Hello 2017

No better time than now to finally write a post in 2017! So many incredible things are in store for this year, and I'm very excited, and also nervous, but mostly excited. A new year is so refreshing... I get hopeful and optimistic, which is nice after the post-holiday slump.

In a little over a week, my sweet baby Jackson will be turning ONE! What? Huh? How? I'm feeling ALL of the emotions over here. Someone help me out. I can't handle it! I am telling you... the first year of your baby's life flies at lightning speed... and I'm constantly trailing behind, trying to soak in every single moment before he hits another milestone, grows another inch, becomes more and more independent. I just love that boy so much. I can't tell you how many conversations I've had with Matt that only consist of how much we love Jackson. Or how many times we just sit and look at his pictures. GAH, that babe. Melts my heart every day.

And now, the next little babe SURE to steal our hearts this year... baby K number two! I'm just about 15 weeks along with this sweet one. And I admit, I feel as though I'm not giving my belly the attention it had when it held J man. Life is just so hectic and busy... sure to get 20 times worse when I have two babies under the age of two!

I've been feeling great so far in this pregnancy. Absolutely no complaints! Had to dig out the old floogle (Snoogle) pregnancy pillow... haha... because I already think my hip and pelvic bones are breaking at night! Other than that, no sickness, fatigue is (almost) gone, and my appetite is back. Bring on the carbs, baby! Last week, we got to hear the sweetest sound on earth... baby's heartbeat. Just beating away. It is incredibly reassuring that everything will be okay, that we're doing well and will have an angel in our arms come July!

I do find myself getting more and more excited about having a wee little newborn again. They are just so snuggly and delicious! We'll get to find out the gender of the little babe on March 1st, which seems sooooo far away right now. :( Matt wants a little girl! Well, the entire family does, ha! I'd be lying if I said I didn't, but if Jackson ends up with a baby brother first, I will be just as happy. They'll be two peas in a pod, just 18 months apart. Keep on growing, little one. Mommy and Daddy already love you WAY more than you'll ever know.

My babies just fill my heart so full. Having a family with Matt has been the greatest blessing and privilege of my life. I will try so hard not to EVER take this for granted, even during the tough times.

Cheers to a wonderful 2017, despite the political climate! YAY.

Love,

S

Reflecting on 2016

Hey there, friends. As 2016 comes near to closing, I've felt the need to reflect on and write about all the amazing things we've gotten to experience this year. I honestly cannot believe how fast this year has gone by. Sure, everyone says that, right? No, but seriously. It's like... when you have a child, you basically age 12 times faster than normal. It must be a thing. Must be.

This year has brought SO much change to my life, it's incredible to think about. I finished out my previous job in mid January, just 11 days before little baby boy was born. January 29, 2016... what a day. Matt had left early in the morning to go to class, and the whole night before I had been having slight contractions. But what the hell did I know? I'd never been pregnant before! Soon enough, we'd be rocking and rolling to the hospital.

My contractions were pretty strong by about 9 AM, and Matt, ironically enough, got out of class early and rushed home. I brought myself to shower and look presentable, ha. That's funny. Mom FLEW over to the house in a flurry and out the door we went.

We got to the hospital about 10:30 and YES this was happening!! Got my epidural midday, and of course, my dosage wasn't high enough so the pain was extraordinary. But who even cares, at this point? By 9:27 PM, after almost 12 hours of labor and less than two hours pushing, Jackson Matthew came into the world and was the most beautiful sight I had ever seen. Just like that, I became a mother. It was a Friday, and by Sunday evening, we were on our way back home.

Motherhood brought all kinds of new challenges... learning how to take care of a sweet, tiny human, how to still manage being happily married, how to breastfeed, how to not breastfeed, figuring out a sleep schedule, the list goes on. We learned, with time. And it was absolutely the most precious time of my entire life. My maternity leave was a dream... hanging out with my sweet babe all day long and learning each other. Baby boy has grown so much this year and it has been incredible watching him become his own little person. He does new things every day and is constantly surprising me. Being his mama is one of my greatest joys. I love him more than I could ever put into words.

