Auntie Megan

Auntie Megan sounds pretty darn good, doesn't it? 

I'm going to be an Aunt!!!

And Aubrey is going to have a sweet little cousin and I'm sure she will love him/her and never ever boss him/her around...ok so she is totally going to be the bossy big cuzzie with the little attitude she already has at a mere 15 months...but nonetheless she will love her little best friend.  I can only hope the two of them are close friends who always look out for each other and keep each other out of trouble! 

I could not be more excited for these two...they are going to be such awesome parents!

They will not be finding out the gender, a great move, but the suspense will kill me!  I can't wait to know whether I'll be spoiling a little girl with things like these

or a little boy with these

tools tools tools...so man-ly

 

 How cool is this...but this Little P boy won't be doing jumps or stunts to break anything!!

So happy for Dustin and Jess!  Congrats guys, we love you!



Sweet Summertime

Finally feeling a little more like summer around here!  FINALLY!  Even though it was a little overcast today it was warm enough for Aubrey and I to play outside!  This girl is totally an outdoorsy chick, loves every second we get to spend in the sunshine.  We played on the new fabulous play castle slide thing from Grammy and Pawpa, we golfed a bit, and even blew some bubbles.  It was amazing to be outside hearing the birds chirp while Aubrey cracked herself up by going down the slide all by herself. 

I took a whole roll of film, yes you heard me right, roll.  No it's not 1989 again but the nice camera I am currently working with is old school roll film.  Don't get me wrong I love it, it takes awesome pictures and will do until I can save up enough pennies to get a newer fancy model. 

Maybe something like this...

Drool...

We recently won a free photography session from a local photographer and had family pictures taken.  Of course Aubrey decided to be selfish with her smiles and was kind of a crabby wabby.  We ended up getting a nice decent 11 x 14 family picture and a nice 8 x 10 of Aubrey.  I plan on making a nice picture collage wall in the living room on the blank wall. 

Here's the wall in desperate need of some TLC.  I get up for one minute to take this picture and Kobe steals my warm cozy seat...jerk :)

I'm thinking all white frames to go with the white trim and lighten the dark wall up a bit.

I'm thinking something along these lines...

Love love love this picture wall from The House of Smith's...love her blog and design ideas! 

Love the symmetry feel of this one

liking this a little but not sure it's it...

Here are a few images I am considering...

Gorg

Pretty with Pearls

I love that face!

Hoping the bathroom redo and the picture wall will be done soon and pictures to come!

Going to enjoy a little grilling out with two of my favorites, Dexter and Aubrey :)

Whirlwind

I feel as if they last few months have just been a whirlwind.  So many things have happened since Aubrey's big birthday bash.  But it's been such a crazy month or so that I don't even think I can remember everything that's been happening.  I will try to piece the last month together here...

1. Our basement extra bedroom is pretty much done.  Carpet is installed and gorg, bed and bedding nicely put together, tv stand and tv in place, nightstands in place.  The only thing left to do is get some of the wall hangings up.  Since my parents are the only ones who have stayed in there so far I'm not in a rush to complete it.

(The lamp is not permanate, just what we already have)  I've been looking for a few little decorative pillows but unsuccessful so far.

The bedding I found, it matched what I wanted but was about 1/2 the price at TJ Maxx-love it!

This is one of the wall hangings. Isn't it beautiful.  It's an old window I got for $7 at the antique mall.  It's old, paint chipping, it's just perfect!  It actually matches the paint color perfectly, which was a happy accident!

2.  We went on our first family vacation to Florida and it was amazing.  We enjoyed the special time we got to spend with Aubrey in the warm weather.  We knew going on vacation with a 1 year old would be different but I don't think you really know until you do it!  It was busy and not as relaxing as we thought it might be...but it was still the best 1st family vacation EVER!

3.  We started to turn our basement storage room into a storage/office/workspace for me.  It's got carpet that was in the bedroom and a new feel.  My dad and Dexter drywalled one wall to make it less dungeon like, Thanks guys!  My parents are re-doing their kitchen and are giving us some pieces of the old counter top to put in the space so I can do some hard-core jewelry making and not worry about damaging any of our pieces.  Today Dexter got the computer hooked up and on the desk down there and things are coming together.  Pics will certainly come...

