Pinterest Win or Pinterest Fail: Nursery #3 Reveal!

A few weeks ago I posted this blog for baby #3's nursery inspo.

I am happy to say the nursery is DONE! We made it our mission to be done before the holidays and we knocked it all out just in time for Thanksgiving, and that is something to be thankful for! Now we can sit back and enjoy one last holiday season with only 4 little feet running around as opposed to 6 (eek!).

Oddly enough, maybe because it's 3rd times a charm, I don't know, but this was the EASIEST of the three nurseries! Now, I fear my husband might make me spruce up the other two because this one is.. legit, for lack of a better term.

Now, was this a Pinterest Win or Pinterest Fail? I'm calling it a win - maybe not exactly how I imagined when first perusing Pinterest but, definitely perfect for welcoming home our Violet Blake. (Side note: every time I walk by the room, I smile a little on the inside. This is one room I am insanely proud of!)

Here it is, the (third) big reveal! I literally linked almost everything - the wall paint is Gentle Rain by Bher.

This is the wall across from the entry. 

Curtains: Z Gallerie (used to hang in our old living room); Rocker: who knows, used with two previous babies; Basket: Container Store (here); Wooden stool: At Home (here); Geometric Shelves: Hobby Lobby (two sizes - here) but I added the paper to them (it's wrapping paper that I cut to fit and used modge podge to adhere to the metal; the paper matches the pillow!); Swag: Hobby Lobby (here); Dresser: mine from when I was little, re-purposed once for my son and then again for baby #3 - bought gold hardware from Home Depot and used left over navy paint from our kitchen remodel; Lamp: At Home (here); Curtain Rod: Amazon (here); Pillow: Here

This wall is to the left of the changing table/dresser and faces the closet.

Name sign: Etsy (shop here) - I spray painted it with gold glitter when it arrived; Pictures: Hobby Lobby (elephant & ikat) - I used gold paint on the frames and on the pictures themselves, I also had a monogram made and stuck it onto the ikat print (see below); Flowers: a mix of Hobby Lobby (here) and the others were donated by a friend - I used blush pink chalk paint (find it here) on a few of them; Crib: Babyletto but was my daughter's before; Crib Sheet: Amazon (find it here); Basket: Container Store (here)

This is a bit of wall space next to the closet. My dad built the bookshelf and it's original purpose was to hide behind a door, however, the closet doors are behind the entry door. I love how this little corner turned out, though! Wall art: Hobby Lobby; Hooks: Amazon (here). 

This wall is just to the left of the entry, so just inside the room. 

White shelf: used for other daughter's room previously, Hobby Lobby; Arrow: Hobby Lobby and added the twine for the bows; Globe: Hobby Lobby; Shelves: Hobby Lobby (see above); Mirror: Hobby Lobby (here); Baskets: Container Store (here); Rug: RugsUSA (here) and OMG!!! This rug is AMAZING and actually REALLY soft!  

Here are some pictures of a few of the DIY's from above: 

     

Summer 2018 Recap

Okay. Back to this blogging thing. Every year... let's be real... every month I tell myself, "This is when you'll start to be consistent with writing." But, you know what? The only thing I am consistent at is keeping a list of "blog ideas" in a note on my iphone. I know, #smh.

However, I am here. Although I have a TON of blog ideas, I still don't really even know where to begin. I think I'll do a little catching up of our summer, since it is technically "back to school" and I know as well as the next guy that the average reader of these things are nosy little buggers. Give the people what they want!

April-May 2018 - I went from full-time, super swamped, overwhelmed working momma of two, to putting in notice as a last ditch effort to keep my family together.

Of course notice would last two whole months but hey, I got to go down to part time! Oh, cue ALL THE FEELS. It was hard. Letting go of something near and dear to you, having to say goodbye to people you'd grown close to over the past few years, wrestling with lots of emotions and feelings at home and at the office. I had never felt so out of place and forced against my will. But, I knew I had to stick it out and see it through. Even if I  ended up going back to work a month after my last day (that's a clue). I had to save my marriage. I had to save my family. Wow. Talk about truth bombs.

June 2018 - I reached my last day and came home to my babies. Lucky for us, we kicked it off with a trip to Vegas with just my husband and I - talk about much needed. That was the beginning of several adventures for me this summer. Side bar: We had been talking about expanding... our family... and now #VEGASBABY has a new meaning. Yes, baby girl will be here in February!!! Video link for your entertainment...

We went to Dallas for market so I could pick things up with the boutique (www.LucyGrant.com) and ventured over to Tyler for my cousins baby shower. She had twins and I am DYING to meet them! Greg got food poisoning, so that was NOT fun. Oh, and we almost had a blow out on the way home - thank god for 24 hour tire men!

