Thursday, March 12, 2015

GIVEAWAY! & life lately :)

     Well what do you know?! Its been almost a year since I've blogged! I always have the best intentions, but wasn't able to carry through lately! It has been such a crazy wonderful year! My sweet little Miracle baby is about to turn TWO! I can't believe it! How does this happen so fast? For those of you that don't know about my Miracle baby…She was born at 23 weeks and weighed 1.6 lbs. Miracle is definitely a word to define her. She is doing amazing today though! We have lots of therapy every week, but it is well worth it! She is thriving in leaps and bounds! I couldn't be more proud of her! We are having a blast chasing this little one around! She is so fun! We are planning her 2nd birthday party right now which is so fun because I LOVE party planning! Cant wait to share pictures :)
                                                She loves the outdoors & her wagon rides!

      I have also started back to my little Etsy business, Simply Southern…monograms & more. We started out as mostly monogramming but have now also started selling Burlap Door Hangers. Were having so much fun with them! We do them for about any occasion! We love custom orders! SO heres the good news… Who wants a free one?!!! I am going to be giving one away to a lucky reader! So how can you win? Do a few little things for me & the more you do the more entries you get! The winning entry will be picked on March 17th! So here we go…

1- Like our Facebook page
2- Follow our Etsy Page
3- Share about this giveaway on your page!

Leave a comment letting me know which ones you did! :)

Thats all it takes! ALSO from now til March 17th my readers get $5 off every burlap door hanger they purchase! Use the promo code: SweetCarolinaGirl




Thanks y'all!

Monday, April 28, 2014

April

We've been Busy Busy Busy this month! It has all been so great though! A little catch up-We started the month with my sweet girl turning 1! I can't believe it! The next weekend i threw a baby shower for my older sister and a bridal shower for my younger sister. They were close together, but i think it all turned out well! Once i get a chance to go through all the shower pictures i will share :) April 18th was my birthday and we had a great time celebrating with my husband off work and shopping at the outlets! We celebrated our first Easter! This past weekend we did the March for Babies in Greenville which was so much fun & so cool to see all the people walking to support such a great cause! After the walk we headed for a quick trip to the beach, which was so prefect! I didnt want to leave! It was Savannah's first time and all things considered i think it went really well! It was such perfect weather and so relaxing! Its been a great month! Now on to the next busy week...My sister gets married this weekend so we are headed to Charlotte this week. I can't wait for all the festivities! Its Savannah's first wedding and other than the little beach trip we did this past weekend it is one of her first trips. Since we have had to keep her so isolated i havent gotten to introduce her to many people including most of my family. It has been so hard, but it has been worth the wait because we made through her first year without any sickness or trips to hospital, which is SUCH a blessing!!!(of course other than the first 5 months of her life in the NICU, but im counting since we got home!)

Here are some pictures of our April, i hope yall had a great one too!



Savannah turns ONE-

(Our party is next month, so we celebrated with just the 3 of us :) Here is where she's at...remember she was born at 23 weeks so it takes a little time to catch up :) She is exactly where she's supposed to be!



-Savannah-

 -Stats-                                  -Favorites-
`14 lbs 0 oz.                 `stroller
`26 inches                   `bath
                                      `Sophie the giraffe
                                      `big bows
                                      `Music          
                                      
   -Development-                      -Fav Foods-
`Has 1 tooth                       `greenbeans
`Says Mamamama &        `peas
Dadadada                                       `prunes
`On all fours
`Loves to stand with help


Here is a few pics to show how far she's come in a year...



















                                                        not sure about that icecream :)



Easter 2014


haha not diggin the ears :)




First beach trip









 Okay that was lots of pics at once, sorry :) I love this sweet girl & am so proud of her what can i say? 

I'll share my shower & wedding pics once i get back from the wedding weekend! 

Happy Monday!




Friday, March 28, 2014

Yay Friday's here! I wish it wasn't going to be raining, but at least we have warm & sunny weather coming next week!

