Store Browsing: Target Feb. 2013

My blog posting has unintentionally taken a break. We've been so busy around here. I haven't found the time to update our pictures on Photobucket, blog about my babe's first birthday party or write a monthly review. And I'm not sure when I will. I appreciate you sticking around anyway.

I rarely get time to myself these days, so a solo trip to Target is what dreams are made of!  I had to run to Target last week, and I saw lots of things I wish I could have piled into my buggy. But it would have blown the budget that my husband so lovingly spends so much time on. He's a geek for a spreadsheet.

Here are some things that caught my eye...

For the home I liked...

^ ^ ^ ^ Nate Berkus pillows ^ ^ ^ ^ 

^ ^ ^ ^ a graphic ottoman and a classy tufted ottoman ^ ^ ^ ^ 

^ ^ ^ ^ and I liked this artwork more in the store, not so much now. I dig the colors ^ ^ ^ ^

For my Girl 

^ ^ ^ ^ that should be her motto ^ ^ ^ ^

For Me

A New Year

I love the new year. It's like a fresh start. A new beginning. I don't really make resolutions, but I try to think of manageable goals and things to work toward. One of those for 2013 is to enjoy the simple things in life. Being a stay at home mom doesn't allow me the freedom I once used to enjoy. But that's okay! I know I've got an important job to do. One that is hard, yet full of joy!

I was happy to finally put away the last of the Christmas decor....

and replace them with these pretty flowers.

What do you look forward to in 2013?

Thanks to Rebecca over at Simple as That blog for the inspiration to celebrate the simple things in life. I am linking up to her Simple Things Sunday photo link party

 

Monthly Review: December 2012

December was the month our babe turned 10 months old. She continued to improve at walking, but I think her favorite thing to do is explore and make a mess! And the sad thing is, I let her. I just hate to keep her quarantined to her small play area all day long. So I often let her be my sidekick during the day.

She loves to empty containers. If she gets a hold of the wipes, you can better believe she will pull them all out. Same with a box of Ziploc bags, box of toys, and a basket of laundry. And only just recently did she discover the fun of putting things back into boxes.

She started saying "ma-ma". Sometimes I think she is really referring to me. But then I know that is crazy because she rarely hears anyone call me that.

She also likes to bounce to the sound of music, and point at things. She has seen her father and me point the remote at the television so many times, that now when she gets her hand on the remote, she too holds it up to the TV. I really can't believe we will be celebrating her one year birthday soon.

My sister came to visit for three whole weeks! I managed to almost finish two big projects I was itching to complete. I thought I would get more done during her visit, but instead she mostly helped out with day-to-day chores. It was nice to have someone feed V while I cleaned the kitchen. Or play with her while I did laundry or even better, take a shower! We are definitely missing my sister's presence.

This year we had a small Christmas tree that we put on top of a piece of furniture in our living room. You know, so it would be out of reach from someone's tiny hands. I don't really have a good picture of it. We did attempt to read from the Advent Calendar pictured above most nights, which included our Christmas tree ornaments.

My sister was still with us on Christmas day. We had a nice breakfast and exchanged a few gifts, and then it was off to meet Pop (Mr. Price's father) and have Christmas brunch with some family in the mountains.

Mr. Price's mom and sister made a trip up to see us two days after Christmas. We took a short trip to the Hotel Roanoke to see the many decorated Christmas trees, like Mr. Price and I did last year. I can see this becoming a Christmas tradition. Then it was New Year's Eve! And oddly, after going to bed before midnight for several years - we're party animals, I tell ya - we were actually up at midnight this year!

 Now it's a new year. A new start. And I'm looking forward to it! How about you?

Quote

"I think it is more important to celebrate a birthday than a successful exam, a promotion, or a victory. Because to celebrate a birthday means to say to someone: Thank you for being you. Celebrating a birthday is exalting life and being glad for it. On a birthday we do not say: Thanks for what you did, or said, or accomplished. No, we say: Thank you for being born and being among us." 

Henri Nouwen, Here and Now 

first seen here.

Monthly Review: November 2012

This monthly review is short and all about the babe. Nothing much has happened lately with me and the Mr. Plus you can check out our Thanksgiving posts here and here.

