Pumpkin Carving

Last night there was no time for blogging my Thankful Thursday because we were carving Ivy's very first pumpkin. So, I guess if I would have had time to blog I would have been super thankful for this season and all the family time it provides. We had a great time and here are Ivy's first impressions of pumpkin goop!

" Awww.... Mommy, I love pumpkins! MMMMMwwwaaa"

Posing pretty with our unharmed pumpkin.


"Daddy, what on earth are you doing to my pumpkin?"
(Ivy had a very disturbed look on her face.)


"What is that?.... food- no that can't be food.... I am not interested."

"Really... Mommy... really.... you think I should put my hand in there?"

Making her "yucky" sound effect.... "There is no way that I am touching that again- EVER!"

Ivy was in no way impressed with the pumpkin goop. She actually seemed quite disgusted. Greg and I carved the pumpkin after she went to bed. The finished jack-o-lantern will be on display with Halloween pictures. Coming soon!!! The trick or treat count down is on... 1 hour and 18 minutes until the fun begins. I can't wait to see our "Little Stinker!"

I WON SOMETHING!!! :)

Aside from the zebra pottery barn duvet that I won on ebay........ (I LOVE IT!!)




I am so excited because Kelli gave me the "I Love Your Blog" Award! :) I have never really seen this on any Kentucky blogs but these awards are a common thing on all my Utah friend's blogs! Now I am supposed to answer these questions using only one word responses and then I get to tag a few others that I give pass the award onto! YAY~ Thank you, Kelli!

1. Where is your phone?: beside

2. Where is your significant other?: gym

3 .Your hair color?: brown

4. Your Mother?: love

5. Your Father?: smart

6. Your favorite thing?: family

7. Your dream last night?: none

8. Your dream/goal?: adopt

9. The room your in?: family

10. Your hobby?: exercise

11. Your fear?: snakes

12. Where do you want to be in 6 years?: mommy

13. Where were you last night?: home

14. What you're not?: worker-bee

15. One of your wish-list items?: home-owner

16. Where you grew up?: Kentucky

17. The last thing you ate?: chocolate

18. What are you wearing?: jammies

19. Your TV?: off

20. Your pet?: Kaya

21. Your computer?: used

22. Your mood?: tired

23. Missing someone?: brother

24. Your car?: Jetta

25. Something you're not wearing?: necklace

26. Favorite store?: Target

27. Your Summer?: fantastic

28. Love someone?: Hubby

29. Your favorite color?: green

30. When was the last time you laughed?: today

31. Last time you cried?: Wednesday

"I LOVE YOUR BLOG": Kendra, Allie, and Brooke

Happy Birthday, Unc and Esie!!

This weekend (Friday & Today) Anthony and Chelsea both celebrated their 22nd birthdays! We were so excited to get to go to Cincinnati to visit and celebrate their special days. Unc and Esie are so much fun and we are thankful that Ivy gets to spend time with them. One day they are going to make AMAZING parents! :) But for now, they have the are the fabulous Aunt and Uncle to almost 5 little ones! We love you, boLth! :) Haha

Ivy and Unc talking on the phone.

Ivy putting on make up with Esie's new make up brushes.

If you want to see Chelsea overly excited~ give her anything that has to do with make up!!!

BANG UPDATE: Thank you to all my friends for quickly responding to my bang crisis. You have helped me to make a decision to wait it out for now. I did trim one extra long piece that was to her nose (while the rest are right at her eyes). I already feel better about them. I think yesterday must have been a bad hair day for Miss Ivy because today it looks cute again. BOO on bad hair days and CHEERS to the quick response of my fellow bloggers! *PS~ Like many of you I was scarred with puffy ugly bangs until the 7th grade. I think Ivy will appreciate you not letting me do the same to her! Haha :)

Bangs or No Bangs???

Okay~ I need help making a decision. I am in quite the quandary about what to do with Miss Ivy's hair. It is stick straight and growing like a weed. I know what you are thinking; what is the problem? Well, Ivy refuses to wear a bow of any kind and the little pony tails seem to break her hair. So that leaves us with fixing her hair as is. We are in the weird, awkward length and her hair is hanging right in her eyes. IT DRIVES ME CRAZY!!! I never planned on cutting her bangs but now I understand why many mom's choose this route.

a. It keeps it out of their eyes.

b. It covers the many bumps and bruises that Ivy gets daily when running into things. Her forehead seems to catch her when she falls.

c. It is easier than the waiting phase!

I know I am writing like I have made the decision but really I haven't. I don't want to regret this later- Help, help, help!! Any hair people reading this I want your expertise. (Lori- that is you! And Brooke- maybe your mom can give some advice). Or if you just have an opinion I would really love to hear it. I am dying to know what my fellow bloggers (or blog readers) think would be best for Ivy!

