Just call me Martha Stewart!

 
I don't know what has gotten into me lately. It all started a few months ago. I saw these adorable handmade skirts on a website & HAD to have one.....uh....all of them for Riley. For those of you who don't know, a little girl can never have too many clothes. Someone please explain that to my husband! Riley definitely dresses better than any of us. I usually end up spending gift cards I have received for my own clothes on her. It is sad, but true. It is just too fun to shop for her. You don't have to go through the hassle of trying things on. You pick it up, exclaim "This is ADORABLE!", and that's it! So anyway, back to my story. When I saw the price tag of $40-50 per skirt, I decided to try & make one myself. With a few tester skirts to work out the kinks on, I finally cut into my nice fabric & made her the cutest little skirts. I get so proud of my very basic sewing skills when she wears them. So one skirt turned into at least 5. I even made a few for my best friend's daughter. I eventually decided that I would like to look decent as well, so I made my first two skirts for myself last week. With a few alterations on the finished product they turned out great! I was so proud when I actually wore one a few Saturdays ago when we went into the boutiquey shopping district. I told Eddie I was hoping someone would come up & say "Where did you get that skirt? I have to have one!" But no one did. Maybe someday :)

More pics of Riley

Here are some more pictures from the beach. Enjoy!

  
  

Back from the beach!

Vacation is over...boo. We got back Saturday from our annual week long trip to the beach. We have gone over to Melbourne Beach for the past 3 years with both of our parents. It was definitely more fun this year, since Riley was old enough to enjoy everything & I didn't have to be up in our room nursing the entire time. She loved the water and had a blast sliding down the sand dunes & throwing sand on our feet. We walked up the beach to Starbucks every morning & took Riley to our favorite snow cone stand too. It was a fun time for all!

One of the highlights of the trip for me was the great surf we got later in the week with Hurricane Bertha spinning way out in the Atlantic. Eddie & I caught some decent ones on Thursday. We also ended up in a school of volleyball-sized jelly fish. I had gotten stung the night before, but not too badly. These things looked like they could do some major damage though! Needless to say, I screamed like I was in a horror movie & luckily I didn't get stung by those monsters. I went out by myself on Friday & caught some great waves!! It was so much fun. I wished we lived somewhere where the surf is like that on a daily basis!

Now we are back home. It was a fun trip, but we were all looking forward to sleeping in our own beds & being in our own home. The next trip for us is California in August. Hopefully the good surf will be waiting for me there!

First blog post!

So here it goes...my first blog post. I guess I will use this to update you all on a few things that have been going on around here since I totally have been slacking on keeping Riley's site going. 

Let's start with Eddie. He finally graduated from his M.B.A. program this spring! Woo hoo! No more school. After 4 degrees (B.S., M.S., Ph.D, & a M.B.A.) I hope he is done for good. We were all so proud of him. Now he doesn't know what to do with himself at night now that he has no homework or classes to attend. He is very happy with his decision to move to Shriner's headquarters. They keep him very busy there, but he welcomes all the challenges.

Next on the list is Riley. I could write about all the new things going on in her world forever, but I will try to sum it up. She is walking like a pro now. She loves racing around the house, tearing things off shelves, and just causing chaos. If you walk into a room and see books thrown about, cheerios on the floor, and sunglasses on the dog you will know the "Rile-nado" has been there. She is such a happy girl most of the time. Some of her favorite words to say are "doggie", "hi", "ball", "mommy", "thank you" and "yummy yummy." She knows how to sign milk, more, drink, night night, all done, and please. She swims like a fish & she loves to dive underwater! She jumps in head first & will dive down to pick up toys underwater. Olympic swimming here we come!

Last on the list, besides the dogs, is me I guess. I stay very busy all day with Riley & making sure the house is still standing by the time Eddie gets home. I love being able to stay at home with her & I feel so lucky to do so. I have always enjoyed cooking & recently became obsessed with food blogs for new recipes to try. I also love photography, so you will see plenty of pictures of my favorite subject (Riley). I mess around with sewing a little too. I like to sew cute little skirts for Riley. There is also the usual stuff I enjoy....running, surfing, hanging out by the pool, and sangria!

All in all, life is good!