen on our way home. Um, I had no idea how much Avery loves ice cream. I'm pretty sure she ate half of my blizzard. In the car. In the dark. I was feeding it to her, but it was chocolate. Not a pretty sight when we got home.

This morning Avery and I went to a consignment sale that her MDO teacher told me about. It's called Rhea Lana, and today was half-off day. We scored some major deals, and Avery did really well while I shopped. Here's what we ended up with:

Avery

• Carter's swimsuit
• Carter's pants
• Gymboree skirt
• Circo sundress

Landon

• Two onesies
• Two long-sleeved shirts
• Three shirt/pants sets
• Three sleepers

And my grand total was $31. So even though the selection was a little more picked over at the end of the sale, I personally think it's worth it to wait for the 50% discount (unless you're looking for specific bigger items) at consignment events. I'll definitely go back to their fall sale.

We met up with an old friend (Carissa, who I've known since I was six) and her kids for lunch at Chick-fil-a, and then Avery only napped for like 30 minutes, so our afternoon has been a little, uh, trying. Oh well, you take the bad with the good, right?

Tonight is date night, so Matt and I are headed to the movies! We're so original. :) But right now, I have a screaming little girl who needs some attention. Have a great weekend!

Wordless Wednesday

Hello, Mr. Sunshine!

Ah, after two weeks of ridiculously cold weather (for Texas anyway), it seems spring has made an early appearance! Let's just hope it decides to hang out for awhile because it. is. awesome.

After watching me pick up dog poop yesterday afternoon, Avery decided to be a big helper and start filling the poop bucket with grass. (Don't worry, we washed our hands very well afterward.)

Even though the deck is mostly shaded in the afternoons, Little Miss insists on using the umbrella. She was entertained for a good 45 minutes just dumping the sand between containers. Not to mention that she refused to be bothered enough to look at the camera and smile for a picture!

 

 

 

Running, running everywhere!

 

 

 

 

 

25 Weeks

Pregnancy Highlights

 

How Far Along: 25 weeks

Size of baby: About 13.5 inches long and a a pound and a half, the size of an average rutabaga

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Gained 8 lbs. If you're keeping track, that means that I gained seven pounds between my last two appointments. Yikes! That's one huge jump. So now I'm just trying not to repeat that this time, but check out how huge my belly got in the last two weeks!

Maternity Clothes: I'm in mostly maternity clothes because I don't want to stretch out my "real" clothes, but I still wear some regular tops.

Gender: We're having a boy! Introducing.... Landon Matthew. :)

Movement: I feel lots of movement, especially at night

Sleep: I'm sleeping okay for now (I'm definitely not big enough yet to be uncomfortable; I know I'll get there though!)
What I miss: Being skinny :) Okay, so that's a little vain. Sorry.  

Cravings: I have a major sweet tooth these days. 

Symptoms: I have to pee like all the time. TMI, but annoyingly true.

Best Moment this week: Okay, so this isn't really pregnancy-related, but the sun came out this week! It's been in the 60s and 70s since this weekend, and I'm loving being able to play with Avery outside. It makes me more active (hello, walks!), so I feel better, too.

Ruffly Skirt #2!

I love having a little girl. :) I was totally anti-ruffles and bows when I was pregnant with Avery (I didn't want her to be too girly!), but now I'm just jumping on all of the fun little girly things I can make. Somebody's probably gonna have to stop me.

I started skirt #2 the other day and was completely put off by the pattern instructions. They were ridiculous! I'm pretty sure I read them like 10 times before I was able to kind of figure out what I was supposed to do. (Not using that brand again! Whistlepig or something boutique-y like that)

Anyway, the actual pattern was actually just a bunch of strips of material (the pattern also has jackets and bags and stuff, but the skirt cutting was pretty basic), so it was a struggle for me to measure and cut in straight lines without a rotary cutter, but I somehow managed to get them semi-straight.

