TGIF!!

I am so happy it's Friday ( I feel like I say that every week!). We have a fun and busy weekend ahead!

Today for lunch I am going to meet my friend Lara to talk about the Little League concession stand for the upcoming season. We are going to be in charge of shopping for supplies and food and getting parent volunteers to work during the games. I haven't seen her for a while and I can't wait to see her and catch up! We had so much fun working together last season!

Tonight after work I am meeting a few friends at Applebees for happy hour to start planning a baby shower for my friend Robin. We are going to have the shower for Robin at work on April 8 so we have to talk about the theme, snacks, games, etc. It should be fun and I am looking forward to it!

On Saturday Graig and I are going to go to a fundraising dinner for our College's women's soccer team, they are raising money to go to Disney World, after the dinner we are going to go to a 39th birthday party for our friend Shawn (my friend Sabrina's husband). Shawn and Graig coach Little League together and on game days they talk at least 5 times during the day about their lineup, strategy, etc. Sabrina and I think they are so funny because they both get so into the game! Here is a picture of Graig, Shawn and our other friend Chris last summer after a Little League game.

One of my favorite bloggers Monogram Chick is having a fantastic giveaway! Go to her site here to sign up to win these adorable cosmetic bags! Aren't they cute? I think they would be perfect to take on summer vacations! Remember Trista from the Bachelorette? She got Monogrammed Chick totebags for her baby shower! They were adorable and you can read all about it on Mongram Chick's site
TGIF everyone, I hope you all have a fabulous weekend!!

In the Motherhood

I can't wait to watch this show tonight!! It's premiering tonight at 8pm eastern time on ABC. I think it will be so funny, Megan Mullally (Karen from Will and Grace) is one of the main characters. I love her and I can't wait to see her in this show! I think this is going to be so popular because all Moms can relate to the crazy things that we have done to keep our kids happy and quiet.

Like the time Ava was about 2 and my friend Allison and I went to Washington DC with Ava and Brock. I took 4 college students to a conference and Allison went along to help me with Brock and Ava. Anyway, Allison, Brock, Ava and I were out sightseeing, it was July and about 100 degrees, Ava was hot, tired, and she desperately wanted a nap. At the time, Ava, the poor thing, loved her binky and it was somehow lost during the course of our sightseeing. So she was crying hysterically in her stroller and at about that time I spotted a binky on the ground (I thought it was a gift from God!!) I wiped the binky off with a baby wipe and put it in her mouth. Don't judge, after she got the binky she was so content and she fell asleep and we were able to get back to our hotel in peace and quiet. I am sure my sister Shelby is freaking out by reading this she (ha ha)but she doesn't have kids yet! Normally, I would never, ever pick something up off of the ground and give it to my kids but I was desperate! There were a few crazy things that happened on the trip my friend Allison talks about it here. The things Mom's do!! I hope you enjoy the TV show tonight!

Almost Wordless Wednesday

I love this!!

More Spring Decorating!

More spring decorating!! I love decorating for spring, I got most of our things out over the weekend. Here are some pictures of a few of my spring things. I put most of our decorations in our living room and dining room. I think they looked better when they are put together.

Spring Dining room centerpiece

On the table in our sunroom

I just got this cute little nest at Pier One

I love this cute bunny, I think it would look better if my plant wasn't half dead-ha

A little bunny just waiting for colored Easter Eggs!

Candle holder in the living room

Spring Chick

I love this topiary my friend Sabrina made for me.

Easter Garland

Happy Spring Everyone!!

Ava's birthday party!

Today was Ava's 7th birthday party! We had her party at the Soccer Hall of Fame which was great for two reasons: #1 She loves soccer and (most importantly!) #2 we didn't have to have 20+ kids at our house! It was so fun the kids played, ate pizza, cupcakes and ice cream, and then played some more. I think they will all sleep good tonight because they were all running around and playing the whole time! Ava had a fabulous time!

Ava's birthday cupcakes

Mariah, Ava and Gabby

Brock was such a good sport during the party, he helped with games and played soccer with the little kids

Some of the kids playing soccer!

