free alphabet download

I found this on Pinterest but when I went to the website to purchase a print, the item was no longer for sale. I started looking for similar fonts to make my own and what do you know? I found the exact font and it's a free download (here)! Feel free to save mine and print one for yourself! 

some quality time

I took Friday off to hang out with the Emmster. Her daycare was closed for a teacher work day and my work was handled so I was excited to spend some quality time with my kid without anyone being sick. 
We filled up our day quickly. We went shopping at Barnes & Noble and West Elm,  had lunch with my dad and sister, a quick stop at Target with Joe, back home for a nap (while I painted a hallway) and then we had dinner as a family before watching a Halloween movie (I'm embarrassed to admit which one because it was so awful but it was Return to Halloweentown).

It was a perfect day. 
Emmy has become so affectionate. I was telling my friend Keri how much fun she is now, how she looks at me and jabbers in some nonsensical language then smiles and gives me a hug. She was quick to remind me that I always say "now this is my favorite age" and she's right, I do say that every few months. Motherhood really does just keep getting better and I'm continuously surprised by that. I also tell Joe maybe once or twice a day, "I'm just going to eat her... like swallow her whole I love her so much" and he thinks I'm weird. 
One of my best friends, Keri, worked out her schedule so that she can set aside Tuesdays for quality time with her daughter. Just one day a week where she can go to the park or library and get in some one-on-one time. She has the next day off from work and baby, to clean the house, do laundry, go grocery shopping, etc. I am incredibly jealous. The other days she works but she always has Sunday off for church and family. That is the perfect life... still working, bringing in the income to maintain a nice lifestyle but also getting to spend time with her daughter, time to herself, and time with family. 
I am going to try and spend at least one half-day every other week with Emmy. Next week we are going to the zoo with Keri and baby Grace. I'll come in to work a few hours late, not too late that I can't quickly catch up and I'll get Emmy to school in time for her nap. 
I want to enjoy this stage as much as possible. Right now, she loves me so completely.. almost as much as I love her. I know that won't last forever and this time will pass by quickly whether I cherish it or not. 
Emmy often reminds me of Caroline, the little girl I used to babysit. Caroline will always have a piece of my heart, I sometimes think of her as my first child since I loved her so much and her blonde hair and blue eyes made it easy for me to cart her around town as my own. Caroline just turned 10. For me, seeing her only every few weeks, that happened really fast.
 Caroline lives close to Emmy's daycare and I stopped at her house a few weeks ago when I saw her outside selling lemonade. She ran and jumped up on me like she always did and I was proud to show her how big Emmy is. She said that Emmy was cute but I could tell that it was a little hard for her to think of me having my own child. 
A few nights ago Joe mentioned how much Emmy reminded him of Caroline. I had been afraid to tell Joe how often I compared them but truly, they are so similar. Both so sweet, funny and there is this one look... a kinda serious but silly look... Emmy leans her face in towards mine, eyes all wide, lower lip up, hiding a smile and then starts giggling and throws her head back. Caroline used to make the exact same face.   Maybe it's a face I make to them? I don't know, but sometimes I think God is just amazing and I've been blessed to be part of two very sweet girls' lives.

sweet ballerina pictures

Emmy has been so much fun this week. Last night, we didn't even turn the tv on after dinner. We all went upstairs and played in Emmy's room, reading books, dancing and sliding around in her play house. I put together a cute little ballerina outfit for Halloween at daycare and I got her to try it on (it wasn't hard, she loves getting dressed). 

She looked ridiculously cute so I grabbed my camera and started playing with my new lens (canon 50mm f/1.8) to try out the low aperture (blurry background) setting. The hard part about this lens is that you can't zoom in or out and you actually have to get pretty far from your subject (not easy when your subject wants to be in your lap at all times). The effect is awesome though. I used iphoto's "antique" adjustment to tone down the pink in some pictures (like the first one).  

Emmy loves her books. We read A LOT. I have about 10 more books in my amazon cart and I add them to other orders every now and then. Not so much for Emmy, she is happy with reading the same book over and over again... but for me and Joe so we can get some fresh reads!

