Crafty Ideas for Baby Lilah Faith

I first want to say that I am secretly THRILLED that the Husband and I are having a little girl. Don't get me wrong, I would have been just as excited with a little boy, but being such a girly girl that I am - it was fate that I have a little princess.

I've always been a crafty person. I love painting and making things. It comes naturally to me and I love being creative! So it's probably no surprise to anyone who knows me that I've started a craft "to make" list :)

I've looked into purchasing all these things, but I always feel like "I can totally make that" and then I have to do it just to prove that I can. Here are some of the things currently on my list:

Baby Leg Warmers:

Okay I know Miss Priss is due in April, but I thought what a fashion statement for her to wear a little onesie with a pair of leg warmers. So cute! Obviously I'm not the only one with this idea ;)

I've "Googled" the how to on this and have started my search for socks that I can transform into baby leg warmers!

Tutu Onesie

I was given a newborn onesie that had little ruffles on the bum and I thought, why not take it a step further and just create a onesie with a sewn on tutu? Totally girly and adorable, especially for some pictures! Something along the lines of this:

Embellished Onesie

I don't want to go too crazy with Lilah's wardrobe so I thought a couple embellished onesies that are more of an everyday style that aren't too flashy. Looks easy enough, just sew a ribbon at the rib cage. I don't want too many monogrammed outfits so this would be minus the name or inital.

Personalized Burp Cloths

I've seen other girls get these at baby showers and have always thought they were super adorable. They are made from plain old cloth diapers. You just add your personalization to it and then you have an adorable burp cloth.

Cute "Diaper Panties", as I call them :)

This one will be a toughy. I might have to breakdown and buy these as I have no clue how or where to find these. The personalization part wouldn't be difficult, but sewing/making the "panties" is way beyond my crafting skill!

Now the hunting begins to find my fabric and ribbons. I might need a quick lesson in sewing too, as I typically use my glue gun for everything.....

Most Fabulous Birthday!!

I really don't care for my birthday. I never have. It's so close to Christmas and there really isn't anything fun you can do that you haven't already done before. It has nothing to do with my age, I just don't like a big fuss made over it. I would rather get a "happy birthday" and get the day over with.

This year was a different story. For some reason I wasn't dreading my birthday the way I usually do. I actually decided I wanted to celebrate and have a party. An ugly Christmas sweater party. I don't know why this thought hadn't occurred to me before, as I love themed parties! Patrick was a very good sport and actually wore one too. He was so excited about his sweater it was really surprising to me, and my friends that he would be so into this!  I was having so much fun with my friends that I totally forgot to even take pictures of all their amazing outfits, but here are mine and Patrick's!

I made these. Can you believe it? By the end of the party i had lots of cotton balls falling off, but it was totally worth it. I really wish Patrick's lights would have worked. We were most excited about them, but when i went to put the batteries in, they didn't work. FAIL!

Oh well. Now on to the presents. :)

Patrick is an amazing gift giver. He always puts a lot of thought into what he wants to get. He may look big and tough, but he really is a love bug on the inside. :) I love this about him.

Seeing as we are pregnant with our first baby, a little girl, he wanted to get me something that I could remember this special birthday by. So he got me some charms for my Pandora bracelet.

                       Our baby girls initials. Lilah Faith Rutherford. 

                                 And a baby shoe with a pink gem!

He did a very good job. I LOVE them! I nearly cried when I opened them. What a sweetheart he is!

The next gift is from my parents. I have wanted a vanity mirror forever and I finally got one. It's amazing. I love that one side is a standard mirror and that the other is a 10x zoom. I get stuck in the mirror for hours! It makes waxing my eyebrows SO easy!

My best friend Crystal got me some amazing gifts!! I just realized I forgot to take a picture of my favorite one!! Arg, I will have to post it later. As everyone is well aware I LOVE elephants. She found this beautiful ring holder that's in the shape of an elephant. My words will do no justice as to how cute this thing is. The long nose is pointed up, which is the part that holds your ring while you wash your hands, take a shower, etc. It's so amazing and I love it. She also got me a beautiful green scarf. I love scarves, and I love green :)

She also got me some new, what I call "hobo" gloves. I get so cold at work and like to wear them so that I can still type. Plus I'm very claustrophobic and cant wear regular gloves so these work perfect for me :) She knows me too well :)

I love my husband, my family, and my dear friends. You all always know how to make me feel special and loved. Thank you!



