New shoes!!

First off, I hope that everyone had a very Merry Christmas! We had a very nice holiday, and got to see all of our family. Wee One got more stuff than any one child needs, and I promise those pictures will be coming soon!

I had a great Christmas as well - received new games for the Wii (Lego Batman and Mario Party 8, and hubby got the new Nerf game), but more importantly, I received new shoes!

Both of my sisters bought me a pair, and I love them both. One is definitely more practical, but both are very cute! My baby sister bought me the cutest pair of purple patent leather flats with silver buckles on the front. They are adorable, and I will try to get pictures of them soon. They are actually really comfortable, and look great with pretty much every pair of pants I own. Now I just need to find enough tops to go with them! My other sister bought me theses:
Can I just say how much I love them??? They are completely impractical, and not very comfy, but oh so cute! I'm wearing them today at work, and let me tell you - I'm finding reasons to not get up and walk around! But I love them.

I hope everyone has a wonderful New Year's Eve, and that you all stay safe. Happy New Year, and see you in 2009!

I've assembled my own army...

Wee One's class party is today, and also her Christmas party at the babysitter's. I, being the rampant overachiever that I am, decided to make these adorable reindeer cupcake pops that I saw on Bakerella. I decided to make enough for each kid and teacher to have 2, so that's a total of 54 reindeer. That means 54 sucker sticks. 54 sets of hand broken antlers. 54 faces painted on and noses glued. And 54 ribbons tied. I now have my very own reindeer army! They're not quite as good as Bakerella's, and I've had to reglue about 15 sets of antlers so far, but Wee One adores them, and I'm sure they'll be a huge hit at her party!


The army (minus about 12-15 that are sitting in the fridge.) And yes, that would be 1:25am. I'm apparently a glutton for punishment.



A close up

Cutest artwork ever!

I'm going to be a proud mommy for a minute and brag on Wee One. She absolutely LOVES to draw and color, and for the past two years has even asked Santa for art stuff for Christmas. Being a graphic designer and having a very artistic husband, this just thrills me to pieces. I finally got a chance to upload some of her recent artwork, so I had to share. Enjoy!

These were done the week they were talking about the circus. I love her baby lion in the second one.

Self portrait :)

These were people that were drawn using the outline of her feet. The one on the right is me - I'm happy and smiling. The one on the left is Daddy. He's just choking. (yes, said VERY matter-of-factly, and using those words.)

Her class

I drew the little igloo on the bottom, but she did the big one, the snow and all but the "g" in igloo.

HP Magic Giveaway

I'm a huge fan of Stumble, and came across this great blog - Moosh in Indy - through it a few days ago. While looking through some of the recent posts, I can across this one. In it, she's actually GIVING AWAY about $6,000 - yes, SIX THOUSAND DOLLARS - worth of HP products. It's called the HP Magic Giveaway, and is sponsored by HP and Windows. They have contacted 50 bloggers and given them all this product to review. They then have to give it away. All of it. It's 4 computers, an awesome all-in-one printer/scanner combo (I actually have the same one at work and LOVE it), copies of Kung Fu Panda and some other things as well. This prize package is flippin awesome! Her rules to win all this amazing stuff are 1) You can't keep all of it - it has to be shared, 2) you have to write a post on your own blog saying what you would do with it and who you'd share it with (hence the reason for this post ;) ) and 3) you have to mention the link to the post on her blog, and mention and link to the HP Magic Giveaway.

Now, everyone who knows me knows that I am a strictly Mac girl. I use them at work and love mine at home. Hubby is a pc guy, but has a new computer that he just built for gaming. So, neither of us need a new HP. That means that if I won I'd give all 4 away.

The 18 series Premium Notebook I would give to my sister. She's been wanting and needing a computer for awhile for school, and would LOVE to have a laptop. The TouchSmart IQ816 PC would go to my mom. She doesn't have a good home computer, and is limited on what she can view at her work. She deserves to have something nice, and even my Mac-loving self will admit that it's one sweet computer! The dv4 series Entertainment Notebook would go to my inlaws. They don't have a home computer at all, and I have a 17 yr old brother in law and a 13 year old sister in law that would LOVE to have one. It would give them a way to download music for their phones, and my SIL could finally get the iPod she wanted since she'd have a way to put music on it. And last but not least, the HP Mini 1000 would go to my other sister. She has a laptop now, but I know she'd love to have something smaller to carry with her while she's out and about.

I would want to keep the MediaSmart Connect because Hubby has a ton of movies on his computer. I hate having to watch them on there, and it would be so cool to get to watch them on our tv. I would also want to keep one of the dvds of Kung Fu Panda because I love and adore that movie, and Wee One keeps quoting it from the commercials.

The other two versions of the movie would be given away - The Blu-Ray to my mom to go with the new computer, and the other dvd to my inlaws for my brother-in-law and sister-in-law.

