The Ballard Bunch

Last post of the day - promise!

So, my goal for the last few months has been to paint Hayden's room. A couple of weeks ago, I had a wild hair and decided to look and see if I could find new bedding to match the current color of her room. I did this because, as I got to thinking, I realized that the girls' rooms were decorated in completely the same colors. Although this would be handy if they had to share, having their own space allows for me to be a little more creative and unique for each girl. So, I opted to stick with the blue walls because I found the CUTEST Pottery Barn girls nursery bedding on Ebay. As an added bonus, I was able to sell Tatum's old crib bedding and spent very little to upgrade.

Here is the long shot of the whole crib. Beau's first reaction was that it was "boy colors", but it's grown on him, too. Something about the blue and green just fits our little Hayden.


And if you look closely, it's totally girlie - polka dots, flowers and butterflies (you can see those if you look closely to the far left of this picture).


Inspired by the new bedding, I made letters for Hayden's room. I have a few more projects in the works, but this is where we're at today. These will hang by ribbon (you can see it if you look closely) over her bay window on the main wall. I still need to make a new changing pad cover, basket liners and valences, but I'll get to that in a few weeks.


Cute, huh?

Here are some great Lake Powell memories. Caroline, Cathy and I had a great time trying to be as white trash as possible. We bought these hideous shirts that said "Tails of Lake Powell" and had drawings of bums, shredded them and posed the part. *note* the cigarette is rolled up paper in honor of the trashy girls that rode by on their boat screaming "It's my 21st Birthday!!!" I guess you had to be there!

p.s. Check out the saying on my hat - Tucker found this at the DI before our monster truck rally outing. Another great night of dress up!

Here I am celebrating "Canada Day" with Tanya. We were on our way out the door to go rollerblading (I miss those days of being in great shape with you, Nan!). Gotta love the tube socks!

Here are "Brown Evonne", "Blonde Yvonne"and Nan in Canada. We have had a few fun trips up there to visit, but none recently. I miss you girls!!!!!

This is the night I met Beau. I totally remember this night - such a random thing to meet Beau (whistling out of his truck at us at the Gateway) and now I'm married to the guy and have two babies. Crazy how things work out! :)

One last post - forgot to put this up yesterday with the rest! We FINALLY had another craft day (it's been awhile due to our hectic schedules) and made the cutest craft to date (in my opinion). We used plumbing wire and bent it into shapes with beads and curls to spell out "SPRING" on painted blocks. Love it!!!!

You know you're a mom when....the only pictures posted are of your kids! Oh well, I guess it's my right, right?

I hope you enjoy this little bug as much as I do!

So I really was on the verge of losing it today.

Thinking of ways I can be nice to my husband this week, I decided to make him one of his favorite treats, chocolate covered strawberries. I happened to pick up a pack of berries the other day at the store and had some milk chocolate chips already in the pantry. Nice wife, yummy surprise.

I decided to make them this morning while the girls were otherwise occupied. They turned out beautifully and tasted even better (you know I had to sample)! I left them on the counter (out of reach, mind you) so that the chocolate would set before Beau got home.

Later that morning, Tatum is suspiciously quiet upstairs. I quickly finished up the work project I was working on and went up to check on her. Chocolate everywhere. On her Dora chair (thank goodness the slip cover is washable), on her baby doll, on the floor (who knows how), etc. I go into the kitchen to find my favorite "angel" up on the counter, face and hands smeared with chocolate, munching away. About 1/3 of my beautiful chocolate covered straberries had the telling teeth marks of a girl missing one tooth.

Here's how my "Chockie Apples" (as Tatum's been calling them) looked after:

Romance just might be fleeting in the Ballard household...most of my efforts are foiled by a 2 year old!

If she weren't so darned cute, I might just sell her on eBay. *haha* Only kidding, the shipping alone would cost a fortune!

Not to leave Hayden out, here she is making a mess of her own. Thank goodness for wet wipes and baby baths!

Here are the girls in the pajamas my mom sent them after Christmas. I took this picture as soon as they both woke up this morning.

