Big Brother Jackson

Jackson finally got to met his little brother, Macklin, on March 30th. He was very excited to finally see Macklin and to finally be able to hold him. He was gentle and said, "He's so cute!" How precious!! He didn't seem to like the hospital all that much but was eager to visit the gift shop for a sucker after his visit. He is going to be a great big brother! Pin It

Welcome Macklin Asher!!

Hello World--we are pleased to introduce you to Macklin Asher Carle, born on Sunday, March 29th @ 12:59 pm. Macklin weighed 6 lbs, 13 oz and was 19 3/4 inches long. Although we were set to arrive at the hospital for Mackie's birth on April 2nd, he he decided he wanted to enter the world on his schedule--thanks for not coming while daddy stopped at McDonald's to get breakfast! Pin It

Happy Birthday, Jackson!

I can hardly believe we just celebrated Jackson's 2nd birthday! Time seems to move even faster than the speed of light when you're helping raise and mold a little one. Since we are due to deliver another entergetic little one fairly soon (my due date is April 2nd), we opted to have Jackson's second birthday party at Gymboree Play & Music instead of at home. Right now, Jackson loves dinosaurs so we decided to do a fun dinosaur cake. He has been the most fun and entertaining little boy the past year and it's difficult to remember life before he arrived. He loves dinosaurs, playing at the park (especially the slide), blowing bubbles, playing outside, and trains. Here are a few pictures from his birthday celebration....

Arriving at Gymboree

Riding the rocky-horse

Sliding down the slide

Trying to catch the bubbles

He is very excited that soon he'll have a little brother to play with--he can hardly wait! Happy Birthday precious Jackson--mommy & daddy love you very much!!!

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Ever Expanding Belly

Meet my new favorite photo! I have always loved pictures of pregnant women and their beautiful growing bellies. Something about them and the way they capture the miracle of life and how a woman's body adapts is just beautiful. I was lucky enough to have the chance to capture my pregnancy with Jackson in photographs so of course, I wanted to be sure my second pregnancy with son Macklin was memorialized in pictures too.

Our photographer was Kamin Hoyle and let me tell you, she is the best. You can see more of her work here. Kamin is so precious and super-talented. I was a bit shy about having my enormous belly hanging out there but Kamin made me feel completely comfortable and forget that I was exposed. Thank you sweet Kamin for my new favorite photo!

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A Snowy March 1st

How crazy is the weather these days? Snow, in Alabama, on March 1st! Jackson wasn't quiet sure what to think but we enjoyed watching him explore the snow. Pin It

Spicy, Sophisticated Style

I LOVE this photograph! I found it in my design portfolio and just had to share it with you. It was featured in an issue of Southern Living last year and I saved it in my "idea" folder for future reference. I love the colors, the elements, and the use of symmetry--it's perfect! Pin It

First Sewing Project

No, I do not know how to sew. Although I took a home-ec class in high school, I did not learn how to sew in that class--I'm not sure why. Our teacher, Ms. McDonald, is a fantastic seamstress that did all the alterations on my wedding dress so I'm sure she introduced us to sewing but I must have been out sick that day!

Even though I don't know how to sew, my sweet husband bought me a sewing machine so I could teach myself. I decided that my first sewing project would be curtains for our Keeping Room. Since the ceiling is very tall, I knew it would be a challenge to find any pre-made curtains that I liked at the right price-point. With that in mind, Ray and I took a trip to Hancock Fabrics, we actually decided on fabric together and we took on the tasks of making 4 panels together.

Although we haven't added the weights to the bottom of each panel, overall they didn't turn out too bad. And, even though I still don't officially know how to sew, with Ray's help I managed to learn how to thread the machine and do basic hems and stitches so I feel like that's a step in the right direction!

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Giggles and Grace Success

Friday I went to the Giggles and Grace sale at Asbury United Methodist Church. I attended this sale last Spring and found several great items so I had high hopes for finding some great items at great prices this go around. Well, let me just say that I racked up! I am so excited about all my wonderful finds. I got 25 items for $172. Many of the items still had the original tags on them so I really did luck out. Some of the labels include Feltman Brothers, Royal Child, and Strasburg. Below are just a few of my fabulous finds... I got this outfit for Jackson to wear for his 2 year pictures which are being taken Sunday afternoon. It's a Royal Child Smocked Jon-Jon and the original price tag is $78---I paid $25. The front is smocked with precious little birthday presents on it--too cute (I'm sure Daddy will not approve)!!! I got this Feltman Brothers daygown for our precious new little boy to wear home from the hospital. It was only $7 and I think that was totally a steal!!! This was a really cute little 2-piece short outfit I found for only $6. The original price was $28! It also has a sun-hat which will be really cute on a beach trip this summer! These Chabre' Courdory overalls were $8. I plan to monogram them with our new little boy's initials if we ever decide on a name!!!

