Midweek Randoms

This isn't really the typical midweek recap since I'm a wee bit off schedule but it is a random assortment of pictures over the past couple weeks.

This was New Years Eve. Reid was enjoying playing while I was picking out pictures to order and was being just too dang cute for his own good. We were having fun. 

Reid is a happy, smiley baby. That's all there is to it. BUT - he is also very curious and can get pretty zoned in and serious at times. I love when I capture that about him.

Waiting patiently for a snack. The kid loves to eat.

Annnd, he loves his milk. This is how we ended our wild New Years Eve. =) ha!

I bought this jar tumbler from The Mason Bar Company on Etsy. I kinda love it and will likely buy another. I also got Kayla one for Christmas. Hers has a mint green lid and a clear straw. I like them because they hold 24 ounces but are tall and skinny so they fit in a car cup holder. I was worried a bit about it sweating, but it really hasn't been a problem at all.

More Reid faces. This was this weekend. I got to spend some quality time with the little man.

He's been doing this loud, annoying awesome screech sound. He's usually not mad when he does it but still, it can give you a headache in no time flat.

I mentioned in my New Years post that I wanted to get more photos on display in our home. This was my first success. One of my favorite maternity pictures by Elephant Juice Photography. I already had the print from the "1" decoration at Reid's party and I got this little frame at IKEA a couple weeks ago. Side note: that adorable fox was handmade by our good friend Kelly. Is it not adorable? She is super talented. Seriously.

Since then, I've added a photo from our newborn session by Jennifer Miller Photography. Dac thinks the frame is too girly, and I don't particularly like the placement so it will likely move, but still... progress!

It won't just be small photos we're adding... we put three large frames above the couch in our front room that we never use. ha! One big goal for the year is to have that room be something nice to walk into when we get home AND be a space we use regularly (as something other than a place to snap photos). New furniture (it's just a hodge podge at the moment) and some other projects (new paint job, fireplace updates, refinish the floors - hopefully) are on the to-do list for it.

=)

Reid is soemthin' else. Half the time he won't play with his toys... he, instead, works on getting into/climbing on/dragging out things he's not supposed to. The other night though, he put this little robotic dog in Peety's crate. The kid's no dumby. =) Sometimes I find myself worrying about what type of child he will be. I worry he will be especially naughty and will be that kid at daycare, that kid the other parents don't want their kids around, or that kid that gets kicked out of Sunday School every week. ;) I have to force myself to remember that he is just one and that he is who he is and always will be. That person might look a little different at different times but right now, he's a very curious, busy, active, explorer-adventurer. He's learning boundaries. He's also very happy and sensitive. I think we can work with it. People forget to tell you how much worry and guilt go into being a parent. I'm a natural worrier anyway but the worry has multiplied exponentially. The guilt? I was not expecting that. Whew. I'm worn out just thinking about it. =)

We spent a good deal of the weekend organizing the kitchen. I had hoped to get more than that done, but it just didn't happen. We re-arranged some of the cabinets and cleared out a bunch of junk that was sitting in our front room. We also grocery shopped to be well-stocked for eating healthier. Then it snowed and got REAL cold and we didn't leave the house Sunday. =) I think you're pretty well caught up now. Have a great rest of the week!

Midweek Randoms

HEY! 

• It's raining and THUNDERING!

• We had a very busy weekend. I had my awesome shower, went to lunch with my college friends/roommates, we did a TON of housework, and got lots of baby stuff done.

• I put this bad boy together while Dac was working on other things. 

• I washed all the baby clothes, blankets, bibs, socks, burp cloths, bowls, spoons, etc... and put everything away. This shoe rack comes in handy on the closet door. (Please excuse the bad photo quality. I will share REAL pictures of the nursery once it's "finished".

