last thoughts from 2009

Besides my resolutions I thought I would add these:

Things I learned from 2009

1. Be thankful for the blessings you DO have

2. Real friends look past their own hurt or disappointment to see you. They understand or at least accept the silence and they see the bigger picture

3. I learned the power of prayer and faithfulness

4. That I am in love with the age of 4

5. You HAVE to move forward

6. Romance is not the most important thing in a marriage, it's if you can weather the storm together

7. It's not fun to have your life turned upside down, but it's amazing to see how much you can change

Wishing you a wonderful New Year and hoping you will continue to visit my blog through 2010.

xo,

Amanda

Brody's 2010 Resolutions

Like last year, it was challenging to explain what a resolution is, but I was proud of Brody for understanding as best as he could!

1. Go to Chuck E Cheese more
2. Give people birthday presents on their birthday
3. Learn to do jumps on my bike
4. Play with Piper more

Mark's 2010 Resolutions

Poor Mark! I make him do them too :)

1. Be more patient with the kids
2. Make an effort to have the kids be involved in more productive activities
3. Make an effort to go the the gym more, not just depend on hobbies to lose weight
4. Rebound from a bad sales year at work
5. Give Amanda enough free time now that we have 3 kids

My 2010 Resolutions

If you are a reader of my blog, you know I take resolutions pretty seriously. I think they are a great way to start your year and reflect on your triumphs and missteps from the previous year. Without reflecting on ourselves, how can we grow?

My resolutions this year needed to be simple, straight forward and realistic. Things I can practice daily while balancing a new baby and my other two kiddos.

1. Pray continuously (through the good and bad)
2. Lose ALL the baby weight
3. Do more activities with the kids (especially if I don't feel like it)
4. Let things go (especially the opinions of others)
5. Give up Coca-Cola
6. Don't fight change
7. Grow my business more than 25%
8. Encourage others whenever possible
9. Put my family first
10. Do all things with love as the goal

Totally adjusting to life with 3 kids AND working on my New Year's resolutions, which you know I will post!

tsunami video

On the day after Christmas in 2004, Kalle Widelius was taking video at a Thai resort when the sea mysteriously receded. He filmed as the water first moved onto land slowly and then with the force that would claim 245,000 lives.

I found this video fascinating and had to share. Sorry if it's a bit of a downer in subject, but makes you thankful to be alive! Can you believe it's been 5 years.

my new baby fav

I promise this hasn't turned into a baby blog! I will not only post about baby products! But just one more for now. My new favorite baby item is......


The Halo Sleepsack Swaddler. Perfect for swaddling babies when you get home from the hospital. It's so warm for winter and they are so cozy. I seriously love it soooooo much. I got mine at Babies R Us.

love them

Things that lasted up to 3 kids and 4.5 years, only bought once. Things that I cannot live without, especially with newborns.

Pottery Barn Kids Bassinet

Fisher-Price Baby Papsan Swing

The Medela Pump-In-Style Breast Pump

Bugaboo Stroller with Wheeled Board

(stroller may cost a lot but we never bought anything else, except for the double stroller that we just purchased for outside use, we will still be using the Bugaboo)

The Boppy Pillow

A little reflection for today

I may not have everything I have ever wanted, but you know what, I have everything I could EVER hope for.

I experienced my own little private miracle during this holiday season and during my delivery. Something I will never forget. At a time when I was the most scared and vulnerable, I received a sign and a blessing.

I know this time of year is hard for people, but I hope you can find your own miracles and blessings out of any situation. It may take a lot of prayers, a lot of hope and a lot of peace. But I hope you can get there.

I feel like I have.

xo

part 2

I'm a week late, but here's Part 2 to NieNie's story.

etsy and lack of sleep

hi friends. i owe you close to 100 posts from all my tardiness. but i'm not going to lie, i'm sleep deprived. i'm surprised i'm even posting right now. but notice i'm doing all lowercase letters, it seems easier to me :)

i was on etsy.com looking for a personalized ornament for madden. i came across a few other things i wanted to share. read below.

for those of you who know my logo for creative nest designs....i can't believe i saw this. i'm thinking i have to get one. go here to see more from this seller. also very soon my logo will undergo a small change, there will be three eggs instead of two :)

i am totally in love with these little plates. i think i need one too. they are so sweet. go here to see more from this seller.

more to come soon!

xo

where have i been?

I had an unexpected surprise last week!

We are home now and trying to fit into a

routine.

New posts to come, I promise.

