Linking Up/Blog Fest

Welcome to my blog!

I thought I'd take a moment to introduce us here at Rock 'N' Roll Hideaway since

I'm currently not smart enough to figure out how to add an "about" tab to my blog! Lol!

Please don't hold it against me.....

We're the Carroll Family and there is three of us plus our old Persian cat, Gandalf!

We live in North Carolina and next year we'll be relocating back to my home town in

Alabama. We are dedicated Alabama Crimson Tide fans & we were married there!

I'm Alaythea (pronounced Uh-lay-thee-uh) - it's the Greek word for 'truth'.

I'm 25, currently a stay at home mom, used to be a Cosmetologist. I enjoy reading (especially Stephen King and Dean Koontz), singing, listening to music, scrapbooking, creating stuff for my Etsy stuff, spending time with my hubby & kiddo and of course, blogging!

This is my handsome Mr. - Benjamin, or he also goes by Beej.

He's a musician/singer/songwriter (although he currently holds a day job as well....) and he goes by the stage name Stranger in Bree and he's also working on a side project called, The Echo. He loves golf and a good book as well.

We've been married 6 years and he was my first love, although there were few other in between us first falling in love and actually getting married but that's ok, we found our way back to each other and that's what matters!

In 2007 we added this little beauty to our family! Gianna is our 4 1/2 year old daughter.

She is a well behaved, super funny ball of energy! She doesn't rule the house but she's most certainly the center of it.....she takes after her daddy and I'm proud of that!

She started pre-school this year and she loves it - currently her favorite things are school, Wow Wow Wubzy, pizza, playing with her Leapster & reading books.

This is my Etsy Shop - it's full of handmade goodies that I make myself! I love doing it and being creative but I also started it to hopefully help bring in a little extra income while I'm still at home. Check it out!

You can also find me on:

Twitter (@alaythea)

and

Instagram (Alaythea)

Thank you so much for stopping by!!!

Sweet & Squishy!

I'm sorta, just a little, obsessed with babies right now. I think it's just part of life - I mean, my own "baby" isn't a baby anymore and I think it's just part of being a mom too. It's something no one understands until they've been a mom either. To have a child and to nurture it, watch it grow, watch it learn and develop into something you are so proud of and love more then life.

As a child I played with dolls of course but I remember most of the time enlisting my sister to "baby sit" them! Lol! And as a teenager I swore up and down I'd never have children. I worked in the nursery at church on special occasions simply because they paid me and as a teen I always needed money for something. Don't worry, I wasn't a bad babysitter - I was actually really good. It helped that I had 4 younger siblings that I helped take care of regularly. But I can't say I was one of those that loved working with children. And so although from the time I was like 13 I couldn't wait to be married I planned to never have a child, at all.

When I got married I can't say I was really diligent with the whole idea of birth control but at the same time I still wasn't planning children. I barely knew how to be a wife much less a mom. I still remember going out for our one year wedding anniversary - it was August and it was SO hot outside. We decided to take a trip up to this HUGE mall near us and walk around, see a movie and eat at this great cajun restaurant. I remember walking around the mall just feeling "off" and my hands and feet were feeling kinda puffy. I just figured it was because it was so hot out. Then I started feeling nauseated and ended up not eating at the place we had planned to eat. A week or so later we got take out Japanese (my favorite!) and I opened up the to go container and the smell nearly made me hurl on the spot. And at that moment I knew something wasn't right.

I took a pregnancy test in the Wal-Mart bathroom! Lol! I was so anxious I couldn't wait to get home. I bought it and ran in the bathroom. I knew I was pregnant but seeing that word pregnant show up on that test.....I swear my heart stopped for a few minutes. I told Beej over the phone because he was on a job out of town and wouldn't be home till late that night and I didn't want to wait that long. He was shocked to death I think! I was sicker then a dog for the first trimester and it was a blur of sleeping and throwing up. After that I still don't think the shock wore off. There were so many things we were still trying to get in order, still trying to figure out how married life worked and now we were throwing a kid in the mix. One we hadn't planned for at all and on top of it all we had just moved and we were still living with his parents till we could locate a place to live. It was insanity! The pregnancy, then a c-section, then a newborn, then emergency gallbladder surgery 4 weeks later, then everything....I was a mess. And I think I had post partum depression too and just had to sorta fight my way through it. So needless to say the whole first year of Gianna's life was a blur to me. I "remember" her infancy through photos really, not truly in my head.

