Charlee's 1st Birthday Party

Somehow my baby girl is turning ONE on Friday. I say this all the time, but I blinked and an entire year has gone by. We celebrated this big event yesterday!

I started off not having a theme and just a color scheme (bright colors, all of them) to match a tutu that Danny's sister bought before Charlee was born. But then as I began purchasing decorations, plates and napkins, it quickly morphed into a polka dot theme. Thanks, Hobby Lobby. It made getting the cake made pretty easy!

For food we did a macaroni and cheese/salad bar. Super duper easy! For the mac and cheese I used the party size platters of Stouffer's mac & cheese. Salad was a couple bags of lettuce and romaine blend. Toppings included: ham cubes, chicken, hot dogs, bacon bits, mini pepperonis, red and green peppers, broccoli, tomatoes, and shredded cheese. We had salsa and 3 kinds of salad dressing sitting out, as well as a bowl of fruit and some pickles (per the request of a friend). All the veggies I was able to chop up Saturday and then the meat toppings were warmed up prior to the party.

It was one of the easier parties I've thrown food wise.

Her cake was equally adorable and delicious!

Charlee got the cupcake and everyone else got the other 2 layers. We did chocolate and then confetti. Funfetti boxed cake is a personal favorite of mine, so my taste buds were pretty pleased with the professionally made funfetti cake.

The girl knew just what to do with the cupcake and went to town. Mostly on the icing like a true kid. I helped her smash the cake part after I took the icing away from her. She loved making a mess of that!

When it came time for presents, she got spoiled! Tons of clothes, just enough toys that she's happy and we don't feel overwhelmed by finding space for them, and plenty of money. Seriously, our kids rake it in every birthday. It's ridiculous. Tucker was also satisfied with the new toys she received too. He kept telling us Charlee told him she wanted to open each one.

For Tucker's first birthday, Danny and I made him a bear at  Build-A-Bear, Roger Theodore Bear, aka Roger T. Bear. Danny named him. We decided then that we would do that for each kid on their first birthday. We took Tucker with us to make Charlee's We were all 3 arguing for at least 10 minutes over what we wanted to make haha. Tucker wanted a My Little Pony (his current obsession), Danny wanted a unicorn and I really wanted a bear. A simple bear lol. We got none of those and got a puppy. Tucker had a lot of fun making his sister's puppy. We also let him pick out a new outfit for Roger since we wouldn't let him make his own animal. Tucker and Roger now have matching Paw Patrol jammies. This stage with Tucker can be so frustrating, but it's also so incredibly sweet.

I would say Charlee had a wonderful birthday party. She had so much fun with all of her family and some friends yesterday.

I don't know what I'm doing + What's Up Wednesday

Work is crazy, I have a birthday party to throw this weekend, some days I don't know what day it is, but this feels like a good time to start posting again. Maybe. We'll see haha. It's always good to start on the last Wednesday of the month though so I can recap life a bit?

What we're eating this week...
I've been eating the same thing for breakfast every day for a couple months: 2 eggs sometimes with veggies and cheese, piece of toast. Lunch this week is shrimp taco spaghetti squash. Dinner last night was 21 day fix enchiladas and they were delicious! There are many versions of these I'm sure but I  used this one. Not actively doing a 21 day fix, but I know the recipes are well rounded. Trying to keep the food in check this week since Charlee's birthday party is on Sunday (I can't believe it either) and there will be a Mac & Cheese bar.

What I'm reminiscing about...
This little baby.

I'm having lots of feels about this most likely being the last 1st birthday party I throw.

What I'm loving...
Crossfit! I took a beginner class from November to February and was hooked 2 days in. My arms and abs are so sore I want to cry every time I move since I took 2 weeks off while I was sick but I'm addicted. This was me yesterday. Except I was wearing more clothes.

What we've been up to...
It feels like nothing and everything all at the same time. Danny spent a week at the National Fire Academy last week. The weekend before he and I spent the weekend in Indy with our camping friends. We had so much fun!

