My Daughter...the walking baby!

Congrats to my walking baby !

Rylie is an interesting kid. We adore her and she's extremely intelligent, but she does things on her own time schedule. When she was about 6 month old I threw out my What to Expect the First Year book because I was driving myself insane and I've never consulted it since. She has strabismis and had her first surgery at 11 months old (and will have her next almost 11 months exactly after her first...November 2nd). So that affects her depth perception (i.e. she really doesn't have much depth perception at all). Besides that physical limitation, she's just an individual. She can read about 100 words or so and she loves books more than chocolate. Walking though. This has been a big one for us. It's a number one question people as us when they see us "is she walking yet?". Well I worried about it awhile and then I just gave up and gave it to God. It was a source of too much worry for me. Well she's been getting better and better and finally yesterday a switch flipped in her head. After dinner she took off. Walking circles around the house. Falling occasionally, yes, but she keeps going! I'm so proud. This is huge for her (and us!). Most importantly it's an answer to prayer.

Click here to watch a video of my baby walking all over Books-a-Million

Five Things: This Week

I'm going to start weekly blog posts entitled 5 things. There will be various topics...just something fun I want to start. This week's theme is...This Week. If you want, comment back to me 5 things about your week (or blog about it and link back to me!).

1. I'm organizing like there's no tomorrow this week.

Kitchen cabinets, bathroom cabinets, drawers, closets, the basement. Anything that I can organize and purge of stuff we don't use...I am getting into it. I went to the Dollar Store and Walmart and bought storage baskets, and hooks and went to town. On Thursday I'll be tackling my drawers (which are FULL of junk I never use) and then Rylie's drawers. This is not me. I like things neat...but the coat closet? Normally I just don't care. My husband thinks this is the best thing that's ever happened and has dubbed me THE Domestic Goddess. Wow. I'll take it.

2. I'm getting out there and breaking out of my shy (homebody) shell.

Today I went to MOP's (Mother's of Preschooler's). My friend Jessi invited me and as nervous as this stuff makes me (I feel as if I'm awkward, plus I feel like I'm torturing Rylie by making her socialize...judging by the amount of wailing she does when I leave her). I had SO much fun though. I got to relax and meet other Mom's like me, we had breakfast, fun conversation and then a great speaker. All this and Rylie did great! This week we're also having coffee withsomeone new and I'm really excited! Yay for branching out and meeting new people!

3. I'm already dreaming about our trip to Virginia next week!

My husband is from many places if you ask him. Born in Kentucky and moved all over the south when he was young (and as an adult). If you ask him where he considers home he'll probably say Virginia. Either Roanoke or Appomattox. For the past 4 years we've been making a fall trip up to Virginia to visit Jason's friends and family in Virginia. I love our fall trips up. Mill Mountain Coffee, the star on top of Mill Mountain, tons of friends that I was blessed to inherit when I met Jason and our wonderful family. We love to walk down to the little co-op and eat lunch or go downtown on the weekends to the open market in the crisp fall air. Last year was Rylie's first trip and it was different, but it went well. This time we're planning on staying 10 days. I'm not sure we'll make the entire 10 days (remember when I said we were homebodies?), but we'd love to. We're even going to Jason's 20 year high school reunion (seems like alot of years but he IS 9 years older than me). I hope it all goes well....the best thing about the whole trip is seeing my dear Mother in Law and Sis in Law. God blessed me greatly with those two =)

This was taken on our trip last year. Look how much Rylie has changed!

This is the year I was pregnant with Rylie.

4. I started an online bible study with my sister and I'm really enjoying it.

It got off to a rough start. I was on the wrong lesson feeling lost and confused. Realized I'd read the wrong verse, was in II Samuel instead of first (no wonder I was confused). Finally I got on track yesterday and I love the format. We're a week behind but it's OK. We're just going to stay a week behind and enjoy it. I've never done a bible study in this format but I'm loving the content, the teacher and I actually enjoy having homework...using my brain (and my heart!).