I had a pretty stressful day yesterday so the husband recommended i go for some retail therapy! I can't ever argue with that :) I went to some of my favorite stores and walked around as long as i wanted! First stop, Hobby Lobby! I just love that place, so many fun craft idea's and cute little things to buy! I actually got a cute new mirror and little piece of furniture with baskets for the guest bathroom too! Then i always have to go to Swoozies! I feel like i go there weekly, but there is always an occasion for a gift it seems and i just love everything there :) I got some little birthday gifts for Savannah there and some cute little signs for our bedroom. I'm going to have to go back again soon though because there are so many things i am swooning over for summer! Probably not a coincidence theyre all lilly things :) I actually did like a lot of other things too, but they dont have them online.

                                                                            Koozie
                                                        Cute Platter & matching plates!

                                                                          Croakies
                                                                 Insulated Beach Bag
I then went to some baby stores looking for Savannah! I never have a problem finding her cute clothes and accessories! I also went to Ann Taylor Loft and got some new spring things! They have some cute stuff right now! I love all their shorts & dresses!

I would say the retail therapy was a success! Now back to all my shower/party planning i have lots to do this week! I hope y'all have a happy weekend!

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Thank you!

Thank you so much to everyone who sent me sweet words about my last post. It means a lot.

     I dont know about y'all but i am so ready for spring weather to be here to stay! Its suppossed to be warm and we had flurries last night! Hurry up warm weather!
  
     I am looking forward to this spring So much! First of all we are able to start leaving our house a little and not be on as strict on isolation with our savannah! Just to name a few highlights-Savannah turns ONE in april, Its my birthday in April, I have two showers i'm planning in April (both for sisters-one is getting married and the other one is having her second baby, so its more of a sprinkle), my little sister gets married in May, We have several visitors coming in May and Savannahs big birthday bash is the end of may.
   
       I love planning showers & parties so much. I wish i was always planning ashower or party. I never realized how much work it is to plan two showers and 1st Birthday party at once! Its all coming together! I will definitely share details and pictures once i can.
  
      So like a lot of people i am trying to get more in shape. I've had to do a lot of sitting around the last year due to circumstances of being in the hospital over 5 months and being stuck at home. I can not believe how hard it has been to loose weight once you let your metabolism slow down. I have been working out 5-7 days a week and eating as healthy as i can! One thing i am doing in my diet is eliminating white sugar & white flour. I think it is really making a difference! Im feeling better and the pounds are starting to come off! I even gave up diet soda which i have been drinking my whole life! That was the hardest thing because i think i always used it as a way to get through my diet. Well its the best change i've ever made- i dont crave sugar like i used too & i think it was actually making me hungrier! Not to mention all the negative side affects it can have on you! Anyways, i am really feeling good about how hard i'm working to better my health & regain my self confidence. Elimanating white sugar other than an occasional treat hasnt been as hard as i thought it would be. After a few weeks you start to crave the sweetness of other things like fruit. Eliminating the white flour is a daily battle for me though! I LOVE carbs! I keep trying newcarb free recipes, but i havent come up with a lot of great ones yet. The cauliflower pizza crust we tried last week was a MEGA fail! I can't even believe my husband gave into trying it! It does NOT replace pizza! I'm hoping as i find more options this will get easier! So with all this being said feel free to send some good carb free recipes my way & ill be sharing some with you too!

One recipe i found lately is for this Avacado Tomato sala and we served it on the side of grilled chicken. It was SO good! Here is the recipe! Sorry my picture is a little blurrier than i thought!


Avacado Tomato Salad

Cut up 3 Avacado's, 1 cup of Grape tomato's, 1/2 cup diced red onion, and 4 Tablespoons of Fresh cilantro. Put all the cut up ingredients in a bowl. Then add half a can of chic pea's, 2 teaspoons of minced garlic, 2 tablespoons of Lemon juice, and a little salt & pepper. Toss it all together & enjoy :)


Happy Wednesday!

Friday, March 21, 2014

The biggest blessing of my life!

