30 day blog journal: days 27 & 28....

Day 27: My Worst Habit...

Day 28: What's In My Purse?

Unfortunately Day 27 & Day 28 go hand in hand for me. One of my worst habits is stuffing everything into my purse (aka Libbi's diaper bag). I have to clean it out all the time, because it will overflow with a random plethora of items (which may or may not even be "diaper bag appropriate")


So, in the spirit of full disclosure and complete honesty, here is one of my bad habits in all it's glory:

The scene of the crime:

My accomplice:

don't let her sweet face fool you...she's partly to blame :)

The evidence:

a. random coupons, giftcards, and a chili's kid's menu.
b. diapers, wipes, and aquaphor (one of our BFF's!)
c. an empty target bag.  (i'd like to say this was in there for the disposal of dirty diapers, but sadly that is not the case....)
d. trash (so embarrassing!)
e. libbi's cellphone, and a toy attachment for her highchair cover that keeps toys/cups from falling on the ground (another excellent purchase!)
f. a book that we just bought at target
g. libbi's child safety ID card that we got for free from school last year
h.  a collection of bows
i. a paci
j. lipgloss, vera bradley post-it's, and my school ID badge (which I have not worn in almost 4 months....)
k. a bib
l. rascal flatts CD (i have no earthly idea where this even came from!)
m. a notebook that holds a copy all of Libbi's updated immunizations and info
n. a bracelet that libbi wore when she had her 6 month pictures made (i stuck it in a pocket in her diaper bag so i wouldn't lose it - which obviously worked since it is almost a year later and i still have it!)



I used to love purses and always had a great bag to carry, but since having Libbi, I just use her diaper bag most of the time.  My actual purse is probably 1,000 times worse than this....yikes!

On another note, I can't believe that we're on Day 28 of this 30 day journal....only 2 days left!  Where did the month of August go??? Time flies!
Hope you had a wonderful Saturday! :)

30 day blog journal: day 26

Day 26: Your Week In Great Detail...


Sunday - we had big plans of visiting a new church, but the dreaded stomach bug struck again.  so we spent our sunday morning washing sheets, mattress covers, and bumpers....sigh.  jeffrey had his fantasy football draft sunday afternoon, so libbi and i just hung around the house and did a few loads of laundry.  she wasn't feeling too hot, so we just took it easy and went to bed early.  besides our morning, sunday was a very uneventful day -thank goodness!


Monday - libbi woke up early and was still fighting a virus of some sort.  she was pretty puny monday morning, so we just laid around and did a whole lotta nothin.'  when she went down for her nap at 12, i cleaned the bathrooms and did some laundry.  she was feeling better when she woke up, so i made her a snack and we played some.  we didn't leave the house all day :) we had dinner plans that ended up not working out, so jeffrey picked up chick-fil-a on his way home. (boo-hoo)  when jeffrey got home, he was not feeling well at all and was running a fever (we were afraid he was catching the "bug" that libbi had), so he went to bed early and i stayed up and read blogs and played on the computer.  libbi woke up around 11pm and was crying the kind of "you-need-to-come-get-me-right-now" kind of cry. i went up to check on her and she needed to be changed. enough said.
after that, she decided that she was good and awake. i felt bad for jeffrey, because i knew he felt awful and i was worried that she was keeping him up even more, so i took her downstairs.  apparently this was her cue to begin playing.  i laid on the couch while she played and played and played.  around 2am, i had finally had enough so i took her back upstairs and put her to bed.  after MUCH crying she finally went back to sleep only to wake up again around 6....and still not feeling 100%.


