Simply the Smith's

I bought this because as Grayson grows he is becoming ubearable to carry in his carseat. I mean he is almost 20 pounds plus the carseat easily being 15 on it's own well that makes 35 pounds. To lug that around a grocery store well thats cray cray. Which is why I NEVER took him to the store with me. So I bought this Cart Cover .  I tested it out today and it was a sucess. He loves riding in the cart which I knew he would. Plus it really is a breeze to put on I did it one handed. It holds his toy and he just sat there happy as a clam smiling at everyone who would look his way. The price is so worth it at 24.99 plus if your part of amazon mom free 2 day shipping!! It is that great material that is easy to wipe down with a baby wipe (sidenote: I think I clean everything with baby wipes now!! They are the best kept secret for cleaning your floors I think). Grayson will now be making trips to all stores that have carts from now on!!!

My first link up!!! I love this one and read multiple ones every Friday so I decided to join in One- Travel Coffee Cup   It keeps my coffee warm on my drive to work and fits in my cup holder. Plus it does not have a handle. Don't ask me why but I cringe at travel mugs with handles. This is the bomb.com. Two- Amazon mom. I mean come on people you get free two day shipping, a deal on diapers and wipes and baby accessories. Plus right now there are 3 months free AND $25.00 off your first purchase of diapers. I got the jumbo box of diapers normally $45.00 for $17.30 shipped. Done and done. Three- Bath and Body Works  Wild Berry hand soap. I mean really there are not many flavors scents I don't love but I just opened this one this morning and yummmmmm!!! Four- John Frieda Frizz Ease Secret Weapon. The humidity here has been beyond crazy so my hair has been frizzing and I don't even have curly hair. I picked this little gem up and I'm addicted. It...

So busy week, semi-busy weekend. Friday- Michael's mother is dropping by to visit G. Saturday - picking up my adorable niece Libby and spending the day with her and Grayson. Baking brownies, car cleaning(weather permitting) and nail painting (baby permitting) are on the itinerary. Then at night we have my uncles art show. He is an amazing artist and we always support Sunday- NOTHING is planned so far and I'm hoping to keep it this way and just relax and soak up some time with my boys. Monday- I'm home with G but not Michael he has to work total bummer. Hopefully it is a light day for him and he can get home to us and we can spend sometime together. My to-do list for this weekend would be as follows and this is a lose idea because sometimes this girl gets lazy and just wants to snuggle her baby and cup of coffee Laundry Finish organizing my closet Organize the laundry room Dust Vacuum floors Mop floors Clean out car Wash car Clean off front porch ( I know t...

Today is the day that 4 years ago I became Mrs. Smith. It was the perfect day. Rained in the morning (good luck) Beautiful and sunny by wedding time. I loved everything about my wedding day. I had the most peaceful feeling walking down the isle to marry Michael. It could have been the shot of southern comfort I had just done, but I like to say it was knowing that this was my soul mate. OK maybe it was a little of both. We had a short and sweet ceremony that had so much love in it. Then we partied down until the wee hours of the morning. We left the Monday after for our honeymoon which we spent discussing our 5 year plan and we are pretty much right where we said we would be and I could not be happier. I'm one of the lucky ones. I married an amazing man, someone who takes care of my heart. When we were going through our marriage classes before the wedding the pastor looked at us and said I have been praying about your marriage and the answer that I got was that you were written...

So we have been sleep training for about a week and fingers crossed we have finally found our groove. We struggled for the first couple days have had some good nights and then a couple bad. I dug through Grayson's book shelf and found Sounds for Silence baby settling program.We decided to give this a try because the plain old cry it out stuff was not for us. This has a CD with it and after skimming the book decided it was for us. On Thursday night we popped the CD in and put G in the crib awake but drowsy.This has to be the hardest thing for me because I love cuddling with him until he falls asleep but every book I have read says that is a no no. Anyway..... He cried for about 10 minutes went in patted his back and then he was out. Until about 11:30 then he was up and crying like a mad man. I went in patted him on the back and he would fall asleep and then 5 minuets later he was up again. He finally knocked out at 12:30 and I crawled back into bed. He slept until I had to wake ...

