Cara Box Reveal

This is my first time participating in the Cara Box and oh how I loved it! Making the sparkle box was so much fun. I sent my box to Tiara at http://icecreamandfrenchfries.blogspot.com

I got my box from Olivia at http://oliviaandjoshua.blogspot.com

She is new to the blogging world. I'm so glad she got me to send a Cara Box to because she did an amazing job. 

Here are my goodies!

Yummy candy!

I went ahead and used a few before I got around  to take the picture. 

Foam ornaments. I plan on using them for a Christmas project next year. 

The cutest hand soap!

Love this doll soap....so cute!

Winter wonderland candle...I love the smell of pine!

I see a Christmas project in my future with these lovely holiday ornaments. 

Love! Love! Love! 

She how lucky I got it! I absolutely adore the nutcracker ornament. My camera does not do it justice. 

I can't wait to do the Cara Box next month!

20 Wishes Progress #1

I knew the first month of Twenty Wishes would be hard because of just giving birth. I just never planned on having complications and ending up back in the hospital. One thing I plan on doing soon is making a couple copies of my 20 Wishes and putting them in places I see often such as the car, bathroom mirror, and refrigerator. I'll write a little about each wish.

1. Crochet a blanket (I do not know how to crochet)
I haven't started but I did download a video on how to start crocheting. 
2. Make a scrapbook of Jack's first year.
I haven't started but I did buy some supplies to get started. Next I need to print off some pictures. 
3. Spend a romantic weekend with my husband.
Not going to do this until February. 
4. Do a spa day with my mom and sister.
Might do this for Mothers Day
5. Weigh under 160
I lost 2 lbs this month! Lots more to go though :(
6. Attend a wine tasting
Gonna have to find a wine tasting or host one myself. 
7. Host a party for friends
I'm excited about this one. Just gotta plan something. 
8. Participate in a charitable marathon (maybe the training will get in under 160)
Need to find one to participate in. 
9. Visit 3 new places I've never been
I want to do a little research for this one.
10. Take family portraits
I've done some research as to who to pick. 
11. Cook something new once a month
I have printed off a recipe and will be making next week. 
12. Get my eyebrows done
I've gotta do this soon. They look a mess. 
13. Do 10 acts of random kindness.
This would be the perfect time for these random acts of kindness but my life has been crazy so I am going to do them later in they year so I can spread cheer throughout the year. 
14. Get a new hairdo 
Will probably do this in March for my birthday
15. Pick a charity for our family to focus on
Arkansas Children's Hospital is the one I've picked for us
16. Put together a family recipes book
I need to start this one next week. Must put on to do list. My mom will be doing a lot of cooking and I need to be near by to write it all down.
17. Go on a family vacation. I want to start this tradition early on. 
Probably will do this Spring Break or summer
18. Buy me some cute matching under garments. I'm really bad about not buying the cute stuff and hitting up the sales rack. I wanna buy a few sets of the good stuff. 
Fingers crossed for a gift certificate. 
19.  Do a blog giveaway
I now have 44 followers and will do a giveaway when I reach 50 so not far from now. 
20. Make 10 personalized gifts for friends or family
I had thought about doing this for Christmas and then decided that it would be more fun to spread it out. 

With all of these wishes I want to stay focused and come up with a plan. The first month was a little difficult but I hope times ahead are easier. I'm already looking forward to my January update where I can show off all of my progress. 

Hair of the Dog

There is not a lot better for this girl than getting an email letting me know I won a giveaway. 

When I got an email from Kaitlyn over at Wifessionals that I had won the Hair of the Dog giveaway I got really excited. I LOVE cool stuff, all things liquor, and anything personalized.

Since I just had a baby all things liquor have been put on the back burner and I just couldn't let something this cool just sit around and not get used so I decided to give it to my friend Betsy to give to her daughter as a Christmas present. Betsy and her daughter Amanda are the hippest mother/daughter combo I know. See what I mean:

Betsy picked this one

Love it! Here are a few others that I really liked but honestly they all rock!!! 

Click here to get one of these bad guys!