Hey Y'all! (I'm warning you... this is long, but worth the read I think :)

It’s been quite a while since I've done a post, a year to be exact. I needed to take a little break after the rollercoaster year that I had. I lost my dad which was very hard and think that is going to take a while to grieve. I have never lost anyone close like that to me before. For as much sadness as I feel, I’m also so happy for him because he is in a way better place with no more suffering! :)
Another huge contributor to my crazy year goes back to exactly one year from today. My water broke! Exciting right? Well not quite... I was only 21 weeks and 5 days. I honestly didn’t even know that is for sure what had happened until I went to the doctor because I was in the shower when it broke. We got there and she examined me and said everything looked good to her but she was going to do an ultrasound. Sure enough the ultrasound showed that all my amniotic fluid was gone! I didn’t even know how bad that was till she explained; I thought it could be replenished. I was wrong it was not good. She said you are going to have to go to the hospital right now and you will be on bed rest till you deliver. Since your water already broke it will probably be soon and a baby is not viable at 21 weeks. We burst in to tears and I ran to the bathroom to get sick because I felt like I couldn’t breath. I will never forget that ride to the hospital and how devastated we felt. I always had a nervous feeling because it was so hard to get pregnant and I had to go through In Vitro to make it happen. Once I made it to 20 weeks I was really feeling good though. When we arrived to the hospital my husband dropped me off and I waited for him to park so we could go up to labor & delivery. I couldn’t keep the tears from flowing. The lady checking us in asked us all kinds of questions and I told her my water had broken and she was excited, I however was not because this is not how it was supposed to happen. It was too early. Walking to my room I heard them play a lullaby over the intercom, a baby had been born. I balled again. How could they rub it in my face like that, I did not feel very much joy for them. I got to my room and settled in. They did lots of tests and they showed that I was not having any contractions, there was still a heart beat and I didn’t show any infection which was all very good. We had doctor upon doctor come to talk to us. They told us I was going to be on bed rest till the baby comes. If I could make it past the first 48 hours that might be a good sign that I will be able to hold out longer before she comes. They said I need to drink fluids like crazy, stay away from caffeine, stay in bed and do whatever I could to not get an infection. They gave us the statistics that in order for a baby to be viable I need to make it to 24 weeks. Every week after that will help a lot though. They said once I get to 23/24 weeks I will start getting steroid shots to help develop the baby's lungs, because at this point they have barely started to develop. 48 hours came and I still had not delivered so we were excited! I planned that I was going to be in bed for the long hall! They said once I got to 32 weeks they would most likely deliver though. We had a count down on the board and each day that passed was a victory! Every day we heard the heartbeat we were so relieved! I have never felt closer to God than I did when I was in that bed. I was so helpless, all I could do was pray and rely on him. I read the bible and listened to Christian music all day long. I couldn’t do anything else; my mind wouldn’t let me go anywhere else. We had occasional measurements taken of my amniotic fluid and it would go up a little from all the water I was drinking and being on bed rest, but it didn’t change much. The day I turned 23 weeks I mentioned the steroid shots that they mentioned to see if I could go ahead and start them? They said yes i could start them.They take 48 hours to kick in and I had the first one Sunday Morning. Monday we had the amniotic fluid checked and we were so excited because it had increased quite a bit. She also had turned around and wasn’t breach anymore! We were feeling so good. That night I got a new nurse who I hadn’t had before and to say the least I didn’t care for her much. I didn’t like how she reacted when I told her how much pain I was in right when I saw her at first. I had not been a complainer and I didn’t think it was fair how she was judging me! I wanted my favorite night nurse back! I was so upset about the nurse that my husband said he would stay the night with me. He normally only stayed Friday & Saturday because he had to work. I told him I just don't know how I was going to be able to keep her in much longer because I just kept having the worst cramps. They were so bad that I was breathing hard through the pain. I keep having them check for contractions but nothing ever showed up. That night was rough and I barely slept. I woke up Tuesday morning and the doctor was in early to see me. I had never met this doctor before but he didn’t spend much time with me. He looked at old printouts where they checked for contractions and said your fine. I shortly after that got up to go to the bathroom. It was then I felt something I had never felt before. It almost felt like something was coming out. I thought I just need to go back to bed and it will go away. Well I was wrong! I called for the nurse and she wasn’t coming very quickly so my husband had to go yell in the hallway for her. She came quickly and said ok we are going to send you to delivery. Me being very frightened I said they are going to make sure I am having contractions first right? I was freaking out this can't be happening. I didn’t want it to be happening I was only 23 weeks and 3 days, it was too early! We got there and they checked me and sure enough what I was feeling was the head coming out: o they said we are going to have to deliver now, no time for the epideral i had planned on and your doctor can’t make it. So they had another random doctor come in. None of it really fazed me though. I have never been more in the zone than I was delivering! I just wanted an alive baby on the other end. I went to delivery at 8:30 am and at 9:00 am Miss Savannah Elaine was born, 1 lb. 6 oz & 11 3/4". I looked up quickly at her, but couldn’t look for long I was so afraid. They quickly took her to another table in the room to check her out. They then brought her over to me and let me quickly give her a kiss and then the rushed her off to the Nicu. A few hours later we went to the Nicu where we got to look at her through the window of the incubator. I had never seen anything like what I was looking at in my life. She was SO small is an understatement. Her legs were as skinny as my pinky. She had a little white hat on, she was on the ventilator and had wires and lines coming out from all over her. I was in shock that this was my baby and she was here. I knew at that point this was going to be a long stay. They kept telling us we would probably be there till some time close to my due date which was July 27th. I remember thinking i didnt know how we were ever going to make it that long in here! The first few days were so hard and i could barely keep my eyes open. I was there every single though by her bedside for 12+ hours and i wouldnt have had it any other way! We had quite the journey in the nicu for 5 months (I’ll talk about that in another blog, because this is already too long!) We brought her home the end of August and have been on isolation in our home every since. Once May comes we should be able to take her out! We have to keep her healthy this first year as her lungs are still so premature though. She is now 13 lbs, 13 oz big girl & turns 1 in 2 weeks. She is perfect in every way & I absolutely could not be more grateful. I can’t believe how far she has come! I am one blessed girl.