Thanks to all that came out for my birthday and made it the best birthday I've had in years! I love you all!

Where is the Holiday Spirit?

I'm hoping this Christmas will be an eye opener for some. I guess people tend to get their priorities out of place and can only see what's right in front of them. Or they forget that at the end of the day the little things that may aggravate us or the things we may not entirely agree with, don't really matter - or shouldn't. It really surprises me the things people choose to make an issue, especially around Christmas, when family is most important. They also forget that their actions and words hurt more than the people they are intended for.

I refuse to get my spirit down. I choose to surround myself with the people I love most and who accept me for who I truly am. I refuse to filter my words or change who I am to make someone else happy. I would never ask for anyone to be anything other than who they are.

I really hope you realize that all this is not worth the price that will end up being paid. Just because you have an opinion about something, doesn't mean its always necessary to voice it. I know you won't always agree and we won't all always get along, but family is family whether you like me or not.

Loooooooong Time :D

Okay so my life has been super crazy and I have PURPOSELY not updated on here for a while. Patrick and I got some surprising, yet exciting news that I have been dying to blab: We are PREGGERS!

We got pregnant as soon as I got back from Crystal's bachelorette trip (mid July). It was completely by surprise! I knew instantly I was pregnant as I immediately started in with morning sickness. I hadn't even missed "Aunt Flow's" visit but knew something wasn't right. Patrick convinced me to take a test and I did, which didn't immediately turn positive. I quickly just tossed it aside and summed it up to having a bug. Later that night when I went to get ready for bed, I glanced at the stick, which now read positive. I was in total shock and couldn't even speak so I just handed it to Patrick. (no clever story on how I told my hubs) He said "what do these lines mean", and I said "that means we are having a baby". I instantly got excited and he instantly started to panic! The test was faint so we decided it would be best to take another one just to be sure.

I woke up the next morning SO sick thinking I couldn't already be testing positive and having morning sickness ALREADY, could I? It just didn't seem possible. So on the way to work I stopped by Walgreens to get a stick to pee on. Patrick insisted on getting the EPT brand, because its ERROR proof - bah silly boy! Since I was so sick the only thing I could keep down was water, and I had drank a lot of it on the way in. I got settled in at work and took the test. I let it set for the allotted time and I saw what seemed to be yet another positive reading. This one was even more faint than the one before. I then starting thinking, okay maybe I'm just wanting to see the line and its really just not there, but I think I can see it. So I was back to square one, doubting my positive stick and still wondering if this was really happening. Luckily the package came with two!

So I decided to wait and use the last stick the next morning with fresh, just woke up pee! Let me tell you the third time really is the charm. I peed on that stick and it went BAM florescent positive. No mistaking this one!! I am def knocked up!

So here I am newly pregnant and wide eyed with excitement! I call my OB to make an appointment as I officially have no clue what I'm doing or need to do from here. I tell them my story and they try and argue with me about how far along I am and when my last period was. HELLO it's my vagina, I know when my last cycle was! After arguing with them for a couple minutes I said the heck with it, what do I know, and said okay fine whatever book my dang appointment. (they were telling me I was 8 weeks and not 4 - as my suspicion was theirs as well, being to early to test positive or have morning sickness) I go for my appointment they do an ultrasound and guess what I'm 4 weeks, as I told them :) 1- Candace 0-OB!

Everything has been pretty horrible so far. I think I've had every symptom in the book, nausea/vomiting, bloating, horrible constipation, irritability, complete exhaustion, migraines that feel like they are going to kill me, lower abdomen soreness, and horrible booby pain. Don't get me wrong, I'm super excited to be a mommy and to meet my little nugget, it's just been a rough start. Maybe me and pregnancy aren't going to be BFF"s. I'm okay with that as long as my baby is healthy!

