I've been busy.... for real this time...

I haven't done anything to my blog in such a long time I felt like it needed a face lift... I'm still not sure I really like what it looks like now but after playing with it for a while I decided I'd leave it as is for a little bit and see how I feel about it in a few weeks. Feel free to share your thoughts!
As far as life goes for us right now, we are doing well. We've have a great past few weeks. My parents came down and spent a few days with us for Memorial Day weekend and we also drove down and spent a few hours at St. Augustine beach. My dads side of the family has been doing this for as long as I can remember; it's a tradition! Unfortunately, my parents and I haven't been able to make it the last couple of years. Anyway, it was nice to see everyone and get to spend some time at the beach. :)
The following weekend our friends Jay and Shelley stopped by for a night on their way back from a cruise... it so much fun to hang out with some friends from home; even though we didn't do much it was a great a time. Thanks to Jay and Shelley for Upper Crust pizza, Night at the Museum and amusing our little boy for hours on in!! P.S. Shelley, there are still tons of teaching jobs here. haha.
This past weekend the Perschka's came down for the shortest trip EVER! But, we got to do some amazing things. Valerie is going on a mission (to Arizona) for 18 months, and she came down here to go through the Temple for her first time. Although Alex and I weren't able to go with them (for lack of having a babysitter), we heard it was a great experience for her and we are so happy!! Congrats Val :) Alex got lucky enough to have Saturday off so we were also able to go out to dinner with the fam and Alex, Val and I played putt putt golf. Such good times. BTW - I'm going to need some of those pictures from the Temple, VAL................
Shelley inspired me, so I applied to the School District down here in Osceola County to try and get a job teaching next school year. I also applied for my Educators Certificate for the same reason lol. Earlier this week I sent letters, resumes, references, and transcripts to six different elementary schools that have one or more openings for PreK through 3rd. Let's hope that everything somehow falls into place and works out. I need a job.... and teaching is something I love doing and it's family friendly!
On Tuesday, Avery and I are flying home to spend ten days in Athens. I'm going to miss Alex and the pool :) but I cannot wait for some long overdue girl time, barberitos, shopping with mom, inokos, and a Twilight party and Eclipse with a few of my besties. It's going to be great just to be in the Classic City once again!! If only it were football season already~
But, it's not all play and no work... I am also going to have to stalk some people I know to write me references -
I will definitely keep updated about our trip and will hopefully have some pictures to post soon.

Yea, I'm a Homemaker! - part 2

Guys, our living room totally needed something - a pizazz, a little boost, some color, personal touch, you name it - our living room needed it... so, I took it upon myself to resolve the problem and I was able to do it fairly inexpensively. It was easier than I thought!

If you've been to our place you know that there is a huge empty wall in our living room. We have our "entertainment center" on this wall but that consists of a tv stand and our flat screen lol so the wall from the top of the tv up has been blank for the last few months. We have been wanting to hang something up above the tv but haven't really found anything that we were in love with.

We had bought some canvas' when they were on sale an made a "headboard" for over our bed by covering them using some neutral fabric (in case we wanted to change our bedding). It turned out really nice and we hada couple canvas' left over so we thought this same concept may work well in the living room.

We have a HUGE JoAnns a few miles from us so we went to see if we could find some fabric that we liked and that would work in the living room. We wanted something that was colorful but not over the top and I have to say, we got extremely lucky!

Here's how it turned out:

Up top: Here they are up close - As you can see the wall is not completely covered, but it definitely makes the blank space smaller. Below: this is the overall view. I really think it turned out nicely. We wanted to have two contrasting fabrics that matched and, like I said, we got really lucky. I found this striped fabric and there was only a yard left - once they gave me the slip for check out I realized it was on clearance - YAY!! It was only $2. Then the polka dot fabic just happen to be a perfect match with all the colors and they looked Soooooooo good next to eachother. Guys, tell me what you think - and be honest?!

So, after the canvas was covered I had enough striped fabric to make one pillow and only enough polka dot fabric to make a half.... I went back to JoAnns and got a little bit more polka dot fabric and then decided to stretch what I had and do pattern on one side and solid on the other. I bought a yard of tan and a half yard of brown. I used polka dots on one side with tan on the other and then I put brown on backside of the stipes. Pillow covers are actually not that hard to make and way cheaper than buying throw pillows. They turned out really good.

On top of the striped fabric being on clearance, the other patterns were on sale! We were able to add some color and comfort to our living room for less than $20... YAY for style!

Patience is a Virtue!!

If some of you shop at Target as avidly as I do you have probably seen Merona's "Collection" in the womens slash misses - I'm not sure what I'd call it except not Juniors. It's like the kind of stuff I'd buy all the time if I had an exceptionally well paying job... haha :)

Well, generally I never buy this stuff because I just can't see myself spending that much money on a dress that I'd probably only wear to church or an occasional (and I stress the word occasional) nice evening out. I DO however love to shop the Target clearance racks!! The other day I found these two great Merona Collection dresses that I had been eye-ing since they came out a several weeks before Easter. They were on clearance for 75% off; I couldnt believe it. I actually didn't buy them right away, I went back the next day and luckily, they were both still there in my size!