I also forgot that the basting stitch for a ruffle requires two rows (thanks, Facebook sewing friends!), so the first ruffle took me forever since I was trying to gather the fabric with only one stinking row. The other two were a piece of cake.

I finished the elastic during tonight's episode of The Bachelor (haha!), and voila! It turned out much better than I expected. I think the ruffles hide a lot. I'm still working on sewing in straight lines; it's a process, right?

Anyway, since it is Valentine's Day and all, I'm getting my booty off the computer so I can hang out with my awesome husband. Night!

Friday Five

1. Well, we got even more "snow" this week, canceling another day of school on Wednesday. Unfortunately, Matt didn't get to spend the day off at home since he was already out of school to drive to San Antonio for his convention. Boo. Bible study was canceled, so Avery and I just spent the day playing at home in our pajamas. Turns out the weather wasn't quite as bad as predicted this time around, so I still went to our small group that night while my mom babysat. I'm SO excited that the weather is supposed to warm up this weekened! We need to play outside!!

2. Last night should've been super productive since Avery went to bed at SEVEN (no nap at MDO = early bedtime!), but instead I spent the evening on the couch with my friends Oreo and Kit Kat while I watched Big Bang Theory, Grey's Anatomy, and Private Practice. Sometimes you just need to veg out.

3. I finally finished my Craft Corner and blogged about it here. Here's a preview picture of the finished product if you missed Thursday's post:

4. Today we have big plans to hang out with Whitney and Pearson (Avery is obsessed with that girl!) at our house and then meet up with my cousins and sister-in-law for dinner. Matt comes home TOMORROW!

5. Valentine's Day is this week (duh), and while we never really do anything special for Valentine's (don't get me started; I'm not a fan), I'm hoping we can go see a movie some time this week. Wishful thinking? Maybe. But we try to go on at least one date per month, and the rest of February on our calendar looks busy. Are there even any good movies out right now?

I'll be at our church's Valentine's Banquet on Saturday (albeit dateless and "supervising" the kids wing), so at least I'm being semi-festive, right? Eh. If you're one of the crazies who loves Valentine's Day, I hope you have a great time celebrating.

For everybody else, have a great weekend!

This post is linked to Company Girl Coffee.

52 Weeks of Organizing: Craft Corner

The great Craft Corner transplant of 2011 is COMPLETE! It took a few weeks to get everything purged, organized, and then moved from the guest/craft room to a small little corner of my bedroom, but now I can breathe a huge sigh of relief because it's d-o-n-e. Well, as done as it's going to be for awhile. I have to move on to other things!

Without further ado, here's the big reveal...

BEFORE

My workstation. Not much space to work, huh? No wonder I'm behind on all the projects I want to do!

The random bookshelf (aka the clutter magnet)

In theory these cubes are great storage. In practice, I let them get out of control.

AFTER 

Workstation! The table is just an Ikea table that I got awhile back for the workspace it provided at a cost I could afford. I'm still pleased with how it's holding up! I would still like to make a fabric skirt to velcro around the front of the table so I can hide the unsightly containers, but it's gonna have to do for now.

I love the accessibility of the drawers! And have I ever mentioned how much I love my label maker?!? I have drawers for jewelry supplies, embellishments, ink, mounting paper/envelopes, and scrap paper.

I'm using the bigger drawers for stamping and crochet supplies.

I have my idea books in a magazine holder, pictures to be scrapbooked in a photo organizer, and pens, adhesive, and glue in the drawers. I have the manuals for my Cricut and sewing machine in the plastic envelope that's standing up next to my paper cutter.

I'm planning on replacing the ugly purple cup, but it's serving its purpose for the time being.

For the sake of transparency, I wanted to include the picture of the seemingly cluttered underside of the table, but like I mentioned, I'm planning on covering it up in the near future. Anyway, I have my trash can, scrapbook paper, fabric/patters, ribbon, and pillow stuffing (haha!) hiding underneath the table. At least it's labeled, right?

And the cluttered bookshelf from the "before" picture? It has been repurposed as Avery's toy/book storage in our study (which is connected to our living room, where she does most of her playing).

