Teaser

So I know I have been slacking lately on my blogging duties, but things have been kinda hectic here in the Nida house. I will update later on the happenings here at our house (I am now completely unemployed) but here are a few pictures of the sweetest kid alive to tie you over till I have time to write more. I just had to post something before Aunt MA let me have it! Enjoy!

I mean really... she MUST be the cutest kid alive. 

(I am allowed to say that every once in a while since I am her momma.)

Happy Birthday Aunt Jody!!!

We are so fortunate to have such a sweet person in our family!!!

It would be incomplete without you!!!

We Love You!!!

Love,

Jonathan Abbie and Grace

("G-Lizzie" according to Uncle Joe)

Hair Bow Woes

Little Grace's hair is really starting to grow! However, it is growing mostly on the top and mostly straight forward into her little eyes! What a week we have had trying to tame it! Here are a few of the things we have tried...

The obvious first choice was a pretty bow clip. 

She can see and eat without getting sweet potatoes in her hair!!!

But wait...

 After only a couple of minutes rolling on the floor the clip is long gone and the hair is back in her eyes.

Mommy thought "Maybe pigtails... How Cute!!!"

But only a few rolls later and the hair was back in the eyes.

Maybe a ponytail?!? Kinda crazy, but maybe it works!

Grace was lookin good... 

Until Mommy had to take out the teeny tiny rubber bands. OUCH!!!

Daddy's hat is awful cute, but not very effective.

Maybe the bow was the best idea.

Well...

What is this?

I think...

I'll have to...

check it out...

Wait!

Mommy... 

Where did it go?!?

No more bows to eat?!?

I guess I'll have to eat my hand...

And I guess I'll just have hair in my eyes.

I really don't seem to care too much.

Any suggestions?

Videos for my Aunts

Here are two videos. The first is for Aunt Jody and the second is for Aunt Mary Allison, but I thought you all would enjoy seeing them also :)

Aunt Jody is letting Grace borrow a lot of toys that cousins David and John have outgrown. This little keyboard is one of Grace's favorite toys now. She is totally fascinated with the little guitar playing puppy dog. This is fitting seeing as how those are two of her favorite things... guitars and dogs. She also likes to shake the microphone around and try to fit the whole thing in her mouth.

 

This is the video for Grace's Spanish speaking Aunt MA. Listen closely. It is the ABC song in SPANISH!!!! How funny sounding is that! I really can't clearly understand the song, but I have been singing it for the past three days. My favorite part is when is says l-m-n in Spanish. Such a catchy tune. I think I really do need to get out of the house. Don't worry, it does have a button that changes everything over to English... maybe she won't be too confused when she starts kindergarten.

I always said that I was not going to let my kid have tons of loud battery operated toys. They are all so ugly and obnoxious. I am soooo eating my words on that one... even though she does play with a lot of "quiet toys" also.

I'm Lovin' It

So I am totally cracking up at how life seems to come around full circle sometimes. Jonathan started his job as a manager of a McDonald's this week. Last night was his first night to work until "closing." I am not really sure when he got home, but I think it was around 12:30 or 1:00. I of course was asleep (cause I can't do the late night thing like I used to prior to the 5 am wake up time I have to meet if I am going to be out of the house on time) when Jonathan came to bed, but I did talk to him for about 10 minutes or so. His night went well, but he was cold. He had to take inventory in the walk in freezer and his wedding ring fell off in a box of chicken selects! How hilarious is that!!! Don't worry... he found it. But wouldn't it have been awesome for the person who stumbled across that in their lunch!

Ok so here is the point of my post. If you knew me as a kid you would understand how crazy it is that I am married to a McDonald's employee. I was one of those "picky" eaters as a kid. Now, I would eat anything healthy and pretty much anything my parents gave me (brussel sprouts and broccoli were my favorite foods), but I did not like jelly or cooked fruit and I did NOT like condiments of any kind... I am talking NO Mayo, NO mustard, NO ketchup... give me a dry burger please. And for some reason I absolutely HATED McDonald's. I know... what kind of American kid hates Mikey-D's?!? Well, me! This was not a problem when it was just my family... we went to the more acceptable Wendy's and I got a frosty and a buttered potato and life was good, but every kid in the country has had at least one birthday party at McDonald's and despite my extreme social awkwardness, I did have a few friends and they had birthday's... so you guessed it... I had to go to McDonald's and eat a nasty happy meal with a nasty burger with nasty mayo, mustard, and ketchup and don't even get me started on the pickle and onion every time a friend had a birthday!!!! And for all you moms out there who tell your kids that you will just wipe the nastiness of the condiments off with an old cold french fry... well let me tell you... the condiment/onion residue is sooo still on (because it has soaked into) the sesame seed bun!!! And of course it always seemed like the standard McDonald's birthday cake had some sort of jelly layer in it. I mean... why are you gonna go and mess up a perfectly good birthday cake with all that jelly crap. Can't a kid have a plain white cake with plain white icing and a couple of candles that don't leave primary colored wax all over the icing that you have to pick out or just swallow with a smile. Doesn't jelly cost more than icing?!?! What was the purpose of the jelly layer?!?! Please tell me!?!?!

