New House: Dining Room and Kitchen

It can be a challenge decorating any house, let alone a house that isn't really 'your's. One that you don't get to choose, and one that you especially don't get to choose features, floor plans, and paint colors.

I think we're on a record of moving every two years, and every time we move to a new state, the responsibility of finding a new house falls on my husband. Thankfully, he does a fairly good job of picking them out, and with the help of internet technology, I actually got to help as well this time around.

We found this rent house after looking at several. I loved the dark wood cabinets, the stainless steel appliances, the granite tile countertops, and the hardwood floors. These features made me want to rent the house. The paint colors, however, did not.

After being in the house for a few weeks, i'll admit that they're growing on me, but I'm not this bold with color and especially not these colors. Orange and brown. Yes, those are the colors in the main living areas of our new house.

Thankfully we've decorated with those colors in mind and as Tim Gunn says, 'make it work!'

So, here's my dining room and kitchen areas in the new house: I love our open floor plan. You can walk into the front door and look straight into the dining/kitchen area, and into the living room. The view above is actually from the living room into the kitchen and dining room.

As I mentioned, we have granite tile, and an eat-at bar. We also have a pantry, and I love the windows at the front of the house.

The kitchen is much smaller than our last, but I do love the features in this kitchen. We went ahead and placed a few platters and greenery a top the cabinets, but I tried, yes, I really did try, to leave a lot of my counter tops empty because I don't have a lot of space. I placed my canisters, our mail sorter, and our knife block on the counter tops, and cute glass stands with an artificial apple and bread.

We kept the leaf out of the dining room table, so it only seats four. On one wall, is a cute tin shelf, that holds a grass container, our initial, and pears. The table is set with a container filled with coffee beans (love the smell, not the taste) and a candle, along with two pear platters. My great-grandma's old sewing table, now topped off with butcher block is in the back. On it, I placed two bowls that match the platters on top of the cabinets, filled with pears, and a candlestick. I love my Hobby Lobby clearance finds on the wall- the giant fork and spoon, that I got at a steal of $5.00 a piece!

On the opposite wall, I do have two pictures of pears, placed at different heights for interest.

July Bow of Month Club

The Bow of the Month Club members received this hair bow for the month of July!

If you're not a member, it's never too late to join! The bow for August is going to be even better!

Just go to my Facebook page, and look under the discussions tab for joining info & pricing info!

Yo-Yo Accessories

Yo-Yo Accessories are coming to Honey Pie Accessories!

I started working on these in May, but they're making their official start beginning July 12th when HPA celebrates it's grand re-opening!

Yo-yo's can be placed on a side snap infant shirt, onesie, alligator clip, or elastic headband! The shirts are $10.00, while the hair accessories are $5.00.

There are tons of color combinations available, and will have a set of three per item.

You can also order them placed on wipe cases for a great baby shower gift set!

Don't forget to 'like' Honey Pie Accessories on Facebook- you won't want to miss our grand re-opening!

Dance Week 2

G had dance again tonight. We finally made it out of the house after a 'stay at home day' as declared by G. I really wanted to go shopping, but G would not have it, and I didn't want to mess with her if she had a bad attitude while we were out, which has been happening lately. So, we stayed at home until dance class tonight. Here's G in her new pink leotard with attached tutu.

This is her dancer pose!

When they are in the class, the parents sit outside. There are two small observation windows with blinds that you can peer through. Unfortunately, I didn't get to watch her ballet class because a few of the parents hogged the windows the entire time. I was lucky to squeeze in and get the pictures that I did get!

They march from one 'house' to the next and then back again.

They learned a new dance move, which was simply a rocking back and forth.

G told me that she liked ballet best tonight and that they got to dance with streamers again! Now, i'll fully admit that I was off feeding MC during her ballet class and I didn't get to watch any of it.

She really is liking her class, and would only leave the house today for dance class. And, since I was going stir crazy, i'm glad we had the excuse to get out!

MC is 1 month!

MC has had a very busy month for a newborn! I can't believe that she's a month old already, and has had such an active life! She's gone from being born in Indiana, spending two weeks without her dad, being in a car for 12 hours to move to Oklahoma, and then a weekend trip to Arkansas. In less than a month, she's lived in two houses. She has a much different personality than G did. G was always wide awake, while MC likes to sleep during the day, and her alert hours are between 7 and 9. MC also likes to be held and to cuddle, whereas G was perfectly content in her swing or bouncy seat.

MC also cries more than G did, and hates her carseat. I know i've mentioned that several times, but it's always a success when we get somewhere without MC having a fit in the car!