I previously mentioned that V's favorite toy was a book with flaps. It's the one thing that succeeds in occupying her time for more than a minute. However, I can to only bring it out when I know I can really watch her. Otherwise she tears the flaps off and chews on them. Just look at this book that Mr. Price's brother and sister-in-law gave her...

I've had to reach into her mouth on several occasions to retreive wads of paper. Pretty scary for this mama.

She definitely keeps me on my toes now that she is walking! Yes, you read that right. Walking at 9 1/2 months. You will pray for me, won't you? Our living room is now her playroom.  Even before she was walking, we purchased what they call a super yard. It's like a circular fence that keeps babies contained to a  certain area. Since our living room is so small, we open it to extend from one wall to another. This gives her the entire living area to play. Our living room won't be featured in any home decor magazine, that's for sure. But we were excited to find this super yard for half price at a second hand baby store!

She did cut two more teeth during the ninth month. That gives her six teeth now. Goodness. People said babies grow up fast! They weren't lying!

In December she will turn 10 months old and celebrate her first Christmas, which means cute PJs. I'm going to go shed a tear now...

Thanksgiving 2012: part two

Wow! I can't believe it has been a week since we celebrated Thanksgiving! Like last year, we were in Virginia for the actual holiday, but this year we had family from Georgia visit. Mr. Price's brother and sister-in-law drove up to the creek on Wednesday. On Thursday, bright and early, they started cooking our Thanksgiving feast.

This year we had a paleo Thanksgiving meal. Our Thanksgiving meal was delicious, but it excluded the bread-based stuffing and sugar-filled sweet potato pie. Here is what we did have:

A free-range organic turkey from Tendergrass farms. The chef butterflied it. This allowed the bird to cook faster and more evenly. It turned out juicy and tender!

Roasted Root Vegetables

Hasselback Potatoes

Sausage Dressing 

Roasted Brussells Sprouts with Bacon

Pumpkin Pie with a Walnut Almond Flour crust

I was sure thankful that Mr. Price's brother loves to cook, because it took us two hours or more just to pack everything we needed to spend few days at the creek. We were wiped out by the time we got there.

We didn't rush to have our Thanksgiving meal by any certain time. I think we ended up eating between 3 pm and 5 pm. Each of us had several helpings of food. How was your Thanksgiving day!? What dishes always make an appearance at your table?

Thanksgiving 2012: part one

We hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We had some delicious food that I hope to post about later. Mr. Price and I tried to take time each day in November to think about the things we are thankful for. Then on Thanksgiving day, we shared them with each other.  After a few days of doing this excercise, it was hard for me to name just one thing each day. The list could go on for days, but here are just a few on our list....

We are thankful for/that...

My husband is a clean freak and loves to make spreadsheets. I love that he manages our budget and checkbook well.

Good Health

Friends like the Krauses who inspire and remind me to trust and follow God.

(this family is moving to Africa)

our cars

a serene place to retreat to...the creek

my spouse

our apartment

even though we are dying to get out of there, we have a place to live

to have such great in-laws

that we live in the United States of America

Panera Bread Women's Bible Study and Community Bible Study

for the sweet moments I share with my daughter right before I lay her down for bed

that my husband is okay with me not being as OCD about cleanliness as he is

that we live so close to many cool outdoor activites

(Blue Ridge Parkway, great hiking trails, and local greenways)

family

that I can stay home with my child and my husband supports this decision

The Word of God (the Bible)

and that it is still relevant truth today.

my loving and caring parents

my daughter goes to bed now with out crying

our Journey church family

Food and clean water

Hot water, especially for my showers

our daughter and her good health thus far

The beautiful colors of the leaves in the fall

Friends

My husband's job

God forgives our sins

the opportunity to be a mother. the hardest but most enjoyable thing I've done with my life

for my sister Susana



The Creek and Thanksgiving Plans

Occasionally when I write about our weekend plans, I mention going out to "the creek." However I don't think I've written a post specifically about the place. If you were to ask Mr. Price, my husband, he would tell you that it is a magical place. The first thing he wants to do with any free time that he has, is to head to the creek. In fact at least three generations of Price men are drawn to this place like moths to flame. Mr. Price's grandfather grew up on several acres of land along Craigs Creek in Virginia. Although his primary residence is now in Georgia, he still has a home on a piece of property overlooking the creek.

