Our Weekend/Week/Weekend!

Gahh! This post has been hard to write!! So, I'm going to be super random and get everything out there in one {long} post so I will remember! :) Feel free to not read it all! haha

First off, Check out Jen's Pearly Wisdom where some of my comments were featured with some baby must-haves!! Check it out here.

Ok, so this past weekend was awesome! Hubby and I had 3 days off with our little baby and it was so nice! Sundays are so much more enjoyable when you know you have Monday off! What did we do with our weekend?! Well, we shopped more for furniture{we are re-doing the family room! wahoo!}, ate out a ton with friends and family, and had my Mom's birthday! It was great. I just love this time with Harper. She's so easy going and loves to get out and 'explore'.  I get a little giddy each time someone compliments her ;).

Go UK!

LOVES books! Anyone received any books yet from the exchange?!?

bundled up at the restaurant!

about to go furniture shopping!

Saul Good for GG's Birthday

I also cleaned out and organized Harper's closet. It was SO sad. I told B he had to do it next. I'm usually the worst at remembering things, but each little outfit I pulled out of H's closet; I could remember what point in my pregnancy I bought it or who gave it to her and when she wore each outfit and pj! It was hard on this little Momma to pack up the NB and 0-3months outfits.  They are so sweet and tiny. I laid a few next to H as she was watching me {mind you, it was 6am on Saturday morning while we were doing this!} and she looked like a giant compared to those clothes! We also shopped a little more and bought H some more clothes for her newly spaced-out closet! HAHA

i can put this little organizer away :(

We've also been putting H in her high-chair while we eat dinner! It's working perfectly!! We stuff blankets on the sides so she sits up better, but I think she appreciates it being able to be eye-level with us!

**Don't forget to PLAY in the adorable bow give-away!!!! Click HERE to find the post and enter! I'll be choosing the winner on Friday afternoon!!! :)

{ps- I'm looking for a 200th Follower give-away...if you'd like to have your product featured for this, email me @ megek4@yahoo.com!}

Adorable Bow Give-Away! {love, Chelsea Kay Etsy Shop} {Now Closed}

My sweet bloggy friend, Chelsea over at Feels Like Home started making bows and they are adorable! She is so thoughtful, she sent Harper a bow as a gift and it is just ADORABLE! You all know I love how big it is!
{i made the shirt, haha}

obvi, this is the truth. HAHA just kidding :)

Well, I'm also getting to host a Give-Away for her Etsy Shop, love, Chelsea Kay!!!!!


The best part is...she's letting you pick which ever bow you want!! How awesome?!?
Here's just a few of my favs....

     

So here's what you need to do:
1. Be a follower of my blog, Blissfully Burton
2. Visit Chelsea's blog, Feels Like Home, and follow her
3. Visit love, Chelsea Kay Etsy Shop and leave a comment on THIS POST telling me which bow you'd like to have!!!
You may enter as many times as you'd like, and as always, I'll use Random.org to choose the winner!
*** If you post about this Give-Away on your blog or Facebook page, leave me a comment telling me so and you'll get 2 MORE additional entries!!! :)

Think Easter Basket gifts for nieces, friends, or your own child! :) Or a matching bow for a St. Patrick's Day outfit, Easter outfit, etc.!

Good Luck!!
{give-away begins today and ends on Friday Feb. 24th}

This Week!

Oh friends! This week has been a doozy for us! I'm SO glad I have 3 days off this weekend!

Monday night we took H to the doctor. She's had an on-off fever and a horrible cough. I was convinced she either had croup or RSV. Well, luckily she tested negative for RSV. But, that meant she just STILL has her cold she's had for about 4 weeks {yup, the exact amount of time I've sent her to the sitter} and there's nothing we can do new for her. So, we've continued to put BabyRub on her feet, use Saline drops, and her humidifier.  Luckily, by Friday she seemed to be getting better.

