I hope you all had a great Labor Day weekend! One of my good friends did exactly that...and labored yesterday and had a sweet baby last night. It was seriously crazy...we went over to their house to eat dinner and she was as calm as can be. Before dinner was even over they were off to the hospital and the baby was born! The even nuttier thing is that we helped them move to a new house two days before she had the baby. Sounds kind of familiar if you ask me. :) For those of you who haven't read our birth story it's quite similar.

Over the weekend we helped our friends (above) move into a beautiful new home. They currently have two girls and were 39 weeks pregnant at the time. We were able to unpack everything but the office so I would say it was a successful day!

On Sunday we had some friends over to swim and then had a little BBQ with my fam. The weather has been brutally hot which I'm less than thrilled about. Yesterday I just ran some errands for the bachelorette party I have coming up this weekend. It's going to be so fun I can't wait to show you pictures of the decor! Insert heart eyes here.

Oh, and of course it was Baby's birthday again so we had to bake her some donuts. I grabbed a recipe from Pinterest but it's basically just cake mix and easy home made frosting.

Blair is turning into quite the littler baker I must say. I'm not sad about it either. :) Cheers to a short week and for babies, donuts, and bachelorette parties!

     Quick update... I am taking a medication called Letrozole this month. I literally decided last Friday morning on a whim to give it a whirl. I heard about it on the news and then another friend mentioned it to me also. It's very similar to Clomid. I'm not thinking this is the miracle drug for me but I am thinking that it's one more thing I can check off my list as things I have tried before IVF. Apparently this medication is used for women with breast cancer and the FDA won't approve it for infertility but many people use it for that anyway. They were finding that many patients who were fighting cancer were getting pregnant on this drug. All I know is it tricks my brain into thinking that I'm not making enough estrogen so my body makes more FSH (follicle stimulating hormone) so that my eggs grow and mature (something they haven't been doing). I'm sure I botched that description but that's all I have on it at the moment.

With that here's my Five Friday Favorites! :)

1. Enjoying some pool time with her ONE year old cousin! Partyin' partyin' yeah!

2. Snagging this bad boy at Costco for Blair's Christmas gift. It's taller than her and will look gorgeous in my home... :/

3. Princess time at Disneyland! We literally went through the Fantasy Faire FIVE times thanks to no wait time!

4. Head bands. Dirty hair don't care...just add a head band!

5. Starting ballet again with Blair's best friend...and getting to dance to "shake it off."

We don't have any big Labor Day plans this weekend...what about you guys? Whatever you do be safe and have fun!

I've always wanted to throw B a birthday party in the park. The idea of all the toddlers running around at the park with plenty to entertain them (and not in your home) is amazing. The problem is that her birthday is at a questionable time of year in early March. :/ Last weekend we had a blast at a friend's park birthday. While it was really hot, there was a huge shaded area and Arcade cold brew coffee that kept us comfortable. The theme was "Teddy Bear Picnic" and turned out adorable!

How cute are these paper picnic baskets filled with donut holes?

Drinks and yogurts were kept cool in this blow up cooler..Genius!

The cutest little detail since the birthday girl is in the process of being adopted.

Wasn't that the sweetest party? The great thing about the theme is that it can be used for a little boy or girl. Definitely a win if you have two kiddos born around the same time. Happy first birthday sweet Cora!

I'm a huge fan of snap chat (I even got my Mom on it!) and while I was "snapping" B and M making muffins last weekend I decided I needed to actually document stuff like this. So I took a short video on my phone and snapped a couple photos. It's moments like this when B declares, "It's Baby's birthday today! Let's make her a cake!" that I want to remember forever. And we did just that. Kind of. I talked B into making banana muffins (part of her breakfast for preschool mornings) with rainbow sprinkles. She insisted on candles too and wanted to light all of them but I told her one was enough.

What? You don't wear boots with the fur when it's 90 out? She literally woke up like this.

About half way through she busted out her chef hat and apron. Don't worry, Dirty Baby has an apron too.

Rainbow sprinkles just for Baby.

"Baby is two today, Mom."

When I picked B up from preschool on Friday her teachers told me she was cracking them up. Apparently they were drawing pictures of their family and when they asked B who was in her family she replied, "Mommy, Daddy, and Baby." They asked what the baby's name was and she matter of factly replied, "Baby. (duh)" I guess they eventually figured out that Baby wasn't real. The funny thing is that on Friday we are supposed to bring a family photo and of course who made the cut? Baby. Here's the photo we plan on bringing...

Baby is real. And don't you tell her otherwise! ;)

About a week ago while we were picking up some friends to drive to the Taylor Swift concert we drove by a yard sale. There were some white distressed farm house style dining chairs that grabbed my attention. We've been using folding chairs in our dining room since M built us our farm house table (not cute) because we didn't want to spend $150+ on chairs. These were $25 a chair and in great shape! Four chairs for not even the price of one at pottery barn?! Yes, please! Here's the before and after...

Clearly this was taken at Christmas.

Not quite as festive but the chairs are so much better, right?

