Recapping the Weekend

Greetings and happy October! This past weekend was our first break from summer heat/humidity and we definitely made the most of it!

On Friday at work, we were allowed to wear our favorite team shirt with our scrub pants. Although the Astros were no longer in the running for the play-offs, it was still a fun season and both Brayden and I had to represent!

When I arrived home from work, Brayden had a little mail waiting for him!

Several months back, I mailed out Brayden's birth announcements to our family and friends. Since I had a few extra announcements, I found a few fun addresses on Pinterest and decided to send them there - one being Mickey Mouse and the other the White House. I do have to say, Mickey Mouse's post card was WAY different from the awesome little package we received when sent him our wedding invitation years ago. I was slightly disappointed. Oh well...the cards from both the White House and Mickey Mouse are fun little additions to his baby book!

 

My first and main project for the weekend was to clean up our flower beds. I usually do this over Labor Day Weekend, but we were out of town this year and it didn't happen. The last time I weeded and cut things back was in April, just a few weeks after Brayden was born. 

The above photo is before....

...and these two are after....

I finished the backyard on Friday during Brayden's afternoon nap, and left the front flower beds for Saturday in hopes he would take a good morning nap!

On Saturday morning, I met up with my running buddy Heather for an 8 mile run around the river. We haven't run this route in a while and since our last run here, an alligator was spotted in someone's front yard. Needless to say, we were on alert!! Thankfully, no mishaps in the form of wildlife sightings took place this weekend!

Remember that Saturday morning nap of Brayden's I mentioned earlier? Well, it needed to be long enough to take care of all of THIS! Yikes.

...its a jungle out there, y'all!

Much to my great surprise, he took a THREE HOUR NAP! Just long enough for me to completely weed, cut back the overgrown plants, and shower all before he woke up!

All done! I was SO excited because I just knew this project would take me into Sunday. I was so happy that it did NOT! Yay!

For dinner Saturday night, we spent time at Jason's parent's house to celebrate Jason's sister's birthday....and Brayden played a little piano with his grandmother and great grandmother. This kid loves music!

Speaking of music, he had the chance to hear his daddy play trumpet on Sunday morning during our church service! Jason recently re-joined the orchestra after being out to help me with Brayden on Sunday mornings and this was Brayden's first time to hear his daddy play. He was SO mesmerized! (Isn't that bow tie adorable, by the way?!)

We watched the Saints game on Sunday after lunch. Even Brayden showed his support by wearing his new Drew Brees jersey!

During the game, we had dinner at Walk-Ons in celebration of my dad's birthday! This weekend was just full of birthday celebrations!

His cake was a Reeses Peanut Butter cake from Dairy Queen. Y'all...it was SO GOOD!

I might have helped my mom wrap his gift. :D

My brother and sister-in-law were in to celebrate, too!

Oh yes, one last weekend project had to do with our bedding. I recently ordered a new bed spread from Target and was pleasantly surprised when it arrived!

Before....

After...

I am in love!! It's so comfortable and soft - absolutely perfect and just what we needed!

I hope you all had a great Monday and a good start to your week! :) Have a wonderful day!

First Mother's Day Weekend

I hope all of the mom's out there had an amazing Mother's Day! I would have had this post up on Monday morning, but the little one didn't want to fall asleep on Sunday night...so, Tuesday morning it is! :)

Brayden and I had a great weekend! We began our Saturday morning with my mother-in-law stopping by to watch Brayden so I could go for a run! It was beautiful outside and I felt great physically...but more about that on Friday! 

After my run, we had coffee and talked for a while which was really nice! I spent most of Saturday evening shopping for Brayden's baby dedication outfit. I couldn't find exactly what I wanted and might have to piece the outfit together but that's ok!

On Sunday morning, we returned to church for the first time since Brayden's arrival. It was also Brayden's first time at church since evacuating the womb and he did great!

