New Year, New Blog

Just in case anyone out there in the blogosphere wants to know, I'm headed to a new blog. One where I may, in fact, blog.

So, feel free to stop by! I'd love to have you!

http://blessedlittlemess.blogspot.com 

Take Me Out To The Ballgame

Last Saturday night, Clay's work hosted a night out at e Redbird's game. So, being a good little employee/family, we went! Of course, we weren't going to turn down a free evening of baseball and Rendezvous BBQ! That's ridiculous! It was a fireworks game, so we were hoping The little one would make it to the end, but, alas, that didn't happen. She did however, have a GREAT time! Hannah loved being outside (the weather was perfect last Saturday, in case you missed it... Unlike this Saturday, where it the upper 80's and humid at 10am... Hello summer) and seeing all the people. The snacking on BBQ and Cheerios helped too! (The kid likes pork... It was her first meat. We're trying to raise her right!) She did well through the fireworks they set off during the National Anthem. They really didn't bother her at all. That might be a good thing for vacation in a couple of weeks :). In the 2nd or 3rd inning, Hannah got to meet this guy:

She LOVED Rockey the Redbird! I was very happy that she loved the big character! Also a HUGE plus for vacation in a few weeks. (More on that later... Any guesses?) All in all, a fun night! And something that we can do again while Hannah is small!

Naptime Baking

Clay finished up with tax season last week... woo hoo! And this week, he has hit the books/videos/online study reviews hard for the CPA exam... BOOO HISS! He is studying anytime he can: lunchtime at work, after work (but usually after Hannah goes to bed, so that he can get some little one time in), at work when he's got any down time, and even early in the morning!

So, I've been looking online (i.e., I've been playing on Pinterest and looking at blogs through there) for some quick and easy breakfast and lunch ideas for him.

Yesterday, I tried one out while Hannah had her afternoon nap. I made some Baked Oatmeal Cups that I had seen a few people "pin". I followed a pin to a blog, to another blog, to another blog, and then I completely rearranged the recipe, so I'm going to put what I did (and what I'll do next time)!

Baked Oatmeal Cups
3 mashed bananas
3 cups old fashioned (not quick cook) oatmeal
2 eggs
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup Almond Coconut Milk
2/3 cup chocolate chips
1/4 cup Craisins

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

Mix up your first six ingredients. Let them sit while you prepare the muffin tins.

Put muffin liners in 18 cups and spray with cooking spray.

Stir in your chocolate chips and Craisins.

Use an ice cream scoop to even scoop your batter into the muffin tins. (If you don't have an ice cream scoop specifically for this purpose... GET ONE TODAY! =) )













I had just enough batter to make 17 1/2 Baked Oatmeal Cups. (The 1/2 was a nice "tester" cup for me to have when they came out of the oven!)

Place them in the oven for 25 minutes.

Let them cool completely and enjoy!

Overall, I think they turned out pretty good. Next time, I'll probably add a little bit of cinnamon and/or nutmeg, just because I usually like that flavor profile in oatmeal. (I even add that to Hannah's oatmeal every morning, depending on what fruit she has mixed in that day). Clay said he likes them too and it was great just grabbing it quickly this morning, all ready to go!

Now, I just need to see a) how long they last sealed up on the counter and b) if I can freeze them!

Blogging - Take 437

I've found that when you are home with the little one, sometimes your days and weeks run together. The, you forget what you did, or when you did it! So, though it has been proven many times over that I'm a HORRIBLE blogger, I'm going to try again.

I've given the blog a facelift (not a good one, but one nonetheless). A new name, some new pictures, and a new post! If nothing else, I want to try to keep this up, at least a little bit, so I can remember what little H and I get in to! And, mostly, what she is doing.

She's growing up WAY to fast. That's what they do though, grow, grow, grow. So, I'm going to do this. For now, I'm going to try to set a realistic goal of one blog post a week. Then, if I get an extra one in, it's a bonus! And, I'm telling myself that this one definitely does NOT count for this week. So, I've got three more days to make it happen. I can do it!

Hannah's First Four Months

Well, Hannah was born... and she had her first 4 months of life. No biggie, right? Hah!

In some ways, it's like she was born yesterday. In other ways, I can't imagine life without her, and she has just been with us forever and ever!

