3rd Angry Bird-day

Carter turned three on September 24th and we celebrated with an Angry Birds themed BBQ. I told myself that it would be a casual BBQ with our usual family and friends, but I probably went a little overboard. I thought I'd be too overwhelmed to plan a big party, especially because the party fell on the same week that I went back to work and Carter started preschool but somehow I made it all work. I think I secretly love piling too much on my plate just to see if I can handle it all. Yes, I'm crazy. Haven't we figured that out by now?

Three was a really fun birthday for us because it was the first year that he truly *got* it. He kept talking about his birthday and the party, presents,  for weeks beforehand. I think I'm really going to like three (so far so good!). I hope I don't eat those words later..

Here are some of the pictures of Carter's 3rd Birthday:

Angry Bird cupcake toppers!

Olivia wearing her Angry Birds bow for the party.

Another successful birthday wrapped! Yes, I get that I am literally planning the same party year after year with a new theme but same idea at the same location. I've got to switch it up next year.

In other news..

Life has been moving along for us. I mentioned that Carter started preschool and it is going SO well. Our little guy is now potty trained (which probably deserves a post in itself) and he has had zero accidents in several weeks now. I feel like a huge weight has been lifted. Three short months ago I couldn't find that perfect preschool and I felt as if Carter would be in diapers forever. Literally overnight my dream preschool appeared a mile from my house - I had no idea it was there - and we were able to potty train Carter. Potty training is one of the worst things as a parent I had to go through. Carter is the a very stubborn child and our daycare provider basically told us not to get our hopes up that he would be potty trained by three years-old. Want to know how I did it? I threw away all the diapers in the house, kept a change of clothes with me wherever I went, and asked him a bajillion times if he had to use the potty. The first week was the most disgusting week of my life, I wanted to give up. He absolutely refused to do a #2 in the potty, for over 8 days in a row (and he goes more than once a day usually). YUCK. We refused to put a diaper on him, even at night. We had to be consistent and persistant. By week two, he finally started doing #2 in the potty, and that was it. He was trained just in time for preschool! It feels like ages ago that I was changing his diaper, and it was only six weeks ago. He is such a big boy now with his big boy underpants. So glad that is over!

He loves his preschool, and is already learning so much. I'm kind of in awe that our little baby boy is now this full blown little man. I don't even know how it happened.

Livy Bean is still adjusting to my going back to work, but I think we finally found our groove here. She is still quite the angel baby for me and I keep asking myself when this whole two kid thing is going to get hard (okay that was a lie - it's really flipping hard but I love it).

I'm going to write a post about going to work this week if I can find the time.

I better run now because Carter is getting into something he shouldn't and Andy needs some help - nighty night!

Birthday Invitation's!

I need some help with Carter's 2nd Birthday invitations.

Here's what we did last year for his 1st:

Sorry for the crappy picture of it.

I LOVED the invitation (mostly because I got to include 11 pictures of him on it) and I wouldn't mind doing something similar this year for his 2nd (including one picture for each month) but then again it is probably overkill.

We've decided on the Mickey Mouse theme so if you have any cute Mickey Mouse party ideas to throw around, I'm all ears. Haha, all ears..get it? Ok cheesy Mickey jokes will stop here. Promise.

Here are some Mickey invitations that I like from Etsy. They come as a digital file and I can  print them myself on some nice matte cardstock.

1.

2.

3.

4. Similar to last years.

5.

6. I think this one above is my favorite.

7. 

8.

Right now I'm leaning towards #6. I could probably create one myself and make it exactly how I'd like, but it'll take a lot of work and time that I just don't have. I'll play around a bit when I get back from MA to see if I can come up with something I like better.

What are your favorites? Any ideas? I'm all EARS. Ok, seriously, stopping.

I've also decided that I'm baking his cake and possibly some cupcakes too (or I might buy those). It'll save money and it's fun! I want to top the cake with some adorable cake bunting like this. I think I could easily make that too, or I could just buy it from Etsy.

From this Esty seller: Jaime Mancilla.

And I love this cake topper with a felt "Happy Birthday Carter" or just "Carter" on top. I think I might try and incorporate both the bunting and his name if I can.

From this Etsy seller: Steph Loves Ben

Don't you love?



HELLLLLLLLLLLLOOOOOOOOOOO

Whatcha think of my new blog layout? It's kinda sexy huh? No?

Eh, today has been super busy. I'm feeling really drained right now. Carter, my mom and I went to a birthday party for a 4 year-old today (the granddaughter of my mom's best friend, Jill). It was an adorable "Tangled" themed birthday and Carter was in party heaven. Can you tell from these pictures?

Can you tell which one belongs to me? 

Yea, he's pretty awesome.