M gave them a good scrub and voila! new to us chairs for a screaming deal. I'm not known to be the most patient girl but the saying goes "good things come to those who wait" and I'd have to say this is one of those moments. :)

Eeek! I'm so excited to show you guys the bridal shower a couple of my friends and I threw last week! We went for a Kate Spade theme and stuck with bright colors, bold stripes, and pops of gold. It was definitely glam and girly.

We started off by sending invitations c/o Wedding Paper Divas. I'm obsessed with water color right now (who isn't) and these were spot on gorgeous! With matching thank you cards and favors these details helped set the stage for the perfect shower.

"Artful Expression" invitations c/o Wedding Paper Divas

"Air of Affection" Thank You cards c/o Wedding Paper Divas

"Gilded Romance" party favor stickers c/o Wedding Paper Divas

It's no secret that I love party planning. However I tend to do what has worked in the past instead of thinking outside of the box... if it's not broken don't fix it! That's definitely a struggle of mine! You'll see that I'm a firm believer in tissue paper decor (hello cheap and easy) but my friends pushed me to try some new things like the paper flower wall which was stunning but crazy time consuming. I say this shower is the best of both worlds. :)

My trusty chalkboard gettin' the job done. ;)

I used my Mom's banana bread recipe for the "cake" and added home made cream cheese frosting. My friends helped with the fresh flowers and I added the topper about five minutes before the party!

I snagged this mini chalkboard at Michaels for $4.

Gifts for the bride-to-be!

I can't wait to celebrate your big day, Diana! You will undoubtedly be a stunning bride. I'm so happy for you and love you so much!

Happy Monday! A special thank you to Carrie Johnson for photographing the shower. :)

I haven't done (in)Fertility Friday for a while because I had nothing good to say. I was mad and ready to give up on these stupid posts but I had a nagging in my heart to write one. An email came my way in which the writer told me that my blog really helped a couple of her friends who were struggling with infertility. The rawness and honesty of my thoughts encouraged them. And if I can be of help to even just one or two people then I will press on. Here we go!

Medical
Zippity Do Da to report here.

Emotional
I'm really trying to focus on being thankful for what I have and starting each day by thanking the Lord for my blessings. I'm not going to lie...I've been pissed off lately. Pregnancy announcement after announcement has had me begging for mercy. You would really think that I would get used to this by now but it hurts every time. I would even say that the pain and disappointment is getting worse as time goes on. I'm trying to hold out for January when we do IVF but I'm scared to put too much hope in that process either. I guess that's my way of protecting myself for failure. I'm in such a weird place of balancing my emotions right now. Trying to have hope but not too much hope etc.

Spiritual
Not only am I trying to be thankful but I'm also trying to surrender my plan on how to have another baby. It's not that I'm giving up hope, but giving up my plan of how I want this to happen (the timing, and means). His plan is the best plan and that means His timing is better than mine too. Here are some nuggets from a recent sermon that encouraged me to come out of my dark hole...

Character is Revealed When Life is Tough- by Tom Lance

During trials you figure out who you are. Jesus was not in this place (being crucified) because He sinned; it was God's plan for Him. The same goes for you. You are not experiencing this current trial (of infertility) because you sinned but because God has chosen this for you. Jesus had a choice (to die or not) that would reveal His true character; you have that same choice. To persevere on this path because you are called to, or to give up and do things your own way.

You can trust a God that allows trials. There are moments of "why me" but ultimately you should be trusting in His sovereign plan. Stop complaining and start trusting. God was preparing Jesus for more, to be a leader. He is doing this same thing for you right now. God puts us in trials to reveal our character.

How many times do you miss what God has for you because you are mad at the place God has allowed you to be?

Are you settling for less than what God has intended for your future?

Psalm 84:11 For the Lord is a sun and a shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly.

1 Thess 5:18 Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

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Let's move on from the heavy stuff shall we? I was a day late and a dollar short on bringing Blair's preschool teachers a "first day of school" treat on the first day of school. I'm hoping they enjoy it on the second day of school just as much. :) I made them little apple shaped treat boxes (From Oh Happy Day) filled with Hershey Kisses and added a Starbucks gift card to the bottom (not pictured). It was super easy! Here's how:

Materials: Oh Happy Day print out, scissors, safety pin, toothpick, glue dots, candy, ruler

Materials

1. Cut out the pieces

2. Fold and score each edge

3. Add a mini glue dot to each tab

4. Adhere the bottom of the apple and do the same to the top, leaving the lid open

5. Fill with your candy of choice and use the safety pin to pierce the paper for the toothpick.

6. Close the lid and add your kiddos name (why do they get all the credit?!)

7. Voila! Handmade cuteness with chocolate and coffee...trust me teachers love that kind of gift.

As a former teacher myself I assure you nothing is better than getting chocolate/baked goods or Starbucks gift cards. Yes that pencil holder cup made out of crayons is cute. No, we do not want that. Give me the stuff I need to survive being with kids all day. If I wanted a cute pencil holder I would get crayons from the supply room and make one myself. Sorry, not sorry. Take my honestly and run with it! To Starbucks preferably...for your teacher's sake. ;)