What happened to crayons and character folders?

Well I have gone back to school and to say that I feel over my head with everything would be an understatement!  Things have changed so much from what I always knew school to be like.  Even when I took a couple years of college courses back in California, it was laid back and enjoyable.  This time I'm doing it all online and its costing me a small fortune that I hope someday I will be able to pay off.  These days I need about a ton of software and text books and "toolbox" full of art supplies... For an online graphic design program? And let's not forget the high tech laptop that my dad just got for me... So now there is absolutely no turning back now that he has jumped on board with all of this. 

Things have been looking stormy lately with so many things going on, I'm hoping the clouds part soon.

Fetish Friday!

Wow it's been a long time... once again. But I have good reason... LIFE IS CRAZY!

Anyway, for today's post I just wanted to share all the toddler/kid stuff that I'm crazy about and want for my sunshine!

I love "old timey" styles!

There's just something about this one that makes my heart melt!


Gotta love "Baby K Designs"!!!!!

Couldn't be more true... and I'm going to make sure she knows!

I also WISH I had an amazing DSLR camera so I could take amazing photos of my sunshine and not have to rely on taking her anywhere to get them done. They never measure up to my expectations. I LOVE PHOTOGRAPHY!!!

Fetish Friday

AWESOME SHOES!!!

The crazy, the beautiful, and the... um... "what is that?"...

I'm not going to give my opinion on any of these, some I think are gorgeous, some are hideous... but either way I think it's amazing what they can do with the accessory that goes on your feet!

I don't have any crazy collection of shoes, my collection is rather small and kind of boring. But I've always been fascinated by "different" looking shoes. There is a pair that will forever stick out in my mind that I saw a girl wearing in my senior year of high school. I went to three different high schools and the one I was at during my final year had the richest kids in the area. They walked around in all the fashions and had the money to do so. One girl wore the fashions that I would have chosen for myself... which included a pair of beautiful heals, burgundy on the front toe part, open in the back, and the heal looked like an intricate antique table leg! They were gorgeous!!! Sadly I was not able to find them under any search I tried online, but I will always remember them! <3









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WHERE ARE THE BREAKS??

My sweet girl is officially 18 months old today and I would like to know which joker thinks it's funny to keep pushing the fast forward button... things are going by way too fast! Her check up at the doctors is also tonight and I have a big list of questions and concerns for the doctor this time... mostly concerning how stubborn Audrey is. Sadly I feel that this trait is going to cause a losing battle for me since her Dad is the most stubborn person I know, my Mom is the second most stubborn and the list of relatives goes on from there... including me somewhere in there. Must have something to do with the European background... otherwise I have no clue what it's from. I'm mostly Swedish and Lithuanian... her Dad is a mix of German, (german... stubborn... no way! lol) as well as a little bit from all over that area.

Despite being really stubborn, she is the sweetest, happiest child I have ever known, and I feel blessed to know that she is mine!
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Fetish Friday!!!

Due to all the royal wedding festivities... my all time love of hats has been reborn! My Meme (Grandma) and I use to go to the hat section of department stores all the time when I was growing up and try on hats. She would mostly throw all of them on me instead of trying any on herself... and she would swoon over each one saying "you look so beautiful in hats, not everyone can pull them off, but you have the perfect face for them!" I feel all warm and fuzzy remembering those carefree moments in my life. And so... I want to share a few of my favorites at the moment... some from Royal Wedding guest fashions, and some scattered around online shops.

SWOON!

Classic yet so stylish!

This one has the potential of taking someone's eye out... but still GLAM!

Who doesn't like flowers??

oh so romantic!!

This one's got flair!

can't go wrong with a classic

something I probably tried on years ago :)

Happy Friday!

The best part...

of my day...
seeing two smiling faces as I pull up to my Sunshine's nanny's house. Audrey and her bff (nanny's daughter).
Today has been a relatively good day. I'm feeling a bit more motivated lately to jump on the fitness/diet train. It's been a rough few years. From just a great amount of stress, to being pregnant, to then juggling the love of spending time with my daughter... and giving up time that I could be working on the large amount of weight that I've packed on. But today someone actually made note of the results of all my recent hard work... SCORE!!!! Talk about a motivation booster!!!

