Christmas Cards

I’m in love with our Christmas cards this year!  I wanted to buy them through Shutterfly, since that’s where I store all of my pictures and make the girls birthday books every year.  They were pretty expensive when I first started looking, but then I snagged them at a really good deal I couldn't resist!

I had a $20 off coupon, an additional $5 off coupon, and the cards were all 50% off when I bought these = I was THRILLED!

Front

Back

·        Did you send out Christmas cards this year?

·        Did you go for the photo cards, or traditional holiday cards with no picture?

Christmas Wish List

My Wish list is pretty simple.  I only included items specifically for me.  Daniel and I usually take each other shopping closer to Christmas while we are out getting last minute things for the girls, so I'll definitely be looking for one of these items.  Also, we usually ask our parents for things we could use around the house or projects we want to get done around the house.  There are only 4 things that I really want these days if I was go to splurge on something for myself.  Everyone has a wish list right?! 

1.        TOMS Wedge Bootie – I’ve been eyeing these for a while and I’m in love with them!  I think I’ll actually need a new pair of skinny jeans that are just the right length for them as well ;)

2.      TheVintage Pearl mixed metal charm necklace – This is another thing that I’ve always seen and wanted.  I just have never clicked the “buy” button! 

3.      NikonD3300 – I NEED a new camera! Enough said.

4.      Cowboy Boots – There’s a local boot store I would probably go to buy these.  I just found this image since it was a picture of what style and color I would get.  Every girl needs a pair (or two) of cowboy boots!

What’s on your wish list this year?

Wedding Anniversary

Happy 5^th wedding anniversary to my wonderful husband! I cannot believe it’s been FIVE years! So much has happened in those 5 years.   We've moved into our second house and have had three beautiful little girls! We have been blessed and I cannot wait to make memories with this man the rest of my life! I love him beyond words.  Happy Anniversary to us!

First Things First

I’m really loving the fact that I’m getting more involved in this HUGE blogging community!  It’s a little intimidating, but I’m going with it full force.  I saw this link up “First Things First” and thought I’d join in J

First Pinterest project or recipe I attempted

Oh gosh – I think one of the first pinterest projects I tried was some Easter crafts for Easter 2012. Yes, 2012.  I was a slight bit late on the pinterest train.

Here’s my post on all my Eastery crafts

They were actually successful.  I even brought out the wreath this year and put it on our front door.  All was well until a windy rain/snow came through and ruined the whole thing. FAIL.  Looks like I’ll be upgrading to a new Easter wreath for 2014! Holla!

First random song that pops up on my iTunes

Oh my.  I have the most random songs.  I’m going to name a few, so you don’t get any crazy ideas about me. I’ve been on this old school kick recently…

Zac Brown Band – Day that I Die

Florida Georgia Line – Cruise

Big Tymers – Get Your Roll On

Britney Spears – I’m a Slave for You

Mystikal - Danger

Maybe naming a few didn’t change the crazy things going through your head…oops.

First product I use in the shower

Shampoo.  I follow the same routine every morning in the shower.  Shampoo, Conditioner, Shaving cream to shave legs (if I am that day), body wash, and I wash my face last. Every Single time – if I end up mixing things up I always get out going over everything again in my head to make sure I did everything I was supposed to. 

Taking the Plunge…

I’ve been writing on this blog for a couple of years now.  I can’t believe I started it back in 2009!  I don’t think I started for any particular reason, other than to have a blog.  I really enjoyed reading blogs myself, so I thought “what the heck?!”  Since then, I’ve become a “Mrs.”, become a home-owner (x2), and become a mommy (x2)!   I still don’t think many people read this – other than the occasional traffic I might get from entering into a contest, But I’m hoping to change that!

Honestly, I really enjoy writing whether anyone reads these posts or not.  BUT…I guess I should let you guys at least have the chance to read if you’d like, right?!  So I’m finally starting to put this out there for others to see.  Learning how to gain traffic and followers all while re-vamping little things on my blog.

Now, I’m no web designer nor do I really find myself savvy on all the new social media icons or gadgets, but I can do a few things. Since I’ve gained the confidence of making my blog public (and making the decision of course), I have added some social media icons to the left of my posts.  There you will find my e-mail, a link to my Pinterest page, a link to my Facebook page (which is now updated to a blog page), link to follow me on Bloglovin, and a box to follow me by e-mail. 

Bear with me as I dive head first into the blogging world.  There’s so much to learn!! And on top of trying to teach myself, I’m working full-time, and mommying – whew!

