God's Little Grace

Bye-Bye Paci

2:31 PM | Posted by Unknown

Two week without paci complete.

We have been reluctantly putting off taking away Grace's paci for months. I was really the reason why she still had her paci. We just had such a great system and routine. She never cried to fall asleep, she was a trooper when we traveled and I did not want to rock the boat.

We waited until we knew we were not traveling for a while and a Friday night wide open. Michael and I put her down that first night, rented a movie and popped the popcorn and set in for a long night. To our surprise it was effortless. The next few nights were really easy minus the early mornings. Grace usually would find her paci in the early morning and sooth herself back to sleep. We have had some early mornings, (4am to be exact) but for the most part I am glad we finally pulled the plug. (yes pun intended!)

In the beginning Grace did not want to take the paci. We pretty much just held it in her mouth for a couple months to help her fall asleep.

Then we found "the" paci that she liked. Then Grace not only took a paci, but LOVED her paci. She would have it in her mouth ALL the time if I would let her.

Then around 13 months we took the paci away and told her it had to stay in her crib until bedtime. This worked for a while and almost immediately after putting it in her mouth she would fall asleep. This worked beautifully for me! Until... she would sneak it out of her crib and hide it from me. Thats when I knew it had to go!

Labels:baby | 1 comments

The Fence is Complete!

1:53 PM | Posted by Unknown

Our beautiful fence is finally complete! We (Michael) finished it Saturday night!

And this is how Grace feels about it... Just Kidding!

We are overjoyed with how it turned out! I think it is very nice looking. Doesn't distract you or cut us off and matches well with the style we are going for. (rustic)

Addis has already spent a lot of hours in her new "room".

We are so happy that today is the first day of spring and we are loving the weather that came along!

(you can read more about our fence here and here)

Labels:Remodeling | 5 comments

It's The Little Things

12:27 PM | Posted by Unknown

For Valentines Day I bought Grace her very own chair. Well when the chair came in the mail immediately the box the chair came in was the hit. This box is now a permanent fixture in my living room.

We have colored and decorated this box until it is really going to just collapse soon.

As badly as I want this box to be in the trash (and I really do!) it has orchestrated hours and hours of family playtime with Grace. Which is something I would not trade for the world!

| 7 comments

Dinner Menu

2:19 PM | Posted by Unknown

This week I tried to make this week's menu light and fairly easy. Also this means this hopefully the grocery list with be much lighter. This menu will allow you time to play dress up with your little one a lot longer.

Crockpot General Tso's Chicken- This is a new recipe for us. I will let you know how it turns out.

Lettuce Wraps- This is also a new recipe. I usually just try to make one new recipe a week, but I have been wanting to try this recipe for a while.

Crockpot Cream Cheese Chicken Chili- This recipe is one of our favorites! We usually pair it with rice, wraps, chips, salsa, avocados and just make one big plate!

Let me know if you try any of these recipe! I love to hear from you!

Labels:Weekly Menu | 2 comments

Things I Still Buy/Use For Grace A Year and A Half Later...

3:11 PM | Posted by Unknown

If you are a new mom or soon to be, here is a list of items that I still use on my 18 month old. You will not go wrong putting these on your registry list and stocking up!

1. Pamper Swaddler Diapers- I love these diapers. They do not smell, like most other brands. We have veered off and tried other brands, but always come back to these.

2. Tripple Paste- I am convinced that this is the ONLY thing that will cure a bad diaper rash. I know when I was pregnant I thought my child would never have a diaper rash, but sometimes no matter what you do, it happens.

3. Baby Ganics Hand Soap- I originally started using this on my own hands (and of course everyone that came over). Now Grace is going through a stage where she loves washing her own hands, so we still use this soap!

4. Diaper Genie- I don't know what to say about this... diapers stink, and they only get WORSE!

5. Graco Pack n Play- I know this thing is heavy, but for the price this works awesome.

6. Fisher Price Monitor- You need a monitor and this one works great.

7. Arm and Hammer Diaper Sacks- When you visit friends and family you do not want to overload them with stink??? NO! This allows you to throw away the diaper in the trash and not burden everyone.

8. Soft Spoons- I used to feed Grace, but now she feeds herself and we still use the same spoons while she is learning.

9. Shopping Cart Cover- This is soooo worth it! Shopping carts are gross and this also works on highchairs. Germ Free.

10. Bob Jogging Stroller- LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, this stroller use it all the time! Helps you lose the baby weight with baby.

I hope this helps you out a little! What are you still using?

Labels:baby,Baby Registry | 4 comments

Welcome To Our Home (Part 1)

2:00 PM | Posted by Unknown

I thought I would let yall into our lives a little more, which means inviting you into our home.

I know you have seen little bits and pieces from all of our home improvement, but now you can see the big picture. (you can read more about our home and improvements here and here)

First I should tell you I LOVE looking at houses! I could watch HGTV all day long. I am not much of a decorator, but I love seeing a house transform. I have had the most fun seeing our house come together and become a home. Even though we still have many more projects, this is what our home looks like today. ( ps Grace was napping while these pictures were being taken, so it doesn't always look like this)

Welcome.

This is your view as you walk in the front door, bedrooms to the right, living room to the left and dining room straight ahead.

This is where we live. We hangout in this room a lot of the time! Eventually we would love to have built-in bookshelves on either side of the fireplace, but that is down the road. We also want hardwood floors, but honestly we have loved having carpet while Grace was learning to crawl and walk. So we are holding off on installing for a while.

This is Grace's little play corner. I routinely exchange out toys from her room to keep her occupied and not bored.

This is the other side of the living room looking back at the entrance.

This is where we eat all of our meals. Hopefully one day where the bay window is currently we want to install french doors to exit to the backyard. As of right now we do not have a back door leading to the yard, only to the garage.

Here is where I do all the cooking. My kitchen. I love my kitchen. I actually like that you can not see it from the living room, because I can leave my dirty dishes in the sink and forget about them!

Other side of the kitchen.

The kitchen leads right into the mudroom/laundry room. We have not yet painted this room, but I am thinking of a light grey?

Opposite side of the room and my chalkboard wall, that I love. The door beside the chalkboard wall leads into my pantry.

Well thats it for now. Hope you enjoyed part 1 of the house tour!

Labels:Remodeling | 10 comments

Things I Use Everyday...

10:12 AM | Posted by Unknown

1. Neutrogena Moisturizer- I put this on my face no matter what I am doing.

2. Lysol Wipes- These are used on EVERYTHING. Tables, training potty, highchair, floors etc.

3. Brooks Running Shoes- Even if I am dressing up at some point in my day I put on my running shoes! I love my running shoes!

(I have to have running shoes to keep up with this sprinter!)

4. Baby Ganics Hand Soap- Instead of running to the bathroom after every diaper change, I just leave this on the changing table and have done so since Grace was born.

5. Fisher-Price Monitor- Really our house is small enough to not use a monitor, but it definitely gives me a peace of mind. We opted to go with a monitor without a video, just so we would not be obsessed. But I definitely can see how a video would be helpful! And we are currently borrowing these from Grace's cousin!

I love reading about people's routines, products they love, and use. So I thought I would write my own version of things I use everyday. What do you use everyday?

| 0 comments