HAPPY DANCE!

I have really enjoyed starting this blog. I am still learning A LOT, but in the meantime I love using it as a journal. Or more like scrapbook without having to do all the cutting, gluing, placing of pictures, and & adding cute baubles.

That also left too big of a mess everytime I tried to drag my stuff out.

 

Tonight I let Natalie spoon feed herself.

This week, I swear, she has started using more words & really showing her BIG personality!
I LOVE IT!

 

Words she now says at almost 14months:

dada

mama

HI!

ball (over & over)

MOO

BAA

NEIGHHH

(are animal sounds considered words haha)

 

She says "itty" for RIBBY, our Beagle

 

I usually get called "itty" as well! Hmpf!

(unless she is saying Mommy is "itty bitty," well then that's ok)

 

& a couple of times she has said "tank you"

 

Here is the adorable video of her trying to spoon feed herself!

 

 

 

"Tank You",

Melissa-

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Surprise Christmas Cake!

Just when I had chalked this lousy work day up as a loss,

there it was. Sitting on my doorstep. Waiting for me.

It seems a little early this year for it to be arriving, but I welcomed this little piece of happiness with open arms!

This is the 3rd year in a row we have received one of these 'Cakes by Jane."  We moved into our house in October & come December the first one of these suckers showed up!

Actually it showed up for the old home owners. I didn't know what to do with it.  So, we called our realtor to ask them what the previous owners would like.
 I just figured that they would come pick it up or something.
I felt bad that the old owners were missing out on this deliciousness!

Okay, I felt bad for like a day. The realtor told us the owners said not to worry about it and enjoy it.
It looks like they belong to some type of association that sends them out each year.  

Now here we are three years later & we are still receiving it. I always forget about it until it shows up.

Mmmmmhmmmm! Get in my Belly!

This year we will be trying out the Chocolate Cream Cheese PoudCake!

This has now become a little holiday tradition that always gives us a good laugh! How long will this go on? I mean at this point if the previous owners really missed their cake they would call the company right? 

I guess until then, we will make sure it get's well taken care of...

Merry Christmas to Meee!

UPDATE: I JUST HAD A SLICE & BIT INTO A PIECE OF EGGSHELL...

CAKE KARMA...?!!?

 

LATA ALLIGATA-

MELISSA-

MistleTOES!

 

I am completely positive I am not the only one out there that is addicted to Pinterest. Poor Andy Pants is constantly being dragged into my next "project." "Please cut this, build that...etc," he is such a great sport. 
Honestly, I think he just enjoys using his power tools.

Anywhoo, I knew right now would be my best chance to get some of the pins done that require Natalie's little feet or hand prints. She has the perfect tiny little feet to use for "paint your own pottery!"

These plates and bowl I painted will look familiar if you 

are a frequent "pinner' like muah! 

I just HAD to do them, & I think they turned out fabulous if I do say so myself! 

My new Halloween Candy Dish! 

Little Witch Feet!

The sides of the bowl say, "Trick or Treat, Smell my Feet" 

 

 

This is my new Christmas Cookie Plate....hopefully it's not weird to serve Christmas treats on my kids green toes! HA! HA! HA! HO! HO! HO!

Here is Natalie admiring her work!

 

 

This is the other plate I made for my step-mother for her birthday! She loves Christmas & she can't pass up a cute Holiday Moose! So we made her this one!

( I forgot to take a pic of this plate before I gave it to her...I stole this one from her FB page)

 

 

The only thing I was disappointed about with this one is the blue eyes didn't turn out as blue as I had hoped for. I still think it's pretty stinkin' cute though!

You are never quite sure how the colors will turn out when you are working on these types of projects. Below are pics of the plates before they had been glazed & fired. Every bit of color on the plate is actually 3 coats!  I was a bit of a Grinch by the time I was done....patience isn't my best quality somedays.

 

If you are wondering how I got those perfect prints of Miss Natalie's little tootsies....well, I waited for her to have sugar plums dancing in her head. :) If you decide to do something like this ask if you can take some paint home with you so you can work on it. It was so nice to not feel rushed. I also had this fear of her running around the studio kicking her green feet all over their walls!

 

I know there will be plenty more holiday projects in our future!