4.  I got to watch sweet little McCoy one Friday.  He is the sweetest, most handsome little boy ever!  He is a chunk, in a great baby with rolls that you can't get enough of kind of way!  Aubrey just loves to be around other kids and she certainly enjoyed "playing" with McCoy.  Although he is 8 months younger he weighs the same as Aubrey, which really isn't saying much as our Aubrey is a petite little peanut!  Aubrey tried to pick him up like he was just another one of her dollies.  I was able to catch a sweet moment between the two...maybe one day if they date or are still good friends it will be a cherished moment :)

5.  Mid March we were so excited to find out we were pregnant again!  We had decided it was time to give Aubrey a sibling and got pregnant very quickly.  Sadly at 8 weeks I had my 2nd miscarriage.  We were not expecting to have another miscarriage after the first.  With the first at 6 weeks and we figured it wasn't the right time and it happens to alot of people, nothing uncommon.  This time it was a little harder to deal with.  We had made it all the way to 8 weeks and I felt really pregnant and felt everything was normal.  We happily went to our first OB appointment to have an ultrasound.  My doctor was concerned because the baby didn't look like it was 8 wks, looked smaller or like there was something wrong.  She had me get some blood work over the next week and the levels showed that I would probably miscarry, which I did.  We have been sad but I trust in God and have been praying for peace and understanding.  I know God has a plan and will trust in Him.  I know this happened for a reason and although it is difficult to accept I know I have to.  We talked with the doctor about needing to get testing but with everything she's already gather she is very optimistic that we will be able to conceive normally.  So now we just pray and hope for the best!  Aubrey will be the best big sister when the time comes! 

Putting her baby to sleep before she could go to bed.  Best Big Sister material!

6.  We had a really nice Easter this year.  Although I felt sad about the miscarriage it was awesome being around family and seeing Aubrey having a blast!  She got to go to lunch with all her grandparents, Great-Grandma Bev and us.  The restaurant had a lady dressed as the Easter bunny and Aubrey loved looking around for her and waving constantly!  It was sweet!  After lunch we came back to our house for a fun little Easter Egg Hunt.  Aubrey didn't quite get that you have to put the eggs in your basket, she much preferred carrying them in her hands!  After the exciting egg hunt she got a few completely spoiled with presents!

Her excited face...

...because she got this bad boy from the coolest Easter Bunny EVER!

She was such an excited girl!

Ready to Ride!

7.  With the new addition of my little workspace, we are going to make the extra upstairs bedroom into Aubrey's big girl room!  We are going to first finish the basement bathroom re-do then get going.  I am so excited to make her room a little princess palace!  The ideas are already flowing!

8.  Somehow (definitely not my fault), Aubrey's social security card got lost misplaced.  After failing at sending in the correct paperwork (Dexter) we took a little trip to the Social Security Office (always an exciting thing) and got her a brand spankin' new one.  Now we can open up her first savings account...the little princess has a lot of mulah already.  Maybe she'll lend mommy some so I can get a new dress or a few new pairs of shoes, that sounds fair right??

9.  A good friend of mine from college lost her mom to cancer this month as well.  Her mom fought a hard long battle and they had a beautiful memorial service that really celebrated her life.  They took a horrible moment and made it into a tribute to this amazing woman.  She impacted so many lives and raised three beautiful, smart, and sensible children.  Hearing this news of another wonderful life lost to this horrible disease made me want to do even more to help find a cure.  I've been on a Relay For Life team the last two years and this year we are really stepping it up.  With lots of fundraising so far we have raised over $2200.  We have a goal of $4000.00 by race day in June.  We still have a few fundraising events to hopefully get us to our goal.  This year I am dedicating my walk to all those I've lost to cancer, especially Jane Jones.  Here's the link to my page if anyone wants to donate, it's a great cause and every single dollar counts!

http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR/RelayForLife/RFLFY11IL?px=14023138&pg=personal&fr_id=30554