Getting Frustrated

I am frustrated. It is day 5 of being in a hospital bed and no clue as to when I'll be released. Different doctors have different theories as to what is going on so it makes me feel like I will never make it out of here. A little back story. I had a c-section a little over a month ago and a little over a week ago in the shower I discovered a tender mass the size of a fist over my incision. The doctors are not sure if it is just cellulitis or cellulitis and an abscess. There is for sure an infection and I'm being pumped full of super strong antibiotics that make me feel sick and leave a horrible taste in my mouth.  Anywhoo...back to complaining. It is Christmas and I want to be making goodies, going shopping, wrapping gifts, going to events, and doing all things Christmas BUT I'm stuck here. The biggest complaint of all is that I'm away from my baby. I'm not going to say much about this because I'll just start sobbing again and I don't think my poor husband can bare seeing me cry anymore. My parents and my sister have been great. They are keeping Jack and loving him up. They bring him almost everyday (yesterday I decided for them not to bring him because it would be really late before they could come and it was very cold outside). They live 35 minutes away so they can't just jump on over here and my mom watches my nephew during the day and there is no way she can handle bringing both babies to the hospital. Tired of me complaining yet? Well I'm tired of complaining and it has felt good to get it out. I'll share some pictures that I've either taken or have been sent.

Bennett giving Jack baby love

Bennett looking at the Christmas lights

Husband sitting at the hospital studying (no idea I took this picture)

My daddy making Jack the angel topper (sounds fitting to this mama)

20 Wishes Plan of Attack

When I signed up to do the 20 Wishes challenge I was super pumped. Now that some time has passed I am starting to get a little anxious about being able to complete such daunting tasks. I am still quite motivated because the idea of saying I've done these things out weighs my uneasiness. I know how proud I'll be of myself if I actually do all 20. Since I know myself so well I decided I better come up with a plan of attack so I don't get overwhelmed. I don't want to tackle anything too hard right away like crocheting a blanket, marathons, or any trips.
Here are the wishes I plan on focusing on right now. Now keep in mind I may not finish them right away but need to focus on them before I start tackling them head on. Basically taking a wish and breaking it down into more doable parts. I have decided to focus on the following:
1. Make a scrapbook of Jack's first year.
    A. Make 2 pages of his first month
2. Cook something new once a month.
    A. Find a recipe
    B. Cook it
    C. Blog it
3. Have a blog giveaway.
    A. Work hard to obtain 9 more followers so I can do a 50 followers giveaway.
    B. Look for something to giveaway
4. Put together a family recipe book
    A. Sit down with family members to compile a list of must have recipes for book.

Now that I have a plan, I feel much better and even more excited for my 20 wishes. I'll keep you updated and myself accountable.

Feeling Gangsta

I am straight up stuck in the hospital dealing with an abscess in my stomach near the area where I had my c-section. This has been the hardest thing to get over. Since I am miserable being without my baby Jack I decided to stay busy. My blog has been needing some work and I had no idea where to begin. 

I put a Mrs. Mama button on my blog! It took me forever and lots of google searches but I figured it out. It isn't huge but it is a button. So accomplished! I also put a pinterest and facebook follow button. 

It is after midnight and my pain meds have me feelings a little loopy but before I log off I must show off a few pictures.

Nephew Bennett meeting Santa!

Jack looking so stylish

My Favorite Christmas Ornaments

Our family Christmas tree is decorated in an array of ornaments that I have collected over the year. One way that I collected so many ornaments is that my sister Samantha and I have exchanged ornaments on Thanksgiving for many years. Once I moved out of my parents I was allowed to take my ornaments and had enough to decorate a tree. We still love this tradition. Of course, I have bought some, gathered some as gifts, and some came from ornament parties. Here are some of my favs!

The ornament my sister got me this year.

I love this JINGLE. It is hard to see but it has LOTS of glitter!

My sister got me this one when I was in high school. I still love Gone With the Wind. 

This Joy ornament is super cute and has lots of blue glitter. 

No idea where it came from. He hangs from the top. He is a staple at Christmas. 

Baby's First ornament (one side). A gift from my great friend Heather.