It's absolutely amazing and wonderful to see the little girl she is turning into. She is so much more than a little baby now, even at 4 months old. She's so curious and interested in the world around her now. She's starting to play with things and has discovered her hands and feet. Her smile and laugh can, of course, melt mommy's heart in an instant!

I'm hoping that as she really starts hitting big milestones in 2012, I might be better about documenting them here, so we remember when and where they happened! Of course, I always say that. But, I'm hoping to use some of my better blogging buddies as inspiration

But, I'll leave you with the good stuff... the pictures =)

 

Welcome to our world Hannah!

Well, I'm a couple weeks behind, but who can blame me right? I'm typing this with one hand, on my phone, while a sleeping baby girl is lying on my stomach! Hannah was born on September 1 at 11am on the dot! She was 7lbs, 15oz and 20 3/4 inches long. Most importantly, she is perfectly healthy and perfect in her mommy and daddy's eyes!

Our lives have obviously changed dramatically since 9/1. We are slowly but surely starting to find our new normal. So far, I feel pretty lucky as she tends to sleep in 3 or so hour stretches through the night. Of course, I'm still beyond exhausted, but that comes with the territory.

We've had a few setbacks, but we're working through them. Breastfeeding has NOT gone well or as planned. (Sorry if this is TMI...) I've met with the lactation nurse at Hannah's pediatrician's office and left that day very encouraged, but we still have alot of problems and serious pain. Not just uncomfortable, but cry my eyes out, I can't stand it pain. Right now, we are trying to nurse, but I pump as often as I can and we are supplementing with formula. Not what I had planned, but she is being fed and that's what counts!

We had her newborn picture session yesterday and from the two sneak peek pictures we've received, we're very pleased! She's a cute little girl (though I guess I'm a bit biased!)

I'm looking forward to figuring out our new schedule, as most know I love me a schedule. I know it will be constantly changing.

Hopefully, being home with her now, I'll be able to carve our time to keep this updated on our ever changing lives!

32 Weeks (well, almost)

Well, I'm only 18 weeks behind in posting, right? Not THAT bad... HAH!

Tomorrow marks 32 weeks! It's hard to believe she's almost here! (Yeah, in that 18 weeks, lima bean got a gender and a name!) It's REALLY hard to believe that in 5 weeks, if Hannah decided that it was time to make her appearance, the doctors would let her!

We've got things rolling, in getting ready for her. Her nursery is painted, and all the furniture is here and assembled!

Here's Hannah's crib and changing table

Here's the window, glider and part of the bookcase

 

 

 

 

Here's the glider and bookcase... not very organized or cute yet! You can also see part of the decal that's going on her wall. It's just the one little bird right now, but there is a whole tree/family of birds. Maybe that'll happen this weekend.

And here's her sweet little blanket that goes with her bedding! I love the little birds and owls. We've actually got all of the bedding now, but I haven't taken pictures yet. 

The next big project is cleaning out the closet in her room. It's full of years of "stuff". Since her room was our second guest bedroom/office, the closet in there really collected a lot. I've made some progress, but there are still some serious boxes to be gone through!

Hopefully, in the next couple of weeks, we'll have most everything together in her room! I still need to:
1) Clean the closet
2) Put up the decal on the wall
3) Put up the ADORABLE letters that  my little sister painted for her! (They are curly-Q kind of letters, and my sister, Cindy, managed to put all of the patterns and birds that are on her bedding, onto the skinny little curly letters... she is ridiculously talented)
4) Find a mirror or fun photo collage frame to put over her changing table.
5) and, you know, all the other stuff that needs to be done.

Maybe I'll have some more, complete pictures soon!

Is today the day?

Today marks 14 weeks for the relationship between me and little lima bean (though, I think we should upgrade his/her status to little lime, as that's more size appropriate at this point!). I'm knocking on wood, crossing my fingers, and anything else I can think of. I've actually felt "okay" today. I've even skipped a dose of the phenergan. This is a massively huge step for me! I'm hoping today is the magic day where I become semi-quasi-pregnant normal!

Everyone says that by week 14, they are feeling better. So, I'm optimistic. I'm so ready to not base my entire world around being or not being sick. I'm ready to clean the house and cook dinner and fold laundry and start planning for the baby!