Here is a link! Feel free to join in a week late like us: http://www.wendyblight.com/

5. I'm going to need help accessorising an outfit. Help please?

I'm going to Jason's 20th high school reunion. This makes me a tad nervous. I've met several people he went to high school with (and really liked them). Well, a few weeks ago he informed me they were a class behind him (whaaa), so I know no one. They're all 9 years old than me AND on top of all that....hi...I'm a little shy until you get to know me. I really really am excited for him to go though and for me to meet all these people he talks about. So the dress code is anything from cocktail dresses to jeans and I'm hoping to fall somewhere in between. I bought, correction, my MOM bought me 2 options and I'm leaning towards one. Here is a picture from the website.

Close up. 3/4 sleeves, black patten belt and grey/black houndstooth.

Another view of the dress

The other dress option was dressier, more flowy and more "blingy". Jason liked this little black option best. I think it's more in the middle of what we'll see there as far as clothes go. My questions are these. What shoes? Target has some cute black patten pumps, yes? Also jewelry. I want to add a little bling and more of a girly feel (my style) to this dress. Also do I wear sheer back hose, tights or none? I'm so confused. And folks I want to look good....with my daily growing belly. Help please and thank you!

Thanks for letting me share my 5 things! What are 5 things about your week? Ok, I'm off to do my bible study session this morning. Jason got up at 5 and even though I wanted to sleep, Rowan was doing the electric slide in there (guess he wanted Daddy and Rowan time). Today is all about preschool and then an OB appointment for me. I hope everyone has a great day =)

Fun weekend =)

This weekend was full of fun and family...and it was a little exhausting! Saturday they put carpet in our 3 bedrooms so Rylie and I had to evacuate all morning, by the time the carpet was in it was nearly time for Amy's baby shower so we just stayed up at my Mom's house...this meant Rylie went without a nap. Risky, but she did fall asleep in my Mom's lap for about 30 minutes. Here are some pictures from Amy's shower. My Aunt and cousin were the hostesses and they did a great job with the monkey them (from Elliot's room).

Elliot's cake matched his bedding, it's so cute, and tasty!

The beautiful table with all the brown and green monkey decorations.

Pregnant Wonder Twin Powers unite! =)

Just a shot of part of the loot (there was more!).

We had a great time and I think the guests did too. After the shower we went to dinner with friends and family for my Mamaw's 86th birthday dinner. How blessed we are to have her here with us for another year. She is truely a gentile souther woman and has wonderful advice and stories to share with us. We just adore her!

Sunday was spent organizing. This house is all over the place (partly because of the carpet install). We have SO much stuff and this house is not very large to begin with. I think I'm getting the nesting bug (finally, I never got it with Rylie). I cleaned and organized for hours yesterday before going up to my Mom's for lunch. Today I'm going into organizing mode again. Never in my life have I felt a sense of excitement in my belly about organizing...seriously? I have problems, LOL. I might run out and buy some organizing bins for the bathroom, kitchens and closets, OH MY! I'll post before and after pictures if I remember to take some. Ok, all this talk about organizing has got me excited (who am I???). I'm off to get my clean on!

Wordless Wednesday - Barefoot Fall

Isn't she simply delicious???

How to get into the fall spirit in 90+ degree weather!

Well, hopefully my baby is getting over Strep. Poor girl went rapidly downhill yesterday morning and by the time we got to the doctor at 11:30am she was HOT and lethargic. I've never seen her like that. Yesterday was spent on the couch with her. After 3 doses of antibiotics she seems to be feeling much better already. I'm hoping she'll get better and better as hours go on. I hate seeing her sick!

Since today it's in the high 90's and the last day of summer I decided to write about 90+ degree fall weather. It can really get depressing to be gung-ho about fall and walk outside and nearly sweat to death. We all want to wear our cute fall boots or long sleeves and feel the cool, crisp air around us and it's just not happening. Depressing. I've come up with a few ways that I try and get in the fall spirit without burning up!

