Happy Halloween!

Hope everyone had a safe and wonderful Halloween!!

I figured I'd be real creative and post Halloween pictures of baby girl ;)





We had a great weekend! Saturday I finally got a manicure-thanks hubby! I also had a chance to make some Halloween mix.





Saturday evening we made the rounds and trick or treated at our families. I feel so blessed to be within easy driving distance of everyone- (boo big sis for living in Lex!) One of the best parts of the weekend was my grandmother getting to meet Carsyn. Unfortunately she just got released from the hospital and was reluctant to hold her, but I'm hoping to get a picture of them together real soon.






We ended the evening at my SIL's. They had a great Halloween party with lots of great food and decorations. They are really good hosts and I'm hoping she'll post some pics- of course she might have been too busy spoiling her niece!

Thursday Ramblings

** Carsyn is already a daddy's girl and I'm ok with that. She took her first bottle last night and I'm going to be one of those pathetic mothers that says it saddened me a little. Its ok though-moments like this melt my heart!




** Fall is my favorite season but I'm a little sad that colder weather is settling in and Carsyn and I likely took our last stroll at the lake today. I'm thinking maybe some of you followers in sunny places can house swap with me (you know like in the movie The Holiday?)

** This is by far hands down the worst my hair has ever looked- I am overtaken by gray-I NEED A CUT/COLOR! I also understand why moms cut their hair off as Carsyn loves to tug mine already.

** Spare time has a whole new meaning- It used to mean a leisurely Saturday or Sunday filled with laying in the sun and reading. I have not read the first page of a book in over a month. This week I had an hour while Carsyn slept blissfully and bathed Elvis, changed every blown light bulb in the house, did a load of laundry, skimmed a Food Network magazine, and balanced my checkbook.

** Speaking of Elvis I am neglecting you-it pains me to say it. I envy all those out there who can balance their pets and their children- I cannot.

**In my attempt to find a Halloween costume to fit Carsyn I forgot to get her a trick or treat basket. I pathetically ordered one from PB Kids and had it sent overnight, it will not be monogrammed and I'm mad at myself- Mother of the year I am not.

** And while we are on the subject of mother of the year, Carsyn scratched her face today and brought blood. Cutting the child's fingernails is the most dreadful task known to man.

** I am so excited for the holiday season. I have already thought of decorating and making my Christmas wish list. Is it to early to watch Christmas vacation?

** I heart Cindy McCain (did anyone see her and Meghan on The Talk today?). I want to get that book!


** I recently purchased my first pair of Tory Burch flats. My sister has told me, but now I'm a believer-these shoes are comfy :)

** Today was housekeeper Thursday- We hired a lady to come in the very end of my pregnancy and I vowed it was temporary. I do not want to let her go.

** The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown is awesome...one of the best parts of Halloween (well that and my big sis's candy corn mix...ummm...big sis what happened this year?)



** Sleep deprivation is an evil monster-nuff said.

Do You DVR?

I was diametrically opposed to the dvr for a year or so-crazy I know!! I just figured it sucked the fun out of watching television. Boy was I wrong. I am embarrassed to admit I just recently added the dvr option to the tv in Carsyn's nursery. I never thought I'd put a tv in the nursery but those midnight, 2 am, 5 am feedings changed that. Now I think hmmm..when Carsyn is up at 2:00 I can get caught up on Real Housewives, and then at 5:00 maybe Y & R. It has definitely improved my quality of life. Also, considering Twilight is on a different movie channel every night I have it recorded too! So much easier than having to turn on the DVD player!! So, there it is..the fact I watch way too much tv and have no life. Some things I am getting caught up on:

Gossip Girl
Y & R
Kardashians
Guilianna & Bill
DWTS
Real Housewives (Atlanta & Beverly Hills) and a few DC too!
All My Children
Mad Men

On a sad note my hubby has officially turned off the family spigot-With the holidays coming up and the fact that having baby girl pretty much drained us I guess its the best decision and I'll support it (its hard when a spender marries a saver ;)

My last purchase:




Chanel polish in Paradoxal..now if only I can get to the salon for a mani/pedi

The Ugly Truth

Yesterday I had my 4 week checkup appt with my Dr. Carsyn and my mom accompanied me and she was an angel all day long. I did a little shopping but truthfully it was a hard adjustment trying to shop when I was waiting the whole time for Carsyn to have a temper tantrum. Luckily that did not happen and I ended up with a few things:



I'm not the biggest Tori Spelling fan but this book is super cute. I've already read it to Carsyn-she loved it ;)



Even though this is Louisville colors..ugh..I love this little dress- My post pregnancy body is not so great, but I plan to wear it with leggings and a jacket.