I adjusted the light setting to allow more in and got this pic. Unfortunately, this is how you know an Emmy is ready for bed so I dropped the camera and read a few of those books to her... 

 

halloween decorations are up

With only two weeks until Halloween, I figured it was about time to decorate the house!

I found this print on one of my favorite blogs, littlebabygarvin. The artist/blogger had a baby due a week after Emmy's due date so I followed her pregnancy and have watched her little girl grow up with Emmy. There are so many similarities between our daughters and her easy, friendly style of writing always make me laugh and smile. I always look forward to a new post and I figured spending $18 for her print was worth it, even if to just say "thank you". Plus, it's digital so I printed one for my office too! 

Floating hats! This was my favorite decoration but I have to be honest with you - they kept falling. Layers of tape and sticky putty later, I gave up and tied them to various objects around the house. Oh well.

I got the black and white garland at Target on clearance for less than $2 (RUN. GET YOU SOME!). I love that these green and natural looking pumpkins are in. The green color ties in well with our living room and it will make a nice transition into thanksgiving decorations. I did learn that it is essential to shop for pumpkins early. It wasn't easy finding a gem out of what was left!

Going up the stairs are 3 more lil'  bit pumpkins. I love these but Emmy does too, she spent half the night carrying them one at a time to her chair in the living room, grunting all the way and so proud of herself. 

Although most of my decorations came from Target, I made a stop at Hobby Lobby. Is it just me or does it seem like everything is 40-50% off all the time? So much is on sale that I really feel jipped when I pay full price for anything. 

I picked up this lamp from Hobby Lobby (50% off), and the frame and owl from Home Goods last month.

I found this jar at Target for $5.99 and wanted to fill it with candy corn but that stuff makes me sick (when I eat it in huge quantities) so I opted for the family favorite: oreos. BIG mistake. Honey boo boo spent the other half of the night pointing at the jar and crying. I'm thinking about replacing the oreos with a popcorn/candy corn/pretzel mix so I don't have to feel as guilty letting Emmy dig in. 

I spruced up Emmy's chair with her chevron blanket from Target's clearance (last year) and a $1 Minnie Mouse book. She points at a character, I say their name, she turns the page, points at the next character (repeat ONE THOUSAND times).  

Have I ever mentioned how much she loves her chair? Best purchase ever. She still likes to climb up on the couch and sit in my lap but when I'm cooking I'll tell her to go sit in her chair and she will. She loves to lay her baby on it face down and pat her back. At night, I put her blanket and a few cute toys on her chair and every morning she throws them all on the floor so she can sit in it.   

For the front door, I made these little ghosts with styrofoam balls and muslin. I found some cute ones at a store for $7.99 each and thought I could make them cheaper but I ended up spending around $30 and not totally loving the final product. My mom said they looked like three casper the ghosts, since our family of 3 is so pale, they are perfect!

I will probably regret doing all of this so last minute when I have to take it down in two weeks. I can't help myself though. Some of my happiest childhood memories are of the holiday season. I think back to the time in my life when family meant so much to me. From maybe age 5-15, the best age for getting dressed up for Halloween and getting awesome gifts at Christmas. This is also back when I was watching sitcoms like Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Home Improvement and the Disney Channel (in general) and they would go all out on the sets with holiday decorations. That's how I imagine a happy home, festively decorated. My parents always decorated our home too and anyway, it's exciting to see your house a little differently for a while and I want Emmy to have happy memories of the holidays too.

