Nine DELIGHTFUL Months!

My sweet girlfriend, Milly, is 9 months old today! It is really bittersweet when you know it is your last (biological) child- she isn't an infant anymore! In case you dont know about my little miracle, here is her story and her birth story (the day before, name announcement and more birth). She truly is a miracle and I am SO grateful for her!

Here are some random notes for those of you approaching the 9 month mark, those with newborns or those who are pregnant! 

- Do not worry if your child is the last to do anything- teeth, talking, crawling- I remember being so worried about my first daughters "milestones"- they are going to be just great, just check in with your doctor at the check ups and they will let you know if you should be concerned! My girls have all been late to get teeth, crawl, eat, etc.. and they are just fine!

- I like the little mesh feeders for teething- I put ice in them and let her suck away! 

- I let my girls suck and chew on cucumbers at this age- frozen or not- they are great!

- Pack N Play time is delightful when they start crawling- just put a Pack N Play up in a room- a little away from the flow of traffic- rotate toys and books in there- let them play for 15-20 minutes- I think it really helps with concentration and they get some good boundaries. I have loved it for my girls. 

- I really try to train in the highchair at home from the start (5-6 months)- she is required to sit in the high chair at meal time with the family- she has never known anything different. I think this plays a big part in why my girls are (usually) well behaved at restaurants- I think if you train at home you wont have to train in public. Makes sense to me...if they dont get to run around the table at home they wont expect to in public. 

- I love these DVD's for this age: Praise Baby, Boz the Bear, Sesame Beginnings 

- Love Karen Katz books all three of my girls love her board books- there are tons of them!

Ok...We did a little 9 month photo shoot today. She has this darling dress and I love it- she has almost outgrown it so I thought we better get some shots in it! 

Today's Project: Chalk It Up!

Hi! I always "pin" the fun chalk board paint ideas on Pinterest because they look like so much fun- however I avoid actually doing any of them because the tiny bit of OCD in me says- I absolutely will not clean up fine chalk shavings all over my house! I also do not want to experiment with the idea of teaching my girls that they can write on certain walls and not others- I think it might be inviting marks on all of my lovely freshly painted walls! That all being said- I purchased chalk paint a while ago and I wanted to use it on...something! Here is what I came up with! 

{This is what I purchased- it comes in all sorts of fun colors}

{I decided the place for it was the garage- it would make us happy when we come and go and we could write little notes on it. I have a weekly memory verse, a little "welcome home"(tonight it was to dad, but usually to Ellie when she comes home from school) Ellie made a little picture for daddy- I thought I could do a sight word of the day....the possibilities are endless! The best part is...who cares if there are chalk shavings in the garage! P.S. since posting this I have already expanded the chalk space and cleaned up the edges, I think it will come in handy this winter- "head to the garage girls!" 

{I was in Nashville this spring and my friend Heather handed out glasses of wine and we all had our initial chalked on the glass- I LOVED that idea for keeping track of glasses- so I snagged the idea! I just used the little foam paint brushes and swiped a little chalk paint on the glass and here you go!} 

{Finally, I liked that idea so much I thought that my white coffee mugs could use it too- Ellie actually painted these on- so, if you come over for coffee, you will know exactly which cup is yours!!}

I had to stop myself there- I mean...I could go crazy with this chalking idea! The same little OCD in me says- hey, I could just label the entire house with chalk! Happy Wednesday! 

Information DUMP #4!

If you are new to DMS, I occasionally have a build up of random "stuff" in my head- so I Dump it into one post! This is one of those times! (NOTE: I have not been asked to promote ANY of these items, just  "stuff" I love. )
(Here are links to the other info"dumps": Dump 1, Dump 2, Dump 3)

Here are all of the random things I have for you!

1. Make sure to follow DMS on Facebook- please! (I removed the previous post, so this is all I could think of- ha)
2. My favorite nail color of the moment is Essie "Muchi, Muchi" it is the perfect pink- not too mod, not too soft...just right! (the girls love it too of course)
3. My girlfriend Katie gave me this idea (without knowing it) she uses a glass olive oil bottle for dish soap- I snagged the idea and I love it- it is a great way to ration your soap- I always use too much straight from the bottle- this way you just get a little dot..which goes a long way! Fabulous idea Katie!
4. Speaking of dish soap- I found this on Pinterest from this blog "One Good Thing by Jillee"- who knew there were so many uses for Blue Dawn! (ice packs, pets, plants, windows, nails, tools, showers, ants, unclogging toilets, de-icer, laundry, etc..!)
5. I just LOVE my Insta-Hot water faucet- it is definitely a luxury that makes my life easier! Hot tea, hot water for pasta or mac-n-cheese (it boils almost instantly)- it sanitizes everything (boon spoons, dropped utensils, kids straws, knifes, binkies, etc..) There are lots of different kinds- mine is from InSinkErator 
6. I recently discovered how much I LOVE kitchen scissors- I use them to trim fat off of chicken, to chop penne pasta up for the girls, to cut bacon, etc... for those of you chef's out there you will think I am silly- but it is way easier than messing with a knife! (I got that tip from my college roommate Mindy- I have not used a knife on chicken breast fat since! thanks minds!)
7.  My friend Maggie has a darling Etsy Store: Lily Cole Designs- she has a great blog too! She sent me the link to this other darling Etsy store today- it is right up my alley- FancyThatDesignHouse - I love finding good Etsy shops! I would usually ask...what is your favorite Etsy shop- but since I turned comments off for a week or so- feel free to email me your favs or comment on Facebook! How great is Etsy?! The picture below is perfect for my daughter's gray and yellow room!
8. I do not think I could survive without this company...Boon! The Plum dispensing spoon (which works on ALL pouches of food, not just Plum) is amazing, I keep them in my bag and when we go out to eat, I whip a pouch of food out and my Boon spoon and there is NO mess! I get stopped more for this item at restaurants than anything. I also love the Boon SQUIRT for rice cereal, but since they are mixing rice cereal in the pouches these days- I use the dispensing spoon a lot more! AND...their stuff just looks delightful! 