Ava and her friend Jake. I love this picture of the two of them. They have been friends since they were born. I work with Jake's mom and they were born one month apart.

Some of the kids waiting for their pizza

The whole gang! I wish I zoomed in a little more on this picture. I love little Eliza in the front (the baby in the pink shirt) she was so cute and had so much fun eating pizza and cake at the party!

Ava had a great time and got lots of wonderful presents. This week she will be busy writing thank you notes and playing with all of her new toys! I wish I had one more day off before going back to work! This weekend I didn't get a lot done because I was sick with strep and then today we went to church and then had Ava's party in the afternoon, tonight we are relaxing and watching basketball on TV and I can't wait to see what happens on Desperate Housewives tonight! It should be a good one!!

On Wednesday, Brock's basketball team is going to be in the championship game at the Boys and Girls Club! Brock is so excited about this game! I hope everyone had a great weekend!

Spring has Sprung!

This afternoon I decided to do some spring decorating! Yesterday I woke up with the worst sore throat of my life, I called in sick to work and I went to the doctor's and I had strep throat!! It was awful, I laid around in bed all day and didn't do anything but sleep and watch TV. Brock was sick with it on Mon/Tues, so I must have gotten it from him.

This morning when I woke up I felt so much better!! It's a good thing because we were super busy today. This morning, Ava had her last gymnastics meet of the season, she got 1st place in all of her events! She was so happy and I am so glad that she ended her year doing so well! She will still have practice every week until the end of the school year but her meets are over until September. After her gymnastics meet Ava went to spend the night with Grandma Jan.

Brock had soccer practice this morning and then this afternoon he had a few friends over. Tonight we went out to Applebees and then we dropped the boys off at the skating rink for a few hours, this was the first time they were there alone. They are getting so big!! Here is a picture of them tonight after their Roller Skating adventure

Tonight since both kids were gone I thought I would get out some of our spring decorations. I love getting out our spring decorations, it means that Easter, longer days, walks in the sun, Little League, cookouts and planting flowers outside are on the way.

I love this egg wreath that I got a few years ago, I hung it by our back door.

Our little bunny by the back door

A plant in our dining room with a bunny from Pier One

I got this chick last weekend at Cracker Barrel

A chick plate I got at Cracker Barrel. I think this one is so cute for spring!

An egg cup, just waiting for a colored egg!

I got this egg tree at Pier One this year.

I have more decorations in our living room and sun room and I will show those next week. I have to get to bed, Ava's birthday party is tomorrow!

Ava's 7th Birthday!!

Today is Ava's 7th birthday!! I can't believe our baby girl is 7!! The time has flown by, I love having a little girl!! I was so happy when I found out I was having a girl, she has definitely made our family complete! It has been so fun watching her grow up, she is kind, sweet and so funny!



She makes us laugh every day! Right now her favorite thing is picking out her outfits for school, she loves dressing up, her favorite thing to wear is "clompy shoes", they are dress shoes that have a little heel that clomps when she walks.



Tonight, she went out to dinner with her Grandma Jan and Brock because I have to work, so tomorrow night Graig, Brock and I are going out to eat and Sunday is her birthday party! So this weekend will be a birthday extravaganza for Ava.

The birthday girl ready for school!

I got this birthday sign at Hobby Lobby, Ava was so excited when she saw it this morning!

The cupcakes that we brought in today for Ava's class

Opening her birthday presents from Grandma Rose

Grandma Rose got Ava an American Girl outfit, so Ava put her doll in it and took a picture. How cute!

What's in a name?

It has been such a long process picking out a name for my blog. I always wanted Brock and Ava to be a temporary name until I came up with one I liked...it took me 9 months! I had two criteria for my name

1. I wanted a name that would go along with Brock and Ava because they are the main focus of my blog

2. I wanted a catchy name that people could remember.

I am envious of people that have cute blog names. I wish my url (is that the right word?) matched the name of my blog but it doesn't. Here are some of my favorite blog names

peeptoe pumps and pearls

lipgloss lounge (my friend Allison)

monograms and manicures

extension of grace (my sister Shelby)

bless our nest

The name of my blog is going to be called (drum roll please)

Baseball and Ballet

I love it! It's the perfect name for my blog!! If you have me on your blog roll please change my name when you get a chance :)

I am going to bed early tonight, I am so tired, this daylight savings is really messing me up. I woke up at 3am this morning and could not go back to sleep, it was awful!! I hate when that happens. I hope that I sleep all night tonight, tomorrow is a busy day at work and Brock has a basketball game tomorrow night!