By May, I started a new job and met some new people. And later in the summer, Matt FINALLY got off of the dreaded night shift and started his new job... which has been an absolute blessing. Even with all of the political bull crap that came about this year, 2016 was still one of the best years of my life.

And, as if we deserve it, we found out in November that we're expecting our second little bundle of joy and love in July! I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous or scared, but I'm beyond excited and way too happy to be blessed in this way. I never thought I'd become pregnant without really trying. This next little one is certainly the next little miracle.

Happy New Year, friends! And I hope you remember all the greatness 2016 brought you. I know I always will.

Love,
S

Lately...

No better time than the almost-end of January to post my first blog of 2015!

Sorry for the hiatus, friends. If you weren't able to tell from my previous post, things were certainly not well for me at the end of 2014. However, I've put my big girl boots back on and am ready to move on from the experience. I hope one day I'll be ready to share what happened but that day is not today and that's okay. I'm movin' on, movin' up, pushing forward.

Our good friends Josiah and Kendal got married on New Year's Eve and their wedding was so much fun! Here are a few photos to recap:

Look at my handsome groomsman of a hub.

I also got to see my beautiful cousin Marisa during our Christmas-On-New-Years-Day extravaganza at my mamaw's house! It has been a few years since I've seen her. She just moved up north from Texas so it was great to see her and spend time with her. We were total bffs as kids. :)

Girly cousins

After all of the craziness of the holidays finally passed, it was refreshing to move on and get back into the swing of things. Last weekend, we celebrated my mama's birthday by taking her out to Smokey Bones for dinner, followed by some delicious cake. Other than that, Matt and I have just been working and hibernating this January, trying to get through winter and on to spring, which I'm already totally excited about. Lots of yard work and home improvement will be coming our way!

One of my goals for 2015 is to blog more often, so stay tuned for some more life, home, craft, etc. updates and such!

Goodbye, 2014

Lately, I've been reflecting a lot on the negative in my life, and trying so fiercely to combat that by focusing on the good, on the things I'm most thankful for. Let me tell you; it's no easy task trying to keep a positive mind when all you feel is negative, but I can at least say I've been trying.

This last month of 2014 has been a whirlwind of emotions, from contentment, to shock, to excitement, to bliss, to sadness, to disappointment, to anger, to hopefulness. I can honestly say I've experienced each of these emotions in just a matter of two short weeks, and then some. I'm not sure what 2015 will bring, but I know things have to be looking up from here, from this harsh ending to 2014, and I'm ready to leave it all behind and go forth.

Despite everything that's happened this month, this Christmas just didn't feel like Christmas. Matt and I spent Christmas eve at my parent's house with my brother and his wife, and we had a blast playing Uno and snacking on our favorite finger foods. It was a lot of fun, but different from the usual norm of going to Mamaw's house. We woke up Christmas day and ate breakfast before heading over to Matt's mom and dad's house for his side of the family's Christmas. We played Cards Against Humanity and let me tell you, laughter is certainly the best medicine. I can't think of a better group of people to play that with!

I guess this year just didn't really feel like Christmas to me, probably because we haven't even celebrated with my side of the family yet. Matt and I are going to the wedding of our dear friend, Jo, on New Year's Eve. Then, we'll be having our Christmas on New Year's Day and then going to Mamaw's on Friday night to celebrate. Maybe I'll be in  more of the Christmas mood this weekend after having spent some time with family. I already took down all my Christmas decorations besides my tree, of course. Who the heck am I?? I never do that. I'm always sad to take it all down! But this year I'm just over it all. I want to move on from this Christmas and not think about it for a while. I sure hope 2015 brings more joy than 2014 did.

So, now that I'm done being a negative Nancy, I truly hope everyone had a fantastic Christmas and an even better upcoming New Year. :)

Happy New Year!

