November 2009

The Blind Side was fantastic. And one of the best movie versions of a book for me in a long time. Todd and I both really enjoyed it.

It’s not the typical sports movie that is full of fluff and cheesy lines. This is a true story and everything from the movie is in the book. And it’s true.

I don’t take back everything I said about Sandra Bullock (in case anyone was wondering– ahem, Todd), but she did do an amazing job in this role. And this role was perfectly suited for her.

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I wanted to dump my brain into this post.

Honestly….

• I’m having trouble coming up with blog content lately.
• I have lots going on, but feel like most of it is too boring to tell you all about.
• I am so ready for Hudson’s two little bottom teeth to come on in. They’re almost there and they’re making him miserable– which can lead to pretty long days.
• I think that cinnamon toast and hot chocolate are the perfect combination on a cold day. Yum.
• The best part of my day is when I walk in to get Hudson out of his crib. That “good morning, Mommy” smile brings me just the right amount of happiness for the day.
• I’m terrified of not losing these 20 pounds.
• I’m also terrified of the next (and hopefully final) surgery that I’ll have after the end of the year.
• I have not been the best mommy to my dogs since the baby arrived. They haven’t been the best doggies since the baby arrived, either. Hopefully we’ll find a good balance soon.
• Even though Hudson is sleeping through the night, I still can’t seem to get rested.
• This week I’d rather read than do anything else.
• In grad school, I ate cheese fries every Monday night at Delaney’s with my dear friend. Shockingly, I was the thinnest I’ve ever been in my life.
• I am just about to finish Mad Men Season 1 on DVD. Do I need another show to watch?
• I am not a basketball fan. There. I said it.
• I still wish I’d had a c-section.
• I chose not to have a c-section because I was too worried about what people would think or say about me.
• I’ll be having a c-section with the next baby. Say what you want.
• I’m delaying the whole Christmas decorating and Christmas music listening because I don’t want to get sick of it before Christmas arrives. But I really can’t wait to get started!
• I miss my little college town every day. There weren’t many restaurants there, but I crave something from one of those restaurants on a daily basis. And my little brother lives there now!
• I’m jealous of people that have nieces and/or nephews. I wish Hudson had a buddy. My dearest cousin (who is the closest thing to a sister) has a baby girl and that will have to do for a while. She has given me tons of advice.
• I wish that my best friends could see Hudson more often and watch him grow up.
• I can’t wait for Lost and American Idol to start again.
• I’m inspired daily by my blog friends and bloggers that I don’t have a relationship with. Thank goodness for blogs!
• I wonder if I’ll go to my high school reunion next year.
• If I ever got a French Bulldog, I’d name him Piglet.
• Weight loss seems to be on my mind in some way all day long.
• We are very blessed and I’m afraid that parts of this post sound like a pity party.
• My goal every day is to be in a great mood at 6:30 when Todd comes home. It’s much harder than it sounds with two dogs and a baby. Hudson’s bad mood of the day comes around 5:30 and lasts until about 6:30 as he’s winding down for bed. I don’t want to project all of that onto Todd when he walks in the door. So that’s my goal.
• I’m constantly counting down the days until the next time I get to see my parents and brother.
• I’m so excited to have a weekend with no big plans, but some fun plans, too!

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The winner of last Monday’s $100 credit to One Kings Lane is Samantha Strah! Congratulations!

You should have already been contacted by One Kings Lane, but feel free to get in touch with me if you have any problems.

Alright, y’all know I love One Kings Lane. Here’s the thing. You can get so much beautiful gifty loot without breaking the bank! I purchased two Kate Spade Lenox crystal vases (that were on my wedding registry) that normally retail for $200 a piece for just under $100.

One of the best things you can give someone for Christmas is an e-gift to One Kings Lane. They’ll still have to register and become a member, but that’s easy! The e-gift cards come in amounts from $25 to $1000. And I promise that you can find something great on that site for $25.

Tomorrow (Friday) on One Kings Lane, they’ll be focusing on Holiday Decorating. I cannot even tell you how excited I am about these next two items. It’s a Juliska glass ornament and a Distinctive Designs wreath. Yay for Christmas decorating– at 70% off!