What I'm dreading...
At the moment I'm dreading wrangling both kids in the bath tonight with the current state of my upper body. Also dreading having to clean my house before Sunday.


What I'm working on...
The never ending project of trying to get organized. I made the switch from iPhone to Android and am loving Google. I know I could have done this with an iPhone but it just seems easier now haha. I'm joining the 21st century and becoming almost completely paperless. Except for our tax refund. That check can come to my mailbox for at least another year haha.

What I'm excited about...
Danny and I have a trip to Charleston on the calendar for the middle of May. However, after 2 nights away from the kids 2 weeks ago we are thinking about making it a family vacation instead and going camping somewhere. Either way, it will be nice to get away. It's been an interesting winter, or 6 months even, so we could all use a vacation!

What I'm watching/reading...
Still hooked on Fixer Upper. Hulu put all of the seasons, or at least 1, 2 and 3, on recently. Danny and I have been talking about moving for a couple of years and where ever we end up next, I know I want some Chip and JoJo flair too it!

What I'm listening too...
Charlee and I are obsessed with Jessie James Decker's song Flip My Hair. So fun and badass!

What I'm wearing...

I've been loving Old Navy jeans since having Charlee. I have various styles of them and I love them all. Indiana has gotten a preview of spring the last few days so it's almost TOMs season and that makes my heart happy.

What I'm doing this weekend...

Charlee's 1st birthday party! Saturday we will be going to make her gift. Danny and I decided when Tucker turned 1 that for all of our kids we would make them a Build-A-Bear. We are going to take Tucker with us to make Charlee's so that way he can also get some time with us by himself.

What I'm looking forward to next month...

My busy season for work will be over on the 15th! I'm not entirely sure what my days will consist of after that but I'm excited for life to slow down a bit. 

What else is new...

You know that mudroom that we added on 2 years ago and then have taken forever to finish? It's like 90% done now. 

Danny built that laundry shelf for me! Then on the same all as that door we have a shelving system from IKEA. It gave Danny a hard time, but I think even he would admit that it was a good purchase. 

Bonus: Favorite spring break destination...

We are just now entering the school years of this parenting gig, so we have yet to do a spring break. We do love the Orange Beach/Gulf Shores, AL area, so I can see that being our spot! We actually went in October, along with Hurricane Nate!

Okay, now that this has taken me all day, it's time to go home! Maybe I'll be back tomorrow. Who knows!

Weekend

This weekend was really nice in that we didn't have a whole lot going on.

I started my weekend on Friday because my children were out to get me Thursday night. I literally texted my brother and the guy that works for us and said "Not coming in. My kids are trying to kill me." Multiple wake ups, sleeping in the recliner, dog needing out, and Tucker getting a bloody nose at 3am-ish. I seriously don't know what time things happen most nights because both kids are either up zero times or 4 times. We are an all or nothing family apparently. Thank God for FitBits and their ability to let you see how bad it really was!

I bought Tucker's silence with YouTube kids and we all hung out in Danny and I's bed Friday afternoon for a bit.

The kids and I went to a wedding Friday night. We've officially lost our date night babysitter since she's a married and full-time working woman now. She got married in my mother-in-law's barn, my sister-in-law decorated for the reception at a different location and I hauled my kids and my niece's around since they were part of the reception. Charlee was super cooperative and Tucker thought the wedding was too long... it lasted all of 10 minutes haha.  Danny worked Friday night so I got a glimpse of life with 4 kids. No thank you haha.

Saturday was cleaning, laundry and playing until we went to Chuy's for lunch and did a bit of shopping at Old Navy with my mom. Chuy's was super accommodating for both kids. They brought me a plastic spoon when they saw me trying to carefully feed Charlee avocado with the tip of my fork and then when they realized the plate of nachos were for Tucker they took them back to the kitchen and put them on a plate that wasn't hot. I never asked for either so it was really nice.

