Hip Hip Hooray for Friday!!!

I can't believe it's Friday already!!!  I guess that is what happens when Monday is a holiday (thank you Dr. King for all you did for our country and it's people).  Not only that but I have the day off today!! So it is just me and my girl and you know I will be living this up.  I have all sorts of grandiose plans for us today: like sew Ellie's curtains, complete a ton of laundry, maybe finally get all my bulbs planted (eek!), and go to the Library for story time...I am not quite sure how I am going to get that all done in 8 hours but a girl can dream right?  Or another thing I would love to get done is to sand, prime, and paint the baseboards for both Ellie's and #2's rooms.

So lets get on with some Friday things:

{ONE}

Now that we have been matched and can pretty much count on being a family of four come April, I have all sorts of baby related things on my mind.  Firstly though I have to say that I am pretty excited that Ellie will be getting a sister because that means I get to pull out all of Ellie's old clothes and get to use them again!!  Girlfriend had some fabulous items and I am so excited to get to use them again.  I already have a diaper bag that I still use every day...but I curse it every day too.  It just doesn't fit my needs and I am really wanting to get a new one.  Hopefully one that doesn't break the bank...but speaking of breaking the bank I adore this one and am really hoping to snag it up when there is a sale.  Also I am thinking we might need to get a double stroller, Ellie loves to ride in hers so I think she would be really upset if she got "kicked out".  I am really thinking I want to go with a tandem type stroller like this one, because I feel like it will be easier to maneuver around Disneyland...yep, I said it.  Plus I am not sure how many side by sides can easily fit through doorways into stores and such.  Now don't get me wrong, I am pretty sure that we will be able to get away with having just Ellie's stroller (similar) for a while because I know I will be babywearing a lot.  We are going to go ahead and use Ellie's infant car seat for the first month or so and then hopefully we will get our hands on another Britax Boulevard Convertable Car Seat, it's what Ellie is currently in and I love it so much.  It's super easy to put into my car (which is so old I have to use the seatbelts) as well as into Thomas' car with the adapter clips.  The seat cover is machine washable and quite easy to reassemble after removing for washing.  I just know that I hate lugging around car seats so my plan is to move her over as soon as possible and just wear her when we go out and about.

{TWO}

I shared my Nursery Inspiration yesterday and I still cannot get over it.  I am hoping that I can really pull this one off...considering Ellie's room has been in a constant transition.  But I feel like I finally have my sense of style and decor figured out that I am only going to get things that I absolutely love, not just something cheap to fill the space.  As you can see I am drawn to neutral colors and wood tones, I am hoping to have pops of pink/coral and mint/teal throughout the room as well (which may be similar to the color pallet for Ellie's room...)  I feel like since we already have the major basics (crib, glider, change table) that I can splurge on some other areas of the room, it's not true but I want to pretend that I can.  So I do have my eyes on these curtains from Anthropologie they also have these super cool wooden curtain rods that I am swooning over, they are both a bit lot pricey so I will be on the search for something similar...and I wouldn't mind if you pointed me in that direction.

{THREE}

Getting my toddler to eat is something that can be a bit of a challenge.  I try to offer her good options with a variety of food groups, but she doesn't always enjoy what I give her.  Lately though I can pretty much count on her always eating pretzels, popcorn, apples, chicken top ramen and broccoli from our local Thai restaurant.  I have found myself in a bit of a rut and just giving her these items so that I can ensure that she is eating something, but I really want to expand her food choices.  As you can see from the aforementioned foods, girlfriend loves herself some salt.  Now don't get me wrong, she does eat meat: chicken, pork, beef, sausage, bacon (she loves it), salami but then other times I will offer it to her and she will turn her nose up to it and say "I don't LIKE it" in the most sassy tone.  Sometimes I can get her to lick the food and she might eat it after that but it can be a real struggle sometimes.  SO I am asking you, dear readers, what are some of your tried and true Toddler Meals??

{FOUR} 

I think I may have mentioned it before but my church offers a MOPs group in the evenings.  I am so thankful that they have opened this up to working moms, because if there is one thing working moms feel, it's that they miss out on all the mom stuff because they are working.  I have been a member of MOPs for 3 years and I actually really like it. The first year and half I was pretty quiet and didn't involve myself too much, but then I was asked to be on Leadership for this year and I am *gasp* a Table Leader, where I have to lead and facilitate discussions...meaning that I actually have to talk and be vulnerable with a whole table full of women.  Spoiler - I love it!!  It has taken me out of my comfort zone a bit and I feel pretty fullfilled with my role.  This week for our meeting we were "Embracing Rest" and took advantage of our time away from our kids to actually paint our nails.  I have a friend, whose nails are basically always painted and so I felt pretty cool with my nails painted this week and would like to pretend that she is proud of me.  One thing that you can pretty much always count on if I have painted my nails myself is that I will have a "Party Nail"  I know they are super silly but they just make me happy and that is what matters anyways, amiright?  Oh andplusalso, I chipped one of my nails within 3 hours....story of my life.

{FIVE}

I am still in complete disbelief that January is almost over and that Valentines Day is right around the corner.  I haven't really been that big on the whole V-Day celebrations and actually avoided hearts for quite some time, but now with Ellie in my life I kind of adore hearts, and want to celebrate this holiday with her and build memories.  One thing I remember growing up, is that my dad would take my sister and I out for our very own Valentines Dinner Date with him.  We would get all dressed up, he would give us flowers (or a corsage) and then we would go out to a nice dinner.  This is a tradition I hope that Thomas will do with our girls, once they get a bit older, but for now I am trying to figure out ways to make this holiday special for my main girl.  I think it will be so fun to bake some Valentine Cookies, maybe make a cake, and then do some crafting.  I am loving these chair backs here, here and here, but then when I saw this one...I think Ellie might go bananas for it!!  Although considering she isn't in school yet I am still trying to figure out what I would put in there...maybe it could be like an advent of sorts?  How do you celebrate Valentines Day with your little one(s)??

♥ Ashley