spread the love

FYI: I'm participating in a Valentine's Exchange between bloggers (and maybe others). The exchange is being hosted by Adrianne from Happy Hour Projects. It's a great little way to celebrate the month of love and meet another blogger friend/regular friend.

Do you want to join?! I just signed up and am really excited. Ideas are already a-brewin' in this little preggo brain. (You don't have to be a blogger to sign up!)

The rules are to make and send a little care package for a special someone (you'll be paired up) and when February 14th comes around, you'll receive one to love. If you're interested in joining, click the button above and read more/sign up. Sign up ends January 20th. I'd love to have you join us!

excited.

Okay, so I think so major blog-excitement has hit me lately!!

Let me give you an update about why I'm pumped!

In the past week...
- Two of my projects were featured on blog parties. (here and here)
It was my first time, and I was way honored and WAY excited.
- My blog hit over 4,000 views.
Now, I understand that some of you real-life/big-time bloggers hit this many views in a day, but come on, a girl has to work her way up there...
- One of my projects was pinned on pinterest (among a few other projects) and was re-pinned 27 times.
Again, I know - not awesome for some of you out there, but for me - AWESOME! My blog traffic this week was sent largely from this pinning/re-pinning business; which means new readers!

I don't post this to brag about my blog or boast in it in any way, but just to share that I am really excited with the progress my blog has made in just a few months. And to tell you, this is only the beginning. This past week has been a real encouragement to keep going and keep being who I am/doing what I'm doing.

Thank you so much for reading. Thank you for spreading the word. Thank you for commenting.
 

featured [on here comes the sun.]

FYI: My burp cloth project is being featured today on Here Comes the Sun's Fabulous Friday.

Check it out.

Send her some love! :]

my wednesday.

Yesterday was a day in my life to be marked in the Alyssa history books. Believe me, when you read this, you won't think any special about my Wednesday. Maybe you'll actually feel sorry for me (and my lack of excitement a real life.)

Well, here it goes. It all started, well, normally - super long naptime during Henry's morning nap. (Believe me, that is a great way to start your everyday. It's the biggest benefit of the nanny career, especially being a pregnant nanny.) We played, we sang, we got annoyed of each other. All a normal day's work.

And then in the afternoon, we had a boo-boo. A big one. He... fell of the bed. On my watch. I have never felt so badly about anything I don't think. I also don't think I'll be able to stop being haunted by it. He was laying on his parents bed, resting, since he had woken up grumpy from an afternoon nap. I was in the other room (for 3 minutes) thinking he might actually go back to sleep. He was making those I'm-so-tired-I-am-going-to-sing-myself-to-sleep sounds, and I thought 'Yes, this is working.' And then, there was a I'm-on-the-move sound, and I panicked and headed to the hall only to hear that loud, deafening thump on the ground.

I mean, the boy only learned to crawl last week. And he doesn't make it look easy. He doesn't do it beautifully yet. He usually lays so still on the bed because it's so fluffy and comfy. But this time he didn't. And I'm to blame.

Oh, it was bad. But he was fine, just shocked, and only cried for 45 seconds. But I called his mom immediately and dreaded each ring while I waited for her to pick up.

I was the biggest loser, failure, jerk, idiot of a nanny. It was awful. I cried. I hugged Henry like never before and played whatever little games he wanted to play for the rest of the afternoon. He acted like he didn't know any differently. Thank you for your quick forgiveness Henry.

So that was that. Awful. And walking into the room today made me sick.

Well, then I got home and found my hunky husband snuggled up in bed with a book. It looked so comfy, amidst the rainy, blowy, nastiness I had just walked in from. So I grabbed my book, two cups of peach tea (of which I drank both), and snuggled right up with him to enjoy the warmth on a cold fall day.

It's wonderful how a cup of tea, book, and handsome hubby can erase your sorrows. Man, I love that man.

Taking a break from my book for a few minutes, I checked my emails and reader to see if any of my favorite bloggers had updated. And it was the best check I have ever made. I read this lovely lady's blog and found out that there was a winner for her latest giveaway, and that winner was ME!

