Patience

Have you ever wanted something really badly and it just doesn't happen? That's how I feel! I'm trying to be patient, but for those of you who knows me, you know that's easier said than done!

Silly Girl!

Here are some pictures of Alexa from last night...she is really silly!

She enjoyed crawling into her rocking chair and reading a book

Here she is getting back in because she threw the book down

and back in reading again...

...and looking at the book on the floor. Like she didn't know how it got here!! :)

and reading some more! LOL

Then she took the book to her kitchen

and put it in the oven

Looking at the cat...she was probaby wanting him to come play with her

Dragging around a bag with diapers in it...Mama's Baptist Women's group collected them for something and this is one of the bags...Alexa thought it would be fun to move them and the cricut box around the den all night.

Then she dumped them out on the floor and brought the bag to Pop to show him it was empty!

Giggling as she pulled the bag away! She is so silly!

***UPDATE***

After lunch I went back to Starbucks...and thank goodness my car started. It is still acting funny, but I got it moved to the hospital. Hopefully we can take it to have it looked at tomorrow or Thursday and it won't cost me too much money to have it fixed. I am so thankful that it is no longer sitting in the drive through at Starbucks!!

Is it Monday?

Ok, so yesterday I posted about how busy I have been...and I've been trying to do a better job of balancing everything out so I don't feel like I don't have time for anything, and so I don't feel like I've wasted any time either. Take last night for instance...I worked on my quilt some, gave Alexa a bath, and after she went to bed I decided to go to bed early too. A great night made for a great morning. I got up on time and got ready, then got Alexa up and fed her breakfast...then we left 5 minutes early. For those of you who know me...you know how unlikely this is! LOL!

So, after I dropped Alexa off at daycare I decided I would treat myself to breakfast from Breuggers and coffee from Starbucks. I called in my order to Breuggers, and proceeded to pick it up. Then I went to the drive through at Starbucks (they are right next door to each other for those of you not familiar with the area). When I went to give my order my car started acting funny. It was like I was stepping on the gas and the brake at the same time, so I put the car in neutral thinking that might help, well all that did was cause the engine to go CRAZY! At that point all I could think to do was turn the car off. Apparently that was a bad idea! After the lady took my order, my car wouldn't start. AAAHHHHHHH!!! I'm thinking, are you serious? This is so what I get for being early and going by Starbucks! Sure enough, my car wouldn't come back on...the engine would turn over, but that was the end of that. I was on the phone with Mama when all of this happened, so I told her I would call her back and I called my Dad.

In the meantime the lady at Starbucks told me she was coming out to see if she could help. She brought my coffee with her...how sweet was that? We motioned people around me as they pulled up in the drive through, and I'm sitting there thinking, is this really happening to me this morning? I was supposed to be EARLY for work...and now I'm going to be LATE! She tried to get my car started to no avail...so she decided to push my car out of the drive through lane. We finally got the car into neutral, and she pushed it about 5 feet when we hit an incline...so she had to call another worker out to help her. All the while cars are pulling up to get coffee. We send them around me, so by the time he came out to help there were cars in the other lane. So, we waited until they pulled up, and they pushed me out of the way. I was truly thankful that Lanna and Brad were there to help me, and they wouldn't even let me pay for my coffee.

It was so nice to see their concern for me, and it helped me not feel quite so bad that my car was clogging up the drive through. I have already written a letter to Starbucks corporate, and I'm going to do something for them as well.

I just wanted to share my frustration with all of you as a reminder that something as small as a cup of coffee can really make a difference. We all need to remember that because we never know what someone else is going through, and how something, even a kind word might be enough to brighten their day!

Now...onto something different. Here are the pictures of Alexa from this weekend! She is just too sweet...and she now has her 5th tooth. I can't see it yet, but I felt it last night. If what they say is true, her teeth should be really strong because they are taking FOREVER to come in! LOL!

Here is Alexa rinsing herself during bath time...it's pretty hysterical!