I can't believe that we'll find out if the baby is a boy or a girl in just 6 weeks. And, that in 6 weeks, we'll be half way there! That's ridiculous! As long as some of these days have been, feeling so awful, it's still flying by.

So, in light of this hopefully lingering new development of feeling somewhat better... I'm going to get the rest of my winter decorations down (and possibly a lingering small Christmas tree in the guest bedroom). Don't judge me... snowmen are completely acceptable in my world until March (and we're only a few days in!)

BABY!

Well, it's now social media official (via facebook, twitter and all those crazy things)... Baby Crockett has an estimated arrival date of September 4, 2011!

Now, maybe I can be a good blogging momma and keep this thing up to date with how the pregnancy is progressing and then (yay!) how baby is doing! I've got some good blogging mommy role models on there, that's for sure!

Baby is doing well... we heard the heartbeat today and it was perfect! I'm 11 weeks, 3 days and it's been a ROUGH past 7 weeks. I've had some serious all-day (forget morning) sickness, am on a couple of medicines for it, and have almost made a dash for the hospital (but was thankfully able to avoid that). Hopefully I should turn the magically 2nd Trimester corner very soon!

It's late though, at least for my exhausted, preggo self... so I'm done for now. but there shall be a redesign and frequent updates soon (hopefully... I'm so wishy-washy!)

Thanksgiving

I love Thanksgiving. and I LOOOOOVE Christmas. So I've been ready for "this time of year", since, well since they took Christmas music off the radio last year!

This year, I'm really having to focus on the "thankful" part though. It's been a rough past month or so. First (at least I think it was first), my step-grandfather passed away. It was tough... he had fallen and broken his hip about a week before he passed away, and then never really pulled through. It was tough on me, but really hard on my little sister. It was a challenge to be the best big sister I could be to reassure her that she would make it through this (she has never lost anyone close to her before).

Then, Clay's mom fell and broke her ankle. In the course of 2 weeks, she fell, she had surgery, came to stay with us for a week, and then had to move apartments (from an upstairs 3 bedroom, to a downstairs 2 bedroom).

Then, Clay's grandmother (his mom's mom) fell and broke HER ankle! Apparently it's contagious that side of the family! Clay said if I break anything, he's giving up, hah! So, needless to say, I've been tip toeing all the time.

So now, Thanksgiving will be cooked at my house, and then driven 2 hours so that our broken ones can have Thanksgiving... I'm a planner and not good with change, so we'll see how it goes.

There have also been a load of other things going on that I won't even go into, but it's added up to a stressful fall! Not to mention the craziness of my beloved Titans!

I have so much to be thankful for though, even when I get a little down. Just have to remind myself of that and have "positive expectations"!

So that's what I'm focusing on for now, trying to really stay positive, though it's so hard to slip into a negative frame of mind. But, it's worth it...I know that I'll be happier and can hopefully make those around me happier too!

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone...off to continue the cooking! Gobble til' you wobble!

Apparently, it's fall...

Well, apparently I forgot to blog during the summer months... that was quick! I honestly sat down to write something more than once, but something or another drug me away. You know, people sometimes ask "What have you been up to?". My answer tends to be "Nothing really." But then, when I think about it, I've been so busy, going, going, going, and I don't even know what I've been doing!

Take the summer for example...

Here's the short version of "What I did on my summer vacation (or lack thereof of vacation)":

First, it flooded. We all know about that. It wasn't very fun. I was in Nashville that weekend... even less fun. I was stranded at my mom's house, but thankfully (even though they live in Bellevue, one of the worst hit areas) they weren't affected for the most part, except electricity being out for about 4-5 days.

June was C-RAZY. At least at work. We had trial - a big one. It was busy. I'm sure something happened then, but I sure don't remember it =).

July: Ah July. It was hot. REAL hot. For the 4th, Clay and I took an impromptu trip up to the Smokey Mountains for the long weekend. It was GREAT. We didn't do much at all. We took a short hike, rode the Sky Lift to the top of Crockett Mountain (obviously!), we ate some AWESOME food, and did some super touristy things that are musts each and everytime you hit the Gatlinburg strip!