For many years the home on the creek was a single-wide trailer. The inside was spruced up a bit with new windows and a large deck on the back overlooking the best view of the creek. But a year and a half ago Mr. Price's grandfather built a cabin just two lots down from his existing home. To be honest, I am a bigger fan of visting the creek now that the cabin is there.

We now use the terms the creek and the cabin interchangeably. They both refer to the same place. The cabin is just a 50-minute drive from our home in the city. I always use the phrase over the mountain and through the woods to describe the drive from our home to the cabin. Because it is just that. You must navigate over a windy road up a mountain and then through the countryside.

Mr. Price's grandfather makes frequent visits to the cabin, and he graciously allows us to stay during our weekends or time off. Mr. Price occasionally does handy work to "keep up" the place.

It is a very peaceful, beautiful and relaxing place to be. It is hard to be overwhelmed with life when sitting on the back porch listening to the ripples on the creek. In the summertime you can find the locals floating down the creek on big inner tubes. The water is crystal clear, perfect for finding just the right stone to skip.

I'm pretty sure Mr. Price moved to Virginia just so he would be close to the creek.

We will be spending Thanksgiving there with Mr. Price's brother and sister-in-law. I can't think of a better place to spend the holidays than a place where time seems to slow down.

Follow me on Instagram to see updated pics of the cabin/creek and our Thanksgiving dinner.

Monthly Review: October 2012

Our daughter turned 8 months in early October. Not much happened this month developmentally, although I think she is very close to cutting two more teeth. This girl is going to have at least six teeth by the time she is one year old. And she may be walking. She is gaining more balance on her two feet, but I think she knows she can get around faster by crawling. We like to call it turbo mode when she takes off crawling real fast! She takes one step and then squats down to start crawling. She's getting better at walking when she is holding onto the sofa or some other object.

Valrie's speech (babbling) has always come in spurts. She'll babble and coo for a week and then two-three weeks will go by and she won't have much to say. She started making the "b" sound first. And now will occasionally say "bye-bye" after we say it about a million times as Mr. Price leaves for work. 

She loves Veggie Tales! And I just introduced her to Blues Clues. I think she has a crush on Steve. 

One of her favorite things to play with now are books with flaps! Her uncle and aunt gave her a flap book. She loves lifting and often tearing off the flaps. It really keeps her entertained.

This month she also got her first illness. One night she slept longer than normal, (yes, we still have night sleeping issues) and when she finally cried out at 3 am, she was very hot to the touch. At 6:30 am I took her temp and it was 102.6. She wasn't fussy or cyring, and seemed to be okay. The fever subsided by the late afternoon. But four days later she was showing signs of her first cold. And another four days later we are still trying to get it to wear off.

We took our first long distance trip to Georgia in the beginning of the month. We are always so busy when we go down that it doesn't feel like much of a vacation. But we love being home and spending time with family. And now it is even more special to see what joy our daugther brings to others. Sorry to those people we did not get see while we were down!

When we got back to Virginia, we were greeted by the vibrant leaf colors in shades of organge, red and yellow. It is such a nice perk to live in this part of the country during early fall!

We also took our first trip to a corn maze and pumpkin patch this year. Every month our church plans a family event. We met at Layman Family Farms. Imagaine a huge open space of land with beautiful mountain scenery. There was a small animal farm with pigs, goats and sheep, a pumpkin rocket launcher, hayrides, cow rides, and a corn maze.

This year we strolled V around to see different things. I even managed to take her down an underground slide. That's us in the picture below. I had to lay down so I wouldn't hit my head, but didn't manage to get back up when the coast was clear for Mr. Price to get a good picture.

V was a monkey for Halloween. We didn't go trick-or-treating. Just dressed her up in a costume and tried to get a decent photo.

 During the last week of October I decided to start a new family tradition.  We are writing down one thing we are thankful for each day and placing it in this bowl. On Thanksgiving Day we will take out each paper and read them aloud. It has taken some self control for me not take a sneak peek.

I can't believe it is already November! We have a busy busy month. Mr. Price more so than me. So keep us in your prayers!