Tuesday - we were supposed to be playing with a friend today, but since libbi was still yucky, i had reschedule.  i was totally exhausted from our long night/early morning, but it did not seem to effect her at all....isn't that way it always works? ;0)
we ran to target to pick up some diapers. (they were offering a $10 target giftcard if you bought two packs of pampers). we dropped off the dry cleaning then headed home for lunch and naptime.  libbi took a really good nap and i deep cleaned the kitchen, finished cleaning the bathrooms, and swept and cleaned the hardwoods.  when she woke up, she seemed to feel so much better! i had to run to publix to pick up something i had forgotten at the store (i am the queen of forgetting things...even though i always have a list!) before we left for publix, i ran upstairs to get my shoes and put the bathmat that i had washed back in the upstairs bathroom. i was seriously upstairs for all of two minutes.  when i walked out of the bathroom i practically ran into libbi.  she struts into the room like it's the most normal thing in the world, and i almost passed out.  i may have even screamed.  and possibly cried just a little, too.  it scared the living daylights out of me.  i still have NO idea how she opened the babygate at the bottom of the stairs (it's the kind that has a locking "gate") and for all i know, she may have even climbed over it....i have no idea. i shudder to think what could have happened while she was climbing the stairs.  thank you Lord for protecting her!  needless to say, i won't run upstairs for something anymore and i definitely won't trust a babygate.
when we got back from publix, i made supper and then libbi and i ate together while jeffrey sat and talked with us.  he had a tennis match and planned on eating when he got home later.  libbi went to bed early and i did, too.


Wednesday - i posted about our day here.


Thursday(today) - libbi woke up about 1:45am and i went in to check on her.  as soon as i walked in her room, i knew why she was crying.  unfortunately, we were out of diapers in her room and i had yet to bring any of the boxes upstairs yet.  so i had to take her downstairs to get a diaper and change her (of course turning on lights in the process) and by the time she was changed she was definitely not ready for bed.  i took her to our room and she laid with us and watched tv until she fell asleep.  i carried her back to her room and then we both went back to sleep.  she woke up around 8am - woohoo!
we ate breakfast and then went to go buy a paper so i could get the publix penny coupon for today.  when we got home, i got ready while she destroyed the bathroom.  we went to hobby lobby to buy a piece of replacement glass for a frame that had broken. we stopped in a local consignment store to see if they had anything worth buying, but we left empty handed.  when we got home, libbi was being super picky about what she wanted for lunch.  after trying many different things, she finally decided that she would eat a nutri-grain bar and some yogurt.  after lunch, we played for a little while and then i put her down for her nap.  i was really tired today and was totally unproductive during her nap.  i took a small nap, blogged, and then unloaded the dishwasher.  when she woke up, we went to publix to do our grocery shopping for the week.  i was so embarrassed, because libbi screamed the entire time. granted, they were happy screams, but she was essentially squealing at the top of her lungs up and down the aisles and people were staring.  i wanted to explain to everyone that she was not upset or pitching a fit, she was just playing.  instead i just smiled.  we came home, unloaded everything (my least favorite part!) and i made libbi's supper.  jeffrey came home and we ate together while libbi played and showed off some more squealing.  jeffrey cleaned up while i gave libbi a bath and put on her jammies.  we played for a little while and then i put her to bed.  she was in the BEST mood tonight and was all about jeffrey chasing her.  :)


i'm going to wrap up my post with thursday even though i didn't post about a full week. i can't imagine this is very interesting to anyone, so i figure i'm safe with cutting it short.  tomorrow's topic is: "My Worst Habit"


have a great night! :)

30 day blog journal: days 24 & 25 ...

Day 24: Your Town...