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Why is it that when I see a big pile of sweaters in all different colors that I just want to reach out, grab them all, and purchase every one of them?  I wouldn’t want to wear the purple by itself either. I’d want to find a way to wear all colors at the same time so it looks as pretty as this pile in the picture!

Or why is it that when I look at these images of Hunter wellies, I cannot, for the life of me, decide which color I would get for myself? I want them all!

Or if I see a beautiful package of pens or Sharpies, I want to take them home. Even though I already have multiple packs at home. The colors just speak to me!

And, why, oh why do I think I need to purchase eye shadow palettes like this even though I know I’ll probably only end up wearing the browns and throwing the rest of it away before it expires and gives me some kind of eye funk?

How pretty are those colors?

Is it genius marketing? Or is something the matter with me?

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1. My birthday was last Wednesday. I turned 27. It was an ordinary day, as I think most birthdays after 22 or 23 are. My sweet husband brought me an Egg Nog Latte before I even got out of the bed. My baby boy gave me a Snuggie, my sweet doggies gave me these shoes, and my darling husband gave me a Dell net book so I can blog when we travel.  (You may remember that we have a big ole desktop Mac, so it has been difficult to blog on the go.)

My mom found a shop in Dallas that sells my every day china, Juliska, and they were going out of business and having a clearance sale. She was able to get me over 30 pieces for my birthday! We only had one pasta bowl before last week, and now we have all the pasta bowls we’ll ever need!

We celebrated that night with dinner at Terra, the same place we ate the night of our engagement. We rushed home from dinner so I could watch the CMA Awards. I know, thrilling, right? But it was a great day!

2. On November 7, Todd’s mom hosted a Sip ‘n See at her home so her friends could meet Hudson. It was a beautiful party and Hudson got a lot of love. He crashed halfway through, so his sweet grandfather took him on a stroll around their neighborhood until he fell asleep. It’s hard to keep a baby happy for those special events. He just wants his nap!

Here’s a copy of the invitation to the Sip ‘n See that Ashley Brooke Designs did. We thought it was seriously adorable!

3. The new InStyle is here!

The December issue of InStyle magazine is always the best of the year! InStyle has the greatest gift guide and I always find some amazing ideas there! I’ll be doing a post later this week letting you know what some of my favorite gift ideas are for this year!

4. My knee is killing me. I’m sure it’s pretty darn mad at me for forgetting about exercise for a year, gaining 4o pregnancy pounds over the course of 10 months, and then losing 30 pregnancy pounds in 3 weeks. Not sure my weak knee can handle all that trauma and fluctuation. I’ll fill you in more on Wednesday.

5. Annnnd the Project Runway finale is this week. I’m a Carol Hannah fan because she’s a South Carolina girl. I think Irena is good, but I also think she’s not a very nice girl. I like Althea, but I don’t think I’d wear her clothes. So I’m rooting hard for Carol Hannah. Who’s your favorite? This season kind of made me long for the days of Christian Syriano.

I hope your week is off to a great start already!

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It’s no secret that I love some Carrie Underwood. I even declared her to be my “girl crush” in a post earlier this year.

So Carrie (we’re best friends, so I can call her by her first name) and Brad Paisley hosted the CMA Awards on November 11 (which was my 27th birthday, by the way). Carrie had quite a few wardrobe changes during the three hour show, so I thought we’d discuss all of her gorgeous outfits here today. (They aren’t necessarily in the correct order.)

1. Her red carpet dress, a hand-embroidered Theia gown

2. Her opening dress

3. Her Cowboy Casanova performance outfit

4. A beautiful, sweet gown

5. Another, more edgy, gown

6. Beautiful orange ruffles

7. Beautiful green ruffles and layers

8. Sequin goodness for the close of the show

A look at some of my favorites.

My personal favorite is the orange, ruffled, one-shoulder dress. Which one is your favorite? (I numbered the dresses for your convenience.)

