Friday, March 11, 2011

Ten Things to Clue You in That You Are A Parent

I was thinking about some funny things that have become normal for me, but before I had Audra was not anything imaginable in my day to day life. I thought it would be fun to write ten things that I think most parentals can relate too. So without further ado, My list of ten things "You Know You are A Parent When".


You know you are a parent when...

... The songs usually stuck in your head are commonly sung by a big purple dinosaur or have animal sounds like "moo" and "baa" as the majority of the lyrics.

... "Afternoon Delight" is when you get to put the baby down for a nap (which means you get to take a nap too).

... You find a stuffed animal in your bed.

... You throw the stuffed animal out of your bed, and your husband asks, "What was that?" and you answer with the stuffed animals name (and he knows exactly what you are talking about).

... You congratulate burps and farts with smiles and good jobs (well at least when they are babies).

... You get super excited and twitter, facebook, and call family to let everyone know that the poo poo in the "big potty" mission was indeed a success.

... The flowers you love the most are actually weeds picked from your back yard and given to you with excited smiles and hugs.

... "Nothing" is said when you walk into a room before you ask a question, and you immediately know to look for disaster.

... Independence/"Do it yourself" is very rewarding, but always ten times more mess for you to clean up after, then if you were to help out.

... You never knew you could love someone with so much self-less-ness and expect nothing in return.

I hope everyone has a great day! I leave you with my inspiration for this post!

Friday, March 4, 2011

One of My Dreams Come True!

This year I promised myself that I would make some time for things that I enjoy. There is plenty of things I enjoy: scrap booking, working out, hanging with family, crafting, decorating, window shopping (one day when Ryan graduates I will actual shop), having fun with friends... I mean the list could go on and on. There is one particular self indulgence that I particular love that I did not make enough time for last year and that is READING! I love, love, love reading.

I was inspired a few months ago watching "The Jane Austen Book Club" to start a book club. I loved the idea of getting a group of friends together to read and discuss a book. So I stopped just thinking about it and talked to some friends that I knew liked reading and put the idea into action. We had our first meeting and it was a BLAST! We each brought our favorite book and talked about why we loved it. We had some games to learn about each of our reading preferences and styles and came up with a fun name. Let me tell you we have a great diverse group. It will make for great discussions.

I got to pick our first book and choose "Paranormalcy" by Kiersten White. It is a FANTASTIC read. I can't wait for the meeting and be able to share pictures. I am so excited about getting to experience the book club this year. A dream come true!


I recommend this book. Kiersten White is hilarious and created such a fun character. Also, you should check out her blog here.

Thursday, March 3, 2011

My Sweetheart!

This year was one of my favorite Valentine's Day.  My Valentine was not just Ryan, but my very own little sweetheart, Audra Leigh. I was told by her that this was the best day- 5 times, I was the best mom ever -3 times, and I love you- over 10 times. Now if that doesn't make a great day, I really don't know what would. Let's just say I was on cloud nine all day.

I have always LOVED Valentine's Day. I mean what is not to love. There is hearts, pink, dark chocolate, pink, cards, pink, teddy bears, pink, cupcakes, and Oh yeah, did I mention PINK. I loved the anticipation of every Valentine's Day. I always wondered what cartoon cards and special presents I would get the next morning. I always made cards for my friends and gave something EXTRA special to them. It is almost every romantic person's "Christmas" holiday. Anyways, that is how I always saw it.

I wanted to make this Valentine's Day very special for Audra this year. We packed a tons of activities into one day, and from all the hugs, kisses, and "I love yous" I am pretty sure Audra thought it was special.

I have a few pictures from our day and I hope your Valentine's Day was magical and special too.

(side note: Audra took the pictures of me. She is my photographer in bloom!)

Painting beans for our Valentine's Day project



The finished heart tree we made


Picnic lunch




This face is the paramount of Sweetest Valentine in the WORLD!

My ham bone!
Things we did not pictured included: dancing like fools, baking and decorating cupcakes, playing Valentine themed games, and of course reading Valentine books. :)