have a hay day

literally!  kylie has been bailing hay going on day FOUR!  it's terrible.  it's not like let's bail hay for a couple hours, it's like let's bail hay for twelve hours and not get home til midnight.  if you are not familiar with hay bailing i'll fill you in.  you can't start bailing when there is rain in the forecast because it's a several day process. first you cut the hay and let it dry for a day.  then you rake(flips the hay to dry the under side) then you can bail it.  this is the rig, sorry it's blurry.

yup, tractor, baler, wagon, with people!  but our boys don't have a nice cab tractor, they're just sweatin it.  so you have to have guys on the wagon to catch the bails and start stacking them.  then you get done with a field and have this.

which is usually like four wagons from a field.  then when you get done with it all you can sell it now, or do what the boys do and store it and sell it in the winter.  so they have to store it in a big barn...also, if the hay is too wet because it got rained on or didn't dry out all the way you can't store it in stacks because it gets hot and causes fires.  then usually burns down barns, i've seen it happen twice!   the worst part for kylie is that it's like 90 out the sun is beaming on him and he's workin his tail off!  worst part for me is that i'm a single mom for awhile and i have a washer full of hay.  so in four days, how many bails? it looks a lot like this.

i'm not 100% sure, but yesterday from one field they bailed more than the 2 days before.  so i'm guess close to 1000 if not more!  it's super crazy.  super long, HOT HOT HOT days.

i'm super proud of him though.  he never did any sort of physical labor til he met me and now he's bailing like a champ.  he does it for me and caroline, so we can have the things we love.  he does it because he loves us and wants to make sure that we are financially stable no matter what happens.  he is amazing husband and a terrific dad.  he misses caroline so much he sorta teared up in bed last night, don't tell him i said that.  he is the best!  he's a very handsome man already, but when it's hay season he gets even better looking.  tan and guns!

p.s. i'm a terrible speller, so yes, it should be bale...not bail.  english and spelling were my worst subjects.  sorry mom.

habit, shmabit

i like soda.  i do, who doesn't? i used to drink tons of the stuff in high school, but then some how i limited myself to one a day, usually at lunch. then sometimes i'd break my rule and have another with dinner (pizza) or popcorn.  then, my brother-in-law (i should just say brother, i mean he's been around more than not) started working in the back office.  he stocked our fridge with coke, vanilla coke, sprite, and MOUNTAIN DEW!  i never was a dew drinker, but once the smooth, really smooth citrus ran down my throat...i was hooked!  i would be in such a hurry i would never eat breakfast, but that's ok because i had the champion of breakfasts at work.  DEW and POWDERED DOUGHNUTS (from Jade's desk)!  It was dreamy.  Then I would follow up with a coke at lunch and possibly another DEW or vanilla coke in the afternoon.  It was NOT good.  My skin is crap and i just felt bad, but oh so good at the same time.  When my face broke out the worst it ever has, I knew I had to do something.  So I ordered Proactiv and cut out SODA!  Yeah, i did it.  No more of this sweet candy!

So far so good.  It's been almost a week.  I've had Sprite once and a coke once, but I'm blaming kylie.  We shared a drink at Wendy's and he didn't know I was cutting out soda.  So I must always drink when I eat so I drank it.  Surprisingly, I've not had headaches or withdraws.  I still get a craving for an ice cold vanilla coke, but i'm standing strong.  I've seen vast improvements in my skin and I don't feel tired.  I don't think I'll ever be an absolutely no soda person, but i'm not going to be a soda/day person again.  I will always drink it with pizza and popcorn, no one will take that away from me!  It's a habit change. i seriously have to stop and  think about ordering water or tea vs. rolling "with a coke"  off my tongue when i'm ordering out. So instead of soda, i've been drinking this.

 
and LOTS of it.  i feel so clean now! haha, so ridiculous, haha.  but really i can tell a huge difference!  so i challenge you, if soda is your friend, try to replace at least one if not more a day with a big glass of water.  it's best served cold on ice!

one tree at a time!

Guess what?! This blog is CARBON NEUTRAL!

It's simple, 1 blog, 1 tree....

One tree will be planted to neutralize the carbon emissions this blog is putting off. Do the same, and plant a tree. It's SO easy! Follow this link to see how it's done.

etsy update

so i started my etsy a couple weeks ago.  in the first week i was featured in TWO treasuries, and one was on the FRONT page!  it was super exciting to say the least!  also in my first week i sold three items.  

This went to the big state of TEXAS!

This went to our neighbor state, INDIANA!

AND, this bad boy went across the pond to the UNITED KINGDOM!

