Slow down Kelly!!!

Oy! Life has been insane lately, so busy. I had a conversation a couple days ago with my friend Angela about how I am way too good at overbooking myself.

I have a hard time saying No when people ask me to do things, whether it be a favor, a hang out, dinner, whatever! Then I TRY to find some time for just ME (which since becoming a mommy just doesn't happen, but thats okay because i'm obsessed with my baby girl) for things like cleaning my house, doing laundry (wait..is that considered me time now??), getting my hair cut,etc. When I do find a sliver of time and may have to leave an obligation a little early to do such things...all of a sudden I'm considered selfish. Its hard. I've always been one of those people...you know...I don't like when people are mad at me, or don't like me. Since becoming a mommy, the mama bear factor has come into play with the attitude of " well whatever, my daughters most important and if you dont like what i'm doing you can suck my toe!" ...so lately i've been trying to find a balance. Balance of a working mother...balancing being a good employee who needs to be available 24/7, to being a mommy and wife- cooking dinner, cleaning, taking care of our family AND finding some down time to enjoy joey & baby. its hard. Then I try to find the balance of not having the F*ck You! attitude of totally NOT caring what people think...but also not letting caring TOO much what people think run my life. I keep reminding myself- I'm a mommy now. MY little family of three IS most important. No matter what. Its a constant struggle.

I've over booked myself something fierce these last couple months (and I see no end in sight until September!), and its exhausting. I'm constantly on my phone for work, or checking my calender 50 times a day, coordinating things, working on refinancing our house, working on different bills to try and lower them as much as possible, slowly working on putting together a garage sale, trying to keep up Adelynn's journal and baby book, we have plans every single weekend (I dont know how that happened, we're not that popular!), family dinners, etc. its a lot! At the end of the day I still try to make sure I have time with joey and baby, and then at the very bottom of my list...myself. I don't WANT time away from hubs OR baby! but i think sometimes I need some time to just be alone, read a book, write, just decompress and clear my mind! My mind is always filled with whats coming up the next day, what I need to get done, making mental notes of things, and my desk/purse/car/house is filled with to do lists, post its, etc. that have grocery lists scribbled on them, stuff i dont want to forget to do, stuff i need to pick up, etc. IT IS INSANE.


blah.


and hey, how bout that psycho that shot up the movie theater in CO?? (yes, I'm jumping around randomly- I'm tellin you, this is how my mind works...its scary and confusing!) that seriously disturbed me. In a big way. I cannot imagine sitting in a movie theater with my husband and child,....and all of a sudden THAT happening. It make me shutter to think of being so vulnerable and our lives at the hands of someone like that. How awful. what the HELL is the world coming to? I told Joey I wish we could move somewhere in this world away from all the crazy. Now that we have Adelynn, my mama bear mode kicks in frequently- and all I want to do is protect her. Joey has a gun, and I've never been against them- but they always made me nervous. After this mess happened I woke up the next morning and the first thing I told Joey was " I want to get a gun" he kinda laughed at me but I told him, I'm totally serious. I hope to God I NEVER have to use it, but I fully plan on educating myself (gun safety classes, range time with joey, him teaching me how to take it apart/clean it,etc) about guns and gun safety-- because you better believe, if I was sitting in that theater with my gun on my hip and that psycho came in shooting, I would without hesitation pull the trigger to defend myself, my family, my BABY GIRL, and all those innocent people sitting there. I will do whatever it takes to protect my child. I cannot imagine losing her like that. So yes, people may disagree with me, "Guns kill people" bla bla bla...and thats okay. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and I'm not going to hate on anyone for disagreeing with me. This is the decision I've made, and I'll sleep better at night knowing I'm prepared. Like I said, I hope I'm never put in a situation where I have to use it.

heres what I'm planning on getting:

Taurus .380 ACP

I've already held it, and its a perfect fit, super light weight. diggin' it. I'll be getting it soon. Then joey will teach me every dang thing he knows (yay Army!), and pretty soon I'll be taking a gun safety class that my FIL's friend teaches twice a week. Then I'll get my permit. Scary huh? ;)