Tonight is the first night of volleyball that I have to play without my hubby. He got tickets to sit in a suite at the ZZ Top concert and is going with my dad. I will miss him but he will have a blast and it's a once in a lifetime chance. Tomorrow I have a dinner with my mom,sister, baby G and my mom's best friend from high school Aunt Lisa. I have not seen her in years and this is the first time she will meet baby G. I can't wait. That will be two nights in a row that  Michael and I will be apart and I will miss him. Thursday is our anniversary which will spent at home with a pizza. Grayson has 7 yes you read that right 7 totes of "future" clothes. Meaning clothes that range from 18 months to size 5. I'm beyond grateful for this because that is less we have to spend on clothes. My cousin had a boy and she gave 5 huge garbage bins full of clothes. I went through them all and have them organized now by size. Work today is difficult I would like to be ...

Saturday we crafted until we dropped. You can see all my finds here . Grayson was an absolute doll! He gets a crowd wherever he goes because well my boy is good natured and smiles at anyone that says hi. My mom, aunt, sister, and bestie met us at the craft show and we all got great deals. Saturday night we soaked up some G time and were planning on a walk and then the rain and thunder came. Total buzz kill so we hunkered down and relaxed to the max. I started my mountains of laundry and we watched the Bills game it was a bummer but we are die hard fans. Sunday we hung out in the morning and started to get G packed up for his sleep over at Gigi and Papa's house. He was so good on Sunday and I was just loving on him all day because I knew how bad I was going to miss him. Michael got home around 1 and jumped in the shower and then took Grayson over to my parents. I stayed back and got ready. Michael came back and picked me up and we got our anniversary celebration started. We stop...

Real quick update on the craft show this morning  Sign for the dinning room I'm in love  Cute milk jug that I can jazz up for each holiday  This awesome piece that will be Grayson's toy box!!!  This lamp which is just too cute for words not sure which room this will find a home in yet  The drawers even open. That is the bomb.com This cute embroidered saying for G's nursery  And I had to buy some fall decor these cute pumpkins did the trick!!! And just because a picture of the bambino  Enjoy the weekend!!!!

OK holy long blog post title but its the truth. I cringe at this, I struggle with this, I work on it. I never struggled with my weight in high school. I was beyond active,volleyball, basketball, track, and dance. I could eat whatever I wanted and sometimes lose weight. Enter my 20's the game changed but I adjusted my eating habits and sprinkled in some working out and maintained. Then a life change. Michael and I moved into our house together. We under went major construction which meant no kitchen for 3 months. So if you couldn't cook it in a microwave or eat it uncooked it didn't happen in our house. We ordered out constantly and from April until June I gained 25 pounds!!! I had a wedding dress to fit into so I started to walk daily and dropped 10 pounds in a little under 2 months but that still put me up 15 pounds. My wedding dress still fit so I was OK and had the most beautiful wedding day ever. Then when we got back from the honeymoon I started a new job and put ...

So this weekend is going to be ah-mazazing!!!! I can't wait we have so much great stuff planned. Saturday is the annual Witch & Crow craft show!! I live for this show. I always walk out with some great steals and cute decor for the homestead. La love it. Last year I got a cute bench that opened for storage which I had been eyeing a similar one at another store but it was $75.00 I got this one for $30!!! I mean done and done, plus it was cuter color and I got to carry my other goodies home in it. So this year we are heading there with baby G for the first time. Sunday is the night that we are celebrating our anniversary because it is on a Thursday this year. So my wonderful mom and dad offered to take G overnight for us. I took monday off so we are going out to dinner and shopping on Sunday and then Monday is organizing city. We are getting the attic cleaned out and organized and also cleaning the house floor to ceiling. I can't wait!!!! Once it is done it is so much ea...

We have been walking as a family lately. Almost every night for a little over 2 weeks. We walk anywhere from a mile to two miles, depending on G's feeding schedule. I love this time. We talk to Grayson, we talk to each other. We just relax. Plus it is exercising. So that's good. I look forward to this time so much now. I'm a little sad that we started so late but the busyness that is our life took over. I know that we will keep this up until the snow flies or until it gets too cold to have G out in the stroller. These walks have taught me to let things go. Laundry, cleaning, etc. It is fresh air, it is family time, it is good for my soul. We solve things on these walks. I feel better accomplished. I can't wait until G is older and riding his bike while we walk. I love my little family. I have fond memories of being outside with my family, and playing hard. That's one of the reasons why I wanted a pool. I have so many memories of my dad coming home in the summ...