10.  I've had a bunch of sales on my Etsy site, every sale keeps me motivated.  I've also had a little time to create some new items, now just need some more time to put it on the site!  I was contacted my Virtue house in Decatur to donate an item to be auctioned off to raise money for the house.  After getting the info on what they do I was more than happy to donate a necklace and I hope that it can raise a little money for this wonderful place.  Their mission is: Helping women achieve Victory by learning to live with Integrity, instilling Responsibility, Truthfulness, and Unity, with a passion for Excellence in every aspect of life.  Here's a little about them: VIRTUE House wants to provide shelter for women, 18 to 25 years old, who are continuing in their recovery from a life-controlling issue such as drug or alcohol addiction, an abusive relationship, or parole.  We have found that many people who recover from these situations often find themselves with no place to go in order to get started on the right track.  Unfortunately, many young women return to familiar surroundings and find themselves re-entering the cycle of addiction and abuse, rather than overcoming because they have no skills and no safe place to learn independence.  VIRTUE House wants to not only house these women, but also to teach them life skills such as cooking, cleaning, managing their finances, getting out of debt and seeking employment or further education.  Our hope is that by the time a young lady has completed her stay at VIRTUE House, she will have learned to care for herself, so that she will not have to return to a life of hopelessness and dependency on others.

Like I said this is just some of what I can remember, I know there's been more!

One Year Old...Already???

Wait, when did this happen?  When did my sweet little peanut baby girl turn 1???  I cannot believe that Aubrey turned 1 year old today (just in case you didn't get that I can't believe it from the first 2 sentences!). 

Dexter and I

Aubrey and I :)

1 year ago today I was being induced.  These pictures where at 1 am before we left for the hospital. We were beyond excited to know we would be meeting our daughter soon!  After 2 weeks of bed rest and waiting to know if we'd be going in for an induction it was nice to have some certainty!  Dexter and I patiently waited a whopping 20 hours for our sweet girl to arrive. 

I think this was pretty early in the morning still.  I look too comfortable!

Around 11pm I told my doctor that we should just wait till the next day because obviously she did not want to be born on the 2nd.  He laughed in my face and said, we are having a baby TONIGHT!  About 11 minutes later she was out.  And man was she PERFECT!

Since then she has proven to be a genius smart, loving, sweet, strong, independent, hilarious little peanut.  I could go on and on and one but I'll stop being that mom :)  

But really, could she be any cuter?!?  I think not! :)

Today I took the day off to spend the day with Aubrey.   We got to go to lunch with dada where he fine dined us with grilled cheese, apple sauce, and apple juice!  Mmmm Mmmm Good!  He sure knows the way to our hearts! 

After lunch I took peanut to the Children's Museum where we had lots of fun. 

Aubrey is so interested in other kids, it was fun to watch her try to interact with them...she tried to give each of them a hug and kiss which wasn't flying with the bigger kids!  I can't wait for her to go to daycare once a week to get that socialization and play time in. 

This girl sure loves her music!

She kept mooing at them!

Aubrey opened her pressies from mommy and daddy and loved them all!  We even had some ice cream for desert! 

So happy 1st birthday to the love of my life, Aubrey! 

I'm so excited!

Today I feel very excited.  Why do I feel so excited?

1.  I get to go to lunch with my amazing hub and beautiful babycakes today!  Aren't they the cutest?!?!
2.  I have gotten a few things ready for Aubrey's 1st bday party, which makes me more excited and less stressed out-always a good thing!  I also got Aubrey's outfits ready for her 1st birthday photo shoot this Sunday-cannot wait!
3.  My MIL gave me her older camera and I can't explain how incredibly happy and excited I am to take better pictures, mainly of the peanut.
4.  I've had a little splurge of ETSY sales...I feel like I'm making at least a little progress and shouldn't give up, at least not yet.
5.  My work changed my schedule around and instead of having every other Tuesday off I get every other Thursday off along with my every Friday's off so I have a weekend before my weekend every other week and it is FAN-FREAKING -TASTIC!

Off to get ready for that hot lunch date :)

Where does the time go?

I cannot believe how fast time goes anymore.  I feel like I just blinked and my little peanut is a big one year old...SLOW DOWN!  We have been pretty busy around here lately.  Planning the big 1 year party for little miss Aubrey along with trying to get the basement bedroom finished. 

Everything for Aubrey's Party is starting to come together nicely, I'm getting so excited for the party but kind of sad that she'll be 1.  Since she is such a genius a tad bit advanced, I feel like she's been a toddler for months.  She decided she wanted to be a big girl a little sooner than some, walking at a mere 8 months old!  It still cracks us up to see a petite little baby RUNNING all over the house!  She is a fiesty little independent thing with a bigger than life personality and we could not be more in love with her!