As for the all-in-one and the photo pack, that would go to my dad and step-mom. They love getting pictures of Wee One, but don't have a reliable printer to print them out. I have the same all-in-one at work, so know it would be great for them to have.

That's it. I would keep 2 things and give the rest away. It would be like I was Santa Claus, and it would be wonderful. I know that all of my family would be thrilled beyond belief, and I couldn't think of a better way to celebrate Christmas!

Christmas Wallpaper

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Christmas. It is absolutely, without a doubt my favorite time of year. We have the tree and decorations up at home, I have a mini tree in my office at work, and even put Christmas lights on the tree/bush thing in my office as well. I then realized that I couldn't go through all of this trouble without decorating my desktop as well, so off to Vladstudio (my absolute favorite place for wallpaper) I went. There are a ton of new Christmas ones up, and I currently have this on my computer (and soon on my cell phone as well!):


Enjoy looking, and may you have a wonderfully festive Christmas season!!

Here comes Santa Claus, here comes Santa Claus...

...right down Santa Claus lane!!

The Friday and Saturday after Thanksgiving, Wee One and I were in Memphis visiting my dad and stepmom. We decided to be brave and fight the crowds on Friday afternoon, and while we were at Wolfchase Galleria, decided to get Wee One's picture taken with Santa. She was SOOOO excited about getting to see him - matter of fact, in her letter to him she said she couldn't wait to see him, give him a hug, sit in his lap and get her picture taken. Quite a change from the last two years when she screamed if we got within 100 ft of the big guy!

She was wonderful (despite being super excited) while we waited in line, and was so cute as she got up there to get her picture taken. She told him what she wanted, got her candy cane, and then practically floated over to where we picked the pictures up. It was just the sweetest thing I've seen in awhile, and definitely helped make up for the craziness in that mall!

Now, if he'd just hurry up and come to our house so she could open her gifts, I think her life would be complete! ;)

Happy Thanksgiving!

To all of my American friends, I want to wish you a very happy Thanksgiving!

We spent last night with my inlaws, and this morning I asked Wee One what she was thankful for. Not surprisingly she said ice cream and candy. :) She then asked me what I was thankful for, so I whispered in her ear, "you." She just grinned really big, but I know she has no idea how thankful I really am.

Most of my family knows that I announced I was pregnant at Thanksgiving last year, but had a d&c before Christmas. We were supposed to be celebrating with a new little one this year. I was supposed to be buying "Baby's First Christmas" ornaments and shirts. And we were supposed to have the "problem" of fitting another stocking and stocking holder on the mantle and keeping a 4-5 month old out of the tree. Instead I spent this Thanksgiving doing stuff most of my family doesn't know about - taking blood tests to test hcg levels, taking multiple pregnancy tests and ultimately having another miscarriage - the 2nd to go along with 2 chemical pregnancies in exactly a year.

After the past year, I'm even more thankful for my daughter. I am in awe of what a miracle she is after all the problems recently, and I just hope I can show her how much I love her, and how truly thankful I am that God has blessed me with her.

I pray this Thanksgiving that you have a wonderful holiday, and that you get the opportunity to tell those that mean the most to you how special they are. I hope you have a very blessed holiday, and Happy Thanksgiving to all!

AWWWWW! I feel so special!

I got an award! It's from my cousin Kahla who I love and adore, and I'm pretty sure she gave it to me just because I'm her cousin. But no matter, I got an award!



Apparently I'm supposed to answer these questions with one word, then pass it on to 7 other bloggers. Unfortunately, I don't think I even follow that many, but I'll send it to all I can!

1. Where is your cell phone? purse
2. Where is your significant other? computer
3. Your hair color? brown
4. Your mother? Mississippi
5. Your father? Tennessee
6. Your favorite thing? Wee One
7. Your dream last night? strange
8. Your dream/goal? baby
9. The room you’re in? living
10. Your hobby? pictures
11. Your fear? loss
12. Where do you want to be in six years? stable
13. Where were you last night? home
14. What you’re not? fulfilled
15. One of your wish list items? mixer
16. Where you grew up? Mississippi
17. The last thing you did? ate
18. What are you wearing? pjs
19. Your T.V.? big
20. Your pet? sassy
21. Your computer? on
22. Your mood? disappointed
23. Missing someone? terribly
24. Your car? little
25. Something you’re not wearing? shoes
26. Favorite store? Target
27. Your Summer? hot
28. Love someone? always
29. Your favorite color? purple
30. When is the last time you laughed? tonight
31. Last time you cried? tonight

Now, I'm not sure I can come up with 7, but I'll give it a try!

Michelle at Mama in Pajamas - She is one of my best friends (even if she is sooooo old ;)) and she is truly a super woman!