Day 25: Your Day In Great Detail....
(*warning: this is probably going to be incredibly boring, so feel free to just skip it.  i've added in some pictures so hopefully you won't fall asleep*)


5:45AM - libbi starts crying and wakes us up.  jeffrey asks me if i want him to go get her, i say "no", turn off the baby monitor, and try to go back to sleep. (i know, mom of the year....) 15 minutes later, i turn the monitor back on, because i think she's gone back to sleep.  it is quiet for all of 2 minutes and then i hear, "heeeeeeeeey" followed by a "dawg!" and then "mamamamamama."  at this point, i know there's no going back.  jeffrey goes and gets libbi out of bed and brings her to our bed in hopes that maybe, just maybe, she'll go back to sleep. (side note - she does not sleep with us, but some mornings when she wakes up at the crack of dawn (i'm talking still dark out, people), i will put her in bed with me out of sheer desperation -  usually to no avail).  jeffrey gets in the shower while i am hoping for another 20 minutes of sleep.....

after about 15 minutes of libbi climbing all over me, throwing her paci everywhere, hiding under the covers, trying to reach the cellphones on the nightstands, changing the settings on the remote, etc. i finally call it quits and we head downstairs for breakfast. i had planned on doing my grocery shopping today (more on that later), so the cupboards are a little bare....not quite mother hubbard, but close enough.  i make libbi and me some cinnamon toast and yogurt for breakfast and we sit down at the table to eat together.  jeffrey leaves for work and we finish up our breakfast.


after breakfast is cleaned up, we go into the den/playroom and libbi plays with her toys for a little bit while i check my email and read a few blogs.  we read some books, watch a dvr'd episode of "sesame street" and then sing a few rounds of "old macdonald" while acting it out with the animal puppets....it's what dreams are made of y'all.

we have plans to meet my sis-in-law and sweet baby blakeley at 10:45 so i head upstairs to shower.  i usually shower while libbi naps, because it's just easier on both of us, but since we had plans today and my hair was looking really unfortunate, i had to shower this morning.  i put libbi in her bed with some books, dolls, and her phone hoping that they would keep her occupied while i took a shower in record time.  not so much.  about 2 minutes into my shower i heard her chunk the cellphone against the wall, followed by "UH!" (that's her version of "uh-oh") next went the books, then the poor baby doll, and she so generously threw in a tantrum for the grand finale.  i tried to finish up quickly and then went to go get her out of her bed and brought her into the bathroom with me while i put on my make-up and dried my hair.

i close our bedroom door and leave the master bath doors open so she can walk around while i get ready.  she pulls out headbands, completely empties the drawer that she is allowed to play in, plays with her bath toys, throws everything within her reach into the bathtub, cries until i get it all back out of the tub, empties laundry baskets, tries to crawl under the bed, finds a cell phone, watches a little TV, pulls some socks out of jeffrey's sock drawer, finds a pack of gum and two receipts, and finally comes to sit in my lap because she wants me to put some makeup on her, too. ;0) (did i mention this was all in the span of about 15 minutes?!)


once we're both ready, we head to the post office so i can ship a skirt that i sold on ebay (woohoo!) then i load libbi back up and we head to the central office of my old school.  i had filled out some paperwork so i could be a substitute every now and then and we needed to drop it off.  we ran my paperwork by the office, then loaded back up and headed out to meet mandie and blakeley.  


when we got to the mall, we walked around and shopped for a bit.  libbi is usually a pretty good shopper.  she is a MAJOR people watcher, so she likes to be at the mall.  i have to keep a close eye on her, though, because she can get a bad case of "sticky fingers."  when we were in gymboree today, i wasn't paying attention to her and when i looked down, she had pulled five packs of little boy's underwear into the stroller with her! that is one thing we definitely didn't need!! we stopped by chick-fil-a and got a kids meal and fruit cup for libbi's lunch (that girl loves her some chick-fil-a).  we walked and shopped for a couple of hours and then headed home for naptime!

when we got back in the car, i set libbi up with a baby einstein noah's ark dvd.  she doesn't usually watch dvd's in the car, but i wanted to make sure she didn't fall asleep on the way home and i knew if she was watching her dvd she would stay awake.  i hate when she falls asleep in the car so close to naptime and then i have to wake her up to get her out and it disrupts our whole schedule!  anyway, when we got home (she was still awake!) i changed her, read her a book, and put her down for a nap.  