Tuesday was V-day. We decided to make a big dinner and stay in. However, H felt so badly she just wanted to be held. So we were trading off eating until....my parents came to the rescue! They showed up after their dinner and offered to hold H so we could eat and talk. It was SO nice and we were so surprised!! :)  We gave H her Sophie and she loves it! She's also sitting in her highchair ~ pics to come!

For the work week, I decided that to get through this weird year, I need to shut my door and focus on only the things inside my room...if you can guess what I mean. ;) There's something to be said for working in a prominently all-woman job, and sometimes, you just need a little breathing room.  Between chairs being thrown, some ugly comments, etc., let's just say, I'm so thankful for Monday off!

So, because it was such a crazy work week and H felt horrible all week, I had a few meltdowns followed by major Mommy Guilt. Working Outside the Home Moms: how in the world do you keep it together? How do you come home, fix dinner, play with your baby, show your Hubs enough love, get laundry done, and keep the house picked up?? Honestly?!?! I need some help with this! I've learned to live in a bit more chaos than I have, but I mean, I'm drowning here!!! Help! :)

{and yes, I'm still trying to figure out my pics! thanks for all the helpful comments!}

Photo Quota?

I mean, I know I like photos on here...but...Blogger continues to tell me I have reached my photo quota. Has this happened to anyone else? What do I do?!?!!?

Happy Valentine's Day!

Today I will be partying hard with my 4th graders...Oh me oh my! :)  H is with my Mom Tuesday, so if it's not too cold, she's going to bring her to the party! Yay! My students will be super excited!!

Can't help but laugh...this time last year, we were giving out these little goodies telling our close friends and family that we were expecting!

This year, Harper sent out her own little card to some of her little buddies! {thanks for the free cards, Shutterfly!}

Hugs All Over Valentine's Card

Click here to browse our modern collection of invitations.

View the entire collection of cards.

I think we're just going to celebrate at home ~ all 3 of us! I'm excited. :) We are giving Harper Sophie the Giraffe as her little Vday gift.

Hope you have a silly-fun day!

Text Photo

Well...my LOVE is going away...Picnik :( Anyone else so upset over this?! I cannot believe it! But, I made this little gem on that site a bit ago and it was so easy and fun!

You could do so many things with this and then print on canvas or just a large photo and frame! Holidays? Birthdays? You name it! But do it quick before April when Picnik goes away!

Once you are on the site, go to the collage button.  Then choose 1 photo and get your background color. Next, go to the fonts and you can type different words in different fonts and rotate as you see fit! So easy! :)

I'm Linking up with: Find Your Craft Friday!

Book Exchange!

I'm participating with Emily in this great Book Exchange!

It sounds like so much fun! You send only ONE book, and your child will receive 36 books!! How fun is that?!

I just need 6 people to participate with me! If you'd like to, just email me at megek4@yahoo.com and I will send you the details.

If you don't have children, that's ok! Get this as a baby shower gift for someone or for your classroom library!

Won't it be fun for you {or your child} to receive some favorite books in the mail?!

I just sent Harper's current favorite book out {my person had a daughter the same age} through Amazon. It was cheap and it will be sent quickly!

You should receive your books in about 2 weeks if your letter goes out right away.

Anyways, I'd love it if you'd participate with me!

Cool New Blog

I randomly ran across a really neat blog and had to share with you all!

I've been looking for a while for a few core verses that I want to pray on a daily basis for Harper. I'd love to say that I just opened my Bible and they came to me...but they disn't. So, instead, I went to Google like I do for everything.  I typed in several things I want Harper to learn from an early age on.  These obviously will change many times in her life, but I'm just looking for those core things to pray over her daily like: peace, joy, fullfillment, and beauty through Christ. Oh my, the beauty. It is such a scary time in our world for children, but I just have this worry for girls. Maybe because of the grade I teach and I see the girls are aware of way too many things already and it's just scary.
{you can see the one I made for Harper here. email me if you'd like a copy}

Anyways, while Googling, I came across this blog - When You Rise.

