Football Frenzy!

ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL?!?! (It's already week 3! WHAT?!)

That is one of my favorite things around this time of the year. Along with: tobacco barns, candles, pumpkin patches, leaves changing colors, and boot weather. I grew up in a big football family. We watched NFL games every Sunday, ate yummy unhealthy food, and kept track of our fantasy football scores. I want to pass on all those good memories to my children too. I don't do fantasy football anymore but I still love going to games or enjoying them at home while cooking food.

We have to deck ourselves out in football gear. We are in Tennessee so we go for our local Tennessee Titans. My parents are from Iowa, but they never kept up with college ball as much.

Football Baby Legs ~ White Jacket ~ Pom-Pom Beanie ~ Converse ~ Jersey ~

 NFL Logo Shirt ~ Titans Thermal 

Last week my little one and I missed lounging on the couch for that long awaited noon game. That didn't stop us from dressing up for game day and rooting on our team. After we went outside to look at the fish in the pond (her fish face is too funny), running out some energy, and trying not to get licked to death by our dog then we finally got to nap time. This girl still loves her naps…thank goodness. 

Football Sunday isn't complete without some great food. One of my go-to cooks is the awesome Ree Drummond- The Pioneer Woman. I watch her show all the time, then I have to eat immediately after it ends. This is one of her recipes that I love and you can never go wrong with…potato skins! I mean look at those. Don't they make your mouth water? 

Well that's it today. I hear my little love waking up from her nap and I have to make a huge pot of white chili tonight for the whole family. Have a great week y'all! 

Go Titans! ;)

Florida on My Mind

I love Florida. It's an escape from humid, stuffy, allergy filled Tennessee. I love Tennessee don't get me wrong, but sometimes a girl needs some sand and ocean. It was our first family vacation and I was thrilled that it turned out so well. Koby hasn't been out of middle Tennessee in 2 years so he was overjoyed to get time away. We went to Daytona Beach Shores and thanks to some family friends got to stay in a condo right on the beach. Koby's mom and granny also made the trip because they were in need of some good ole family vacation.

I was so safe not to get burn on vacation, but it never fails that I burn the last day and have to deal with a red scorching hot burn the whole way home.

This trip definitely seemed like a turning point for Raleigh. She has always been a good talker but in Florida she seemed to pick up every word. I mean what 21 month old knows the word chocolate or pelican. That by far was her favorite word while we were there. She would get excited seeing one go by and say "pelkin". However, she HATED the sand. I tried to set her down in it and her legs came up. Man that kid has some crazy strength in her legs to hold them up like she did…like a baby spiderman.

We soaked up the sun, ate lots of seafood, splashed in the water (while avoiding stingrays), and awed at the sunsets. It was a perfect vacation with some people that I love.

Of course she liked seafood too.

I love that her hair can go into a pony now. It's so cute. The wind had its fun with it though.

Easter 2014

This week was CRAZY! I think that my Nikes have a hole in the bottom from all the running around I was doing. I am glad it's over and I'm looking forward to a few lazy days with my little girl.

We hosted my family and Koby's family for Easter so our little home was packed with people and lots of delicious food. Raleigh was all over the place but I know her favorite place was in the kitchen with the food. She did great with so many people around but heck if you have food then you're her new best friend. I suspect a few people kept food on their plates constantly just so they could here her say "Peas".

Watching her go after the eggs was just too funny. She was so good at it too, especially being her first time doing an egg hunt. Koby & I pointed the the ones that were hers and she ran over to get them. We had to give each kid a specific color of egg or my niece probably would've gotten them all.

I also got this beauty done on Saturday night. It was my first big chalkboard. I found it much easier than the little one on my fridge. We got our Easter family picture in front of it, but I am still waiting on that picture since it wasn't on my camera. What do yal think?

Thanksgiving, Family, and a Sneak Peek

Hey yal! I am so sorry that I have been gone since before Thanksgiving. The trip to Iowa went great; Raleigh had a blast, but wore me out since I didn't have daddy there to help. I had lots of little cousins to pick up the slack though, because as soon as we got there the little girls were wanting to play with her constantly. It has been 4 years since I have been up to Iowa. The last time we went was when Koby & I announced our engagement to some family members. It was nice to see my distant family, but also very nice to see my mom who lives in Cali so I rarely see her. Mom hugs make everything better...nothing like them. Here are a few pictures from our trip. Also more on Instagram & Facebook: 

 Nosey rosey. She likes playing with the people behind us.