Busy weekend ahead...yeah surprise surprise right? Today we're window shopping for my gun, then heading to my Great Aunt's 80th birthday party! Then I'm off to get a cut/color (havent had my hair cut since Feb, colored since August 2011!), tonight we're having Britt & Zach, Lana & Nick over to hang out! Tomorrow I think we're free most of the day...fingers crossed! Until family dinner tomorrow night. Then back to work Monday. blah--weekends are NOT long enough!

and on that note, I'm going to get off here- enjoy my coffee and my family before starting a very busy day!

Accessories Always Fit

Accessories Always Fit-- ya gotta check it out, plain & simple. Amanda owns this store, I've known her for a few years, we met through Phi Delta at Young Harris College. One thing I can say about Amanda is she is super stylish, I've always been envious of this girl's style! When I saw she opened a business I knew it would be amazing. Her stuff is one of a kind, unique, and of course fashionable!

Heres a little bio from her:

"As a grad student looking for some extra income, I started brainstorming ideas for selling vintage items online. I have always loved shopping, and I found of a love for pretty much anything vintage or antique as a teenager shopping with my mom. I decided that selling accessories on Etsy was a good plan for my lifestyle… My mom has always used the phrase “accessories always fit” when talking about shopping. IT doesn’t matter if you’ve lost or gained a little weight, your jewelry and shoes are still going to fit. So I thought it would be a fun name to use for my store, and very appropriate as well! 

When looking for accessories to sell in my store, I tend to pick items that I personally like and would wear, but I also really like the idea of picking items that you can wear with different types of outfits. I always use a white t-shirt and jeans as one example… so wearing a necklace with that outfit, but the same necklace also goes just as well with a cute summer dress or a dressier outfit for a night out on the town. It’s always a great feeling to find a good pair of earrings or shoes to put in my store—it’s like finding gold in a trash pile sometimes! The only hard part about it is putting it in my box of Etsy items rather than my own jewelry box or shoe rack!

Now that I’m out of school and working full time, it’s still a great side project because I can spend as much or little time on it depending on my free time each month. I just recently opened up my items to ship outside of the US, so that’s been an exciting endeavor because some of my recent sales have been over seas—to Russia and the United Kingdom so far. It’s a cool feeling to know that someone across the world likes the item you picked to sell enough to get it shipped to them from Athens, GA!"


You can find her on Facebook:   www.facebook.com/accessoriesalwaysfit
and Etsy: http://www.etsy.com/shop/AccessoriesAlwaysFit


Don't miss out on her one of a kind items- you'd regret it! She sells everything from shoes, earrings, necklaces, braclets, bowls, broaches, purses, etc!

Life Lately

it has been hectic for the Rickels lately! Lots going on, but all fun stuff ;)

This past weekend was packed full of family birthdays! My birthday, my SILs, my nephews, my FIL-- we had one big family lunch to celebrate us all! And my nephew had his 5th bday party Saturday at Monkey Joe's! After his party me, and two of my SILs went to see the Katy Perry (everyone says i look like her, i just dont see it!) movie...no lie. and it was AMAZING! haha I know it sounds so corny, but it was so good- makes me want to go see her live like asap. It also had some footage backstage, interviews, talked about her divorce- literally had us tearing up. Who knew a Katy Perry movie would be such a tear jerker!? Afterward we downloaded her CD and now all 3 of us are enjoying her to and from work ;) oh seester time, gotta love it!

This week is turning out to be a busy one! We're trading my car! Getting myself a mom mobile (no no, not a mini van, NEVER!) -- I love my TSX but theres just not enough room, Adelynn's car seat barely fits in the back and theres not much room for anything else. We found a 2007 CRV in great condition, and the price was right! Heres my new mommy car:

I'm so excited to have more room!

