Ugh....pantry

My "pantry" has always been a score of anxiety because it's so oddly shaped because it's above the basement stairs so there isn't good storage space. I need ideas how to make it better! I need that storage guy that was always on Oprah to come to my house. That would be nice but a little unrealistic.
Any ideas???

Iowa state fair

Well the Iowa state fair has come and gone but the memories will last a whole 365 days until it comes again!! :) I had an agenda this year with all of the food I wanted to eat
1. BBQ shredded pork sandwich from the Iowa pork producers....check!!
2. Cheese curds....check!
3. Tom thumb donuts...check!
4. S'mores on a stick...check!
5. Salted nut rolls (yes plural)..check!
6. Pork tenderloin sandwich..check!!
7. Hot beef sundae..check!
8. Double bacon wrapped corn dog..check!!

U betcha!! It was awesome! Pictured is the hot beef sundae. It was amazing and I'm pretty sure I gained a little weight but it was worth it! I think i burned some off going down the big slide but the Iowa craft beer tent didn't help matters either!! Lol Until next year!!

We also went to the rascall flats concert with little big town (my fav), Eli young band, and edens edge at the fair. It was an amazing concert. Here are some pics of each of the bands.

So it begins....

Emma's potty chair came today! I let her try it out and she actually went potty in it. She is a natural! Maybe this might not be as bad as I think....right...

Not going to try really right now to potty train but just get her used to it. Maybe in 6 months when she turns 2 we will give it a real go.

And yes if you were wondering she is eating crackers and drinking milk while on the potty. I already got a lecture from Addison that it was gross, but I couldn't tell her no, she asked so nicely.

Emma's first hair cut

Emma had her first hair cut a few weeks ago and I thought I would be more sad but I was happy to get the mullet cut off!
She did great and I give credit to lollipops kids hair salon for really devoting a lot of attention to her. They gave her a toy, talked to her, and blew bubbles to keep her distracted. It was awesome. We will for sure be going back!

Tv addict

So if u are anything like me, you love tv. I am a little addicted to a lot of shows, do I usually scope out the tv websites to see which shows have been picked up, cancelled, etc. I came across tv.com. It's a great resource to all your favorite shows for fall. Ive had a few disappointments that some of my favs aren't coming back, must most are! Woo! Check er out!

Free 99

About a month or so ago I went jogging with the trusty jogging stroller and I came upon a steal of a deal that a neighbor was trying to get rid of: a toddler kitchen set just sitting on the curb. SCORE! I jogged on home, threw (well sat) Emma in her car seat and now we are the proud new owners of a kitchen and she loves it. And who says you don't get rewarded for exercising??

Toddler re-arranging

So I was looking at Emma's room yesterday and I decided it was time for a change. I haven't done much to her room since she was a baby. I mostly just took the stuff out that was too small or she didn't play with anymore but that's about it.
I wanted to make her room where she would want to come and play - more of a toddler room.
First off, her room isn't very big so I got rid of the white table that she or i never used. Then I moved her dresser into the closet to save space.

Now we bought some cubes with the folding baskets (4 total baskets) from target and those were in her closest as storage. I decided to bring those out and put toys/books in them. Emma will be able to reach and play with everything because it will be low enough. Toddler style :)

I want to do more as well. More to come! Here are updated pics

Chairs

I knew it was time to get Emma a toddler chair because she has been very interested in reading by herself. She loves to sit on the couch and in big chairs. I did a lot of research, various websites. My favorite was pottery barn 'anywhere chairs' but I didn't want to spend so much. After a while of trying to find others I decided to bite the bullet. Well all of the other chairs I didn't like so much were still 70-80 and this one was 99.99. So for the extra 20 I knew it was the right decision! Here's Emma in her new chair - remote and all. She is set!

Blogging just got a little easier...

So I'm sorry to say I haven't been blogging as much but the times have changed! I just figured out that there is a blogger app for iPhone. I have been stuck in toddler land and its momma time!! So heres to a lot more blogging in my future!!

Easter!

We had a fun Easter over at Addison's aunt & uncles's house. We had an easter egg hunt, then brunch following by some kite flying and club car riding....all in a days work! Here are some pictures of Emma in her Easter best and with Grandma Boughton during the Easter egg hunt!

Spring has Sprung!

It is such great weather, we thought it would be good to hit up the nearby Ashby Park by our house for some rays and swings! This was Emma's first trip to the park! She loved it!!!

Brittney's Baby Shower!

Well my friend Brittney is having a BOY! We thought a safari themed shower would be great, so my other friend Cece and I co-hosted a shower. Cece did this amazing cake! It was brunch, so we had egg casserole, yogurt parfaits, cucumber sandwiches, monkey bread...yum!! Britt got some great stuff! Great success!!

It's Chilly in here...

Well we all know that basements are always COLD. We tried a few years ago to remedy this situation. We bought an Eden Pure heater...they were suppose to be great and very efficient. Well....it worked for like 6 months, then it died. WTF. So....we then used one of my parents old space heaters and it did work but just didn't get the whole basement warm. I was getting fed up with being cold and now that we want to spend more time downstairs I thought it was time for an upgrade. I wanted something that would look great and also heat the whole downstairs. I found my answer...an electric fireplace. BOOM! I went to Costco.com and I found the one I wanted and for a steal of a deal. Here it is!! It is nice because it looks real as well and it doesn't get hot. I don't have to worry about Emma getting burnt. I'm not cold anymore and its just lovely!

Birthday Party!

Emma's first birthday party was a great success! She did great and LOVED the cake. I made it myself (LOL). It was a confetti cake with whipped frosting. Sugar overload! She didn't go after it as much as I thought she would, but her face did get pretty messy. Here is a pic.

Car Seat

Well it's about that time to go from the infant carrier to the next step car seat. Its the convertible one that can sit forward and backwards. It is getting to be a pain in the you know what to bring the infant seat into daycare each day. Addison isn't fully on board yet because he doesn't want to think she is "growing up" and I don't either...but I'm the one who is taking her and picking her up and running errands. It will be a lot easier with a new car seat! I'm going to do some investigation as to the best one. Right now we are thinking of the Britax but not sure which model! I will keep you posted!

FINALLY

I just have one word...finally. I know my bff Brittney will be dancing in her shoes when she sees this post in her google reader feed. LOL. Okay...so the last 6 months have been full of fun with watching ms. emma grow. She turns one on Monday! We are throwing her a bday party at our house this weekend, so it should be fun!! We went to Toys R Us aka a place where I have no idea what to buy. In this trip we had an idea in mind. Emma and I went over to my friend Cece's house and Cece put Emma on one of her daughter's ride on toys and Emma loved it. Perfect! So we went and picked one out that looked like it had a lot of bells and whistles to keep her busy. Check it out!