I took her birthday off, silly I know, but I couldn't stand the thought of not being with her on the anniversary of the day she changed our lives!  I have a few fun things I want to do with her and so looking forward to it! 

She's the happiest little girl in the world!

She's got some of the craziest hair in the world!



Waiting for dada to get home...and yes she is wearing hears with stripes...Jess don't be mad at mommy's horrible fashion choice!  Notice Bun Bun being held by the ear, this is a pretty typical day!

The basement bedroom transformation should be done by Aubrey's birthday, or at least that's what Dexter keeps telling me...I am trying to go for a relaxing beach-like retreat...

We've successfully moved a wall, drywalled, mudded, taped, primed, and the walls got a coat of beautiful blue (Graceful-couldn't find a pic online of it but it's a soft blue that I hope dries a little darker) paint last night, some of the ceiling and trim did as well because I'm a messy painter.  Dexter wasn't all that happy though!  

We've got carpet ready to be installed. 

The bed is ready to be set up once the bed gets in the room.  I've looked high and low for bedding that will work-I somehow thought buying the paint before the bedding was a good idea?  I'll blame this one on "Mommy Brain"-it is a real thing just so ya know!

I've found a few that I like that would work with what I have...

I was amazed that Dex liked them...but his opinion doesn't really matter for this room, it's ALL MINE!

I've got a few inspiration photos that I want to incorporate and have found a few items to tie the room together but cannot seem to copy/paste them...boo.

Next project Basement Bathroom re-do!  The list of to-do's is growing my the day...Dexter better get ready!

 

Busiest Beaver Award

Let me first start by explaining this cleaver little title...

Dexter and I have watched the Office since college and still find it as funny as we did then.  We own the seasons and watch them often.  One of our favorite things about The Office is the made up award ceremony they have yearly where a "Dundy" is given away for things like, "whitest sneakers in the office" or "Hottest in the office".  This Christmas Dexter thought he was super funny and bought me a "Dundy" award.  The Dundy comes with a few plates that are interchangeable. One of the plates is suppose to say "Busiest Beaver Award" but instead was misprinted and instead stated, "Bushiest Beaver Award".  I am now proudly displaying my "Dundy" at my work office and the girls I work with think it's the funniest thing!  Anyway I think I need to award myself "Busiest Beaver Award" because I've been working hard!

I've been working hard to add new items to my Etsy site (http://www.etsy.com/shop/LuckyCloverCreations?ga_search_query=lucky+clover&ga_search_type=seller_usernames).  I love the crafting and creating part but hate how long it takes me to edit my pictures and put the items on the site.  I have made a few new sales and am hopeful that I will start selling more soon.  Usually I would have given up on the site after a few weeks of little sales but I am trying to be positive and optimistic that things will take time to develop.  It's a marathon not a sprint right??  Here are a few of my new items...

Check out my site for more!

I'd love to blog about all our recent doings but currently fell a bit overwhelmed so here are a few pics of the last few months!

Go Illini!  Aubrey at her first Illinois Basketball game in Chicago!

My little dancing cheerleader having a BLAST!

Loving her Auntie and Uncle!

Doesn't she look more like a big girl checking out the hotel room rather than my little bitty baby?  Ahhhh time is going too quickly!

Aubrey being hilarious in the shopping cart thing, she was dancing and waving the whole time...Dexter and I cracked up at her the entire time we were in Water Tower!

Waving to her "friends" in the dressing room three way mirror.  She is the best!

Being beautiful.

Having fun with family!

Aubrey got to have a play date with her little friend Mia. 

Mia and Aubrey have lots in common: Dads are longtime friends, exactly 1 month apart, both same middle name, their parents got engaged the same day, got married 2 weeks apart, and are both little cuties!

Fun time riding in Mia's new Christmas present.

Enjoying "Grandma Kathy" after trying to pluck each others Binks!

...on to the next of many projects, starting to finish our basement.  Walls are being moved, carpet will be changed, paint colors are picked out.  We have a little storage room and there is a little corner that will be finished for me, I want a little spot for all my crafting things.  The extra bedroom that I am currently using will someday (hopefully sooner than later) become Aubrey's Big Girl room and I will have no where to put my stuff.  Hopefully in the next month or so we can have the basement rooms we are renovating done.  Thank goodness I have a great family who knows how to build!  Wish us luck!

-Megan