The first post that was on the page was about infertility.  Although this is not something I have dealt with personally, this is something that holds an incredibly large place in my heart. It's something that has weighed on me for several years and something that I'm very sensitive to. I just loved this open and honest post.

Then, I started looking around at older posts and her different pages. It's like I couldn't get enough! This Mom is so honest! She's not one of those horrific make-you-feel-bad-because-you-aren't-perfect Moms, she tells it like it is, all the bad and good, with some pretty good insight to go along with it.

Some awesome ideas about parenting can be found here. She has free printables to help little ones learn the Bible {I love the book she uses, thanks Maegan for getting it for Harper!}, a theme page for Gospels that you could really just run wild with a toddler for learning! I am totally obsessed with her Creation Day unit and will be bookmarking that for when Harper is a toddler to do in the summers. I also love her Teaching Your Child to Pray printables.  A recent post of hers fell right in my lap of what I was feeling that day - the Comparison game.

Anyways, I thought some of my readers may be interested in reading her blog, so go check it out and tell her I sent you! :)

Our Weekend!

We had a super fun weekend! No sickness! Yay!

Friday night and Saturday morning we ventured to the mall. Of course not meaning to... we bought Harper a couple of cute new clothes and a pair of sunglasses to put in her Easter basket! We also have been looking for new family room furniture...but nothing suits what I'm looking for in my price range! Boo!

blurry photo from Mall night!

We enjoyed a family brunch at Joseph-Beth Cafe and then ran a few more errands. We ended the night out eating appetizers and watching the UK game. Harper was fabulous!

Sunday we went to church and hung out with my family before going over to a friend's house for the Super Bowl.  It was so much fun! The guys all went to college and were in the same fraternity together and I knew the girls from college, too. They all had little girls, so it was so cute seeing these once crazy guys love on their little babies! :) It was also awesome to be around those women on Sunday night who are all working Mommas and doing wonderful things with their families. Sometimes {ok, a lot of the time} I get down on myself that I'm not staying at home, but the convos with these ladies was just what I needed! Thank you! :)
I made Cheddar Bacon Ranch Pulls from this site - it was a hit and super easy! Will be making again soon!

sweet Kari holding Harper with her beautiful daughter, Elyn

Luckily, Sunday Night Blues didn't have to hit me! I took off Monday to take H for her 4 month check-up and shots! Daddy got to come, too! Harper was wonderful at the appointment but she felt miserable after her shots for pretty much the rest of the day. So sad!
I'm updating her 4 Month Post, but here are her stats:
Weight: 13lbs. (28%), Height: 24 1/2in. (50%) ~ my girl is long and lean! haha!! I got nervous I wasn't feeding her enough, but the doc said it was completely fine and she might just be on the smaller side.  We are going to try and start fazing off the Alimentum so that the doctor can see if it was just her colic or if she truly has a milk allergy! I'm a little scared!! But, so, so thankful she is healthy and progressing wonderfully!

Hope you had a fabulous weekend as well! I'm looking forward to a short week and having my student teacher's first Solo Day this week! :) I also get a date night with my hubby tonight!! We haven't had one since we had to come home early and get H after she wouldn't stop crying!! Fingers crossed she'll let Mommy & Daddy have a much needed dinner out together!!

Harper's Verses

So,  I've been looking for a while for a few core verses that I want to pray on a daily basis for Harper.

These will obviously change as she gets older, but for now I felt like I needed something to keep me accountable.  I was looking for key scriptures from the Bible that I want Harper to know throughout her life.

 So, I decided for now to focus on these:
*find peace in Christ
*find hope and comfort in Christ
*find her beauty through Christ
*find joy and happiness through Christ

I compiled my list of about 20 down to just a few that I could honestly say I will be able to read on a daily basis and make a conscious effort to pray each day. I think I'm going to print one off and put on my mirror in the bathroom and place one on my desk or on my plan book at work.  I was telling Brian about it and he loved the idea, so I'm hoping he'll join me in this effort; again, making it a little easier for two slightly crazy parents to focus on something small, yet so big. ;)

Some of these verses almost seemed too mainstream for me, but they were definitely the ones that I kept coming back to when I was focusing on the list of things I wanted to pray for. Maybe that will make it easier to memorize and pray throughout the day??!