• I made a quick trip to Target with my mom Sunday to grab some baskets and storage tubs. These will probably move around and all but here's the closet shelves loaded with goodies! =)

• I bought a few boxes of diapers earlier on - just picked up those that were on big time sale but I hadn't bought any in a few months. I was starting to regret that but the shower featured a diaper cake competition and boy howdy we came home with some diapers now! ha! I unrolled each diaper cake diaper over two days while watching 24! You can see some of them here... and there's several more stacked up behind the stack on the right. We also got diapers as regular gifts too and while I know we'll need more - we have a really great start - and in a variety of sizes too. =) 

• Here's a picture of the crib all set up. 

• On Saturday, Terese and my mom and dad all came over to get a better look at the goods then that evening we took pictures of my Aunt Debbie's family.

• Sunday is when we did the majority of the house projects. We also went out to Dac's parents house for a little pizza party so that was fun. 

• I painted my toes AND finger nails.

• I've been busy at work.

• I had a pretty rough night last night. I wasn't feeling good AT ALL. It was awful. =(

• I'd like to stay home from work today but have three meetings. 

• I can't believe I forgot this but Criminal Minds starts tonight. AAAHHHH.

• A week and a half later our toilet is fixed. Can I get an AMEN?!

• I want to eat pumpkin everything right now. Yay Fall! =)

Midweek Randoms

• So, let's start with the weekend. Friday, I did laundry and started prepping the laundry room closet for a mini makeover. I also made a breakfast casserole that was kind of a flop. I ALSO overdid it and felt awful by the end of the night. When will I learn?

• Here's what the laundry room looked like Saturday morning. It was a mustardy orange color, and though you can't see them, the washer and dryer (washer especially) were awfully filthy. 

• After we got the room emptied out, I ran to Wal-Mart for groceries and made chocolate chip muffins to eat with my chocolate milk I just had to have.

• Then I got to work cleaning and taping the laundry room while Dac mowed. Then I started painting and Dac finished it up later. He was kind enough to let me me take a little siesta while he did that.

• I made baked chili dogs that night. I was kind of impressed with them, really. 

• Sunday, Dac and I ran to Lowe's to get wood for baseboards in the laundry room. While Dac worked on all that, I cleaned the heck out of our washing machine. Oh. My. A while back the thing broke. In the process, soap and fabric softener got WAY built up in there and it was indescribably disgusting. Oy. It is SO much better now.

• Now, even though the laundry room isn't totally complete... it looks better, matches the family room, is mucho cleaner, and is functional again! =)

• It was another September 11 anniversary yesterday. I can't believe it's been that long. I remember it so well it could have been yesterday. Really, how could we forget? Been thinking about all those affected... those who were there that day, those who lost loved ones, those who served, and those who continue to serve today.

• Mary got my crib skirt done! It looks awesome!! She did such a good job - as I knew she would - and it makes me that much more excited to get things moving in the nursery. Eeek! Here's just a quick mini-peek at it. =) I just loosely tied it on... it's all adjustable and once it's actually in the nursery it'll sweep the floor perfectly! Oh - and it'll look much better when there's a mattress in there. ha! Coming soon!

• I like baths. They are getting harder to take but I like them and I'm thankful for the tub and the opportuni

• I'm kind of over all the political slander and ridiculousness. I know it's part of it but it's getting old already. I mean really, what good really comes from that?

• Dac and I have a wedding anniversary this weekend... 6 years... holla! =) We share the date (16th) with my Aunt Deb and Uncle Kevin. I think we've officially been together for as long as we weren't before we started dating. For crying out loud.

• Sometimes I watch the morning news and just can't help but giggle. It's just kinda funny. I like it. =) One thing (one of the many) I'm looking forward to about maternity leave is being home for Good Morning America. =) News. Junkie. 