Sleep training is kind of working. He is still getting up for a block in the middle of the night. But he now sleeps in his crib all night and he naps in his crib!!! Huge steps ones that are good for mom and dad. I'm a list person. I write lists for everything. However I lose them a lot or only get halfway through them. The only list that always get accomplished is the one that is on our fridge on a dry erase board. Maybe I need to get a bigger one or put one in every room hmmmmm? I hate doing dishes enough said I never do dishes because when we moved into our house we had enough money to get a dishwasher but my loving husband said it would be too much work to put one in because of the counter top size and that if we didn't get a dishwasher he would always do the dishes. So I hold him to that and in our 4 years of marriage I have maybe done dishes 10 times. I don't mind laundry. It's a no brain-er kind of thing you can through it in and get other things done. W...

About 2 months ago my Dad hurt his knee. He does not remember what he did to hurt it he just remembers the day that it started being unbearable. It hurt to walk and he could hardly bend it because of the swelling. A trip to the doctors and they said it was cyst, and it would pass in about a week or so. Well 2 weeks later and it is still swollen and even more painful. A trip for an MRI and a tear is discovered. Surgery is scheduled and he was taken off of work until after surgery pending recovery. The surgery date August 19th. My Dad's birthday August 20th. I mean can a guy catch a break!!! He was a good sport about it and he said he didn't mind. Well yesterday was the surgery and he did swimmingly. (PS why do people say that? where did that even come from?) The doctor said his knee was like a 20 year old except for the tear and they expect him to make a full recovery. Praise the Lord. Tonight his birthday we are heading down for dinner and cake because well we can't n...

Again time stop going so fast...... Dear Grayson, Baby boy I think I love you more everyday. You have the best smile and laugh!! You are laughing up a storm. You and I get into laughing fits together that leave me in tears. I love how you are our little shadow. You go everywhere with us. You are 5 months old but wearing 9 month clothing. You have the chunkiest thighs and arm rolls for days but those cheeks are what really melt my heart. We had a couple doctors visits this month and have gotten your acid reflux under control. Fingers crossed you grow out of it. You started veggies this month and while you shudder at the first few bites you always open your mouth for more. You get cereal twice a day and 6 ounces 4 times a day with veggies and fruit( just started yesterday) around dinner time. You sleep on your tummy now and we have started sleep training. Your doing pretty good but are still up for an hour anywhere between 10 and 12. We are working through it. It's ok we get...

Friday we went for a walk Then we drank some beers and cooked dinner (we had breakfast for dinner) See baby G photo bombing Grayson taking a cat nap on daddy  Then Saturday we did walk number dos  Watched mommy do laundry  And took naps in my crib!!! Notice the puddle of drool oh teething Sunday we went shopping with Gigi and got sooo much stuff at khols  Baby G before shopping  And after  We also started moving our new dressers into our room and organizing our closets  Overall a great weekend with my boys and family ❤❤❤❤

My mom is a teacher. That equals summers off. Well not for her she teaches summer school. But she is off of school now so of course she wants some baby G time. She called me on wednesday after the whole fiasco and told me to pack baby Gray an overnight bag and she would pick him up from daycare and keep him overnight so we could get some sleep. I mean the angels were signing. Wednesday was the worst sleep night ever. I didn't get to sleep until 1 and then was up at 3 and then again at 5 for good so I was running on fumes.  She grabbed him from daycare on Thursday with my niece Libby who was begging to see Grayson. So when I got out of work that night I picked up dinner went home and cuddles with my husband. We needed some good ol couch time together. We ate dinner and then I did a little organizing of G's clothes and then we went to bed at.......wait for it ...... 7:00!!!! I was asleep by 7:15 and slept straight through until my alarm at 5:15!!!! I felt like million dollars...

Being a first time mom I have taken advise from lots of other mom's in my life. I like to think I'm a pretty laid back mommy (only on the outside!!!) But there are a few things that I would D-I-E without!!! 1. Fisherprice Jumperoo Baby G loves this thing. It gives us at least half an hour to run around and get things done or eat dinner. It's is reasonably priced plus I got a steal on it at BJ's a few weeks ago!!! 2. Aden and Anis security blanket I love that they are breathable because my baby has to sleep clutching something in his kingkondmegadeathgrip. It makes me feel better. 3. Enfamil A.R. formula Having a reflux baby is not always easy between the spitting up and the crying when they are flat on their back, but this formula has been a life saver! And bonus not anymore expensive than the regular enfamil. 4. Kitchenaid coffee pot Ok this one is to help be snap out of my zombie walk in the mornings!! Plus it matched my mixer and food proc...

