Happy New Year!

Happy New Year friends!  

So, it's been a while, huh?  My little piece of the Internet has been seriously neglected lately.  I can't say I'm sorry.  Blogging became more of a chore to me; something I had to check off my to do list (I actually do love checking things off my to do list but that's neither here nor there).  So I took a break.  But I kind of miss my friends, the community.  So here I am!

Perhaps I should do a little recap?  

The kiddo.  She's going to be 2 on the 15th.  Like two whole years old.  I have no idea where the time went.  She is such a little person now with her own personality.  She is SO funny, but super laid back and chill.  She isn't shy but very cautious about certain things.  My favorite example is how she goes really slow walking through doorways.  It's like she's not sure about the change in surfaces or something?  It's completely endearing but super frustrating when we're in a hurry.

She's talking up a storm these days.  She was a late talker, which frankly had me a little concerned, but her vocabulary has just exploded within the last month.  We're working on her numbers and just yesterday I caught her counting to herself.  It was just the coolest thing.  Like, I taught her that.  

 

As for me, I took a part time gig late last year with a food tour company.  I give walking tours of a city close by and we stop and eat at four different restaurants along the way.  It is SUPER fun and I love getting out of the house and engaging with new people.  Plus, the last stop is for truffles and a wine pairing, and seriously?  I'd give these tours for free just to get these truffles.  

Opposite of truffles, I've coined this year the Year of Jenny.  I've been lingering around my pre-baby weight for 2 years now and it's about time I get my booty in gear.  I spend too much time and money at the gym for me to continue putting junk in my body when I get home.  So I'm not.  Well, the last three days I haven't and that's a start.

Hubs has been working like crazy and traveling even more.  It's a bit of a downer sometimes, but mostly I'm just thankful for his job because it allows me to have mine.  He was able to take almost two weeks off for Christmas which was such a treat!

 

 

So yeah.  That's about it!  You didn't miss much! 

Cakes Galore!

Y'all, I have been so blessed with weekly cake orders lately!  Even though it can get overwhelming at times, I always love the finished product so much.  Totally worth the effort.  

I made an Elmo cake for a little girl's 2nd birthday party.  Her parents were crazy about it when I dropped it off.  Frankly so was I!  Ha!  I just love the look of the fur.  So cool!

I think I posted one picture of this before, but I also made a cake for a Paris themed 1st birthday party.  It was her smash cake and matched the decor so perfectly.  Love it!

Lastly, I made just a regular cake for a get together.  It was for a new client and she seemed very pleased.  Hopefully it will result in some repeat business!!  Ha!

Books, Beach, and Baseball...Oh My!

We had a really great, really full week last week!  My best friend was out of town so I was worried Natalie and I would be bored out of our minds.  But mama stepped it up and thought up some new activities!  We spent some time at the library a town over.  They have a fantastic kids' area and Natalie had an absolute blast!  I think we went there three times in one week!  Girl was in heaven.  Her favorite part by far?  Rocking in the little chairs. 

We also ventured out to the beach one afternoon.  Can you believe we live by the beach and we have never taken Natalie?  I mean, I have only been once myself!  She had a ball.  It was messy as all heck but totally worth it.

 

Daddy came home on the weekend from a week long business trip!  It was so great to see him.  I just adore Natalie's face when she sees him for the first time after he's been gone.  She loves her daddy so much.  We spent Saturday morning walking around one of the Metroparks in the area.  We saw so many deer out in the woods.  And we also found a park along the way.  Natalie is in her happy place in the swing...

 

Sunday morning Natalie and I enjoyed sitting in the yard watching Daddy cut the grass.  It was seriously the best.  The weather was so perfect, warm and breezy.  Great start to the day.

 

After her extra long nap, we took Natalie to her very first baseball game.  We have an independent league in Avon so we got some lawn tickets and enjoyed the game.  Seriously, it just made my heart happy spending such a great time with my family.  Natalie was a doll, ate a great dinner, and the weather was again gorgeous.  Seriously could not have asked for a better weekend.

 

I even scored a picture of us together SMILING!  Girl is so gorgeous I can hardly stand it. 

The Messages we Send

Do y'all know Proverbs 31 Ministries?  It's run by Lysa Terkeurst who I absolutely adore.  Not like I know her in person, but you know.  Kind of like I adore Pioneer Woman.  Same thing, yes?

Anywho.  I get daily devotional e-mails from the website.  I love the format because it's not just a bible verse...it's a real life example of real life situations that happen to real life women.  It's relatable.  It's well written.  It's powerful.

Some days strike me more than others, of course.  But recently an e-mail convicted me so much, I cut and pasted a quote into Word right from the document.  I knew I needed to reread this often and never, ever forget it.

It was in the context of women and the way we dress.  Now, let's just be honest and say my college days were spent covering up the least amount of my boobs as legally possible and heading out to the bars.  It's humiliating to think about.  And the most awful part about it was I LOVED the attention.  It made me feel pretty.  I had something boys wanted and that was the first step to getting a man, right?  Or at least making out with someone that night.

I'd like to say I quickly grew out of this trend when I left college.  Or even when I met my husband.  But it took me a long time to realize the message I was sending.  I thought because I wasn't actually acting on the attention I was receiving I wasn't doing anything wrong.  No harm done.  I would tell myself I'm just a flirt.  It's who I've always been.  That's just how I was made.

