A trip to the farm...

I have always loved going out to Fearrington Village.  It is such a beautiful place and there really is something for everyone - cows for kids, alcohol and good food for adults, walking trails, cute shops, etc....  I heard that the book store did story time every other Wednesday at 11 and since the weather has been so nice, I decided this was a great week to try it out. 

On our way there, Emma was super excited!

When we arrived, we headed straight for the cows! 

This baby goat is less than a week old. Yall- he was too cute. I wanted to grab him and snuggle him. But that's not allowed (obviously...)

This goat was very "friendly." Actually, he kind of creeped me out because he had some crazy eyes. 

Storytime was fun and there was singing!  It's for children 3 and under so there were some smaller kids there, which didn't really make sense to me because children under 2 don't really sit still and pay attention anyway...  

Emma loved the songs and was singing loudly by the end:) 

We ate lunch outside at the Belted Goat and Emma played at the water fountain most of the time. We then headed over to the restaurant where the field and chairs are. 

Had to get a picture with Baby...

It was absolutely gorgeous out....and a bit hot really. I was sweating and wishing I had shorts on. 

Emma is being such a big helper lately and likes being Baby's mommy. Here she is holding Baby up so she can see the cows too. 

Her angelic face....:)

Of course, it took her about 3 minutes to fall asleep on the way home. So I drove the back roads and enjoyed some quiet!

It was a really fun day and I plan to go back and walk the trails next time with her.  I'm just glad that the sun is finally out!! 

Yardwork

We were in desperate need of some yard cleaning this weekend.  The past few snow storms really did a number on our trees and lawn.  Brent had to work, and it's been so wet and yucky out that we haven't had a chance to get anything done.  My sweet parents came over to help me - and by "help" I mean my dad did most of the work, and I helped.  And my mom played with Emma:)

It was a beautiful day and I had a blast spending the day with my parents and Emma.  I am forever grateful for their help and love!

We waited for Grandpa and Grandma to arrive, feeling very patriotic:)

My dad and I went to Lowe's to get some supplies, and picked up this little rake for Emma to help.

My sweet dad blowing our yard clean!

These leland cypress trees out back were damaged in the snow storms, so we tethered them upright and hopefully they will make it!  Live, trees, live!!!

All our hard work paid off:)

After my parents left, Emma and I continued to "work" outside.  It was too beautiful not to!

At one point, we switched from rake to toilet bowl wand......

Brent got home just in time to enjoy a beer, family time, and a newly cleaned yard!

Friday Favorites #1

Friday Favorites - a mis-matched listing of some of the things that make me a better wife, mama, and friend:)  (AKA....happy!)

1. Walmart candles  

I used to buy Yankee Candles, but then I realized Emma would most likely want to go to college, and college is expensive.  So, I decided to try out other brands, and Walmart has some amazing candles for CHEAP.  Whether it's the Mainstays brand ($3.50/candle) or the Better Homes & Gardens ($5/large candle), you can't go wrong.  They smell awesome and the labels are easily removable (in case you have candle snob friends who wouldn't approve!!)  My favorite scents for Spring are honeysuckle, fresh cut herbs, and sunshine tulip. They also have great fall and Christmas ones too.  Give them a try!

2. My Orla Kiely bag

This bag is AWESOME!  Orla bags are awesome in general - lots of compartments, and their signature elasticized keychain line.  The outside is waterproof oil cloth and wipes clean.  This brown stem print goes with everything in the fall and winter and I love carrying it.  It fits so much but is not bulky.  It is by far, one of my favorite bags and I highly recommend any of her stuff.

3. Neutrogena hand cream and Aquaphor Ointment

I use these products RELIGOUSLY.  I can't use any other hand cream, and I put Aquaphor on my lips every night. If I were stranded on a deserted island, I hope and pray that I have these 2 things!

4. Sculpey clay 

I have always been into crafting, especially jewelry.  I recently decided to try making clay beads, and it is really easy and fun.  The best part is, the beads can be inter-changeable if strung onto leather cording, or brass chain. I think the people at work will be sick of them soon because I have worn one (maybe the same one...maybe a new one) almost every day for the past 3 weeks.  

 Here are some of my new baubles..