So yesterday was any normal day. Wednesday is my busy day at work and I was working like a mad women. I was of course exhausted because I'm pretty sure that G is cutting a tooth and the whole sleeping thing is non existent. Around 11 my phone rang it was daycare. My first thought was this cannot be good he probably spiked a fever. The conversation went like this Daycare: "Katlin?" Me: "yes" Daycare: " You need to come get Grayson we are pretty sure he has Hand, Foot, and Mouth." Me:" Um, OK why do you think he has that?" Daycare: "He has a red spot on his bottom lip and his mouth inside is covered in sores" Me: " Let me call my doctor and I will call you back" I got off the phone and being the sleep deprived momma that I am started crying instantly. I called my doctor they got me into the first available appointment at 3:15. I called Michael and he was 2 hours away on a delivery. All I kept thinking was G has han...

As we are coming up on our 4 year wedding anniversary I start to think about the night that we met and the whirlwind that followed and how we got here today, to this exact point. I want Grayson to know our story so I'm going to tell it here now. It was July 27th 2008 (die that seems like forever ago) My best friend bar tended at our local bar and called me that night and told me to come see her. She said it was dead and that she wanted to hang out with me. I was supposed to go with a group of friends to the fair but opted out and went down to the bar instead. I was there for a few hours it was like 11:30 and I was outside hanging out with some friends. There was a guy walking up into the bar and for no reason I yelled out "have a nice night". He looked at me with a WTF face and said "oh I will" and away he went. I made my way back into the bar and was having a drink when I decided to play the jukebox. I turned around and there was the same guy trying to get...

I woke up today thinking it was Thursday. Imagine my surprise when I realized it was only Tuesday!! Our family unit is in need of some shaking up. Truth is our schedules just don't jive too well with having a child. I don't know what the changes will be, or how it will look when the changes are over but we just need something to shift. I may or may not have a shopping problem. OK this is labeled confessions so I do! I do have a shopping problem. I want my baby to look like a little man I have a very specific idea of how he should dress. I already ordered Grayson's Halloween shirt. Now don't get it twisted not his costume yet. I have a lot of ideas cooking in this head up here. I'm a picky eater. I just am can't help it but my husband loves it when we "eat the same meal" it's really cute how excited he gets. I made a commitment to start working out at the gym at least 3 times a week starting September 1st. At this point it seems impossib...

When I left work on Friday I was shouting TGIF!!! To say that I was ready for my weekend was an understatement.... We had leftovers for dinner and just relaxed. My sister came to visit for a little bit when she got out of work and it was just a nice relaxing night to end a busy week. Saturday G and I got up and met my mom for round 2 of blueberry picking. We freeze them so we have blueberries all year round. I know have 2 gallon size freezer bags full of blueberries. My hubby is ecstatic. Then we went and met my sister at a cute little shop in the town she lives in. I got some pretty good deals. I bought a huge wicker basket that in any other place on the planet would have been over $20.00 I got it for $6.99. It is perfect to put our blankets in in the living room!!! I was beyond excited and snatched it right up. I didn't go too crazy because they are having a big craft show August 24th and it will be fall over load!!! I can't wait! Saturday night we relaxed as a family a...

So.... I'm just gonna dive back in. Saturday morning my brother and I got up early at 7. Everyone was still sleeping but see him and I get up at 5:00 everyday so 7 was sleeping in. We decided to take a walk around the golf course and it was beautiful. They sky looked amazing and it was nice just to have sometime quiet time. We came back and got right into breakfast. My aunt and uncle did breakfast for everyone. It was so cool. It's called eggs in a bag. So here is how it works. 1- crack eggs into a freezer bag (we used the quart ones) and smoosh them up 2- add in whatever fix-ins you want (ex cheese, onions, peppers, ham, bacon, sausage) 3- drop it into boiling water for about 10 mins. That's it that's how easy it is. It was sooo good and we got to cook more than one at a time so breakfast went much faster. Of course we had toast, fruit, coffee cake, bacon, sausage, bloody mary's and mamosa's. We realxed for a while and then headed to the showers whic...