 She went straight for the John Deere section in the gift shop.

We also had a few deaths in our family this week. Three days after getting back we lost my husband's grandfather, he spent his last moments with us, enjoying a late second Thanksgiving dinner that they planned for me and Raleigh since we missed the first one. It has been a rough few days filled with tears, laughs, and family, but that's what we need right now. This song describes him perfectly and made all of us bawl even harder at the service. Please keep our family in your prayers.

We also lost my great grandma as well, she lived out in Colorado with my father's family. She was a heck of a scrabble player and could out fish anyone. She was 98 and lived a long full life. Sending my love to my family in Colorado and Iowa, sorry I couldn't make it back.

Post coming today or tomorrow of my new Pottery Barn inspired Mason jar pendant! I am in love with it! My hubby and I worked on it last night to keep us busy. He finished it about 2am and woke me up to see because he was so excited. I had work today so I crawled into my warm bed early. 

Sneak Peek

Check Instagram & Facebook for 2 other sneak peek pictures.

Packing for Mommy & Toddler

Finally, the day is here! I leave for Iowa soon and I can't contain my excitement. I won't be pulling a Tom Cruise and be jumping on the couch or anything but I'm close ;). This will be Raleigh's first flight and first time meeting my family. I have heard some horrible baby plane stories and some awesome ones so we are hoping to come back with a thumbs up. It's just going to be me and her flying up and then driving back with my sister. So we are going to experience to types of travel and learn which is better for us.

My not so favorite part about trips is the packing. I think there are two kinds of people: the ones who love organizing, cleaning, and packing & the ones who do it because we have to, not because we enjoy it. Guess which one I am…here's a hint…my best friend helped me organize my new kitchen cabinets & my daughters dresser drawers…repeatedly. Whenever I pack for trips I always felt like I did good organizing my bag until I look at it 2 days into the trip and there's a massive pile of unfolded clothes that could hide a small child. This time I am determined to go all OCD on my suitcase so I won't be swamped with clothes. I have to pack for my mini and me though so now I will have double the amount to sift through. It has been a long time since I have flown so I had to catch up on the security guidelines, fluid restrictions, and now baby info.

My best friend Ashley is one of those organizing, cleaning, and packing people so she offered to help me pack. So here's how we packed for me and Raleigh to go on a 5 day trip.

First, make your list of needs for you:

• Clothes
• Dresses
• Jeans/Pants
• Tank Tops
• Tops/Sweater
• Undergarments/Socks
• Coat/Jacket/Hoodie
• Hat/Gloves/Scarf
• Swimsuit
• PJs
• Boots/Sneakers/etc...
• Toiletries
• Toothbrush
• Toothpaste
• Deodorant
• Shaver
• Shampoo
• Conditioner
• Body wash/Soap
• Perfume
• Makeup
• Hairbrush/Hair Accessories
• Straightener/Curler
• Miscellaneous
• Camera/Charger/Memory Card
• Phone/Charger
• Lip Balm
• Sunglasses
• Book
• Wallet
• Credit/Debit Cards
• ID
• Paperwork if needed to travel

For toddler checked bag:

• Clothes
• Dress
• Jeans/Pants
• Tops/Onesie
• Jacket
• Socks
• Shoes
• Swimsuit/Swimmer diapers
• Toiletries
• Shampoo
• Body Wash/Soap
• Comb
• Hair Accessories

For Carry-on Diaper Bag:

• Diapers
• Wipes
• Kid Books
• Toys (no noisy toys please)
• Snacks (LOTS of snacks!)
• Tylenol
• Sippy Cup (no liquid in it until on flight!)
• Paci

Snacks: Animal crackers, puffs, welchs fruit gummies, Graham Os cereal, Raisins,

more Cereal, mini crackers

I also put my phone charger, camera, and wallet in the diaper bag so if my bag gets lost of anything then I will have the necessities. 

I got some awesome advice to put Raleigh's outfits into separate Ziploc bags and label for each day. That way I will know what matches and where they are instead of throwing everything out of my bag while trying to find a pair of pants. I also put all her bows, socks, and any accessories in the bags too. Since they are all Ziploc bags then they slid in perfectly next to each other in the side pocket of the duffel which left the big section for me. I want to take as little luggage with me as possible so, aside from her diaper backpack, I am not bringing a carry on bag to go in the upper compartment.