Pop reading to Alexa...notice the PINK John Deere hat. Uncle Jerry gave both babies one when they were really little...they don't have baby sizes, so it's still big on her, but she loves to wear Pop and Uncle Jerry's caps!

Here she is with Uncle Jerry's cap on!

Could you please stop taking pictures of me?

and here she is clapping for herself! LOL!

Pop and Alexa reading the monkey book!

Alexa wasn't sure about Ali...not sure if it was because he's so hyper, or if it was his tongue! She would get almost ready to touch him and then jump back! LOL

Here she is with Sevy and Ali...again not sure about that furry thing! She also wasn't too sure about Sev at first, but she quickly warmed up to him...and then she was running to him every 2 seconds!

Here they are being silly together

And mama wasn't quite fast enough with the camera...Alexa had been laying with her head on Sev...but she decided to get down when I wanted a picture. Go figure!

Alexa and Auntie Lou Lou...I think Alexa was watching Ali here

Alexa and Miss Anne...Alexa said "I will be friends with anyone who gives me cookies" (mainly because her mama doesn't give them to her!

And in true Auntie Lou Lou fashion...being silly girls!

Lazy Blogger

I'm not really sure why I haven't posted in like a week, so I guess my reason should just be laziness! Seriously though, I have been really busy! Let's recap...the last time I posted was Tuesday. Tuesday night I had school...and let's just say this semester is going to be a trying one for me. I am taking 12 hours, and half are easy while the other half...not so much! I can tell the easy classes are going to drive me crazy, and the hard classes are going to kill me! Ok, not really. I am really looking forward to finishing this degree...unfortunately it doesn't look like it will be any time soon.

Anyway, as I was saying...life just seems a bit busy right now. I have changed my work hours to coordinate with my school schedule, and as a result, I am having to come in earlier. So far we have done really well getting here at 7:30, but it is still a stretch as I hate getting up early! This semester I am taking Music Appreciation, and I will appreciate it when it's OVER! Probability and Statistics, which is killing me because it's one math class I actually get, and no one else in the class seems to...hoping that gets better as we go! Then I have my lovely Cisco courses...let's just say I really don't like Cisco! I'll leave it at that. All of this packed in with a full time job, and Alexa is a LOT!

I really feel bad because I know when I get home at night I should be studying, but at the same time I have been away from her all day so I also feel like I need to spend time with my baby. So far she ALWAYS wins out! This degree is important to me, but I will not sacrifice my family for it!

Wednesday night we ate supper at church and then came home and relaxed a little bit before bedtime. Then Thursday was school again. Thankfully this semester isn't as rushed as last semester where Cisco is concerned, so instead of covering 2 chapters a week we only have 1...so after our lab we got out early!! Mama had everyone over Thursday night for dinner, and I got home in time to see them before they left. I was really glad about that because I hardly ever get to see Walker, and Grandpa and Grace left Friday morning to go to Florida. I hope they come back soon!

Friday I got off work early so Alexa and I got to spend some extra time together, and then I went to One Scrappy Chic to pick up a few things for my scrapbook collection! LOL! We pretty much just stayed at home for the rest of the night, and Pop made omeletts for supper. They were super yummy!! :)

Saturday was busy as always! Alexa spent the day with her daddy because Mimi and I went back to our quilt class. We are almost done with them...and I think they are going to be really pretty! I can't wait to post a picture when we're done! I'm so proud of myself because this is way out of my comfort zone, but it has proved to be pretty easy. Mimi is going back tomorrow night to get the final instructions, and she will bring them home to me since I have school. After our class we had Mexican for lunch at Bronco's in Inman, then we headed home and Mimi worked on her squares. I spent the majority of the afternoon cleaning up and cleaning out my bedroom.

Living at home has proved to be harder than I thought for multiple reasons. The main one is the space limitations! I have so much stuff and my room is really small! Not to mention that I have a good bit of Alexa's stuff in there as well. Pop has started working on Alexa's room, and when it's finished it should free up a lot of space in my room, and I am definitely looking forward to that! It will also be nice to get back in her crib and out of the pack-n-play! She doesn't seem to mind sleeping in the pack-n-play, but I just like the idea of a crib better...not really sure why!