5. Pigs....

Emma has a strange addiction to pigs - whether it's watching or reading.  If Emma is in the room and the TV is on, we are watching Olivia...sprinkled with a few Peppa the Pig episodes when she's feeling like trying something new.  I found these cute Toot and Puddle books over Christmas and I just love them at night.  The illustrations and too cute and story line is long enough to be interesting, but not too overwhelming for 3 year old bedtime.  There are lots in the series.

What are your favorites...things you can't be without?!!?

Hope everyone has an awesome weekend!

Momfessional Tuesday!

I am not sure how I came across these posts, but I decided to tag on.....I will probably miss a few, but I know I will look on them and be glad I put it all down in writing.

Carrie and Rebekah...are you with me???



March 3 - Show us your favorite room in your house

Well, right now my favorite room is Emma's room.  We recently made some changes (removed the crib, added a big girl bed...) and I love it.  It's so cozy, and makes me want to be a little girl again.

It is filled with so many things that hold special meaning to me, and I love that.  It's not perfect, but it's Emma's and I know she loves it.

I did a post on Emma's room when she was a newborn here.

Please excuse the poor photography, clutter, and non-HGTV quality of my decor:)

This is the view walking into Emma's room.  The quilt is from L.L.Bean, and the sheets (which you can't see) are pink gingham from Pottery Barn kids.  We got the rug when Emma was an infant at Capel Rugs in Raleigh.

Brent made the changing table/bureau...BUT it's not done yet.  We still have drawer pulls to add and a different color of paint (we couldn't decide...but I think we will go with a grey-green pastel).  I am incredibly thankful to Brent for making this for Emma....a lot of sweet memories will be made:)

I also love not having the top as a changing table anymore!  The lamp and picture frame are from At Home...if you haven't been there, you need to go!  There is one in Raleigh and a new one by South Square in Durham.

My sister-in-law gave us the bed, and I believe it is from Pottery Barn.  There are also drawers that go underneath for storage, we just haven't added those yet.

I bought Emma this small green chair from Target when she was less than 1 (and blogged about it here).  It was on clearance, and I LOVED it.  She doesn't sit in it much, but she may one day.  The small bookcase was actually a piece in my grandparents house that we re-finished and painted yellow.  I LOVE the way it turned out.  Emma uses it often, as her books are some of her most favorite toys.

 (Please ignore the hanger silhouette on the wall...that is where I used to hang her clothes for the next day and for some reason, it made a mark...I just need to do some painting!)

This is her alphabet wall...minus a few letters!  The K, R, and Z are waiting to be put back up again:)  The wagon was mine as a child, and my dad made it.  I remember riding in it down the hill in front of our house with him:)  

The pastel stocking on the doorknob was knitted by my grandmother and has my name written on it.  I am not sure what the occasion was, but it looks very spring-like to me.

So, there you have it!  My favorite (currently) room in our house!

Weekend update

Not too much happening around here....except a lot of boredom and wishing it would stop raining.  We are in serious cabin fever mode and I love snow but I'm over the loss of routine. I never knew how much we all relied on it. 

Friday, work was cancelled (not sure why because roads were fine....they're just college kids anyway...they won't slip walking from their dorm....)  My plan was to take Emma to daycare and have a day to regroup for myself. But daycare didn't have power so they were closed (seriously?!?) 

So we went crafting instead and got every Spring/Easter thing we could find!

Saturday, I went to PopUp for a 90 minute class. It was awesome! 

I burned over 800 calories during the class, then by the time I got home, had burned over 1000:)

Emma and I went grocery shopping that afternoon. We also went to the bathroom THREE times while in there. THREE times. She kept asking me whether I was going after her....no, I don't have to pee every 5 minutes!  As frustrating as it was, I was really proud of her. We've started to try and not rely on pull-ups when in public and she's doing great. 

That night, my sweet parents kept Emma so Brent and I could get away for a few hours. We went to Local 22 and it was delicious. We kept joking because we ate at 6:15pm so we were done by 7:45pm ( we're OLD). 

No one goes home before 8 on a date night, so we did what anyone else would do....Target sans kid!!  What can I say? We really know how to live it up!

Sunday morning was nasty and freezing rain, so we opted to make a fire and blueberry pancakes and skip church.  We did venture out later for a trip to Lowe's.

We are SOOO ready for a normal week - but I must say, I'm not really feeling going to work on Monday:(  I will certainly miss these 2 sweet faces!