We enjoyed spending the morning with our church family! :)

 
Jason and Brayden also gifted these two beautiful pieces to me! I am in love with the necklace (I always say that phrase to Brayden and my doggies)...and the Pandora charm has Brayden's birthstone in the middle...love it!

Lunch after church was spent with my mom and dad at a local restaurant. It was delicious and we enjoyed spending time with them!

After lunch, we went to Jason's grandparent's place for dessert and coffee with Jason's family.

They had a house-full and everyone enjoyed getting to see/hold Brayden. He did SO well, too! I assumed he would pass out on Sunday night because of the broken sleep he received that afternoon but I was so wrong. Hah!

On our way home, we stopped by Starbucks and I had a tall caramel waffle cone frap! It was really good!

For dinner that evening, Jason cooked for us. I couldn't figure out what I wanted so I told him to surprise me. He made chicken spaghetti and it was SO good!! Great job, Jason! :)

We enjoyed our first Mother's Day although I think I was a little over tired...I assumed Brayden would be the over tired one but actually, it was me! Nothing a little sleep couldn't cure, anyway!

How was your weekend?

Another Day, Another Week!

Another week has come and gone in the life of our little family! Things are going well so far although Brayden decides to party every morning between the hours of 4 a.m. and 6 a.m., which makes for a sleepy mom and dad. Other than that, things have been going great! :)

Here's a glimpse at our week so far...

The flowers are blooming in my flower bed and I love it...although the weeds need to be pulled SO bad. I notice them every time I walk through and can't help but cringe. However, they will have to wait!

This past weekend, Brayden had his first major outing and visit to my favorite restaurant, McAlisters! So much fun!!

We also took his newborn pictures last week (when he turned 2 weeks old) and this is a "sneak peak" from my photographer was sent to me a few days ago. Adorable! 

Speaking of adorable, that face. I could just stare at him for hours!

...and speaking of staring...I spy a pair of doggie eyes on me! :) Little beggar! 

I also might have eaten a little pizza this weekend. My eating habits got so off track during my third trimester...it's time to get them back where they need to be!

As happy as I am to have Brayden here, I can't help but be a little sentimental at the phase of my life that has now ended. Although I'm glad to have more space in his closet now, it was bittersweet to pack up my maternity clothing over the weekend. I AM keeping them though...you never know what the future holds! :)

Madalynn spied an old friend on one of our walks last week. We haven't seen horsey-friend in a long time! 

This sweet little boy turned 3 weeks old this past Tuesday. I can't believe how fast time is flying by! On his three week birthday, we visited my work/American Cancer Society Friends and had dinner with my parents. It was such a jam packed day, he was worn out by the time it was all said and done!

He's such a snuggly baby, too...I just love it! 

I managed to get away for a few hours this week to shop for bridesmaids dresses. A friend of mine is getting married soon and I wanted to wait a few weeks for the extra baby swelling to go down before trying on a dress. Although it is a tad bit snug, I was able to order my "normal" size which made me super happy! I made the decision not to go with the larger size because it was a little too big and I know by the time I get to running again in a few weeks, the dress will fit even better!

Over the past few weeks, two birds have been building a nest in one of our plants off the back deck. I was finally able to see the fruits of their hard work - four speckled eggs! It's going to be fun to watch these hatch, grow, and fly off on their own! I just have to keep Madalynn out...crazy dog.

That pretty much sums up our past week! Hope you've had a great one! :)

Four Things

I was tagged by my friend Heather for the Four Things tag! These are so much fun and it’s been a while since I’ve done one so yeah…let’s do it!

Four names that people call me, other than my real name:

• K-Ren
• Kern (going back to my college days)
• B-B
• Sweetheart (Jason only…haha!)

