A Sweet Giveaway...

This week is National Infertility Awareness Week.

I love that there's a week dedicated to this. I went through 3 years of infertility. Those were three of the hardest years of my life. I'm thankful for those years, but can still remember the emotional and physical pain. I remember questioning God each and every month that just wasn't our month. I remember having to leave baby showers early and crying the entire way home. I remember wanting to skip church on Mother's Day. I remember everyone around me being pregnant (or so it seemed) and feeling like I had a huge infertile stamp on my forehead. I felt broken.

But infertility also brought me closer to God. At times, it felt like He was the only one that did understand. He was the only one that could heal my broken heart. The only one that could replace my sadness with joy. He's the only one that could open my womb and give me a child. I started focusing more on Him and on others and less on myself. I was able to rejoice over someone else saying, "I'm pregnant!" I was able to throw the baby shower. I actually got to the point of being able to praise Him for my infertility!

And that's when it happened. Before my third IVF cycle. I was driving in the car, had the praise music on, and was having a conversation with Him. I heard Him say, "it's your turn now." I heard so clearly, it was as if He was sitting right there in the passenger seat. Sure enough...that's the cycle that He gave us our sweet baby girl.



I don't write these words to brag. I write these words to give hope. To encourage you to ask Him, listen for His answer, and believe what He says! Kelly had a great post where those who have struggled with infertility could leave a message. You can go there and read the answered prayers and also pray for those who are still waiting. I have several friends who are still waiting and I cover them in prayer each and every day. I believe with all my heart that God is going to bless you with a baby of your own. His timing is perfect.



I want to do a giveaway for all of you who are still waiting. Sure, I could give away a book about infertility, but if you are anything like I was - you already own all of them. And besides, who wants a book when you're heart hurts? Not me. I want cupcakes!! HAHA!! So that's what I'm giving away! A 1/2 dozen cupcakes from Crumbs Bake Shop in New York! They will arrive fresh on your doorstep, ready to eat!! I've asked Susy who lives in NY if these are good and she replied with a big YES!! I may have to order some for myself! :)

So simply leave a comment on this post and you will be entered to win these yummy cupcakes!! Remember, this giveaway is a special giveaway for those struggling to conceive.



Best Seller 1/2 Dozen Collection includes: Red Velvet, Cookies and Cream, Devil's Food, Peanut Butter Cup, Squiggle and Cookie Dough.



Random.org will choose a winner on Sunday, May 2nd! If you don't have a blog, make sure you leave an email address for me to contact you.

"He settles the barren woman in her home as a happy mother of children. Praise the LORD!" Psalm 113:9



Love to all,

Happy St. Patty's Day and March Giveaway!!

Amelia made sure to wear her green today.



She was afraid that Mommy would pinch her if she didn't.



Silly girl.



She has started doing this after I dress her. Doesn't matter if it's a shirt or dress. It's coming up.



How cute are these shoes? I just realized when I took the picture that I have a pair of ballet flats just like these (minus the strap). I'm curious as to when shoes will start fitting her feet. These are 3-6 months. She will be 5 months old in a few days. Not sure why they make baby shoes so wide!?



We've had a busy week. Every time I would think "I'm going to go blog", something would come up before I got to my computer. So today, I blog while Amelia is napping.

My Mom surprised us with a visit over the weekend. It was so nice to have her here. Unfortunately, my Daddy wasn't able to join her...we missed you, Daddy! I kept Amelia up until she got here. I knew that Amelia would need some lovin' from her Granny before bedtime. :)



Amelia's face is cracking me up in this pic. I think she has the cutest personality already. :)



We've started reading to Amelia every night. It has become part of her bedtime routine and we love it.



Alex and I take turns. He reads to her one night, I read to her the next. I found a neat Bible story book with really cute illustrations. Very colorful. She just stares at the pages. It's so cute.



We went on our first "play date" yesterday. We met a few other Mommies at Chick-fil-a. Had some yummy chicken nuggets while the kiddos played on the indoor playground. That place was CRAZY!! It was a lot of fun though and I'm looking forward to our next play date!



I have a lot more to blog about, but I need to stop at some point or this post will be WAY TOO LONG! So I will end with my March giveaway!!