Other side of Jack's first ornament.

One of the very first ornaments my sister got me. Disco Santa...super fun!

My husband and I got this ornament last year to celebrate our first Christmas together.

Influenster: Cosmo Voxbox 2012

I heard about Influenster from another blogger and since I LOVE products I decided to check it out. Yesterday, while having a very hectic day, I got my Voxbox. I only had a minute to take a quick peak before I had to run out the door. I was thrilled with what I saw!

1. FriXion by Pilot Pen. As a teacher I adore pens and lose them often. My husband spotted the black pen and jacked it right away. I love the fun/hip look and it writes really well. They included a black and orange pen. The color of the pen equals the color of the ink. Really enjoy these!

2. Forever Red at Bath & Body Works. It has an adult smell. It does smell nice but I want to let you know that you don't need much. One squirt does the trick.

3. Ghirardelli Gourmet Milk Sea Salt Escape. OMG!!! This chocolate was so amazing. I ate it up quickly and will for sure be buying soon. The problem is that it is so good that I ate it really quickly and I'm pretty sure it is meant to be snacked on over a few days. I had it gone within 10 minutes (I did share 2 squares with my mom who loved it also). 

4. A Venus razor package that included a razor and a Venus & Olay disposable razor blade. I already use the Venus razor and was anxious to try the new Venus & Olay blades. I already own the razor and always get a big box of replacement blades in my Christmas stocking. I didn't even know these blades were available. I haven't had a chance to try them but I already love the previous blades and so adding Olay can only make it better.

What's Up With Us?

1. Motherhood has taken over my life. Who knew that something so small would require so much attention and stuff??? One thing I recently bought Jack was the Fisher Price Rock 'N Play Sleeper. Let me just say: "Love it!". 

Here is a picture of Jack all snuggled in his new sleeper.

When I find a great product I love to spread the word!

2. I have been feeling so guilty about not having my house decorated this year. I managed to get the tree out but that is the extent. It makes me feel not like myself. I kinda thought that decorating would be tough this year, and I was right, I just didn't realize how much it would bother me. I'm stuck in the middle of two very Christmas lite houses. I feel slightly ashamed but too tired to feel that way for long.

3. My sweet baby Jack is tongue-tied. I had no idea what that was when the nurse first told me but since then I have done much research and know that they have to cut a small piece of tissue under the tongue. Jack and I go tomorrow to meet with the ENT for the first time. I pray that the procedure can be done soon. I have inserted a picture I found online but this is exactly how my son's tongue looks just to give you an idea. 

4. This Mama has been watching lots of tv while she rocks her baby.  In LOVE with the X-Factor. Carly Rose you really are A-Mazing! I've stayed caught up on General Hospital. Watching lots of Dr. Phil. My husband says I need to turn off the Dr. Phil. Not sure how he knows that I've been watching it maybe a little too much but he straight out called me on it. Television is awesome when it is 3 am and your child refuses to go to sleep.

5. I've signed up to participate in the Cara box swap over at Wifessionals. I've been wanting to do it the last few months but knew with a baby coming I could not guarantee anything.  Now that I feel a little more comfortable with the mommy role I signed up for this December. This month's theme is Sparkles! Doesn't that sound so fun? I'm really pumped about putting this box together. 

Well readers this has been our life recently. It has been exhausting (motherhood is hard!) but it has also been very fulfilling. My dear husband is finishing up this semester of school and working. He is stressed to the max and hates that he is away from us so much. I'm ready for things to slow down for us. Having my blogging world helps to keep me sane. Have a blessed day!
:) Ashley

Ornament Exchange

I wanna share this fun ornament I received from Mason over at Mason...Like the Jar.  We participated in the ornament exchange hosted on Life as Mrs. I love ornaments and our tree is just a bunch of ornaments that do not match. I like the tradition of having the same ornaments year after year and then adding in a few new ones each year. Mason sent me this super cute ornament/wine topper....

I'm so glad I participated in this ornament exchange. It really is great getting something fun and new in the mail. Thanks Mason for the ornament and thanks Rachel for hosting such a great exchange!