(after all, I have new inspiration)

Check back soon.

xo

the lady

There is something that I have respected about Lady Gaga from the beginning. Maybe because I felt like deep down she was just an average person trying to make her way in the world. She's bold and fearless, qualities that I strive for. This interview from Barbara Walter's 10 Most Fascinating People really confirmed that to me. I haven't figured out where I fit into this world yet, but she confirms that we can make our own space and leave a mark no matter who we are.

I have been working, working, working on Christmas Card orders, so sorry for the lack of posts! New posts to come soon. Until then, here are the things I am currently thinking about:

1. What the heck can I have Brody make as gifts for his grandparents/aunties/uncles for Christmas?

2. What kind of products should Creative Nest Designs offer next year? My own line of stamps, calendars, etc?

3. When will I finally get to the wall decoration I want to do for the baby?

4. What is a good teacher's gift for the holidays?

xo

NieNie

I've only mentioned a thousand times how much NieNie's story moves me. Well here's the actual story written by Jaimee Rose in the Arizona Republic. This is just the first installment. Plan on crying (over and over again).

blog i love

I love to catch up about once a week with cakie's blog. She is really creative, great at sewing, and her family does the cutest things. It's definitely a blog fav. Check her out when you have time along with her etsy store (she doesn't have much in her store right now due to the arrival of a new baby girl). I purchased the cutest doll from her last Christmas for Piper.

cute stuff with Gwyneth's approval

Gwyneth Paltrow put these cute plates by Em Tanner in her newest GOOP email about personalized holiday gifts! They are so cute! Just went to the website and all of it's cute from the plates to the lunch boxes to the hair-clips, water bottles and backpacks. But the plates are my favorite.

Gwyneth also mentioned that she shops Chloe In Style to find handmade goods made by "mompreneurs." I just checked it out for the first time and can't wait to explore it more.

good for the planet and looks cute too

My friend Leslie passed on the news of a new jeans brand called REUSE. They are sustainable, attainable and made from 80% recycled fabric. How rad is that! Plus they are cute. Check them out and if you want to purchase a pair you can get 20% off with the promo code reLESLIE20. I can't wait to try on a pair myself, however I don't think they can sustain my pregnancy size right now. Ha!

it's december 1st!

I am SO excited it is December 1st! It seems like it was taking forever to get here. First thing on our list, we will be writing Santa our letters today and depositing them at Macy's Santa Mail drop. Brody saw this last week and insists that we take his letter there, our mailbox is not good enough. Fine with me, any Christmas spirit outing is on my list. Can't wait!

*sidenote: I just realized I am going to have to do a switcheroo and put a blank letter in the Macy's drop so I can keep his real one for me. I want to hold on to it for when he is older!

tis the season for entering giveaways!

Design Mom's Holiday Giveaway Week started yesterday!! It will last through Friday, December 4th and each day there will several giveaways. You have 24 hours to enter each one and then winners will be announced the next day. I'm excited because she has really great sponsors and awesome items. You have to check it out, but don't be surprised when you see how many other people want to enter too!

Here are some of the things you missed from yesterday. These should inspire you to enter the rest of the week!

oh boy

When my sister and I were little we ALWAYS use to get popcorn at the movies with m&m's on it. It was our favorite. So when planning Whitney's baby shower I wanted to do something that involved that. I came up with "Oh boy she's about to pop." She's having a baby boy so I got to tie that in. Anyhow I loved how they turned out!

By the way, I got the kettle corn from Target, super good!

my turn

Had to wrap some Christmas presents quickly and I tried to use some of the Martha Stewart wrapping ideas I posted about a few days ago. They are far from perfect but I was on a time crunch. I also love the new labels I made for all the gifts this year. Super simple but cute.

yummmmmmm

You know those Cadbury Mini Eggs that I am obsessed with every Easter, well they make them for Christmas now. Soooo good. They call them "Solid Milk Chocolates with a Crisp Sugar Shell," which I find funny, couldn't they be Holiday Mini Eggs? Either way I found them at Target and they are so good (and almost all gone).

Brody's thankfulness

Here are the things Brody is thankful for this year, I was hoping for more humor and some really weird answers, but he has a sweet heart and it only get more tender as he gets older. I'm thankful to have such a great son.

1. I'm thankful for my family because they are the goodest
2. I'm thankful for the food we eat
3. I'm thankful for when I color
4. I'm thankful for how much I play with my friends

He was quick to let me know that was ALL he was thankful for and he left me to go watch a movie. Ha!

giving thanks

I made a promise to God this year, that I wouldn't complain about our circumstances as long as my family was happy and healthy. Because really, what else matters in life? We can live anywhere, do anything, as long as we are healthy and together. So for this Thanksgiving, the things I'm thankful are pretty generic in a sense. This year they are those things that matter most to me.

