Wordless Wednesday

Big Sister Class

On Saturday we took Ellington to the big sibling class at the hospital.  I had been looking forward to this for months and we almost missed it!  Ah!  Apparently I had the 2012 class schedule, so I thought that the class was next weekend.  Thankfully I discovered my mistake Friday afternoon and we were still able to attend the class on Saturday.  If we had missed it I would have ugly cried.  For real.  I was that excited. :)  

I wasn't the only one who was excited.  This little girl was pretty excited too!

Ellington had her own little doll that she got to take care of.  She took off her clothes, gave her a bath, put on a clean diaper, put on a new shirt, and a hat.  She followed the teacher soooo closely and LOVED doing it!

She also swaddled the baby, gave her a bottle, and burped her!

I am all set...Ellington can do everything now. :)

She passed the class and got a certificate and a tshirt!

After the class we toured the labor/delivery and postpartum areas.  I was most excited about Ellington being able to do this because I knew it would help her visualize where we would be and what would be happening.  

We were all very disappointed that there were no babies in the nursery to see!

We also enjoyed the tour because this wing of the hospital is completely new from where we had Ellington.  It is sooo nice and I am actually looking forward to my stay. :)  

We had such a fun time at the Big Sister class!  Ellington is ready.  Well, we all are! 

Summer Is Here!

It seems a little weird giving this post the title of "Summer Is Here!" when it is currently 48 degrees outside on a May afternoon in Mississippi. But honestly, this pregnant lady is not complaining about the lack of warm weather. :)

Wednesday was our last day of school.  (Well technically, the last day of the school year was Thursday but I don't work on Thursdays.  E did go on Thursday because I had a doctor's appt. but that isn't a day she usually goes.)  This has BY FAR been the fastest school year ever.  If they all keep going this fast I am going to be 80 soon! We both had a really good school year.  Ellington loooooved her class and her teachers.  Spring Break was torture for her so I am not sure how she will survive until August with no school! :)

Last day of the school year - May 2013

First day of the school year - August 2012

So, I decided to let her wear her new precious Shrimp & Grits outfit to school on Wednesday because 1) They were having an icecream party so it fit the theme 2) It was raining and they wouldn't be going outside so it wouldn't get dirty and 3) We were having sandwiches at lunch so no ravioli stains.  I felt like it was a safe day to say the least.  Well ya'll, she cut her outfit with scissors.  Ahhhhhhh!  She has basically never used scissors before and I have no idea how it it happened, but wow.  It took awhile for me to get over. :)

Moving on...

Ellington in her classroom on the last day!

Ellington and Mrs. Meg

My favorite thing about Mrs. Meg is that I NEVER had to worry about E being loved unconditionally.  One of my biggest pet peeves is when adults talk harshly to children.  I never worried for one second that either of E's teachers would do that!!!

Mrs. Meg and Mrs. Lisa

We were so thankful for them this year!

My kids threw me a surprise baby shower on our last day!  So sweet and so fun!  They LOVED every second of it.  They all oohed and ahhhed and talked in high pitched voices when I pulled out baby clothes.  Haha.  I meant to get someone to take my pictures with the kids, but in the chaos of the last day I totally forgot.  

This summer will be very different for sure.  I will either be very pregnant or in the newborn fog, but I hope Ellington and I can enjoy it as much as possible!  We are thankful for such a wonderful school to work and play at during the school year!

Preparing for Baby

It's still so surprising to me how little we have done for this baby's arrival as compared to preparing for Ellington's arrival.  But I must say, it actually is a lot more enjoyable just being really laid back about it all.  We still don't have a name picked out and have I spent almost zero time researching anything baby product related. I also haven't read any books about pregnancy or babies.  I am just going with the flow and I know it will all be fine. :)  As a whole I am enjoying this pregnancy soooo much more than I did the first time.  Maybe I should do a whole post about that!  

Last weekend we were able to check a few things off of our small to-do list.  We had the baby's room painted (it was previously the room of a little boy and the walls had definitely seen better days!), so once that was done we were ready to move forward a little bit.

Robert and Ellington put together the dresser/changing table.  She loooooves helping her Daddy with projects!

On Sunday afternoon they put together the crib!  We got a new crib because the one that we got with Ellington was very cheap and just not the greatest.  We wanted one that was durable and that we could use for awhile!

Sweet big sister :)

Ellington requested the one below.  Ha.  She thinks she is a model I am pretty sure.

What a great job they did! :)

Wednesday I had a diaper shower at work.  Yay!  If I could have picked any kind of shower, that is definitely what I would have picked!