emmy's teacher

I hesitated to publish this. But this is my blog about life (and Emmy) and I write things down so I don't forget them and so that Emmy will know what life was like before her memory started saving things for her. 
 Emmy's teacher left the daycare yesterday. I am not sure if she was fired or quit or if that all happened at once. What happened between her and her boss is not my business so I won't speculate.  
But I loved her teacher and I am so sad that she is gone. She was hard on the kids and I knew that but I also liked it. Emmy's first week with her was rough but once she adjusted, her development seemed to take off. Her teacher and I talked every day... about Emmy's progress, the words she was learning, how she was getting along with her friends, what her favorite toys and activities are and even just the silly things Emmy did that day. Basically, she filled me in on everything I was missing out on and it was the highlight of my day. 
Just yesterday I asked for her thoughts on Emmy's verbal and physical development. I think Emmy is doing great but I like to hear from her teacher about her progress so I can make sure that Joe and I are doing our part to help out at home. She offered tips and we talked about the other kids in her class and the affection in her voice made me go soft over them too. I drove away feeling so happy about Emmy being in daycare, learning more than most kids her age and having friends that squeal her name when she arrives every morning. 
She was the first teacher Emmy had that was as good with adults as she is with children. I felt a connection with her and I wish I knew her last name so I could find her and tell her that she was good for Emmy and I am sad that she is gone. I want to tell her that it may not have worked out for her at this daycare but she should not be down on herself, and I would tell her my similar story in case it might make her feel better. 
 I had a very short-term career once. It lasted 6 months and I wish I could block it out of my memory. My boss was irrational, immature and rude. He yelled at me when I made a mistake, even if my only mistake was not catching his.  He would listen to me talk to someone on the phone then call me in his office to tell me how he would have said it. I hated to talk to anyone because I was so nervous that I would say something wrong.  I kept a daily journal of every little thing he asked me to do and check off what I got done so he couldn't lie and say that I forgot something. His constant critique was so frustrating, I cried on a weekly basis and I was no fun to be around after work. 
Finally, one day he was yelling at me and I started yelling back. It wasn't the first time I had stood up for myself, but I remember my vision getting kinda blurry and having that "out of body" experience. He told me that he thought I should "take some time off to think about whether or not I want my job" and I told him, "I don't need time to think about it, I quit". I remember the words coming out as if someone else had said them. I looked at my desk, hands shaking, face numb, trying to think of what I owned on my desk and how quickly I could get my hands on those things and run.  I jumped in my car, called Joe and sobbed.
It took a few weeks for me to find a new job, I almost left the industry altogether. I blamed the stress of the job on the nature of the business. I started working for my current boss who is 75(ish) years old and just about the smartest, kindest person in the world. He knew me from a previous job and trusted my work ethic and was eager to get me started. He trusted me completely with decisions, he didn't micromanage me, boss me around or ever once remind me who he was. He didn't have to. I would do anything for him, I pushed myself, I learned how to do my job more efficiently and then his job so I could be more helpful and when I inevitably made mistakes, he would offer support and we would find a solution together. He let me grow, showed me respect, increased my responsibility then compensated me fairly. I can't imagine ever wanting to leave this job.
Everyone here works together. We have zero drama and there is simply an overall goal of customer satisfaction & getting loans closed. I used to look back on those 6 months and think about how I should have handled my boss differently. Instead of crying, I should have calmly communicated that his expectations were irrational and I may not be the right person to work for him if he doesn't want to trust me to think for myself. I know that there were times that I was defensive with him and it was hard for me to admit if I did make a mistake. I own up to mistakes quickly now. I work on fixing them and I move on, no one gets upset, no one gets blamed. And, if my boss asks me to do something, I may voice my disagreement with him but I will do it his way because at the end of the day, this company has his name on it, not mine. 
I hope Emmy's teacher can learn from this experience and I really hope that she is able to find a new opportunity where she can apply her skills with children. Emmy and I are surely gonna miss her.

best friends forever

One of my longest, bestest friends got married last weekend on a lake island next to an old-south style mansion. Allison had described the location to us and I never doubted it was pretty but the rehearsal dinner, ceremony and reception were so beautiful that it completely exceeded my imagination. Allison's father died suddenly a few months ago. He was one of those uniquely perfect dads, the kind that God gives daughters to take care of and protect. He was definitely present as tropical storm Karen was stalled just long enough to give her a cool, dry and sunny wedding day. We all thought of him when she danced with her mom and at the end as her mom thanked everyone for coming, I thought of how he was supposed to be standing beside his wife, both so proud of their beautiful daughter.
 Her day was full of emotions, both happy and sad and it was one of my favorite weddings of all time. 

Even Emmy had fun, running all over the grassy lawn, dancing with boys, rolling through the house and collecting... um... rocks. Lots of rocks. We danced all night and cheered to the happy couple. 