I found this cute platter at Pottery Barn awhile back.



I picked up two - one for me, one for you! :) It's melamine, so it's very light weight. I use it for goodies, tossed salad, grilled veggies...lots of different things.



I think it would even look cute in a bedroom/bathroom to hold random items or just sitting out by itself!

If you would like a chance to win this cute platter, just leave me a comment and let me know if you wore green for St. Patty's Day! :)

If you would like more than one chance to win, simply blog or tweet about this giveaway. Please leave me a separate comment for each entry. Make sure that you leave an email address or your blog address, so that I can reach you when you win.

Random.org will choose the winner on Friday morning.

Love to all,

Did you know it's March?

I can't believe it's March. The danger of being a SAHM is that you lose count of what day it is. And sometimes you lose count of what month it is! February really flew by.

I know it's silly, but with each month that passes (since Amelia was born), I think of how many months are left until her 1st birthday. The girl is only 4 months old. I seriously need to get a grip. HA! I would be lying if I said I'm not already making plans.

In my head that is.

It's going to be the party of the year.

As it should be. ;)



Do not think that I'm wishing my baby girl's life away. I am not. I enjoy every single minute of it. I just love to plan parties and have been waiting a very long time to plan THIS party. If I could, I would throw her a party on the 22nd of every month.

But Alex wouldn't let me.

I'm singing "Every Party Has A Pooper" in my head right now.

Amelia and I ran errands today. We don't really leave the house a lot. Especially when it's cold outside. It's just so much harder to take her out when it's cold. A few errands take quite a bit of time with a little one. And since it was cold, I was covering her...uncovering her...covering her...uncover...you get the idea. This will tell you how little we get out, since Amelia was born. A tank of gas in my car lasts 2 weeks. Seriously.

I'm okay with it though. When she gets a little bigger and can sit up in a cart or stroller, I think it will be a lot easier than lugging the car seat around. The last time my parents were in, my Daddy was carrying her into a restaurant and he said, "there is no way my baby weighs this much - this seat must weigh a ton!" (LOL)

Nope.

It's my girl.

She's getting big.



Anyway, we DID get out today and our first stop was the post office. I tried to go twice last week and they were closed. I assumed all post office locations keep the same hours. Wrong. Anywho, we went to a different location today and they were open, so we mailed our packages and headed to Sams.

I *heart* Sams. Something about everything being in bulk. And being able to buy a slice of pizza and a coke for $1.00. How can you not like this place? I bought a huge thing of diapers. Amelia can finally wear size 1-2!! Alex doesn't like that they don't have the little line that turns colors to show that she's wet (like the size 1's). He doesn't have a keen sense of smell like me. (LOL) I told him to just change her every 10 minutes to be safe.

Not really.

After our trip to Sams, we headed to Sonic. I needed a cranberry-limeade STAT. Then off to the bank and home.

Exciting day, no?

Made myself some mac & cheese for dinner (Alex was at the church) and watched Idol. I really need Alex Lambert to get rid of the mullet. I like his voice, but the mullet is drawing my attention away from his voice. It's hard for me to watch him sing with a mullet. How many times can I use the word mullet in one paragraph? Just sayin'.

And now I'm ready for bed. I'm going to give my baby girl a bath and bottle and then we're all going to sleepy-town.



Oh, and I decided that I would do my March giveaway on St. Patty's Day! The giveaway is green of course. I have one for myself and I love it and I think you will love it too!

Love to all,

We have a winner!!

Thanks to everyone who entered the cookie cutter giveaway! I loved all of your ideas of how you would use them. I just might have to use some of those ideas myself! :)

Random.org chose the winner of these cookie cutters to be...

#11 - LEAH!!!



Congratulations, Leah!! Please click on the email button on my left sidebar and send me your contact info. Can't wait to get these to you, so you can get to baking!!

Check for my next giveaway in March!

Have a great weekend everyone.

Love to all,

February Giveaway!!

Hi sweet friends!

I've been looking forward to this giveaway - it has to do with something that I really enjoy. BAKING!!

I ♥ Williams Sonoma. It's the one store that I can take my husband and he will shop just as long as me. There's also something really weird that happens to my brain in that store...