Also this week, garage sale! I'm working on getting everything together for a big yard sale on a weekend (don't know which one yet) but went ahead and started posting pictures/prices of stuff on my facebook- best idea ever! I've sold quite a few things by doing that! So this week/weekend I'm meeting up with different people who are buying stuff from us. Excited to get some extra money!

OH! Random side note: got my journal in the mail and LOVE IT. it is so beautiful and I cannot wait to start writing in it! She also included the sweetest little note, and a free book mark! the book mark is BEAUTIFUL as well. loved the whole experience with her from beginning to end!

We have a pretty fun weekend ahead of us too. Friday we are having a cook out with 4 different couples- hosting it at our house, and I'm super excited. Its so nice to have couple friends to see/hang out with on a regular basis, and I really hope we start doing it more and more! Saturday we have a couple errands, and that night the Bakers are coming in to town! Nick, Claire, Lilly, and Brynn! They are staying with us Saturday night, for Adelynn's baptism on Sunday! GLAD we are finally getting her baptized, I wanted to do it a lot sooner than now but oh well. Sunday at 12:30 we're baptizing her at St. Stephens- the church I was converted in, church we were married in, and church Joey was raised in :) I have both mine and Joey's baptism gowns from when we were baptized as babies; I tried mine on her last night and it fits PERFECT and looks so pretty on her :) It made me a little teary! Super excited to see all our friends/family and finally get our baby girl baptized!

Work has been insanely busy but thats good, means business is good and I have a job! I still miss my baby every single day but its gotten easier. I just soak up as much time as I can with her on the weekends. Life has just been busy, but I take every opportunity I can to be lazy and just enjoy time with Adelynn!

and now, i leave you with a couple adorable videos of my sweet girl (talkin to daddy, super baby, and peek-a-boo!)

RubyKinz Hair Accessories

Another vendor to brag on ;) I normally don't advertise for anyone, but these vendors are worth bragging about. Its always hard to find good pricing, quality product, and awesome people-- so when I do find them I want other people to know about them!

RubyKinz Hair Accessories! I found Emma through Claire, she ordered her girls a few things and I always LOVED them so found her store on facebook and fell in love. If you're friends with me on facebook you can find her under my "likes", otherwise just search for her- its worth it!

Heres a little bio from Emma:

"I am a WAHM of 3 kiddos, Liam (7), Ethan (5), and Kinsley (2). After having 2 boys, Kinsley Christine came along and brought the glitter and pink back to my life  After I started making hair pretties for my daughter, people would tell me that I should start selling them. And thats when RubyKinz was created. I started making bows back in September of 2010 and became RubyKinz in April of 2011. I love what I do, both staying at home with my kids, and using my creative side with my creations. 99% of my hair accessories are 100% handmade by me and I love that about them. 

I create a lot of hair accessories for customers to match specific outfits, and I also try to do as much ready to ship items as my time allows. I accept only paypal, unless you are local, then cash and check is fine too. Please feel free to visit my page at www.facebook.com/rubykinz or contact me at rubykinzha@yahoo.com and tell me Kelly sent you! Your first order will be 10% off. Thanks!"

My favorites are the hydrangeas:

I ordered the purple and turquoise ones on alligator clips, i love the pearls/rhinestones in the middle.

Heres the pricing for these:

$10.00 each for 3 attached to a skinny metal headband 

$7.00 each for 3 attached to a skinny stretch or satin stretch headband.
$5.00 each for a single flower attached to a skinny stretch or satin stretch headband.

Get the whole set of 8 color single hydrangea flowers on skinny headbands for $25! That's only $3.00 a headband. 

$5.00 for a set of (2) hydrangea alligator clips, snap clips, or bobby pins.


Rhinestones or Pearl Center

I also love the flower buds, I haven't ordered any yet but I plan to in the future!

Heres the pricing on the flower buds:

Flower Buds with Pearl or Rhinestone Center

(1) attached to an alligator clip or headband: $6.00/e or 3/$16

(2) attached to a headband: $9.00

(3) attached to a headband: $12.00

Feel free to mix and match colors and if you don't see a color your looking for just let me know and I can see what I can find.Please note when ordering what size headband you need. 