• Yesterday Dac said "oh no, I forgot, we need to take your picture today", to which I replied "it's only Tuesday!!" (We take the picture each Friday). He said "at this point in your pregnancy I feel like we should probably take one every day!". Ha. Real funny Dac. Everybody's a comedian these days! =)

• I've got this allergy sinus junk going on again. Boo. Makes me feel like doing a whole lotta nothing. I thought after having it for 17 weeks in a row maybe I'd be good for a while... ha! =) Nope. Seasonal allergies apparently don't want to follow my schedule. Dac is struggling with them too. Poor guy - he's really been working so hard and I hate that on top of not getting a break he's dealing with that too.

• Let's see, what else. Oh - I was 9-3 on my football picks the first week. Week two? 6-6. Oops. =( I wasn't the only one... I tied with the sports editor... we were both glad we weren't alone. Better luck next time I guess.  

Midweek Randoms

• Wednesday, I cleaned house for Wii Night.  This is just one portion of my leg/foot after said cleaning. 

• Gross! I know. You're welcome. Hope you weren't eating breakfast. It's ok though I guess because along with the growing feet and calves - there's also a growing belly - which means there's a growing baby. 

• I already shared Wii Night with you. So that was Thursday. 

• Friday, I had a meeting in Goddard so I spent most my day there or in the car. I even ate a school lunch! ha! Since the federal guidelines have changed so much this year, we thought it'd be good for us PR people to check out what the fuss is about. I think we picked a pretty good day to try it out! It also came with a little cinnamon bun thing. 

• That evening Dac and I went by Sherwin Williams to pick up some paint then met his parents and brother at the casino for dinner. I put away the entire chicken fried chicken meal. I'm not saying it was a pretty sight - nor am I condoning it. =)

• When we got home (after a quick ice cream stop) we got to work moving stuff out of the hallway and family room, spackling, etc... for the big day-o-painting Saturday. By the time we got done, the front of our house looked a little something like this:

• Saturday, we ate breakfast with my parents before taping and painting the family room. My dad is still recovering from surgery and Dac mowed the church yard among other projects, so it was mostly my mom and I doing the painting (no worries - zero VOC paint and ventilation). Really, it was mostly my mom. I did a lot of the cutting-in but I can't really be up on a ladder or do anything too awful physically demanding so she took on the brunt of the work. Did I mention our AC was broke most the day? And it was over 100 outside? And we were painting. SO thankful for her help.

• The family room has been kind of a cream color since we bought the house. It's a pretty color and looked fine - it was just time for a clean up/refresher. After debating for a while, we went with a much darker greige color. Spalding Grey is the name but it definitely has some brown tones in it too. 

• It's a tad dark but it really makes the white trim (which also needs re-painted) pop. I think once we get stuff back on the walls, curtains back up, new throw pillows, etc... it'll be great. Dac also got the TV mounted to the wall so we need to get a new console for under that. We'll also be putting up some crown molding too. =) Excited to have an almost like-new room! More than anything I love that it's clean looking. 

• Sunday, we got up to do a family session in Wichita. It was HOT HOT HOT and this momma barely survived. haha! Thankfully, the people were super fun and we had a great time - which makes it totally worth it. Plus, I got a good walk in and we all know I need some of that in my life. After the session, they kindly treated us to Old Chicago. I had the fish and chips which are divine there. =) After a stop by Lowe's and Quik Trip, we were on our way home. We worked on some photo stuff and started painting the hallway. I was so incredibly pooped that was about all I had left to give. I took a warm bath, we watched a movie, then went to bed.

• Monday (Labor Day - thankful to work a job that gives me that day off) was much like Sunday. We got up and headed to Ponca for a bridal session. We hadn't been there five minutes when I knew for sure this girl was a good fit for us. =) We had fun, got some stress free bridal shots out of the way, and got to know her a little better. Winning. 

• My parents came over again to finish up the hallway - well the walls anyway - trim still needs done. It was kind of a darker, peachy-tan color before. Now it's "Accessible Greige" - a much lighter/brighter color. I think we like it. =) If nothing else, it's so fresh and so clean, clean. Ha! You can't really tell from this picture, but a few months ago we replaced the boob lights that were in there with these school house lights. They look great and very 1920-friendly. I've done a horrible job showing before/afters. Probably because it seems like there's never anything totally complete... but I need to be better about it - for our own documentation if nothing else. 

