A Lot of Random

Last week was my hubby's birthday (Tues) and my birthday (Wed). Due to his coal mine being shut down we did not get to do much celebrating together :( Someday I will do a post all about coal mining and what a stressful job it is and how I pray for the safety of our miners every day. Shane's workplace is really like our extended family and I'm so blessed he has a job where people care about their coworkers. But, I digress.

Given the hubby was working long hours I visited my sister on my birthday and Carsyn got to spend a little time with her favorite guy. Seriously these two together MELT MY HEART.











This weekend I went to my mom and dad's and we had a little birthday celebration there.






Maddox was more than happy to blow out Shane's candle!






After sleeping all night (thank you cousins who wore baby girl out) Carsyn woke up saying Max, Max. Cutest thing ever! I hope Maddox is ok with his nickname.

We had a very low key day Sunday and the weather was pretty gross. I ended up taking Carsyn to Lowe's to look around and find some picture hangers. Kid loves riding in the buggy so much. I'm sure people look at me crazy when I run up and down the aisles.






After tweeting a picture of my exciting scrapbooking Sunday night I got a few questions about project life. If y'all want to know anything just ask me. I made a scrapbook for Carsyn's life highlighting events from pregnancy til Christmas but it was just too time consuming, Michelle at Somerset Cottage turned me onto to project life and for now its more my pace. So far I've made it til March.






And in case that wasn't enough randomness for you how about these gorgeous roses I got at Walmart?? $10 for 18 people. They are just so beautiful I put them on my sink so I can enjoy them every morning..Go out and get you some ladies!!

Our Weekend

With summer winding down I'm trying to spend as much time in the pool with baby girl as possible. She is such a little waterdog :)







I'm beyond ready for fall fashion, but I hate to say goodbye to my summer staple-the maxi dress. I got this little beauty off the INC sale rack at Macys for $29..



(please forgive the playmat in the background..I have boxes of stuff baby girl has outgrown I need to pack away..sigh)

I was so inspired reading what Shauna did to her pantry I decided to tackle my own this weekend.

Before..


Work In Progress..



I have a little more work to do but here's a little breakdown so far..

I put all of Carsyn's goodies on a tray on the bottom shelf. She's outgrown most of her baby food, but I still have a few left.



I picked up these OXO containers for dry goods like cereal, snacks, pasta, etc..



I also have a tray for our grownup snacks...ritz crackerfuls and granola bars..exciting stuff! :)



I wish I could get more ambitious and paint and repalce the shelves but I feel better just getting organized.

The perfect weekend ends with a run for me..

A Major Reward..

well actually award, but don't you just love that line from A Christmas Story? Seriously, one of my favorite movies ever. I watch it again and again, just ask the hubs. Anyway, I digress..

Sweet, sweet Laura gave me this little blogger award:



The Rules of accepting the Versatile Blogger Award are:
1. Thank the person who gave you the award and link back to them in your post.
2. Share 7 things about yourself
3. Pass this award along to up to 15 recently discovered blogs

Thanks to Laura, who resides in Tennessee and is the mommy to adorable Grayson who happens to share a birthday with Carsyn Presley!

Seven things..hmmm....

1) I have a fear of abandonment. Its bad. I was left at Magic Mart as a child and I had flashes of never seeing my family again. (That might be over-dramatized) A few years ago the hubby borrowed my iphone and went to the potty while we were tailgating with friends. I became worried and went to search for him after he never returned. I couldn't find him nor could I remember where we parked our car. He thought it was hilarious and it was a tossup whether to kill him or sigh with relief when he found me.

2) I talk to my madre every day..multiple times. And my sister..multiple times.

3) I really need to go to the dentist. The last time I went I was pregnant. I don't even dread it that bad..I just cannot remember to make the appointment.

4) I look JUST LIKE my dad. I mean honestly, my party trick is putting on a cap and impersonating him...well that and planking..



5) I live to run, not run to live. I actually enjoy the sweating, lungs on fire, weak knees feeling. I just wish I was better at it or could do it more often.

6) I love winter. Most people dream of beach houses..I dream of ski chalets. I'm still bummed I didn't win the HGTV dream home in Vermont.

7) I love organizing things. Things in my home will get so out of control messy that I'll be on the verge of losing my mind and then I'll decide to clean- no matter the time or place. This weekend it was the pantry. It looked like it belonged on an episode of hoarders. Nearly 4 garbage bags later we're good.

Onto blogs to pass the award to:

Somerset Cottage
Michelle is true life wife and mommy extraordinaire!

My Crack in the Grigsby Life
This girl cracks me up!

Port Of Thoughts
Elizabeth is so beautiful and sweet..she has the most adorable pup you'll ever see.

The Sweet Pea Life
I love reading about the adventures of The Mrs. She also posts some really good recipes!

Fall Fashion...via JC

Everyone is ready for Fall, right? Football, bonfires, chili, scarves, Autumn Slatkin candles...did I mention football?

I love fall clothes and this season is no exception.

After receiving my September JCrew I have my eye on these beauties..

Source: jcrew.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

love this jacket...especially paired with white jeans

Source: jcrew.tumblr.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

lulu frost bangles!!..I'll take three please

Source: jcrew.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

this really is the perfect shirt..perfect for UK games!

Source: jcrew.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

love this..with heels and dressy or boots and casual..

speaking of boots, also on my list is the perfect pair of cowboy boots..

Source: sheplers.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

now, if I could only decide white or brown..


what's on your fall fashion wishlist??

Weekend Recap

This weekend I attended a purse party fundraiser at Spindletop in Lexington, KY. I had forgotten what a beautiful place this was! Spindletop was once a private residence but now serves as a country club for UK alum. Since I opted to not look like a tourist and take pictures myself I stole a few from the website..