Yup, first week, three sales, one international!  I was super pumped.  Since then, I've been featured in another treasury and have had a few custom orders.  Life is good in the etsy world.  Please check it out and support those who make gorgeous things all from their blessed hands!  check me out too,  Caroline's Nest.   I ordered sweet business cards, but i'm still waiting!

caroline's room take two

back in november i posted a blog of caroline's room.  my sister said it was terrible and it didn't show off any of the great things i have.  so, since i've rearranged, here is caroline's room...again.  note this is a very photo heavy blog :)

when you first enter caroine's room, you see her crib.  my mom got this at an outlet store for $100!  it goes into a toddler bed then a full size headboard.  it won't ever get much farther than a toddler bed because her siblings will need it.  but i love this bed, and my bedding. my aunt made it out of a bed in a bag from walmart!

above her crib hangs a branch.  i saw it in pottery barn kids, and loved it.  it wasn't for sale, but i knew i could make it.  i live in a trailer park so there are very little trees to choose from besides evergreens.  but luckily i had a small tree behind us, so i literally cut a branch off with a steak knife!  haha!  then i spray painted it white.  i stuck moss, birds, and paper leaves and butterflies on it.  i hung it up and i still LOVE it!

to the right of her crib is this wall.  i just recently got the old pictures.  i love the little girls smile and so i bought them.  the "C" is from my mom.

to the left of the doorway is her dresser/changing table.  i still feel like the wall is a little bare, but i don't know what to do.  the wall is in bad shape and i'm afraid pictures will draw attention to it, but carlie is crazy hands when she gets her pants changed.  next to that is the rocker from my mom, i got it at my shower.  kylie uses it to rock carlie to sleep.  above that is her chandy night lite...i love it!  sorry the pic is blurry...

just above the rocker is a frame i made.  i'm not sure what the quote says..something about a little bird.  oops!  and next to that is a FANTASTIC chalk bird my mom got from her friend.  

to the right of the changing area is her massive closet.  the doors were super ugly and super TAN!  so i found these at target and snazzed them up!

to the right of the closet is her small book case and small collections.  my dear friend casey  made the little bird mobile.  i got it at my shower and almost cried.  she knows me perfectly.

here is the top shelf.  it's actually a crate and my mom put a cute little topper on it and it used to have little legs, but she took them off so i could hang it.

here are some of my favorite things.  i made this doll for caroline when she was just in my belly.  i loved it when i made it and i love it now. i hope she loves it when she gets bigger. until now it's on the shelf!

this is a book my mom bought a LONG time ago, i remember it when i was at her house.  she gave it to me at my shower and i cried.  

now the bottom shelf, it holds books and frames and other things 

i got this little couple at an amazing store in decatur.  i just love them, they are reproductions, but they don't look like it!  my mom was so jealous, i had to go back and get them for her too.  oh by the way they were only 30 bucks!  marked down 50%!

and this is the baby scale my sweet miss got pictures on when she was 2 weeks old.  melts me!  photo by jarnagin photography

and this is her room!

hope you enjoyed a tour of my sweet caroline's room.  hope it meets your standards annie :)

ah-maze-zing!

ok, so i shared my dream house with you.  and it's the house i plan on building next summer.

i truly love it.  the only problem is a garage.  my dad doesn't think it's possible. so we're thinking a breeze way FULL of windows to the garage.  which a breeze way full of windows wouldn't be so bad when you have a view of this

these are pictures from my sister's house, but mine is just through the trees from her house, so i stole the pics.  thanks annie!

i really want a dreamy storybook home.  with ivy like this...

and a fantastic curved door like this!

oh man,  i am so anxious to build.  i would do it this summer if we had saved enough.  so i'll keep saving and use all my saved money for all the fantastic details i want! 

if you have time check this out.  they are BEAUTIFUL story book homes.  i mean ah-maze-zing!  they are just like they say, story book!  i am ordering a plan book just to see. but the one i LOVED from story book homes looks a LOT like the one i already picked.  so i think i'll stick with the original. 

