Showered with love!

Tuesday night several of my sweet friends hosted a baby shower for me. It meant so much that they would go through all the trouble to put together such a nice shower! Everything was so cute! I received so many wonderful gifts! I didn't need a whole lot since I saved everything from Ashlyn but it was great to receive several new outfits and sleepers for Aubrey to have some new clothes of her own. There were also items I wished I would have had the first time around that I was so grateful to receive. And of course, who isn't thankful for diapers, wipes, and bath soap! All those items that disappear so quickly!


I brought Ashlyn with me knowing that she would completely understand what the party was about. And boy did she love it! At the dinner table before we left for the shower she asked Phillip if he was going too, he told her no that the party was just for girls. She got so excited and giddy that she was being included in a big girl party! After she got her dress on she proceeded to tell me that she needed her pink headband with the pink bow and that she also needed a necklace and a purse. So she dug in her dress up basket and got three necklaces, one bracelet, and ALL of her purses out to take with her. Phillip and I just grinned the entire time, it would have crushed her spirit if she heard us laugh, so we had to hold it in.


I was able to convince her when we got to the shower that she only needed to bring one purse inside. She loved opening gifts with me and was always on to the next gift before we could finish one. She has been playing with all the things we received using them on her baby dolls. I've had to hide a lot of the items to keep them "safe". One of them being the cute diaper cake my friend Trudi made. It is now missing some diapers since her dolls keep going poo poo and they need clean diapers. She honestly has not played in her room all week. She only wants to play baby dolls with all of Aubrey's things.


She also spends quite a bit of time rocking and babying Sugar the bunny. She tells me daily that she is going to take Sugar to the hospital for Aubrey. She can't wait to give Aubrey her gift!

A special day for a big sister!

This afternoon we made a special trip to the mall to go to Build a Bear. Ashlyn got to pick out a special gift to give to her baby sister when she is born. First she got to choose what type of animal she wanted, Ashlyn chose a bunny. Then she took her animal to the stuffing machine and had it filled. Before they stitched up the back she got to choose a little heart to put in Aubrey's bunny.

Next came the grooming. Ashlyn made sure her bunny was nice and soft.

Then came the hardest part for any girl, picking out the outfit. Ashlyn decided on a cute red top with white leggings.

After Aubrey's bunny was all dressed it was time to register and name the bunny, we chose Sugar. Well, actually Mommy chose the name since Ashlyn was having a hard time coming up with a name.

Sugar got her own little house for us to carry her home in. Ashlyn is so proud of the bunny she made. She has carried Sugar around all afternoon and she will gladly tell you that Sugar is not her bunny but baby Aubrey's.



Ashlyn has been quite the little talker today. She makes us laugh all the time! On our way to Build a Bear I said something to her and she said "what" real loud (which sounded exactly like me when I holler to Phillip from across the house). I told her to say "mam" that "what" was not good manners. She replied "I don't have manners". She had no clue exactly what that statement meant! I had a hard time holding back a laugh as I explained that's why Im trying to teach them to her.
Then that afternoon at the dinner table she so badly wanted the other half of her roll and I told her she had to eat all her carrots and one piece of meat first, she burrowed her eye brows and said "what'ch you talking about". All three of us started laughing! Silly girl!

I have to share these pictures with you. This is usually what is going on in Ashlyn's room when she is very quiet...


She has pulled out multiple pieces of clothing and is putting together a new outfit.

She was so proud of this outfit since she was able to get her tights on all by herself, which is a very hard task for a two year old!


This is another masterpiece. This is actually a top to be paired with bottoms but she thought it was a dress and sported it with her Elmo panties peaking out the back end!


And I must include my growing belly. I am 34 weeks this week. I still haven't quite wrapped my mind around how soon Aubrey will be here!

A tear jerker!

Yesterday while grocery shopping I was walking past the electronics section at Walmart and they had a rack of $5 movies. Most of them were action type movies but they had Stewart Little and The Adventures of Milo and Otis.


I thought Stewart Little would be a bit old for Ashlyn since it wasn't animated but figured she might enjoy the little mouse and heck for $5 we can put it away for a couple years. The Adventures of Milo and Otis is about a mischievous cat and dog that get themselves into all kinds of sticky situations, this would be right up Ashlyn's alley since she loves animals. So after supper last night the three of us had a little movie night. Ashlyn chose Stewart Little. About 20 minutes into the movie she started crying because the cat was being mean to Stewart and it was upsetting her. So we figured the movie was indeed a bit old for her and moved on to The Adventures of Milo and Otis. About 20 minutes into that movie things took a turn for the worst, she was a bawling sobbing mess. She was concerned about Milo and Otis getting hurt on their little "adventure". It got so bad we had to turn off the movie and attempt to calm her down. It was all Phillip and I could do to keep from busting out laughing. I think at that moment Phillip realized what his estrogen overloaded home is going to be like the rest of his life!

My Last Day

Today was the last day all to myself. It has been nice to get so much done without interruptions, I have actually kept the TV and music off during the day just to savor the silence, but I am ready to get back to my normal Mommy Life. I'm starting to miss my sweet girl!

Yesterday I scrubbed, caulked, and painted the baseboards and quarter round in the living room and hallway. This was the final step in completing our flooring project. Whew, it was a bigger job than I thought it would be. Since I had to first clean the baseboards then tape and un-tape the flooring off it took a total of 5 hours to complete the whole project. You don't realize how long that type of tedious painting takes until you are half way through the project and think, what in the world have I gotten myself into.

