Norah Claire

Check out that curly hair...she obviously does not get that from me! She is lucky to have it and I cannot wait to style it all the time!...shhh, sometimes I put mousse in it!

NC is quickly approaching 22 months old...and I must say I cannot hardly believe it! She is super smart and I love her so much. I think I am writing about her tonight because she is spending the night at my parents and I miss her so much. I just saw her 30 minutes ago and she would be asleep anyway right now...but I miss her. I even have to close her bedroom door so I can think she is sleeping in there.

She picks up on everything you say and understands it. Today I told her she looked cozy...and she said "oh cozy". She knows that the alphabet starts A, B, C. After that, she pretty much says whatever letter she wants. I, S, A, I, R....hahaha!

I think the coolest thing she has done lately is in the last week she has used the toilet like 10 times!!! She is not quite telling us she has to go potty and she surely does not have dry diapers. But I am thrilled she is getting the idea. She even got a Dora potty chair so she is super excited to use that! Today she wore her first pair of pull ups! She is growing up!

Awwwwww......these days are so far away and then I couldn't have dreamed how much I would love her today!



When I was 9 months pregnant with her I went to a Michael Buble concert and I think that is why she loves him so much. We are crazy about "Haven't met you Yet" Track 5 on the Crazy Love CD. She loves dancing to it and singing. The only part she sings is "I Get, I get." She screams it in the car and it is adorable! The lyrics are, " I will give more than I get" for some reason she picked up on the " I get". When the song ends she says more please! haha!

On a super side note... I inherited 2 new pieces of furniture this weekend...a great craft desk and a hutch for Andrea's house. I will post soon! I love furniture, I have many aspirations to fix up a lot of furniture I am storing in my basement {and Andrea's} Will post more on that later!

Love the little things, they are the most important!

next phase of house renovations

We bought our home in July 2008...it was a foreclosure and we renovated the main floor. We expanded the bathroom, gutted the kitchen, painted everything, new doors, new hardware, new lighting, new plumbing...it was awesome!! My dad and my husband did it all themselves which saved us a ton of money and we practically got everything we wanted {besides the laundry shoot in the bathroom closet}.

Our house also has an upstairs, up to this point the only thing I have done up there is paint the den. The other two bedrooms have been left until now. My goal was to paint the "office" room the week after christmas. It has amazing dark and light hardwood floors and built in dresser drawers that needed to be refinished. It also had track lighting and some other things that needed to go. I was able to get the priming done but up to this point that is where I have stopped.

My dad and my husband also started putting in a half bath up stairs the week after christmas so that has halted my progress on the office because I need them to finish drywalling before I can paint the walls. Since it has almost been a month now...I am started to daydream of the day when phase two of renovations will be completed and my ideas for what I want the space to look like are spinning out of control.





The bathroom is going to be amazing. We bought this fantastic antique pedestal sink and we are doing a black and white small tile floor. The walls are all sorts of angles and we are going to do bead board on all the walls and the ceiling. I cannot wait to show you the end result. {the sink is similar to the one on the left but not exactly, check out those handles!}






In the office I am wanting to do some built in bookshelves and a window seat. As well as get a super cool bankers desk chair for the desk. I told my dad the longer I have to wait to put the room together the more antsy I get and the bigger ideas I dream up which in turn means more work for them.




All in all, I would highly recommend renovating a house...I need to take some pictures and put up before and after shots of all of the progress - it is truly a blessing. I think my husband and I say to each other daily how thankful we are to have a home and how much we appreciate the one God has blessed us with.

things i love!

I am a sucker for products...advertisements were made for me. I like certain cars based on the commercial...slogans are fantastic. So...since I do love products I like to test them out I thought I would let you know what I think about certain items.

The Swiffer Dust

The Swiffer duster has changed my cleaning style forever!! Before I discovered this magnificent invention, I hated dusting. I actually did not do it very often because I just felt as though I was moving the dust from one place on the dresser to another. That has all changed!! It works so well...I dust all the time now. Up high, way down low, heck I even use it in my car.