Late July brought the California trip. I was weary about it, but it turned out pretty good. My brother, Adam, got married in Napa Valley the last weekend in July. Clay and I flew out on a Thursday afternoon and came back on a Sunday. In case you are thinking about a "quick weekend trip to wine country"... consider extending it. The travel was hell, at least from Memphis (i.e. the WORST place to try to fly from, ever, no questions asked.) Adam and Claire's wedding was perfect for them, Napa and San Fransisco were fun (even though we had a total of about 16 hours to see them all!)

Here are a couple of pics from that trip:

Clay and I at the Pacific Ocean in San Fransisco (we got a foggy day =/)


Wine Country at it's best... from atop Artesa Winery in Napa


The Bride (Claire) and Groom (my brother, Adam) at the rehearsal dinner


My family (minus the happy couple) right before the ceremony


My dad and Clay at the reception... probably one of my favorite pictures ever!


We took a TON of pictures (check facebook for those) and check out Amy Stroup... she played some music at the wedding and is a friend of my new sister-in-law. She's AH-mazing. Her music has been featured on "One Tree Hill", "Brothers and Sisters", a bunch of others and, if you are watching the "Grey's Anatomy" premiere tonight, you'll hear her! Yay Amy!

Now, we're back home, working like crazy and back into the football grove. We are tearing UP I-40 driving to Nashville most weekends for Titans home games (and loving every minute.. GO TITANS GO!). I'm playing some softball with some of my Tipton County girls... apparently, everyone played softball in these parts, and not basketball... it's cool, I'm an awesome DH!

But, that's the summer in a (big fat) nutshell. I missed a few things (some weddings, some trips I'm sure, and a million other things), but hey, I blogged right?

Painting MACHINE

So, we've lived in our house for about three and a half years. We have been slowly, but surely, painting the house at the rate of about one room per year.

Well, a few weeks ago, actually, I guess it was about a month ago now, before all of the flooding happened, I realized that we were behind schedule! We had passed the "3 year" mark of living in our house, and we had only painted 2 rooms: the master bedroom (a great medium blue color) and the living room (which is, I believe, "Sauteed Mushroom" below the chair rail, and "Ponytail" above).

So, on a Sunday morning after church, while Clay was gone to Corinth for the day, I stopped by Home Depot, picked up a gallon of "Chinese Jade", a new roller brush or two, a new roll of blue painter's tape and got to work!

Here's the color - Behr "Chinese Jade":


Here was my inspiration, my new casual china pattern that I started for myself in the Summer of 2008 with these very cannisters. Since then, I've been the dish queen for every gift giving occasion. At least I'm easy to shop for! (By the way it's "French Garden/Fleurence/Orange" by Villeroy & Boch):


Here are the "before" pictures:
(Ignore my messy kitchen please)






And 5 short hours later... tah-dah!
The finished product! Not the best pictures ever, but you get the picture:






I'm pretty proud of my handy work. Plus, now I'm a year ahead on the painting schedule, since I'm totally counting the breakfast nook that I painted as a 4th room. Pretty good use of a Sunday afternoon, if I do say so myself, since I can usually be found taking a 4 hour nap most Sundays!

We ARE Lambuth

I really, really, REALLY want Lambuth to be OK... I need Friday to bring good news. I need the powerball numbers to fall in my favor (or someone else who loves Lambuth's favor) tonight...

We ARE Lambuth, and I believe in the power of prayer. It's just too good a place to not exist anymore. Keep the prayers going guys... we need 'em =/

Oceanfront property in Tennessee?

What a day! I'd like to go ahead and throw out a request, and if anyone has any gopher wood they'd like to throw into my "build an ark" pile, please feel free to contribute... GEEZ!

I drove up to Nashville last night to spend the weekend with my little sister, Cindy, while my mom and step-dad headed to Chattanooga for the weekend. I went to sleep last night thinking "we're going to have some bad weather tomorrow, probably some severe storms, maybe a tornado warning or two". Apparently, I missed the "don't forget to bring your canoe" memo when I was packing!

Clay called me this morning around 7am to tell me about the flooding that had already happened in Brighton. He had been getting calls with the Fire Department all morning, but couldn't get out of the neighborhood because the water was too high!