{#2 essie Muchi, Muchi)

{#3/#4 Dish Soap!}

{#5 InstaHot}

{#7 from FancyThatDesign House!)

{#8 Boon is Delightful!}

That is all, hope you are having a great week! 

Recipe Monday: Weekend Food!

Hello! We had a great weekend, finally settled in our new home enough to do some cooking! I made salmon on Saturday night- nothing fancy there but here is how I do it: I just use the wild frozen salmon from Costco (pull it out of the freezer in the morning to thaw), Preheat oven to 350, rinse it and place it on a foiled baking sheet, shake some olive oil on it with whatever seasoning I have (usually I have salmon seasoning you can get at any groc, today I only had the no-salt seasoning from Costco available), rub that on and bake for 20 minutes. At the 20 minute mark I check the center of the thickest piece- if it is too "shiny" I bake it for another 5-10 minutes. Thats it- I made some veggies and we were good. (Here is another great Salmon recipe from my friend Mindy) Here is the yummy part...we had some left over so I put it in the fridge and made these little yummies today!

{I wish I would have had yummy gourmet crackers, but I just used Ritz crackers and Triscuit Thin Crisps (my absolute favorite cracker- no sugar or anything yucky and they are delish!) and put a little cream cheese and salmon (warmed up) on some, a little hummus and salmon on some and a little of the horseradish hummus from Trader Joe's with salmon on the rest! They were DELIGHTFUL...and simple- Ellie even loved it (cant say the same for Izzy, but she really only likes grilled cheese and cheese pizza, so no surprise!}

{Another little fun thing I have been making that is SO simple is this "banana boat"- I just take a banana, slice it down the middle and put some natural peanut butter between the two pieces, then put it in the freezer for a little bit (or you can serve it as is) and the girls are "nuts" for it! I have also added little chocolate chips in the peanut butter layer for a dessert.}

{Not beautiful...but yummy!}

{Finally, we were so pumped to use our new grill this weekend! My man has been without his own grill for 3.5 years and he was a happy guy being outside grillin' this weekend! Here is my little Instagram shot I snagged while he was out there- just a man and a beer and his grill looking at his fresh cut lawn..Ahhh! We grilled hamburgers and I added some jalapeno sour cream dip, hamburger seasoning and an egg to the meat before grilling- it was awesome!}

I realize that there is nothing earth shattering here- but in case it gives someone some new inspiration...there you go! Have a fabulous week- cant believe it is September this week! Time flies when you are having fun! 

Before and After: Kitchen Table

Hi! So, I completed a little project this week and I thought I would share it! First of all- I am no photog- so do not judge the photography! There is a big old mess in the background- because I did not stage- just snapped some shots for you! 

{My parents gave us their old kitchen table for our new house- it does not fit in my gray and white house as you can see- I forgot to shoot the table- but you get the idea from the chairs}

{Here are my products- love the Rust-oleum sprayer for the cans below- makes it a million times easier!}

{My cousin is an amazing painter (on the side) and she saw how I rigged up my "painting space" and actually left work to bring me her painting boards- apparently it is not good for the cloth to blow against fresh paint- go figure! But it was a great idea- I laid out my drop cloth and put the boards all around it and it was amazing!}

{Another little "note to self" do not get a pedi and then paint a black table in flips- my feet still have black paint on them- bad planning! Pretty sure I never intended to put a pic of my fat toes on the blog- oh well- :)}

{ I purchased the gray and white chevron at Hobby Lobby- it was a little thin and so I used some special reinforcement material under it- I learned how to recover from Pinterest...of course}

HERE THEY ARE!!! I am pretty pumped!

{I will give you a full "before and after" of our new home SOON- but this is a little something that makes us all very happy- every morning we wake up to rainbows from the chandelier- what a special blessing! Hope you get a little idea from this pic- they are literally all over the kitchen!}

Here is a "before and after" for you!

It's Delightful: Groc day!

Today we went to two of my 3 favorite groc locations- Trader Joe's and Whole Foods (the third being Costco- did not make it there). If I had endless amounts of money I would exclusively shop at these spots- however, I have essentials at each one and I try to stick with the "necessities"! It never fails, I always find new treasures when I go to WF and TJ- and today was no exception! Here are my two delightful finds of the day!

