All I know is that at 4am Sunday morning he was in the hospital and not doing well. I was in total shock when I found this out. I can only imagine the pain she is going through right now. I know there is nothing I or anyone can say or do to lighten this pain, but I really wish there were. She now lives in Chicago and I live in Memphis so we aren’t as close as we once were, but I still love and adore her as much as I did when we spending our days gossiping about cute boys and going to friday night football games.

For all those parents, soon-to-be parents, and one day parents remember that everyday with your child(ren) is a blessing. Even the days when you  are at your whit’s end and are ready to give up….that day is a blessing too. The next time you are ready to pull chunks of your hair out because little Johnny just put foil in the microwave just to see the pretty “fireworks” remember, it’s just a microwave. People have lived thousands of years without them and still do to this day. But I bet you can’t find a single mother that’s lost a child and doesn’t grieve everyday, and would gladly live without that silly microwave, over the loss of her precious angel.

This news has changed the way I look at my little boy. I already loved him to the ends of the earth, but having something like this hit so close to home has really opened my eyes to the possibility that everyday could be the last day I spend with Grayson. So, go hug your babies, big and small, and smother them with slobbery kisses. And don’t forget to just sit and soak up all the sweetness and love they have to offer.

P.S. – I know I didn’t give my friend’s name or her son’s name, but would you please keep them in your prayers. Pray that her and her husband’s hearts receive some relief from this pain and sorrow soon, and that they find the strength each day to keep moving forward.

For me, this project was decently inexpensive because I had most of the supplies on hand. Here’s what you’ll need…

• glass jar (I picked mine up at Target for $5.99)
• rubbing alcohol (if you decide to add a chalkboard label)
• chalkboard paint
• chalk
• small paint brush

• small rocks for drainage
• carbon
• potting soil
• succulent plant

Start by having your handsome assistant add a layer of small rocks that cover the bottom of your container. (a 1/2 inch should be fine for a small scale project like this)

Next add your layer of carbon. (1/4 of an inch)

Then you will need to begin adding your soil. Don’t add too much before adding your plant because the roots will need to go somewhere and you don’t want your plant sticking out the top of your container. In terrariums, the plants are typically planted below the brim of your container. They are not ment to fully crest the top like a typical potted plant.

I didn’t take photos while planting my succulent, because it was just too darn messy, and honestly….I forgot.

If you want to add a little chalkboard sign to the outside you will need to wipe down the surface you plan to paint with rubbing alcohol, and let it dry. I wanted my sign to be imperfect so I just slapped on a few layers of paint (according to the instructions, of course), and let it dry overnight.

I let Gray draw his Oma a little picture instead of writing anything on it.

It turned out super cute, and my Mom loved it. Anyone else make or get any spectacular Mother’s Day presents this year?

“Grayson” signed his name. My almost 21 month old is a total genius! I’m sure he had absolutely NO help from his daddy. Looks like he inherited my poor penmanship though.

(Anyone else notice the “a” is written backwards? Hehe!)

For my gift, my boys actually got me two things. One of them I got a few weeks early, because Derek someone couldn’t wait. This the gift he couldn’t wait to give me…

Now do you see why he was so impatient? Yep, because he wanted to play with it himself. It’s the New iPad, and I love it. So does Grayson…under supervision, of course. Wanna know the best think about this puppy? All we paid for it was $87. That’s right. Your eyes aren’t playing tricks on you. You didn’t forget how to read. I said we paid $87 for a new iPad.

We are constantly trying to save, especially if we ever want to move out of this house, so spending $500+ on a “unneeded” piece of technology just wasn’t in our budget. However, we do have a credit card that you earn points on and redeem for gift cards or other items. (I don’t think it’s the wisest thing to share with the whole world what kind of CC we own/use. I use to work with CC fraud back when I was working and it’s nothing to mess around with.)  Sorry, back to the card. We earn points, sometimes double or triple points, every time we use our CC. And since we only use our CC and never a debit/check card we rack up some serious pointage. We’ve been saving our points for quite a while now and were able to cash them out for Best Buy gift cards that just about paid for this new toy of mine. Woop! Woop!

My second gift was this adorable mug Derek (and Grayson) made for me on Shutterfly. I made one for Derek a few months back, just because, and he felt that I needed one too. Good thinking, sweetie!  I like surprising him with random little gifts from time-to-time just to let him know that I’m thinking about him.

