Me + Martha Stewart = BFF

Okay, so I only dream of being able to keep up with her abilities (minus that whole insider trading and jail experience), but I'm convinced that if given the time and resources (and assistants!), I could be just as "crafty" as Martha.

One of my friends posted an idea on FB of turning a picture frame into a menu board, and I got giddy just looking at it! The original instructions suggested using a blank frame with scrapbooking paper as your background, but I've had a picture sitting in my kitchen that I love, so I decided to use that. I'm running out of wall space in my house, so this picture had been propped up on the counter in my kitchen. Not a very "finished" look, but at least I get to see it.

Using some scrapbooking letters and a frame from Goodwill that I found for $1.50, I created my menu board! And I love it! I think my family could care less what the weekly menu is, but it keeps me sane if i can glance quickly and remember that I have all of my supplies already purchased. I usually keep a list taped to the fridge every week, but this is a much prettier option!

This is my first attempt...the plan was to include Saturday and Sunday, too, but my scrapbooking letters were too large, so I initially left the bottom blank. Looks out of balance, right?

I tried to think of other phrases to put on the bottom. I wanted to add "daddy cooks on weekends" to the bottom to even it out, but once again, my big letters made that difficult. I ended up writing "daddy cooks..."and hoped the "on weekends" would be implied. Of course, daddy doesn't officially cook on weekends, but it's cute anyway, and he IS a huge help around the house, so he deserves some credit!

The menu board in its corner. It's out of the way and adds a fun pizazz to an otherwise "pointless" picture! I hope that my desire to be "crafty" comes from a God-honoring desire to "keep my home". That's how I feel about it, so I'm trusting that God gave me those abilities!

The Little Human Has New Words

The little human has really gotten better at learning (and saying) new words! We were at the park yesterday and she started saying "water." This was AFTER I had taken off her shoes, and mine, and let us both walk in the very cold water. Apparently, she's a kinesthetic learner. Of course, convincing her to leave the water without freaking out was a little challenging, but she's getting so much better at listening, comprehending, and obeying.

Our favorite thing that she does is answer the question, "Bella, how old are you?" She holds up both of her pointer fingers and says, "two." It sounds like a gorilla is grunting out the word "toe," and it's really cute!

She's also getting better at saying "please", "banana", "drink", "open", "movie", and "car". Most of these are words she knew before, but didn't really use consistently. Next up is counting! She can say "one" and "two" in the right order, but rarely moves on to "ree". I'm trying to count to five whenever I can.

"Two"

Enjoying Mother's Day

I am so thankful for my own Mama and grandmas, and for the wonderful moms in Steve's family - his Mom, Grandmas, and Sisters...you have taught me so much and inspired me to be a better Mama!

My first, official moments as a "Mommy"!

Enjoying the sunshine (and being a mom) today!

Tea Party At Chick-Fil-A

Today was a busy day, but a fun one, too! This afternoon, Mel and I took Bella to a Mother/Daughter Tea Party at the CFA down the street. I love our Chick-Fil-A! I got to be on a first name basis with them when I was on maternity leave - I ate a chicken salad sandwich and unsweet tea every single day for three weeks straight! They do a lot of fun events in the community, and the tea party was wonderful! We walked in and were shown to a table with a tablecloth and tea cups already set up. They offered us hot tea or cold tea and then brought out a wonderful plate of food! Mel and I wore hats and the three of us were dressed up in pretty dresses; I don't know how much Bella understood, but Mel and I loved it!

All dressed up and ready to go! I let Bella carry one of my purses. She was pretty excited; I don't think I even remembered to put anything in it!

How can you go wrong with a hat that cost $5.99?

Our yummy plate of food! Notice the little pastries in the center that have the CFA logo on them!

Sipping her tea in a real teacup! These pictures were all on Mel's phone, so they're a little fuzzy.

Waiting for our food to arrive...the only rough point of the experience. Next year will be even better!

Bella's First Trampoline Experience

We spent yesterday at Whitney and Trey's house; I didn't watch Camryn, so I packed up Bella and Rex around 9:00 and didn't get home until 5:00! They have a big trampoline in their backyard, and Madeline (7) and Sean (4) helped her experience the joys of bouncing. They were very gentle with her - I'm sure Bella would've loved to bounce higher, but that was definitely a "first-time mom" moment for me where I could just see us heading back to urgent care. No injuries, though, and she had an absolute blast!

She's all thugged out in David's clothes after trying to bathe in her yogurt at lunchtime.

It took some serious coaxing on my part to get her off the trampoline without me having to climb on to get her!

Our Goodies From Goodwill

Mel was home today, so we decided to take Rex and Bella to Goodwill this morning. Our original goal was to look for big hats and pretty gloves to wear to a tea party this weekend that we're taking Bella to, but there was only one hat and it was just too hideous...even for Goodwill.

I love wreaths! Love them! I am a total sucker for "seasonal" wreaths that I can put on my door at the appropriate time of year. One of my finds at Goodwill today was a "Summer" wreath. I don't have one yet and I've been drooling over one at Target, but I actually like my Goodwill wreath MUCH better! And it cost me less than $2.00!

I found these two old, wooden placemats with Colonial scenes on them. I don't think they're actually antiques, but I love the old pictures! I'm going to try and find some frames for them at WalMart.

Another item I'm a complete sucker for...baskets! I love things organized and in their place, and baskets make me very happy! I found this at Goodwill for $2.50 - such a bargain! There's something so cozy about a basket of books sitting near the fireplace.

Getting Ready...

We have some fun activities coming up this weekend, so yesterday and today were our "get ready" days. Sunday is Mother's Day and we've been making aprons for the ladies in our family. They turned out really cute!

I made an apron for myself, too. If it includes Bella's handprints, I couldn't resist! I do not find cooking effortless, so I thought it'd be cute to put a food on there that doesn't require a lot of skill.

Mel LOVES to cook and spent a year in Italy, so this apron is perfect for her! She spends enough time with Bella that she deserves a "Mother's Day" gift.

I haven't added the handprints to this one yet, but it's for my mom - Bella's Gramma Meyer. It will include Bella's handprints and handprints of the three sisters. We have a special surprise for Bella's Grandma Wires, but she reads this blog frequently, so I won't put pictures up until after Mother's Day.

We weren't getting ready for anything in this picture...except getting ready to swing on the swings! I don't know who she gets her big bottom lip from, but I like it!

I'm going to a girlfriend's baby shower this weekend and couldn't resist this adorable set of pacifiers! Aren't they cute? I love the little dragon and the bottom one is a knight in armor!
Steve and I would love to have a boy next and I can't help but wander by the "boy" items when I'm in the store to get something for Bella.

(I'll have to go back and edit this post if we have a girl next!) :)