Sunday was a pretty typical day except that I TOOK A NAP! We didn't have much going on and I could tell Charlee was getting tired so her and I went and laid down while Danny and Tucker kept themselves busy. I slept for an hour and 12 minutes. That is a rarity that happens like 3 times a year. After we went to visit Danny's dad and stepmom then for a drive so Tucker could sleep off some attitude. It did not work.

Or let you you eat 28 pieces of candy, put your shoes on the 3rd time I ask... 

Now it's time for a busy week that I'm not entirely sure I'm ready for!

Life.

I blinked and it went from 4th of July weekend to practically Labor Day up  in here. I was talking to a family member yesterday and he said "life is happening, isn't it?" Yes, it is. It is flying by. I swear they need to warn you when you leave the hospital that with every baby time speeds up. I have never experienced a quicker 5 1/2 months in my life. But here we are.

Time is flying by and I'm sitting here, for the 837th time, reminding myself that I'm going to want to look back on these days and really remember them.

So, July. July is notorious for being busy. Between my busy season for work, Danny's rotating schedule, plus the 4H fair, it's a whirlwind month. We don't even have any kids in 4H but it ends up being busy for us so I can't imagine what it will be like in a few years when we start that chapter of our lives.

This girl turned 4 months old.

We went to the fair. Tucker wanted to ride this despite his face saying otherwise. We're bad parents and only let him ride one single ride lol. If Danny had it his way Tucker and Charlee would never know there is a ride portion of the fair.

Danny and I went on a date to watch one of my dad's good friends sing. He was home from Nashville for a week and performed at a local bar. The show didn't start until 8pm so I had to drink coffee at 6:45pm to make my attendance possible. It's a struggle.

We made a spur of the moment trip to the Ft. Wayne zoo. I mean, it still took 45 minutes to get ready to leave for this spur of the moment trip but thats about as spontaneous as you can get when you have to take all the things with you.

We ended the month, and summer, with a camping trip to a Jellystone campground in Bloomington. We had such a great time. Well, Tucker and I did at least. We both played on the water slides for a few hours each day.

The trip got off to a rocky start when we pulled over to change Tucker's clothes because he peed his pants and we found that he didn't actually have any clothes. His bag was still sitting on the floor in his room at home. Whoops. I did my best to laugh it off and only beat myself up over it a little. Tucker got a few outfits out of it and Danny enjoyed buying new clothes for him since that's something I usually take care of. Trying to see the good in it haha.

That was pretty much it. I felt like we didn't do much until just now but no wonder I felt like July went fast. We were constantly doing stuff!

4th of July

My favorite holiday has come and gone. There is just something about the 4th of July that makes me happy. I don't know if its the fireworks or the cookouts or what, but I love it. Always have. This year was no different. If anything I  loved it more. This holiday is the beginning of another year of holidays that Danny and I have spent together and we just started our 10th year of holidays. This was the 3rd time we've spent this particular holiday together. It's the holiday that we've spent apart the most so to get to enjoy it with him was really special. Especially since it was our first as a family of 4.

We started the festivities at his sister's for a cookout. Tucker had a blast playing with his favorite cousin and it was nice to sit and relax for a bit while Charlee was passed around. She obviously didn't mind.

Next was a cookout at my brother's house with my mom and my brother's friends. Tucker enjoyed running around, riding his bike and blowing bubbles.

After stuffing ourselves we headed up to our traditional fireworks show. This is the one Danny used to help put on, so it's always weird for him to watch them. I told him this was the first time the Last Call tribute to fallen firefighters hasn't gotten to me and I think it was because he was there this time.

We got home around 11 with some very tired babies. Tucker slept through a car to bed transfer and Charlee had no problems falling asleep once she nursed a little bit. Everyone but mama slept until at least 7:45 this morning. I got up at 5:20 so I could pump and get ready for the day. I was able to eat breakfast, drink coffee, and watch Friends in peace. I even priced some items for a rummage I'm doing this weekend.

Now it feels like we are on the downward slope of summer and I'm not ready for it to end!