So, back to the Dr visit. I by no means want to be a debbie downer but figured I'd share a little about myself post c-section. As far as healing goes I am feeling pretty well. I have been walking some, but just do not feel like running yet. I plan to give myself a couple more weeks and get into it and my Dr said that was fine, just to take it slow. The area around my incision is a little puffy. I am assured it will go down, but perhaps not as much as I'd like-I guess that push present I've been nagging the hubby for might be a little plastic surgery-Ha! Now onto the weight issue- I have no clue what my pre-pregnancy weight was. I do not own a scale and just always relied on the old fashioned mirror to tell me when I had put on some lbs. My first Dr visit at 12 weeks I weighed 142. I actually think that number might have been a little low as I'd been so sick. My last visit I weighed 174-YIKES!! At my checkup yesterday I was 153. As of now I can wear all of my pre pregnancy clothes except a few pairs of pants and jeans. Its a little depressing but truthfully I am not that upset about it. I'm looking forward to getting back to working out and yoga and running.

I was so excited we ended the day yesterday with a little sushi :)




mmmmm.....Momma is sooo happy!!

Carsyn is 1 month old!

Carsyn- I can't believe my baby girl is already a month old!!

You have everyone wrapped around your little finger- especially your daddy! Speaking of fingers- yours are long and skinny, just like your mommas. Aside from that and your blue eyes, that's the only thing you got from momma because you look just like your daddy. Your hair is getting blonder and curlier by the day-love your heart if you have your momma's hair cause its a hot mess!

You still do not sleep a whole lot and keep your poor momma up all night long. When she thinks she's at her wits end you give up and sleep for 4-5 hours and let her regain her sanity. You really do not mind where you sleep when you do go down- crib, pack and play, carseat..it doesn't matter. However, your absolute favorite place to sleep is in your daddy or papaw's arms. I swear you could sleep in papaw's arms for days!!

You love going on trips, and especially love long walks in your stroller-Thank goodness because momma loves it too. Your daddy swears you love watching Looney Tunes dvds with him and Tweety Bird is your favorite character. You really enjoy your swing also.

So far momma has had no luck getting you to take your paci, but thank goodness daddy has. You have a very good personality, but when you have your feisty days, boy are you feisty!! Somehow momma is the only one to witness these.

You are wearing NB diapers and clothing still, but you are growing as you've gained 2 lbs since coming home!! The first two weeks you were home you wore premie outfits!! According to the Dr at your last visit you weighed 8 lbs 2 oz and were near 21 inches long.

Just for comparison here is your pig picture when we first brought you home...






Every day is an adventure with you Carsyn and no matter how many sleepless nights and headaches momma gets I always thank God for you, my baby girl.

Pajama Day

So after my rant that I was tired of sitting at the house things got busy and all I wanted to do was sit at the house. Tuesday was Carsyn's appt with the pediatrician..8 lbs 2 oz!!! Wednesday I went to work. Yesterday I declared girls pajama day. Its a good thing because Carsyn was extra fussy and momma found herself cuddling her all day long.. Finally this happened...




and I got to do a little online shopping..

JCrew post pregnancy outfit....golly I hope it fits




I know I'm probably "drinking the koolaid" but QVC really has me wanting an instyler..I finally brokedown and ordered it-I promise to do a post whether I like the results or not ;)



And finally a picture of baby girl all dressed up for her Dr appt..



Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Turn Me Loose, Set Me Free

Love that Merle Haggard song...

Carsyn was 3 weeks old as of yesterday and Momma was completely going stir crazy. As for being a SAHM the SAH part is not for me. I'm looking forward to dressing Carsyn up and going shopping(even if its just the grocery store), going for strolls at the lake, and visiting family. Luckily Shane's family came to visit on Sunday and I got outside and did a little fall decorating. Its so nice to have company..I start looking forward to weekends on Mondays.








We finally got our new doors installed and I'm really happy with the results!


Today, I loaded up the SUV with Carsyn's 400 lb stroller and went to my favorite running trail at the lake.....Yippeee! My Dr did not give me specific instructions as to when I could drive or exercise...I do not feel up to running yet, but baby girl and I did have a nice walk. It was a beautiful fall day here in KY and I think it did us both good to get out of the house.





Tomorrow is another adventure as we have a Dr appt. Hopefully they'll give me some advice as to how to get baby girl to sleep at night!! So far, she is totally nocturnal (and yes this might be my fault).

