Plane Preparations

Next week, we're embarking on our very first plane ride with Avery.  And not a short plane ride, let me tell you.  Our first flight (which happens to be at 6 in the morning), is three hours long.  Our second flight is over five hours.  And this momma is nervous as heck about it. 

My toddler has an attention span that's less than a fourth of a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse episode (for you non-toddler moms, that's like 5 minutes long).  That's a looooooong time to have to entertain, console and keep quiet one very active toddler.

I plan on implementing several different tactics to make this plane flight easier....new coloring books and crayons, suckers for take-off, new movies that I'm planning to rent on the iPad.  None of which I can guarantee are going to work.  All I can do is pray that she stays fairly calm and that we're blessed with understanding and patient plane friends.

I can plan activities and distractions all day long, but honestly, the thing that keeps my kid quiet more than anything:  food.  It's our go-to strategy when we have to take her anywhere that she has to be quiet for an extended period of time.  Going to church?  Pack a giant bag of cereal.  Going to a wedding?  Throw multiple bags of fruit chews in my purse.  So why wouldn't this work on a plane?

I knew I was going to have to be more organized than just throwing a couple of packets of fruit chews and some Cheerios in a Ziploc bag.  To Walmart I went! 

I found these, which I found completely awesome:

Lunchables Jr., or basically Toddler Lunchables.  Each contains three different snacks in one container.  I started to grab them, but at almost $2 apiece, I really thought I could do better.  So I started getting creative to make my own Toddler Lunchables.

Since we're going to be on these flights for both breakfast and lunch, I made a breakfast, lunch and snack lunchable of my own.

I first headed over to the Tupperware container/lunch container section.  I picked up some double divided containers for $2.88.

Breakfast:

In one container, I packed "breakfast-y" type items.  PopTarts, fruit chews, dried apples, dried cranberries and fruit loops.  Obviously I know that my kid isn't going to eat all this by herself for one meal.  I'm over-preparing.  If she doesn't feel like PopTarts that morning, there's fruit.  If she doesn't want fruit, there's cereal.  Better to be prepared than have a screaming kid.

 

Lunch:

 



Lunch items include:  Uncrustable pb&j sandwiches, fruit chews, Teddy Grahams, Jif To Go packs and Ritz Bits.

 

 

Snacks:

 



 

Snack items:  Dried cranberries, goldfish, Pringles Stix, dried apples, Teddy Grahams and Jif To Go.

 

 

 

Can I get a shout out from all the moms that LOVE these things??  Technically, it's baby food in a pouch.  But my two year old still loves these things.  So, for 88 cents apiece, we still pick them out.

 





 

So, that's my food plan.  Wish us luck!! 

Blocked at Every Angle

I've had massive writer's block you guys.  Nothing to post about...period.

I want to talk about ideas that I have to remodel or refresh our house....but that requires money to do so....so no renovations.

I want to talk about new crafting ideas I've had.....except I haven't had any.

I want to talk about new paintings that I've completed....except I have a bunch started, but nothing completely done.

I want to talk about my plans for weight loss....except I haven't lost any weight.

I want to talk about my plans to organize our basement and turn it into my own haven for crafting and painting...except any time I think about it, it makes me completely exhausted, so I continue to paint from our kitchen table.

I want to talk about a lot of very exciting things that are coming up soon (can we say Color Run?  Aruba vacation?  Kids Consignment Sale where I lose my mind and spend wayyyy too much money?)......but I can't....because they haven't happened yet.

Writer's block stinks.

Long Hair Do Care.

I got my hair cut today.  Actually, I got my hair chopped off today.

I wanted something different.  It's been 3 years since I've had a different hairstyle.  I'm ridiculously afraid of change.  I don't know what I'm going to do when I start going grey and need to dye my hair.  It took 48 hours of opinions, pep talks and reassuring myself for me to even get my hair cut today.  What can I say?  I'm a makeover chicken.

Here's the inspiration:

Chelsea Kane!  Her hair is fabulous.  Just fabulous.  Particularly the picture at the bottom right.

Pictures!  (side note:  You should know this.  Posting selfies is really, really, reaaaaally putting myself out there.  I have horrible self-esteem and hate looking at pictures of myself.  I almost can't believe I'm even putting them up willingly for other people to see.)

Before!

Long hair do care.  

During!

I'm convinced my hair could have made a small wig.  Hair. Was. Everywhere.  

After!

