The Ergo.

I feel like I should name it something special, I can't just call it The Ergo. It is so much more than that to me. Sounds funny, right? The fact that I am talking about a baby carrier. Well, it's true. I fell in love two weeks ago. [Has it only been two weeks? Wow.]

Here is the love story...

I was at the Farmer's Market one morning and had Audrey in a Hotsling. I like it. It works. But I wanted something more. Something that she could possibly fall asleep in and something that my husband wouldn't mind wearing (this was the biggest reason). Plus, she is a good 20 lb. baby at 8 months, I needed more support.

So, after hearing rave reviews about The Ergo, I went to our local awesome baby shop, Barefoot, to check it out. I was quite hesitant to dish out 100 bucks considering we are, um, broke. But, I tried it out in the store. And Audrey LOVED it. And since then, she has been in it just about every day at some point. It is super easy to put on- I wanted something that I didn't have to tie around myself fifty times and I could do quickly without assistance.


Oh, and I want to point out that Audrey has fallen asleep in it multiple times--which she NEVER would fall asleep in other carriers forward facing. And the hubster ASKS to wear Audrey now.

There are some cool features on it that I haven't found on other carriers. Like the zip pocket for keys and cell phone and other such things. And it has this cool thing-a-ma-gig that comes over the babies head when she is sleeping or needs extra support for when she is little. And did I mention you can wear it three different ways. On the front, back and even on the hip. And it goes up to 40lbs.
I seriously think it is one of my best baby purchases yet. By the way, this isn't some product review where I got it sent to me for free. I am blogging about this because I love it. Plain and simple. If you have any questions about it feel free to ask. Or if you have a carrier you just love and can't live without, let me know, I am curious!

You Capture: Summer.

Summer is here. There is no doubt about that. Welcome Indiana humidity that makes my hair look likes I stuck my finger in a light socket. And my skin sweat so bad that I think it just might fall off. It is so hot right now that I am willing to park at the very end of a parking lot just to get a tiny bit of shade over the car, even if it is just a leaf.

I don't want to complain though. I will take summer over winter any day.

So here it is. You Capture: Summer.

We spent Father's Day at Spring Mill State Park. It was hot. Muggy. And there was no a/c to escape to. But we still had fun. And it was completely and utterly adorable to see the hubster carry Audrey around in the new Ergo carrier. [I promise a post is coming soon about this great new purchase!] Don't look at the picture too long or you may began to sweat just looking at how hot Audrey looks. "Give me the water now. Dad. Now."

How would you like to dress up like a mummy in 95 degree weather and sing and grrrr on stage? We could start a band if you want to do it with me. Oh, wait, there is already one that does that. This past weekend we saw The Mummies at a local event. Yup, it was pretty much amazing and simply hilarious to watch.

This is the epitome of summer. Being at the pool. Eating a Nilla Wafer. And ohmygosh, do you see those rolls? It takes an extra five minutes to put on sunblock because I have to go through each one.

Ahhh, love. Be sure to check out other summer posts at I Should Be Folding Laundry.

Wow. It's Nice to See Green.

He's back. My 19 year old brother. For two weeks. Back from half of his one-year tour in Iraq as a Military Police officer. And one of the first things he said was "Wow, it's nice to see green. To see trees and grass." The things I take for granted every single day. He was thankful to see. It really put things into perspective.


While waiting for him to arrive. We checked out the new Indianapolis Airport. I was totally impressed. The architectural is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. And it actually didn't feel overcrowded. Or smell funny. And there was plenty of areas to people watch. [My favorite thing to do at an airport. I a thinking about taking it up as a hobby.] One of the coolest parts were the luggage made into chairs. Here I am sitting on the luggage while carrying Audrey in my new Ergo carrier [LOVE LOVE LOVE it and so does my hubster- more on that in another post.]



I was so proud to stand there waiting for him to get off the plane. I almost grabbed every single person that walked by to tell them. Then I realized I would probably look like a weirdo and be suspected of carrying firearms and taken into custody and questioned and then jailed and totally miss my brother getting off the plane. So I didn't. I just kept my excitement to myself.




P.S. Totally off subject- but I must give a shout out to Mariah for creating my new header and making my blog three columns. It looks rad, I know. Thanks!

Happy Father's Day.

This Father's Day is doubly-fun. [Doubly is another one of my made up words. My mom taught me you can add a 'y' to just about any word to make it a cooler.] I get to celebrate my own dad AND get to celebrate my hubster being a rad dad too.

I couldn't dream up a better daddy for my baby girl.