Sister craft swap

My sister Shelby and I have decided since we live so far away from each other and we can't do Craft Nights together that we will send each other crafts one or two times per month. We both loves making crafts and cute things for our homes so we both thought this was a fab idea. I thought we were sending each other finished crafts...Shelby thought otherwise (ha) and I was surprised when I got these cute things from her a couple of weeks ago and realized I would have to finish them myself. Last night while I was watching Desperate Housewives and Brothers and Sisters I made this frame for Ava's room (Marshall our friend's little boy is in the picture with Ava, he is such a cutie pie, I love how Ava is loving on him in this picture)This is what I put in Shelby's first package. She is in her first year working for the University of Iowa, so I painted the canvas for her office. I also love the mini silver bucket and I thought she could use the post it's in her office. She is so organized and is always writing notes and to-do lists so I thought these would be perfect for her!

Now, I am trying to figure out what to make for her next. I hope to stop by a craft store this week to pick out our next project!

Hope everyone had a great Monday, I was so tired today at work... I think it's the time change and staying up so late last night to watch my shows!

Cutie pie and sleeping boy

Yesterday Ava and I went shopping with my friend and her daughter who is just a year older than Ava. We had a great time but we were a little rushed for time because we had to get back for a lasagna dinner at the girls dance studio. We went to Old Navy and they were having a great sale-t-shirts and leggings for $4 each! Those are Ava's favorite things so she picked out a lot of cute things for spring. She picked out this cute dress which was only $20. I love it! She wore it today when we went out to lunch. Poor thing, as you can see, her jean jacket from last year is getting too small, we will have to get her a new one for this year. We didn't see much of Brock this weekend he was too busy playing sports, going to soccer and basketball practice, and having a sleepover with his best friend Thomas. He came home this afternoon and feel right to sleep on the couch, he got up to eat dinner with us and he's sleeping again!
I have a busy week ahead, I have a ton of stuff to get done at work, then I am going to Illinois to visit with my mom next weekend, she had a small stroke last week and my sister Shelby has been with her. I am going to go out later in the week to help her, she might come and stay with us in NY for a few weeks while she recovers.

Almost Wordless Wednesday

Brock took this picture of our dog Cotton this morning, he told me "Mom don't erase this picture, it's the best picture I have ever taken" so sweet, I just love him..and our dog Cotton . Happy Wednesday!

Spring decorating

I started decorating for spring today, even though it's only suppose to be 15 degrees here today! I am so sick of cold weather, and it's March so spring should be just around the corner.

I started with the top of our cabinet where we keep our TV. I love this new plant I got for only $5 at the grocery store. I hope I can keep it alive, I am not so good in the plant department. My Mom loves plants and when she comes to visit she is always horrified because my plants are drying and brown. She is constantly watering my plants when she's here. I hope I can keep this one alive and healthy until she comes to visit in June-ha! I like the wreath in back and I usually keep one there all year. I don't know if both of those things on either side of it are too much. I will keep playing around with it until I get it how I like it. How do you decorate for spring?

First Sign of Spring!

Today the Dairy Queen opened after being closed from the winter! When it opens we know spring is just around the corner! Ava was so excited! She loves Dairy Queen, her favorite ice cream is chocolate and vanilla twist in cone.

Yesterday was Ava's gymnastics meet it was called the Teddy Bear Classic isn't that cute? All of the gymnasts got a teddy bear with a medal around it's neck. Ava was so much more relaxed this time and she remembered all of her routines, Ava got first in her division in floor and vault(there were only two girls in her division, so don't think she's headed for the Olympics-ha) She also wore in new uniform for the first time. She loves that uniform and wants to wear it all the time!

Ava with her friend Mary (not sure why the picture is like this)

Silly girls!

The Sparklers!