{I will eat anything with Rosemary- If you have some extra time on your hands you can make this at home, here is the RECIPE - but for people like me who simply want to munch on this delightful treat, Trader Joe's has packaged them up in a pretty little bag and they are DELICIOUS!}

{I love the pre-made sandwiches at Whole Foods for a quick lunch- the Hummus with roasted Veggies and the chicken salad are amazing- when I am snagging these for a quick bite I always want a little yummy beverage- but I dont want soda or sweet stuff- I found this today- Unsweet Iced Tea... IN A BOTTLE! Delightful!}

In case you haven't seen my full TJ's list- here it is: TRADER JOE's LIST. Have a fabulous night! 

It's Delightful: Candles, Lotion and Soap!

I am a sucker for yummy soap, lotion and candles! I also have a new "obsession" for coffee mugs- but we can discuss that later! When getting ready to move in my new home, I was so excited to shop for these little pleasures! I have a little delightful morning routine of lighting my favorite candle and starting the coffee pot before breakfast with the girls- if I have those two things done, I can move on! I thought you might like to know about my favorites of the moment!

{VOLUSPA Elysian Garden- although I like ALL of their candles, this one is my "candle of the moment" I get mine at Standard Style- but they are everywhere!}

{Next Up- I adore this candle Trapp: Bob's Flower Shoppe- it is AMAZING!}

{As far as soap goes- I always find delightful soap at Anthropologie- it is really more about the bottle than the soap itself if we are honest! I found this Barr-Co. hand soap and lotion and I just love the bottles- the product is yummy too! Here it is in my new kitchen- I think I might wash my hands now!}

I will keep you updated as I find more treasures- Happy Tuesday!

Elementary School

Just like that...I mean... in a flash- we are in to Elementary School! I can hardly believe it. I am so excited for Ellie- but like I said before, I would really like to keep her in a little bubble her whole life and completely censor every single item that ever goes before her eyes or in her mind. I do not ever want her to be exposed to the nasty evil things of this world..however, I just dropped my baby girl off at "public school" this morning and I am just going to have to be intentional at home and completely trust God that His plan is perfect and he has my girls in the palm of His Almighty Hands! I had to remind myself of this as I was looking around the library and noticed several books that I would not ever want her to read- I realized the days of small Christian Preschool have come to a close and we are in a new chapter! Ok...so that was my mental issue of the day :)
Before I tell you about the first day I need to give you some background- When I was pregnant with Ellie, I had to be induced into labor because I was a week OVER due and still not dilating. I had to get "the cream" and Pitocin and after 19 hours of labor and STILL no dilation- I had to have a C-Section..and she still gave them trouble when they were pulling her out. I should have known...1) Ellie is stubborn 2) Ellie really likes being with me 3) Ellie is not one to just jump into new situations- it takes FOREVER for her to get comfortable! I tell you all of that because not much has changed in 5 years! Every year she has gone to Preschool or Mom's Day Out, it takes her a solid two months to be completely comfortable- usually starting with serious tears. I have been anticipating Kindergarten for quite some time now- she is starting over with no familiar faces, we just moved and I have been really busy- which has her a little anxious- so I have been preparing myself for complete meltdown! Ellie is doing afternoon Kindergarten which is wonderful. We got to relax all morning and just hang out. I think this will give me one more year to really soak it up. I hope that I will use that time to just hang with her- color, play, do lunch, etc.. I just want to enjoy the simple things before she is in school and activities all day and there isn't TIME! It is for that reason- we are not doing any "activities" this semester, we are just going to enjoy and discover without all of the busy! Ok...here is our day!

{One thing I have learned from having all of my possessions in storage for 3.5 years is this...USE IT!! I have just decided nothing is too fancy- if you've got it and you love it- just USE IT! So..Ellie and I drank our juice out of my silver goblets this morning- and it was delightful!}

{My mom took Izzy to the lake for a couple of days- but Milly got to celebrate school with the big sis!}

{The backpack is a BIG deal!}

{Big sigh of relief- no boys at her table- she has funny boy issues, her daddy doesnt mind that she doesnt want to hang with boys!}

At this point..I left the building and there were NO TEARS, my big girl just sat down at her sweet little table and DID KINDERGARTEN!!!!! So proud of that girl! 

{Meanwhile...I got to hang with this girl! Would you believe she is getting a ton of teeth and is miserable?}

{I decided to show up for pick-up extra early- like 30 minutes early- I just wanted to make sure I was there when she was released since I didnt know what to expect...Apparently I was not the only one- I arrived to a serious line! We are crazy moms! Anyway- it was raining when I arrived- of course! But it stopped just in time for that sweet little face to exit the building, at the front of her line, smiling from ear to ear!}

{Dave has had to work really late this week, so we decided to head down to where he works and meet him for a little ice cream before he had to go back. Ellie was surprised and loved hanging with her daddy!}

{I grabbed this shot- she LOVES her daddy!}

There you go- that is our day! I feel like a 100lb weight has been taken off my shoulders- we did it- one down, two to go!! 

Goodnight!