I had my tubes tied after Gianna turned a year old. Through our insurance at the time it was free to have it done. Birth control pills made me SO sick and I just wanted to be done with it all. Gianna was a good baby but she had a lot of issues with her having some reflux issues with formula and constipation, etc. and I just felt so overwhelmed and just didn't want to do it again. Or so I thought at the time. The thought of taking care of another baby made me want to have a melt down.

But then I grew up......I changed, I started enjoying my child. I fell in love with being a mom. I found other young moms via the internet (I enjoyed a friend from around here for awhile before she became my ex-bff, but that's another story!) and then through blogging much later on. I started seeing the beauty in parenthood and the MUCH bigger picture.....

And so many of my friends and blogger buddies are having kids and my Twitter, blog and Instagram feeds are blowing up with photos over super sweet, squishy babies and my baby fever has kicked into over drive! lol! I see babies when I'm out and about and I find myself not only studying the babies but the mothers and how they are involved with their children. Watching them cuddle them, feed them, carry them......having kids is a beautiful thing!

“A baby will make love stronger, days shorter, nights longer, bankroll smaller, home happier, clothes shabbier, the past forgotten, and the future worth living for”

On having a girl

When I first got pregnant I wanted a boy. No if's, and's or but's. I wouldn't even talk about having a girl. If someone mentioned it I would shut them down. Right away. I was absolutely convinced I was having a boy and I couldn't wait to find out at the ultrasound that I was right, it was a boy and we'd all be happy with a little Rocker Jack.

Honestly, I was scared to have a girl. At the time I got pregnant my mother and I were just barely speaking. I had made some decisions (not bad ones) that she didn't approve of and our relationship had become very strained. And I was so afraid that would happen if I had a little girl. I tend to be like my mom in a lot of ways and I was just so scared that at some point we'd fight and she'd hate me and I would be heart broken. I was afraid I wouldn't be girly enough to have a daughter, I was scared that the responsibility of explaining life would fall mostly on me because I'm the women.......you know, those ridiculous things that go through a pregnant woman's head!

I did about 20 of those "wives tales" things and about 49% said BOY and the other 51% said GIRL. But I was still sure it was a boy. I was deathly sick for the entire first trimester and every one said, "Oh, it's a girl for sure!" I ignored them. Even though I had a girl's name picked out (Eisley Tatum) I figured I'd never have to use it.

But about 3 or 4 weeks before the ultrasound to find out what we were having - I think I was about 15 weeks along - I had a dream I had a little girl and I woke up absolutely POSITIVE I was having a girl. And suddenly I was obsessed with the idea of having a girl. I couldn't wait to pierce her little ears, put big bows on her and do the nursery in pink (although I had already swore to a neutral yellow and green theme!). And suddenly, I didn't like the name we had picked for a little girl. It felt too "tom boy" to me and I wanted something oh-so-girly! So we started looking again for a name. Originally I chose Giselle. I thought it was so pretty and girly but when I tried it out on a few people every time they said "Oh, after the Victoria Secret model?" And although I think Giselle is gorgeous I didn't want my daughter to always have to answer that question. So while looking through the "G" names I stumbled upon Gianna and LOVED it! Not to mention it's the Italian form of Jane which is my grandmother's name (and she has since passed so it's even more special to me now). Next we had to decide on a middle name....I picked Elise at first but then someone we knew named their daughter that and so I scratched that. Then I picked Eden, then I heard Tiger Wood's wife's name (and Beej is a big golf/Tiger fan) and her name is Elin. I loved it! We ended up changing the spelling to Elyn because I thought it looked prettier and it means "light".

A few weeks later at our ultrasound the tech asked me what I "thought" it was. I said I KNEW it was a girl. She smiled and said, "Yep, you're having a girl!" I was so happy! And Beej was too - unlike probably most guys he was leaning more towards wanting a girl too all along.

Now I absolutely can't imagine having ever wanted a boy! And I know those of you with boys think the opposite but for me my daughter has been the most wonderful thing I could have ever imagined. And if I ever had decided on more children I would have wanted another girl for sure. I love having my sisters and I love having sweet little girls around. As I clean up fairy wands and wings in the living room, as I round up dozen of hair bow ties from the floors and counters, as I sit in my craft room making her over the top pretty bows, as she begs to wear a dress because she's "obsessed" with them......all these things make me so happy to have her! Each day as I sit in the line at school to pick her up and she comes out skipping and bobbing up and down, her cute little pigtail(s) bouncing and that pretty smile on her face I couldn't imagine having anything but her!