usually when she goes down for her nap, i shower, do my bible study, then do my cleaning/laundry for the day.  if i finish all of that, then i will blog/facebook/nap if i'm lucky! :)  let's just say today was not a "lucky day."  20 minutes after i put her down, she was back up. 20 minutes!!!! i let her cry for a few minutes, thinking she might go back to sleep, but she didn't.  i went upstairs thinking i could rock her and she'd go back down, but she didn't!  after trying rocking, singing, swaying, etc., i was the only one getting sleepy so i gave up and just headed back downstairs.  she was elated!  she played while i collected my coupons/list for the store.  i figured we'd go ahead and grocery shop since she was up and at 'em.  


i loaded libbi up and headed to publix.  upon pulling into the parking lot, i realized that i had forgotten my list and my coupons at home (great!)  i turned around and headed back home.  when we got home, i decided that we could just eat leftovers for supper and that we would grocery shop tomorrow (i usually go in on thursdays anyway to get the publix penny item).  libbi played with her baby, i did two loads of laundry, and we played with her toys for a while.

jeffrey got home from work around 5:30 and he warmed up our supper while i gave libbi some yogurt.  we had leftover chicken from last night that i added some rotel to and we made chicken tacos/nachos.  we all ate supper together and then i cleaned up while jeffrey and libbi spent some time together.  jeffrey had tennis practice tonight, so he had to leave not long after supper. libbi and i played for a little while and then she was ready for bed around 7pm.  she usually stays up a little later (7:30ish) but with her early morning and no nap, i knew she'd fade a little faster tonight.  i took her upstairs, read her a book ("i love you as much") and then put her down in her crib.  she has not made a peep since. :)

now i'm just blogging and waiting on jeffrey to get home from tennis while i watch reruns of the real world.  whew!  when jeffrey gets home, we'll do our bible study, hang out for a little bit and then go to bed!  it's been a busy and exhausting day, but how can i not enjoy every second that i get to spend with this sweet girl!?!!  i wouldn't have it any other way :)

and if you made it through this whole post (because i can assure you that even my own husband won't!) then bless you!! ;0)  
tomorrow's topic is: your week in great detail....yikes!

30 day blog journal: days 21, 22, & 23...

Day 21: A recipe...
This is one of my favorite quick and easy "go-to" recipes.  We love Mexican food at our house (we have Taco night AT LEAST once a week)! This is from The Southern Living Quick Weeknight Meals:


Easy Enchiladas
Ingredients:
-1 lb ground beef
-1 can enchilada sauce
-1 can tomato soup
-shredded cheese (we use the "mexican blend")
-flour tortillas (anywhere from 6-10 depending on how many you want to make)


Directions:
*Brown ground beef in skillet, drain and set aside.
*Combine enchilada sauce, tomato soup and ground beef in large bowl
*Spoon mixture into tortilla and sprinkle with cheese.  Roll up and place seam-side down in casserole dish.  Repeat with remaining tortillas (I usually make about 7-8).
* Pour remaining meat mixture over tortillas in the casserole dish and cover with aluminum foil.
*Bake at 350 for 15 minutes.
*Uncover and sprinkle with cheese. (the recipe calls for about 1-1.5 cups, but we REALLY like cheese in our family, so I just use as much as my heart desires!) ;0)
*Return to oven until cheese is melted (about 5-7min)
Serve with sour cream and salsa if desired.




Day 22: A Website...
Well, I obviously love so many blogs, so I thought I would post a link to one of my favorite posts from one of my favorite blogs - "Clover Lane" titled "Why I Stay Home"




Day 23: A YouTube Video...
So.... I'm going to post two here.  One is totally appropriate and the other could be considered questionable.  But in my defense, they both make me laugh - EVERY.SINGLE.TIME, but for very different reasons! ;0)

30 day blog journal: days 19 & 20...

Day 19: A Talent of Mine....