Yes, my child thinks he’s British, and calls me “Muma or Mum.” It’s the strangest thing.

This is a photo of me holding Grayson for the first time. Love.

After church, Derek cooked us an amazing lunch, Gray and I napped, then we headed over to my parents house for dinner with my Mom. My little sister is quite the cook and treated my Mom to a day of meals cooked from scratch, and we got to join in on the yumminess. Score!

Here’s my little dude chillin’ on the couch, and messing with the remote. Playing with my parents’ TV remote and car keys are two of his favorite activities when he goes over there.

He looks so old here. He’s really growing up fast these days. He’s loosing every ounce of that babyish look he had and turning into a little boy. I can’t take it! I’m constantly telling him to “be a tiny baby again, pleeeease!”

For Mother’s Day Gray and I made my mom (Oma…that’s what Gray calls her) a terrarium for her office at work. She has a big window that brings in lots of light, so I thought this would be perfect.

I used some chalkboard paint to make a small area on the front that you can write something. I decided to let Grayson draw his Oma a little something instead.

Derek’s parents were out of town visiting his grandmother, so we wished her a happy Mother’s Day via phone. I hope everyone enjoyed their Mother’s Day. Wether you are a mom or not. I know I did. Although, I did have a nasty sinus headache pretty much the whole day.

P.S. – I’ll be back later this week with a how-to on the easy little terrarium Gray and I whipped up for Mother’s Day.

Megan and Justin brought their adorable daughter Lyla. You met her the other day. The party started and everyone played with the baby. People gathered outside since it was such a beautiful afternoon, and Derek got to cooking the burgers and hotdogs.

And here are the proud parents-to-be keeping it nothing but classy.

After we ate it was time for some team photos. Here’s the two teams…

It’s kinda funny, Team Girl was composed mainly of men, and Team Boy was made mostly of the ladies.

And here we go…

We Skyped in Rachel’s sister and nephew for the big reveal.

IT’S A BOY!!!!!

Here they are trying to show the world the gender of that tiny little baby and Rachel can’t balance the mustache on her upper lip if her life depended on it. Jeremy though, he’s a pro.

And just in case you wanted to see, here is Rachel in all her Mommy-to-Be glory.

Please pay no attention to the chipping paint on the storm door or the fading, peeling, groody paint on the steps. We are in the process of getting them painted. Right now, we are trying to decide on a color for the steps and the base of the house. The hunter green has to go.

Go ahead and say it….C-U-T-E! Derek and I have known Lyla’s Mommy & Daddy for years, and they are so much fun. As a matter of fact, Justin (her Daddy) and Derek use to be roommates. Megan has great style and it shows in everything; all the way down to Lyla’s beautiful nursery. Don’t worry, you’ll get a peek of it later on in the post, but for now just enjoy some photos of a way too cute baby.

Do you see this? She reached up and touched her Daddy’s face. Heart. Officially. Melted.

Megan’s mom is an amazing Baketress, and we decided to take this photo with one of her cupcakes on Lyla’s tushy just for her.

Do you not just love this nursery?

Megan’s best friend came in town to help out with the baby. Lyla seems to enjoy hanging out with her momma’s BFF too.

So that’s it for this cute little cupcake. And there are still more shoots that are from months ago still to come. So, stay tuned.

• As much as I loved and to this day severely miss you being a tiny infant I love the stage you are in right now. You are so much fun. You not only interact with me when we do things together, but you full on play. You actually want me to play with you. I feel like such a cool kid. The cutest boy in class actually wants me to play with him?! So awesome! What if he wants me to sit at his lunch table too? I….would….die!!!!!!

