Happy BEEEE Birthday Lyndsay!

We celebrated with Lyndsay this past weekend for her 2nd birthday (which is actually today!). Lyndsay has hit a "BEE" phase. So in honor of her favorite bug we spent the afternoon amoung some friendly BEEEEES! (That's how Lyndsay says it...in all caps!) It was a fabulous party and would you expect anything less from her super talented and crafty mom? Enjoy the pics :)

Cute invitations

Tuckered out from too much partying
Yum!

She blew out the candles before we were done singing :)

Curious George sticker book!

Too cute

Even the clothespins are adorable

The classiest fried chicken I've ever seen

What can you buy for $18?

Ohhhhh lots of goodies! How 'bout 4 pretty amethyst bottles, C.O. Bigelow Apothecary jar, bingo wheel and wooden scorecard, and a sugar and creamer set that looks like a trophy!

That's why I LOVE yard and antique sales. We hit up the Redwood Children's Home sale and the 127 World's Longest Yard Sale last weekend. As promised, here are some pictures of my awesome treasures!

$4 bingo wheel and scorecard

$4 sugar and creamer set

$6 C.O. Bigelow Apothecary jar

$4 Amethyst bottles $1 each

So sorry....

I'm so sorry for my lack of blogging. I will take full responsibility for my absence. I will say that I've been way more diligent in updated my Facebook.

So, what's new with everyone? Hope the summer treated everyone well. Since my last post, Miss Kate was 3 weeks old. I can't believe it, now she's 3 months old. She is growing like a weed, and growing out of all of her clothes too soon. This past week was my first week back to work. Monday was definately the hardest day. By lunch time that had been the longest I had ever been away from my baby. But, I'm so proud of myself for not being a complete mess! It also makes coming home to my family just that much better. And having Fridays off doesn't hurt either.


We are celebrating Lyndsay's 2nd birthday this weekend. I was looking back to last year at pictures from her birthday party and just paused to think how much has changed in a year. Lyndsay is turning into such an independant, strong, lovely little lady. It has been so much fun to watch her change so much from when she was as small as Kate is. I absolutely look foward to the many fun times that Lyndsay and Kate will share. I know they will be best buds.


It's also that time again. The 127 Yard Sale is this weekend. I'll post some of my treasures :) Kate attended her first yard sale last weekend at Redwood in Ft. Mitchell. She helped me pick out a vintage bingo wheel and wooden scorecard for $4.


That's all for now. I am going to make the effort to update my blog more frequently! Enjoy the pictures of Kate :)

3 weeks...

I can't believe it has already been three weeks since Kate came into our lives! It seems like just only moments ago we were headed to the hospital in great anticipation to meet our girl. In the past three weeks I have learned some of the greatest lessons...patience first and foremost, that sometimes you have to let her cry it out (even though it kills me!), how to function on little or no sleep, how to do most things one handed, and most importantly, that something so tiny can take up so much space in your heart. Here are a few pictures from the past few weeks. I'm not doing the best job of keeping up with my blogging and facebook, but, granny took Kate for the afternoon which left me with a little mommy alone time! Enjoy the pics :)

(Duck butt)
(Watching Ellen)
(Sweet sleeping baby :)
(Holding onto daddy's finger)
(Play time!)
(Headed to Ayden's b-day party)
(I love this pic! Damsel in distress!!)

Katelynn Gayle Marshall

Joey and I are tickled pink to welcome our sweet baby girl, Katelynn Gayle! She was born on May 7, 2009 at 3:51 am. Kate weighed in at 6 lbs 9 oz and was 19.75 inches.

On Monday, May 4th, Joey and I headed to the hospital at 7pm so that I could be induced. We thought for sure that she would arrive on her actual due date on the 5th. Well, the 5th came and went, and so did the 6th and she still was not ready to make her debut! After two rounds of "induction" medicine, the doctor breaking my water, a ton of patience, the encouragement of the midwife that I did NOT need a c-section, 3 hours of pushing, Katelynn arrived!!!