I love it now that she's at this wise old age of FOUR she's interacting with me on a whole new level. Picking out her own clothes, fussing with her hair, worried about her earrings, thinking boys are cute and having "best friends" at school. She loves watching A Baby Story with me - her big worry is if it's a boy or a girl and what they name it (she loves names like I do!) and she loves watching TLC's Four Weddings to see whose wedding wins and who she thinks has the prettiest gown or the best hair! I love it!

So as I put on her tights, fix her hair daily, organize 30 pairs of little girl shoes or rush her off to dance classes my heart sings that I have a daughter to call my own! And as my daughter grows I have learned to see my mother in a whole new light. I understand her concerns and cautions a little more now, I understand her heart better. She may not have been able to convey it to me in the best possible way but I "get it" now. And I hope that I'm able to communicate these same wants and desires to Gianna but in a way that she can hear me and love me for.

Our daughters are the most precious of our treasures, the dearest possessions of our homes and the objects of our most watchful love.
-- Margaret E. Sangster

Not feelin' it!

I'm have a low self esteem day. Don't worry about me, I have them several times a week! Lol! I'm used to them and I know they'll pass. But there are days when I just feel kinda down on myself. And here's the thing, I don't have a correct view on myself I know. My hubby and I were talking about it today. I have such a high standard of perfection - as far as how I want and expect myself to look and in my eyes I am SO far from that standard and I fail to see any good. But it doesn't help when I see another "girl" I think I'm probably close to as far as size goes then I hear she's a size 4 or a 2 and I honestly just can't see it. I'm not saying they are lying but I wear mostly 6's and sometimes 8's still. And I'm not talking about those girls who say they are a 4 and they look like a stuffed sausage spilling out of their clothes. I'm talking about girls that look good and yet I'm 2 or 3 sizes bigger then them. Then I'm wondering if I see myself in too good of a light. Do I think I'm smaller then I really am?!! Lol! Here's the thing - I'm sure I'll get a few comments saying "Girl, you look great!" or "You shouldn't be so hard on yourself" or "Be confident the way you are...." and those are all well and good and I appreciate compliments, don't get me wrong, they make my day! But I also think that for me holding myself to a high standard only makes me work harder to try and get there. But I'm doing my best to make be more positive, truly. But there are days that I'm just not feelin' it!

Feeling like a slacker

Last night we went to pick out a costume for Gi. I've kinda waited till the last minute and I knew there wouldn't be a lot let to pick from. We got there and they actually had a lot of costumes but just not much of a selection for toddler size girls. She kinda had the choice between a spider, a lady bug and a bat ballerina. She opted for the last but when I found out it was almost $20 there was NO way I was going to pay that much for a cheap costume. I BEGGED her to get the lady bug but no. She ended up going with a Snow White costume which I find amusing because she's never even seen the Snow White movie or anything. I don't even think she really knows who she is! Lol! So I guess she'll be a blonde Snow White and I'll throw on a little make up to "dress it up" a bit more. She had to wear it out for Trick Or Treating, and to school and to dance. We'll get our wear out of a ten dollar costume!

I just feel like I've really dropped the ball on events this year. Her birthday party was kinda the same - I waited around to the last minute and ended up not getting the theme she wanted because we couldn't find the stuff that late so we ended up choosing theme while we were at the store and she was happy but I just felt her last birthday party was so "rushed". I just hope that next year I can really take the time to think ahead and put more effort into it. Next year I want to really do up a great costume for her. We'll be living in Bama by then and hopefully we'll get to visit pumpkin's patches and be involved with doing stuff with friends and family.

I'm really looking forward to Christmas. Our family on my mom's side always gets together in TN and we rent a cabin for a weekend and it's seriously so much fun and I look forward to it from like September on. We've already got our cabin rented and it looks amazing and I can't wait! But I have several fun baking/craft projects I want to put together and do with the girls (Gianna and my cousin Ava are a month apart and they are buddies!). I just hope that I don't drop the ball on it because I'll be disappointed if I don't do it.

