A Lot of Randomness

Pin It Now! Things are crazy here and I have all kinds of thoughts running through my head so I figured a totally random post was in order. However, I will divide it up into categories for you!


The Party
Doing well on that front.  Finished the cupcake stand and photo banner (even though I ran out of ribbon and had to go get more).  I didn't finish my other project with the polka dots and haven't decided if I'm going to or not.  Yesterday I deep cleaned the whole basement (playroom/family room, guest room, and bathroom) and today I plan on tackling the master bed and bath.  


Tomorrow I'm going to do a test run of the cupcakes for two reasons.  First, I want to see how the rainbow color thing works out.  Second, so many of my friends have had mixed reactions  from their kids the first time they are given cake (some are totally scared, others don't know what to do, etc) that I want to have Avery try it first without all the pressure of tons of people watching her!  Wednesday night is the evening my parents come over for dinner each week so I thought that would be the perfect time to give it a shot.  Hopefully then at her party she will know right what to do and we'll get some great photos...or not, who knows!


One thing that I forgot to mention in my last post was that I do have a great birthday outfit for Avery.  I wanted something custom made so I looked around Etsy but couldn't find exactly what I wanted.  So I got on fabric.com and found the perfect fabric. It has polka dots in the exact colors of the decorations.  So then I got back on Etsy and did an alchemy.  Never did one of those before but you submit a request for anyone that would be willing to make you a custom item and you explain what you want.  I had a bunch of people respond, picked one out, and she made us the most darling outfit.  It is perfect and didn't cost as much as I thought it would.  So excited about it!


Sleep
Since Eric got back from SF, Avery's sleep has been great (knock on wood).  Three nights she has slept until 6:30 or 6:45, I give her a quick 10-15 minute feeding and then put her back in her crib until 7:15/7:20.  She usually doesn't fall back asleep but plays quietly.  Well, this morning she slept until 7:10, which is almost her wake up time anyway.  I was so excited!  Now, if only I could sleep through the night!  Haha!  I find myself starting to wake up at about 4:30 or so (which is when she usually wakes up for a feeding) and then sleep restlessly, waking every 30 minutes or so, until it's time to get up.  This morning I couldn't fall back asleep after 6:30 and finally gave up at 7:00.  Oh well, that too will come!


However, as much sleep as she got last night, she was one grumpy girl this morning, which is not like her at all.  She was whiny, cried a lot, and very clingy.  Not sure what was going on there, as I sit here while she's at nap, I'm wondering if she might be teething.  She almost 1 and still doesn't have a single tooth so it could very well be that.  When she gets up I'll see how she is doing and might give her a teething tablet if she's still cranky.  


A Great Loss
Yesterday morning Eric's former boss and the father of his best friend past away (we'll call him J for this post).  He'd been living on machines for the the past month after having multiple strokes.  He was an incredible man and will be greatly missed.  


Eric and I owe so much to him!  Eric got his degree in finance but has always had a passion for computers.  J knew this and when he started looking for an IT person for his company, he hired Eric even though he had no experience.  It was a small company and Eric was the only IT person there so he got to have complete control over everything.  J let him do a lot and he experimented with some very cutting edge concepts.  Due to all the experience J gave him, Eric was offered another job that paid twice what he was making and as hard as it was to leave, Eric knew it was what was best for our family.  J completely supported Eric and was so happy for him. They even gave him a PS3 for a going away present.  If it hadn't of been for J, Eric never would have gotten his job and I never would have been able to stay home with Avery.  Like I said, we owe him so much!  He was such a wonderful man!




I have many more things running through my head but I won't bore you anymore and plus I think I hear Avery starting to wake from her nap.  Off to make lunch and then run some errands.  Hope you have a great week!

The Big Day Approaches

Pin It Now! I can't believe Avery is going to turn 1 in less than 2 weeks and her birthday party is just 1 week and 1 day away!  Ahhhh!!  We are having the party the week before her birthday because there is a Susan G. Koman Breast Cancer Walk here in town on the 19th, so my sister and her husband will be in town for that and we didn't want to make them come over 2 weekends in a row.  Plus my mom is watching one of the neighbors kids the weekends after her birthday.  So the 18th seemed to be the best day for it.  The past few weeks I have been busily getting ready and now I have shifted into high gear.  I am not the super creative type but I am trying to make a couple of the things myself.  Here is my to do list for the party:


- decide on theme, polka dots


- decide on food, we will be serving a small lunch with sandwiches, veggies and a couple other sides plus of course the birthday goodies, cupcakes and ice cream


- decide on cupcake/smashcake recipe, Colorburst Cupcakes made with the colors from the polka dots


- buy some of the polka dot decorations, bought the front door sign, birthday banner, high chair banner, birthday hat and cupcake toppers, I ordered them from Stylish Celebrations on Etsy and LOVE them


- make and send out invitations, my mom made them (they turned out great) and I mailed them a couple weeks ago


- buy tableware, each item is a different color, the big plates are blue, the little plates are red, the silverware is orange, the napkins are green, and the cups are yellow


- buy the birthday cake candle, got a cute one that is a 1 with polka dots on it


- make photo banner, I have started this but haven't finished quite yet, so far I have picked out the pictures, printed them and cut them, cut out the cardstock to go mount them on, and glued the pictures on the cardstock, all I have left is to string them on the ribbon


- make cupcake stand, started this one too but not finished, covered the cardboard cake rectangle with paper and trimmed with ribbon, now I just have to make the pieces that the layers stands on, here are the directions I followed


- make polka dots from the leftover cardstock (these will be used for confetti on the tablecloth and to make the next item on the list), I have started this but not done yet


- make paper chains to hang, working on the polka dots but haven't started otherwise (this one might get nixed if I run out of time)


My goal is to have all the craft/DIY stuff made by the end of this weekend so that next week I can focus on getting the house deep cleaned and the cupcakes and smash cake made.


Things to Do Next Week:
- order the food trays (sandwich lunchmeat and cheese, condiments, and veggies)
- buy the rest of the food
- get balloons
- pick-up flowers
- clean
- make smash cake and cupcakes


I'm sure there are some things that I'm forgetting but it's a pretty good list.  I'm so excited and hope that it all comes together the way I envision!  Gotta go get some work done!