• After that was done, I did some laundry, Dac worked on painting the basement door outside, and we both worked on photo stuff. 

• Yesterday, it was back to work. I had a hair appt. after work then went to visit Kayla and the girls. Finally got a little cuddle time in with Felicity and got to hear about Journey's first day of school. =) Love them.

• I went 9-3 on my football picks last week. I would have been 10-2 (the highest score anyone got) but I just couldn't bring myself to say our high school team would lose... just couldn't.

• OSU won! =) No surprise there... Go Pokes!

• It seems I've misplaced lost my debit card. Hasn't been used since Friday. Thankfully, that means nobody else has tried using it. Have you seen it? 

• My husband loves me. He made me an "Alisha's Mixed Tape" playlist on Spotify. =) He dumps music in there he thinks I might like to listen to at work. It's the little things.

• That's about all that's new I think!

Midweek Randoms

• It's been a busy, productive week so far!

• We had Wii Night last week - it was my turn to cook. Dac suggested pork tacos and guacamole, so that's what we had. =) We cooked it the slow way so it was a 2-day process but I think it ended up being worth it (though next time I wouldn't be above using the crock pot! ha!) Here it is in the starting stages... all the onions, peppers, liquid, etc... boiled out and we were left with some spicy, shredded pork that we slapped on some tortillas. The guacamole I made was Chipotle's recipe (except I used the wrong peppers... oops) and it was pretty good. Different - but good.

• Friday, Dac worked late then we met his family for Chinese.

• The next day I spent the day out of the house because Dac was refinishing the nursery floor. I went with Val and Terese to Oxford to check out an antique store (looking for a dresser) and to lunch at Biederman's. Then we headed down to Ponca for some more browsing and Cherry Berry. When we got back we spent a couple hours with Cori and the girls.  =)

• Here's what the floor looked like when he was done. We made the decision a while back to skip the staining step. We both really wanted darker floors and that was the plan... but since we're running on a tight schedule now, we decided to go natural and just slap some polyurethane on top. It's also shinier than we planned since we took advice and did the high gloss. We'd both prefer quite a bit less but hopefully this will help it last longer. All-n-all, I think it turned out very well and I'm happy with it. It looks much better than before and Dac did a great job! =) We're talking about trying to get the rest of the floors up front done soon too... we'll see if we can stand the smell again. =) Oh - and the piece of missing corner round is back on now... just needs some touch up paint. Then all that's left is building shelves, etc... in the closet and the room will be move-in ready! HOLLA! So thankful for all the hard work that has gone into this room.

• Sunday, Dac put the final coat on the floor, painted shelves for and put trim back in the hallway closet while I did some cookin'. I have a list of freezer meals I plan to make for after the baby's here and/or in the final days before if Heaven forbid I'm on bedrest or just simply don't have the energy to fix something. I had already froze a couple tubs of the carnitas meat (pork from Wii Night) so Sunday I baked some chocolate chip cookies (most of which we ate that day) and I made dough balls out of the rest of the cookie batter so we can just pop however many in the oven we want to at a time. There's two bags of those. I also made two small containers of baked oatmeal. It too just needs popped in the oven to bake before serving. Easy enough! I've never had it before but it looked good and it helped me clean out the pantry! =) Don't worry I do have actual "meals" on my list to make too! ha! This is just stuff I already had ingredients for and needed to use up.

• Yesterday was the day all teachers and other school staff come back to work. It's a busy day. We have our big "opening convocation" meeting where we welcome all the adorably refreshed peeps back. =) I get lots of calls and questions from everyone about the website, etc... - half of which, I can't answer, and then we have an insurance info. session followed by a staff "picnic" of sorts. 