Now...where to purchase it. I would recommend Sams club. I like it there because you can get a lot of refills for little money. Also, if you go right now they have a fashionable pink for Breast Cancer color...which is a nice bonus. Why not clean with something cute! Seriously... I can hear the cries from the closet from my old dust rag crying because of being replaced! {see Swiffer commercial on TV}

The Swiffer Sweeper

Not to be confused with the Wet Jet product. I have actually never used that...but the swiffer sweeper {like the duster} has revolutionized the way in which I clean my floors. I have hardwood floors and a dog that sheds hair. We have people over our house many times a week and I don't want people to just notice the nice dog hair clumps all over the floor. Again...I used to use a broom and a dustpan. No more...swiffer is the only thing I use. It is quick, easy, and mess free! It comes with electrostatic dry sheets and wet sheets. The wet sheets are perfect to use this time of year to clean up the shoes marks left from the snow. I would not use the wet sheets to clean your floors though. They dry out way to fast, good ol' hands and knees are the best way I still know how to scrub floors, but for a quick clean up the wet sheets with the Swiffer is the way to go. Swiffer does give cleaning a whole new meaning!

Mr. Clean Magic Eraser

This product I was pretty skeptical on. I thought...yea right they always say things like that work then you buy them and they don't work at all. I was skeptical until my mom went to use it on her white tile floor. She has lived in her house for 15 years and since they day she moved it there has been a black cuff mark on the floor. No matter how many times she has scrubbed that spot it has never gone away. Until the day she used the magic eraser. Believe it or not, the spot is gone. I was amazed and find myself anticipating the day Norah colors all over the walls so I can use this trusted product!

...That's it for now but there is surely more beloved products to come!

the good, the bad, the ugly!

This title describes the weekend perfectly...

THE GOOD
I was able to spend some really great quality time with some top notch girls this weekend! On a sentimental note, God has placed a great group of girls in my life {an answered prayer} They are fun{ny}, encouraging, loving, and crazy dancers. I think over the last couple years I have been learning what it is like to be a friend and enjoy friends. I always cherish the times we get to spend together.
What else was good...oh dinner tonight with family was goooood. I love our house, it is quaint, cozy, and warm {i hope}. We had warm chicken noodle soup and hot turkey and havarti sandwiches. I love having so many people over that you run out of chairs and everyone is sitting on a corner, elbowing each other, and enjoying the company. Family is good...but family that are also friends is even better. I appreciate them and our growing family!!

THE BAD
Saturday morning and afternoon were bad! Lets just say I really like to go to bed early. I think I am an 80 year old woman stuck in this 26 year old body. I enjoy nestling down in bed around 9:30-10 and dozing off soon after. This ritual did not happen on Friday night. 3:00 am...to some a normal night out, me....never happens!! I know me...i know my body, I need sleep. To function, talk, make sense, do anything. When I do not get it, I shut down. Saturday's are one of my favorite days to get things done. Typically, I have gone to the gym, been to work, showered and back at home by 10 am on a Saturday morning. The rest of Saturday I spend at the house, doing housework, organizing, hanging out with Joe. I love Saturdays. Yesterday was bad. Besides dragging myself out of bed to make it to Norah's swim lessons and trying not to fall in my lunch with my mother-in-law after...I was in bed. {literally the last place I like to be on a Saturday afternoon!} I was practically comatose. Then I had to get back up...get all fancied back up again to go to a wedding! Seriously, I am not made for that kind of lifestyle. We left the wedding by 9:00. I wish I was made for that lifestyle a little more but I like rest too much!

THE UGLY
S0 for Christmas I was given 3 wonderful vases {as seen above} from my mom. She bought them 5 years ago in Savannah and ever since that day I have wanted them. She never hung them and from time to time I would ask her what she was going to do with them...and lets just say it was the best gift ever! I was shocked and so excited. I just love them. So Joe and I were hanging them today over our kitchen sink. I will get an actually picture someday. The first 2 went up like nothing. We were careful, mindful of their fragile state...and treating them with respect. The last one I let Joe handle by himself. I backed away to get a good look at them in all of their beauty and just as that thought of how much I love them was crossing my mind the thought was shattered as I watched the vase slip from Joe's hands onto the granite countertop. My reaction {ugly}...I fell to the floor and shed a tear {or two}...poor Joe. He felt terrible. I didn't blame him, just bummed. What happened next was a miracle. As we assessed the damage I realized the vase had not broken at all. The only thing that broke was the little glass bulb at the bottom {see picture}. There was a perfect smooth break. We glued it back together with nail glue that I happened to have from Andrea's wedding. It seriously is as good as new. Crazy...crazy!!!

the good, the bad, the ugly, it's the little things that make our lives exciting!