• I love how you are always checking on me. If I’m out of your line of sight you will call out “momma!?!” The inflection in your voice alway has this “i’m just checking to make sure you didn’t get eaten by a dinosaur on the way to the bathroom” sound to it. And on one particularly cute day you stood at the bottom of the stairs and called up to me “Momma?! You okay?” I just about melted into a big ole puddle of mommy goo.
• You love my hairdryer. You carry it around the house. Sometimes you drag it by it’s chord like you are walking a dog.
• You also love my hairbrush. It’s a good thing I kept my old one around, because I often find you’ve relocated the newer one. You love brushing mine, your’s, and daddy’s hair. You just need to work on your gentleness.
• You still drool like a fool. I wish all those dang teeth would just cut through already. I’m tired of the whole bib thing. Plus, I don’t think our electronics can handle the amount of water you drip on them.
• Your dad now has you saying “all right, okay!” all the time. It’s super cute.
• I now have you saying “awww, maaaaan!” all the time. It’s even cuter.
• When someone asks you to sing them a song the only song you sing is Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. You know and sing other songs, but when asked to sing a song, I guess this is the first one that pops in your mind.
• You love having conversations with Siri on my iPhone. It’s quite hilarious some of the things she translates your gibberish into.
• Lots of kids have a song that mommy can sing to them to calm them down when they are scared or hurt….yours is Wheels on the Bus. I have no clue why
• Shrek is currently your favorite movie.
• You figured out how to cross your fingers (your pointer and middle fingers) you can do it on both hands. You are in awe of this magnificent trick you’ve discovered and stare at your fingers constantly when they are crossed. You do it so much now that it has become habit, and from time to time I find you watching tv with your fingers crossed. I don’t even think you notice you are doing it.
• D and T are your favorite letters. It’s possible that you know all the letters, but I’ve never gotten you to sit long enough to test this theory out.
• I showed you how to play hopscotch, and you love it. If you see a square on the ground you immediately start hopping, and saying “opp!”.
• Dude, sometimes your poop stanks so much it burns the nose hairs. Seriously, knock this off. Especially on the days that mommy has a sinus headache.

• We started music class this past month (Music for Aardvarks) and you at first loved it, but the past two classes you have not wanted to go in the room and started whining and running to and out of the door. What’s up with that? I have a feeling it’s because you actually have to sit and be orderly and pay attention. This has shown me that we need to work on your willingness to obey and be patient. Don’t get me wrong you enjoy the class once you get settled it’s just that you think you should be the one directing the flow of the class.

• You love sliding in your socks on the wood floors. It’s like you are a tiny Tom Cruise. You know, the Tom Cruise before he started standing on Oprah’s couch and being all weird and stuff.

This is such a fun, but insane phase that you are in. You are finally playing with me and not around me. We interact, we have fun. I love you little man. You keep us constantly laughing, but you keep us constantly worn out. You are a handful, but we wouldn’t have it any other way. Love you more than life.

- Momma

Since they will be moving back to the Nashville area before true “baby shower” time, and I wanted to throw her a shower we decided that I would throw a Gender Reveal Party for her family and a few close friends instead.

I designed the invites. As you can tell we went with a blue and yellow theme. I decided to add the mustaches and ribbons, to you know, class it up a bit. Hehe!

My uber talented friend Megan, who helped me with this party, whipped up this adorable burlap ribbon for the front door.

I picked up some small votive holders from the dollar section at Target, and lit up the mantle. I also made a dot garland from some craft paper to add a little color to my very monochromatic mantle.

I knew I wanted Daisies everywhere. I found some at Kroger for $4 per bouquet. Score! I brought our bulap lined white tray from the master bedroom into the living room to give our very large coffee table a focal point. On the tray, I threw some daisies in a white pitcher and white candles in some blue candle stick holders (I already owned), and called it a day.

We asked each guest to show their vote on what the baby’s gender was by wearing either a yellow bow or a felt mustache pinned to their shirt.

I made that sweet little chalkboard from a decorative wood plaque I picked up at Michael’s around Christmas time, acrylic paint (I custom mixed) for the yellow, and some Gray Martha Stewart Chalkboard paint. I can’t wait to use that chalkboard paint on many, many more things around the house.

Here is the food table slowly starting to take shape.

The “special” cupcakes. As far as looks and taste goes they were nothing special, but they did hold the answer to the “big” question everyone was asking. “What’s the gender?” Rachel wanted white cake and cream cheese icing, so that’s what we did. I had intended to put the cupcakes in dark brown liners instead of white, but I just ran out of time.

I was going with a vintage, glass, and white theme when it came to displaying the food and drinks.

More daisies. I threw some in a few large mason jars I already owned to pretty up the table. Oh, and there are a few more of those votive holders that I picked up in the Target dollar section. And they just happened to look like mini mason jars. A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! If you don’t stroll through the dollar section every time you walk into any Target you are totally missing out. It becomes somewhat of an addiction. It’s a good thing I don’t have a Dollar Store near me. I would bankrupt my family.

Since I didn’t have enough corn holders to accommodate 12+ people I used kabob skewers I had left over from a meal I made at Christmas time. I ran out of time to clip the skewers to make them a tad shorter. They ended up a bit longer than I had hoped, but it still worked out well.