And his Grammie ain't bad either.

This just made me more excited to plan Carter's next birthday. I love parties. Ok, I think I just love cake. Is it sad that the first thing I think about when going to a birthday party is that I get to eat cake? 

After the party Carter and I worked on a very special Father's Day present for Andy (pictures to follow tomorrow), and did some Target shopping. What a fun happy day!

P.S. Thank you Instagram for making all my pictures look so lovely all the time.

Carter's 2nd Birthday, help?

HELP ME! Carter's 2nd Birthday is just over two months away. I know I shouldn't be making a big deal over a two year-olds birthday, but I just can't help myself. Last year, after his 1st birthday party, I told myself we would NOT be making a big deal out of his 2nd birthday because it was just too exhausting for us all. I promised Andy a laid back BBQ, nothing special. Well, well, all I have dancing in my head is party decor, cake ideas, a milk & cookie bar (ooooh fun), balloons, prints, invitations, table ideas, and so much more. Help me.

I need some theme ideas! I'm toying with doing a Mickey Mouse themed party because he loooves Mickey, but then again I did a red color theme last year for his farm party, and the thought of Mickey everywhere kind of makes me a little nauseated. BUT I could try my darnest to not make it so sickening. These are kinda cute, originally pictured here:

But I also like the idea of a monster themed party my friend Amy emailed me about...

Or I don't have to do a theme at all, just a color palette.

Eh, I'm at a loss. Any ideas?

28th B-Day and Memorial Day Weekend!

The past four days have been a whirlwind. Not sure why I always do this to myself. I finally get a few days off of work with nothing scheduled and instead of using that time to kick-back, relax and rejuvinate myself, I go fill up that time with a million and one things to do leaving me utterly exhausted and on the verge of collapsing afterward. Whew. AND repeat. I never learn.

We made some great memories so that's all that counts, right? On Friday I went to Yamato with the family and some friends and had a nice little birthday dinner. And then afterward I got to open my presents and eat cupcakes from Sweet Arlene's. They were featured on the show "Cupcake Wars," and they were every bit as delicious as they looked:

oooh ahhhh

I definitely scored on the presents this year. I think I've scared Andy into permantely getting me really awesome gifts because he knows I'm not one to politely pretend I like something that he gets me when I don't. We've had many awkward special occassions end this way.

What kind of person does that? Me <------ this girl. I'm a winner. I really hope I don't pass that on to my son. I don't have patience for people like myself. Does that make sense?

Carter dressed to the nines for Mommy's Birthday

I'm in love with my new iPad that the hubby got me. Thanks babe! It's white and new and shiny and I like new shiny things. He wrapped it in a giant box within a box within a box, within a ... you get the idea. I literally had no idea what he could have possibly gotten me because the Britney concert tickets I bought myself were supposed to be my birthday present frthis year. I also recieved a bunch of other wonderful things from my friends and family, giftcards, make-up, a make-up chest, a Petunia Pickle Bottom Travel bag, new blow dryer, and a few other things. I went to bed one happy girl!

We woke up bright and early Saturday and drove off to Lego Land! I spent my actual birthday taking my son to a theme park geared for kids under 10. What was I thinking? But seriously it was a really fun day and I am the happiest when I get to see my little guy happy and live vicariously through him. That's why you have kids, right?

After LL, we headed to our hotel in downtown San Diego. Note to self, next time you book a hotel room stear clear of the "downtown." I am not the city girl I used to be and would have been much happier outside of the city or near the water. Driving around the city was a complete nightmare and we literally were lost every-time we left the hotel. Even with a GPS. How does anyone travel without a GPS these days? I get lost WITH it. My husband put it best on how the trip went - "get lost. eat. get lost. eat. sleep. repeat." We did have some delicious meals though. Probably the best part of our trip. Getting fatter. Joy.

My 2nd Birthday dinner with our little "trio" at the Yard House in San Diego (go THERE!)

The 2nd night we were so sick of driving around, getting lost and parking in the city, we plopped Carter in the stroller and headed off on foot to wherever the road took us. We ended up in the Little Italy section of Downtown, and stumbled into the first restaurant I saw that didn't look uber expensive or have more than a half hour wait. I peeked in and said "here," and had Andy put our name in. Little did I know we were about to have one of the most amazing dining experiences ever. It would be on my top ten dinner's ever list if I had one. The restaurant was called Little Italy Spaghetteria, they had a live Jazz band and the best Italian food I've ever had. Carter had so much fun rocking out to the music that he wasn't his usually fussy self, and we enjoyed some red wine and all was well in the world in that moment.