If you'd like a copy of this, I'd be happy to email it to you.  I made the photo on Picnik and just printed it on paper at home. You could always print it as a picture or on a canvas - something I'll do in Harper's future when she's old enough to start learning and memorizing her own "life" verses. I pretty much kind of love this idea {hehe}, so if you want a different version or a boy version, send me your scriptures and I'd be glad to make you one. :)

Valentine's Day Craft

MOM, don't read. :)

I had this idea and suggested to my sister that it would be fun to make a version of my Valentine's Day gift from Harper to Brian for the grands! She thought it would be fun and agreed.
{Brian already received his, the Grands have not!}

Oh was this fun. A little too comical, but very fun!  Picture a 3 year old, a 15 month old, and a 3 month old, red paint, feet, and markers! Yikes! But, I'm happy to say everyone participated perfectly and the end result was awesome!

For Colby and Cameron's Daddy

For GG and GDaddy

For Brian's, I wrote a little note to him around the feet in the shape of a heart. He LOVED it. It brought him to tears {sorry honey}.
On GG and GDaddy's we just drew hearts around their feet. Umm, I didn't realize how big their feet were or I would have gotten a larger canvas!

Directions:
We poured Crayola washable paint onto a paper plate. We placed one foot at a time in the paint, and then one of us held the feet while the other pressed them into the canvas! Then, we carried the babies to the sink to wash! So easy and such a sweet and memorable craft!
*I found out that canvas is washable, too! Harper curled her toes the first time, so I washed off the canvas and started over!

Aunt KiKi and H. H looks thrilled, haha

Let me know if you make this!
I'm linking up with: Find Your Craft , Six Sisters Stuff , Adventures of a DIY Mom
and posting to my Pinterest page!

{if you put this idea on your blog, please link back to me as it was an original idea}

Shopping List

Ok Ladies, after several emails, I've decided to list some of my favorite sites/stores to purchase Harper's clothes from! I love buying her clothes. I honestly feel like I'm a little kid again dressing up my baby doll! Of course, I'm not rich, so I've got some steals and deals to help you dress your baby like you are rich {ha!} but just remember, I choose to spend money on her clothes and that is not important to everyone...so no nasty emails please! :)

All Time Favorite Stores:
Little English &  Bella Bliss
Little English - provides clothes that are very southern and have a classic style to them. I love these clothes. But, they are SUPER expensive. So, here's how you can purchase all you want on a budget. 1) "like" them on Facebook. They post every few days about a warehouse sale as well as deals or sales going on at their website.  Currently, they have 50% off all Fall/Winter clothing. So, buy stuff for next season. It's kid clothes. Noone knows if your child is a 'season behind'. And if they do, you probably shouldn't be their friend. :) Also, I know if you live local to Lexington, they have a warehouse sale here twice a year that is AWESOME. But you must try and go the first day to snatch up everything! Luckily, this time I was on maternity leave, so I went as soon as it opened!!
Bella Bliss - this is a local store to Lexington. {sorry ladies} But it also has classicly made clothes and are high quality. They, too, have a warehouse sale twice a year.  This is the only time I can really afford these clothes.  Luckily, the last sale they had I knew what I was having so I was able to purchase lots for Harper! Same thing as above, "like" them on Facebook and join their mailing list to know about steals and deals and sales!
Both these places also have ADORABLE boy clothes.  I mainly know about these places from my Sis!