As soon as I walk through the door....spending $4000 on a set of knives seems totally normal.

I saw these in the store and told Alex, "I have to have these!!"

And he said...

"Ok."

So I bought them and used them and loved them and knew that I had to give a set away in February!

A set of Message-in-a-Cookie Cutters!


They are so easy to use...


And you can put ANY MESSAGE you want on a cookie! How cute are these!?


I've used these a few times for baby showers and they were a hit! I know mine don't look like the picture above, but I bet they tasted better. ha!


If you would like a chance to win a set of these fun cookie cutters, simply leave a comment telling me WHO you would make cookies for and WHAT message you would put on them. :)

Random.org will choose a winner on Friday morning, February 19th!

(as soon as Amelia has downed her 1st bottle and I've had my 1st cup of coffee!)

**If you would like two entries in this giveaway - blog about it and leave me a separate comment, letting me know that you did so.**

Love to all,

Valentine's Day Weekend...

We had a fun, relaxing, Valentine's weekend.



Amelia received a new Valentine Fancy Nancy book. I definitely see a Fancy Nancy party in Amelia's future...such cute books!



Amelia also received some wonderful things from her Aunt Joy! She looked so cute in the little onesie and striped baby legs. We love you, Aunt Joy!!



Amelia and I gave Daddy this picture in a silver frame. The frame was engraved with "Remember This Moment" at the bottom. He loved it. He decided to take it to work for his desk. I'm sure we'll be changing out the pic in that frame often...lots of moments with his girl that he won't want to forget! :)



My Valentine surprised me with this! Okay, can I just say that I'm not a cheap person. I spend money on things. But a phone is something that I don't like to spend a lot of $ on. (A pair of shoes - that's another story) Any phone that I've owned (that is really nice) - Alex has bought for me. I'm excited to learn how to use it! He also surprised me with Amelia's birth story...this was the most special present of all. He wrote it for Amelia and as I read it, tears just started streaming down my face. I don't remember a whole lot from those first couple of days in the hospital, so to go back and read his feelings through it all was very emotional for me. I will probably post it sometime this week. Such a special gift.



We spent a lot of of the weekend at home. Look at her holding that head up like a big girl. :)


Do you see my daughter's bald spot on the back of her head? (LOL) When does their hair start really growing??



We pretty much ate our way through the weekend. Friday night, we went to Kobe and enjoyed my favorite meal. Filet, fried rice & veggies!!

Saturday night, Alex picked up take-out from Olive Garden. I get the same thing every time. Angel hair pasta w/marinara. Boring. Yet so yummy!



Amelia always gets the same thing too.



We went to Panera on Sunday night. They have a caesar salad that Alex loves and a veggie soup that I can scarf down within seconds. You should see me.

It's attractive.

I hope you had a lovely weekend. I'll be posting my February giveaway tomorrow, incase you want to come back and check it out!

Love to all,

The Weekend...

I would just like to start this post out by saying...I can't bring myself to put bows on Amelia's head. I see so many cute pics of babies with bows on their heads and when I put one on Amelia - I can't stop laughing. Maybe I'll be able to do it when she gets more hair. Until then, I think she will be a hat girl vs. a bow girl. :)


Our weekend went by so fast! Alex ended up working for a little bit on Saturday, so Amelia and I slept in and just stayed at the house all day. Once Alex got home, we ordered wings and watched football...a great combo. :)


Alex and I are making a list of things that we want to accomplish in 2010. One of the things on that list is getting our finances into a computer program. This will allow us to know where all of our money is going. I'm pretty sure a big piece of the pie is going to say Target and Etsy...yikes! We actually finished that on Saturday, so there's one thing to mark off our list! We're going to work hard to get out of debt this year. It is totally possible for us to do this - we just have to make smart decisions with our money. We're going to do our best to have Amelia paid for before she's a year old! HA!


Many of you asked where I bought these cookie cutters. I bought them at Williams Sonoma. I don't think you can buy them online anymore, but you should be able to find them at your local WS. I have a set that I will be giving away in February, so if you want a chance to win a set - come back and see me!