I honestly just feel like I've been a bit of a slacker mom lately. And I don't have any excuse really. I have the time and I could make it happen I just keep putting things off lately. I feel frazzled - we've had some unexpected things come up that we've had to take extra finances for and that's always puts on a strain on us. Right now I am looking for a job but (and this is no excuse) we live in a dirt poor county and there just aren't a lot of jobs available. I have put in applications but no one had called me back. It's hard because I feel like I'm not doing my part to help. I think part of it is that I haven't worked in 5 years and that my hours are fairly limited because of Gianna's school hours and I have to be there to pick her up.....I have attempted to get my Etsy shop going but so far that's not happening. I had great reception when I first started putting stuff out there. But now it's slacked off and I just feel like I'm doing nothing....

I've really put myself into eating right and working out hard again since I'm home for now. I've let a few pounds creep back on so until I can focus on something else this is where I'm putting my focus. Hopefully I can keep from being/feeling like a slacker in that area!

Help me spread the word, please!

Hello, my dear readers!

This week has thrown some serious hurdles in our way and I am doing

my best to try and make some extra money to help with these

unexpected expenses.

We live in a pretty poor county and jobs are few and far between,

I am currently looking for work but until then my Etsy shop is

my only source of income and right now I that income to come in! Lol!

So please spread the word to your friends and family for me,

everything is handmade by me and I do my best to keep my

prices reasonable because I want people to enjoy my

handmade items without going broke!

You can visit my

ETSY SHOP

or my

FACEBOOK PAGE

Thank you so much for helping me make this little labor of love work for

me and my family right now!

You are what you eat....

We hear this all time, especially "dieters". "You are what you eat!" And it's usually in a joking manner but in some ways it can be true. Now granted there are those lucky people who are blessed with a higher then normal metabolism and they burn off food before they can swallow it but for most of us what we eat plays a big part in how we look and how we feel. When I first started working out I started eating right too so between both I saw great results. Over the past two years I have continued to work out daily 5-6 times a week. I work out pretty hard most days but I've noticed that when I don't pair working out with eating right it doesn't work for me. I don't gain like I would if I wasn't working out at all but slowly but surely the weight creeps back on and I start looking "soft" no matter how much I work out. Not to mention that when I'm not eating right I don't push nearly as hard in my work outs. I don't have the energy I do when I eat right.

I hear people all the time complaining about the fact that they can't lose weight even though they work out and then I hear about what they are eating and I'm like "no wonder!" You can't see full results when you are only doing half the work. And I say that to myself as well as others. That's why I've really had to kick my butt in gear because over the past 10 months I've put on about 8lbs. And that may not seem like that much to you but on my little 5 foot frame it's a lot. And it all goes to my waist and hips which means jeans don't fit, dresses are tighter, etc. Just a couple of pounds can mean an entire pants size.

Eating right makes me feel confident as well. Because I know how hard it is for me to avoid sugar and loads of "bad" carbs so when I avoid them day after day I feel strong! I feel like I'm accomplishing something because I know how difficult it is. This carries over into a lot of other things as well. It doesn't get any easier as I go though, I get into the routine of it more but I still struggle. It's funny how easy (and habit) it is to just pop something into your mouth without thinking. Last night Beej brought home McD's for him and Gi and Gianna didn't finish all her fries and as I was cleaning up almost without thinking I started to grab a few fries and pop them in my mouth. But I stopped myself just in time! But breaking the habit never seems to be permanent - I feel like I'm constantly struggling with it but I keep trying!

My point is this - if you aren't seeing the results you want to see in your body then start eating right! And by right I don't just mean watching calories although that is part of it. But make sure your food is "clean" - as little processed food as possible. Eat small "meals" 5 or 6 times a day. No it's not easy but rarely is anything worth something easy. There is always excuses to not do it or to wait and do it later - birthdays, holidays, etc. You say to yourself I'll start after this birthday party or I'll start right after Halloween. But before you know it it's Thanksgiving, then Christmas and you've packed on another 5lbs and feel miserable and then you swear you'll do it as a New Year's resolution. Stop procrastinating and DO IT! You'll feel so much better!

Goals & Progress

(She's my inspiration!)