Okay there it is in all it's glory. Everyone is now caught up to current day with my pregnancy. I'm just starting to feel better. nausea is almost completly gone and I have my headaches under control. My energy is slowly coming back and I find my self getting more excited everyday. I'll try and remember to post a picture of my most recent ultrasound at a later date!

Oh yea we are due April 24th 2011. I am currently 14 weeks 5 days!

Washington State

I would have to say Washington is my number 2 favorite place I have ever visited. It is absolutely beautiful, almost breathtaking! We went to Pike Place Market and did some shopping. We went to a glass blowing museum, and went up in the Space Needle. I got to meet my cousin's Tinker, Dave, Chrissy, Melissa, Jason, Paula, Emma, Olivia, and Jacob.

Washington Fact: Mt Rainer is actually an "inactive" volcano. You can see it from anywhere in Seattle, Tacoma, and Puyallap. It's massive and beautiful. 

Things I found interesting:
 1.  Lots of buildings had "Tornado Shelter" signs. I wasn't aware Washington got many tornado's..... this did not help my anxiety!
 2.  There were also lots of signs that read "volcano eruption evacuation route" just in case the Inactive became Active!
 3.  Their interstates have an exit not only on the right but on the left too, its very confusing.
 4.  Our GPS did not know its way around Seattle or Tacoma. It was really annoying.
 5.  They had lots of one way streets with this sign......bizarre!

Pike Place Market was fun. It had lots of individual vendors selling their crafty things, and of course a fish market.

I took this picture for Patrick. Alaskan King Crab, Deadliest Catch style :D



The Glass Blowing museum was pretty cool too. We wanted to blow glass ourselves but we werent allowed :(

I really enjoyed the space needle. I thought I would be scared since it was so high up, but I surprised myself and even stood right by the windows going up in the elevator.

Some random pictures:

Summer Trip Time!

I am getting so excited! I have two trips coming up and I've officially started a countdown!

First trip is to Washington State. We will board the plane bright and early July 8th. My sister Allison was born there and she has always wanted to see it (we didn't live there long, my dad was in the ARMY). So this was her birthday present from my mom. 22 days and counting :D

Second trip is the next week to PCB for my friend Crystal's bachelorette weekend. We board the plane July 15th. This will be a super fun weekend. I'm already making my lists of what to bring. I think we should plan a shopping weekend to get ready! 29 days and counting :D

It has been YEARS since I've been to the beach. I wanna say at least 4-5 years. So I'm really excited about this trip.

Fun Trip Purchases!

I have lots of trips planned this summer. Two of which require me to fly. So there are some things I decided that I should invest in. I WANT new luggage, especially the Jessica Simpson paisly orange printed one:

BUT i really need to focus on not spending unnecessary money. (Although when I flew to California last summer my wheel on my big case did break soooo.....)I do however need a tag to attach to my luggage which will display my name. I found the cutest name tag at Stein Mart yesterday while on my lunch. I really wanted a "C" for Candace, but had to settle for an "R" for Rutherford because it was too cute to pass up!

The next purchase I made was a jewelry roll. My sister Allie got a Coach roll up for Christmas and I really wanted that, but once again I need to be more realistic. I don't really need my jewelry totted around in a coach bag. So I found one that lookes EXACTLY like the Coach jewelry tote my sister has. The fabric feels the exact same too! Me likey!

Look how cute some of my jewelry looks in the roll! I love the ring holder

As you can tell I'm getting so excited for my trips. I have 5 weeks until  my Washington trip and 6 weeks until my Florida trip with the girls!  Its going to be a busy JULY!

I know so many boys.......