Maybe Natalie will even be awake for the next one :)

 

 

LATA ALLIGATA-

MELISSA

 

GOBBLE GOBBLE!

So, did ya'll gobble 'till ya wobbled?!

I hope everyone had a wonderful turkey day!

We really enjoyed ourselves. My mom always out does herself with all the fixin's. We went to my grandparents house that was an hour away for the day. My grandmother is having some health issues, so it was much easier for us to all come to her this year. I took some photos of Miss Natalie throughout the day, but it was actually a lot easier to just whip the flipcam out and video her.

She is a quick lil' thing nowadays! Much easier to just film her sometimes.

 

Enjoy the pictures & please check out the video at the end as well. The video is clips throughout the day & at the end is me gearing up for some black friday madness & also I show you all the goodies I picked up!

We had a great 4 day weekend in all. Natalie even got to help us pick out our Christmas tree at the tree farm. Ok, she slept during the actual cutting of the tree but she was there in her dreams :)

I am in the process of editing those pics/video now.

 

 

My Thanksgiving Turkey Bunny!

Silly Kids!

She was too excited about those sticks!

trying on momma's jewelry

Walking through the grapevines.

"You better watch my video," she says!

(I LAUGH EVERYTIME I SEE THE THUMBNAIL TO THIS VIDEO! MY FACE=HAHA)


LATA ALLIGATA-
MELISSA

Dear Santa, Panasonic Lumix G-5!

I am not usually one to enter any giveaways, but I could not pass this chance up! As I was scrolling through my reading lists & catching up on some blogs, I came across this awesome review/giveaway from The Small Things Blog!!

 

 

How awesome is this camera!?! EEK! I need this guy in my life.. like right now!

image from www.panasonic.com

 

Kate, from The Small Things Blog did a great review of this camera...& it has me seriously wanting to mark everything on my Christmas list off & just putting this on there! I am no photographer but I LOVE taking pictures and pretending I am. I am crazy over the fact it has these awesome filters already built into it. I am usually stuck with my iphone using the instagram app. to change up my photos....& having a one year old I am constantly snapping pics of her. I also love that it is a great size. Lord knows one more bulky thing couldn't possibly fit in my diaper bag....

 

I am keeping my fingers and toes crossed that Santa can bring me one if I don't win.

Oh & Santa Baby, I forgot to mention one little thing.....free shipping until Dec. 31, 2012!!

Let's Play Catch Up!!

... I told myself that I would make it a point to get at least one blog post up a week!

shame face...

 

So let's catch up on what the hell-O has been going on with the daysofdennis!

I guess I should just start with the MAIN reason my itty bitty corner of the

blog world has been neglected!

 

It was a dark & stormy Halloween night. Ok, not really but it was Halloween night. We really had no plans at all. I didn't even have a "costume" for Miss Natalie to dress up in b/c I knew she was too little for any real trick or treating. I did have a cute little cowgirl "costume" a friend of the family had given us before she was even born. It worked out perfectly! It even came with the cutest boots too!

 

 

She was having so much fun pulling candy out of Lloyd's head!

 

 

 

 

Some days I still cannot believe I have a little red-head.

 

After the candy cowgirl monster was done sorting the chocolate out for mommy we decided to head over to our neighbor friend's (Jeremy & Julie) house to hang out for a little bit & check out the other trick-or-treaters!

 

I tried to catch some cute pics of Natalie's "first" trick-or-treating with Auntie Julie.

 

She honestly could care less...she just wanted to run away from me the whole time...just a small glimpse of the rest of my life I'm sure ;)

 

 

 

Red-Head's UNITE!

 

It started getting pretty chilly outside so we decided to take the pumpkin head inside.

 

 

This is where the night made a turn for the worse. Natalie started walking around 10mnths, but she still gets around like a drunk girl downtown on a Friday night. She is pretty clumsy, & the fact that she loves to spin & get dizzy doesn't help. So, I know I probably have a quite a few nights like this night in my future....unfortunately.

 

We got inside & could not have been in for more than 10minutes when my sweet girl tripped and hit her lip perfectly on the corner of our friend's coffee table. I knew as soon as I heard her go down that it wasn't going to be pretty. When I say it bled...OH MY did it bleed.

She hit it just right that it cut a huge gash in her lip.

