Cars

This week has been all about Cars 2 for us. It actually came on Halloween, the day before I got Cam back from his Dad. When we got home on Tuesday evening, he was so very excited to see the Cars 2 Blu Ray sitting on the coffee table waiting for him. I seriously have not seen that child so excited in so long. It was totally worth the wait.



He literally did not eat dinner because he was so excited and engrossed. This child loves him some Cars.

We have also been reading two Cars books that he owns. The Cars golden book and a Scholastic Cars book I ordered through his preschool recently. I bought him a Christmas Cars book, but shhh, don't tell. That's for when we are closer to Christmas. ;)

Last night, Cam sat on his potty seat, of course he has a Cars one, and went potty on it for the first time. I was so so proud. I'm pretty sure the potty chart I am going to make will need to have Cars on it too. If only there was a Cars potty book. :)

What is your kiddo into right now?

Around the Apartment: Cameron's Room

I know I keep saying I'm going to show photos of our apartment, so I decided I'd start a little series here so you can see our new home in different posts. :) I decided we will start with Cam's room.

Here's a peek:



As you can see, it's ALL about Cars. :) I did the decals over his bed and he did the ones over his little table. I put the decals up higher than I would have liked, but I did it so Cam wouldn't peel them off all the time. ;) I'm making an effort to do more creative things here at home with him. I helped him paint some pictures on that table the other day. We have his bed from his old room here. He has a growth chart my mom embroidered on the wall, along with a birth announcement thing we purchased from the hospital when he was born. Cam and I colored that big Rex picture together that is on his wall. He has a bookshelf and a stuff animal net on the other wall that's not shown. He has two windows and I am so jealous because his room gets the most light in the whole apartment. :)

So there you have it. A little peek and a lot of ramblings. ;) I don't have too many handmade things in there yet, but that is something I definitely want to do. I'm thinking about making some curtains soon. I think it will make it feel a lot more homey. And also cut down on the light during sleep time... not that it bothers him. :) What's something you did in your child's room that you really love?

Necklace Hanger

I got crafty again last weekend and made a necklace hanger I saw on Pinterest with the help of my awesome, handy boyfriend. :)

Here's my take on it:



Sorry for the not-so-great photo. It's hard to take indoor photos at night with a cell phone. ;) I'll try to get a better one soon with Daphne. :)

On to the next Pinterest craft!

Pumpkin Patch

Saturday was a lovely day for pumpkin picking! I had planned on Cam and I getting our photos taken, but we had a change of plans so I decided to plan something fun for us to do. I remembered I wanted to take him to the pumpkin patch because I wanted it to be something we did every year. So we got up in the morning and headed to the patch!



We had a really good time and are going back this weekend with my mom. Here were our picks:

On Being A Single Mom

If I said our lives were not very different from when I was still married, I would be lying big time. However, I have found that there have been some things that have come much easier than I expected. No one goes into a marriage with the thought of "this could end", but I know that through out my marriage I thought about how lucky I was to have someone there to (somewhat) help me with Cam, dinner (we ate out a lot), and grocery shopping (WHY did we even grocery shop? We ate out so much). When we decided to divorce, I imagined it would be much harder taking care of Cam than it really is. His dad worked a lot. There were days he would be gone 12+ hours, and he wouldn't get to see Cam before he went to bed. That was pretty rough to be with him by myself all day. That was also before I started working, but I find I'm just as tired or more after working all day than when I was staying home with him. There are times when I'm just "done" with the terrible twos, but I can't ever actually be done because there's no one to take over now. For the most part the actual caring for Cameron part is about as equal as before though.

I worry about money way more now. There isn't the comfort of having that larger second income now. There have been oh so many times if I wondered if I did the right thing, getting divorced. But I realize how much more peaceful our lives are, and I know it's right no matter what sacrifices I have to make.