Chandra at Me and Mine - One of my friends online. We met through an online playgroup and have daughters the same age

Amy at Twin Shutterbug Studios - Another online friend who takes the most amazing photographs ever. Seriously, I want to be her when I grow up!

Jessica at How About Orange - I know she probably won't see this, but she's a graphic designer who's blog I absolutely love and adore. Her stuff is so amazing.

Jennifer at Bake or Break - A fellow Mississippian who loves baking even more than I do. I've tried quite a few of the things she's posted, and they have all been divine!

Bakerella - I've just discovered this site, but it's baking! And cupcakes! And pink!!! I can't wait to start trying some of these things with Wee One. We make lots of cupcakes now, but this will give us lots of variety.

Thanks, Kahla!

Ya miss me??

I was reminded today that it's been a VERY long time since I've updated. I've been swamped at the new job, doing some freelance work, and had two big weddings. Not to mention Halloween, Wee One's birthday and first programs at school, and tons of other things. I'm very sorry, but I do have pictures to try and appease you! ;)

These are a few that my friend Anj and I took at my cousin's wedding. It was so beautiful and I loved getting to see family again. Wee One was a flower girl, and my cousin's little boy was the ring bearer. It was so cute seeing them all decked out and walking down that aisle! So, without further ado, the pictures!

For all the designers out there

And even if you're not, I think you'll find it funny. My friend Kris sent this to me, and it's so very very true.

Redesigning the stop sign

So, I met the Stepford Moms...

Today was the day that we got to meet Wee One's preschool teacher. Since I work at the church we came in the back way and we ended up arriving late. Thankfully I already knew most of what the Preschool director was saying (I've only seen her multiple times a day for the last month), so we weren't that out of the loop. Wee One went with us instead of going tomorrow, and turned out to be one of only about 5 kids there. She had fun, though, and LOVED meeting her teacher. I think I'm really going to like her teachers, but I'm not quite so sure about the moms of the other children.

First, let's remember what side of town I work in. I see people arrive to work in cute little Lexus sports cars, and beautiful Jags and some of the nicest SUVs I've ever seen. There are a lot of people that work there that don't, but the majority of the church members do.

Next, let's remember what kind of preschool this is. Most of the kids that go here will go on to go to one of the two really nice, really expensive private schools in town. The ones that don't go to one of those will either be homeschooled or go to one of the three really-expensive-but-not-extremely-outrageous private schools in the area. Most of these moms are stay-at-home-moms (sahm for short) and their life REVOLVES around what great and wonderful and awesome thing their child is currently doing. Now, I'm not bashing sahms at all! I would love to be one in the future. These are just the ones that don't live in the same place I do - you know, that place called R-E-A-L-I-T-Y.

Last, let's remember what kind of person I am. I have little-to-no money in the bank. My daughter is in preschool because I only have to pay half tuition. And thankfully the directors are nice enough to let me wait on some of the fees because I just. don't. have. them. I work a full time job, I do freelance work on the side, and while I want my daughter to be happy and have experiences, I'm not going to spend money I don't have in order to keep up appearances.

So, today I got my first taste of Life with the Stepford Moms. No one in particular said anything, but there was just this air about the room. Then one mom started in on how Little Tommy was about to start his 2nd year of tennis lessons - at 3.5. Then the teacher started telling us about "Happy Snacks" and how she needed someone to volunteer to be the Happy Snack mom and the Transportation Mom and the Class Party Mom. I might work at the church, but I really don't have time to add one more thing to my list. I'll be glad to help someone else out, but there's no way I'm volunteering myself to call all the Stepford Moms and make sure they get their baked goods to class on the right day. I'm just not doing it. But some of those moms? Estatic. Overjoyed. Almost fighting over the sign-up list. Then there was one mom that talked about how since this was her 3rd (or 4th or something) time to go through this (and she has a younger child that just started, too) she actually has a folder with items cut out already, and is already planning what her son will bring for show and tell. I sat there with my mouth wide open in shock. I mean, I love and adore my daughter, and I'm thrilled that she's getting to go to preschool. But honestly. Preschool at this church in Mississippi isn't the end all be all. It's just not! There really is more to life than having your child in preschool then doing art classes, ballet/tap classes and tennis lessons after school. Seriously. There is!

There were two other ladies in there that looked as shocked as me, and I have a feeling they're the ones I'm going to be hanging out with during field trips and class parties. One looked to be about my age (all the others were a good 8-10 years older than me), and the other lady was Indian and looked just as lost as I felt. This should turn out to be a very interesting year.

Preschool, here we come!

I brought home the cutest card for Wee One the other day. It was from the preschool at the church I'm now working at, and was her "invitation" to preschool. They have the classes divided into groups, with names like Brown Bears, Red Birds, and Yellow Ducks (do you see an Eric Carle theme here???) and Wee One is a Goldfish. Her invitation said:

Goldfish, Goldfish
What do you see?
I see Ms. Whittington
Looking for me!