Smocked Clothing Auctions
Ok, I LOVED smocked clothing. It is just so sweet and classic. But not everyone does, and that's ok! But if you do, you need to check out these sites on Facebook and 'like' them. It's such a rush!! They post the most adorable smocked clothing and you 'bid' on the outfit amongst tons of other people! Then, you wait, and see if you won!! It's so fun but addictive!! My sis and I have won lots and we've even been able to get the kids matching outfits!
Smocked Auctions
My Bella Bums
Shrimp and Grits Kids (this isn't an auction, but it's cute smocked clothing)

Smockadot Kids {I loved this site b/c the prices are cheaper, but they did me wrong on an outfit - giving me the wrong size than I ordered and I wasn't able to have Harper wear it - so I can no longer bid on here just out of principal! But, it is a good site!!}
There are several sites like this on FB, but these are my all-time favs and the ones that I think have the best selection with the best prices.

Brands
Some of my favorite brands of girl {and boy} clothing are:
Petit Ami
Anavini
Vive la Fete
Peaches N Cream
Bailey Boys
Claire & Charley

Best Deal Site
Ok, if you don't Zulily, you are really missing out! It's free to join zulily.com and they send you an email daily about new deals on classic clothing! They also have awesome toys and things for Mom's {clothing, purses, accesories, etc.}, but I like the clothing and toys the best.  They are mostly always at least 50% off on this site. They use brands like the smocked ones above, Ragsland, etc. It's awesome. Plus, I see really cute clothing all the time that I had no idea about!
TheHairbowCompany.com  They are awesome. Beautiful petti skirts and pretty hairbows for hardly anything! "Like" them on FB to see their daily deals.
The Monogrammed MOB on FB. You buy/sell clothes that have been monogrammed for whatever price you want. I've bought and sold and it works great!

Favorite Local Stores
Besides Bella Bliss, I LOVE Baby Bundles. They are the most adorable clothes ever. Again, if you 'like' them on FB you can find out all kinds of secret sales and new items. 
Ladybug Landing is an upscale consignment store that only takes pricey brands. After you have a kid, you realize those super nice clothes only get worn once or twice, so it's nice to buy and sell clothes there!
The Front Porch carries Mudpie brand. You can always get 10% off when you pay with cash, and if you sign up for emails they send lots of 20% off coupons! I also like to purchase Mudpie at My Baby Pie.


Favorite Catalog Collections
I love Kelly's Kids clothing with the classical mix & match quality. So, join their mailing list and buy things when it's at the end of the season for 50% off. Or, host a party and get free earnings! PS- I'm hosting a party for Kelly's Kids in March that I'll be posting on my blog! :)
Matilda Jane - same thing. The clothes are just so adorable with the ruffles and mix/match, but you've got to buy smart to afford it all!
RagsLand - great store with clothes similarly looking like Kelly's Kids. They are on Zulily a lot, too!
Persnickety - WAY expensive, so you've gotta find it in a store and then on sale!

Don't Overlook...
Target! They have super adorable girl clothes and they are getting better with boy clothes all the time! Also, online they have a Target Boutique that has even cuter clothes for boys and girls! Plus, everything is very affordable!
Baby Gap also has some of the cutest clothes EVER! If you have a card, you can purchase clothes on Tuesday's for 10% off! Every Tuesday! Even off sale items!
Gymboree gives lots of coupons in the mail and they usually have cute clothes for daily wear!

Of course there are way more places that I shop, but these are just my top favs! :) I know this post is a bit boring without showing you all the sweet clothes, but it was taking forever to paste in pics!!!
So, you all know my love/hate relationship with Facebook. But, I'd stay on FB just to get all these inside deals on baby clothing!
I'd love to hear some of your favorite places, too!!

What We've Been Up to Lately...

Here's a few pictures to show what we've been up to recently...

{4 Months}

I've been a Mom for 4 months. Seriously? And in those 4 months, my life has gone through the most dramatic and life-changing changes. Ever. And all those cliches? They are ALL true.