Aaah, I feel like I can breathe again when I want to work on a craft project. The former guest/craft room isn't completely emptied out yet, but we're much closer to being able to paint it and move baby furniture in. Yay!

This post is linked to Org Junkie's 52 Week Challenge.

Top 2 Things I've Learned About Blogging

1. Write about what you want to write about. I know that seems like a duh, but if you try to force a post or topic, it's pretty apparent. I write my blog so our family can look back on it in the future and remember what we were up to at a given point in time. So right now that means I post about pregnancy, toddler-hood, what we do on the weekends, my opinions on everything, and just whatever pops into my head. Usually it's not too deep (I personally prefer to keep those thoughts for real-life conversations), but it's also a way to keep family and friends up to date on our lives.

2. Schedule your posts. For me this means two things: 1) I try to keep a general routine to my posting so I don't sit down and go uhhhhh, what do I write about? I do pregnancy updates on Mondays, organizing challenges on Thursdays, my Friday Five (and sometimes Show Us Your Life), weekend updates on Sundays, and sometimes a Wordless Wednesday or Tuesday's List (maybe now Top 2 Tuesday instead?). I can still tailor each post to what I feel like writing, but it gives me a starting point. 2) I blog when I have time (i.e. when Avery's napping or when she's asleep for the night and Matt's not home), but it's not always ideal to publish five posts in one day. Enter post scheduling. I write as many posts as I feel inspired to write in my given amount of time and then schedule them to post later in the week. It keeps my posting more consistent while giving me the freedom to write when it's convenient, not because I feel like I have to.

I'm not a professional blogger (ha!) to say the least, so check out The Undomestic Momma's MckLinky for more tips!

24 Weeks

Pregnancy Highlights

 

How Far Along: 24 weeks

Size of baby: Almost one foot long and a little over 1 pound, the size of an ear of corn

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Gained 8 lbs. If you're keeping track, that means that I gained seven pounds between my last two appointments. Yikes! That's one huge jump. So now I'm just trying not to repeat that this time, but check out how huge my belly got in the last two weeks!

Maternity Clothes: I'm in mostly maternity clothes, but I still wear some regular tops.

Gender: We're having a boy! Introducing.... Landon Matthew. :)

Movement: I feel lots of movement, especially at night

Sleep: I'm sleeping okay for now (I'm definitely not big enough yet to be uncomfortable; I know I'll get there though!)
What I miss: Being skinny :) Okay, so that's a little vain. Sorry.  

Cravings: Now that I don't have access to it anymore, I really miss the cruise hot chocolate. I can't find a decent replacement!

Symptoms: I have to pee like all the time. TMI, but annoyingly true.

Best Moment this week: Strangers can tell that I'm pregnant now, so it's fun when people ask questions about the baby when we're out and about. Although I remember getting really annoyed with that when I was pregnant with Avery, so this probably won't be a "best moment" for long.

Weekend Update

FRIDAY.

Matt was still home on his 4th snow day, so we "played" in the snow. Avery was hesitant to get out of the wagon, but she liked walking around for a few minutes before she had enough and was crying, "Up! Up!" (The pictures aren't great because we had to use an old camera since ours was "temporarily misplaced" for the weekend.)

After lunch and Avery's nap we went up to the church to take our stuff for Saturday's giveaway. We helped organize for a little while, but Avery just wanted to play with all the toys (go figure!).

That night we got to have a long-awaited cul-de-sac dinner at Whitney and Cody's with Brooke and Dave. I'm thankful that the bad roads allowed us all an evening at home so we could finally get together! We love our neighbors but our schedules are all so crazy that it's hard to find time to hang out even though we live right next to each other.

SATURDAY.

Ah, glorious sleep! We slept in before heading up to the church to help with the giveaway (think garage sale but everything's free). Since I was organizing clothes and most of the big stuff was already taken (meaning Matt was out of a job, ha), Matt took Avery over to my parents' house to take a nap (they live closer to the church than we do). The giveaway went so well. I'm totally proud of my mom for organizing the whole thing; the church collected a ridiculous amount of clothes and household items (most of which was in really good condition), and many in the community were able to come and get things they needed.