In fact, we came home from the neighborhood pool the other night, and as we pulled into the driveway, G exclaimed, 'mom, Megan didn't cry the whole way home!"

Isn't that something when a 3 year old notices! Also, on our trip home from Arkansas this past weekend, G fell asleep. She woke up to MC crying, and the first thing she said was, "Megan, be quiet!"

But, we love her, and wouldn't trade her for anything, despite the frequent headaches. We know that our family is complete, and we've always only planned for two children. So, with the mindset that she'll be my last. It makes me sad as she grows, so I try to cherish the cuddle time a bit more this time around.

I don't think her second month of life will be any slower than her first, but we're going to enjoy this time, and enjoy watching the changes of her life!

Some stats:
MC weighs around 11 pounds. I'm not sure of her length.
She eats every 2 1/2 to 3 hours.
She's slept in 4-5 hour stretches, but this isn't always consistent.
She loves to be swaddled.
She had her first bottle on our way from Indiana to Oklahoma.
She holds her head up well.
She likes to sleep on her belly.

Go Green Cloth Diaper: The Champ: Review & Giveaway

I was given the chance to review a GoGreen Pocket Diaper~ my first cloth diaper review and should I add GIVEAWAY! Yup, you can win one of these for your own little fluffy butt!
The GoGreen Company sent me their "Champ" cloth diaper. The Champ is a premium one-size diaper, in which you do not have to remove the soiled insert because it's designed to come out on its own in the wash. It also features an extending size, so it will fit from birth through potty training age.

I told the company to send me whatever print they wanted, and they sent me a super soft diaper. I love the snap feature, because I know the insert is securely held in place. I also like that the diaper has an opening in the front and the back, so I don't feel like i'm shoving my hand inside the back end to secure the insert in the front end. Plus, that snap holds it in place.

I have not tried leaving the insert attached while I wash the diaper. To be honest, with how out of the loop i've been the past few weeks, it was a feature I had forgotten about. But, I wish I would've remembered, because tonight I'm pretty sure that I stuffed the GoGreen insert into another diaper! Had, I remembered, I wouldn't have the problem of a missing insert. So, once I find it, i'm going to try to leave it attached next wash cycle.

The diaper was a little tricky to figure out the correct size for MC. But, once I figured it out, it fits great! She's worn this diaper two or three times and we have yet to have a leak in it.

The price for the GoGreen diaper is also great~ only $14.95.

You can win one GoGreen pocket diaper as well! Please leave 1 comment per entry, along with your email address in at least 1 of your comments.

Mandatory Entry: Go to GoGreen's website, and tell me which print you would like to have! Leave your email address in this comment. You must do this for other entries to count.

Extra Entries:

1. Follow my blog via GFC or let me know that you already follow (1 entry=leave 1 comment)

2. "Like" GoGreen Pocket Diapers on Facebook (1 entry=1 comment)

3. "Like" Honey Pie Accessories on Facebook (1 entry=1 comment)

4. Blog about this giveaway & leave me the link to your post (2 entries=2 comments)

5. Thank GoGreen Pocket Diapers on Facebook for the giveaway and leave a link to this blog post (2 entries=2 comments)

6. Post about this giveaway in your facebook status, or tweet about the giveaway, leaving a link to the giveaway. You may do this 1x per day, so leave a comment, every time you do this!

Giveaway will end on July 7th. The winner will be chosen by random.org and will be notified by email. If you do not leave your email address, then another winner will be chosen. The winner will have 24 hours to respond via email, or another winner will be chosen. I was given 1 GoGreen Champ pocket diaper for the review. All thoughts & opinions are my own. The GoGreen company is responsible for providing 1 diaper to the winner.

Quick Weekend Trip

DJ came home Friday evening and announced, "Do we have any plans this weekend? Let's go to your parents." Um, okay.... so I called my mom to make sure they didn't have plans and we packed a suitcase.

I'm not sure what makes us think that we can just jump in the car and go, especially with two kids, and have I mentioned how much MC hates her carseat! I mean, she absolutely despises it. The 3-4 hour trip definitely turned into 5 hours, but it was worth it. We spent Saturday at the pool, and after much coaxing G finally got in the water and enjoyed it. This is the first year that she hasn't had swim lessons, so she was a bit nervous to get in.

Later that evening, my brother and sister in law came over with their baby, A. MC and A are 6 weeks apart, because A decided to come a little early. They were scheduled to be born only a week apart.

Gretchen decided she wanted in the picture too, and we quickly realized it's going to be impossible to get them all happy and sitting still.

