Beach - June 2013 - Part 1

In June we got to go the Beach for the first time as a family! Adeline got to go to the beach last year, but this year Alan got to go. We settled on Top Sail Island and got a great house only a couple blocks from the beach. We went for a long weekend, and it was great - just one more day would have been great.

Most of the weekend it rained so the first day we decided to head over Emerald Isle and visit the Aquarium in the am since the rain was going to clear up by afternoon.

Adeline had a great time at the Aquarium, it's a fairly small place and we made it through pretty quickly and it was packed!!! Oh well, all that matters is that Adeline had fun.

Payless Decor - Bamboo Roman Blinds

Awhile back I won a giveaway over on SAS Interiors from Jenna. I won $150 credit to Payless Decor towards Tibet Bamboo Roman Shades. When I submitted my entry for the giveaway I sent in a picture of my living room as needing the new blinds. But when it came down to it and time to order my blinds from Payless Decor I decided to get some blinds for the bedroom. The curtains I had in there to black out the light were extremely heavy and had been hanging for about 5 years, so it was time for a change.

Here is what the windows looked like before the switcheroo! These were so heavy that I never bothered with pulling back the curtain unless I was going to be in there a lot.

Luckily my brother was visiting and was able to help Alan with the uninstall then install of the new shades! Someone has to keep an eye on Miss Adeline, so hard for both of us to work on something together. Please ignore my ugly ugly windows! We need new windows for the whole house, but unless someone wants to give me some serious moola, that ain't happening any time soon! I also realized when I took down the curtains that the window frames need some serious TLC with a coat of fresh paint. Hopefully I can get to this soon!

Adeline decided she would help by taking mommy and daddy's clothes out of the dresser!

Once we had all the blinds installed I thought it looked so beautiful! It was a big change for me and I like the look. I haven't decided yet if I want to get some sort of curtains for the windows as well. Here they are partially open.

Here they are completely closed.

When I ordered my shades I opted for the blackout liner. That was very important to me since hubby and I both like to sleep in when Adeline lets us! Alan also needs it to be dark to sleep well. So these blinds met that need and exceeded it! I was so happy to see how dark these black out shades get the room. My only issue is that when light is coming through the blinds you can see the holes for the cord through the shades. But really, that is what you have to expect.

Other than that I am very happy with these blinds. They were very easy to install and did not take long at all. I plan on ordering some for my daughters room as well. I did the DIY Roman Shades for her room, but didn't use a blackout liner, and they've been up for 2 yrs so time for a change! I will probably get her a lighter color bamboo since her room is so vibrant.

Check out Payless Decor on Facebook, Twitter, Google+!

North Carolina Zoo

A couple weekends ago we decided to have a family weekend getaway! Some of the girls I work with had said that the North Carolina Zoo in Asheboro, NC was a great zoo - so we decided to check it out. Hubby had to go check out Bass Pro Shops in Concord first though! So we dropped the pup off with the Grandparents then were on our way to Bass Pro Shops! We spent the night in Concord at The Residence Inn. It was amazing. I highly recommend it, especially if you have kids! It was nice to put Adeline down to sleep in her pack n play (yes we brought our own...) close the door then spend some adult time watching tv and relaxing. In typical hotel room we would have had to go to bed when Adeline did! For the same cost as a regular hotel room we got a miniature apartment!

Source

Peekaboo!

 Adeline had fun at Bass Pro Shops and Concord Mall then got to run around Bass Pro while we waited for the rain to subside! We ate at Ruby Tuesdays in the mall and we were very disappointed. The staff was very unfriendly and the service was slow - to top it all off the floor was so slick every customer was sliding on the floor! Here is Miss Adeline playing with the magnets at Bass Pro - constantly moving, impossible to get a good pic!

The next morning we got up bright and early and drove 1.5 hrs to the Zoo! Adeline is always such a great passenger. This trip was so easy with her, I'm hoping that continues as she grows older.

First Photo at the Zoo! Adeline has a Giraffe blanket she loves - so this was fitting!

There were lots of great animals at the zoo that Adeline had never seen before. She was in awe of a lot of the animals and had a great time.

Adeline's favorite part of the zoo was the Carousel! I had no idea she would love it so much. Here is a progression of her realizing what it was!

She was so excited!!!

Here she is on the Giraffe! It didn't move, which was great for her first ride. We had hoped she could ride again before we left on a moving animal - but she was asleep when we went back by!

On our way out of the zoo Little Miss fell asleep! She had a big day and did great. I can't wait to take her back in a few months.

Custom Sibling Sport Team Support Tees

A friend of mine had me do shirts a few months ago for her youngest to wear to his brother and sisters sporting events. She has contacted me again to do more shirts for this season of sports events.

The big sister plays softball and the big brother plays baseball. Super cute shirts and I used Siser Easyweed heat transfer vinyl from Expressionsvinyl.com - this was my first time using this brand and I really liked it...now the test on how well it stands up!

Also if you are not my friend on facebook you may not have heard, but I have decided to go a new direction with my Etsy shop. I really want to do 90% custom work, and just have a few items in my shop that are ready to ship. SOOO I am having a store sale! 20% off everything with the code THANKFUL! If you are local use the code LOCAL for no shipping and we can meet up!

Adeline's Farm Adventure - Part 2 of 2

Another part of Adeline's Farm Adventure was play time outside at her Grandparents. Adeline loves being outside, so anytime she is out she is a happy tot! She still isn't sure about walking in the grass though!

Give me your ball Marie!

Swingin' with Maw Maw

Marie loves her ball

Just chillin with Paw Paw

Adeline loves her Paw Paw and Uncle Scott

Adeline's Farm Adventure - Part 1 of 2

Over the weekend Adeline and I went to my parents house and farm to visit and see all the calves! Uncle Scott was very excited for Adeline to see one of the calves being bottle fed. The calves momma has Mastitis and thus unable to provide enough milk for the calf. In cows, once they get Mastitis it's over. Maybe if they had caught it early it would have been treatable, but the vet says she has probably had it for a couple YEARS! Ouch. Right now my dad has two cows with Mastitis, thankfully the other one is still producing enough milk for its calf. So off to the market for those two as soon as the calves are old enough.

Adeline was in awe of the cows, she barely said a word the whole time we were on the farm. She's met one of our horses before, Cash, but she was still very quiet. By the end she was finally saying "Moo" (see below video!).

 

Watching the Cows and their calves

Turn up the volume so you can hear Miss Adeline!