(Picture below is of Audrey at 5 days old at Riley Children's Hospital after she had her heart procedure done.)

And my own dad. Well he's amazing too. He has taught me a lot. Most importantly, he has demonstrated unending faith. It's funny how even though I am grown and starting my own family, I still will always be daddy's little girl. It is neat to see the same bond growing between Andrew and Audrey.

Happy Father's Day to two of the most important men in my life!

Jesus Rocks.

Yesterday morning I woke up and wanted to go directly back to bed. Hello, cold, cloudy, rainy, dreary day. You make me want to sleep all. day. long. [With a baby, that is never an option, but I can still dream.]

Noon. Yup, still miserable outside.

4:30pm. Um, hello, sunshine, where did you come from? [Note: Prior to this time I was saying little prayers throughout the day for it to miraculously change and become nice out due to the fact we wanted to go out on the boat.]

5pm. On the boat. Enjoying the evening. Jesus, you, rock. Thanks.

[Audrey loves the boat, she always falls asleep on the ride.]

7:00pm. Stranded on the lake. Boat does not start. Lovely.

7:30pm Sailor comes to save us. Seriously, there was no one on the lake, and all of a sudden a sailboat comes gracefully along and offers to tow us. He probably felt sorry for us- he saw my husband paddling our boat with a very wimpy oar and my dad paddling with a ski. It was quite the view. And we weren't getting anywhere fast.

8:15pm Safely to shore. Baby was very good. The weather was good. And once again, Jesus, you, rock. Thanks!

You Capture: Emotion

The first thing I thought about when I found out emotions was the next You Capture- myself. I am totally emotional. Remember this post. Where I admitted I cry easily. And I can laugh like crazy and be totally goofy and serious and sad and well, you get the point. I am an emotional gal. But, duh, I wasn't going to snap a picture of myself. So who better to capture than my baby girl and sweet nephew?

Love my almost one-year old nephew's emotions while eating away at his icecream cone.

I love capturing Audrey's innocence and happiness. While at the pool this week (like the only day it hasn't rained), Audrey sported her new $4 "Kentucky Derby" hat from Gymboree. Aren't babies the coolest? I mean they don't have a care in the world. And trust totally on someone else for all their needs to be met.

Be sure to check out more emotion pictures over at I Should Be Folding Laundry.

Oh No You Didn't.

You either like them or you don't. You either think they are a waste of time and energy or you don't. You can find a deal or you can't. You think junk is junk or you don't. You know what I am talking about, don't you?

Garage sales.

Um, hi, I love them. Last Friday night I could hardly sleep because I was so excited to get up and go. All. by. myself. early in the morning to find deals. But it is not just the deal that makes it oh, so exciting. It's the smell of Saturday morning when everyone else is sleeping (except for fellow garage salers). The dew on your flip flops. The hot cup of coffee [Oh, wait I didn't have coffee. More on that later.] The thrill of noticing someone else is eyeing the same thing and you happen to snag it first. [This totally happened to me last Saturday.] The idea that garage saleing is actually a form of recycling. And I love to think about the history of the item I buy. Who used it? How was it used? You get the idea.

Garage sales are just plain cool.

I bought this sweet vintage blue laundry basket for $2. Don't be jealous. I know you are. I am using it to store fabric in it.

As much awesomeness I find. There are occasionally those duds. And this is where the Oh No You Didn't comes into play.

A garage saler puts a lot of trust in the seller. And if you can't trust the seller, you don't buy. Like those sellers that make a living out of it. Selling everything. Every weekend. They even have a professional sign made and the garage is organized with every knick knack possible. If you want a purple flying unicorn, go to one of those garage sales. Oh, and they wear the apron with pockets in it to wheel and deal. Drive away fast from these people.

I trusted this one seller. Neighbors with one of my friends. Sweet old couple. Harmless. I bought this Starbucks coffee maker from them for $3. Hello, it made my day. Week even. Sweeeet. I could set my coffee maker to brew automatically in the morning. Yes, please. I pass on the old coffee maker to hubster to take to work. Gone. Vanished. He is set at work. I am set at home. Or so I think.

Monday morning rolls around. Of course, I am happy to wake up at 7:30. I have a new-to-me Starbucks coffee maker. Coffee in. Press button. Press button again. And again. Oh no you didn't sell me a dud.

I took it back to the house that I bought it from and set it on their porch with a note on it that read "Thanks for the broken machine. You are really nice people."

Okay, I didn't really do that. But I wanted to. And still thinking about it. Sort of.