Here is our neighborhood... not nearly as bad as most in the area, but not good!


Lucy Kelly Road - Clay couldn't get through to get to the fire department to help with all of the calls this morning. He even called the guys who were at the station, and they couldn't get the fire engine through it either.


"Just keep swimming, just keeping swimming..."


Yeah, pretty glad we picked up our prescriptions on Thursday afternoon!


Hope we don't need anything from AutoZone anytime soon...


And Covington now has their very own AquaDock, just like up at Yellow Creek on Pickwick... yikes...

When there was a break in the rain, he finally got there and the Fire Department had flooded (they moved to City Hall for the day), Highway 51 had been shut down, and when he went up to Covington to check on his car that is for sale at the bank, Walgreens, Gateway Tire, AutoZone, O'Reilly's and pretty much everything in North Covington on the East side of the highway was flooded! (Not just in the parking lots, but in the buildings.) Apparently, the National Guard in out and about in T-county with rescue/recovery/etc, but with just under a foot of rain (and 6"-9" more expected in the next 12-24 hours) I guess they are needed! Thankfully, the only damage we've had at our house was a minor leak in the kitchen (my newly painted one kitchen, boo!), which will require a bit of new sheet rock, mudding, painting, etc. But that's nothing in comparison to all of the people who've lost their homes around us today.

Nashville's been pretty crazy too. Cindy and I got out to do some shopping this morning and it wasn't too bad... but after hearing the tornado sirens as we were trying on some things at Anthropologie, we decided to call it a day. Coming back, we started seeing alot of the flooding. By the time we got back to the house, we were hearing the reports of parts of all of the interstates being shut down. It's a MESS!

Anyhow, now, we're just all hunkered down. Cindy and I are hanging out, hoping that my mom and David (my step-dad) make it back from Chattanooga tomorrow, so that I can head back home (assuming I-40 around Waverly is actually open at that point); Clay is trying to catch some rest, so that when the next round of severe weather comes through in the middle of the night and he inevitably gets more calls from the FD, he'll at least be somewhat rested; and I'm honestly considering the ark idea... or at least investing in a good solid funyak!

Home again, Home again

We've made it back home after another weekend in Nashville. This month is full of Nashville weekends, which is A-OK with me! Of course, every weekend we're up there, it makes it that much harder to head back home. Don't get me wrong, we love our house and enjoy Brighton and T-County, but I guess Nashville will just always be truly "home". We're ready to make that move for sure, as soon as the time is right. (Which we sure hope is sooner rather than later!)

This weekend, we headed up to Middle TN for another Rotary conference for Clay and I went to see a college friend and Phi Mu sister of mine get married. It was really good seeing some of the girls that I haven't seen in quite a while. Plus, I got to get a haircut from Davida (who has been cutting my hair since I was about 7 or 8, and always gets it just right) so I'm a happy camper.

The great weather the past couple of weeks has REALLY gotten me in the mood for summer. I really just can't wait to get out on the water at Pickwick with our friends Jim and Jade. We've had some great times in the past 7-8 years with them out there and I'm sure this year will be no different!

On a different note, I'm a little sad today... a year ago today, we were pulling into site 1506 Cottontail Curl at Fort Wilderness at Disney World right about now... What I would give to be doing the same thing right now. I miss me some Mickey right now


Our little WDW Home

Happy New Year.... yeah, it's April...

Well, I always claim that I'm going to do the whole blog thing. I'm really going to try this time. I think it would be good for me. And honestly (oddly enough), now that I don't have access to the internet all day everyday at work, I think I might actually be a little more apt to carve out the time to do it! Plus, I'm hoping that maybe a commitment to a decent blog will encourage me to actually take my camera with me when we go, wherever we go and TAKE PICTURES ('cause no one likes a blog with no pictures... it's like facebook with out the "face", seriously?)

So, where to begin? This week has been pretty good so far. We celebrated Clay's 28th birthday yesterday! He's made out pretty well, checking out with a leaf blower from his mom, a table saw from yours truly, a gift card from his grandparents, and some assorted cash gifts as well. There are some other things that still haven't made it to him in the mail, so I won't divulge them yet =).