The next day we woke up bright and early again to get the heck out of dodge and head straight to my parents Memorial Day BBQ. After 3 hours (and we may or may not have fought during the car ride home about the stupidest thing ever) we finally arrived for some fun, sun and BBQ. It was a nice day, but I couldn't help but feel completely drained of every last ounce of energy I had so we left around 6ish.

*Note no veggies were eaten during the taking of this photo. Only dip.

I almost forgot to mention that we did take Carter to the movies for the very first time! We saw Rio (or at least an hour of it before he become antsy and wanted to move about the theatre). It wasn't cute or entertaining at all. Boo. Carter was more interested in the popcorn and candy and the mini cartoon they show in the beginning - he was in hysterics. Yay! And then the movie began and it did not make him laugh. Boo.

On another completely different note, I was super excited to TTC this cycle but something happened that may cause us to put our plans on hold for a bit. Nothing bad, just a kind of fun opportunity that may or may not play out and not sure if I can say anything so that is all I will say. I'm going to wait it out and see what happens.

Xoxo,

Michelle

More Photo-spiration

Love, LOVE, love this. Not sure where it originally came from though.

My THREE day weekend is here. Excuse me while I do a little dance.....Ok done. Yay!!!


And I get presents tonight. Woot Woot. I love presents. Expect pictures to follow. Unless they suck. Ha.

Have a wonderful weekend!!! And Happy Birthday to me!

And so it is..

Well once again it has been forever since I've posted. There is too much to say but too little words. I miscarried around Valentine's Day at almost 14 weeks. There is no reason, no sense, and no explanation, I can only think that there is something different in store for me and this was meant to be a part of my life, maybe someday I know why. And maybe not. We did find out the baby was a girl and we named her Rose in a quick suggestion that has since turned into her official name. I thought the name was sweet and appropriate because we lost her around Valentine's Day. My doctors appointment was scheduled for Valentine's Day, but for no real reason I asked to change it to the day after as if I knew.

I'm ok for the most part. I still get emotional thinking about it. I'm still perplexed why some people close to me became distant and hurtful afterwards. But I'm trying to remind myself that their behavior is not about me. And it's hard to do. I can't control what happened but I can control how I feel about it and I'm choosing to feel at peace about it. I'm content with where I'm at in my life right now. I'm open to what this will bring for me in the future and am trusting that there is meaning in all of it.

As for trying again, we originally decided not to, but now we've decided not to prevent either and go with it. I'm not tracking anything (and let's be honest, there is very little time for baby makin with an 18 month old that sleeps in your bed), but we will see what happens. What will be, will be. And that is ok with me. If it doesn't happen towards the end of the year, I might track again and I might not. And that's ok!

There is a lot going on elsewhere in my life too! Laura is getting married next month, her bachelorette is next weekend, and my 28th birthday is coming up on May 28th. Twenty-Eight is only my absolute favorite number ever and I have to believe that this will be one of the best years yet for me! I just *know* it.

Carter is doing amazingly. He is at the best age I've experienced yet. He's hilarious, goofy, and so adorable it hurts to look at him sometimes. Easter is next Sunday and we're planning a fun photo shoot tomorrow while doing an Easter Egg hunt. Andy and I just returned from Chicago yesterday for business and had a wonderful 3 days together just the two of us. Although we missed Carter a lot, it was a much needed break.

Our 2 year wedding anniversary is also coming up on Monday but we prematurely celebrated in Chicago our first night at Ruth's Chris, and I'm sure we'll do something just the three of us on Monday. :)

Life ain't bad.

Carter's First Birthday

Wow. This is amazing. Two blog posts TWO days in a row. I've set a record. I don't care if this is full of grammatical errors, or my spelling is off. If I spent the time doing everything as perfect as I want it to be, I would never get anything done. So I'm just going to be my unperfect self, and do all the shit I want to do and not worry about what other people think or say about me. What other people think about me is none of my business.

Before I show you all the wonderful pictures of Carter's Birthday, I need to vent a little bit about my stress level right now. I don't know why, but I feel like I'm going to explode at times. My job is the most insanely stressful job ever. I have a ton of pressure on me. I feel like each day I'm drowning in work and by the end of the day I'm barely clinging to the surface, and then it starts over. And then over, and over and over again and I'm worried that one day I'm not going to make it to the surface and I'll drown. I have no idea what I mean by that, but I seriously can't wait for this convention at the end of the month to be done so I can focus on my insured's, writing business and doing what I love; helping my clients. I don't want to get into specifics, but I'm a commercial insurance agent. Don't let my stress post fool you, I adore my job, I just don't adore all the mess that comes with it.

I am also trying to spend more time writing my dream screenplay that I have been writing in my head for years. This is what I want to do. This is what I was meant to do, and I can't do it, if I don't do it. I can't be a writer if I don't write. Right? And plan C is winning the lottery, which I am so don't tell me I'm not going to win, because I am. K? Now ..