So while I have to say that time is flying by in regards to well just life in general but also my baby growing I love every new stage with him. Yesterday was any typical thirsty Thursday. I got me and the babe ready to leave the house which BTW he is amaze balls in the morning. Happy, smiling, and just a breeze. We have the best little routine. So we get out the door and head to daycare and I get to work and just started chugging along. Around 2:30 my husband calls and says I got out early I'm going to grocery shop. SCORE!!!! I don't mind grocery shopping but I feel like it takes time away from our family time at night so when he gets out earlier than me and he does it, it is a win win. I grabbed Grayson when I got out of work and we headed home. I helped Michael put the groceries away and then we started grooving on dinner. My Aunt (G's Mema) stopped over somewhere in this madness and dropped of a Bill's football jersey. Die it is too cute and I cannot wait to p...

For some reason even when I have short weeks wednesday is the hardest day at work for me hands down. I'm usually exhaused by now, and it just a busy day. It's the day I process payroll for the entire company and it has to be done by 2. See the thing is that I have to wait on others to start processing checks and sometimes I don't get things until late. Anyshway..... I went to BJ's by myself yesterday after work. I'm not going to lie it was nice to have a little alone time to peruse the isle's at my own pace and not race the ineedadiaperchangeorabottleorijustamcryingfortheheckofit clock. So that's what I did but then I got sucked in.......to the baby isle. They have Carter's at BJ's and it is the clothing that hands down fits baby G the best. So I perused the clothing section and picked up 3 pairs of jimmy jams, 2 outfist, and 2 packs of socks. But I later checked myself and narrowed it down to 1 pair of jams, 1 outfit and 1 pack of socks. But ...

This may take a few posts because well its ca-ray-zy what went down this weekend. First of all I took off Friday at the nagging request of my husband and was that the best idea ever!! We had already paid for daycare that day so my sister who also works there picked him up in the morning (6 am) to take him and we dragged our buts back to bed for an hour. Let me just say best.sleep.ever! So then we got up and packed like crazy people. I had 8 tote bags, 2 totes (the big plastic ones),1 suitcase, and 2 coolers. Then we showered and headed to pick up the camper. I was devestated when we saw it. It was old, and run down. Total bummer. Plus it was dirty. (I may be a tiny bit of a neat freak but it was till dirty by anyones standards) We picked it up and drove back home and then I dove in. I scrubbed the tables, the sink, bathroom, and floors. I lysoled all the seats and vaccumed every nook and cranny I could get to. It was satifactory enough and smelled a heck of a lot better. Then my...

I promise to write a whole post about this past weekend which we have dubbed Gramstock 2013 and it is now going to be a yearly trip yay!!!! Anywho let me get back to my craziness that will be this post I hate camping for the fact that you have to pack up your entire life! Now that I think about it traveling period stinks for laundry alone. I mean had not one piece of dirty laundry when we left. I come home and I have like 850349 loads. OK maybe its just because I have an almost 5 month old. My babe is sick. I'm talking multiple blow outs in a 24 hour period, a fever spike at night, and just overall fussiness. Went to the Doctor yesterday and they said he is fine. ugh! I hate when he does not feel good Going back to work today was like dying a slow painful death. I love being home with my boys. Riley was the bomb.com at our friends house. Thank you Jesus because I worry about him when he is not with us. Friday Michael and I woke up and it was like we were in the twilig...

Putting my baby on medicine kills me. I wish I didn't have to but then if it makes him better I have to right?!?! No one tells you how much guilt comes with being a parent. I mean I over think everything now and how it will affect my baby G. Is is possible to catch up on sleep? I mean I'm exhausted!!!! He sleeps pretty good but I still feel like I have not slept sound since the few times he has been with my mom or my mom was here overnight. I love coffee. I makes me happy in the morning, and sometimes at night. I would DIIIIIE without it. My husband always amazes me. I had a shopping trip that needed to get done before we left and he called me at work said I'm in the parking lot I will go do it for you since I got out of work early. I mean I'm blessed. I have the happiest baby. He will smile at anyone and he has the best toothless smile ( I mean I know I'm biased but for real yo) I put presure on myself to have everything perfect and I'm trying to wo...