Teacher gifts!

We are in the last week of Sophie's first year of preschool. Hard to believe.

It is truly difficult to thank her room full of teachers (five of them!) for fostering her creativity, curiosity and sense of adventure. They have made our first year in Louisville memorable, for sure. Feeling a little crafty, I made some gifts for the end of the year!

I spray painted the lids of some old spaghetti sauce mason jars and cleaned the jars really well. Inside, I made Sophie's favorite "Grammala" bars (Chocolate chip granola bars adapted from this recipe). Outside, I downloaded a free printable for bookplates and personalized them with the help of a friend with all of her teachers' names. I printed the bookplates on 8 1/2 x 11 shipping labels and cut down to size, wrapped in plastic and tied with string to the large mason jars.

Grammala Bars
4 Cups rolled oats
1/4 Cup whole wheat flour
1/4 Cup brown sugar
1/2 Cup plus 2 T canola oil
1/2 Cup plus 2 T honey
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 Cups chocolate chips

Bake 325 degrees on parchment paper (spread into large rectangle about 1/2in thick) for 40 min. Let cool, but not completely, before cutting into squares (or rectangles... whatever floats your boat).

New dress

Today's cuteness is brought to you by Yaya.

Thank you, mom, for this adorable madras dress! Sophie wore it to school with leggings and her new pink shoes. So stinkin sweet.

You like? You can make your own by downloading the free pattern here.

Keeping momma busy

To continue with the getting back to being "me" theme, here is what I've been up to! Getting crafty (some things I can't show you, because they might wind up in your Christmas stocking), taking pictures, a trip to Charlotte to see some girlfriends - and who doesn't love a good baby shower?! Still working on the nursery slowly but surely. Will try to actually take some pictures of it before the baby arrives!

While we're talking about staying busy, I have to tell you about the three quickest hours of my day: 9am-12pm, also known as pre-school. Sophie goes Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday for three hours, which may seem like lots of time, but I promise you, it isn't.

At least I have a routine: Tuesdays I run all of my errands, Wednesday I do laundry and clean the house, and Thursdays I try to do something relaxing (sewing, baby projects, etc.). By the time I subtract driving time to/from preschool, I'm left with 2 hours and 20 minutes. Then subtract five potty breaks (34 weeks pregnant, remember?), giving some attention to my furbabies, prepping lunch and dinner, catching up on the phone with a friend or family member, stopping to eat a snack or two (34 weeks pregnant, remember?), my other tasks are left with very little time to be completed. And just forget it if my swollen little fingers find their way to the keyboard and type in "Pinterest" before I can stop them.

Friends, I am NOT complaining, I love my mommy time and yet I miss Sophie when she's gone. It is just amazing how quickly three hours can be exhausted!!

Anyhoo, what post is complete without some photos. Have a great day, y'all!

Took pics of this adorable birthday boy!

I've been getting a little crafty... watch out!

The momma-to-be, me and Whitney.

Whitney is due three days after me!

The most unbelievable cupcakes come from the kitchen

of the grandma-to-be, Helen. (Wishing I had the leftovers right now.)

Happy Fall, Y'all!

Fall is here, or at least more palatable temperatures, the scent of bonfires and the turning of some leaves (in our backyard the leaves are simply falling. And falling. And 13 bags have been raked and discarded already). This momma has been feeling a bit renewed with the changes in the weather! The last two weeks have been very productive - after I gave myself a little kick in the pants and a pep talk. I tackled (with the help of hubs) painting a dresser for the baby room, a few little crafty projects (oh, Pinterest, why so addicting?), and get this - we had two, count 'em, two, family dinners: this and this.

I've been wanting to write more, but haven't made the time. I've been wanting to revamp the look of the blog and rename it, but am having a hard time narrowing it down... Here are a few thoughts:

Addicted to Pinterest

And Baby Makes Four

My Poor Dogs Never Get Love

Sophie is Hilarious

Crafty Crafty Me

I Have The Best Family

I Love To Cook

All The Reasons MBD Rocks (My Baby Daddy)

I Love Preschool

At least that sums up life in the Barber household as of late.

And the following photos should sum up our fun-filled weekend. Sophie's school hosted their annual Fall Festival and fun was had by all.

The two loves of my life.