• Today (Tuesday) was insurance sign-up day. Normally, this is a pretty easy peasy process for us. But THIS year, things are a'changin' and we just got ourselves all confused and didn't know what plans were best for us. Sigh. SO - we visited with the insurance experts and got it alllllllll figured out. I took a lower deductible plan while Dac took a higher one, we re-vamped a couple other areas, I thanked God I took out a short term disability benefit last year so I might actually be able to take some time off for maternity leave and whew - I'm just glad it's figured out. I'm still a little nervous about money (won't I always be?) but feeling much better!!! =)

• Even outside of work I had such a productive day today.Over lunch, I went to the grocery store, threw a big bag of frozen chicken into the crock pot, used a coupon to get a free snack size oreo McFlurry  =), then I came home shredded the chicken real quick, made taquitos and apple enchiladas, cleaned up, ordered some Scentsy bars on sale, ran the dishwasher, and did a load of laundry. Whew!! I'm pooped! 

• The taquitos made enough for our dinner tonight and a container to freeze for later. I also made enough apple enchiladas for tonight plus two big containers to freeze. HOLLA. Oh - and I got two extra bags of shredded chicken to freeze too. =) 

• Now my tired, achy self if sitting here on the couch ready to enjoy the rest of the night. 

• Tomorrow is my chiropractor appt. AND my doctor appt. I'm kind of excited about both of those. 

• THEN - assuming Kayla's baby girl hasn't graced us with her presence by then, Kayla goes in to be induced tomorrow night. I was able to take Thursday off so I can be there for the big event. =) So excited for them, to meet her, and to shoot my second birth story.

• I washed my flip flops tonight... again. Lord have mercy those things stink. Hopefully that helps.

• That's it. I'm tired. =) Have a great rest of the week.

Midweek Randoms

• I believe last week we left off with my trip down to Stillwater with three of my uber fabulous photographer friends. We attended a little workshop with Lauren Clark. Lauren is one of the first photographers I started following when we were beginning our own business. I've followed her blog for years and feel like I know her pretty well (isn't blog land the weirdest thing? Weird but awesome!) It was sort of like meeting an old friend and at the same time meeting a celebrity. Anyway, we basically just sat around her adorably decorated home and talked shop, we ate lunch at new hole-in-the-wall taco place on The Strip called "Mucha Lucha". It was good even though lunch was a bit hurried. After that we photographed a couple, then talked more shop, took some head shots, and went on our way... but not before stopping for some frozen yogurt. =) The time with these girls was pretty stinking priceless. I feel honored to call them colleagues but I'm even more pumped that I can call them friends. I kind of laugh when people talk about "the competition". I don't know - I guess I just don't see it that way. Everyone's professional, we share referrals, loan each other things, and since we each have a different style, etc... I just don't see it as a problem. It's a very supportive group. I'd hate to work in a cut-throat market. This is much more fun. =) It was a blast and I can't wait to hang out again. 

• Here's a couple pictures from the day. The first is my head shot Lauren took. The second is of our group. From left to right, it's: Sara, Laura, and Jennifer. If you don't already, you should go like them on Facebook. They're cool. 

• I'm still hacking and snorting with the best of them thanks to some of the worst allergies I've ever had the pleasure of experiencing. I've managed to keep it from going to a full-fledged sinus infection though, so I'm going to chalk that up as a success.

• Friday, I ran some errands with Val and then we met her and Austin down at the Casino for supper. 

• Saturday, we went to a little "sprinkle" for Cori. Her sister Beni's been in town and wanted to surprise her with a shower. We met several members of Cori's family at Il Vicino's in Wichta, ate pizza, and she got to open lots of fun girly twinsie gifts. =)

• Sunday, we went to church, then went on a little brunch date to Brick's. I had my usual jumbo pancake and egg and Dac had biscuits and gravy. We sort of felt like old people knowing so many people around town. Haha! (Before you know it we'll be saying "oh you know... ol' {insert last name only} that lives out yonder...") It was nice though. I think we should do that more often! We've been horrible about making time for dates again. 