I have to brag on my love-bug. She is sleeping SO WELL!! She is sleeping 7 hours every night. Adding the bath right before we put her to bed really seems to help. I'm praying that this child loves sleep like her Momma and continues to do this well. She's just the best baby. Seriously. We're blessed.

*she was so over pictures in this one - makes me laugh!*


Speaking of my love-bug...she's awake, so I had better go get her. :)

Love to all,

Winner!!

Thanks to all of you who entered the giveaway for one of THESE cute t-shirts for your little Valentine! I ordered the Love Birds t-shirt for Amelia...can't wait for February to get here so she can wear it!

I enjoyed going to each of your blogs and reading more about you girls and your families. My goal is to do at least one giveaway a month in 2010. I have so many things that I love and I would simply love to share them with you!

And the winner for the Duck Duck Goose Valentine Shirt (chosen by random.org) is................................................................................

#21
*Smiles* said...
Love the Love Birds!
Your baby girl is SO cute! Love all that hair and those gorgeous eyes!
January 6, 2010 9:12 AM

Congrats Smiles!! Please email me ASAP and I'll get your t-shirt ordered.

Happy Friday!

Love to all,

Wordless Wednesday...looks like her Daddy!

Don't forget to enter the GIVEAWAY for a personalized t-shirt for your little Valentine! Go HERE!

Love to all,

A little of this and that...ending with a GIVEAWAY!!

Amelia is down for a nap, so I thought I would take a moment to say hi! She is sleeping so well. I've started giving her a bath right after her last bottle (before bed) and I'm telling you - a bath wears the girl out! I was only giving her a bath right before we would leave to go somewhere, instead of every night. Our doctor said giving her a bath every day could dry out her skin and make her eczema worse. Her eczema is actually much better since we switched to t.ide free and are using all a.veeno products. Thanks to all of you for your advice! Anywho, back to her sleeping so well. Since giving her a bath right before bed (for the past 3 nights) she has slept from 11pm-5:30am two nights and 10pm-4am the other. How great is that!??

She is such a happy baby. I will go in to see if she's awake and just barely peek over her bassinet. If she's awake and sees me - this is what I get. All smiles. :)


She loves the ceiling fan. I catch her just staring at it, grinning from ear to ear.


I actually cooked dinner last night. There's something about winter that makes me want to bake but not cook, which means we eat out way too much. Alex came home and asked what was for dinner. It was SO COLD outside, I did not want to pack Amelia up and go out, so I did what my Momma would do. I thawed a pound of hamburger meat and threw something together! We had hamburger steak, garlic mashed potatoes and green beans. I really did feel like my Mom...she can grab a few items from her pantry and whip up something delicious in no-time flat! Alex thought it was great. I think he was starving and it wouldn't have mattered what I put in front of him. ;)

Since Christmas is over and all the decor is packed away, I find myself ready for spring. I'm already thinking about planning our vacation to the beach. Alex reminded me that the first day of winter was December 21st. HA! Does anyone else feel this way, once the holidays are over? Alex and I are making a list of things that we want to accomplish in 2010 - I'm sure I'll be sharing some of them with you. We are big list people...we both love crossing something off our list, once it's complete! :)

The Christmas gown that Amelia is wearing in the pic above was made by a little etsy shoppe that I found called My Duck Duck Goose. She was great to work with - she shipped Amelia's gown the very next day, so that she would have it in time for Christmas. And can I just say, I LOVE ETSY!! I have found some of the cutest things on there for Amelia and at such reasonable prices. This gown being one of them!

Soooooooo....I would like to do a giveaway for a Valentine's t-shirt for your little one! I have already put my order in for Amelia's and I think your little girl, boy, niece, nephew, (whomever you wish to give it to) should have one to wear on Valentine's Day too! To enter all you have to do is take a look at Wendy's site and come back here and let me know which one you like best! Random.org will choose the winner on Friday morning, January 8th! If you do not have a blog - please leave an email address for me to reach you.

Love to all,

Straight broke a Momma down!

Amelia had a doctor's appointment yesterday. She now weighs 8.5 pounds and is 21 inches long!