I thought I'd give you a little update on my Insanity diet progress. I'm at the end of Day 2 today. Yesterday was great. I can't say I had any problems even though it was Saturday and "Game Day" which means around here we usually get pizza, sometimes wings, ice cream, cookies, etc. But I made a salad with chicken and I was good. I didn't feel too bad yesterday until the end of the day I started getting that headache......slightly dull and a little throbby and all behind my eyes. I went to bed at like 9:30pm!

Today has been rough. I have had NO energy and I've had a headache all day. I think I could have slept all day. I've stuck with eating right but I've had a few craving a couple of times - Gianna came over with a chocolate chip cookie and it smelled SO good! Lol! Beej bought two packs of Peanut M&M's last night (my favorite candy) and there is half a pack in the cabinet. It's like stuff that normally I wouldn't even think about suddenly are calling my name! Lol! Like the Bar-b-que flavored kettle potato chips. Sheesh. And it's been like sweets night on Food Network. All about every kind of sugary sweet under the sun.

I weighed and measured yesterday morning and I was honestly surprised that I didn't weigh more then I did. Happy but surprised. But it still wasn't where it needed to be. About 11lbs. more then it should be and about 8lbs. more then my lowest weight. And I measured and well, I've put on the inches and that's what matters the most. That's why I can't fit in my jeans from last Fall/Winter right now. I haven't worked out today or yesterday. Today I went out and got a good walk in but I just haven't had the energy to work out. I'm hoping by tomorrow I'll be feeling a bit better and I'm going to tackle a Turbo Fire work out!

I will weigh and measure again on Saturday and see how it's going and report my progress!

....and I'm a sugarholic!

Hi, my name is Alaythea, and I'm a sugarholic. Yeah, it's true. I'm pretty much addicted to sugar. I managed to break the habit a year and a half ago before my daughter's 3rd birthday party. I went 60 straight days eating nothing but clean food and NO sugar except natural sweetners like honey. And I felt amazing! But on my daughter's birthday I decided to splurge and ate some cake. I remember after like two bites of cupcake I felt so sick and dizzy from that sudden rush of sugar and before you know it I was eating sugary crap again and totally addicted, again. And of course there is always an excuse to continue eating it - birthdays, holidays, special occasions, etc. People always say things like you can just have a couple of bites or eat a small piece but for me it has to nothing because it's either that or all in. And I hate that but it's how it is. And no, I don't think I'll ever be completely over it. It's something I have to fight physically and mentally. I feel so heavy and sluggish when I'm eating sugar - my energy and motivation lacks so much. And on top of sugary foods I crave carbs when I'm eating sugar but mostly I crave the carbs that contain even more SUGAR! I eat when I'm stressed or bored and when that food is nasty sugary stuff then that causes me to feel down and that stresses me more and I feel less motivated to get up and get things done then I get bored and I eat more. Yeah, it's a horrible vicious cycle. Tomorrow I start trying to break that cycle yet again by starting the Insanity diet plan again. I feel AMAZING when I'm on it. It's hard, I don't pretend it's not, but the reward is a healthier, happier and much fitter me. So if you follow me on Twitter or Facebook just ignore any grumpy posts from me - it's just my sugar withdrawals talking!

Human

I have contemplated writing this post for awhile and I figure some people are going to totally disagree with me and that's ok. But I hear it almost DAILY and it bothers me. "Everything happens for a reason." or "It must have been God's plan....." It's easy to say that and honestly I've probably said it before until I realized one day that it was simply another way of blaming God but making ourselves feel better. And most of the time it's only said after something bad happens. Why? Does it make us feel better to have some one to blame? Does that make it better?

Here is the thing some things just happen. Period. Life happens. Things happen every day that are simply products of human error, natural happenstance. People who get pregnant when they didn't want to or plan to doesn't mean that it was God's plan for them to have it baby. It means they had sex with someone and didn't use birth control. True, that child can end up being a huge blessing but that doesn't mean it was necessarily God's plan. He didn't make you get pregnant when you didn't want to. It was human error. Because someone dies in a car accident does NOT mean it was "their time to go" - maybe it was someone stupidly driving while they were drunk, or someone not paying attention. Human error.

Do you understand my point? It's not God's fault - it's human nature to blame someone or something else for things that go wrong in our lives. It does not make the things that happen any less sad, any less devastating, any less crushing. But just because something did or didn't happen doesn't mean that it was the "right" thing for that moment. Maybe it was actually the wrong thing but that's not God's fault. It's a result of human nature and human error. Simple as that.