Fashion

Not all fall fashions are meant for cold weather. Just by staying with a darker and warmer color palate you'll probably start to feel like you're dressing for fall. Go with short sleeve versions of your favorite fall colors (or sleeveless). I also love those wrap scarves. They're lightweight and can go with short sleeves or sleeveless and they have them in tons of plaids and fall friendly prints (plus it's technically a scarf, fall-ish, right?).Flats are another great fall option instead of boots. They're a bit cooler but they still make me think of fall. Target has 2-3 isles of just flats in any version you may want. Another way to darken your color palate is nail polishes. I talked about this in my Fall Luv post. My nails have been some sort of deep red, dark purple or navy blue for a few weeks now.

Cooler Fall Outfit by Mama2Rylie featuring stamped jewelry

Sights

Decorate for fall! Think runners, pumpkins, leaves, acorns, door mats, wreaths or dish towels. I went to Target and Big Lots and found several cute thing to put up. Amy and I also decorated some cute pumpkins and put those out. I think if you see fall all around your house, you'll feel like it's fall!

Fall Decorations by Mama2Rylie on Polyvore.com

Smells

Jason and I have a simple solution for this. Yankee Candle. A few weeks ago we went to a sale they were having and stocked up on tarts, candles and votives in yummy fall scents. You can also find them at Bed Bath and Beyond (and use your $5 off coupon they always send in the mail). I like Iced Pumpkin and Fall Festival. We have them all over the house and when I need want the house to smell like a fall day I light them all up, it's wonderful.

Tastes

Lately I've just been wanting to taste fall flavors. Cinnamon, ginger, apples, pumpkin spice. I got my Pumpkin Spice latte from Starbucks iced last week. Same fall flavor but it won't make you sweat by drinking it! I also like to add pumpkin pie spice and apple pie spice to nearly anything. Oatmeal, homemade muffins or cookies or even my homemade iced coffee. Anything to get me in the fall spirit. Just look at that Pumpkin (sweet potato) cupcake we made last week!

On top of all these things, I'm just trying to change my attitude. I get really upset when I look at the weekly forecast and see a week full of 90+ temps, but it's OK. It will be cooler soon. I'll still get to wear my favorite fall clothes and feel the cool crisp air....just not this week. Chin up fall-lovers...our cool/crisp day will come!

Crafty Friday

Yesterday Amy and I planned a little crafty day. Our plan was to hit Starbucks first (obviously). I had to ask if they could make the Pumpkin Spice Latte iced (since iced coffees don't give me the heartburn of death) and lo and behold...they can! I took a sip and this is what my mind went to immediately:

Somehow they figured out how to allow you to TASTE the perfect fall day...yum. The perfect fall day is very SWEET by the way, not that I mind.

After hitting Walmart and Hobby Lobby for supplies we went back to Amy's house and started making Sweet Potato Cupcakes (formerly Pumpkin Cupcakes...but since NO ONE in Columbus has canned pumpkin yet...they're sweet potato and they're perfect). You can find the orginal Pumpkin Cupcake recipe HERE and you can find Amy's blog post on making the cupcakes HERE. Once the cupcakes were in the oven we layed out the supplies for our pumpkin painting.

Supplies:

• 6 little pumpkins (these were 78 cent a pound at Walmart)
• Metallic acrylic paint. We got black, pearly silver, bronze and gold, all metallic.
• Paint brushes. I needed a new set anyways.
• Leaf stencils

We used a few google images for inspiration. Including the one from my Fall Luv post and painted and painted and painted. We stopped a few times to pull the cupcakes out and I actually had to run and get Rylie from school before I was finished. We got so carried away I forgot about eating lunch and what time it was! Here is the finished product for the pumpkins. Not too bad considering it was my first try at this particular style of pumpkin painting.

Front view

Back view

I love how shiny the metallic paint stayed even after it dried, and they're so darn cute as decorations for our house! I think they'll last the entire fall season (as long as Rylie doesn't throw them into the floor...she keeps insisting that they're apples!). We have tons of paint leftover so I'm trying to come up with something else to do with it. Suggestions? I love spending time with my sister, especially cooking and crafting with her. Did you see how the cupcakes turned out? They taste as good as they look.