I am so nervous about the flight and then the long wait period after we get there. My mother doesn't arrive until 5 hours after we get there. We also have to wait for her so we can all ride together in the rental car. I have devised a plan to find an empty terminal and let her have free reign and run off some energy then grab some late lunch.

We are off at 8:30 this morning. Wish us luck. Keep updated on our on Instagram & Facebook.

Pumpkins are Everywhere!

It's time for Halloween! Halloween is only a few days away, can you believe it?! I love Halloween time because there are pumpkins everywhere, candy up every aisle, adorable costumes, and family events around evey corner. I have to say buying pumpkins is probably my favorite out of them all. they are great for decorating & adding that POP of color. I do love the carving tradition though and I was excited because Raleigh can experience that this year. So after a couple trips to the pumpkin patch & the local store for pumpkins we finally had enough pumpkins to carve out some orange beauties and decorate my porch. 

This was our first trip to the patch.

We were in the pumpkin patch & heard rain coming so we all bolted under some trees. It lasted only a little more than 5 minutes but there we're lots of kids crying so it felt like longer.

She was also wearing her cute Halloween outfit, but she decided to pee through it in line waiting for the hayride. That trip wouldn't have happened if her uncle Tanner wasn't sweet enough to come with us since Koby had to go to work early.

We did get to go back with Koby the next Sunday for a birthday party. I had never heard of a birthday party at a pumpkin patch, but hey kill 2 birds with 1 stone. It unfortunately had to be the busiest day they had had all year...Joy. Extra long line and more screaming kids because they can't have candy...yay *eye roll*.

The sun was shining right in my eyes and I forgot to bring sunglasses. I have the memory of a goldfish, no joke.

We went to get some bigger pumpkins for carving later. I was very excited to see how Raleigh would react to pumpkin guts. She loved holding the pumpkins but that's not the nasty part. She wasn't sure at first when we started carving then found out how squishy it felt between her fingers and the awesome noise it made when you dropped them on the floor. Aunt Ashley's kitchen was a wreck.

 That's the one she chose for us to carve. 

I couldn't get her to smile for anything. I would've done a handstand if I thought it would've helped.

Hating it. Not a scream of joy.

Loving it.

That is my post all about our pumpkin experience this year. A 1 year old definitely makes it more entertaining than last year. I bet next year will be even better. Raleigh makes our lives more fun and exciting everyday.

Uh...I swear my hubby has more than 1 shirt in his closet.

These are all IPhone pictures since I'm still looking for my camera charger. Sorry for the quality. More to come including our volunteering at Ghouls at Grassmere (zoo). Also sorry for being MIA recently. Our whole family got the stomach bug then we had a lot going on in a short time. I'm glad I finally got a chance to blog. Even if it's just to tell you that I am alive.

Our Third Anniversary!

 We finally got to celebrate our 3 year wedding anniversary on Saturday night. It was actually on October 2nd, but it was on a Thursday so it wasn't ideal for going out to eat since Koby goes to work at 9:30 at night. We went out to dinner while Raleigh got playtime with her godparents.

It doesn't seem like we've been together for 4 1/2 years. We have known each other for almost 5 years now, but I made him chase me for a little while ;) We've gone through living in an apartment with my crazy smoker of a roommate, to living in a barn (yes, an actual barn), and now we are in a house. Definitely the happiest place we have been so far. I also can't believe the changes in our lifestyle too. When we first met I was in college & he was staying with our mutual friend in his dorm. He lived the same party lifestyle as a college student, but didn't have to worry about going to class the next morning wearing sunglasses because you had too many beers the night before.

Action shot! Wow we look young. Crazy how 4 years makes a difference.

After only 7 months of dating, he proposed to me. I loved these engagement pictures! These are a few of the pictures that I just found. My computer is overrun with chunky faced baby photos so these got lost in the overload.

11 months later we were married! It all seems like a lifetime ago. I remember it like it was yesterday, but so much has happened since that beautiful October morning.

Yep I rocked my aviators on my wedding day. I think they match my dress perfectly ;)

 One of my favorite pictures even though we have no heads! Ahhh!

Just over a year later our world flipped again when we found out we were going to be parents. Seeing him as a daddy makes me fall even more in love with him everyday. I love when they have tickle fights, make funny noises, sing, and just be goofy. It warms my heart to see him in this light compared to the man he was 5 years ago. I like this guy more ;)