What I've Been Wearing....

I usually don't do these "what I've been wearing" posts because I wear a lot of the same things over and over again - I try to switch stuff up and keep it different as much as I can. This week I managed to get "dressed up" four different times out of five days so I thought I'd share. Fall is making itself known this week keeping the high around the lower and mid 60's which is nice sweater weather!

This I wore to church Sunday.....

Tunic shirt - Marshall's

Leggings - Old Navy

Boots - Target

Earrings - gift from my sister!

Tuesday we went to see my brother in law graduate from CNA school. It was a casual affair.

Tunic shirt - Old Navy

Jeans - Wal-Mart

Flats - thrifted

Earrings - can't remember!

Yesterday I had to run a few errands and this is what I wore.....

Black shirt - Target

Black cardigan - Marshall's

Grey skinny jeans - Burke's Outlet

Boots - Wal-Mart

And today - another errand to run......

Black t-shirt - Old Navy

Black cardigan - Marshall's

Purple skinny jeans - Burke's Outlet

Black flats -Marshall's

So that's it! I'm not much of a fashionista but not bad. I'm about to kick up my diet so hopefully I'll be fitting in a few things I currently can't wear soon - crossing my fingers and kicking my butt in gear!

This....

Yeah, this is about to happen again, folks.

I'm feeling pretty darn crappy lately. I've been doing, or trying to do, the

whole counting calorie thing but I've learned that I can actually eat a good bit of

crap even when I'm counting calories. I need something more structured and planned out.

Something that kinda makes the meal for me and that's what the Insanity guide does.

Very clean, healthy foods. It's a little time consuming because it's all cooking and

preparing every thing fresh but it works. Last time I did this for 60 days straight, absolutely

no cheating and I lost 15lbs and I'd LOVE to do that again.

Even though I'm currently not doing the Insanity plan (I'm doing Turbo Fire and trying to

add in some running) the eating plan will still work.

Next month I'm starting an accountability program with my Beach Body coach.

He's putting together some small online groups - we'll all do the same Beach Body program

at the same time and he'll help coach us and keep us motivated. I'm excited!

But yeah, this weekend I'm going to head to the store and stock up on some good clean

foods again and get myself feeling better and back to actually losing weight.

Daydreamer

“Wishing is good for us. Daydreams, fantasies, castles in the air, and aspirations all drive us forward, compel us to make things happen. They also tell us a lot about ourselves. Our wishes come straight from our core, and they are loaded with vital information.”

"Visualization is daydreaming with a purpose."
- Bo Bennett

Lately I have found myself becoming quite the daydreamer. Not in a sit around and do nothing and dream kinda way. I'm actually kinda the opposite, when I'm actually doing something and working that's when I let my mind kinda wonder away and dream about life and the possibilities. Next year holds a lot of change for us and SO many possibilities. There are things we know we will be doing but there is no set date or time (and I HATE that! I want to know when, exactly when.....or at least a good idea of when!). Change makes me nervous but one thing I've learned over the past few years is that most of the time when we step out and make a change in life it's almost always been for the better of ourselves and our life. I love dreaming in my mind about what life could look like next year, and the year after.....there are things that I'm so excited about - some I can share and some I can't just yet. But when I can it will be one of the most exciting times in my life I assure you! But for now these dreams are growing and forming inside my mind and my heart. I like having some goals and ideas about how I want to see my life and my family's. My dreams have changed, perhaps they aren't as "out there" and lofty as they used to be but I feel like that are just as, or even more, important then the ones I had as a child, or even as a teenager. My heart is bursting with excitement for what's to come - I'm pretty sure it only gets even better from here!

Fairy Beautiful

(Invitation example)

So lately I've been thinking about Gianna's birthday party. Yes, I know it's 5 months away BUT this year I am feeling the pressure of making this party a little more "hands on" and crafty.

Normally Gianna picks a theme and then a week before her party I run to Party City and get all the decorations and stuff and I buy food from somewhere and it's a party!

But I've been looking at the parties all my blogger friends have been giving their children lately and suddenly I feel like I've never really put a lot of "effort" into making Gianna's parties personal and special.