So does anyone have any huge weekend plans? Today we're shopping for a preschool picture outfit for Rylie (pics are on Monday, I just hope she smiles) and cleaning up a bit. Tomorrow we'll go to church and hopefully Rylie will stay in the nursery the entire time (pray for us!!). I'm also gearing up and excited about my sisters baby shower next weekend!! We'll get to see lots of friends and family and hopefully get tons of goodies for little Elliot! I hope everyone has a relaxing weekend!

Fashion Friday: The Perfect Fall Outfit

First of all, I admit being a little blog post crazy this week. I'm just getting back into blogging and I'm really loving it. I'm sure my blog will ebb and flow...this week it's flowing, so thanks for going with the flow =)

Being pregnant and having a new love for fashion is hard. Seasons are changing and I can't wear my old fall clothes and suddenly hate most of my maternity clothes (from when I was pregnant with Rylie). To me, this is the perfect fall outfit. Dark jeans, nice sweater, flats and some great jewelry. I'm definitely on the hunt for a copycat version of this outfit somewhere in town (and more tailored to my budget). What are your current fall fashion obsessions?

Perfect Fall Outfit by Mama2Rylie featuring chain jewelry

Maternity Ella Bootcut Jeans
$30 - topshop.com
Cotton maternity »

Gap Ultra soft V-neck sweater
$45 - gap.com
Gap maternity »

Jessica Simpson 'Lepolia' Flat
$79 - nordstrom.com
Jessica simpson shoes »

Lucky Clover Pendant
$97 - pret-a-beaute.com
Chain jewelry »

Gilded Ribbon Posts
$24 - anthropologie.com
Ribbon jewelry »

How to make a brownie even better.

Do you love brownies? I do. I think that Starbucks has the absolute BEST brownie ever. I don't know if they sprinkle magic dust on those or what but they are the most moist (yet not gooey) brownies. I digress. Today is my beautiful Mama's birthday. She really is the best. She's strong and wise and loving. She is definitely my role model. If you know her, you know that her favorite things (besides her family and faith) are chocolate and books. A runner up would be peanut butter.

Our love for peanut butter is genetic. My grandfather, Pop, used to go missing and we'd find him in their old walk in pantry with his long skinny fingers in the peanut butter jar. When I was just a young kid I remember him teaching me a wonderful trick: chocolate chip cookie (or Oreo) with peanut butter on top. When we visited them we'd often have Chips A'Hoy with peanut butter as an afternoon snack. Ahhh, memories. I miss that man and his skinny peanut butter fingers.

SO, how did I combine my Mama's favorite dessert treats into one birthday dessert? Peanut Butter Brownie Trifle. I love trifles because they can be planned, or they can be made when you totally ruin a cake or brownies of any kind. It's freeing to take a baked cake or pan of brownies and totally destroy them into a delicious bowl of crumbles.

First I made a pan of Peanut Butter Cup Brownies (from a box, I'm not trying to be a hero, plus they taste good). I promptly crumbled those. Then I cut up about 20 or more mini Reeses cups (and maybe I ate one or two). Finally I whipped up a bowl of vanilla pudding mix, milk, peanut butter, vanilla, and cool whip. See...here are the elements of the dish.

Next I layered 1/2 the brownies, 1/2 the peanut butter mixture and 1/2 the PB cups and then repeated the layers one more time. Whhhaaaalaaaaa! Didn't quite fill up my trifle bowl, but it's a huge bowl! I'll let ya'll know what the general opinion is on the flavor. Here's the recipe (I modified this recipe), and Happy Birthday Mama!!! I love you!

Here's the recipe as promised:

Peanut Butter Brownie Trifle

Ingredients:

21 ounce package Peanut butter cup brownie mix

2 packages vanilla instant pudding mix

3 1/2 cups milk

3/4 cup peanut butter, creamy

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups whipping cream, whipped and divided

24 regular sized (about 2 inches in diameter) peanut butter cups, divided

Preparation:

Line a 13 by 9 inch pan with aluminum foil, extend foil by 2 inches over side. Prepare brownie mix according to package directions. Bake in foil lined pan for length of time required by package. Cool completely.

Lift foil out of pan. Invert on cutting board. Remove foil. Cut into 3/4 inch pieces, using sharp knife.