1. I am thankful for a happy, healthy family
2. I am thankful to have all my basic needs met and beyond
3. I am thankful to have true friends and family who love, never judge and and truly care
4. I am thankful to have a husband that takes care of us and loves us every day
5. I am thankful that I was able to grow more this year in every possible way than ever before
6. I am thankful for my life

I really hope that you can take time this week or on Thanksgiving to reflect on all the things that you are thankful for. You all deserve some quiet "you" time to do that!

And by the way, I'm thankful for you!

Tomorrow: What Brody is thankful for!

something new

Okay so I saw the advertisement for this in Real Simple Magazine. It is the new Zoku Quick Pop Maker. It is sooooo one of those things that you do not need and probably won't use, but I have to say that it looks so awesome. Good advertising! I want to make all those pops in the picture, you should see the chocolate/granola in the actual advertisement. It's only at Williams-Sonoma, sells for $49.95 and the four people who have given their reviews ALL gave it 5 stars.

Yum Yum!

Black Friday

Found this website online and it tells you all of the Black Friday Deals! I love it because I can zip through it seeing if there is anything specific that I am looking for. Looks like they are updating it daily! A must have for Christmas shopping this year.

oh martha!

I just received my December issue of Martha Stewart Living and everything inside was sooooo pretty. I love the holidays!! Here are some of my favs from this issue:

Japanese decorative tape instead of using ribbon on your packages. I love it! Go to happytape.com.

Personalize your guests table setting by monogramming cookies with their initials using a clean crafts-store rubber stamp (shortbread cookies are best). This would be perfect for any type of party favors as well! Imagine all the different types of stamps you can use.

This issue had the best ideas for wrapping gifts. I was drooling. Here are some I found online. I wish I could have showed you all the ones in the magazine. So pretty.

I swear, the October and December issues are always my very favorite! It's like a present in itself.

i'm getting closer

I'm nesting, I'm counting down...I forgot what it feels like to be so close to having a new baby. I have to tell you that it's crazy to me that even with pregnancy #3 (I'd think I'd be an expert by now), everything is still so different. None of my pregnancies have been alike and surprisingly enough this one has been the most difficult on me physically. Here I thought it was going to be a breeze. It just goes to show that you can never think that you are 100% prepared for anything, life will always throw you curveballs.

I do find that I am relatively calm about adding a new life to the mix, even though I have been told on numerous occasions that baby #3 throws you over the edge. I mean in this kind of economy, in this crazy kind of year we have had, what really is "the edge" for anyone? I actually find that the harder things are and the closer to the edge I get I become even more thankful. So I am hoping that even when I lose it and I am so tired I can't keep my kids' names straight, I will continue to have a peace in my heart that I have had all year.

With that being said, I just wanted to blog a little about my pregnancy and life. I still have plenty of time until this baby comes so I'll keep posting my favs. And, feel free to send me any of yours!

xo,

Amanda

pretty little pieces

Oh man, Anthropologie has some amazing clothes for little girls. Looks like they only carry a few things. In person they are gorgeous with amazing attention to detail. Of course they are pricey, but totally worth it if you can afford it. Love, love, love! Sold in sizes 6 months, 12 months or 18 months.

Dear Target,

I missed you today while I was at my usual grocery store. For some reason grocery prices seem extra high right now (and I go to the "cheaper" store in my area). I actually had to put things back because I knew that they are so much cheaper at your store. I was thinking that time is money, but when I added up the difference, it wasn't even close. So I will be visiting you tomorrow for my bread, cheese, shampoo, cereal and a few other small things. Thank you for being so reasonably priced.

xo,

Amanda

something special for your turkey

This fav comes from a good friend! She says that this Turkey Brine from Williams-Sonoma is amazing. From what I understand you bath your turkey in a brine bath of these seasonings before you cook it. Even the reviews online say you won't want your turkey any other way after you try it. I can't wait!

trim the trees

I know we haven't hit Thanksgiving yet, but all I can think about is decorating for Christmas. I can't wait!!!! I had to peek over at Anthropogie because I LOVE their ornaments. Here are some of my favorites!

adorable

I just came across these Juicy Ballet Flats online, they are sooooo cute! They only have them in 3-12 month sizes. Too small for Piper, so sad.

Okay, I'm not a huge Cam Gigandet fan, but there is something I love about this photo of him and his daughter Everleigh. I loved it enough I had to post it!

oh man

I'm sure you have heard, but Stella McCartney now has a line at GapKids/BabyGap. Love it, love it, love it. Simple and classic.