 I knew we had to get to the emergency room with a quickness.

I was a flustered mess! I DO NOT DO WELL WITH INTENSE SITUATIONS!!

& to top it off Andy & I were dressed like elves! I mean really...is this happening right now??

 

The bleeding actually stopped pretty quickly & we were able to run home & change clothes. She only cried for about 10mins. I was shocked b/c it looked horrible!

 

The next part of this story I hate to even relive. I will just say no mother/parent should ever have to see her baby go through anything that makes them hurt. Helping with four other nurses hold my sweet baby girl down while they gave her 5 stiches in her lip was probably more traumatic for me than her...but still is something I pray never has to be done again!!!

 

She passed out from pure exhaustion once they were done. I even had my fair share of tears as well. It was a long night with her to say the least. No one got any sleep. I even stayed home from work to snuggle her all day.

 

She has healed so quickly & it is looking great. If you follow me on instagram (missnat11) you can see updated pics of her & see that she is completely fine.

I know it could have been so much worse. She could have hit or eye or something else crazy.

(I'm trying to find the silver lining here...ya feel me?!)

 

Anywhoo- after that it just seemed like I couldn't catch up with anything. Plus I was deep in the middle of my training for my half marathon (which I plan on posting up next).

 

OH & here is that silly video of us from the zombie walk I mentioned as well.
Natalie was such a good sport she laughed at everyone she was around.
My child has an odd sense of humor! :)
(beware: lots of fake blood- ya know...zombie stuff!)

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for sticking around! & I pinky-promise to do better :)

 

 

LATA ALLIGATA-

MELISSA

 

 

 



 

 

FALL BUCKET LIST

 

So, I signed myself up to do this little Fall Bucket List. The adorable Marie, whom I first started following through her vlogs, check her out here, has put together this fun little challenge.

 

First Up! My favorite MEAL.

Actually I have to be honest, I don't really have a go to "FALL" meal that I always look forward to making. The only thing I could think of was chili, but I'm definitely NOT winning any chili cook-offs with my version.  However, I do enjoy baking this time of year. I thought I would share my favorite baked good.

It would be the oh so delicioso PUMPKIN ROLL.

It is a well known recipe but I just LOVE IT!! I always look forward to making it.

Here is a few pics of me putting mine together.

 

 

I may have to go get another piece out of the fridge after putting these pics up. I am obsessed with pumpkin, but add some cream cheese in the mix.....AhhhMazing!

 

 

BUCKET LIST ITEM #2 DRINK

I so look forward to this time of year because of the seasonal yumminess that Starbucks offers. I am not a serious coffee drinker, actually I never drink it. Here is the problem I have with it...It's not the smell or "taste" that is an issue. I actually have no clue how to make it. Is that the most ridiculous reason you have ever heard ? I mean I can make a pot of coffee, but when it comes to mixing and adding stuff...I get flustered & poor it out. I envy those of you who can walk up in there and rattle of some crazy order. It is totally intimidating to me. So, I get stuck ordering off of the easy menu :)

Insert my favorite lil' dranky drank here!

The PUMPKIN Spice Frapp.

 

I love the cold, smooth, pumpkin yumminess this little guy has all wrapped

up in it's TALL size body.

(and of course I want whip cream on top...did they really have to ask?!)

 

 

BUCKET LIST ITEM #3 OUTFIT

 My go to outfit is a nice pair of fitted jeans with some tall boots & a super comfy sweater.

 

 Boots & Jeans: Target

 

 

 Sweater is from Old Navy! I love that thing!

 

 

 

 

Can't get enough of the red in those leaves. I wish I could pull those trees up and plant them all in my front yard. I'm sure my hubby would love to have more leaves to rake up!! hehe

 

 

BUCKET LIST ITEM #4 Activity

Our sweet lil' family started a new tradition this year. I was dreaming about this last year, but my baby girl was so small we had to go to a small little pumpkin patch near our house.

She was born in early October with "orange" hair...she is truly my little pumpkin head.

 

 

Natalie's first Halloweenie dressed as a skeleton.

 

This year we got to take her to a bigger venue with tons of pumpkins & tons of fun!

This will be an activity I will look forward to the most I think every year. What a perfect day.

Check out our whole day HERE!