Ellington enjoyed the balloons from the party :)

It seems like a loooong time ago when we found out that we were having a baby yet I can't believe how fast it has gone!  I was shocked when I went to my doctor's appt yesterday and she said I would start coming in every two weeks now.  Wow!  We are getting close. :)  We are so excited and can't wait to meet our new little girl!

My New Business with Rodan + Fields!

Hey ya'll! I am SO excited to announce that I am a new consultant with Rodan+Fields! I would love for you to stick around for this post while I explain a little bit about what I am doing, why I love it, and how you might can benefit from R+F!

So, what in the world is Rodan+Fields?

The Products

Dr. Katie Rodan & Dr. Kathy Fields created Proactiv Solutions, the acne regimen you see advertised on tv. Now they have added and created a prescription based skin care line with four Regimens: ANTI-AGE, REVERSE, SOOTHE, AND UNBLEMISH.

 I actually use the Soothe Regime and I love it! Since Rodan & Fields are dermatologists, they know exactly what it takes to "fix" skin and they're doing it, in a much cheaper way! These products really are amazing! I have never taken care of my skin in an appropriate manner. I have been using the WalMart brand cleansing cloth wipes for years. Yikes! Not the best thing for my face. I have been using R+F for a very short time and am SHOCKED at how different my face is already! I can't imagine what it will be like in 6 months! If you are interested in looking into the products a little more you can visit my site. If you have any questions please email me at laneconnerley@gmail.com. Also, before you order I would love to share with you about the perks of becoming a preferred customer, so shoot me an email or a facebook message and I can tell you how to receive free shipping and a 10% discount! I almost forgot one of the best parts...R+F has a 60 day empty bottle guarantee. If you don't like it you can send your empty bottles back and get a FULL refund. (Although I am pretty sure that you will love it!)

The Business

Since having my daughter three and a half years ago I have been searching for something to do part time to make some extra money for my family. I have looked into and considered all sorts of different things. Someone came to me about R+F last fall and I immediately said "no thanks". First of all, what did I know about skin care???? and secondly, I am painfully shy and did NOT want to be in direct sales. I knew that this would definitely not work for me. Months went by and I could not get R+F off of my mind. I knew it was an amazing company with a great compensation plan and a potential for really changing our lives...but I just didn't think I could do it. God kept tugging on my heart and after much more research I finally said "yes"! All I can say is that I wish I had said "yes" last fall! This company is amazing and you really don't have to know a ton about skincare. They offer so many resources that all you need to do is concentrate on growing your business! I am looking for team members to join me on this journey! You might simply be looking to make a little extra to save for a vacation or may want to replace your current income (yes, it's possible!!!). The growth is really up to you and how much you put into it! If you think this is something you may be interested in (even if only slightly) please email me at laneconnerley@gmail.com. I would love to talk with you about this amazing opportunity! If I can do this, anyone can!

Easter Sunday

Robert had to work all day on Saturday so our Easter plans were pretty limited.  It was a bummer that we couldn't have a full Easter weekend together, but we are trying to adjust to this new normal. :)  We were able to spend most of Easter Sunday in Philadelphia.  Ellington kept calling it an "Easter party!!!".  She loves holidays and loves parties...so I guess she just put them together!  

Ellington found some fun surprises in her Easter basket!  

She saw the dress and said, "Oh!!!  A BEAUTIFUL summer dress!"  Haha.  She loves dresses!

(And for any girl Mamas out there...I found this for $5 at WalMart!)

Our Easter 2013 picture had to be taken inside since it was pretty much POURING rain all weekend!

Bryant, LeAnna, and Emerson brought E a little basket of goodies and she is obsessed with her bunny ears!

Ellington invited Pappaw to sit by her so Ellington, Pappaw, and Emerson sat at the extra table together. :)  I think they made it pretty well!

There was a break in the rain so we got to have an outdoor egg hunt after all.  Everything was really wet, but the kids didn't mind!

Egg Dying

On Friday night before Easter we dyed our Easter eggs!  Ellington was SUPER excited! :)

(A side note about her hair: When she woke up Friday morning, Ellington asked for a big girl pony tail.  She doesn't ever wear her hair this way, but that's what she wanted to do on Friday and she actually kept it that way all day.  I think it makes her look too old.  Ha!)

The finished products!  We ended up doing 2 dozen, minus one that fell on the floor.  :)  I tried the "new" baking method that was all over pinterest, but I didn't do it long enough...they definitely were not done. Oops!