 


I hope you hang yourself with your H&M scarf
While jacking off listening to Mozart
You bitch and moan about LA
Wishing you were in the rain reading Hemingway
You don’t eat meat
And drive electrical cars
You’re so indie rock it’s almost an art
You need SPF 45 just to stay alive

You’re so gay and you don’t even like boys
No you don’t even like
No you don’t even like
No you don’t even like boys
You’re so gay and you don’t even like boys
No you don’t even like
No you don’t even like
No you don’t even like…

You’re so sad maybe you should buy a happy meal
You’re so skinny you should really Super Size the deal
Secretly you’re so amused
That nobody understands you
I’m so mean cause I cannot get you outta your head
I’m so angry cause you’d rather MySpace instead
I can’t believe I fell in love with someone that wears more makeup than…

You’re so gay and you don’t even like boys
No you don’t even like
No you don’t even like
No you don’t even like boys
You’re so gay and you don’t even like boys
No you don’t even like
No you don’t even like
No you don’t even like…

You walk around like you’re oh so debonair
You pull ‘em down and there’s really nothing there
I wish you would just be real with me

You’re so gay and you don’t even like boys
No you don’t even like
No you don’t even like
No you don’t even like boys
You’re so gay and you don’t even like boys
No you don’t even like
No you don’t even like
Oh no no no no no no no
You’re so gay and you don’t even like boys
No you don’t even like
No you don’t even like
No you don’t even like boys
You’re so gay and you don’t even like boys
No you don’t even like
No you don’t even like
No you don’t even like… PENIS

I've got a pocket full of SUNSHINE!

This is my favorite time of year. I love sunshine and the way it feels beating down on my shoulders.

I love going out on the boat on the weekends.

I love going to Arrington Vineyards.

I love fishing and taking the dogs to the river.

It puts me in a good mood.

The Chapel to the Hill

I complain often that my husband moved me, a purebred city girl, out to the country. You would think that the small city "folk" would be rushing to my door to give me apple pie and to "shoot the shit" out on the driveway, but I got no such welcome. Instead I got the cold shoulder and ugly stares. As if they have never seen big sunglasses and high heels before. Needless to say I do NOT fit in. I stick out like a sore thumb. I don't do dirt, sweat, or awful animal smells. I love make-up, perfume, purses, and shoes. Not to mention the closest shopping center is a Dollar Mart. Enough said. I need Target, Charlotte Russe, Hobby Lobby, and Ann Taylor in my life. I hate that it takes 40 minutes to get anywhere I need to go and I refuse to shop in Lewisburg! I probably sound like a snotty brat, but I can't help it. So with all that said I have been trying REALLY hard to see the positives of  all the things in the big chapel.

I found a love for "photography". I say that loosely. I am no photographer, but lately I am seeing things through my lens that I didn't see with my eye. Chapel Hill is SO beautiful. I guess I just didn't stop and take the time to look around.

The field next to our house gets pretty tall before they decide to bush hog it. P complains about it, but I don't because its full of pretty white flowers.

There are these really big purple blooms that pop up everywhere. If anyone knows what flower this is, I would love to find out. I'm sure its a weed, but it's still pretty.

 We had an unusual amount of snow this year. It was beautiful. 

I put this bird feeder our front for all the birdies. Patrick HATES it because the seeds cause weeds to grow under it. I don't care. I like the birds. This one came on this snow day. Sorry buddy, no seeds there!

This is our backyard. We have an acre and the back of our property runs up next to this field that has horses. I'm scared of them. That black one there is a MEANIE. P likes to pet them and feed them apples. I like to watch :)

There are many railroads out in Chapel Hill. Trains still run on them daily. We don't live close enough that we can hear them. Only if its first thing in the morning when its so silent that you can hear a faint blow of a whistle.

I cross this track everyday on my way to work. I stopped this morning and took this shot. I think its breathtaking.

Right before you get to the railroad track's I pass a small farmhouse that have three donkey's. I just love them. I don't know why. I'm scared of horses, but these guys I'm not afraid of. 

The morning's it rains, they are always huddled up under a big tree just soaking wet and I just want to love on them.

I've gotten in the habit of when they are at the fence line I stop and get out. This little guy always runs up to the fence so I can pet him. Ugh it melts my heart!

READY.TO.LEAVE

I'm so anxious to get out of here today. It has been the longest day ever. I still need to go to the grocery and clean my bathroom. Maybe I'll just go to the grocery and catch up on my grey's. ;) Work sucked it hard today.