So Angie (and now Shannon) have inspired me to create my own blog entry of "Things you may (or may not) know about me…"

1. I can sleep through my baby crying. Maybe that’s not a very “mom” thing to do, but I can’t help it. When I’m out, I’m out. Luckily Beau’s sleepy groans are loud enough to eventually get me out of bed.

2. I’m an organizational freak. I make a “to do” list every morning and add to it constantly. I even like to add items that I’ve already done so I can see things crossed out. It’s a sickness.

3. I inadvertently dress my girls somewhat alike every day. Honestly, most times it’s not planned, but when I get one dressed, the other usually ends up in the same color scheme. I’ve become the mother I never thought I would be!

4. Lately, nothing enrages me more than condescending people. I’ve recently discovered that when approached by someone with that air about them, I’m immediately turned off. Maybe its because of recent experience with this (in a few areas), but I have no room for it in my life at all. I’m pretty smart, dammit, and if you can’t see that – see ya!

5. I hate the snow! Okay, not all of the time, but this week I do. My sweet husband has had to plow a lot this past week and has missed out on a lot of needed sleep because of it. He’ll get up at 2 or 3 in the morning, plow for a few hours and then work a full day, sometimes not getting home until 8 or 9 at night. He is such a hard worker and he never complains about having to go. I get to work in my pajamas and I still complain about it occasionally. We love Beau!

6. I’m afraid of the dark. Yep, and I’ll be 30 this year. My husband thinks its funny, but it’s a legitimate fear. I still run and jump into my bed if the lights are off and dread going into the basement at night. Not quite sure where the fear stems from, but it’s real.

7. And I despise scary movies. I, under no circumstances, will watch them anymore. I used to try and every time I’d end up scared out of my mind. It’s not that I think they’re real, but my imagination gets the best of me and I can’t let go of the images for weeks. Tanya, remember “The Ring”? Most people don’t understand this, but I know how I’ll react (long term) and don’t see any need in creating unnecessary anguish for myself. If Beau wants to see them, he has to do it without me.

8. I will always have epidurals. I am not a pioneer and I don’t need to prove anything to anyone. I’ve given birth to two children (one of which was 10+ pounds) and that should be proof enough of how “tough” I am. I can appreciate that people choose to deliver without, but I honestly will never understand why. Trust me, my epidural ran out with Tatum and that was, by far, the worst pain of my life. I didn’t feel any more appreciative of my body or the experience after going it without – just regretful that the damn nurse didn’t listen to me telling her that it was running out and I needed more. Viva Anesthesiologists!

9. I, too, refuse to pay full price. I’ve inherited one of my favorite traits that my mother has – why pay lots of $$$ when it’s something I can make myself? Not that I’m a total freak, but I am not going to pay $10 for a hair bow that I can make for $1.50. I immediately gravitate to the sale racks in stores and have also developed an appreciation for eBay. I’ve even started selling stuff on it – it’s addicting! And, somewhat lucrative.

10. Everyone needs a glue gun. I don’t care how crafty/non-crafty you are – glue guns are the bomb.com. I use mine almost every day and love it! And they are so cheap now! If you don’t have one, let me know and I’ll make sure you get it for your birthday *haha*.

11. Holding onto the box of “skinny clothes” seems more and more ridiculous as time goes on. I’ve had two kids, my body has changed. Truthfully, I obsess about it every day but reality is, I am not going to fit into those clothes for some time. Are they worth holding onto? Do they inspire me (yeah right)? Or am I fooling myself to think that they will even be in style by the time I really get my butt in gear? I can’t seem to part with them.

12. I secretly would be okay having all girls. Don’t get me wrong, a boy would be totally fun, too – and I know Beau would love to have one one day (what husband doesn’t?), but I love having girls. Mind you, they are moody and hormonal from the day they are born, but I have all the goods for girls. Clothes, bows, toys – you name it. And I’m totally in girl mode – a boy kind of freaks me out. Maybe I’ll feel differently when we consider trying for another one (future talk – not any time soon), but if I were to keep going at this rate, I’d be totally okay. That is, until I have weddings to pay for – ugh!