Thank you so much for taking the time to read this LONG story :) I will have more to come if you’re interested!


                                                              The day she was born

                                                                Our first family picture
                                    The first time i got to hold her...2 weeks after she was born
                                                                            Today :)


Wednesday, February 27, 2013

More Baby News!

I have exciting news to share! On Valentines Day we found out that our sweet baby is a GIRL! Yay! I am so excited! I feel like all i know is girls since i grew up in a family of all girls and everyone in our family has girls! I feel like i will know a little more, but i would have been very happy with a boy too! I'm just happy to be pregnant!

I am 19 weeks now and still having some nausea. I had it really bad the first four months! With that being said i have many food aversions and so far i eat pretty much whatever sounds good just to be getting enough calories in! I really want to be healthier. Is there anything any of yall did to get some healthiness into your diet during pregnancy when you didn't feel very good?

Hope yall are having a good week! I am currently focusing on lots of fun things with the nursery-mostly planning still! I have also been making lots of hair bows and shopping! :)

Happy Wednesday! :)

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

BIG NEWS!

Hey yall!!!

It has been quite a while since i last posted because i have been very busy with some other important things!
I mentioned a while back about my struggle with fertility. We tried for over two years and decided to try and get some better help this year! I went through months of different fertility treatments and ended up doing In Vitro! I was pretty scared about doing this process, but with lots of love from family and friends i made it through. It seems like a miracle to me because i hate shots and getting my blood drawn so much! For two months i gave myself 3 shots a day and had my blood drawn almost every other day. The thought of being able to get pregnant because of all that made the days go by quickly! My husband was by my side every day and it started to actually feel like a special time when i had to do the shots. Everyday was one day closer to finding out if IVF would work for me. I ended up getting pretty sick from the egg retrieval so we decided to transfer only one embryo compared to the two that was reccomended. This made me nervous because i knew that it could lessen my chance of success.

However on November 22nd we got the call that I was PREGNANT. Today i am 17 months pregnant and everything has been going so smoothly (well minus the four months of morning sickness i have had, but its worth it!). I can not even express how blessed i feel every day and it still is hard to believe its even for real some times! I pray every day for the health of this sweet baby and can not wait til i get to meet him/ her!
This Thursday i have an ultrasound which we may be able to find out the sex! It is very exciting because not only is it Valentines Day, but it is our 4th wedding anniversary! I'm hoping it will be a very exciting day!
Please keep us in your prayers that everything will continue to go so well with this pregnancy!


Thank yall so much, Happy Tuesday!