Newborn 12"
3-6m 14"
6-12m 16"
12m-4yrs 17"
4yrs-adult 18"

Whats cool is you can have her put them on clips, mix and match, headbands, bobby pins.. so many options!

She also has the headbands I love for Adelynn:

These are THE BEST headbands I've found so far, they fit great (come in different sizes), and have a little loop of fabric on them so you can switch the clips/flowers out! LOVE!

Pricing for these:

3/4" Satin Stretch Headband (super soft)

$1.00/each with any purchase 

Available in: Premie, Newborn, Infant, and Toddler, and Adult

And she doesn't shy away from custom orders either! I sent her a picture of Adelynn's dress for my SIL's wedding next April, and she customized a headband for me to match, it was a steal at $13! (cost of headband and shipping altogether)

Heres the final product:

Needless to say, theres a ton to choose from. What I've posted here doesn't even begin to cover what she offers! Make SURE you find Emma on facebook! 

www.facebook.com/rubykinz

You can contact her via Facebook or here: rubykinzha@yahoo.com

25th Birthday

25-- weird! I still feel 21! But I guess there really isn't a big difference in birthdays in your 20s, at least thats how I feel!

We didn't have big plans this year, usually we have a party at the house but I was nervous about doing that with the baby so we decided not to make big plans. We did have plans that night for a cook out with some of my friends from YHC though! We had such a great time- grilling out, corn hole, catching up, pictures, little dance party in the basement ;) Shanice & Justin came with their two ADORABLE twin boys- miss that girl, I don't see her nearly as much as I'd like to. Alana & Nick, Tyler, Katie all came too! It was at Brittany and Zach's house and we had such an awesome time. They even got me a birthday cake!

That day Joey asked me what I wanted to do, and I just said "we're doin' it!" - I just wanted to relax on the couch with him and my sweet girl, watching movies, napping, just doing NOTHING! we've been so jam packed with plans lately I just wanted to take it easy.

Joey and Adelynn got me the best birthday gift ever! I've been wanting a new camera for SO LONG, and even more so since Adelynn was born- iPhone pictures just don't cut it. So they gave me a Nikon Coolpix! (but gave it to me early so I could use it on 4th of July!)

and I've been snappin' pictures like paparazzi ever since!

Friday night before my bday, we went up to Elektrik Dragon (Main Street in Loganville) to see Tammy & Dollie and get some quotes, and get me a new tat! Brittany and Zach came with us, and of course baby (but she was just spectating!) I LOVE Tammy & Dollie up there, mother/daughter team who give the shop such a family feel. You walk in and just instantly feel like family! You need to find them on Facebook and go check them out if you're in the area, you can find them under my 'likes'. The address is 248 Main Street Loganville, GA 30052

We chatted about Adelynn, and Dollie's little girl Lillith (she is ADORABLE, such a character) while she was runnin' around the shop and watchin' her disney movies. It was a ton of fun. And of course I got a tattoo-- I dont know why anyone who knows me would be surprised, I have 'em all over so of course I'd get one for my favorite person in the whole world!

Afterwards we went back to our house and hung out with Britt, Zach, and Katie. Us girls sat on the patio catching up on life while the boys stayed inside and played video games!

Overall it was a great weekend, very relaxed! I got lots of phone calls, texts, facebooks, etc. from everyone wishing me a happy birthday- felt very loved! and its not over! Today at work we're having a birthday lunch, tonight birthday dinner at Chilis with my family, and this Sunday at my in-laws we're celebrating mine, Courtney's, FIL's. and Peyton's birthday with dinner-- and Court, Becca, and I are going to the movies Saturday after Peyton's birthday party! So I'm definitely feeling the love :)

4th of July

Happy (belated) 4th of July! :)

The last 3 years we went to Topsail, and then Chicago- but this year we spent at home! We had a cook out with our neighbors Dawn & Brandon right next door and invited their families, ours, and Brittany & Zach too!