Coarsely chop 20 peanut butter cups; saving 4 for garnish.

Combine pudding mixes and milk in large bowl. Beat at low speed for 2 minutes or until thickened. Add peanut butter and vanilla; beat until smooth. Gently fold in whipped cream.

Place half of brownies in bottom of trifle bowl; top with 1/2 of the peanut butter pudding mixture and then sprinkle with 1/2 of the chopped Reeses cups. Repeat layers. Enjoy!

Almost Wordless Wednesday - Beach Baby

This picture totally sums up our weekend trip to Pensacola Beach.

Happy Wednesday ya'll!

I need help designing Rowan's room!

Our little boy Rowan will be here in about 18 weeks or less and his room really doesn't exist yet. He's going to get our bedroom (thankfully it's already the perfect color blue) and we're moving into the office (which will cease to exist, poor Jason). Here's the problem. The minute we found out it was a boy we bought this adorable rocket ship bedding set from Target with the intention of buying all the accessories eventually (bed skirt, drapes, changing pad cover, wall hangings). A week after we bought the bedding set they discontinued it. OH NO. So now we have to improvise his room by putting all the accessories together. Here's the bedding set.

The set came with the blanket, fitted sheet and bumper. That's it. The room will be light blue. His bed will be white (he's getting Rylie's bed and she's getting a bed that will convert into a toddler bed when she's ready). So the question is, now what? Here are some items that I'm loving that are rocket themed, the question is, even though the colors don't match EXACTLY, do they still go? I need help =)

I love these wall decals from THIS little Etsy shop:

I also love these prints for his wall from another precious Etsy shop:

I love these items from Ikea too.

So, how are my ideas so far? Everything doesn't have to be matchy matchy right? I also want to find a cheap rocking chair to put in there. Maybe one I can paint or recover. A good yard sale find that I can really re-work to make adorable. I'd dye the cushions on Rylie's rocking chair but she still likes to be rocked a little. Oh and I also need a great futon cover because we're putting a futon in his room too (he DOES have the biggest bedroom in the house). What do ya'll think of what I have so far? Any ideas or suggestions? I need help.

Fall Luv Blog Party!!

Don't you just love the fall? I do! So many of my favorite holidays happen in the fall. The air is crisp (unless you live here in Georgia and you have to imagine it's 65 degrees instead of 92), cinnamon seems to be in every goody you eat, and fashion tends to be darker and delicious. I wanted to create a post as part of a Fall Luv Blog Party! Here is the original blog post from The Patriotic Peacock . Join in with us and post your favorite things about fall. You know you love it!

Dark fall nail polish! I love everything from dark reds, chocolate browns, eggplant purples or navy blue. Anything dark is perfectly delicious! I can't help but snatch up every dark color I find.

Gingerbread Lattes!!! I love coffee all the time, but there is something about a Gingerbread Latte that screams fall! This year I'll have a hard time enjoying them because they're very heartburn inducing since I'm pregnant. Can they make them iced? Iced coffee doesn't give me heartburn.

Our annual trip to Roanoke, VA. I know this isn't a fall favorite for everyone but it is for our little family. We go every October to visit Jason's friends and family and this year we're planning on staying a full 10-days. Not sure if we'll stay that long but it's the plan. We love to enjoy the blue mountains, the bright fall leaves, our dear friends and family that live there and all the wonderful little shops and resturaunts that Roanoke has (that we don't have here). It's the perfect fall tradition for our little family.

Decorative pumpkins! Oh my! I like them glittered, painted, carved and polka-dotted. I love decorating with all kinds of pumpkins for fall. I think September through November they're totally appropriate to have all over the place. I'm trying to think of new ways to decorate them this year!

I consider the end of the fall season (and the beginning of Christmas time) Thanksgiving. I love everything about Thanksgiving...we think about everything we have to be thankful for, we join together with our family and enjoy some of the best cooking our family has to offer. This year I'm excited for the food. I'm excited for the family too. I'm the MOST excited to meet my nephew Elliot though. He's due a few days before Thanksgiving and I can't think of anything to be more thankful for. A tiny blessing for our family. I can't wait to kiss his head and look at his tiny feet and know that he's MY nephew, a little reflection of my beautiful sister and amazing brother-in-law. I already love you little Elliot Matthew, you'll be a yummy little ending to the fall season

What are your favorite things about fall? And seriously, do you know if they make Gingerbread Latte's iced? LOL. Help a pregnant girl out!