The Foyer..







The Veranda..





Louis XVI Suite..



The event was a huge success and I got to meet some fantastic ladies..



Here some of us are representing East KY..





If I'm being completely honest dressing up is an exciting event in my household these days. Its nice to get out of the mom wardrobe every now and then! Here's a breakdown of the total ensemble.

KFRW Purse Party by jenhts featuring a round handbag

My sister volunteered to keep baby girl and she had a blast. She crawled in the grass and waved at all of the cars that went by.



How was your weekend?

Carsyn is 11 Months Old

Not fair y'all! I cannot believe my baby girl will be a year old next month!

Carsyn Presley, you are the funniest little girl I know. You have such an outgoing, easy personality. You love everyone! Recently you started bobbing up and down when a song you like comes on the radio. Your favorite right now is Luke Bryan's Country Girl-go figure! When we turn it on you scream dada, dada and laugh and start bouncing. It's so funny! You love to dance but not as much as you like to swim. You could stay in the water all day long- you're a water dog just like momma and daddy. Other than that you love to crawl and climb everywhere. I don't think you'll be walking anytime soon, but we'll see. You really don't have a favorite toy right now. You play with your barbies and you like to roll a ball back and forth but not as much as you like phones, remotes, and lipstick. You could play with a tube of lipstick for days! You love to crawl and turn to see if anyone will chase you. For the past month you've had a love affair with pictures on the wall. When you walk by pictures of yourself, Maddox, or any other baby you wave and say hi!

In addition to waving hi you wave bye. You love to drop your paci and say uh-oh. You say dada, mama, dog (for Elvis), duck (your fav bathtub toy), goo gil (good girl). When people comment on you I quickly say she's a good girl and most times you repeat goo gil. You love repeating and mimicking everyone. Momma is trying to teach you to sign more but you just clap your hands and say mo. You still love to clap and play patticake. When we ask you to do arms up and you do you immediately start clapping for yourself. In fact you clap when anyone says yay.

Your eating habits are getting better. You are pretty much done with baby food and taking steps toward real food. You will still eat pears and peach cobbler, but that's about it. You like biscuits, little debbie cakes, French fries, grilled cheese and chicken nuggets! You love baby yogurt too! You're warming up to scrambled eggs and Mac n cheese. We've been testing cake out and it seems your favorite is chocolate. So a chocolate smash cake for your birthday it will be. Fingers crossed you'll wash it down with some whole milk by then. Did I mention we're up to 1 1/2 teeth!

As your eating habits have improved so have your sleeping. We went through a rough period of up at least twice at night-ick! You may take being a fickle sleeper after your daddy but sleeping late-that's a mommy attribute! Lately you've been sleeping til 9:00. It's pretty wonderful but I have a feeling as you start sleeping more solid you'll be up a little earlier.

Of course you're tiny and I'm sure everyone is tired of hearing me say under 16 lbs. Truthfully I just don't know. We tried to weigh you this morning but you pitched a bit of a fit. You're wearing mostly 9 month clothing and a few 12 month. We are moving up to size 3 diapers :)

Here's the outtakes..

hmmm.. this pose looks very familiar.



..oh yeah, its the I'm out of here pose..



so much happier in the floor with my toys!



and yes, in case you were wondering I did give her the remote to bribe her into taking a pic..



and the trusted iphone is another great manipulation tool!

Mommy Stuff

So here's one I stole from Redbook..

10 Things Never to Say to a Stay At Home Mom

1. When the kids are older, do you think you'll get a real job?

2. How June Cleaver of you!

3. Oh, so you don't work?

4. Since you have extra time on your hands, could you whip up a few dozen brownies for the bake sale tomorrow?

5. All day with your kids? I can't even imagine.

6. I'm jealous. I wish my husband were rich so I wouldn't have to work either.

7. What do you do all day, anyway?

8. I'm sure you're not the only one who's ever wasted money on a college degree.

9. That explains why your son is so clingy!

10. Weird. I assumed your house would be superclean.

—Candy Kirby of thelaughingstork.com, with help from her Twitter followers and friends


10 Things Never to Say to a Working Mom

1. It must be hard missing all those special moments every day.

2. I suppose it's smart that you're working. You know, in case your husband leaves you some day.

3. I'm surprised you went back to work. Your husband seems so successful.

4. It's cute when they call your nanny "Mama."

5. I just love my kids too much to leave them during the day.

6. Did you see Dateline? The one with the hidden camera in the day care?

7. I could never let someone else raise my children. But that's just me!

8. I hated my mom because she was never home after school like everyone else's mom.

9. You must feel so guilty.

10. I wish I were as laid-back as you and could just let the housework go.

—Liz Gumbinner of Mom-101.com, with help from her blog readers

Now, since I work part time and stay at home part time I completely relate to these. In fact, I think dear husband came home one day and asked "What did you do all day anyway?" I seethed siliently knowing it was not meant to cut so deeply. I can honestly say I have been on the receiving end of many of these questions and comments.

I prefer to use my blog as a learning and sharing tool; A means to document my life and be inspired by others. In the blog world there is a LARGE support group for mommies and without advice from 2 lovely ladies from ILYMTC & 5K's I would probably have lost my mind. I often read experiences of mothers being questioned for their practices and parenting styles. WHY? I just don't get it. Meg and Erin are 2 wonderful mommies with adorable children who recently wrote some things which you should read. I just adore them both and applaud their attitudes and honesty. I am so trying to be less judgemental while balancing the whole guilt factor in my own life. Being the best mommy is not the same for every child. There is no "perfect" mold of a mother. I believe each child needs its own set of rules and in fact different children thrive in different environments.

If you're a woman please check out what these ladies have to say, perhaps even leave a word of encouragement. There is nothing more inspring than being lifted up by others :)