Hey there campers!

Well it's been a rough couple of days around here (I'm not beginning to go there) but I think things, including me, are finally getting back to normal*.


This is what I found when I went to wake BabyCakes up from her morning nap yesterday so we could pick up BigBoy from school.




She was OUT. I felt so bad about waking her.
This is a shot through the crib slats:




Like ruffles on the butt, this is only a look a gal can pull-off while still a baby. :)
So cute!


* The inflatable ghost up the street is still not safe.

The first step is admitting you have a problem.

Hi, I'm Cayce.

And I'm addicted to hair bows.
(Jana - is that you in the back? :) )

How did this happen, you ask?
It's no one's fault but my own.


I first knew I had a problem when I decided I needed a better way to contain all BabyCakes' bows. Then I binged and spent $15 on bows at one time.
That may not seem like a big deal, but for me it's huge.
That was when I hit bottom.

This is my story...


My first hair bows were a gift. They were free -- a friend gave them to me as a baby present. At the time I found them cute but I didn't really get it -- yet.
I didn't use them.

Then time passed and as my baby grew more hair, I thought about trying a bow for myself.
I put one in and it instantly transformed her from being normal-cute to soooo CUTE.
There was a high.

At first I only bought them on weekends (at yardsales). I told myself, "All the other moms are doing it. It's fun and makes me happy."

Then I started having cravings when I would dress BabyCakes and find her without a perfectly matching bow.





I was hooked when I bought the purple polka dotted one. I knew polka dots would step it up to a new level, but the plain bows weren't doing it for me anymore.
I didn't even wait to get home before using it.




Finally, on Friday evening when J wasn't home, I loaded up the kids in the Honda and went searching for a fix. First I hit a kids consignment store and then onto Target.

The night was young. The ribbon was crisp. I bought bows at both places.




I told myself I didn't "need" to buy bows. I just wanted them.

In only the brief amount of time that BabyCakes' hair has been able to sustain a bow, I've bought (or been given) 26 kinds and used them almost daily.

I'm not proud.

Don't worry about me, though. I've got it under control. My family and friends support me.

I will still use them recreationally, but I'm going to avoid temptation as much as possible. Craft fairs and children's boutiques -- the seedy underbelly of the handmade accessory world -- are going to have to be off-limits. I wouldn't want a relapse.

Thanks for letting me share.


:D

WKU

Western Kentucky University, where J and I met, will always be special to us.
It's where we lived, studied, fell in love, worked, and generally started our life together.




That's why I wanted to take a second for my fellow Hilltoppers,




and say "Go Big Red!"

Disney Book Wreath

BigBoy and and I worked on a little project during BabyCakes' afternoon nap today.
I've seen book wreaths before but never wanted to pay the high ($40+) price tag for them. I also didn't know where I would put one.
It's been a rainy day and BigBoy as been home sick, so today we tackled one with only at-hand materials.
We used 2 thrift store Disney books he didn't particularly like reading, one old frame I was preparing to donate, and some Gorilla super glue (because that's what I had).





All it involved was using a box-cutter to remove the pages from the books, rolling them up and gluing them shut, and them gluing them to the frame.
BigBoy picked out which side of each page should be exposed and I think he did a great job.



It's hanging on the kids' bathroom door at the end of the blah hallway.
Since BabyCakes is so mobile these days, we have to keep the door shut at all times.
Hopefully J will like it, because I really do.



What do you think?

Neighbor James came over Tuesday afternoon. When we first moved here, he was still toddling around in a diaper. Now he's this well-behaved, fun, awesome little kid.
He and BigBoy had a ball playing together.




While I was in BigBoy's room snapping these photos, BabyCakes, who had previously been patiently watching from the other side of the babygate in his doorway, started fussing.




When I turned around, this is what I saw!




Big girl had pulled herself up and wanted IN!




She's only pulled up a few times and when she does, she gets a holy crap, what do I do now/this is oddly exhilirating - kind of look on her face. Like she's not quite ready for this next step.

I don't think I am, either.



Doesn't she look so old in the above picture?

Um, BabyCakes, you are only 9 and a half months old.
Know what she had for dinner last night? Tortellini.
Yep.
Not a bottle. Not baby food. REAL food. I literally couldn't cut it fast enough. She was ripping my hands off of it to get to it.





Yeah yeah, I'm glad you're THRIVING and all, but can you please wait until your birthday to start walking? I want my BabyCakes to stay BABYCakes for a little longer.




(P.S. I would like to point out the absurdity of the above pictures in another regard. It is the middle of October yet my child was wearing a strawberry-covered summer outfit. It was 88 degrees! Too weird...)

BOO

I

HATE

inflatable yard decorations.

Why, may I ask, is it appropriate to inflate a ghost the size of your house and stick it in your front yard for the entire month of October?
Oh, and the same house has a giant inflatable cat on the roof. (So the hubs says -- I couldn't see it in the dark of night.) Is it supposed to inspire the "spirit of halloween" in us all? psh...

I live in a neighborhood with a strict homeowners association, (let's not even touch my opinion on that) and yet car-sized kitsch is okay to display in your yard. Excuse me, your lawn.

Tonight I took the jeep to buy the nearest chocolate out for a drive,(I was already in a mood) and there it was taunting my dislike of Halloween on my way back home. I swear if I hadn't been in a vehicle that sounds like it runs on gravel, I would have stopped and ripped that thing down with my bare hands. Never have I wished more that the jeep had a bb gun rack.

Maybe an old-school rolling will be enough. Yeah, that's it. You wanna play the inflatable ghost game? I'll come back at you with 20 rolls of scotty one-ply.

Ok, I think I need more chocolate.

Sometimes it's nice to just be a girl.



Curly blonde hair,



Big blue eyes,



and ruffles on the butt.

I mean, really.
How cute is that?!



I wish all pants had ruffles on the butt.

All baby girl pants, that is.
Rufflage has no place on me.

It's still nice to be a girl, though.