Goodbye Summer

Where did summer go? This summer went by in a flash! When I was a kid summer seemed to go on forever (it probably WAS longer back then), but now that I'm a busy adult and Mama, it seems like it went by like lightning. This summer was a good one. Here are some of my favorite memories from the Summer of 2010.

We started off the summer when my little sis (God-sister) graduated high school! It seems impossible to me that she is 18 years old and in college, but she is. I was there when she was born! I cried on her first day of kindergarten, I went with her to a Backstreet Boy's concert, and marveled at her beauty in her first prom dress....and now she is a grown up. I definitely cried at her graduation. She's so beautiful.

The first big fun thing we did after my Mom got out of school was book it to The Montgomery Zoo. Rylie's first zoo trip. I didn't think she'd be that into it, but she really enjoyed it! The worst part was the heat and by about an hour and a half into our trip we were all sweaty and exhausted. I'll always remember this little trip though, the way Rylie loved the birds, the crappy zoo train that didn't go by ANY exhibits and how exhausted Rylie was at the end.

The first weekend in June we went down to Panama City, FL to visit some of Jason's family. It was a quick trip but we got to meet his paternal grandmother (who has alzheimer's) and his Aunt Mary Linda and cousin's Sarah and Megan. We had a blast. His Dad and Gloria also met us down there and we had 2 delicious seafood dinner's while we were there and great company. My heart melted when Rylie sat in his grandmother's lap and his grandmother chuckled at Rylie.

Throughout the summer we enjoyed visiting Market Days on Broadway. It's an outdoor market downtown where they sell tons of local produce, art, jewelry and baked goods. We go down every few weekends at least and sample the goodies, buy some fresh fruits/veggies or just browse the cool art. Thankfully this will continue for another month or two. Here is Rylie enjoying a ride on the antique horse at Brother's General Store.

Another favorite day trip of ours was Rylie's first trip to the Columbus Museum.  In high school Amy and I volunteered in their Children's Department so we have were really excited to take Rylie.  My Mom and my Aunt Pam were there too and we had a blast!  Rylie's favorite part of the trip was the fact that they had tons of art books! Her favorite!


In late June we traveled over to my cousin Karen's house for her daughter Chloe's first birthday! It was a great party, tons of family and a delicious cake.  Rylie wasn't too sure about the crowd but she did like Chloe.  Here she is giving her a birthday kiss  =)


We kept the 4th of July low key.  Dinner up at my Mom's house with family.  I did manage to get a patriotic shot of Rylie on her second 4th of July.


July must have flown by because I have barely any pictures of July.  Rylie and I enjoyed going places nearly everyday with my Mom and Amy.  We're preparing for Amy's baby Elliot due in November and our baby Rowan due 8 weeks later in January. Finding out we were having a boy was SO exciting and we cannot wait to meet him.  Here he is at 20 weeks!


 At the end of July we decided we were going to try Rylie out in preschool at our church.  She is never around other kids and had begun having some separation anxiety.  We had a rocky start and for awhile there I was worried they'd just ask her to leave (she was a bit of a cry baby...ok, ALOT of a cry baby).  Thankfully she's doing SO much better.  Each day is better than the last (she only goes 2 days a week) and I'm really enjoying the 8hrs a week I now have to clean, shop or hang out with my sister.  Look at Rylie's first piece of school artwork!

I have no idea what the Summer of 2011 has in store for us but I know we'll be busy.  I hope we can look back on this summer and have fond memories as our 2nd and last as a family of 3.  Life get's busier and more hectic but one thing is for sure, I'm having the time of my life!  I wouldn't trade my little family and this beautiful life for anything!  Now I'm ready to bring on the fall!  Crisp weather, long sleeves, brilliant fall leaves and holidays!  Goodbye Summer....Hello FALL!