I'm hyperventilating right now.  Seeing the before and afters together honestly makes me throw up a little bit.  And I'll be honest, the before picture looks a lot better than the after.  But in person, this new hair is AWESOME.  It literally looks just like Chelsea Kane's hair that I took for inspiration...just brown instead of blonde. :)  I think I lost 5 pounds by losing all that hair!  I'm really, really loving it.  Although I keep running my hands through it and then freak out because I have no hair anymore.  I guess sometimes it does pay off to just put on my big girl panties and deal with it.  

Rug Recommendations?

I'm not sure what my deal is with rugs.  Everyone else seems to be able to find a good deal on a cute rug around here.  I keep striking out.

You may remember my dilemma about finding a rug for our living room. After extensive searching, I finally found the perfect rug on Target's website.

Now I'm having the same issue, just in the master bedroom now.

I'm in love with my comforter and sheet set.  It's grey and yellow and I want to bring in some mint green accents around the room.  This is what you should know about me.  I'm not a matchy-matchy kind of person.  I really want to be able to mix and match patterns seamlessly and make everything look like it was just meant to go together.  I haven't mastered it yet.  So I thought that a rug would be the perfect opportunity to bring in some color and some pattern and make it look like it all went together.  But, since I'm super dependent on other people's opinions (it's a flaw, I know), I need to know what you guys think.

Options!

Let's break these down.

The picture on the left, obviously, is my bedding.

1.  From zulily.com
Pros:  It's yellow houndstooth.  I'm obsessed with houndstooth.
Cons:  It's a 3.5'x5.6' rug.  I'm really hoping for a 5'x7'.  And it's $99.99.

2.  Currently in my Target store.
Pros:  It's gorgeous in person.  I really like the idea of doing a completely different rug pattern and bringing in the different colors.
Cons:  It's $152.99--that's the sale price.  Not really the ideal pricetag I'm looking for.

3.  From Urban Outfitters.
Pros:  I'm obsessed with chevron right now and it's mint green and it's only $89 for a 5'x7'.
Cons:  Is it too different?

4.  Same rug as #3, also from Urban Outfitters, just in yellow.
Pros:  Again, I love chevron.
Cons:  I'm nervous that it's too much yellow.  And I'm afraid that it's going to come in the mail and it's going to be a different color yellow that's on my bedding and it's going to clash.  Ugh.

Opinions?!?!

Avery's Pooh Party!

So, I know you're just dying to see and hear the details of Avery's 2nd birthday, right?  Okay guys.  Humor me.  Just pretend you're dying to see it all :)

The "Pooh Party" that Avery had been talking incessantly about for over a month went off without a hitch. It was a vast improvement over how I felt after her first birthday party.  That was a disaster.  This time, I was relaxed, not stressed.  If my floor didn't get mopped or my tables didn't get dusted, oh well.  My house was going to be a wreck after people came pouring in anyway.  I didn't obsess over decorations or food or details.  I just worked hard on everything and then didn't stress the day of.  It made for a VERY enjoyable day.

Details!

Food:  I did Winnie the Pooh themed foods.

Bar-BEE-Que sandwiches as the entree.

P-BEE-and J sandwiches for the littles, if they weren't partial to BBQ.

Veggies, straight out of Rabbit's garden.

Rolls and "hunny."  This was a special request from the birthday girl herself.  We were eating at a local steakhouse that gives you complimentary honey with your dinner rolls.  While Avery was dipping her rolls in honey, she asked me "At my Pooh party??"  So, we HAD to have rolls and hunny.

Side note:  check out these honey bottles I found at Walmart.  I was just going to get the regular jars of clover honey that are in the shape of a bear.  Then, this jar caught my eye.....

AHHHH!  Winnie the Pooh shaped honey jars!!  I may have bought four of them. 

Next, a "Pooh" tato bar.  Baked potatoes that you could load up with your choice of toppings--cheddar cheese, bacon, sour cream, broccoli, sauteed mushrooms, butter.

I didn't get a picture of them, but the baked potatoes were as big as your head.  Seriously.  I got them at Sam's Club and they were the biggest things I'd ever seen.  My sister told me that she felt like she deserved a t-shirt if she finished the entire thing.  Monstrous.

If you weren't feeling like a baked potato, you could also indulge in some "Pooh" tato chips. 

Finally, dessert. I didn't do a cake this year, but instead opted for cupcakes.  In my mind, I wanted to make something like this....

via

But this involved cutting apart yellow and black jellybeans and squeezing them together.  I'm too lazy for that.  Instead, I took Whoppers candies and drizzled them with yellow icing.  Lazy woman's version.  Sliced almonds for the wings.  Did they look as good as the above version?  Nope.  Don't care. 