Thankful Thursday

1. Books! I love to read books myself at nap time. This week I just started Twilight. I have only read a little bit but I believe I am going to be just as much in love with Edward as all the middle schoolers and my fellow teachers at Wilmore! :)

Not only do I love reading but Ivy LOVES books. She has tons of them (Thank you, Grandma!) and we rotate them out every other week so that we are not reading the same ones over and over. We are now fully over eating the pages and are so into what is in the pictures and what mommy is reading. Her newest favorite that she got off her "big girl bookshelf" is Fox In Socks. She thinks it is really silly.

2. Danskos. These shoes are to die for. If you have hurty feet and are consistently on your feet these are the shoes for you! I have been wearing them since my first classroom observation in college (about 5 years ago). I just got a snazzy new pair of patent leopard ones that I have been rocking out EVERYDAY! :) Love. Them. Muchas.

3. BSF (Bible Study Fellowship). I started BSF in September. Lots of you have probably heard of it- it is a non-denominational bible study that is world wide. Every BSF group (all over the planet) is studying Moses this year. I am learning so much and love the depth of this study- it is hard core but I really need the structure. And an added bonus, I go with my Mama and we get a dipped cone from DQ on our way home every Monday! Everything... even the perfect Bible... is better with ice cream.

Dear Other Husbands, Take Note!

I had a great date night with my hubs on Friday! :)

Dear Other Husbands,
A great way to start a date with your wife is for you to be in charge of dropping the little one off at Nana's while your wife gets pampered (for me this was a hair cut). Then to top it off have gorgeous flowers waiting for your wife when she gets home.


*Any questions regarding the perfect date should be sent to my hubs, Greg! I love you :)*

Have I told you yet???

I absolutely, positively LOVE FALL !!!

This weekend has had the perfect fall weather that I have been waiting for. It was too pretty to pass up another trip to the Pumpkin Patch. So with so much spontaneity (which I usually lack, being the planner I am)- we went to play in the pumpkins when Ivy woke up from her nap. Ivy even ventured into the hay today since there wasn't such a crowd. We fed the animals again and drank hot cider on our way home. It was so much fun!

Thankful Thursday

Don't you love the spooky "Thankful Thursday" icon? I stole it from Mindi's blog.

This Thursday I am thankful for:

1. Fall Break~ It may seem crazy to think that this part time workin' girl would be ready for a break. But I definitely am!! I still have 1 week until I have to turn myself back in a WES.

2. Date Night! Tomorrow Greg and I are going to have a date night. I can't wait to enjoy a yummy meal at Jalepeno's and probably a nice pumpkin spice latte for later in the evening.... all without toting Ivy girl along. Then on Saturday I have big dreams about sleeping in!! (Let's see if that really happens- I might be too eager to pick up the munchkin from Pops and Baba's house.)

3. Rain and Cool Weather ~ Seriously for those of you that are still loving the summer like October... I am so excited to see some cool temps in the near future. I have to say I am hoping not to see 80 degrees until Spring. I am ready for a wardrobe change.. pronto.

4. Babies ~ This week I have gotten to see Brayden, Owen, and Addy... all babies that are significantly smaller than Miss Ivy. I love holding them and watching them in all of their baby glory. It makes me miss the newborn stage. But then again, I am not quite ready to share my Mommy attention with anyone but Ivy Camille!

5. Hand-Me Downs!! I love me some used clothing from the nearest and dearest to my heart. Along the way, Ivy has benefited from the Setzer twinkies, Brooks & Savannah, and big sis, Laurel (all summer babies~ I pray we will always be on the same clothing schedule), Stella (now Ivy has probably caught up with our dear friend), and Ivy is even going to reuse the cutest skunk costume that John Hunter wore last year. I love love love hand me downs and I hope I can pass down these clothes some day! This follows suit with the reduce, reuse, and recycle plan that I am trying to follow. Greg says this will lessen our footprint on the earth :) Hope so, that is the least we could do for our mother earth!

Sneaky, Sneaky

Lesson from Ivy's Mommy:

You can NEVER turn your back on a 14 month old. Doesn't matter if your house is been baby proofed to the max. They are into everything! Ivy loves to unravel all of the toilet paper, take trash out of the trash cans, turn off the computer and tv, turn the dishwasher switch to heat dry (which is too expensive for this cheapie), pull every wipe out of the wipe case, shred diapers from the basket, throw clean clothes all over the floor, and the list could go on and on and on. Well, today she tried something new. She was sneaky, sneaky and slithered under the baby gate!!! However, she was not coordinated enough to squish her head under so she had to blow her cover when she screamed for my help! Greg and I knew this was bound to happen at some point since our gate had to be mounted about 5 inches above the ground (stupid stairs, I know). Hey, on the bright side the gate worked fully baby proof for about 4 months and now Ivy knows how to go down by herself if she were to get herself completely on the other side. But the thought of her ringing around the rosie right down the stepsies just doesn't sit well with this mama! Oh well, I guess if nothing else I am learning that baby proof isn't ever FULLY baby proof! And... keep your eyes on the kid!