We went to Disney World - phew, lots to say about that. Overall it was an experience that we will not soon forget. We were so appreciative of the gift from my parents (it was a Christmas gift) and the kids had a blast. We will be going back... but not for a bit.

Also, in June, we decided to sell our house! We had been casually looking, because who doesn't love to stalk Realtor.com and dream? But when baby #3 was confirmed - it was game on.

July 2018 - Our house sold within DAYS... DAYS! Talk about awesome but equally stressful. We went through some back and forth on one house, bailed on it, then found the house we ultimately purchased and are absolutely LOVING it.

Remember when I said I went on a few more adventures and that I might go back to work? I had a girls trip to College Station with some friends which was nice but quick - we had JUST moved into our house... and being pregnant on a girls trip just isn't quite the same, you know what I'm saying! Then we took a trip down to Port Aransas and stayed at Port Royal (who else called it Port Royale growing up?!?!) for my birthday - the big 3-1 whoop! You guys, they need help. Stay there. Spend money. That little town is struggling to get back what Hurricane Harvey took from it. Lastly, I started back to work. Different company, same concept, part time hours. It's been great. I haven't been able to put in as much as I would like but I feel human when I am working so that's fabulous!

August 2018 - Another girls trip to San Diego and LA with my bestie!! It was a blast. Already looking forward to the next one! I am so thankful for this time with my friend. More on this. I can't write everything in one post, you guys. We had some set backs with the house... AC repairs, new windows (delayed, twice), broken sewage main (barf!). However, everything is fixed, the poop is back flowing to where it belongs, and our home is nice and cool in this gazillion degree weather we have here in southeast Houston. Lastly, we celebrated 5 years of marriage! Three of the five, I've been pregnant - hoping that trend changes soon haha But more on this marriage stuff later!

Here we are, all caught up! Till next time, my dear hearts.

Adult Nightmares

Aren't nightmares the worst? You would think an adult would be able to shake it off and get right back to sleep right? Wrong.

I know why I'm still awake at 3:30am... And surprisingly it's not my husband's snoring... It's because this wasn't just a scary dream type nightmare, it was a blast from the past that brought back all sorts of awful feelings and lots of emotion. 

Because of this nightmare, I'm wide awake, reliving the day a person I cared for very deeply drove off in a U haul after being in an on-again, off-again relationship. "That's not so bad," you might be thinking but this person left me heartbroken. I woke up and immediately felt those same feelings. I am sad that I allowed that to happen to myself, knowing full well that the relationship was going no where. I feel angry at this person, again. I feel like I need to reach out to all the young girls in the world and tell them to be strong, bold, and smart.

Sure, I was warned, but how awful that something from so long ago still effects me. 

It has prompted me to send my son an email to an account we set up for him (during normal daytime hours). I plan to explain the whole situation and explain how and why I was hurt so badly.. I don't plan on ragging on this person and don't mean to now. I just want my son to understand how wrong it was for this person to let things go as long as they did, as intimately as they did, all the while he knew he wasn't going to stay or even ask me to go with him when he decided to relocate. Hopefully he can glean something from the story... like how making decisions to be with someone or not and how a particular decision, that can potentially have a lasting effect on someone, is not to be taken lightly.  

It's not the person I am missing, it's not even about missing anyone or about this person at all. It's simple - guys- don't lead girls on. It's not nice. It hurts a lot. And it effects them for years to come (sadly). And that really sucks. People are fragile. They bruise easily, even if they tell you otherwise. 

I asked this person to never contact me again if they decided to drive off that day. He drove off. We communicated via linked in once... and his attitude was that of someone who didn't realize the weight of what they had done. Since then I haven't even thought about him, but the hurt is still there. But why is it so painful? It's just the principal of it all. No one deserves to be treated that way. I should have been stronger and wiser at this point in my life, but I wasn't.

My only wish now is hopefully someone benefits from this post somehow. 

It's okay to walk away from something knowing it won't workout. It's so hard. So so hard. But God totally has a million other things waiting for you that are ten times better than anything you can imagine. If even the slightest thing feels wrong, please move on. Don't force anything because you have your whole life to work at a marriage with someone who is deserving of your time, attention, efforts and love. Plus, if you do move on before getting hurt, you won't be where I am years later, wide awake at 3:45am reminiscing about all the ways you saw it coming and all the heartbreak that came with wanting something that wasn't worth it. However, I am also counting my blessings and realizing for the billionth time how eternally grateful  I am for the man I get to call my husband and father to my son. He is a wonderful example of a man. 