Lindsey and Sev got home Saturday, but due to the lack of communication we didn't get to see them. I picked Alexa up from her daddy around 6:30, and we came home to a nice surprise! Mimi and Pop were fixing burgers for Pop to grill! I LOVE homemade cheeseburgers! Then after dinner we relaxed before bedtime.

Sunday we got up and headed to church. Alexa was so cute because she wanted to take her little Bible with her. She carried it and her offering envelope just like a big girl...she is growing up so fast. I also distracted her in the car until she forgot about the bow I put in her hair. She left it in until after lunch...super shocking! The first time I put it in that morning she immediately ripped it out! I'm sure some of you look at her pictures and think...does Autumn EVER brush her hair. Well, the answer is YES! I brush is daily, and it's just super curly! At least with a clip in the front it keeps that all together, but apparently Alexa doesn't like the clip! LOL! Oh well, I try! After church we headed to Powdersville to meet Uncle Josh and Aunt Brenda for lunch. We haven't seen them since Christmas!

I realize they don't live that far away, but with the crazy busy schedules we have, and both of them are in school as well it just makes it hard! I know Brenda is excited because she will finish up her RN in May, and then Josh has just started working on his MBA this spring. I'm not sure when his expected completion date is though. Either way we are proud of both of them! At least Mimi has one nurse in the family!! :)

After that we came home and Mimi and I got ready to go to choir. I was waiting on Lindsey and Sev to get back from visiting his parents so I decided to go to choir while I waited. I haven't been in several weeks for one reason or another, so I really needed to go. After that Alexa and I loaded up and headed to Anne's house to visit with Lindsey and Sev. We saw Miss Anne just a week or so ago when we had dinner together. We had a great time visiting, and eating supper with them. It hasn't been but a couple of weeks since I've seen Lindsey and Sev, but it's been about 14 months since Sev has seen Alexa, and about 6 for Lindsey. Obviously they were more interested in her than me...and who could blame them? She is adorable!

Lindsey couldn't believe how big she has gotten, and how much she talks! She does surprisingly well for a 16 month old baby! She loves to talk, and believe me she will repeat just about anything you say. Sometimes I am even shocked at the words she can say!

We left there around 8, and Alexa was really sleepy! I wasn't surprised when I looked back just a few minutes after we left and she was sound asleep. When we got home Mimi helped me take her jacket and shoes off and I put her straight to bed. I couldn't believe it when she slept all night! LUCKY ME!! I watched part of a movie with mama while I surfed online for scrapbook deals, and then decided to turn in early and catch up on some sleep!

Then that brings us back to Monday...another work week has begun! I got up early this morning and got ready. Then I woke Alexa up about 6:25 with a bowl of oatmeal waiting on her. She was in the best mood. She ate her breakfast and changed her clothes and then we headed to daycare. I really do love her daycare...I'll be sad when I have to move her! The ladies who work there are so sweet and they love her so much! I definitely think it has been great for her socialization! After we dropped her off, we headed to Breuggers to pick up breakfast for Mimi and Mama!

I hope you all have a wonderful week, and that you are well rested from the weekend. I have some pictures from this weekend, but I didn't bring my camera with me, so those will have to wait until tonight or tomorrow. I can't believe January is almost over!!

What a weekend!

We had a great weekend after our snow day on Thursday! I feel like we got a lot accomplished, although there was more I would've liked to get done. Saturday Alexa spent the day with her daddy so Mimi and I could go to a quilting class in the morning. We had a good time, and hopefully we will finish up our quilts this Saturday. I'll post pictures of them when we finish! I have never sewn before, so it was a bit of a challenge for me, but I think I did fairly well. I have two strip sets to finish before Saturday, and since I did 2 last night in about 30 minutes I don't see it being a problem to finish on time! After that we had Mexican for lunch, and as always it was wonderful! I could eat my weight in chips I think! Then we walked over to One Scrappy Chick so I could get some more cardstock.