I also just want to mention that this has never happened to me - living in Athens, all the good stuff is usually long gone before it goes 75% with all the students and two counties shopping at one Target Store. Here in Florida there are two Super Targets relatively close to me and generally the clothing doesn't go as quickly since tourists usually aren't there for that.

Here are the two dresses:

I like this one because it's modest, I can wear it without having to worry that I'm not covering everything up. It will look great with just a few accessories such as white heels and belt.

This one is strapless but it has a lot of colors in it - yellow, an orangey pink, seafoam green - all I'll have to do to make this one work is add a colorful cardigan!!

This is the best part - I got both these babies for ten bucks each. love love love TARGET!!

yes, yes I am reading ECLIPSE again... and, of course, I am sucked in!

I'm sure those of you who are Twilight fans already know that the next movie, Eclipse, is coming out next month in JUNE! I am kind of surprised that they are releasing it earlier this time around.

I am generally not one to re-read books, but my friend and I wanted to read Eclipse again before the movie came out, sort of as a refresher - so I decided to give it a whirl; we are reading it together and discussing it as we go. I'm not usually one to blog about these sort of things, but since a lot of my family and friends do the whole Twilight thing I thought I'd share...


We are about half way through and I've found that as into this book as I was the first time reading it, I don't really remember a lot of the things that happened... When I think of the stories I think of them as a whole, I remember the big significant parts throughout and the in-betweens seemed to have slipped away. I read the book and its almost like I'm reading it for the first time, I can't put it down. I've found that there are things I didn't notice in the book the first time I read it because I was in such a hurry to find out what happened that I missed them.


This time through I am annoyed with Bella; I feel like she should have more of a backbone and stand up for herself to Jacob and Edward who both seem (at times) a little bossy to me. And, I was completely Team Edward the first read and (though I think I am still for Edward) I can kind of see where Jacob is coming from and I sorta feel bad for him. Bella seems selfish to expect that from Jacob, but I have to say that I can also totally relate to her not being into Jacob that way, but still wanting to have a relationship/friendship with him.


This book is definitely High School.

April

So, I guess I need to update for journaling purposes if nothing else though I feel like there hasnt really been anything major this past month. I know there are moments that I put off writing about so here's an overview of what happened with us in April...

It was actually quite a busy month... my parents came down the first weekend of April for Easter and it was so much fun!! This was really Avery's first Easter... I mean, he was around last year but unable to participate in the fun so I'm not sure it really counts?! Anyway, they always do way over the top things for Holidays here in Celebration so you can imagine that a huge Easter Egg Hunt took place. And the best part? It happened right across the street from where we live - do you believe that?! We got incredibly lucky because they were going to have the hunt at another park closer to downtown Celebration, but it had rained and stormed pretty hard for a couple of days prior; they moved it to our park because not all the water had drained from the other one as quickly as expected.... it was amazing. Avery was completely into it and he was so great at "egg hunting!" It was literally just a field full of eggs... but, pretty logical for a 0-3 age group, right?! He picked up the eggs and put them in his basket, as if he was a pro :)

He took a picture with the Easter Bunny and didn't shed one single tear. I guess I just couldnt believe it because my parents always talk about how I freaked when I was a baby taking pictures with the Easter Bunny or Santa Claus.
So my parents left on Sunday and on Monday morning my very good friend Brooke flew down for a visit while she as on spring break and stayed for four days. We had an awesome time hanging out at the pool pretty much every day and making a trip to the beach one day. It was sad to see her go! Brooke left Friday and about two hours later Alex's mom and Valerie arrived... does it get any crazier?! Val and I went on bike rides, all us girls (and Avery) went shopping, we played putt putt and enjoyed a couple of dinners out.

(Alex and I love it when our parents come, it's about the only time we ever get to enjoy dinner at a restaurant. Thanks to our parents to treating us to a few delicious meals every once and a while!! )

So, Alex's family left us on Wednesday morning - Avery and I in tow. We decided to hit home for an extended stay!! It was sad to leave poor Alex by himself, but since I've never been away from my family for very long I was in desperate need of a trip home and was provided the perfect opportunity. I got to enjoy 10 awesome days in Athens. Avery and I were able to spend time with both sides of the family as well as being able to see some very close friends while in town. I had so much fun playing cards with my family, watching the first ten episodes of Glee with Valerie, going to the movies - twice, being able to go back to KRK and visit with some of my favorite ex-co-workers (lol) and Barberitos - twice :) We do not have a Barbs or anything close here in Orlando... so I really had to get as much of that as possible. Delicious.

So ten days later Avery and I flew home. Alex picked us up and we went straight from the airport to downtown Disney to meet our friends Nicole and David... we are SO committed to our friends!?! They were in town for the weekend and luckily we were able to have a little visit with them before they headed home on Sunday. Really great to see you guys, and we will be taking you up on your offer to let us stay with you!! Next time, you'll stay with us?