Thank you for your patience and for reading!  Can’t wait to share in this journey!

p.s. If anyone goes back to read from 2009-2011 - my pictures are all missing.  This happened a few months ago, and I'm slowly trying to go back and re-add them.  #icouldhavescreamed

xoxo

Erin

NYE 2012 & goals for 2013

New Years Eve was very low-key around our house this year.  We both stayed in and just hung out with the girls.  Hayden actually went to bed kind of early, so I don't have any New Years pictures of her :(  (Sorry Hayden, this does NOT mean I love your sister more...ever)

Someone in our neighborhood was letting off fireworks, so Hadleigh and daddy stood at the window watching them for a little bit.  I was coming down the stairs from laying Hayden in her crib to "WOW, mama, LOOK!"

Hadleigh and I then painted our nails sparkly teal (be jealous) and went to make some brownies.  I had to stop Hadleigh cause all she was doing was eating the powder mix - evidence below.

Of course I let her lick the bowl, but she wasn't happy about me taking most of the mix away from her. Win some you lose some.

To say I actually rang in the new year would be a lie.  I fell asleep around 11, but got woken up by Hayden around 1am, so I got my new years kiss then.  I know I know, I'm soooo crazy!

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I'm horrible about keeping whatever goals I think I'm going to achieve for the year.  Even if I write them down or put them on the blog (like here which was 2010 - nice! Excuse the pictures not loading, I lost all my old pictures and still in the process of going back and adding them...GRRR) I fail at reaching most if not all of them. Oh well. I definitely have some things in mind for this year, but don't hold me to them ;)

1.  Finish up this Kitchen Renovation - Details to come soon, but renovating sucks.  Especially when it's your kitchen.

2.  Get furniture for the sunken room /finish decorating that & the nook. Yep it's been sitting empty for almost a year.

3. Don't get Pregnant. This is a legit goal people.  I calculated that I've been pregnant (whether not knowingly or REALLY pregnant) throughout some part of the year since 2009.  2009!  Now, if I where to get pregnant, let's not mistake that I would welcome it and be thrilled for the miracle of another precious baby...after the initial shock.  I know how babies are made, but still.

4.  Renovate the office.  Daniel works from home and currently camps out of the couch.  He.Needs.An.Office.

5.  Make more time for Daniel and I.  I feel like everything I read says you should put your spouse first.  With 2 little ones, it's hard to do.  Especially when you love them too much and want to do everything and anything with/for them.  so on top of still doing all of that, we need to really make an effort for us and their sake.  Our relationship is awesome, but with the hustle and bustle of life and kids...you're quick to put it on the back burner.  We aren't sure how, but maybe we'll get some cool date night ideas and I'll post about them :)

6.  Soak every moment with the girls.  This is a given.  But recently I've come across random things on Facebook or another blog and it really hits hard.  Random things like people losing loved ones/kids or people who are stricken with illness.  I'm grateful everyday for my girls and cannot imagine life without them, so I'm going to soak.it.all.up.  We are going to go to the zoo, the aquarium, the beach, the children's museum, the park, to parties, to friend's houses, to family's houses.  My sister and I are even planning a Disney Trip for April/May of 2014 and we cannot wait!

7.  Pay my Credit Card off.  I don't have a huge amount of debt, but I hate that payment every month.  paying the minimum doesn't get me anywhere either.  2014 will hopefully be credit card debt free!

8.  Blog about some other topics that I care about.  I've thought about doing this, and I have a few times, but I hesitate a lot putting my thoughts and opinions out there 100%.  Maybe it's time...

9.  Most importantly Have fun everyday!

4th of July 2012

We had a great 4th of July week/weekend.  Daniel, Hadleigh, and I spent it down at the river with both families.  We didn't really do anything but hang around and play on the beach and in the water.  Kristy, Michael, and Lily came down for one day.  The girls had a blast playing together.

Daddy & Hadleigh being patriotic

Mama & Hadleigh

Moon was gorgeous that night!

haha

water baby

Easter Crafts

Each holiday is becoming so much fun to celebrate since we have Hadleigh and she's getting older and is more and more active. We know it will only get better each year and with new additions to the family :)

Since we have this great site "Pinterest" I've been itching to do some crafts. Easter was the perfect time to get started on a few. First, I made a simple little vase with plastic eggs instead of flowers.

Then I made an egg wreath that will be saved, so I can bring it out each year.