We were released to come home on the 8th and I celebrated my first Mother's Day on Sunday. It was an insanely emotional day but I enjoyed spending it with my baby and family. It is almost overwhelming the rollercoaster of emotions you feel the first few days, the joy, the nervousness, the frustration, and the exhaustion. But, it is all worth it when she looks right into my eyes and gives me a goofy smile that melts my heart.

the short list...

I am a regular "stalker" on thebump.com to see what other soon-to-be moms have on their minds and most of the third trimester moms are marking their profiles with their short list of first indulgences after baby is born. I thought it was a delightful thing to focus on to get me through these last few weeks! (At last check I am 1cm, so while she's not quite ready to make her debut, it sure is a start!)

1.) Sleeping on my stomach. Oh how I miss that...

2.) A giant fat ham sandwich from the Sandwich Block. White toast, lettuce, tomato, colby jack cheese, mayo and mustard. Top that off with the LARGEST fountain coke available. And maybe throw in a blue raspberry ICEE.

3.) A delightfully icy cold New Castle Ale.


4.) Top that off with a frozen strawberry margarita from Julio's Camino Real.




5.) The last on my list is being able to paint my toenails again without wallowing around on the floor! I can't wait to try out my new polish colors from e.l.f. for only $1!!!

The end of a shabby era...

I had heard from my sis-in-law that Rachel Ashwell's Shabby Chic was going out of business. I was hoping that it was a nasty rumor. Unfortunately, my dissapointment was confirmed when I checked the Shabby Chic blog today. The poor economy was just too much for Ms. Ashwell's online store and most of her bricks and morter stores as well. However, she will still sell her Simply Shabby Chic line at Target stores for the time being. Rachel commented on her blog that she is currently in England working on a book and that while it is goodbye for now, it won't be forever. I give Rachel and her inspired line the credit for my love of all things shabby and will continue to always be a shabby chic girl.

Couples' Shower

Our dear friends, Mark and Beth, hosted a lovely shower in honor of Baby Kate on March 7, 2009. It was a perfect warm evening, just fitting for the buffet of Mexican fare and pink margaritas (and pink punch for the pregnant ones!) The little one in the pictures is Ayden, Mark and Beth's son. Ayden and Brady (Brett and Megan's cutie) are the only 2 wee ones right now, but come May and August there will be 2 more with the addition of Kate and Baby Bray! Enjoy the pics :)

Welcome Spring!

The sun is shining bright today, even though it's really cold, but from my window at work it looks like the beginning of a beautiful spring day. I admit that I have already broken out my spring peony wreath, cute spring hand towels, and last night added these precious finds from Pier 1 to my spring collection. Unfortunately, my local Pier 1 only had 2 of the 3 houses available because all of their houses that had the steeple arrive damaged. But, the 2 I picked up look as darling as can be on top of a vintage cake stand in my kitchen surrounded by my hydrangea tea cup collection.

Another one of my spring favorites is the arrival of the catalogs from wholesale gardening shops. Yesterday I received 2 in the mail and Joey and I spent about an hour leafing though the pages upon pages of beautiful flowers and plants. Somehow the green thumb gene completely passed over me, even though I grew up on a 135 acre farm. The only success I have had in gardening is my hydrangeas that grow along the side of our house. And, the only thing I really do to tend them it to talk to them daily and tell them how beautiful they are, and occasionally water them. While this summer will be completely different than any other with the addition of baby Kate, I am hoping to actually get some dirt under my nails and try to mix it up with some gardening.

I also received my April issue of Country Living on Tuesday. I always try to read just a few pages at a time to really soak in every detail of each article, but this one was too good to put down. I have been telling Joey for quite some time that I really, really want a tiny one room Amish cottage to put at the back of our property that can be my little hide away, craft room (since I gave mine up for his new office) or a tiny place to entertain a few girlfriends with some tea. Well, in this month's CL they feature a greenhouse of sorts that had me salivating for more pictures! What a lucky lady this woman is! Her husband reconstructed this dilapidated greenhouse into her own private retreat that I wish I could just move right into. Enjoy the sunshine!