Carter's First Birthday Party! We had a Barnyard Themed Backyard BBQ Bash at my parent's house on Sept. 25th. I worked my butt off to make sure my little guy had a birthday to remember, and pretty much broke the bank too. We have no more savings. Nough said.

I made and designed a candy bar complete with pinwheels, cow and pig lollipops and all kinds of goodness. The kids at the party were in awe of the candy and couldn't keep their eyes off of it. Mission accomplished. We also had a petting zoo that my mom sprung for; complete with a pony and weird fuzzy chickens. That was also a huge hit. I made it through the day, but because I was such a mad-woman prepping the event, I didn't really get to spend time on my hair or makeup and ended up hating all the pictures of me so I am coincidentally missing from most of the pictures. Carter also ended up with 3,000 toys so that was also a challenge. We invited everyone we knew and then realized, that the feck are we going to do with all of these toys?

Seriously, raising the first child is like a big science experiment and I'm sure with the 2nd one we will do things almost right the first time, and then the 3rd, well, we'll be pro's by then. Poor Carter. Not really poor Carter because he is a spoiled little munchkin.

Here are some pic's from the event. Well I'm quite proud of myself for posting again, and it feels really good to put this all out there so I'm going to do my best to keep writing to you all, even though I'm pretty sure you all is no one. But, no pressure to myself so I don't psych myself out. K. Nighty Night.

Eeeek! I'm 27!!!

I have that sad morning after Christmas feeling, except it's the morning after my birthday. I build up the excitement in my head for so long and anticipate all the wonderful things we will do and presents I'll get and now it's over. Sigh. But I did get almost everything I wanted + some!! So here's my day in a nutshell:

I had to work yesterday, but it was the Friday before a three day weekend and also my birthday so it was an exciting day! Carter woke up around 5am (Carter is my 8 month old) and I made my hubby Andy give Carter his bottle so I got to rest a little more then usual. I slept in and was late to work...ooops. When I got out of the shower, Andy had cinnamon raisin toast made waiting for me (I LOVE cinnamon raisin toast but usually don't have time to make it). He also had picked a flower for me. Actually, now that I'm thinking about it, I wonder where he picked it? Not from our yard! Sorry neighbor. So this is how my day started out:

When I arrived at the office, I discovered the door to my office had a Happy Birthday sign above it, and in my office I found flowers (thanks to my good friend and coworker Laura & her fiance Scott), and a $25 gift card to Sephora. I looooooove Sephora. I could stay there 24/7, sleep there and live off the products, and make babies with the store. Too much? I am truly at my happiest walking in Sephora and knowing I have money to spend. Ok, well being with my son I'm also at my happiest, but Sephora is a close 2nd. I know it's expensive and frivolous, but I can't help myself.

After I had thanked her for my gifts, and read the office birthday card signed by everyone, I made my way to the break room to make my usual coffee with 4 mini vanilla and hazelnut creamers. I know its totally excessive, but I can't drink it any other way. Anyways, when I walked in, I found a big box of ginormous cupcakes! They were HUGE! It was seriously the best day ever.

A bunch of the girls from the office took me to lunch with my mom, Andy & Carter. Andy had the day off from work because his boss so generously decided to close the office Friday, so he had Carter all day and met us for lunch at BJ's. It was nice except that I had to go back to work and finish off a bunch of things before I could go home to my babies.

My lunch with the girls, Kat my sister smiling in front

We had dinner at this amazing restaurant called Mediterraneo. Well, my mother would tell you its not so amazing, many, many times, until you are on the verge of crying for making you feel so badly about your restaurant choice, but that's another story. I do love you Momma! Isn't that what mom's are for? They have this dessert Andy and I l.o.v.e. It's a white chocolate mouse with fresh berries in a caramel almond bowl. I'm drooling just thinking about it. Ok on to the best part, THE PRESENTS!!!!

I'm in love with everything I got, especially the Petunia Pickle Bottom Diaper bag that my lovely hubby got me! I'm so excited, I have been using this cheap $10 diaper bag that attracts dirt easily and is too small, and I feel very dumpy holding it, but my new diaper bag is just amazing!!! Pics below! It's super sexy. My friend Amy commented that only I would call a diaper bag sexy. Hehe. But IT IS! Right?? Anything can be sexy.

Ok, well I'm off to get ready to spend all the gift cards I got and going to have lunch at the Cheesecake Factory thanks to my good friend Laila & her son Brahim (same age as Carter, born 1 week apart). She graciously got me a $50 Cheesecake Factory gift card for my birthday, and I can't wait to use it. I LOVE the Cheesecake Factory.

ADIOS!

Michelle