I didn't take as many pictures as I should've on our impromptu trip, but we had tons of fun, even though I think we're a little crazy for just jumping in the car!

Busy Week

Even though we've only been in Oklahoma for a week and a half, this last week has been very busy! I've been determined to get out of the house, just so I don't go stir crazy, but also because I'm excited to learn about this new town and to find ways to get involved and things for the girls to do! Here are a few highlights from the week: I caught Gretchen talking to Megan the other day, and had to sneak a picture. It was so sweet, and she's being a great big sister! Although, she'll tell you that she's not, just to be silly.

I had an event at football this week, so I dressed the girls up, and took them to the office. DJ babysat Gretchen, but Megan came with me, just in case she needed to eat. Thankfully, Gretchen enjoyed hanging out at 'new football' and was glad that she didn't have to see Charlie Cardinal, and Megan slept the entire time!

Megan loves to sleep on her belly. I only let her during the day, when I can go in and check on her. But she looked so cute in her strawberry onesie and the matching bow I made. The onesie was given to us in a onesie exchange on one of my mom's message board, and I love the little strawberries on the bum!

We also braved a trip to the grocery store this week! Gretchen sat in the front of the buggy and I wore Megan in the bjorn carrier. I kept remembering how heavy Gretchen was in it, because I still wore her at 11 months, but Megan was so light! It was wonderful! Gretchen was also well behaved, which was a huge help that I didn't have to chase her or discipline her while we were out.

After all of our events this week, I'm exhausted!

Dance, Dance!

I wanted to get Gretchen into some sort of activity this summer, and I realized when we left Indiana, that we took too long to get settled and to make it 'home'. It was a mistake that we made, and we learned from it. So, within a week of being in Oklahoma, I signed Gretchen up for dance. I literally went to the studio on Father's day to sign her up, and she started tap and ballet lessons on Monday!

I thought that it would be a great way for her to meet some friends and maybe a way for me to meet other mom's.

The class is a 6 week class, so I also thought that it woudl be a good test run to see if she really liked taking lessons, before I signed her up for a full year that we couldn't get out of. So, if she enjoys it, we'll likely keep it up in the fall.

We went father's day evening to purchase her first pair of tap shoes, ballet shoes, and a few leotards. She picked out her black leotard that has roses on the back to wear to her first class. Tap lessons were first, and she learned to tap her toes and heels in front and in behind, and how to shuffle-step. Or, as her teacher said, squash the bug.

After tap, they changed into their ballet shoes.

They did some stretching.

And danced with 'balls with strings' as Gretchen called it.

She even got a sucker after class! And, if you know me, that's a big deal because I don't let her have suckers! (They get caught in her hair) But, seeing as to how her hair was in a bun, I let her go ahead and have it.

She had a blast in dance class. She's been dancing around the house all week, and practicing in her shoes, until I finally hid them last night. I'm excited to watch her this summer and to see her learn and grow.

I told DJ that it was something that I had been looking forward to as a mom of a little girl. I loved dance when I was little, and danced through high school, so it was important to me for Gretchen to give it a try.

We'll see how the summer goes and hopefully continue!

Summing Up June

The last few weeks in our life have been crazy! With welcoming a newborn and moving out of state, there hasn't been much time for blogging. So, bear with me as I sum up some of our last few weeks in one post!

The movers came and packed us when Megan was about 2 1/2 weeks old. That week, my mother had left, I spent one last day at work, and my mother-in-law came for a visit. Then, the packers arrived. It took them all afternoon to pack our house, and I quickly realized that I had way to much stuff. The next day, it took them all day to load a huge semi truck full of all of our stuff, and we took off toward Oklahoma.

We spent the night in Effingham, IL, which was only 3 hours from our house in Indiana. We were exhausted, and just couldn't make it the four hours to St. Louis. So, the next day, we had a longer drive that we had originally planned.

Gretchen did great in the car though. She took a nap, and watched a movie. Megan on the other hand, didn't do as well, but she was only two weeks old, so we couldn't expect much! I ended up spending the car trip in the back seat with both girls, and I have never been more thankful that DJ has a large truck! Megan had her first bottle on that trip, and took it fairly well. DJ and I just laughed as we realized the milk had to thaw, so as hot as we were, he turned out the heat defrost, and put the bags of milk on his dashboard! Thankfully, it didn't take them long, and Megan took her bottle like a champ! We stopped somewhere in Missouri to eat at Cracker Barrel, which I used to hate, but i'm able to tolerate it better now, plus, there's shopping so it can be a win/win! Below is a picture of Megan in her carseat on our trip. This little honey does not like her carseat! I swear, everytime we put her in it she screams. Think of a hissing cat- that's what Megan sounds like when she's really ticked off.