It was snowing pretty hard at that point, but it wasn't cold enough to stick. We went home and relaxed for part of the afternoon before I set out for Spartanburg in search of some other scrapping supplies. After what seemed like ten different stores I had what I needed, and most of what I wanted! I really wanted to buy the Alphalicious cartridge at Hobby Lobby, but I talked myself out of it...I'm going to try and find it for a better price!! :)

After my shopping I went to pick up Alexa, and she was a sleepy little girl. She has had a cold over the last week or so and it has altered her sleeping patterns! For instance, she has forgotten that at bedtime I lay her down and she goes to sleep...hopefully that's not going to take too long to get back! I did a little bit of work with the cricut after I put her down. I'm certainly glad she seems to be feeling better, although she never really acts like she doesn't feel good...except at night.

Sunday we got up and went to church as usual, and then came home for lunch with the fam. My Grandpa and his girlfriend came over and brought a casserole she made. It was yummy! After we cleaned up from lunch we headed to Jodi's house...my main purpose...to scrap! Uncle Jerry went with us, so they entertained the babies upstairs while we worked in the craft room downstairs! I LOVE the new space...it is going to be so much fun getting to work down there with Jodi, and the biggest bonus is we won't have to pull everything out, or put it back when we are done! Then we came home for church, but Alexa fell asleep right before we got to Landrum, so they decided to drop me off at home instead.

Of course that meant yesterday was back to work as usual! After work Mimi made a pot of corn chowder that we all enjoyed and agreed we will have it again soon. Then I took Alexa to her daddy's house. She spent the night with him last night, which meant lots of crafting time for me...and a good nights sleep! I put two strip sets together for my quilt, and then I worked on my latest scrapbook page. Then, it was time for bed...and I was definitely ready!

I have school tonight, and when I get out I will be going to pick up Alexa...and man do I miss her! I really enjoyed getting to sleep last night, but it just isn't the same without her around! I hope everyone has a great week! Here are some of the pictures from our weekend!

Mimi and Alexa reading one of her favorite books

Her newest trick...she has learned how to climb and stand on top of things! She also stands up on her little car, but unlike the box, it moves and she fell off of it one time.

Not quite as dangerous...just sitting on the box

I am a HAM!

Hiding under the blanket

Uncle Jerry and Alexa sleeping (ok play sleeping) on her duck

Walker and Alexa in the basket

Playing in the blowup bouncer

Isn't this fun?

We are both so SILLY!

Rolling around

This is my latest scrapbook creation...the pictures are from back in September! Better late than never...it's not quite finished, but I haven't decided how to finish it yet. I'll post the end result when I'm done.

The title is small steps bring big adventures...bring is kind of hard to read because of the font it's cut with and the size...I might change that too.

Fun in the snow!!

As expected it snowed here last night!! I was so excited last night when it started, and we showed Alexa but she had no idea what it was! I tried to take a picture last night, but I couldn't get my camera settings right...should probably read the manual because I know there is a setting for it...oh well! Anyway, I got up this morning, after a rough night with Alexa and the snow was EVERYWHERE!

I decided to stay home from work and have a scrap/work day! I am sitting at the kitchen table as we speak with the cricut out and I already finished cutting Alexa's little book. I only had a few cuts left for it, but now it's all put together except for the pictures and it needs binding.

I am excited to get some scrapping time today...I don't get very much between work, Alexa, school and housework! So this is a welcomed day off! I don't even know what all I'm going to work on today, but I know I have lots of cute paper to work with, and lots of pictures that need to be on a page!

On another note, Alexa is down for a nap right now...I know she has to be exhausted, she did not sleep well last night at all. I think she is teething, and last night her mouth must have really been hurting. We slept in a bit this morning and then got up and Pop fixed us breakfast. He put a pot of soup on last night, so that will be ready at lunch time...it's always nice to have hot soup when it's so cold outside! We took Alexa out in the snow this morning, she seemed to enjoy it for the minute we were out. I'm not sure she really knew what was going on, but she ran around anyway!