Although Allison isn't the last of our group to get married, her wedding is the most recent since mine, 2 1/2 years ago and 3 years after the last one we had as bridesmaids. We were all a little rusty on the bridesmaid duties but once the wedding festivities got rolling, our affection for Allison made it easy to know what to do. 

The location for the wedding was about 45 minutes away from Birmingham and the drive was a little long, but I was happy to spend that time chatting with my friends in the car. I've had these friends since I was in high school.  I have known them all for almost 15 years, half of my life! When we spend time together like this, free of husbands and kids, I feel young again. Happy and silly and laughing about things only we understand or even think is funny. We have been through so much together, so many happy and sad times. We have been there for each other through heartache, joy, failure and achievement.  Together, we have cried, laughed, and even laughed so hard we peed our pants.

There is not a moment when I am with them that I feel self-conscious. I never worry that what I say will be misunderstood or misrepresented and turned into gossip. There is something so unique about high school friends. In high school, you spend so much time together. You live close to each other, you take classes together, you stay up as late as possible for sleepovers and you dream about your future together. Then, the future happens. You go to different schools, you move back but not so close to each other. You get married, have kids, work, make new friends and want to go to bed as early as possible. It gets hard to find time for each other. And very rarely do you get to spend time all together at once. 

Spending this weekend with my besties, celebrating and laughing made me so happy and refreshed. And... just a little bit tired too :)

halloween wallpaper

I absolutely love fall. This has been a mild summer and I'm hopeful that it will start getting cool quick. I've even managed to wear a few light sweaters (despite highs still in the low 80s). Halloween is a special holiday because it marks the beginning of the holiday season, as in - family time, vacations, gifts, dressing up and imagination! I can't wait to take Emmy trick or treating this year, I don't want to give away too many surprises but our plans include ducks, beards, and a golf cart.  

I got myself so excited, I wanted to make a wallpaper with my favorite halloween quote. I have to admit, I whipped this up in about 30 minutes so it's not perfect but still fun!

movie night

This is the exact moment Emmy first watched The Little Mermaid. 

 This movie just came out of Disney's "vault" and I felt like a little kid on Christmas morning opening my amazon box when I got home. I have prepped Emmy for this moment by singing her the "Part of your World" song pretty much ever since she was born. This is my favorite kid's movie of all time and even though Joe whined about me starting it... Emmy has been asleep for half an hour and we are still watching it... actually, he is watching it and I'm typing. 

Today was such a great day. There was no particular reason that this day should be good but it was. I spent most of yesterday trying to appease an irrational child. She had a fever Sunday night and threw up three times so I couldn't take her to school. I still had to work so I spent most of the day trying to give her everything she wanted except the one thing she really wanted which was my attention. 

I struggle so much with my job on those days. I have the luxury of working from home with unlimited sick days but I can't really give 100% to work or my kid and they both need me. 

And, I really love them both so much.

I had two loans close today and I have gotten to know both families so well that I was a little sad to see them close and move on with their life. How weird is that? I was happy for them too but now I won't have any reason to talk to them! It did feel good to get them off "the books" though. I have such a love/hate relationship with the cyclical nature of my job. Most loans close around the end of the month - at the same time that most people make offers on their next home. So, I spend one week of the month losing my mind starting new loans and closing current loans. That was mostly last week. This week is the exciting new loan part. Everyone is so happy and the loan paperwork appears simple. 

It's hard for the joy of the new purchases and contracts not to get contagious. Especially during the holidays. Today the seller was telling the buyer how many pounds of candy to buy for the neighborhood kids and were bragging about the local football team. Maybe it's because I have such happy memories of my childhood but I just started getting emotional of the new little family and all the memories they would soon be making.

Plus, Emmy was riding a high today. She felt so much better than she did yesterday, it was all smiles and dancing and cuddling after work. She has started giving us big hugs and kisses. I will scoop her up and give her neck lots of kisses until it tickles and she can't stand it any longer. She tries to do it back and she mostly just hot breathes on me and it actually tickles so I can't help but laugh. I know these moments won't last forever but there is just so much affection in our family. 

I just can't stand how much I love it.