Houston, We've got a problem.

it's my skin!   what has happened to me?! when i was in high school and college i had GREAT skin.  rarely had pimples or any skin problems at all.  i stayed out late and never washed my make up off before bed, i showered in the morning, so i slept with nasty make up face and dirty hair.  but some how my face was clear.  then i got pregnant and it progressively has gotten worse.  i thought once i had caroline and was back to normal it would clear up, but it still hasn't.  i've tried

for a good solid couple of months.  i used it in high school some and really liked it.  so i tried it again.  and no success.  i was bummed that it wasn't getting better so then i started just using

it works wonders on my sister, annie's, skin.  so i tried it for morning and night and then i would also use

at night.  i thought i needed a scrub for my pores, but no luck here.  so then my mom told me i had to use this other stuff because she swears by it! so i tried it....

and again no luck.  i tried it for three almost four weeks.  i just wasn't changing anything.  i have more clogged pores and black heads than i've ever had.  i'm getting more and more pimples and i just hate it.  i've switched back to bare escentuals make up and still no change.  my husband keeps saying just try

and i won't listen to him. he had really really bad acne in high school and proactiv helped him some.  but his was so bad he had to take accutane.  now he has beautiful skin.  well now that i'm all broken out again, i've finally cracked and bought proactiv.  i'm waiting for it in the mail, but my sister, abbie, had some. so i started last night.  i washed my face, then toner.  i had to wait for it to dry before i put the repairing lotion on.  i told kylie, i hate this, it burns, i want to quit.  but i am going to try it.  apparently i will see results by day two.  so we'll see.  i'm really hoping so.  i'm avoiding a dermatologist at all costs.  i'm thinking it's just hormones but now they are normal again, so i think i just have bad skin.  please proactiv....work for me.

i've been thinking...

really hard about a tattoo.  my dear friend casey got this a couple of years ago and i've been in LOVE!

the picture doesn't even do it justice, it's FANTASTIC.  i mean i love it so much, she told me to get the same one!  but i refuse.  so i've done some searching today and found one like this....

i don't love the comb, but i do love the scissors and the swirls and the flowers.  i just realized the swirls are hair, and i don't love that.  but i do LOVE the scissors.  i've had this tattoo idea in my mind ever since casey got her's and every spring when it shows it's beauty my heart melts.  

i've always thought i would like "walk by faith" on my foot, but then i'm unsure of just black wording and just have only letters.  so...then i thought of a peacock feather.  i have a love of them and i just find so much beauty and funk in them.  so i found this..

i think this is SUPER cute, but i would want it more whimsical and flow-e (i cannot think how to spell, so yeah i did hyphenate and e)

but i like the more greens of the other.

overall, my heart wants a beautiful piece of art on it's foot, but i just can't decide 100%.  so i'll keep thinking and pondering until i KNOW it's perfect.  i'm currently leaning towards scissors though.  thoughts?

It's a BOY!

Congratulations to my best friend Hillary and her husband Andy!   They had a BEAUTIFUL baby BOY on Sunday morning!  They didn't know the sex til deliver, aren't they troopers!  After 24 hours in the hospital Hillary delivered Reed Micheal at 6:36am.  7lbs 2oz  21 and 1/2" long.  He is so pretty.  I haven't got to see him yet and I'm DYING!   Mommy and baby are doing great.  Daddy is thrilled to have a baby boy.  Caroline is already swooning over her new boyfriend!  Here are some photos from Aunt Morgan, hopefully I will get some tonight, or if i EVER get to see him. 

check out those lips!  he's so pretty!

she looks fantastic doesn't she?!

proud pappa!

heaven in a plastic bag

so now that i'm only really nursing caroline in the morning and before bed, i've decided it's time to loose the nursing bras! woo hoo! i've been waiting for this moment for MONTHS!  so i pulled out my old bras and discovered my tots are not the same tots they were a 18 months ago.  so i got by for awhile with my cheap wal mart bras, but i couldn't do it any longer.  i went to kohl's and tried on 12 bras!  not a single one fit.  one side is smaller than the other and it was not working out for me there.  so i asked my sister and they both said victoria's secret.  well, i'm cheap.  i like a bra that cost $10.  i know, i know it's something i wear EVERY day and it's extremely necessary, so why not invest.  so i finally broke down and ordered.  i got 4 bras and 5 pairs of underwear.  i spent about $120, but it was WELL worth it.  plus both my sisters have had their VS bras for FOUR years.  so i could justify it.  plus getting 2/$45 was pretty great deal considering most bras start at $45.  so feast your eyes on this!

a lovely cotton push up, and yes a push up is definitely needed after 9 months of nursing!  and my favorite part is this....

it has a little hook that turns it into a racer back!  SCORE!  it also adds a little lift ;) 

i'm in love with victoria's secret.  i will no longer go back to the cheap cheap bras from wal mart or kohls.

hello victoria, it's nice to do business with you!

HEAVENLY BRAS

pink camo, palm, scattered dots, and nude are all very pretty too :)

They have some pretty fantastic bathing suits, but i don't even want to begin thinking about those!