Top Two Tuesday

I decided to be a copy cat today after ready my good friend Crystal's blog. I saw this and thought, its Tuesday and why not!

Today's topic: Top two things you want to do before you die. Here it goes:

1: I want nothing more than to be a mother. My life is amazing and I love every second of it. I have a fairy tale life. I met the boy, got married and built a house. Now all that's missing is a sweet baby, and well the pickett fence but beggars cant be choosers! ;D I come from a family FULL of girls, so I have a strong feeling that we will have boys. I would be happy with either just as long as it's healthy. Patrick and I get closer everyday to trying. I am just praying for patience. I hope our baby looks just like Patrick but has my sense of humor. There is no denying that we will have one gorgeous dark hair, dark skin, dark eyed baby. I literally cannot wait for motherhood! I know my parents, sisters, and friends cannot wait either!

2: I want to find some way to repay St. Jude for everything they did for me. I probably wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for that amazing hospital. I want to use my story to help others. I would love take time off and go volunteer my services as a massage therapist to help the children and families of St. Jude. GOD gave me an amazing gift and it's my duty to share it with those in pain.

Sister Date Night

Last night I had a date with my sister Allie. We went to see the movie The Last Song. We love to go see mushy girl movies together. Our men love that we do too. That way they don't have to go see them!

I am not a crier when it comes to TV or movies. Allie on the other hand has the waterworks. I really hadn't heard much about this movie other than Miley was in it. I had seen a couple previews for it but it has been a while. I didn't realize how sad it was going to be. It's definitely a tear jerker!

The movie was pretty good, including Miley's acting. Some of the movie was cheesy, but overall I enjoyed it. There weren't any big names in the movie so I kind of expected it to be a glorified Lifetime movie. I wouldn't rush out to go see this movie in the theater or anything and I don't plan on buying the DVD but I would say it is worth renting on DVD though.

This movie kind of hit home for me. Minus the whole death thing. I had an attitude on me like her at that age. It also took me falling in love (with Patrick) to take that hard icey layer I had built up. Love really changes you. It makes you want to be a better person for your mate. I think it softens you. It's a nice feeling.

Busy!

My weekend was so busy. Here it is Monday and I feel as though I got no rest :( Oh well it was big fun.

Saturday my sister-in-law threw a bridesmaid luncheon for all us girls. It was so fun. I had never eaten at Germantown Cafe, it was delicious. I highly recommend the chicken salad sandwich. She got us all the cutest bag for being in her wedding. It also is the first thing that is monogrammed with my NEW initials on it! That was so exciting for me! We also were given our jewelry that we will wear in the wedding this coming weekend. Beautiful of course!

We had a couple hours to kill before we had to be at her shower at Arrington Vineyards so most of the girls headed to Green Hills Mall to do a little shopping. It was SO crowded though. I guess maybe since Opry Mills is flooded everyone decided to shop there. Who knows. I browsed a little but only ended up buying Patrick some nice BKE flip flops from Buckle. I did find a new perfume that I fell in love with. Jessica Simpson Fancy. OMG it smells SSSSOOOOOO good. I must have this perfume.

We headed to Arrington Vineyards around 5pm. I just love that place. I also love that it's only 20 min from my house! We had some good food and conversation. We all did a tasting, I prefer the Riesling and Raspberry dessert wine. It was a good time. I wish AV would stay open later though, 9pm just comes too fast. This property is so beautiful!!!!

Sunday was my God-Daughter Addison's 1st birthday party. She is such a doll. Every time I see her I just gobble her up. It melts my heart to see Patrick with her. He will be an amazing dad one day. Here are a few pictures from her party.

Addison loving on God-Daddy Patty


She thought it was hilarious every time she would smash her hand in her cake. It was precious!

Our Last stop was in Hopkinsville Ky to see Patrick's mom for Mother's day. She cooked lasagna for Patrick (its his favorite). We were so tired by then end of the day but glad we made the trip. We had a fabulous weekend!