One week later: It still sits on my kitchen counter. Teasing me. I am not even sure what to do with it. So it has been Chai tea for me all week. No coffee. Zip. Zero. And I feel it everyday.

From T to Dress.

I like to sew. But I do NOT like to follow patterns. I just want to create. It probably has to do with the fact that if I don't have a pattern to follow than I can't fail, right? Anyway, I made Audrey a dress out an old t-shirt of mine and this is how it went...

The shirt I used has a lot of significance for me. I didn't just want to throw it away. But let's face it. I am not the same size I was when I graduated high school. In fact the shirt size reads 12-14 kids. Remember when it was cool to wear small tees? That's what I was doing. (Note to self: Do not attempt to try on shirts this old). This shirt actually came from Germany. I traveled there with my best friend after graduating from high school. So I obviously don't' want to depart with it.

After cutting it down to size. Sewing on some trim from a vintage apron I had. It became a dress for my sweet little girl.

I LOVE it. It turned out great. If I could do it differently, I would have made it slightly bigger. It is a little difficult getting her arms out of it. So I may have to adjust it. But other than that, she sports it well, don't you think? I am looking forward to doing more.

In Case You Were Wondering.

I have been MIA. Did you notice, huh? huh? Did you? I haven't been consumed by blogs, Twitter, Facebook. Or even email. Not by choice though. Here is a short story for you...

One day this girl was wanting to up her blog. Make it a little cooler. A little cleaner. She was browsing the internet, eating a brownie, while her baby slept peacefully. She stumbled across a website that offered free three-column blogs and other cool stuff. Little did she know when she downloaded this solve-all-her-problems site, the other cool stuff ended up being a virus. A bad virus. One that her husband spent hours trying to get rid of. So from that moment on, she couldn't use the internet.

What a silly girl, right? I mean, who would do something like that.

Oh, wait, I am talking about myself. Yeah, the girl who also formatted her camera card and lost all of her pictures like a week before. And let her baby girl eat her phone and almost kill it.

Brilliant.

But, I am back. With... [drum roll please] a brand new laptop! Like a real laptop. One that can sit on your lap. Who knew. Unlike my last one. It was so ghettofied (I can make up words because it's my blog), that it had to be hooked up permanently on the desk with a keyboard. We figured after having a laptop for over 6 years, spilling tea on it, and downloading a virus, it was time to move on. Our budget wasn't ready for one. So, we caved. We putitonacreditcard. But it was a deal. Can you beat a $350 laptop? I think not.

Since not using a computer for a couple of days,I got all inspired to create. Yay! And I can't wait to show you a dress I made for Audrey out of an old t-shirt of mine. I have been saving these t-shirts for a while now. Then I read Steph's post at Adventure's In Babywearing and was totally motivated to make a dress. So stay tuned for pictures tomorrow of the fabulous thing.

P.S. If you have any advice on where I can change up my blog header and download a three column page, throw it my way. I left my header in the middle of editing it and now I am too nervous to go to other sites to figure out how to change it up.

You Capture: Nature.

I was so excited for this week's You Capture. Because I LOVE being outside. I grew up camping, being on the lake, and running around outside across the gravel without shoes on.

Speaking of growing up, it all happened in the country. With the most sweetest neighbors. Ever. My dad still lives in the same house. With the same neighbors. And they are still as sweet as can be. With the most beautiful farm. Donkeys. Peacocks. Turkeys. Sheep. Horses. You name it. They have it. It's like having a zoo as your neighbor. Audrey LOVES it. We went and visited this weekend and this is what I captured...

How cool is that? I wish I had pretty grass to mow like that.
And the most beautiful, biggest, Sycamore tree is in their back yard with a swing on it. Look how little the hubster looks in comparison...

It happened to be a fabulous week to find nature in my own yard as well. The hubster found 4 baby turtles. 4. Can you believe that? All of them can fit into the palm of your hand at once...

And he found a weird red frog.

He tried to stare me down. But I think I won.

Be sure to check out more sweet nature shots over at I Should Be Folding Laundry.

Itty Bitty Pool for an Itty Bitty Person.

We got Audrey a $5 blow-up pool. She LOVES it. It is just her size. And her color, pink, of course. It sits on our back deck in just the right place.

I have been dreaming about these days since the cold winter months. And now, they are here. *sigh*

This is the Life.

One of my all-time favorite things to do: be on the water. There is something so incredibly peaceful about being surrounded by such calm water that it looks like glass. I love how God's beauty stares you in the face so hard that you want to stare right back and take it all in.