We took Avery to her friend Lily's birthday party on Saturday afternoon, but I think Avery was a little confused as to why she couldn't open all the presents. :) 

After the party we met up with my parents and brother for my (late) birthday dinner at Red Hot and Blue. It was our first time to eat there, and while I wouldn't get the coleslaw again, the food was really good (especially the bread)!

SUNDAY.

After church we had lunch at Subway with the young families Sunday School class and then came home to nap. We were tired after a week of lazing around the house! 

We woke up just in time to make it to some Super Bowl parties: Matt to the one with a bunch of men from church and Avery and me to the one with some moms and their kiddos. Avery and I only stayed until halftime and then came home so she could go to bed.

Matt had to go back to work today after an 8-day vacation, and Avery and I are officially back in our weekday routine. Speaking of that sweet girl, I think she's awake from her nap. Have a great week!

Friday Five

1. We finally decided on Avery's new bedding! It was exactly what I wanted (since Avery doesn't really have a design opinion yet), and I love that it's multi-color. There are so many accessory options! We're still waiting on it to come in since we had to order it online, but we're planning on painting her new (used!) dresser and nightstand (bright pink-- I love having a girl, lol) in the next week or two. Since the quilt was on clearance, most of the accessories were sold out (and overpriced anyway), so I'll be looking for some fabric soon to add in a few cute pillows. I can't wait to see it all come together!

2. Today is Matt's 4th snow day this week. If you've been keeping track, he hasn't been at school since last Wednesday since he took off for our cruise.  And then next week he only works Monday and Tuesday before he leaves for his music teachers convention in San Antonio. It's turning out to be a pretty easy few weeks for him! Plus I love having him home with us.

3. Even if having him home with us means that we're going stir crazy! The roads iced over on Monday night/morning and it hasn't gotten above freezing since then. We did finally venture out on Wednesday night to eat dinner at my parents' house, and then yesterday we went to the church so I could get things ready for Sunday since I hadn't been up there in over a week! We even made a run to the bank and to Costco, but the roads were pretty bad. I can actually understand why they wouldn't want buses driving kids around on them. We're running out of ways to keep Avery entertained in the house; except that today we woke up to a blanket of SNOW outside to play in, which is much better than the ice that was there before since she pretty much hated when we tried to get her to walk on the ice. Ha! Okay, Matt was holding her hands. But she was not a fan. I'm not a fan either, to tell you the truth. Snow days are weird for me now that I'm not teaching anymore; it messes with our routine and I just hate that getting out of the house is a nightmare! (And my northern people better not say anything about being wusses in Texas; we are not prepared for ice/snow down here and drivers are crazy in it.) So here's the picture that's floating around cyberspace that fits my sentiments exactly:

4. Do any of you watch the Bachelor? I admit, it's my trash TV guilty pleasure, and no matter how many times I say at the end of a season that I'm never watching it again, I can't help myself! It's like a train wreck. Anyway, I actually kinda like this dude this time around. And I love Emily (even though I also hate her for being so gorgeous and sweet; seriously, it's just not fair). I'm not crazy about any of the other girls (especially psycho Michelle), but one of my favorite things about watching the show is texting with my friend Betsy as she gives her unrestrained opinions throughout each episode. Cracks me up.

5. The Super Bowl is this Sunday! Woohoo! Now don't get me wrong; I couldn't care less about the game. I'm just ready to not have to hear about the Super Bowl being in Dallas and who's partying where and how much money Jerry Jones stands to make every time I turn on the news. Ugh. I hope DFW never hosts it again. Now the World Series is another story... is it April yet? I'm ready for baseball season. Anyway, since I have to pick someone I want to win this stupid game, I choose the Packers. You're welcome, Tiffany.

Have a great weekend!