I must admit, I enter myself into a lot of giveaways, especially lately, even if I only half want the prize. When entering, I think to myself 'They could always make good presents for... someone.' But this giveaway was not of the sort. She was featuring this hot mama's handcrafted etsy items - Lulu Wraps. Now, if you have received my Christmas list already for this year (well actually only my grandparents have) you would know that a Lulu Wrap was mentioned on Cubbie's list. I love Elle's blog and had already had my eye on these wraps for some time.

I was ecstatic to win not only a giveaway, but the one and only that I actually really wanted to win! YAY! I can't wait for that cute little wrap to arrive! Even better, I can't wait for a baby to be carried in that wrap, sitting so close to me. :]

Then last night I had a date night. No, unfortunately it was not with my handsome Mr. But instead, I met up with some friends from high school, Kate and Sarah, who go to school in Chicago. We met at a cute little Italian place called Vapiano that only opened 2 weeks ago. It was delicious. But even better, it was refreshing, so refreshing. Thank you, girls, for letting me share my probably absolutely boring stories, for laughing with me, for just simply being there with me. I haven't had many chances lately to just be one-of-the-girls, and it felt so good. Friends are good.

So that was my Wednesday. It was awful and wonderful and beautiful. Henry still loves me, and I most definitely still love him. We'll get through this haunting of the parents' bed incident. Other than that down fall (literally), it was a good Wednesday. And even though it was a cold, stormy, windy fall day yesterday, I still hold true to my absolute love for fall in Chicago. It's blissful and fresh.

with gentleness.

five.

The beginning of a new blog calls for an introduction. I thought I would share 5 things about me which each explain why I am back in the blogging world.

#1 I am newly married, newly relocated, and newly pregnant.
There has been a lot of new in my life within the last 8 months: a new city (Chicago), a new (first and only) husband (Mr. Allen), and a new baby on the way (who we adoringly call "Cubbie".)
This blog will help me remember to reflect on the newness, the action, the love, the life I am living, and it will give me an outlet in which to share it.

#2 I love reading blogs.
No really... I could (and do) spend all day reading your blogs. My list of blogs I follow is too long for anyone to really keep up with, but still I manage. And I really hate when my reader tells me I have no more unread posts. Can't you all just keep writing all day to keep me entertained?
I love the DIY blogs, the sewing blogs, the cute idea blogs, the cooking blogs, etc.
Let's face it - I'm hooked.
And I want to join the club. I want to be as cool as all those other moms out there with sweet crafts and activities and making their kids the cutest clothes. Yes, I love idolize your world.

#3 Although this baby is not out of the womb yet, I am a stay-at-home-mom. ...of sorts.
I am a full-time nanny. Yes, I signed up and went to school to be a teacher, but I spend my day with an infant, and that leaves me with plenty of stories, headaches, naptimes, and blogging time.
And I need to keep family and friends back home caught up with this baby's growth and arrival and cuteness.

#4 I passionately and with much failure follow my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
A lot of the bloggers I follow express their faith openly online, which I love. I will definitely be bold about that, and I hope that my blog will encourage you or challenge you, although the content may not be directly spiritually written.

#5 I inherited the best, most wonderful, vintage sewing machine a few months ago.
Since I had been following so many sewing blogs, I thought maybe this is for me. I do have a lot of time on my hands, and I think I might be creative enough. So I asked around for a machine to borrow for a bit to test out the waters. Instead, I inherited a wonderful sewing machine (built into its table) from the 50s, passed down from Mr. Allen's grandmother who recently passed away. What a joy it is to know that the machine is worth much more than money. And so far, I love it. So I will share some projects which I find steal from the wonderful world of bloggers out there.

Oh, and the name? Well, Mr. Allen's family is a bear sleuth (that's the official name of a group of bears, I googled it.) Each member has a bear-y name, and we love to be together as a complete sleuth bear family. Over the years of dating, I sort of inherited a bear name, but I think I've finally found it: little baby mama bear. Because I am no where near ready to fill the shoes of a mama bear (my two moms are way too amazing for me to think that I could do that), but this baby is coming, and I will gladly have it as mine. So I will be a little baby mama... bear.

with love.