Oh I was so, so wrong. 

The truth is, it is not who I am. It is who I am used to being.

Whoa.

This quote stopped my in my tracks.  Although it's been years since I made the realization that dressing provocatively sent messages I had no intentions of sending...and tempted the hearts of men in ways I had not wanted, my mouth literally dropped open.

I mean, I've spent my life saying being a flirt is just who I am.  

But no it's not, Jenny.  It's who you're used to being.

Oh dear.  How flippin' true is that?!?

Talk about a wake up call.

So I've taken an active step in my heart and in my mind to be clear in the messages I send out to others...not only in the way I dress but in my words as well.  I'm stopping myself before suggestive words come out of my mouth to the opposite sex and am really thinking about what I'm saying.  I want my intentions to be clear, especially to my husband.  I mean, was I flirting with other men in front of him?  I have no idea.  

But I do know this.  

I will never do it again.

SO WHAT Wednesday...Virgin Edition!

I'm linking up with Shannon for the very first time EVA to tell you what I'm saying SO WHAT to this week!

SO WHAT if...

•  My parents left from their visit yesterday and I almost cried.  Sometimes living far apart is hard.
• Sometimes I think living far apart is the best thing ever.
• I didn't clean up Natalie's explosion of toys last night so my living room is a mess.  Matt's out of town so who am I trying to impress?
• I've come to look forward to Matt being gone just so I can have the bed to myself.  Most people miss their husbands at night.  Me?  I don't miss the snoring, the 10 pm sharp bedtime, or the snuggling in the middle of the night.  Sister likes her space. 
• I let Natalie watch TV when she eats at home.  Girl goes into a trance and I can shovel the food right in.  It's survival mode around here people.  And I'm not above Dora, Diego, or Peppa to help me out.
• I think Pioneer Woman is super funny on her blog and on Twitter...but her show on Food Network totally makes me uncomfortable for her.
• I was excited when the Olympics ended because Days of Our Lives came back on the air.  Two weeks off is a long time!
• I want to contribute to the income of our family by making cakes more regularly, but every time I get an order...my first thought is, crap.  Now I have to make a cake.

What are YOU saying SO WHAT to today?

Hey y'all!  Shall we resort to bullets on a Tuesday?  Yes we shall.

• My parents came for a visit this weekend!  Although they're leaving today *tear* we've had a grand time.  Natalie has been enjoying walks with Grandma where they stop to pick flowers together.  It's precious.  And according to my mom, Natalie can now say 'Grandpa.'  Not sure if it's true or not, seeing as the last time she was with just my mom, Natalie said 'cup' which she has yet to say since.  Time will tell!

• Oh, and guess what happened last week?  My sweet girl was able to wear her hair in a single pony!

How is she possibly this big?  Sorry for the crappy photo.  Girl is always on the move and this is the least blurry one I could snap.

• Also, I made a cake for a friend this weekend for a 1st birthday.  It was Paris themed!  Such a gorgeous idea.   

 

• We had a beautiful weekend with Daddy until he left us again for the week in NY.  We're secretly hoping his case will settle so he'll be home with us soon.

• I made these enchiladas over the weekend and they were fantastic!  Annie's website is definitely one of my go to blogs for yummy food.  It was a little involved seeing as you make your own enchilada sauce...but totally doable for a weekend meal.  

A Little Natalie Update

I thought I'd give you a few updates on my kiddo, seeing as the last time I did...I believe she was 12 months old.

Yesterday she turned 19 months.  Yikes!  

Girl is still super tall, but her weight % seems to be leveling out around 50%.  I think she's around 25 lbs.  Tall and skinny...just like Daddy. 

She's in size 5 diapers during the day and size 6 a night.  This had saved us many a soaked morning :)  Too bad it took me so long to figure it out.

She wears 18-24 month clothes and size 5 shoes.  

Her favorite activity is being outside doing ANYTHING.  She adores her sidewalk chalk and will pitch a fit if I don't let her play with it.  She also has a Winnie the Pooh riding toy we keep outside that she fills with sticks, rocks, dirt, and all sorts of other goodies.  Clearly playing outside day = bath day.  

She also loves going to the park and swinging.  She won't do a thing else at the park.  Just swing, swing, swing.

Natalie's not much of a talker, in fact she only says Daddy consistently.  She can say a few other words, but I'm not too concerned.  Her doctor seems more interested in her understanding of language which she definitely has.  She can point to anything and everything I ask her in a book and gets so excited doing so!  She does puzzles, knows all of her fruit, and follows commands.  Most of them.  And I know when she doesn't follow commands it's not because she doesn't understand.  It's because she's purposely ignoring me.  Girl started that early.

She love to accessorize.  She gets her summer hats out all the time and puts them on around the house.  She also has two bead necklaces which are almost constantly around her neck.  She does still take out her hair clips frequently, but she's getting a little better.

Natalie really is such an easy going child.  She's very friendly and always has a smile on her face.  I've come to appreciate this more and more as the days go by.  We are so lucky to have such a happy, healthy little girl.  She's our joy.