I guess the 7th of January is the perfect day to finally write my first blog of 2014! :) I hope everyone had a great holiday season. For the first time in the history of ever, I was happy to see the end of the holidays and the beginning of a new year. What is wrong with me?

For New Year's eve, Matt and I headed over to his mom and dad's house for our annual NYE pajama party! As always, it was a fun-filled evening with drinks, finger foods, and a little dancing on the Kinect. Even my mom and dad came out for a bit. It was a good time with family! I can't believe I didn't take one single picture that night. I guess that's just part of my initiative to start living in the moment and stop worrying about documenting it so much.

Aside from the temperatures outside being in the negatives and our house being freezing, not much has been all that eventful so far in 2014. The past couple of nights I did some crafting. I worked on an old milk can that my father-in-law gave me! No paint or restoration needed! Bought a few things from Hobby Lobby to spruce it up a bit. I love the way it looks now! I also worked on a baby scarf and hat for my cousin Sophia (my cousin's daughter...so...my second cousin?)! Who knows. :) I'm pleased with the way they turned out!

The scarf kind of morphed out of a pattern I used a while ago. It's pretty simple actually. I used a baby pink yarn (purchased at Hobby Lobby) called "I Love This Yarn!" Chain 15-20 (this scarf is definitely based on your own judgment!), and then alternate single crochet, double crochet down the chain. Just be sure to end each row with a single crochet, even if that means doing two singles in a row. Chain one, then turn. Repeat alternating single crochet, then double crochet. You get a nice little puffy pattern. :) Continue on until you reach a desired length. I added a button for a little baby safety.

The hat I kind of cheated on....I used a loom! Which I love doing for baby hats. I made the pom pom by hand though. Just wrap some yarn around your hand or a fork, tie a knot around it, and then cut the loops. For more detailed instructions, check out the Pom Pom Flowers pattern on Ravelry. Just leave out the stem.

Big things coming up...stay tuned!

So Long, 2013

Today is the last day of 2013. Isn't that crazy? I've been thinking a lot lately about moments and memories, and how you can't ever get them back again. So right now, no matter how special you make today, you'll never live again in the year 2013. You'll never live this single day again. To me, that's kind of awing.

I am indifferent towards 2013. There were plenty of great and wonderful times, and others, not so much. I spent my last semester of college during the year 2013, and graduated in May. What an accomplishment. I feel proud of myself and I hope I made my family proud, too. A Bachelor's degree! The high-schooler in me is shocked and surprised that I'm already an adult living in the "real world."

Matt and I finally got to take our honeymoon in May, as well! Destin, Florida was where we went, but we stopped in Nashville along the way. Sure, we could have spent a few thousand dollars to fly out of the country and have a dreamy honeymoon, but that's not us. We wanted a beach. We wanted to relax. We wanted a nice place to stay. We wanted each other and no one else. So that's what we did, and we saved a few thousand dollars doing it. It was spectacular. :)

Along with a degree came time to say goodbye to a lot of things. For one, I left my job at the vet to start my new marketing job. I was a intern there for two and a half years, and leaving was such a hard thing to do. I'll never forget sobbing in the car all the way home that day! I'm such a baby. I loved the people I worked with and loved getting to take Miss Bell to work with me everyday. Working around animals is such a joy. I'm thankful, though, for the job that I have. I work with some great people and am lucky for the freedoms it has given me so far. I can't believe I've already been here for seven months!

I took up some new hobbies this year, too, including crocheting. I don't care if it makes me an old, boring lady. I enjoy it and am happy to have found a little hobby to keep myself busy!

My big brother got married in September to his high school sweetheart, and that makes three for three for the Phillips kids! It was such a fun wedding and I'm happy that I got to be a part of it. It was beautiful.

Matty and I celebrated our first wedding anniversary in October. It's so hard to believe we got married last year. I wish we could go back and get married again. I loved everything about our wedding day. It was beyond perfect, and I am beyond blessed to share this life with this man.

Regardless of the struggles and stresses of 2013, I'm ready to take on 2014 in full swing. Who knows what the year will bring us. ;)

Happy New Year!