She has been getting these little red bumps on her face. I thought it was baby acne until it's started moving down her neck. Come to find out - it's eczema. I have to start using the non-scented lotions and soap. I bought Aveeno products today. We already use Dreft to wash all of her clothes. Do any of you have a favorite product or know of something that works well for this?

She also had to get three shots. We both cried.


She isn't a baby that cries much, so to see/hear her get so upset - it straight broke this Momma down! I was literally sweating before they came into the room to give them to her - I was a nervous wreck! When I got to the car, I just lost it...couldn't stop crying. Of course at this point, Amelia is in her seat totally asleep and not remembering anything that just happened. It definitely hurt me more than it hurt her. Oh, and when she got really upset from the shots, she put her hand on her face and scratched herself really bad. It bled and bled and she cried and cried. Luckily, these scratches heal quickly and the next time she gets shots...she's wearing mittens! Alex apologized that I had to take her to get her shots and I said, "that's okay, because you're going next time!" (LOL) When I got her home and took the blanket off of her carseat - this is what I found.


Her hat had slipped down over her eyes and she was sound asleep...made me laugh out loud! Is it just me or is she the cutest thing ever!? ;)

My sweet M-I-L came yesterday and stayed the night. She watched Amelia so that we could get a full nights sleep. It was heavenly. She also made chicken and dumplings and her yummy mac&cheese for dinner! Thanks, Linda...we love you!!

Oh, and I guess you guys are wondering who won the Target gift card!!! I used Random.org to choose the winner. And the winner is....................#33 - Ginny Agee!! It made me smile to see that it was Gin who won. I actually grew up with Ginny...we were best friends through grade school. She's one of the only friends from my childhood that I have stayed in touch with over the years. Congrats Ginny...I'll be contacting you to make sure I have your current address.

Thanks to everyone who entered and be looking for my next gift card giveaway SOON!

Love to all,

6 week follow-up and a GIVEAWAY!!

I had my 6 week follow-up today with Dr. S. He was very pleased with my weight loss so far...30 lbs down - MANY MORE to go. My bp was normal - praise God! I will start weaning myself off the bp medicine (per his instructions) and if my bp stays down - no more meds!! My incision looks great, so my main questions were when can I start taking hot baths and exercising. I have missed taking a hot bath every night! He gave me the okay on both. He then asks me when I plan on having another baby. (LOL) I will be honest, before Amelia's arrival we really felt like we would want to start trying for our 2nd soon after. I've heard/read that you have a window of opportunity to get pregnant on your own, once you've actually gotten pregnant w/IF treatment. Whether that's true or not - I have no idea. My doctor told me that because of my endometriosis, I shouldn't wait long. I didn't think to ask how long was too long. Here's the deal...my delivery pretty much scared us out of our minds...we don't want to even think about getting pregnant anytime soon. I don't want Amelia to be an only child but I do want her to be the baby for a while. I want to love her and spoil her and soak up every minute I can with it just being her. The thought of having my kiddos less than two years apart is overwhelming to me. So we'll wait, pray, and trust that when the time is right to add to our family of 3 - we'll know it. :)

Amelia has a doctor's appointment this week. I'm thinking she's going to have to get shots and I'm DREADING it. I know that I'm going to cry. I had to spray nasal spray up her nose for congestion and she gave the most pitiful cry...I then started to cry. Yeah, Wednesday is not going to be pretty. She's getting so big, y'all. She can wear all of her newborn clothes and some of her 0-3 month. I put her first 0-3 month outfit on her last week. She looked so cute. I was just giddy while dressing her. She's like my own little baby doll! :) I sure hope she likes to shop and loves clothes as much as her Mommy. If she does - we're going to have so much fun!

Okay, so here's the deal. Being a new Mommy and starting back to work with my sis on the catering business -I haven't found the time to do the giveaways that I wanted to do. I had big plans, but once Amelia arrived - those plans went out the window! :) SOOOOOOOOOOO.......I've decided to do some gift card giveaways!! My first gift card giveaway is to one of my favorite stores. TARJAY!!
So if you could use a $25 Target gift card - just leave a comment on this post. If you don't have a blog - please leave your email address, so that I can contact you. I'll take entries until midnight on Wednesday!

Love to all,