The one thing that really gets to me kind of came as a surprise to me. It's the doing things by ourselves now stuff that really gets to me. It's seeing other families together when we're out at the grocery store. It's the wondering of how I'll handle the holidays this year being by myself, without Cameron here, on Christmas morning. We went to the Pumpkin Patch yesterday, and we had a lot of fun picking out our pumpkins. As we left though, I realized we were about the only ones there that weren't a family with a Dad part there. It wasn't a big deal. I didn't cry or anything, but those are the times that it just kind of hits me.

Sometimes I wonder if we'll ever have a Dad part around again... but that's a whole other blog post. ;)

Element Monogram

I followed this tutorial today to make an E monogram for our dining area after I saw the photo of it on Pinterest earlier this week. It's the first bit of decor for that wall. :) The only thing I did differently was I used the Avenir font for ours instead of Helvetica.

A Blog About Blogging... And Stuff!

I miss blogging.

It was something that was a very large part of my life when I was staying at home with Cam. I enjoyed doing reviews for different websites, posting recent scrapbook projects, and other life randomness. I shared a lot on my old blog. Since my divorce, I have shared a lot less about my life except with those I am closest to. I'm pretty sure some people still don't know I'm divorced, actually. I am in a very different place in my life now than I was even 6 months ago. At the end of the day though, I control what I share here and I think it's silly to sacrifice something I like doing. So I made this blog public, and I'll just share what I want when I want. I don't have a lot of time since I work full time and go to school full time, but I want to make an effort to at least post once a week. (Someone hold me accountable for this! ;)

We have quite a bit going on around here right now. I've been at my job almost 7 months now and I still love it. I often say that they are going to have to drag me out of the place before I'll leave. ;) There are days that I am frustrated, of course, but it is so rare to find a place to work that you love so much. I have learned so much, and I am so grateful I applied for that job online in March and that I stuck it out through those first few weeks when I wasn't sure what I was doing.

Cameron is doing great. He loves his preschool and I love it even more than he does, I think. He has the best teachers and has learned SO much since starting there in June. He is working on potty training now. So far he has gone 3 out of the 4 days he's been there this week. :) I am so proud of him. He knows a lot of his numbers and ABC's, and he knows a lot of animals and their sounds. I worried about him being behind when he started in his new class, but he is doing so well!

All in all, we are happy with our new life here in our apartment! :) Hopefully I'll get it together enough (and tidied enough) to show it off to you all sometime in the near future. ;)

Fall Fashion

Cam and I went shopping tonight for some fall clothes for him since it has cooled off so much. I didn't even have any jeans for him! All we had were shorts and t-shirts. While we were there, I decided to grab a few hoodies for him to so we are more prepared when it gets even cooler.

Here's some of what we bought:

We also got 4 pairs of pants and a jacket for Cam too. (And a Clifford book and a Thomas the Train toy because he really wanted a green "choo choo" and we don't have any choo choos yet here at the apartment.) :) Are you ready for fall?

Cameron's School

Cameron switched daycares back in June. We were having problems at the other daycare with a child biting. And even after Cameron had been there for 4 months, I still wasn't feeling good about the daycare. Sometimes I would come in and Cameron would just be sitting in the corner. I could tell he wasn't very happy there. They took okay care of him, but okay was not good enough for us. We were also a bit concerned that he wasn't learning as much as he could. Although it was a bit sad leaving, I am SO glad we put him in this new daycare.

The new daycare has been wonderful! Every time I get there, Cameron is playing and he seems really happy. He has started talking more and he can even count to 10 now. He recently switched rooms and although I was a little concerned about the transition, he has done awesome. He is still able to see his friends from the old room sometimes because they all have play times together. They have started working on potty training with him and he's been sitting on the potty sometimes even though he hasn't gone on the potty yet. They have an actual classroom curriculum, like a school, where they learn new things all the time. I'm so thankful we were able to put him in the one of the best daycares in the area. Here are some photos of his new room (they even have class pets - fishies! :)

Cameron's cubby :)

Fantastic Friday

Joining in with Fantastic Friday with Elle the Heiress this week again. :)

Cameron and I had a really good week this week. He was really a very good boy and I was really proud of him. Especially since he started going to a new class at school. He really likes his new teachers and I'm thankful that this transition has been so smooth. I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that at the end of the day, his old class and new class play together.