Megan made potato salad with a dill base that was to-die-for. Like, no kidding! TO DIE!!!!

I made dear sweet Paula Deen’s Not Your Momma’s Banana Pudding. If you’ve never had this version of banana pudding you are missing out. You will swear you life started the day you first tasted this stuff. Swears. And ever since I saw the episode of Friends where Rachel added peas and beef to a trifle I’ve been dreaming of making something pretty in a trifle dish myself. Problem was, I don’t own one. Lucky for me, my MIL did. So I took Mrs. Deen’s recipe and gussied it up a bit in the looks department.

I also was able to extend my glorious dining room table to it’s full length. I’ve never had a need to do so before. Fully extended, our table is just too big for our dining room. I also was able to use the way too big linen table runner I purchased from the PB Outlet years ago since the table was fully extended. That’s what you get when you don’t pay attention to the dementions when you buy things people. Regret and a lonely table runner.

Here is the final table set up. Do you notice the hamburgers and hotdogs on the corner of the table? That was the brain child of Megan’s husband, Justin. We had hamburgers and hotdogs for the main course. Get it? Hamburgers. Hotdogs. Girl. Boy. Rachel thought it was hilarious when Justin brought up the idea. So, I went with it.

For drinks we served sweat tea (duh, cuz we are in the south) in mason jars, soda, water, wine, and beer. The dispenser that held the sweet tea needed a little height so people could fit their glasses under the spout, so I used a vintage metal case I picked up at my in-laws garage sale a couple of weeks ago. Who knew that bad boy would come in hand so soon? I sure didn’t.

I used cardboard card stock I picked up at Michel’s on sale for the drink and food labels. I simply used stamps and black ink to write out the words. Since we were going vintage I wasn’t worried about perfection with the stamps. Praise the lord for vintage equaling non-perfection.

Don’t you just love my mason jar drink dispenser? Derek bought if for me for valentine’s day. He picked it up at the Pottery Barn Outlet. I just love that place. The straws I got off Etsy, of course.

I carried the vintage theme to the backyard by using this amazing vintage soda cooler that my MIL let me borrow for a photo shoot a few days before. We lined it with a garbage bag, added ice, and stored the booze in this bad boy.

I used a watering can that my MIL picked up at Target a few years back, and gave to me the other day, to hold some faux hydrangeas I had just hanging out in the attic.

Well, that’s it for the party decor.

Now, I want to know…what’s your guess?

I’ll be back soon with pics from the party and the big reveal.

If you want to jump strait to the reveal, click here.

Oh, and on Friday night (the night before the party) we were going to a concert. The concert was awesome, except for the fact that we really HAVE gotten old. The show didn’t start till 9pm, and at 10:30pm we were telling ourselves “it should be over in the next few minutes, right?!” Wrong! They were still going strong at midnight. Plus, we were standing and dancing the whole time.

We went to see Leftover Salmon and Keller Williams at Minglewood Hall. It was such an amazing show. Leftover Salmon classify themselves as the creators of Polyethnic Cajun Slamgrass. Yeah, try to figure out what that sounds like. And Keller…well he does a bit of everything. He mixes elements of bluegrass, folk, alternative rock, reggae, electronica/dance, jazz, funk, and various other genres. He’s kind of known as a one man jam band. 

Yes, I listen to hippie music, and I’m proud of it. Being 1/2 cajun this was right up my alley. I love this stuff. You can’t help but move when you are standing there listening to something like this. It’s just such happy music. Here is a pic I snapped with my phone of Keller playing with Leftover Salmon.

I know all of you are just dying to find out what Polyethnic Cajun Slamgrass sounds like. I recored a tiny bit of the show for you.

And now you know. Yes, there were quite a few people dancing like they just finished off their 3rd jug of moonshine, but I assure you no one had a corn cob pipe in their mouth. Does anyone else out there listen to my flavor of music? And if you don’t already listen to it, but now kind of have the bug, go here to listen to more.

Come back tomorrow, I’m sharing all the fun, cute decor we had at the Gender Reveal Party.

(Watch his mouth and tongue.)

He also says the word watermelon like this. He’s trying so hard to get it right, but it just comes out all adorable and stuff.

Sorry about this video being so dark. I was just hoping to get the sound recorded, and if video showed up in the dark room…well, that would just be a plus.