This was another hard one for me.  I felt weird making a list of talents (even though I do believe that God gifts us all with different talents) so I thought I would share a few of my "hidden talents" haha! :)

1. Children's Names.  I can remember the name of any person school-aged and under like it's nobody's business. I have the uncanny ability to memorize children's names and faces....and I never forget them (which, by the way, made it SUPER hard to come up with a name for our own child) but on the other hand, I wish all adults wore name-tags.  I forget their names within seconds of meeting them...

2.  Gift Wrapping.  I am an incredibly skilled gift wrapper.  I have quite the collection of wrapping paper, ribbon, and gift tags.  I love a well-wrapped/bagged/tagged/tied gift.  You know when you receive a gift that looks so good you hate to even open it?  Those are my favorites.

3.  Handwriting.  I have excellent penmanship.  When I was teaching, it would drive me crazy to see another (adult's) handwriting on display in my classroom. My sweet para pro (I love you, Polly!) knew that I was so OCD about this and would save everything for me to label before she hung it up in the room. Sometimes (okay, a lot of times) I love taking notes and making lists, just because it gives me a chance to use my best handwriting. :)

4.  Proofreading.  I can spot a typo from a mile away.  Seriously.  Now, that's not to say that I don't make grammatical errors or misspell words quite frequently myself, but I am an expert proofreader when it comes to other people's work.  I can't help but proofread everything - it's a blessing and a curse - ha!  Jeffrey thinks I'm crazy sometimes, because I notice misspelled words in the ticker on the news or in a book and it will just eat away at me!  My dad is also blessed with this talent (as is my friend, Abby!) and we are constantly saving pages in books or letters to show the other the mistakes that we have found.  For example, you may remember this post about a pitiful little shirt being sold at Target (which is STILL being sold to this day even though I have reported it NUMEROUS times!).  Here are a couple of typos that my dad sent to me just the other day (excuse the picture quality, they were sent as texts on my phone...)

 I can't help but proofread public pieces of writing, I just feel as if it's my "responcibility." ;0)

Day 20: Hobbies

You could basically take #'s 2 - 4 from above and consider those hobbies as well as "talents."

I also enjoy reading, blogging, and shopping (especially for clothes for Libbi!) 

30 day blog journal: day 18

Day 18: Our Wedding...

Here are some of my favorite pictures, with some of my favorite people, on one of my favorite days....

my handsome hubby-to-be....

before the big ceremony...

the bridesmaids

pre-ceremony prayer.  side note - everyone told me that i would probably not cry on my wedding day since i basically bawled through the entire rehearsal/rehearsal dinner. i guess they assumed that i had it all out of my system.....ummm....not so much! i definitely cried LOTS of HAPPY tears! :)

i love this next picture because you can see the back of my dress...it had buttons all the way down the back and a lace underlay. i LOVED my dress!  I found it in a magazine right after we were engaged and loved it from the very beginning.  I thought for sure once I saw it in person it would not be as perfect....because that's usually my "luck"....but I was wrong! It was the first dress I tried on and I knew it was the one for me!  We got it at Bridals by Lori (which is now the Atlanta location for "Say Yes To The Dress!").   Click here to see the ad that won me over ;0)  (which, by the way - why are the girls in the wedding dress ads always lounging on couches and/or looking really bizarre!?! )  

the vows...

]

the kiss! 

husband and wife!!

i love jeffrey's expression in this picture

the wedding party

my mom and dad, brother and sister, and sister-in-law (future S.I.L at this time)

the next set of pictures is from the reception....  

This is one of my all time favorites :)

love, love, love how happy jeffrey looks in this picture

another fave

the groom's cake

awwwww.....

i like this picture because you can see the back of my dress when it was bustled.  

dancing with my dad - i think we were both pretty "cried out" at this point ;0)

off to the honeymoon...

I loved how worshipful and meaningful our wedding was.  I would get married all over again in a second!  We were married at 11 am and had a brunch reception and then we left and went straight to the airport for our honeymoon!  