But, my favorite gift that he has received has to be from my mom... we're taking Clay and my step-dad, who's birthday was on April 1st, to see "A Prairie Home Companion" with Garrison Keillor at the Ryman Auditorium on Saturday. I'm SO pumped! A gift for him, that I get the benefits of too, haha! I grew up listening to NPR, "The News from Lake Wobegon", "Guy Noir: Private Eye" and many others so I think it's gonna be great. Plus, I can never resist an awesome weekend in Nashvegas.

So, hopefully I'll have pictures of the whole crew, me, Clay, my mom, David, and my little sister Cindy, rockin' out downtown Nashville, the Ryman, and whatever eatery we decide to hit up after the show after this weekend!

I don't blog well... it's a tested and proven fact. Maybe someday soon?

=)

NEW JOB NEW JOB NEW JOB! What's that? OH YES... I have a NEW JOB! Well, I accepted one and turned in 2 weeks notice today. So, sit down, crack open a nice cold beer, appropriately tempatured(I made that word up) glass of wine, or favorite mixed drink (or just a coke if you prefer) and celebrate my liberation with me! I'm gettin' OUTTA HERE!

"The new job? what is it?" you ask? Ah yes... I will be the Assistant Director for the American Heart Association under the Regional Directors for Jackson, TN & Desoto Co./Oxford, MS. P-U-M-P-E-D PUMPED... yup, that's what I am! I hope I just brightened your day (if nothing else, you know you don't have to listen to any more rants about the current job)!

Here's my advice...

Here's my advice...

If you are in college, major in something so specialized, that they have to give you a job with your degree. And try to like it too. Don't go with something that "is just so helpful in every industry"... it's a lie. Promise.

Told you so

I told you I would end up writing a couple of these and then being worthless. But in my defense, it's been a crazy past few months.

First and foremost: I'm on the job hunt... so if anyone knows of anything in the greater Memphis area or would like a copy of my resume to hand out to, oh, let's say everyone you know... just let me know. I've got a job, but it's time to move on, and quickly... I'll leave it at that.

Things I want to say:

- I think it's sad when people who are still in school are so desperate to get out. I completely understand the whole wanting to move on thing, believe me. But there are so many people who are so obsessive over getting out, that they miss what's there. And it's sad. Because they will either a) realize later on what they missed and be sad or b) never realize they missed anything and not be as good of a person as they could've been. It doesn't make me that mad, just sad for them.

- Girls should never make decisions based on what their gay (literally, as in a boy liking boys) best friend thinks he might do. It's dumb and it will ultimately screw a lot of things up for them.

- People who think they are inherently better than other people because they make more money, are worthless human beings. It's pathetic, and I know entirely too many of these type of people. (Hence, frantically searching for a new job).

- My bedroom is blue now... it's a pretty amazing color of blue, with gold/tan-ish curtains and comforter. I'm kind've in love with it... and will be even more in love with it in a couple of days, since we have a ladder now and can finish painting the top two inches up to the ceiling =)

- My puppies are extremely cute. They are little demons as well. It's said that to break up a dog fight, you should pull out their back legs. Don't let anyone tell you this... you'll just get tangled up in the mess... (also, don't introduce new toys right before you leave to go out of town or around feeding time... at least if you are hanging out with my dogs. There will most likely be bloodshed... probably theres, but quite possibly yours too).

- I probably need to get the rest of our Christmas decorations down. I can't play the "it's still the 12 days of Christmas" card anymore. Now, it's just a little bit of laziness. A lot of stuff has been put up, but the tree is definitely still up (albeit, the decorations have been taken off... it's a matter of disassembling the tree and getting it to the attic). In my defense, I was sick all of the week of New Years. It's coming down tonight or tomorrow one though. So that's good.

- My feelings on the Vanderbilt Men's basketball season so far? THRILLED! I'm hoping we bust into the top ten after this week. Went to the UMASS game and am headed to the Georgia game in February. True love for a college team NEVER goes away.

- My birthday is in less than two weeks. So, not much shopping time left. Just ask if you need suggestions. Just kidding! (I mean, unless anyone would like to get me anything... I'm not opposed).

- If it weren't for gmail and gmail chat, I might hurt myself.

And I guess that's all I really have to say. Hopefully I won't suck at this quite as much now. But, I'm not making any promised.