The other side had a die cut of a goldfish with a water background, and Wee One ADORED it. She carried it around all day, and keeps asking if it's time for her to go to school yet. She's also trying to say her teacher's name, but it keeps coming out like Wimbyton. I'm pretty sure the teacher won't mind, though.

She also got her chicken pox vaccine the other day, and it was HI-LARIOUS. She knew that she had to get it to be able to go to school, and went in there fine. Then the nurse stuck her and she screamed OOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWW!!!!! I DON'T WANNA DO THIS ANYMORE!!!! Of course, by the time she finished screaming the needle was out and the band-aid on her arm, but it was SO funny at how dramatic she was being. But then they gave her a sucker and Cinderella sticker, so now all is right again in the world.

Tomorrow morning she gets to meet her teacher and see her classroom, and then school starts on Monday. She's excited now, and I just hope that it continues throughout the year!

Funniest. Blog. Ever.

(image from cakewrecks.blogspot.com)

My cousin sent me this link the other day, and I have to say that I think it's the funniest blog I've ever seen. Maybe it's because I grew up around a cake shop. Maybe it's because I love designing and decorating cakes with Wee One. Maybe it's because I have an "artistic eye." Maybe it's just because I have common sense. Whatever the reason, it's hilarious.

Cakewrecks.blogspot.com

Just a fun happy and Bunko gifts

On one of the boards I visit they are doing a "Cheer Up RFO" (RFO stands for Random Flat Object.) You get a 6x9 envelope and you aren't supposed to spend more than about $10 on random little happy things. I received mine from my "RFO Buddy" last week, and it was awesome! She lives in Alaska and sent me a really pretty bookmark, a cutter for scrapbooking, some bathsalts, a cute magnetic note pad with Eskimos on it, some Alaskan wildflowers (one pack is even pink - she said they are for Wee One) and sent her a pack of wildflower stickers. I have all the stuff for my person and plan on mailing it tomorrow. It includes a Hello Kitty coloring/activity pad, a box of crayons (crayola, of course!), a purple crown shaped calculator, some random little popper things, a card with stickers (Princesses and My Little Pony - from Wee One) and some pens and pencils. I hope she enjoys it as much as I'm enjoying mine!

I also had to buy gifts for Bunko since it's at my house this month. I can only take so many plates, candles, vases and decorative items. I always try to get stuff that's fun, but not decorative, and I think these gifts are my favorite so far! Being the true designer that I am, I bought office/school supplies. The gifts are full of metallic paper and binder clips, cute little staplers, funky pens and pencils, and lots of other awesome stuff. I'm excited about Bunko this month, and just know that it means I won't win any of the gifts since I like them so much!

On a side note, I've started decorating my office at work. I don't like the flourescent lights, so it's full of lamps and Christmas lights. I also have all kinds of pictures, and of course purple pens, funky erasers and bright colored push pins. I even found metallic colored staples for my purple stapler! Everyone at work keeps laughing at me, but it's definitely good laughter. I wonder what they're going to say when I walk in with a table for Cadence to keep in there...

Recent pictures

A few weeks ago my cousin asked me to take some pictures of her little girl. Since I was taking pictures, I had to take some of Wee One, too. I was really pleased with how they came out.

And just for good measure, these were taken a few weeks ago before heading to a family reunion. Yes, she does like to accessorize. Yes, she is dramatic. And yes, her favorite color is pink, why do you ask???

I'm back... I hope!

Wow. It's been a REALLY long time since I've posted anything here! I know there probably aren't many people that read this, but just in case, I hope I'm back for awhile.

My last post says that we had just found out I was pregnant. Shows how long it's been, because July 28 would have been my due date. Unfortunately right before Christmas I had to have a d&c. I've had another miscarriage and a chemical pregnancy since then, and it looks like we'll never have another one. However, my cousin Kahla just found out she's pregnant, so I'll just live vicariously through her! ;)

I also have a new job, and am loving every minute of it. I'm now the new Communications Associate at a local church, and tomorrow will finish my 3rd week there. They are keeping me hopping, but I have my own office, a brand new iMac, and the opportunity to have my own space decorated the way *I* want it. Needless to say, I'm THRILLED! Also, this church has a wonderful preschool, and Wee One will get to go there for half price. Her first day of school is August 25th.

Wee One has also gotten extremely good at coloring, which makes her artistic Momma and Daddy really proud. Her latest picture is in a Dora coloring book, and even though the colors are completely off, she's doing amazingly well at staying in the lines. Her daddy has started coloring with her every night, and it's so cute to see them on the floor together with crayons spread out around them.

I'm going to try to keep this up a little more, but I know I say that a lot. I'll be on the lookout for cool sites, and maybe I'll stick to it this time!