(the set up!)

We share the side yard, so we set everything up there- tent, chairs, grill, tables, corn hole,pack n plays, etc! We had a ton of people come and it was a blast! We ate, played corn hole, and once it got dark everyone got to play with sparklers, then the guys set off the big fireworks! Adelynn did great- she hung out outside with us for a while, took a cat nip here and there, and was just her happy usual self!

and if you notice in the pictures- I have three different outfits on haha. Which is a great thing about being at home ;) My first shirt was super cute and patriotic but I was getting glitter ALL OVER Adelynn, so it had to go! Then I changed in to one of my dad's old army tshirts, but changed AGAIN into running shorts and a new tshirt cause it was just so dang hot!

(getting ready, the glitter shirt!)

I can't say enough how blessed we are to have awesome neighbors. Our kids are close in age, they are our age, and a lot like Joey & I. We get along so well and have a lot in common. Its what I've always wanted- neighbors to get close with, hang out with, raise our kids together, etc. I see them becoming life long friends for sure! Brandon even told me "you know Adelynn's gonna call me Uncle right?" and I wouldn't have it any other way!

(Me, Dawn, and Colton!)

Growing up Brittany and I always said we wanted to work together and live in the same neighborhood, who knew it would ACTUALLY happen? Britt and I went to highschool together, college, been working together since 2010 for the same company, and living in the same neighborhood for the last 2 1/2 years. Her and Zach live right down the street, and its so much fun!

(Zach and Britt!)

(Me & Britt, friends since 2000!)

I just love having awesome friends/neighbors, its the picture perfect life I always dreamnt of! I'm so grateful Adelynn has all of these people in her life, and she'll get to grow up with them!

We had a great 4th of July, and look forward to doing it again next year!

artbookmarks

Ever since Adelynn was born, I've been writing to her in a journal. Memories, I add pictures, mementos from various things I tell her about,etc. I loved going through old family pictures (and still do) when I was younger, and asking my parents/grandparents the stories behind everything, and who was who, etc. I decided to keep journals for Adelynn throughout her life so she can have them one day and know all about everything!

The journal I'm writing in right now is one my Aunt gave me when she came to visit in the hospital- and I love it, it is so beautiful.

I browse Etsy often for various things, and came across ArtBookMarks store: http://www.etsy.com/shop/artbookmarks

Maria is the seller, and she does amazing work! She is located in Greece, and hand paints everything she makes with oil colors. She does: bookmarks, notebooks, calendars, and diaries. She let me know she loves custom orders as well- she was a joy to work with and nail down exactly what I wanted! I immediately knew I wanted one of her journals, for my next journal for Adelynn. The hard part was nailing down which one I wanted, because they were all so beautiful! All the journals are of course hand painted on Italian canvas, but ALSO hand stitched with cotton thread. They also come in different sizes, 8.5z6.1in or 6.1x4.3in.

The bigger journal is $35 and the smaller one is $29.

I contacted her and let her know which one I liked, and she let me know she could customize it how I wanted! I picked the larger journal, with beige colored paper, and asked her to write "Dear Adelynn...." on the bottom of the cover. I had told my MIL about it a while ago, and she decided to get it for me for my birthday (tomorrow!). I WAS SO EXCITED to finalize everything with Maria and order it!

Here are some pictures of the final product, Maria shipped it out today so I will be anxiously awaiting this package in the mail!

I haven't seen it in person yet (obviously) but I already know I LOVE IT. The pictures are beautiful and I couldn't be happier with how it turned out. Maria was so sweet and awesome to work with on this. This is going to be SO SPECIAL for Adelynn one day :) Thanks again to Maria- you did an amazing job!

Head over to her site and check out everything else she has to offer, you won't be sorry! Again her site is:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/artbookmarks

“We let ourselves loose on that simple blank piece of paper, and our bodies spill. The terror, the love…embodying our stories page after page. In a sense, the pen was our tongue, it is how we delineate the world.”

-Coco J. Ginger