Also, Tigger Tails!  Shout out to my sister-in-law for making these adorable orange colored chocolate dipped pretzels, drizzled in chocolate.  Marty can't stop eating them, three days later.

I bought a glass terrarium at Michael's and filled it with a yellow tablecloth to mimic honey.  Also to make the pretzel stand a little higher for easy accessibility. 

Avery's Outfit:  Many of you know that I stressed over what my little "hunny" was going to wear to her party.  Shoot, I wrote a whole blog post about it.  A Facebook friend sent me over to JossyBelle Bows on Facebook and she created exactly what I was picturing in my mind.  I didn't want a single Winnie the Pooh anywhere on it.  I just wanted it to be "Pooh-inspired."  This is what she made: 

And this is what it looked like on Avery: 

Decorations:  I honestly didn't do many.  My sister-in-law let me borrow some of the Pooh character stuffed animals, which I scattered around the house.  I bought red and Pooh-yellow tablecloths and put them on the food and present tables.  The only crafty thing I did was make a Pooh-inspired wreath that hung on the front door and that will be hung in her playroom later.  (inspired by this wreath on etsy).

Party favors:  I ordered some teddy bears online that the little girls could stuff themselves.  I also bought some Winnie the Pooh puzzles and some bug catchers at the Dollar Tree. Provided all the kids with a brown bag that they could keep their favors in.  I really hope the kids enjoyed them. 

Favorite picture of the day:  

*sigh*  Does it even need words?  It makes my heart smile so, so much.  She loves her Aunt Day-Day. 

Giggle of the day:  My sister-in-law had her son's Halloween costume from a couple of years ago.  Of course we had to try it on. 

Cuteness overload.  I can't handle. 

Favorite moment of the day:  There were lots of great moments, but by far my favorite moment happened when Avery opened a very special gift.  Marty's mom passed away in November of last year.  For Christmas, she had already purchased the kid's Christmas gifts before she passed, so they had something to open from her on Christmas Eve.  But a couple of weeks ago, my sister-in-law found some presents in her old bedroom.  And one of them had Avery's name on it.  Inside, was a Winnie the Pooh doll and sticker book.  When Arlene passed away, we hadn't planned Avery's party.  We didn't know it would be Pooh themed.  Heck, back in November, Avery wasn't even into Winnie the Pooh at that point. I still can't wrap my head around it. 

She's slept with it every night since.  Thanks Gaga.

The party was literally perfect.  I wouldn't change a single thing.  Happy birthday, my little "hunny."  

The Time I Almost Killed an Inanimate Object

All you Pinterest-addicted ladies with toddlers, I know you've seen this pin and drooled over it.  

And you think "Wow.  That looks easy.  I can do that!"  

That's the point that you need to take your meds and lay down because you're talking like a crazy person. 

This is coming from a woman that tried this.  I temporarily lost my mind and tried this.  And, of course, I failed miserably.  Would you like to hear the story?

Once Upon a Time, a crafty young princess was perusing Pinterest and found this beautiful playhouse fit for a magazine.  She immediately thought "I can do that!" and convinced her husband to make a trip to their local store to pick up some paint.  

Oh.  Too flashy?  Sorry, I'll tone it down. 

When I first saw this idea, I put out some feelers on Facebook to see if I could actually find a playhouse.  I'd found a couple of them in Louisville for over $100 apiece.  Not ideal, but it seemed to be the going rate for a plastic house.  Long story short, I ended up getting pointed in the direction of a girl who actually lived two minutes down the road from my parents.  Someone saw that I wanted a playhouse, someone saw she had a playhouse for sale and hooked us up.  It seemed like fate.  

Once I had a playhouse and decided on what color I wanted to paint it, Marty and I went to Wally World and picked up a couple of cans of Krylon Fusion paint made especially for plastics.  I wanted a navy house, with black roof and black shutters and a white bay window.  So I picked up two cans of navy, one can of black and one can of white, thinking it'd be plenty.  HA! 

The week of Avery's birthday, Marty pressure washed the entire thing, wiped it down and it was ready for me to start painting.  One afternoon, my sister in law very graciously watched Avery so I could get things ready for her party and I decided to tackle the playhouse.  Dear Lord. 