We had Easter brunch at our house, so I made an AWESOME homemade carrot-applesauce cake, which I decorated with some peeps :)

I wanted to dye Easter eggs with Hadleigh this year, so the week before the big day I set everything up for us to do it. I actually bought the kit where you "sponge" the eggs to make it speckled. I figured it would be a little easier and something Hadleigh could help with a little more. Yeah, she did.not.like.it.one.bit. She speckled one egg a few times and then realized the dye was getting on her hands. It was funny - she just kept looking at her hands and then showing me that they were colored. I ended up s"speckling" all but the top one on the right. That is Hadleigh's beautiful egg! Can't wait to do it all again next year :)

Christmas 2011

(This has been sitting in draft status for a long time, and I just forgot to hit publish...oops!)

We had a great Christmas! We all got spoiled and had a lot of fun with both of our families. Since I was taking pictures most of the time, Dada helped Hadleigh open up her gifts.  She loved ripping the paper :)

We celebrate with Daniel's parents and brother on Christmas Eve, so Hadleigh had a few more gifts to open before Santa's big arrival!  She loves loves loves her new pink bug <3

Christmas morning we woke up and saw what santa had brought Hadleigh.  Video of Christmas morning has already been uploaded to Youtube if you want to see how she reacted.  She especially loved the kitchen.

We had a busy day ahead of us, so we left home and went to my parents for breakfast and more present opening.  This was probably the last year we will do this since our kids will be getting older - mom and dad will have to travel to us starting next year.  Hadleigh had lots of fun with her toys and playing with Erik and Jaxson.



This picture cracks me up and will be shown to her boyfriend down the road ;)

We finished the day at Daniel's parents where his entire extended family gets together.  It was a good time, although I wasn't feeling the best.  We did manage to get a Harris family picture.

NYC Trip

This is a long overdue post.  Back in the beginning of December, I headed up to NYC for the first time.  I went with a few gals from Daniel's family (his mom, aunt and cousin).  We were part of a larger group who takes the train up once a year and stays for a few days.  It was exhausting as there is lots of shopping and walking to do, but it was really fun.  We saw 2 Broadway shows "Anything Goes" and "Mamma Mia".  I loved Anything Goes - Sutton Foster is amazing.  We also went to a day show of The Rockettes.  All of our meals were super yummy (including all the deserts).

9.11 memorial

9.11 memorial

9.11 memorial

In front of the NYC Balls

Us before dinner one night

Had to get a picture with Elmo for Hadleigh :)

Dinner at Lombardi's Pizza (yummy!!)

Rockettes

Rockefeller Tree

"Life to Her Years"

I stumbled across this blog and I can't help but to share.  It is the sweetest (not to mention cutest) blog written by a father, who happens to have a daughter about the same age as Hadleigh.  He just posts a sentence or two with a picture - kind of like a rolling list of things to do with your daughter.  Some of the posts are original and directly from him, while others are submissions from anyone in the world who read his blog.  Very cool idea, and how sweet that his daughter will have it to look back on.  It's definitely worth reading and checking out on a daily base to see what new advice he has!

Life to Her Years 

Europe Trip Part Two

The last stop on our trip was Paris, France!  We were only there about a day and a half, but we got so much done!  We didn't stay in the greatest of hotels....well let's be honest, it was the worst hotel we've ever stayed in I think.  We laughed about it, and then slid the table in front of our door for a little "extra" protection :)

We woke up on Thursday 10.6 ready to take on Paris.  After some breakfast at Starbucks, we headed to find Notre Dame Cathedral.  It was enormous and made with such detail.

Shot of the city and the water as we were walking

Next up was The Louvre = amazing!

Where we saw The Mona Lisa

We stopped and had lunch which included a cheese plate.  It was...interesting.

Then it was on our way to The Eiffel Tower, which we were both excited to see Paris from the top :)

We had a little more time before it started getting late, so we decided to go to Galleries Lafayette.  It was 7 stories of shopping, each floor catering to something different.  It was very expensive and pretty overwhelming, so we stayed on the children's floor and picked up a few gifts for Hadleigh.  Afterwards, we decided to go see The Moulin Rouge.  I was really excited since my girlfriends and I *love* that movie.  Here's some shots we got.

The trip had some hiccups, but overall we were so fortunate to have the opportunity to see such great places.  And it was nice for Daniel and I to get away just the two of us.  We missed Hadleigh dearly and were both ready to come back to give her hugs and kisses :)