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Hudson turned 5 months old on Thursday, November 5. What a day! I cannot believe my sweet baby boy has been with us for almost half a year. He is the joy of my heart and the light of his Daddy’s life. We couldn’t be more blessed with a better baby and we thank our Lord every day for bringing him into our lives.

I know I’ve said this before, but I look forward to seeing his smiling little face every morning when I go to get him out of his crib. He’s usually babbling in there and I hate to interrupt his little conversation he has with his mobile. But I can’t wait to hold him and steal all of his sugar!

It is such a pleasure and a privilege to be able to witness all of his special moments. Many moms want to freeze time and stop their babies from growing up and I do feel that way to some extent. But I only feel that way because I can’t believe how quickly 5 months has passed and I know that the next 18 years will go by just as quickly! That being said, however, I enjoy every day even more. He is so much fun now and he’s a funny little boy! We just know that he’ll bring tons more smiles to our faces and make us laugh every day!

Look how my boy grows!

3 months

4 months

5 months

(it’s obviously getting harder to get him to smile on command without being completely distracted!)

• Hudson is wearing all 9 month and 12 month clothes. In Magnolia Baby and Kissy Kissy he is wearing 12-18 months. Yowza! He weighed 19 pounds about 3 weeks ago at his sick baby visit. His Jump ‘n Go only allows up to 25 lb babies, so I hope he slows down a little bit!
• He’s still a rolling machine. We had to get a bigger blanket for the floor because he can make his way clear across the room before I know it!
• He’s a bouncing machine. He can entertain himself for nearly 45 minutes in his Jump ‘n Go. It’s so much fun to watch!
• He has become quite interested in Boudreaux and Fiona. They walk by and he starts babbling at them. If he is close enough to reach them, he’ll stick his little hands out to give them a pat.
• He has started grabbing my face when I hold him and talk to him. Such a sweet little feeling!
• He has found his voice– and it is loud. I’ll post a video sometime of us doing our exercises, but when we do his “sit up” exercises and pull him up, he sounds like a wild animal.
• We’ve heard a few more giggles. I would guess that he has giggled out loud about 10 total times. We think he’s either lazy or scared or of it. But when he laughs we always wish we’d gotten a recording of that precious sound!
• He gobbles up 4 ounces of rice cereal and half a jar of banana baby food every morning. And he has mastered all of his vegetables without allergies so far. We’re back to green beans this week– not his favorite, but he tolerates them. He particularly loves green peas and squash. Mmmmmm boy!
• He can hold himself in a sitting position for a minute or two before losing his balance. He kind of supports by resting his arms on his legs. He’ll get it one day!
• Bath time is still his favorite time of day.
• As I mentioned last week, he goes to bed at 7:15 or 7:30 every night and sleeps until 6:30 a.m. without waking up. We’ll go in and feed him a bottle, put him back in his crib, and he’s back to sleep until 8:30 or 9:00 a.m. Good boy!
• He turns on his tummy immediately after being put in his crib and this definitely has me worried all through the night. I’m constantly checking the monitor to see where he is and if he’s okay. He ends up scooting his way up into the corners of his bumper pads, so we’re about to replace them with some breathable bumper pads. I would just go without anything, but I need to protect his head from those bed rails.
• We purchased our BOB Stroller Strides Revolution today. I loved all of your recommendations! Hudson loves his walks, but the Bumbleride is not so easy to push on my 3 mile treks every day. I’m so excited for our new stroller!
• Hudson loves the church nursery every Sunday and we always feel 100% confident leaving him there with the sweet ladies. He’ll “promote” to the “crawlers” class as soon as he can start sitting up on his own. We have a feeling that will be pretty soon!

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This one is simple!

Y’all know how much I love One Kings Lane. You don’t even have to leave a comment. Just click on the button below and it will direct you to the One Kings Lane registration page. Once you register to be a member of One Kings Lane, you will automatically be entered into the contest!

Join One Kings Lane by midnight PT on Monday, November 16 and you will be entered to win a $100 credit to One Kings Lane!

(so click on this button and follow the directions!)

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