...on my mind

Since it is the beginning of the year...a lot of things start fresh. It is like a clean slate...a good time to reflect on the past and look toward where to go in the future. I am so thankful to have the Hope that I do in Christ as well as the unending grace. It is THAT grace that makes me excited for this next year. In the midst of all of the new things I am trying to center on things that were definite growths in the past year and what {with the help of the Spirit} is to be worked on this year. I would say the theme for last year was being intentional. This year I really think I am being pushed to be effective. ~ 2 Peter 1:8. ~ I want to be effective in increasing the Kingdom. I want to be intentional and allow myself to be used. I think so often I feel like I never have the PERFECT words to say or the CORRECT way to say them...so what do I do, say nothing. My prayer is to be more effective and to have graceful boldness in preaching the GOOD NEWS.

I am scared...and so thankful for the good Helper. I have been reading the Gospel Primer by Milton Vincent and it talked about that Word of God describing itself as POWERFUL! After thinking about all the super powerful things in the world...the things that are hard to put your mind around like a hurricane, when compared to the Gospel is amazing. God is so good...and His WORD is so powerful. I desire to know it more, be transformed by it as well as be informed by it this year so that I can use this power to Glorify our Savior.

...and that is what has been on my mind. {well at least one little thing}

Craftday Monday!

I woke up this morning and decided it was a good morning to start fixing up my craft area in the basement. Last night I was researching something I could make my sister for her birthday and I woke up this morning inspired. As of right now I have a beaten down dresser and a shelving unit. I hope I can turn it into a usable space for crafts as well as a wrapping area. Since it is in my basement I am not sure how cute it will be...so we will just have to see what kind of creativity I have. My Aunt Jane is super creative and probably has a killer craft area at her house, maybe I will call her up to get some advice. If it is not cute I am sure I will make up for it in organization. I love organization and my entire house reflects that. All in all, I am not expecting any miracles just a usable space. Above is what I am envisioning. I will keep you posted!

success

Well...the second trip to IKEA was a success. Not only did I get Norah's hat back (which I am still shocked it was there) and I was able to get the pictures that were out of stock at the last visit...I was able to come home with a lot more great finds. I have a theory about IKEA now. I think that you should first go to IKEA and check out all the good things they have to offer. Then you go home and look around your house and process what you think would be good to purchase then you go back to IKEA and make perfect purchases. I love that store...ohhh the little things.

Norah is now 21 months old...I can hardly believe it and she talks all the time. She copies what you say, sings to songs, and loves talking about all of the things she observes. Sometimes the way she says words are not understood but still super cute. For instance, the way she says Snow. She says, "ohhhh, nose." Today we took her out in the snow for the first time ever. Last year see was still too little but this year she is perfect. We put her on the sled. And she says
"ready, set, go" and you go down the little bunny hill. Seriously...she is so much fun. I always cannot wait to get her up in the morning and never want to put her to bed at night.

Looking forward to tomorrow!

first time blogger

so...I got this idea yesterday that I wanted to start a blog...so here I am. I am not sure what I want the direction of this blog to be so until I figure that out I guess I will just talk about life.

I titled this blog "it's the little things" because I feel like that is a good description of my life. I love the little things in life. I think I get excited most about the little things...I look forward to the little things. My husband loves that I am this way because it makes pleasing me easy I think. I don't think I have high expectations about much so pretty much everything seems fun. For example...I get to go to IKEA for the second time in 4 days today! I am super excited about that. I have to go back because:
1. Norah lost her cute knitted hat there...just a shot in the dark I called them yesterday and they have it! -I was pleasantly surprised to know it is there.
2. I went to get a picture for my kitchen and they were sold out. This actually really bummed me out because those pictures were the only thing I went there for so I am glad I have another reason to go back!

...that's all for now I suppose