Finally, my other favorite part of our wedding was the music!  This song is one of my absolute favorites that was sung at our wedding - it is another one that makes me cry every time :)

Mr. and Mrs. Tippins :)

Blog Journal Update....

So....I've fallen behind on the 30 Day Blog Journal...oops!  I didn't realize how hard it would be to blog every day....

Here is my catch-up post:

Day 14: A Non-Fictional Book...

Sadly, I don't read a lot of non-fiction and most of what I do read is either a devotional or some sort of Christian Living/Biblical Study book.  I really like The Five Love Languages and plan on reading The Five Love Languages of Children. It is amazing to think that Libbi could already be forming her ideas on how love is interpreted....do you know your love language? the love languages of your child(ren)?

Day 15: My Dream House....

This is a hard one!  My dream house would be a house that is paid in full - ha! Seriously, if I could decorate my entire house with items from Ballard Designs - I would.  It's funny that when we bought our current house it felt huge, but now that we have Libbi we realize that we did not have as much "room" as we thought! :)  In my dream house, we would have a huge yard for Libbi to play in and definitely a playroom (c/o Pottery Barn).

Day 16: A Song That Makes Me Cry....

Where to start??? The easier thing would probably be to list songs that DO NOT make me cry.  It really doesn't take much.  Happy Birthday even gets me sometimes (see the weekend re-cap post below this one!) I love this song by Selah and Jill Phillips - it is pure and sweet and makes me cry....every.single.time :)

Day 17: An Art Piece....

I don't really have any "art pieces" but I do have LOTS of pictures :) and I consider those to be art, too!  Here are a few of my favorite "art pieces" that we have around our house....

this is from libbi's newborn shoot - these are some of my favorite pictures EVER EVER EVER!!!!  To see more click here

(of course our picture does not have the blog logo on it, but i wasn't able to upload our actual picture so i had to use this one....you get the idea)

and here are a few from her 6mo shot that i also adore....

this picture is in the foyer...

these pictures (along with one other) are on the wall going up our staircase.

So now that I'm caught up, I'll post tomorrow on Day 18: Our Wedding :)

Have a great night!

30 day blog journal: days 12 & 13...

30 Day Blog Journal Day 12:

Something I am "OCD" About....

This was a hard one for me - I'm not really OCD about too many things that I could think of off the top of my head.  But here are a few little "quirks" that I have:

* I love labels.  I could label everything in my house. Seriously. When I was teaching, I had labels on everything....glue, paint, art supplies, even the kids at times - ha!  It just helps me to feel more organized to know that everything has a name and a place. :)

* My clock on my nightstand is always set 23 minutes fast.  I have no idea why - it just has been for years.  And the sad thing is, I am TERRIBLE at math.  So unless it is exactly 23 minutes after the hour (i.e. 10:23) I usually have NO idea what time it is because it takes me forever to add or subtract 23 minutes.

*I love plucking my eyebrows.  I know, another really weird quirk.  I cannot walk out of the bathroom without plucking.  Jeffrey laughs at me because he says whenever I am quiet he knows I'm sitting in there plucking my eyebrows (which is at least 5 times a day). I always take my tweezers with me when we travel and it is a sad day when I can't find them.

Okay....now that you probably think I am totally weird -haha ;0)

we'll move on to today's topic:

30 Day Blog Journal Day 13:

A FICTIONAL BOOK....

Since I posted about some of my favorite fictional books on Day 4  

I'll just post about the last one I read - Heart of the Matter by Emily Giffin.  

I read this book when we were on vacation, and while it was a pretty easy read and well written, it was not one of my favorite Emily Giffin books.  It was kind of unsettling to me as it dealt with infidelity in marriage and to me it made it seem all too common and acceptable (in my opinion).  I would say it was a good "beach read" for me, but not one of those books that I could get wrapped up in and would want to read again and again.