So, I am sorry that I never ate the happy meals or cake that I was provided at all those birthday parties. It was very wasteful. I went home hungry and filled up on broccoli. Believe me... I knew there was something wrong with me, and I was very self-conscious about my hatred for fast food and jelly products. I even tried chicken nuggets with honey on multiple occasions. There was just something so un-natural about the molded "nugget" shape and the hardened gelatin consistency of the "chicken" that prevented me from eating them.

Fast forward 20 years (yes ... 20 years). Now I have come to tolerate... wait, even enjoy... a meal from McDonald's. I figured out that I could order a burger with lettuce and tomato only, and I really do LOVE some fries and a triple thick chocolate milk shake (I am disregarding rumors that there is actually no milk product in the shake). However, I will totally understand and accept Grace's decision not to eat at or have a birthday party at McDonald's if she so chooses cause I know what it's like to be the wier kid who hates fast food... even if her Daddy does still work there and we do get a discount.

So that is why it is extra humorous to me that my family is now a part of the Great McDonald's Family and that is why I chose to blog tonight.

Fun With Dick and Jane

The same week that we had our bad news about my job being reduced to part time I got to help throw a baby shower for my sweet friend Susanna. I was so glad to have something besides stressful major life decisions to think about. Susanna is expecting little Wheeler in February and I am so excited to see her become a mom. I know she is going to be a natural. She has the absolute cutest nursery decorated with a "Dick and Jane" theme and tons of great vintage finds. We decided to give her a shower that kept with the Dick and Jane theme. It was one of the cutest showers I have ever been to. Here are some pictures of our fun day...

Grace and Jack got to play in the morning while we set things up. I think she is really liking all of these boys that she is friends with. I was thinking the other day that I really need to set her up some play dates with other girls. I don't think she has ever been around another little girl. Good thing Benjamin's sister, baby Abigail, will be here soon!

We used vintage books and blocks to decorate. I attempted to do some floral arrangements. Becca made the cutest Dick and Jane baby book for little Wheeler. 

We had a yummy punch and water.

And lots of food. I will try to remember and post some recipes. It is always fun to throw showers with people from other places. You always learn great new ideas.

I decoupaged a flower pot with Dick and Jane cut outs and made a big orange polka dot bow to go on the front. I also stuck the Gerber daisies in the potted plant to add a little color.

I also made the cake. It was fun to get to use some of the decorating tools my parents got me for Christmas. I made a hummingbird cake (the Martha Stewart recipe) with cream cheese icing (the Paula Dean recipe).  I would definitely suggest this cake. It is kind of like a cross between a spice cake, carrot cake, and banana bread. It is super easy to make and super hard to mess up! And of course cream cheese icing is so easy too. The two go great together!

We hung up all of Wheeler's little clothes on a clothes line. I don't have a good picture, but Becca made the cutest little clothes pins to use. She printed Dick and Jane pictures on shrinky dink paper (remember that stuff!) and cut them out and shrunk them down. She then covered wooden clothes pins with primary colored gingham ribbon and glued on the Dick and Jane images. She then attached a magnet to the back. We gave them away as favors, and I have three on my refrigerator now!

We also used the clothes pins during our game. We played "Guess the Famous Dick and Jane." We gave clues about famous people throughout history with the names Dick and Jane. Whoever guessed the person got a clothes pin. Whoever had the most clothes pins at the end of the game won a prize!

Here is a picture of Me Susanna and Grace. There was way too much going on for Grace to want to look at the camera.

From left to right: Josie, Becca, Susanna, Laura and Me!

What a fun Saturday!!!