I wish I could post pictures of all my wonderful finds because I really did get tons of great stuff. Puzzles, brand new shoes, brand new sleepers and no-scratch mittens, and lots of other great items. I am very glad I went to the sale. I'm driving down to Tuscaloosa on Saturday to attend the Junior League Consignment Sale so hopefully, I'll have success there too--I can't wait!!!

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He's a WILD ONE!!!!

Jackson, Ray, and my mom all attended the 4D sonogram on January 20th. It was certainly an eventful trip. Jackson did not like it when the nurse put the wand on my stomach. He asked Grammy to "take me outside, me not like it." As we proceed with the sonogram, my husband becomes increasingly overwhelmed and hot. It was a bit much to take on after just having hip replacement surgery the week prior. In all the excitement, he gets faintly sick and passes half out in the waiting area. All of this and I haven't even seen the doctor yet!! We manage to get Jackson dropped off at school and Ray back home without extreme mishap.

If the 4D sonogram was any indication of this little boy's personality, look out!!! He is a non-stop, on-the-go monster that will certainly hit the ground running and keep me on my toes. He is constantly flipping, kicking and moving around. Like his brother, he likes to have his hands near his face and he kicks anything that touches my stomach--he's definitely a wild one! We can't wait for him to arrive--6 weeks and counting!! Still no official name but we're much closer--down to 2 so hopefully, we'll have something to share soon.

The sonogram was a lot of fun and I think he looks like me--we'll soon see. He's definitely a WILD ONE!! Pin It

My Creative Space

Building a new house is both fun and stressful. I enjoy picking out all the finishes, colors, textures and landscaping. The not so fun part is arguing with the builder on simple changes that can drastically impact how you use a space. Case in point--my new creative space! During the planning stage of building our house, I was adamant about eliminating wasted space. One such space was a storage closet due to be placed at the top of our staircase. It seemed odd to me that you would come to the top of the stairs and have a closet on the only usable wall in a small space. I could envision a table or desk there with something pretty hanging on the wall. I could not picture a door! Luckily, I was able the convince the contractor to turn the storage closet into additional space in the fourth bedroom. This enabled me to have a small work space which I have so deemed by creative space! I had the space all laid all out in my head and couldn't wait to move in so I could start really being creative. Funny how other things took precedent and the craft area was placed on the back burner for quiet some time. It will be two years this March since we moved and I finally have the craft area set-up--wow, two years! I am still finishing some updates, ie. bulletin boards, ribbon storage shelf, etc. but at least the space is usable. Needless to say, it hasn't seen a lot of action yet except for Jackson sitting at my desk and playing on the computer (I think he's creating his own blog), but I plan to break it in soon! Here's a quick tour: This is my new desk. A friend told me about this wonderful place called The Blue Building in Alabaster which had lots of hotel furniture it had recently acquired from a closing sale. I hurried over and was able to get it for $50. Of course, I had to paint it orange (go figure)....

The chair at my desk and the one in the corner is a set I bought at the Chelsea Antique Mall yard sale for $25. I painted them both chocolate and recovered the cushions with cream suede fabric...... Th armoire is one we had in the guest bedroom at our first house. It's a computer armorie so it's practical and has lots of interior room for storage. I decided to repaint it chocolate.... And here's the completed space--completely stocked brushes, canvases, fabric, ribbon, and lots of tools to foster some creativity--now, all I need to do is put it to good use!

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A Lot of Catching Up to Do

I know--I have been absent for some time now but after having lunch with my dear friend Kristin today and visiting her blog, thefamilyfields.blogspot.com, I decided it's time to get back in the swing of things. Life has been crazy--upcoming baby (8 weeks and counting), construction of a media room and 5th bedroom in our house, husband had hip replacement surgery, mother-in-law came to town, Jackson is teething and we're attempting to potty train, painting nursery for new son & Jackson's "Big Boy" bedroom, shopping for furniture--you name it! But, I've never been one for excuses and I know my friends that blog are just as busy so, I'm making an effort to do better. I have a lot to catch you up on, projects and funny family stories so I'll be posting like a crazy woman the next few weeks! Picture: Jackson and daddy playing at the park--PRECIOUS!!! Pin It