Messy Ivy LOVES....

KETCHUP!!!!!

Just like her Mama :)

Thankful Thursday

It is Thankful Thursday again!!!
1. Fall Break starts this Friday and I will not have to work for 12 days!! YAY
2. I love autumn and I feel like it is finally here. I hope it lasts awhile... not ready for winter just yet! God is such an artist and I really see that this time of year!

AND THE BIG ONE...........................


3. My NEW furniture. Greg and I were in NEED of new furniture. Our other stuff was 5 years old and had reached it's lifeline. It was dirt cheap and perfect newly-wed furniture.... but now we are a family and were ready for something "familish!!" I am re-in love with our house and feel like I am sitting on something luxurious. :) I am so so thankful for my new comfy living room!
*The quiet reader on the floor is an added bonus!






AND are you ready for this?????


I am NOT so thankful for our first full blown temper tantrum. You are probably thinking what did you do to cause a precious girl to kick, scream, and roll across the floor for 10 minutes.... nothing! I never figured out what brought this craziness on. I am hoping I don't see this again for a little while. Ivy and I had a nice talk and I told her she needs to spare me 10 more months. I will be ready for this when she is 2 (I hope)... but not yet!

A Trip to Boyd's Orchard

This weekend we took our first family trip to Boyd's Orchard. It was a blast!! Ivy had so many "firsts" at the orchard. Hope you enjoy taking a look at her exciting day :)

Unc, Esie, and Ivy had so much fun together. Ivy even said both of their names. All day yesterday Ivy was walking around saying "UUUUUUUHHNC" (on volume 10).

Happy Birthday, Baba! Thanks for letting us celebrate at the orchard. I had so much fun!

I even got to ride the train. The conductor was frightening but once he was out of sight I was so excited!! I liked to wave at everyone as we rode through the orchard. Pops, thank you for capturing some really good train pics!

I went on a pony ride with Unc. And let me tell you that horse did not enjoy Unc riding on his back! Unc, we love the western "howdy partner" you gave to the camera.

I saw all the baby animals. My favorite were the goats and my mommy thought the pigs were disgusting. Ewwwwww... those stinky pigs!

I picked out the perfect pumpkin for our front porch.

I saw all the pretty mums.

I spent some quality time with Aunt Esie.

I ate my first bites of fried apple pie..... Yummmm!

I took a family picture in the giant chair!!

We had a great time at Boyd's orchard. I think we will have to take Ivy at least one more time this year. My mind is running wild with all the memories and I have looked at our pictures at least 100 times. This is one of my favorite things that we have done as a family. YAY for fall, maybe it is finally here!! :)

Jesus Loves You and Your Tattoo!

Obviously, Greg and I are tattoo loving people! It is such an expression of art and many tattoos can be full of meaning. When I got my first one at age 17 my mom said she was getting one too. Well, she lied... until this past Tuesday when she finally did it.

Here is a picture of her. She was being so tough... Valerie was almost done. The whole time I kept telling her how much she had left.

By the way, Valerie at Electric Art is awesome. She has a degree in art and has been tattooing for a few years. They did an article about her in the Herald Leader. She did my Mother's Day tattoo and then my mom went to Valerie, too.

This is a very close up picture (not great quality) of the finished product. It is red and swollen but this weekend it looks great! For those of you that don't know my mom, her tattoo tells her story of loss. My mom was very close to both her mom and sister who have both passed away. My mom is such an example to me because even though she has suffered through seeing these loved ones go through long, horrible diseases she is so full of joy. She knows that in the end they will all hold hands when she enters heaven's gate. My granny and Aunt Vicki were two amazing and very godly women they will be forever missed.

Thankful Thursday

I saw this on someone else's blog all the way in Utah! (And then I decided to copy here in the KY) I like to blurk on my Utah blogs through Kelli and Lori :)

This Thursday I am super thankful for:

1. My Mommy! Today is her birthday :) What a great day to celebrate this amazing mom, mom-in-law, ba-ba (Ivy calls her this.... and we have finally accepted the name), wife (to my wonderful daddy), and friend. I would even dare to call her my best friend. I love you, mom! I think the "thank you"s we owe you are countless. Happy Happy Birthday!

2. Oreos... I cheated and enjoyed a few of these this week. Greggle, is a few an understatement or what?

3. New shoes. I am on my 8th or 9th pair of New Balance 992's (used to be 991's). Love them! I will never buy a different type of shoe. I also would like you to know I love them so much that Ivy's first pair of tennis shoes (or cross trainers, as Pop's would call them) are most definitely baby girl 992's!