Four jobs I have had:

• Concession stands at the ballpark during the summer (we practically lived there)
• “Page” at the library shelving books (my first “real” job…aww!)
• Oncology floor at a local hospital (inpatient)
• Radiation Oncology at a local hospital (outpatient)

Four movies I’ve watched more than once:

• A League of Their Own (favorite movie ever!)
• The Holiday
• Pirates of the Caribbean
• I’ll Be Home For Christmas

Four books (how about series?) I’d recommend:

• Surrender to Destiny Series by MaryLu Tyndall (LOVE)
• Christy Miller Series by Robin Jones Gunn
• Hunger Games Series by Suzanne Collins
• Against All Expectations Series by Siri Mitchell

Four places I have lived:

• Lake Charles
• Lafayette
• Carencro
• Broussard
  (all Louisiana…what can I say, I love it here!)

Four places I have been:

• Alaska
• Canada
• Hawaii
• New York

Four places I’d rather be right now:

• Disney World (for Christmas!)
• Hawaii
• On a Cruise (Disney of course)
• Out for a Run

Four things I don’t eat:

• Red Beans and Rice
• Crawfish Etouffee (I must not be a real Cajun)
• Blue Cheese
• Jalapenos

Four of my favorite foods:

• Chocolate
• Pizza
• Fresh Fruit
• Disney Food :)

Four TV shows that I watch:

• The Walking Dead
• Once Upon a Time
• Nashville
• 19 Kids and Counting

Four things I am looking forward to this year:

• Disney in February for the Princess Half
• Running a few Half Marathons
• Spending time with family and friends
• Christmas 2015 (I’m always looking forward to Christmas!)

Four things I’m always saying:

• Sad Times
• You’re kidding me, right?
• Y’all
• Teehee

Four People I Tag:

• Pam & Christine
• Meranda & Lacey
• Jen
• Sarah

What four things would you tell me about yourself?

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Weekend Happenings

Jason and I spent this past weekend in Mandeville with our friends. The weekend came and went by so fast, I blinked and it was over!

If you’ve been following along the past few weeks, you know I’ve been helping with the planning of a Baby Shower for my friend Heather.

In this post, you’ll see a glimpse of my weekend, along with several of the items I created for the shower. Throughout the coming weeks, I’ll give you a more in-depth look at the step by step process of how everything came together!

The first item I worked on was her wreath. I wanted to create something we could use on the front door of the host home, but I also wanted her to have something she could use at the hospital for sweet baby M’s arrival! The chalkboards were added after the shower so the baby’s info could be added at the hospital.

The next items I worked on were the corsages. The other shower hosts agreed that they wanted Heather to have something she could keep, so we found this ribbon idea on Pinterest! I ran out of time, so the two smaller ones (mom’s corsages) were stitched in the car on the way to Mandeville.

I knew I wanted to create banners with my Silhouette machine, so those were the main things I focused on.

This mini one was at the door (Baby Shower)…

This one was at the guestbook (It’s a Girl)…

This was above the fire place (Sweet Baby Girl)…

…and banners like these were strung in open doorways throughout the house.

When deciding on a theme, we went with Heather’s colors. I asked her opinion on colors (nursery theming, etc.) and that’s where the hot pink, light pink, and aqua blue came into play. I also didn’t want the shower to have an overwhelming amount of Disney thrown in, so I centered in on “Minnie’s Bow” and used that for a lot of the décor. (There might have been a few “Hidden Mickey’s” here and there as well…)

Here you can see Minnie’s Bow on the onesie…

…and there’s a Hidden Mickey! :0)

A last minute idea found on Pinterest was a framed food menu with menu place cards. I took her Baby Shower invite as the template and used it for the menu.

The momma to be with her shower hosts! :0)

Can you guess who this gift was from? :0) I couldn't resist a little Disney, of course!

The remainder of our weekend was spent eating food….

….cake….(it was Heather’s birthday, too)….

…more food and more cake….

This is how the boys spent the majority of their weekend!

We had such a fun time with our friends, I’m sad it all flew by so fast! Can’t wait until next time…and there will be a sweet baby in the picture! :D

Have you ever thrown a shower? Did you use Pinterest for ideas? (I so wish Pinterest was around when I was getting married!)