So, we spent the week cleaning the house and unpacking what we brought with us, and waiting for the moving truck to arrive with our stuff. DJ was able to spend two days at our new house with us.

I spent the next day by myself with both girls, and finally called my mom that evening begging her to come up to help. Thankfully, she was able to switch around her work schedule and agreed. She arrived the next day, and we were able to get my kitchen, dining room, most of Megan's room, and the living room put together. She only stayed for 2 days, but I was grateful that she rescued me as I quickly realized there was no way I could unpack the house while DJ worked and while taking care of both girls.

DJ came home early on Saturday, and Gretchen was thrilled to spend some time with him. We decided to head out on a drive (which we later realized isn't the same with two kids, particularly one that hates her carseat). And ate dinner at a cajun-style meat market.

Gretchen snapped this awful picture of Megan and I before we left the house that day.

We finished off the day at the park. Gretchen was fearless when climbing the rock wall and thankfully, Megan slept in her carseat.

DJ put Megan's swing together- remember the Bright Starts giveaway from March? This is the swing, and i'll be reviewing it in a later post.

And, we're slowly settling in. Gretchen started dance lessons this week, my house is feeling like home, and we're getting settled into somewhat of a routine with Megan.

Undercover Mama Winner!

Congratulations to comment 13, Cassie! You're the winner of the Undercover Mama Nursing tank giveaway! I've sent you an email, and you'll have 24 hours to respond or i'll have to choose another winner.

Thanks to everyone for entering!

G & M's Newborn Photos: A Comparision

We picked up M's newborn portraits today. I wanted to share a quick comparison of G's newborn photo with M's. Gretchen is above.

And, Megan's .

It's amazing how much they look the same. The only differences are that G had jaundice, had shorter hair, and has a dimple in her chin.

I love the newborn portraits that our hospital did, the photographer did a great job with both girls.

Our 1st Day in Fluff

I finally decided to brave it today, and put M in some fluff for the afternoon. I pulled out a thirsties cover and a prefold.

I tri-folded the prefold, and spread apart the back and the front a little bit (sort of like a 'v') in order for the prefold to 'wrap' around her. I have purchased a 'snappi', but to be honest, i'm afraid to use it. It's not as stretchy as I thought it would be, especially because the sides of the prefold don't cover M's sides, and it's sharp- I'm just afraid that i'm going to cut her with it.

So, once I got the prefold on, the cover was fairly easy to put on.

M survived one change in the cloth, and then we put a second one on her. This time, I didn't change her as soon, because she was sleeping, and we ended up having company for a little bit. I'm not sure if it's because I didn't change her soon enough or if it was the way the diaper was put on, but she managed to pee outside of the diaper and onto my shirt.

My mom changed her next while I said good-bye to our company, and she simply did a tri-fold with the diaper and placed the cover on. While I was feeding M, I could tell that the prefold hadn't completly covered her little booty, and she pooped. It stayed in the diaper, but it did get on the cover.

In all we had three diaper changes in fluff, and spent the most of the afternoon in it. I probably won't put it on her tomorrow, because we'll be out of the house, but i'm hoping to try again on Monday, and get the hang of it better throughout this week.

Do you use fluff? How old was your little honey when you put him in it? Any tips or tricks for me?

Hospital Days

I had to stay in the hospital for two days with M, and we came home last Thursday. I'm still trying to catch up with blogging, sleep, cleaning- if you're a mom, you know how it is! Gretchen visited us both days in the hospital. She would come for a bit in the morning, go home for her nap, and then join us again that afternoon.

But, while she wasn't there, I had some snuggle time with Megan!

I love this picture of the two of them; I'm pretty sure it's one of their first as sisters.

Nana also came to visit us on Wednesday. I really hope she enjoyed the time with her new granddaughter, and her 'old' one!

Mrs. Anissa also came up for a sneak peek at M!

I loved getting M dolled up- she's wear a yo-yo clippie and matching side-snap yo-yo shirt that I made with my grandma's help.

We finally came home on Thursday.... daddy got some good snuggle time with M before we headed home.

We snapped a new family picture while waiting on our nurse to officially discharge us.

And, Gee even had time to snap another picture with her. My grandmother bought her going home outfit.

G was so excited to find out that M would get to join her in the back seat and that she'll finally have some company. I love how sweet this picture is. G has adjusted remarkably well, and I'm so proud of what a great big sister she is!