Today I did all my household chores so Ashlyn and I will be able to play or go swimming without taking a break to clean when she gets home. I thought I would share with you my favorite cleaning items. Now let's get this straight, I said favorite not because I like to clean house, I said favorite because it helps make my job a tad easier.

First is my new Bissell steam mop.


I use this on my tiled floors. It doesn't use any chemicals or cleaning products, just steam to sanitize. I was a little skeptical at first when a friend of mine was telling me about it but I thought it was worth a try. I could always return it and get my money back if I didn't like it. But after I used it a couple times I don't want to use a regular mop again. It has a removable pad that you take off and toss in the washer after each use so you aren't re-using your same dirty mop each time. This cuts out all that lose dirt and hairs you always have left behind after using a regular string mop. My floors are always much cleaner after using this. It was a little cumbersome learning to use since you have a cord plugged in the wall that you have to drag around but you learn little tricks to maneuver it after you use it a couple times. I got it from walmart.com and at the time they were offering $.97 shipping, but you can always get it site-to-store for free now.

Second is Clorox Green Works bathroom cleaner.

This is the only bathroom cleaner that doesn't give me a headache when I clean the bathrooms. It also works wonderfully and leaves everything nice and shiny. I almost had a mini melt down a couple weeks ago when our Walmart stopped carrying it, but this week I was able to find it at a different location and also at Dollar General. I bought a different cleaner a couple weeks ago that was terrible, I wanted to say a bad word after I cleaned the shower and it looked no different than when I first started. Cleaning the bathroom this morning with the Green Works just reaffirmed how much I like this product!

A Productive Day

I finished Ashlyn's room this morning. Her closet is nice and organized and her toys are in different categories. Notice her baby stuff takes up a rather large corner of her room and her box of dress up clothes coming in a close second!

Her closet before...


And her closet after...


Her finished big girl room...



I am rather happy with how it turned out! I love the way a clean organized room makes you feel!

Then I went into Aubrey's room to tackle the last bit I have left and was completely overwhelmed. I had to leave her room twice to re-group and it still isn't done. I'm sure you are wondering why in the world it is taking me so long to get this crazy room done. Here is a little peak at what I am weeding through.

There are more piles behind me by the way!
Phillip did a WONDERFUL job of cutting his "treasures" by over half a couple months ago but since then the "keeping" has sat in several laundry baskets and piles waiting for us to finish the job. There are sooo many cables and connectors and adapters and gadgets and tuners and gizmos and and and. Ugh, it makes my head hurt! We will soon find a home for all these "necessities", I will not let this get the best of me. My poor man doesn't know what is in store for our after dinner "entertainment" this afternoon!

It has been so quiet in the house today. I almost catch myself thinking "oh dear it's too quiet, Ashlyn's found some lip gloss". HaHa!! In the midst of my daily routines I don't realize the normal things may not really be all that "normal".
For example, my daily conversations in our bathroom

Ashlyn: Mommy, you going potty?
Me: Yes baby.
Ashlyn: Mommy, you have flowers on you panties?
Me: Yes I sure do
Ashlyn: Mommy, you big girl panties are dry! GOOD GIRL!
Ashlyn: Mommy, you all done? I get "toiet" paper for you.
Me: Thank you sweetie (for a half square of toilet paper)

The start of a quiet weekend!

Yesterday evening we met Phillip's parents half way for dinner and to drop Ashlyn off. She was one excited little girl. She asked all day when she was going to Grandma and Grandpa's and told me multiple times she needed to take blankie, pillow, and baby Sara with her. I knew better than to tell her so early where she was going! She even helped me pack and got to pick out what she wanted to wear for the week. In typical girl fashion she thought she needed all of her shoes!

I am so thankful for my in-laws. Walton and Serelda are not "typical" parents that want to be in your business and have the need to know everything. They are very respectful of their adult children's lives. They also love Ashlyn to pieces. They are not critical of her and don't blink an eye when she gets tired or overwhelmed and starts to have her normal "toddler moments" that all 2 year olds have. When Phillip and I were dating I loved being over at their house. I ate dinner at their house multiple times a week after work, they were so sweet to put up with me being over there all the time. There was a time in mine and Phillip's dating relationship that we broke up and he was living in another state. I was still living in the same town as his parents and they invited me over a couple times for dinner. I always joke to Phillip that his parents were wise to keep me around because they knew I was the only one that would marry him!

Look at this adorable hat Serelda got for Aubrey!


I am so excited for her to wear it! I have been wanting some cute hats for Aubrey to wear when she is in the hospital and very small. I didn't have any cute hats for Ashlyn when she was tiny, just the simple cotton hats. Ashlyn does not appreciate any type of hair accessories or hats, she will wear a headband occasionally but she has to put it on herself so it always looks rather.. um rough. So maybe her baby sister will be a positive influence! Haha

Ashlyn's new dresser came in Friday which was earlier than the store told me so I am excited to get her clothes switched over and get Aubrey's things organized in her dresser now. It was perfect timing! This was the final item we were waiting on to finish Ashlyn's "big girl" room. I am also going to organize her closet and go through her toys today while I am in there.