SUYL- Kitchen

I have loved snooping through others people's houses via the SUYL entries at Kellys Korner!! Finally I've had time to participate.

The kitchen is truly my favorite room in the house. We recently remodeled so for the complete post click here: Kitchen Remodel.




I have always wanted a Viking range, but I am really loving the Electrolux..they have so many neat features and are a breeze to clean. I love my island as it gives me lots more room to cook and prepare things. Mom bought us the chandeliers for Christmas one year and I knew the kitchen would be the perfect place for them.


Catching up:

The Living Room




Shane calls this the foo fie room..he really does not like it..there's no tv!! I really like this room though I do not spend a whole lot of time here. I love the high ceilings and mouldings. It is the room you come into when you enter our house so I usually keep it picked up.







The furniture came from Pottery Barn and Green Front furniture in Farmville, VA. If you have never been to Green Front rent a U-Haul and go- Its fabulous. The drapes are Restoration Hardware and my SIL, BIL, and hubby recently hung them for me. I would love to replace that light fixture. I am also hoping to get a few things on the wall soon.

I really do not have a lot of accessories in this room, but a few things are special. Here is Carsyn's first ultrasound picture and a wedding portrait of me. I just really do not like the way I photograph, but this was Shane's favorite photo.




This is Shane's trophy for the Keightly Classic golf tournament-he's very proud of winning 3rd place.



I love reading home books...if I can get away for a few minutes I like to read these and look at the beautiful photos for inspiration.




The Dining Room-



I opted to use the end area of our kitchen as the dining room in our house and have a formal living room and family room because it works for us. I am always changing the table scape because I get bored with things easily. Usually in the summer I like fresh flowers but I just changed it for fall. The table and chairs are from Arhaus furniture (love that place).



I would love to have a hutch for this area and I might would use this wall. Right now I am using this buffet to display seasonal things. My sister gave me these apothecary jars she found at Home Goods- thanks big sis!





I also think a hutch would go well on this wall, but my old kitchen island has come in handy. Right now its kind of my coffee bar. I also have a chalk board and Ipod dock on the other end.



The Master Bedroom-



Our master suite is the entire upstairs of our house. It has a lot of sloped ceilings and awkward corners. I am working on getting it the way I've always wanted it and that means a lot of boxes and lack of decor. Please stay tuned as I hope to have made progress in the next few months. The bed in our bedroom is Tommy Bahama and the linens are a combination of Martha Stewart and Restoration Hardware. I have always loved the look of an all white bed and so far I have not gotten tired of it.

For more homes, including my SIL's please visit Kellys Korner..

Simple Things

These days simple things make me happy..Carsyn taking a long nap during the day so I can do some laundry,sit on the front porch and enjoy a beautiful fall day, organize my closet for fall, or even bake some muffins for the hubby. I really enjoy a shower and getting to wash my hair. That cup of coffee I went nine months without is pure bliss! I swear sometimes Carsyn looks at me and grins and my heart melts.

Right now, as I am rocking the black yoga pants on almost a daily basis, I am seriously lusting over the October J Crew catalog. However, I would like to introduce you to my favorite item in my postpartum wardrobe:



I Love these pjs from olian...they're feminine, yet very comfortable...Of course for pjs they definitely are a splurge, but well worth it.

Being a Mommy

You know when you're laying in the hospital getting ready to have a baby and the nurses tell you that part is a piece of cake..wait til you get them home?? They're right!! Now, I did not expect Carsyn to be sleeping through the night or to never cry, but I did expect a nap or two..I feel so overwhelmed sometimes but one look at those big blue eyes and I know its all worth it. It just seems to me while being a mom is the biggest blessing it is also a difficult job- props to all the moms out there. At this point I am taking mothering advice from anyone. Carsyn is 2 weeks old and all I know to expect is patterns will start developing at 6 weeks..I am new to this and want her to be "normal". If she sleeps 4 hours I think something is wrong-she's too sleepy, if she doesn't sleep at all (case in point last night) I feel I'm failing as a mommy.

Now on to the positive-

I drove to Lowe's yesterday!! The hubby told me I looked like Driving Miss Daisy and its only 2 miles from home, but I DID IT! The only drawback was I found myself lusting after Christmas trees and its not even Halloween yet. And, a man let me jump him in line because I looked tired :(

Also, thanks to Carsyn's healthy (and by healthy I mean hungry 24/7) appetite I am back in most of my pre pregnancy clothes!! And no hubby this does not mean I am skipping my shopping spree the first day I'm out of this house!

Sweet baby girl-