Don't get me wrong, she's loved everyone of her parties and we have too. My favorite was her 2nd birthday - we did a Luau theme and it was so much fun and the food was great too. Her 3rd was pretty awesome too - we did a Fiesta/Dora theme and again, we served great food!

Last year I felt was a little rushed and thrown together. The theme she wanted the party place didn't have when we went to get it so we ended up picking a theme at random. And it was the first year my family hadn't been around to help me prepare......this year I'm enlisting my crafty sister, Charity's help. Here that, Charity?!!! Lol!

Gianna originally wanted a Tinkerbell theme but I think instead we'll just do a general fairy theme. She can dress up and whatever guest she has can dress up......it'll be fun!

So now I've been checking out ideas online trying to decide what all we'll need to do!

(Cute cupcakes)

(These are a MUST! I want to learn how to make cake pops. And these glittery ones

are perfection!)

(The guest can make their own fairy wands.....)

(And we'll serve pretty food like these fruit and marshmallow kabobs, cotton candy,

little sandwiches shaped like flowers and stars.....)

Five months away but I'm planning now!

Ah, Monday.

Hey, peeps! Thought I'd pop in a catch up with you all......it's the beginning of the week and for the most part Monday's don't bother me. But last night I swear I didn't sleep at all. Seriously. I tossed and turned all night. Every little sound bothered me, I couldn't get comfortable and then I just could not for the life of me fall asleep. I even tried sleeping in the guest room with the fan on (which normally works like a charm but not so last night.). So needless to say when my alarm went off at 6:15am I was SO not happy. But Gianna is always happy when I go wake her up! Oh and yesterday after church I spent a lot of time looking like *that* up there - Gianna sat on my back and brushed my hair for a long time and that was actually nice. She got to "play" and I got to enjoy it! The hubs went to meet a friend and play golf and eat dinner so we were super lazy most of the day. Then I got this rush of energy and I got up and ran a mile outside and then did a 15 minute Cardio Burst work out using my Nike App. Awe-some.

I think we've finally conquered our flea issue (ok, as I say that Gandalf is scratching. Great.). We've partially shaved him, bathed him twice and put some of that flea medicine on his back. I'm really hoping that fixes things. His sores seem to be better, I think. Hopefully that's not just wishful thinking. But I'm not sure what we need to do next, like for the house or whatever. I haven't ever seen fleas on anything else but they must be inside because Gandalf NEVER goes outside. So they have to be around here somewhere.

And this is my super sunny kiddo super early in the morning! She is always so peppy and excited about school. I'm really so glad she loves it and doesn't cry or scream when I drop her off. The other day at school the fire dept. came and showed the kids how to go through the little mini "house" full of smoke. Ya know, like a fire drill?! Well, Gianna didn't tell me about it at all - I just got a notice from her school letting me know past and future activities and that was a past one. So I asked her about it and she shrugged and said she forgot. I asked her if she had crawled through the little smoky house and she said "Yup, it smelled like poop!" Lol! That kid and her sense of smell. She gets that from me, and I get it from my dad! She excited about wearing her costume to school soon and they are having a "Fall party" at school. I've got to figure out what I'm going to take. We aren't allowed to take homemade goodies. They have to be pre-packaged and still sealed so that's kinda a bummer but oh, well. We are honestly still deciding on costumes - we'll go pick one out this weekend. Who knows what we'll actually end up with!

I've decided to start adding some running to my work out routine. Not replacing my work out's - at least not right now because I'm not going to be running enough to make up for that. So for now I'm doing a little running on top of my regular work outs. Hoping to give myself a little boost and get some weight off. And I'm really focusing on eating NO sugar. Refined sugar products like cookies, ice cream, cake, candy, etc. really pack on the pounds quick for me. So I've got to cut that out again and focus on eating right. I have just really noticed lately that I'm really starting to look "heavy" again. My face gets a kinda poofy look and my mid section is looking sad. So I'm trying to kick myself into over drive again.

And Fall is slowly but surely coming to North Carolina.....this tree in my front yard has always been my favorite. It turns this gorgeous BRIGHT yellow and it's stunning. I snapped this picture of Gianna tonight standing beside it. She looks so teeny tiny!

Tomorrow evening we're going to see my brother in law graduate from CNA school. Pretty excited for him and I hope the best for him. He seems to really love working with elderly people and I think that takes a really special person and I tip my hat to him!

That's about it for now.......we'll catch up again later!