 

 

 

 

 BUCKET LIST ITEM #5

Make-up

 

 

Sorry it is not the best pic, but I would say my colors for fall are a lot of greens & browns. They compliment my hazel colored eyes. The colors are from an old Nars sample I was given (sorry no name on them) & then I add bareMinerals glimpse color "Peacock." It is a pretty shimmery green.

 

 

 

 

I know this isn't make-up, but being a nail tech I had to throw in a pretty

nail color that is fitting for fall.

This is an Essie color I picked up at Target: "Wrapped in Rubies"

 

 

BUCKET LIST ITEM #6

 This last item on the Bucket List kind of stumped me. I did not get a chance to pull out any of my "Fall" decor this year because we have been non-stop this month. I have started really trying to get this blog going, train for a half-marathon that is in 2wks EEK, celebrate 6 birthdays, 1 baby shower, & all the those other little adventures that fell in between!

However, our old friend Lloyd always makes an appearence this time of year regardless.

He is our candy holder, & one of my favorite pieces of holiday "decor" this time of year! I am calling him decor ok...so just go with K?!

 

 

He may look spooky with that mischievous smile on face...but don't be alarmed! I mean he is holding a sweet pumpkin face & has CANDY coming out of his head. Well, ok that is a little creepy but we love him & I love handing candy out of his head for the trick-or-treaters!

 

 

Marie thank you so much for putting this fun bucket list together for everyone. I have really enjoyed every bit of it. I can't get enough of all the FALL FUN to be had!

 

Thanks for stopping by, & comment below on what it is you order from Starbucks!

I may have to write it down to order it, but I will need something new when my pumpkin treat goes away....sad face!

 

LATA ALLIGATA-

MELISSA

OH MY PUMPKIN!

Oh Pumpkin Patch, Oh Pumpkin Patch, thy colors are so unchanging...

 

Well, the day had finally come & we were up & at 'em super early to get going. I know Natalie had no clue where we were going, & Andy Pants probably wasn't quite as excited as I was.

 I think I held enough excitement for all three of us.

 

I couldn't wait to see Natalie's face when she saw all of the pumpkins we were going to let her run around. I was so proud of us getting out the door on time, picking up Auntie Kelly, & getting there just as they were opening. Not only was the weather PERFECT, but we had the whole place practically to ourselves. Which meant awesome photo ops for us!

I am no professional photographer but I LOVE taking photos.

 I hope you enjoy looking at these, as much as I did taking them...

 

 

I was in pumpkin HEAVEN!

 If you haven't already read it (here) , then you wouldn't know

what a PUMPKIN head I really am!  

 

 

We set her down & she was off!! Finally someone was as excited as I was!

 

 

 

It's like Where's Waldo of the Pumpkin Patch. She blends in perfectly!

 

 

 

Me & My Boo!

 

 

I love that she is starting to not try & put everything she picks up in her mouth.

HAAAY girl you're getting dirty!

 

Pumpkin Heads!

 

 

 

Yup Girl Drivers!

 

 

 Now the FUN was really about to start.

They had this thing called the Jumping Pillow!

Kelly & I had so much fun on this thing. (As you can see in the pics below)

I want one for Christmas Andy Pants..K?! Thanks!

 

 

THEN IT WAS MOMMA'S TURN!!!

 

 

HIGH FIVE TO THE FACE!

 

 

Andy Pants had to drag us off of this thing so we could do the corn maze & all the other boring stuff..hehehe We really could have jumped all dang day!

 

 

Andy Pants & Natalie conquering HAY MOUNTAIN!

 

CORN MAZE!!

KELLY WAS OUR GUIDE!

Auntie Kelly took too long to get us out, so Nat took a Nap!

 

After the corn maze, we all pretty much needed a nap. It really was a dream come true getting to take my sweet pun'kin head to the pumpkin patch. I loved seeing her light up running around everywhere. I will never forget these moments with her. I am getting all excited just thinking about the years to come & all the different memories we will make as she gets older.

 

This past weekend was jammed pack full of FUN events.

We actually participated in a ZOMBIE WALK on Sunday with friends. I have some fun pics & a great little video to go along with that I will post soon!

(I may save it for Halloweenie...MUhahahha)

 

stay tuned!

 

LATA ALLIGATA-

MELISSA