This past month has probably been the most exciting one so far with the most changes as well. Harper has become so incredibly aware and intrigued by things. It's as if I didn't realize she was 'real' and would be able to explore. But she does. It completely blows my mind watching her bat, touch, pull, tug, and focus on things. I honestly feel like she understands the cause/effect of some of her toys. Amaze.

Jan. 29, 2011

Weight: 13 lbs (28%) - up from 10lbs 10oz at 2 months
Length: 24 1/2 in. (50%) - up from 22 1/2in at 2 months
Diapers: size 1 Pampers, nighttime diapers size 1 Pampers

Clothes: 3-6 months mostly, can still fit into a few 0-3 month clothes

Eating: 4 oz every 3 hours of Alimentum, except at night and in the middle of the night she gets 5 oz.  We tried to do every 4 hours but it really messed up her sleep in a bad way!

Sleep: Since I returned to work, Harper has stopped sleeping through the night. We tried to keep her daytime routine the same, but she just hasn't! We usually put her to bed around 9:00-9:30 and she will sleep until about 3:00am, and then I wake her and feed her at 6:30am and get her dressed and ready.  We tried not feeding her during that nighttime wake up, but then she would end up waking 3-4 times through the night. She is still in her Rock and Play sleeper in her room.  I just can't seem to move her to her crib yet!

New Tricks: H ROLLED OVER! I was so proud! She's been rolling front to back since Jan. 24th! :) She has also showed us her sweet giggle. Oh my. What a beautiful sound to hear! H also loves to talk. She coos, gurgles, and giggles all the time. It warms my heart when I hear her.  She also loves to put her feet in her mouth and suck on them! She gets this cute proud look on her face when she gets that toe in there! As I mentioned before, she's very aware of things now. She bats, tugs, pulls, etc. on lots of her toys. Her favorite game is to pull her socks off and then let you grab them and she will try to get the socks and pull. The girl is strong!  She also still loves to stand and kind of jump. We've tried her on the Jumperoo with pillows, but she still doesn't quite get it. She does love her 4 month present we got her - the exersacuer. She loves that thing! When H is about to laugh, she raises one eyebrow and then smiles so big and has begun sticking her tongue out when she smiles! ha!

Social Butterfly: Harper still doesn't nap for very long. She's such a GIRL! She hates to feel like she's missing out on something! She loves to just be right in the middle of it all! Her overall personality has really began to show a lot this month. She is such a happy and go-with-the-flow baby. We are so blessed. She runs around with me, we take her out to eat a lot, go to friend's houses, etc. She does great! I must mention too, she really loves her sitter. She does really well there and we are happy with her as well. That helps a lot, but its still hard. But the sitter just loves and holds her all day. It's nice to know.

*Must-Have App: the white noise app. It works like a CHARM!
*Harper has been drooling a ton. Like to the point that she wears a bib now! We think she's about to start teething! Yikes!
*Harper also had her first cold this month! She was such a trooper through the week-long bug!
Changes:
We went through a lot of changes this past month. The biggest one was that I returned to work full time and Harper began a sitter full time. Wow, that was hard. Not only on Harper and I, but on Brian too. He had to realize when he was leaving for work I wasn't taking care of her, someone else was. Our entire routine changed with the mornings, the drop off, getting bottles and things ready the night before, etc. I've had to learn {and am still learning} how to be a good teacher, a good Mommy, a good wife, and a good friend all at the same time. I say good, because I tried to be great at all of these things and realized it wasn't happening and my Mommy Guilt set in. I'm in a place now that I just try and get through hours and minutes. On most days I enjoy being back in the classroom and teaching, and being around adults. But then as soon as the feeling creeps up that I'm enjoying myself, I immediately feel that I'm sad about leaving Harper and not being there. I dunno. I feel like this is normal? But, I don't wish away the weekdays anymore to the weekend. If I do that Harper will just be another week old and I would have wasted that week. So, I'm working on being positive and enjoying all the jobs I am blessed enough to hold.

{PS- with Picnik closing, what free editing site do you all use?!}
{PPS- thanks for reading my very long-winded post! ha}