And goodness if this isn't the truth... 

Thirty & Thriving

I'm writing this a few days early because it seems like everything else for my husband's 30th birthday has been put off or put on hold. I also know deep down, this is the best gift I can give him...A kind word of affirmation is one of his strongest love languages and one I fail at daily.

To my husband on his birthday,

While I know that I may drive you to your wits end more often than not, please know that my love for you has no bounds. I have made many mistakes in my life and since being your wife but marrying you has never been one of them. I am proud of your hard work and support of our family, your drive is second to none. I am thankful for the unconditional love you show me and baby G, what an amazing example you are to our family, and without it you surely would have kicked my butt to the curb by now. I am in awe of your willingness to try when things are tough since it's usually me who is pushing back and making things worse. I am so lucky that your patience and tolerance is greater than most, you make our home a whole lot calmer and I know baby G is a happy camper because of it. I appreciate your support of my goals, dreams and ambitions no matter how off the wall or crazy they may seem.

You are my everything even though I know you shouldn't be.

The past year was pretty uneventful when compared to others we've shared together. Unfortunately for you, I thrive on events and milestones (and maybe some chaos) so this one was a little rocky as I stirred the pot many times, ultimately creating unnecessary drama (no surprise there). However, through all the messes I've made, you've stuck by me and continually taught me new things. I learned this past year that even though you are my husband and one of my best friends, you aren't required (or supposed) to be my counselor, teacher, mentor, boss, coworker, peer, subordinate, maid, babysitter, cook, chauffeur, personal assistant, priest, father, or my sole-source-support-system. That's why God created community.

I'm sorry if I have ever made you feel inadequate. You really are my perfect portion...I just get greedy and needy sometimes, my issue - not yours.

There are so many things you don't realize you're signing up for on your wedding day, so many vows taken that aren't stated. This year, I vow to only ask that you be my husband and G's 'dada' and I promise not to overstep that boundary. Even though you are more than capable of being all things to all people, I want to bring the stress notch down a few and enjoy the next 100 years with you. I also promise to practice what I'm preaching... words of affirmation are on the top of my gift list to you accompanied by intentionally showing you love in all the other ways you receive it! I vow to listen with my ears open and my mouth shut, to try to be as tidy as possible (I said try), and to trust your 'husbanding' skills above my own stubbornness.

While personally I feel that 29 was an incredible growth year for you and us, I think 30 is going to be your best year yet. You've accomplished so much, so hopefully I can contribute to the greatness that I know 30 will bring you.

Many wishes on your big day. I love you with everything that I am and everything I want to be, simply put - your wife (and baby momma).

Here's to being thirty and thriving!

The Real Reason

Friends. I guess the reason I started this lovely blog is because I write a lot to sort through my thoughts. Sometimes, very rarely, I have a profound thought or two that I want to share. Writing things down has always been an outlet, a way to express myself. That is why I love TEXTING! I can be passive aggressive with my own words without ever having to open my mouth! It's perfect! Just kidding...kind of?

If you know me, you know I like to talk. I could talk all day. I could probably blog all day. But I have this thing called a job. And, well, even though said job does not keep me nearly busy enough, I probably shouldn't blog all day. I might take up the entire internet with my extremely intelligent and thought provoking statements - I wouldn't want to do that, now would I? There are enough of people's opinions floating around these days without my nonsense.

I will try....key word - try.... to keep my opinion sharing to a minimum but c'mon PEOPLE this is my blog after all. If you don't like it, start your own :) I do, however, think that blogging is going to be good for me. There might be sappy postings, thoughtful postings, religious postings, crafting postings, or just "life's crap" postings. If I ever had to move to a far away land for goodness knows why, you would be able to keep up with me - now isn't that something?! The power of technology. Amazing.

I'm not moving anywhere far away - for the record.

Oh and there might be more than one posting a day...did I mention my job does not keep me nearly busy enough. I need stimuli (plural - I think). I am not an English major, but I try!

Maybe I should have been an English major. Maybe I should have done a lot of things differently. Truth is I am pretty happy. Yes, there are things I would LOVE to change but I know I am here for a reason. My Christian counselor I used to see back in Dallas reminded me that I should have an "eternal prospective" (this could be a blog topic!). Philippians 1:18-26 is pretty sweet. Paul is awesome. I am here as the body of Christ and will leave having done His will - whether my stubborn behind likes it or not!

Do you have 'eternal prospective'? Just wondering.....

PS - you can comment or email me. It will just give me that much more to do! XOXO