• The contractors have been over working away on our spare room. It should be finished today (all except refinishing the floor, which Dac has to work on this weekend). The paint color I picked is looking a little "holy aqua" instead of the nice robin egg blue I had envisioned. Oh well, we'll live with it for a while and can re-paint later if we need to (which I'm pretty sure we will). Also, our new lights are on order. Maybe, JUST maybe, the room will be move in ready before family comes for the reunion in less than two weeks. Yikes!!

• Speaking of robins... did I mention we have a nest on our porch? Robins happen to be my favorite birds (they're orange... duh, and nice of course) so I'm pumped. We had one out in the tree last year but this is even more up close and personal. There's three blue eggs in there! Can't wait to see the little babies. =)

• I got a new shirt while at Target yesterday. It's a super soft, ruffly, sleeveless shirt with a bright and funky print. I wore it today and am kind of loving it.

• I also bought two new pans to replace my awful ones I had to throw out. Kind of excited about those too. What? It's the little things...

• My drink of choice today is vanilla coke. Not sure why, but I'm especially digging it.

• I feel like going out for a walk. The problem is, by the time I go home today, I'll no doubt be too tired to want to still. And it'll likely be hot. AND there's the whole allergy thing. Sigh. My work day gets in the way of a lot of things. =) 

• I guess that's about it. Stay tuned for pictures of the guest room! Holla!

Retro Cam

I've been playing with the Retro Camera app on my phone. It's kinda fun. The other day I took some shots of the new-old green chair in our family room.

Here are the books on my little makeshift tv-tray/end table. Both are super cute.
And this is the print that hangs out on the wall above the chair. I got it from Etsy and I love it. It says "Wherever we are together, that is home." Isn't that the truth?
Then, yesterday, I took Sky on a little shopping trip to Derby. We had such a good time. She ended up not letting me buy her any clothes but I did get her some funky earrings and a CD. She has really grown up and we laughed all day long.

We went to Target, and ate Freddies. Oh. My. Word. I don't think that's ever tasted as good as it did yesterday. AND I didn't even eat all my fries. WIN!
Then we went to Kohls, Game Stop, and I introduced her to Cherry Berry. That's mine on the left and hers on the right.
We got to see one of Dac's best friends, Tarl yesterday too. He and Dac hung out all day and I'm so glad they got the chance to do that. I should have got a picture of them but I didn't even think about it. FAIL.

Last night, I went to see "The Help" w/ Kayla. It. Was. Amazing. Seriously one of the best movies I'd ever seen. Oh so good. Watch it. Watch it now!! I had intended to get a picture of us but totally forgot. We got in there and the theater was packed. We had to sit in the second row. The movie was worth it though.

Today, I'm sick. I don't know why or how but I am NOT feeling so hot. So, I'm just laying here, doing nothing, watching crappy movies on Netflix and drinking Gatorade.

Window Fairy

Guess what... the window fairy paid us a visit this week. Actually WE paid her... or HIM, I guess, to visit us and bring us four brand-spankin' new windows. As I think I've mentioned before... we're in the middle of a pretty large and in charge makeover that will make our spare room and spare bathroom beautiful. At least that's our hope.

Anyway, the windows in our house suck. There's just no real way to say it any nicer. So, since we were re-doing those rooms anyway... and one of them had a broken piece... we just decided to replace those now. The rest will have to wait... but these... these look SO much better. =) So pretty and white... so clean... plus they open! HOLLA! Oh, and they pop in for easy cleaning. Bomp Bomp!! You know my clean-loving-self is digging that already.

Take a look at these before and afters:

Before...

After...
Before...

After...

Before...

After...
The window fairy and long weekends both make me very happy. See? =)Have a safe and happy 4th!