Let me start by saying:  I'm not good at spray painting.  I don't know what length I should hold the can away from the object to get optimal spray coverage.  I usually end up going too close and leaving drips all over the place from excessive amounts of paint, or I hold my hand too far away and it goes on too lightly.  So, word to the wise...if you're like me and you are a terrible spray painter, this project is NOT for you. 

I started by spraying the shutters first and then moved on to the navy blue siding.  After doing half of one side of the house, I had the thought "Um...this looks kind of crappy."  

After finishing a complete side, I had the thought "There is NO way I'm going to have enough paint."  I had to send Marty to the store to get more.  This should have been the point that I stepped back, realized that maybe spray painting plastic houses is not my strong suit and let my husband step in.  But no.  I was determined to finish that stupid house. 

Seven cans of blue, four cans of black and one can of white later, I was crying and wishing I had a large bottle of Moscato wine in my fridge.  It.  Was.  Awful.  

You could see every single spray mark I made.  I sprayed with a heavy hand and went over each spray multiple times and it still looked like crap.    And, even though I'm obsessed with navy siding and black shutters on houses in real life, when I sprayed it on this little house, the combination was just too dark.  

I didn't even want to give it to her.  Not that she cared, she'd be happy if I threw paint all over it and let it leave drip marks.  But I wasn't proud of it.  It didn't turn out the way I wanted and I was ready to set fire to it and start all over again (and by "all over again," I mean "buy one brand new with pretty colors to start with).  

I ran inside to scrub the paint off my hands (and my nose....and inside my nose....and my cheeks....and my legs.....).

And then I texted my husband.

Did you notice the very last line?  That's why I love him.  I have a harebrained, ridiculous idea and screw it up and his only instinct is to ask how he can help me.  I seriously take him for granted. 

Because, later that night, he ran to Walmart, picked up primer and MORE paint and went out and fixed my mess.  I peeked out my bedroom window to see my husband, earbuds in place, spray painting our daughter's birthday present...and I cried.  I cried because I don't deserve him.  Because he totally saved the day. 

Once again, I have a crazy idea (Avery's first birthday present, the mantle I wanted mounted on a wall without a fireplace.....) and Marty steps in to make it a reality.  I'm a lucky, lucky girl.

One last picture:

Avery's first birthday present parked next to her second birthday present.  Marty's exact words to me:  "You have an obsession with painting plastic things."  Maybe so, Marty.....wonder if there's a twelve step program for that kind of addiction.....

To My Avery, On Your Second Birthday

Oh my Avery.  My loud, spunky, giggly, attitude-y, rambunctious Avery.  How did we get here?  How did we get to the point that we're celebrating your SECOND birthday??  You should still be my cuddly infant.  The one that coos at the bugs on her carseat and is allergic to every fruit known to man.  Instead, you're a two year old.  A two year old that tells me when she's happy with something.  Or unhappy with something (mostly the latter).  I feel like I spend the majority of our waking hours together scolding you.  I feel like I'm constantly getting after you to share your toys, use your manners, not throw temper tantrums, use the potty, don't pee in your pants, don't empty mommy's makeup on the clean bedsheets....but I do it because I love you.  I love you and I want you to be a polite, fun to be around little girl.  I discipline because I want to know that someday, when I send you off to spend all day with a teacher or a babysitter, that I can rest easy knowing that I've taught you how to behave.  You're constantly pushing my buttons and testing your limits, but we make it through the day okay, right?  We have our moments where you come running up to me out of nowhere and hug my leg and say "Hold you please."  Then I pick you up and you squeeze my neck and say "I yuv you mommy."  And that's when I think my heart is going to explode right there.  My purpose in life is to be your mommy.  To kiss your boo-boos and find your lost Minnie Mouse doll.  To wipe your butt and wipe your tears.  There's nothing else I would rather be doing.  Because you make life worthwhile.  There's nothing like sitting with you for a couple of minutes and then listen to you talk and marvel at all the new words you've learned.  You are SO incredibly smart.  You pick up on things so quickly.  You can hold your own with the older kids in a room, which makes me so proud.  You're just like your daddy.  You're outgoing and not afraid to talk to anyone.  You make friends in the checkout line and tell them all about your fishy swimming at home in his bowl.  I honestly believe there's nothing you can't do.  I'm so proud of the little girl you're becoming.  Sure, we have our moments where I yell too much or you throw things in the floor just because you didn't get your way.  But we love each other and that's all that really matters. 

Happy 2nd birthday, my one and only Avery.