I'm going to get back to scrapping...but here are a few pictures from this morning! I hope everyone is enjoying the snow!

Alexa getting Pop a potato for the soup

giving the potato to Pop

The view from our front porch!

Alexa and Pop looking at the snow

Just taking it all in!

Look Mama!

walking up the driveway

My pretty baby's footprints in the snow

Alexa warming up in front of the fire after playing in the snow...you can't really see the fire in the picture b/c it's gas logs! LOL

Weekend with the Fam

We had a pretty low key weekend...just spent time with Alexa and the rest of the fam. Friday night we went to Persimmons and ate with Mimi, Pop, Grandpa, Grace, and Uncle Jerry. After that we came home and I put Alexa to bed and then I went out with a friend of mine. Saturday morning I was supposed to go to work and make up some of the hours I missed while I was in Hawaii, but I decided to stay home and play with Alexa instead. After all, it's just work...and you can't replace time spent with a precious baby!

Saturday night we stayed in and had Chinese...we spent most of the day cleaning up around the house so nobody really felt like going out. We also watched the 4th Harry Potter movie. I've seen all of the movies, but mama hasn't and she finished reading the books a couple of months ago so we are watching them together. I can't wait for the next movie to come out!! I know...I should read the books...but oh well!

Sunday morning we got up and Pop made breakfast and then we went to church. When we got home there was a yummy roast waiting in the crockpot for us, it was so nice to have lunch waiting on us! After lunch we made the trip over to Cherokee Lake to visit our cousins Dave and Jeanie. We don't get to see them very often, but hopefully since they are closer now we will be able to get together more!

Sorry for the lack of pictures...I don't know what has happened to me! I'll try to do better over the next few days and get some cute pictures of Alexa. She was such a good girl all weekend, although she doesn't feel very well right now...she has a bit of a cold. I'm hoping it won't last long! You know how it is with daycare though...once they get over one cold they pick up a new one. I really love her daycare though, the women who take care of her love her so much and that makes it easier for me to be away from her all day.

I hope everyone had a great day today...I wish we were closer to Friday, but at least Monday is almost over! Have a great week!!

Endless Possibilities!

I don't know about the rest of you, but I never knew how much I loved embroidered baby clothes until I had Alexa. Several people gave me onesies and bibs that were monogrammed at her shower, and they were my absolute favorite things for her to wear. One of them was Jodi, and she gave me a set of three onesies with a different design on each. She has her own embroidery machine, and it is amazing! She monogrammed the A on Alexa's diaper bag, and more recently she put Alexa's name on her toddler bag. She also did the applique cupcakes for Alexa and Walker on their birthday outfits!!

Since I love everything Jodi has done for Alexa, I thought I would tell all of you in blogland that she does embroidery, and share some of the different pieces she has done with you. That way if you want something embroidered you know where to come! It's not only great to have something embroidered for your own children, it's a great gift as well. She can pretty much do anything, and she keeps onesies and things like that, but you can also provide the piece you would like monogrammed if you like. I know she has also done towels, sheets, and blankets! The possibilities are ENDLESS!

This is Alexa's toddler bag...her Mimi made it for her and then Aunt Jodi did her name

I absolutely love this burp cloth with the ribbon on the bottom

This adorable set includes a burp cloth, onesie, and matching bib!

the little tiger fits on ANYTHING...GO TIGERS!! :)

You are my sunshine :) The face of the sun is also applique

how cute it that!! :)

how cute for a little boy! Jodi swears there isn't as much cute boy stuff as girls!

I LOVE these burp cloths! Alexa had several of them, and they were my favorite...super absorbent, and so pretty at the same time!

I love this set too...I always loved Alexa to have on matching items!

and finally the teddy bear...how cute is that! The face on teddy is applique also