Plus, I have some pretty great friends that share my love of laughter. They can make any day feel brighter... especially on cruddy rainy days such as the ones that have dropped anchor. Thankfully though... they are sailing away tonight and leaving sunny skies tomorrow... I can't wait to enjoy the much needed sunlight!!

life in hiatus

So it has been a whole month since I last wrote a single thought in the blogging world. Life can be quite complicated at times to say the least.

To even try and explain the last few months in detail turns my mind to mush. "Good night mush... and good night to the old lady whispering, hush" And that is about all the words I can produce these days... words that I read in one of few bed time stories my sunshine has. Sunlight has been just barely shining through the clouds the last month but I'm hopeful that the warmth and colors of Spring trying to make it's way around the corner will somehow make everything a bit clearer for me.

People tell you having kids is difficult, but they don't really tell you that it's as though your heart and soul are walking around outside of your body and you are unable to keep them safe 24/7. My sweet girl is determined to cause a lifetime of injuries to herself before the age of five it seems. A broken arm, dislocated elbow, and a few weeks ago she chipped her two front teeth! She's been sick on and off the last couple weeks, and today it appears as though she is cutting three new teeth, one with a big blister over it! If only I could just wrap her up in my arms and keep her safe at any given moment, it would at least make me feel better.
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The little things that get me through...

Thursday always seems to be the day that I take a breath and know that the week is almost over... once I make it to Thursday the weekend no longer seems so far away. It's one of those little things that seems to make a person feel better, and maybe it's only me... most people will only feel that relief when it is officially Friday, but I find that I'm really not too hard to please.

Here is a list of the other little things that make a world of difference and gets me through each day.

• The first day, after a long winter, that you leave work and you can still see the sun in the sky and it's just warm enough to roll the windows down on the drive home to breathe the amazing fresh air... (counting on no yucky trucks in front of you polluting your wonderful air)

and.........

• The first evening that it's warm enough to keep your bedroom windows open... listening to the night sounds and feeling the breeze on your face as you fall asleep.

• My sweet girl leaning toward me to give me kisses over and over again as I read her a bedtime story. (My evening last night... got a kiss with each new page of the book I read... I went to sleep hardly feeling the weight of what had been a horrible day... Mommy's aren't the only ones with magical kisses!)

• A buy 1 get 1 sale for something that you actually went to the store for.

• A smoothie on a cloudy day = sunshine in a cup!

• Random acts of kindness that are acknowledged (when you slow your car down to let someone turn into your lane... and they wave to thank you, or the other way around. Thanking someone for their kindness makes me feel good... and when someone thanks me for my kindness it makes me want to do more... PAY IT FORWARD PEOPLE!) :)

• Getting something other than bills or junk in the mail when you least expect it! -- Like pretty magnets with hummingbirds from my Meme for Valentines Day <3

• laughing with friends...
  

It's the little things that matter the most sometimes...

Valentine

Our Valentine's day was mostly uneventful, I wouldn't want much more than that. Chocolate's from the hubby, and an attempt at getting me an amazing piece of raspberry chocolate cake which really turned out to be terrible... it's the thought that counts and it made me feel special.

My sweet sunshine was cute as ever last night and every day I'm reminded in some way how fast she is growing before my eyes! She quickly crawls right up the stairs, runs down the hall and into our room so I can change after work. When I'm done she follows me back down the hall, lays down on her tummy at the top of the stairs and scoots down all on her own (with my supervision less than a foot behind her of course.) She babbles with so much character, it makes you question sometimes what she's attempting to say or question... and I love every single nonsensical word!!!

I don't have much info on the subject quite yet, but I'm attempting to go back to school. It's still in the very beginning process and it makes me really nervous, it's a big step and I want to take it very seriously... if I make this choice, there is no turning back, no giving up... I'm in it until I succeed! I'm sure I will have more to write once I actually decide... to give more detail right now would only get my hopes up and I need to stay focused and make the best decision for my current situation as well as everyone that it would effect... especially my amazing Audrey who I don't have enough time with as it is.

Another obstacle that I'm attempting to get through is losing about 50lbs of post baby weight... 15 months after giving birth, I should not look like I just gave birth. This would entail a complete life style change and I'm not sure my husband is going to be on board, but if he's not, I'm not sure how I will keep from falling off.

Where is that "easy button" when you need it. It could be useful for so much more than office supplies!
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