OK, cut me and the slow-moving pony handler out of the picture,

one would think Sophie was trotting at break-neck speed.

She kills me. And she LOVED riding Twix, the pony.

Bryan literally had to go in and pull Sophie out

of the bounce house. Doesn't she look graceful?

To minimize the trauma of being pulled from the bounce house,

she got to ride her second horse.

Could she be any happier about her condolence prize?

Sophie LOVES to practice her animal sounds.

Here she is on a bail of hay giving the Lion "Roar!"

complete with hand gestures.

Other animals she's mastered: elephant, kitty cat, doggy, froggy, monkey,

horsey and cow.

Warning: If this can happen to me, it can happen to anyone.

Preschool art has eaten my refrigerator.

Did I mention I was getting crafty?

Here is a sneak peak at the nursery color scheme,

and my latest project that is almost done.

Hope you and your family had a awesome Fall weekend. xo

Permanence and other new stuff

Feeling a bit more permanent these days. We are renewing the lease on our house in Charlotte, and Sophie is officially enrolled in weekday school starting in the Fall. I know that she will love school, but looking into my crystal ball I see a few tears in the future.

The Barber household is done with baby bottles! But let me tell you sippy cups are just as much a pain in the a** to wash at the end of the day.

So, to update on Operation: One Nap...

I think we need to see someone about Sophie's addiction to sleep. She had one week of one-nap-days. Then Yaya came to town, March came in like a lamb and we had some perfect park days (i.e. lots of fresh air). Get to the point, you say.

Sophie started waking at 6am and going back down at 8am, sleeping for 2-2.5 hours, up for lunch and an activity and back down for a solid 2.5 hour afternoon nap. And bedtime has stayed between 6:30 and 7pm. This is the kind of sleeping she did at 10 months old. I am at a loss. Is it all the fresh air? A growth spurt?

All I can say is mommy gets more free time during the day than she expected, so instead of lamenting over the role of the SAHM as I've been doing lately, I got some stuff done.

• did some consignment shopping
• consigned some clothes to get into the BEST pre-sale in town
• got my creative juices flowing
• cooked some dynamite food
• took some pictures *swoon*

I am going to leave this as my baby/family/life/motherhood musing blog, but I have to pimp my pillows once since they are officially for sale, both on Facebook and at Ruby's Gift in NoDa. Here is the low-down:

Little Bungalow pillows are artistically repurposed one-of-a-kind creations made from burlap sacks that were once used to import green coffee beans from around the world. Each bag is completely unique bearing the stamps and markings of the exporter.

All Little Bungalow pillows are created individually with a vintage 1970’s Sears Kenmore sewing machine. They are lined with 100% cotton muslin, double stitched and are backed with various coordinating canvas and cotton duck fabrics. The envelope closure provides easy entry for pillow insert.

Ideal for indoor or covered outdoor space. Spot clean only with damp cloth. Sizes are standard, inserts not included.

New year, happy?

I've been trying to compose some sort of New Year's blog post about reflecting on '10 and resoluting for '11, but to no avail. Don't get me wrong, the year was great: I survived. I survived and even thrived as a first time mom. I learned what I'm really good at and really bad at... that I'm cut out for pregnancy, not so much for delivery, and I am cut out for lovin' the stuffin' out of my bouncing baby girl.

I tried a new Yoga studio in the neighborhood the other night, and the teacher was talking about how no two practices are ever the same; no two days are ever the same. Ever. I started tearing up, and I think that is where my New Year began. A simple, but thoughtful moment in a Yoga studio. Go figure. No two days are the same, so I want to make the most of the ones I am given. I also want to keep working towards finding a family/life/friendship balance. I want to feel better in my 30's than I have my entire life! And I want to have fresh flowers in the house more - like these - that I just picked up:

Makes me smile :)

Sophie update! She still learns something new every day. Within the last two weeks, she's started giving kisses (to anything with a nose or a mouth), brushes her hair, feeds her baby doll, and she knows where mommy's "nose" is!

Sophie on her first birthday!

Sophie's New Years at Discovery Place Kids.

A ladybug in a sea of ladybugs.

Sew what? I've got a few things up my sleeves. Are you on the edge of your seat yet? The picture below is your only clue. More to come!!