That pretty much hits it for like, the whole month.... It was insane but really comforting to have all those people around me. I'm lucky that we can afford to have me stay home with Avery right now... but it definitely has it's drawbacks at times. With Alex in school and working full-time adult interaction is at all time low for me... having people here visiting every once and while helps me keep my sanity and it definitely makes me appreciate our families and everything they do/have done for us.

I'm now officially a HOME-MAKER!!

A few years ago I was able to go out west and had the opportunity to stay for two days with my dear friend Addy Cagle. The Cagles were living with Addy's family at the time and so I had the opportunity to meet her family and stay in their home. They were so welcoming. One of my favorite things about their home was all the amazing paintings they had of scenes from Christ's life. Every room I went in touched me in some way because of spirit their art evoked. Ever since my trip there one of my biggest temporal wants (LOL) have been to have paintings like this in my home. HOWEVER, since in no way can we afford anything that luxurious at this time I decided to get a little creative! Here is what I did...

Some time ago we were lucky enough to get a Greg Olsen calendar for free through the church. I don't really remember how, I think he donated a bunch of box loads. Anyway, we didn't actually use the calendar and I didn't want to thow it away because he has some really beautiful work. Since moving, our place has some pretty bare walls - we have just never had this much space before!! So I finally decided to do something with the calendar. I took it completely apart and picked some of my favorites out of the paintings. This is one of them...

The size was a little too big for an 8x10 so I bought a fairly inexpensive document frame 10x13 matted with an 8.5x11 opening. I just think that these look WAY better and more professional when matted. I don't usually like to go too cheap on frames because they generally fall apart pretty easily but these seemed to work out fine. They were six dollars at WalMart (where I usually don't like to go, unless absolutely necessary!).

Inserted the "painting." And, I was so surprised at how amazing it turned out. I mean, in no way does it compare to the Huge immaculate slash wonderful paintings that the Holladays have, but for our small budget I think it's A plus. :)

I did two more and hung them over our cubes. To hang them I actually used the new 3M Command picture hanging strips and I have to say, I was a little hesitant but they do work really well! This is what it now looks like....

This one is a litte bit more of a close-up. It looks as if the one to the right is smaller than the other two, but they are actually all the same size.

I have to say that for $18 dollars plus tax this little project turned out better than I expected AND I get a little bit of the feeling that I have some beautiful paintings of Christ in my home. Maybe one day I can upgrade haha, but for now I can be more than happy with this!

Thanks to the Holladay family, again, for their hospitality AND for displaying some of the most spiritual yet stunning pieces of art I've ever seen.

I'm pretty sure this counts as a tutorial, so now when people ask me my job... I can say homemaker!! :)

Oh, How the Times Change

And SO quickly too! Our little boy is growing up so fast that I can’t even keep up. It’s like he literally learns 1,000 new things a day. His vocabulary and his speech are different and better everyday…

Now, I know that he is not special in this and that it just happens… I mean, I studied Child Development in college so in no way am I really surprised at many of the things he can do and how fast he learns. I guess it’s just that no matter how much you know about children and development, when you become a parent you really get a whole different perspective. Do I know that children are sponges and they pick up things and learn everything incredibly fast? Yea but, I am STILL surprised when I see Avery doing something that I only showed him once. … absolutely!

Guys, I know I am just UH-mazed, because this is my child… so, pardon me for tooting my babies horn LOL but I can’t help it!! Plus, some of his grandmas have been asking about all the things he can do now

Here are some of the things that Avery has done recently that may not be all that special, but they were big in my book!!
~ Just a few weeks ago he didn’t want anything over him when he went to sleep – now he asks for a blanket: “bankie, bankie, bankie” : )
~ When we are going off, he goes to the driver side door and says “mama, mama” then to the back door and says “bebe, bebe”
~ He can tell me what the dog, the sheep, the cow, the fish, the cat and Lady GaGa says…. he can say a few colors: orange, blue, yellow, brown, red, and pink
~ He knows the members of our family – including some extended family and he can look at a picture of a different family and tell who the mommy, daddy and baby are.
~ He can blow his nose : )
~ And for a while now he’s known all of his body parts

AND last but not least – I think I am going to try and start potty training him as SOON as he hits 18 months because 1) he knows when he is going, he points to himself and tells me; and 2) when he’s in the bathroom he goes to the toilet, points inside and says “pee, pee”

Anyone got any tips on how to make it a smooth and relatively quick transition?

Here are some recent pictures of our little guy!

I feel like he looks so grown up in this one

I don't think it gets much goofier than that...

We took a trip to the beach this past Friday and Avery LOVED it!! The water was SO cold, but it didn't really seem to phase him...

After just a few waves, our feet were buried - Avery had sand up to his shins!!

Every time a wave would come he'd stick out his tongue and scream!