I hope Audrey will enjoy being on a boat and in water as much as I do. Some of my best memories growing up were on a boat. She seemed to have enjoyed her first trip we took this weekend. She fell sleep when we were speeding on the way out and on the way back in. We set up a "tent" for her to block her from the sun while she slept. She loves to sprawl out when she sleeps. Oh, and the adorable swimsuit came from Old Navy on sale for $8. Holla!

Vanilla wafers were a big hit among the cousins.

[Ohmygosh- are they not the cutest things ever? Seriously. My heart is melting at this very moment.]

Sporting the new Body Glove gear that Grandpa got them. It was a little big for Audrey, sort of swallows her up. But she enjoyed using it as a teether.

I just can't get enough of her. And yes, that is my new swimsuit from Old Navy- on sale for $24.50 total.

After a day at the lake on Saturday. We went and had a worship service at an overlook of the lake this morning. It was beautiful.

This is the life.

4 Years.

[Warning: completely and utterly mushy post]

June 4, 2005.

It's time to party. Time to celebrate. Time to marry my best friend. Everything is in place. And if it isn't I don't care, because I am getting married. That is all that matters. At the ripe old age of 22. And these are the vows I write and commit to today...

I, Abra, take you, Andrew to be my husband. I stand here before God and these witnesses honored and excited to become your wife. I commit myself to God, to you, and to the pursuit of oneness. I am so thankful that God has placed a man of strong character, devotion, and kindness in my life. In return, I promise to be loving, honest, and faithful to you always. I promise to care for you in all sickness and to be your partner through our times of joy and our times of trial. I thank God that He has given us over four years to grow as best friends and now a new beginning as husband and wife. I promise to be your loving wife and best friend for as long as we both shall live.

June 4, 2009.

Four years, already? Where has time gone. We have been through so much to cram into only four years. We bought a cute little house in the country. Which resulted in a forever honey-to-do-list. (new dishwasher, stain the deck, change the septic pump-gross, replace the windows) We have over used our tow packages from AAA only to finally buy a new (used) car. We have discovered some great meals that never grow old (white chicken chilli, italian sausage and rice, chicken enchiladas, and cereal, of course). We know that we can never go to bed upset at each other. We have experienced death first hand, and watched my dad lose my mom after 30 years of marriage to a four year battle of cancer. We have climbed a waterfall in Jamaica together. By the grace of God, we have created the most beautiful little girl, and already overcome her going through a heart procedure. We have created some many moments together.

You give my life purpose. You lift me up when I am down. You make me laugh. You work so incredibly hard to provide. You are my knight in shining armor.

The Good. The Bad. And the Ugly.

Let me just start with the ugly. Remember this. The horrible idea of me in a swimsuit. I went shopping for one on Friday. Failed. And felt even worst. Like I should never be in a swimsuit again. Or at least one that fits snug and is made of polyester. [Oh, wait that is ALL of them]. BUT, I found the good on Saturday. I ended with a tankini from Old Navy. AND it was on sale. Double bonus. And the triple bonus? I also found a rug from Home Goods (practically a TJ Maxx). Remember this too. Well, now I have a beautiful, wool rug caressing my feet right now. It was love at first sight. It was also my anniversary gift.

The good continued today. Hubby, baby, and I went to the Indianapolis Zoo. We have a membership so we will be going, um, all-the-time. It was beautiful weather, not too hot yet (we went in the morning), and not too crowded. Then after the Zoo we headed to Riley Hospital for Audrey's heart check up. [Background info: Audrey had a heart procedure done when she was 5 days old to have her pulmonary valve opened, it was too closed and not allowing enough blood flow]. Everything looks great! Doc told us on a scale of 1 to 6, 1 being the best, Audrey is a 1! Holla! We were on our merry way from Riley.

Here is where the bad comes in. Notice I have no pictures to show you of the Zoo? Or at the hospital? No, I didn't forget my camera. It practically comes with me everywhere like it is my second wedding ring or something. I even got some great shots today. I used my aquarium setting for the first time-loved it. [Then where are the pictures you took?] On the way home I was fiddling with my camera. Next thing I know I have formatted it and OHMYGOSH ALLMYPICTURESAREGONE. I am hoping my husband's magical powers will bring them back some how. He is a smarty-pants when it comes to technology thank goodness. So, say a little prayer the pictures come back tomorrow.

At least I have my huggable, kissable, squishable, 19lbs 2oz. baby to adore each and every second. [Insert picture of chubby leg baby here]. And a hubby that takes care of me.