I took Cameron to his second baseball game ever, and the first one with Mama. We had a lot of fun even though we didn't stay for the whole game.

 Got a book I've wanted for a long time this week for only $3!

 I got all of our digital scrapbook pages that I had completed printed a while back. I was finally able to get them into our albums tonight. I'm so excited to have completed another album for Cam and our family album (with the three of us) completed. I guess I'll need to buy a new album for Cam soon, however, Project Life will be our family album from now on.

Tomorrow we are off to my parents house. I'll be doing laundry and homework, most likely. :)

A Fresh Start

Hi friends! :)

Long time, no blog. We are finally settling in to our new lives here in our apartment and I was thinking about how much I miss blogging. I've thought a lot about it lately, but just couldn't decide what to blog about. So much has happened since my previous blogs here and since I stopped writing on my public blog. I haven't felt like writing in forever, or doing anything creative really. My Project Life and scrapbooks have just sat collecting dust, and my scrapbook stuff is still packed from the move for the most part. Aside from one box I dubbed the "everything box" we are completely unpacked and settled. I am adding little decor accents here and there now and I'm having so much fun! I love that our walls are all white and it's been so much fun decorating and putting things wherever I want! I will take photos of the apartment soon so you can see. It's not "done" by any means, but I think it'd be nice for you to take a peek. :)

Cameron is doing really well with everything. We have a few meltdowns every once in a while, but we're adjusting. He is doing amazing at daycare, and we both really love his new daycare. He just moved up to the 2 and 3 year old class on Tuesday, where they work on potty training! (I'm so not ready for potty training.) His new class has pet fishies and he seems to be settling in well.

Work has been going well. I got promoted again last month and the girl training me is finally leaving on Friday, so I will finally be taking over my desk all by myself on Monday. There have been frustrating parts about being a trainee again, but I am thankful that I had so much time to learn everything. I feel very comfortable where I am now.

We've had a very busy summer and I hope to give you some glimpses of it soon as I catch up on Project Life. That poor scrapbook has been ignored since at least the second week of June. Yikes!

Before I go, I'll share a photo I took of Cam the other day with you! :)



I promise I'll write again very soon! Miss you all! :)

Hello again, Blackberry.

I had to say goodbye to my iPhone recently and it has been SUCH an adjustment. I got a Blackberry and although I really like some things (hello NO autocorrect!!), I wish other parts were a little better (hello not-as-awesome camera). Oh well. In a few years, I'll get the newest, coolest iPhone. Who knows what it will be like then! :)

Here are a few photos I took with my Blackberry (and played with in Picnik) from our trip down to the campground last weekend:

Snacking on Goldfish

Napping with Whalington :)

Taking his Cars for a ride in his stroller. :)

just us.

I have thought a lot about what it will be like to be a single mom recently. It will be the first time I have really ever lived all by myself (I'll have Cam of course, but he's not an adult :). I am actually looking forward to having our own place and decorating it how we want and doing whatever we want to when we want to. I don't worry about actually caring for Cam by myself because I'm pretty much used to that. The financial aspects of the situation scare me, but I know it will all work out and that God will take care of us. I have a very strict budget set for when we are finally able to move out, and I have already been saving money for us. I've been trying to pack up what I can of our stuff so that when we can move out and find a place, we are pretty well ready.

I will be sad to leave this house after being here for 3 years, but I think I will also be relieved when we can leave. Since I didn't help pick it out, this house has, in some ways, not felt like home to me. But since we have decided to get divorced, it really doesn't feel like home anymore. I am trying to be patient, but I am so ready for Cam and I to move on. I'm just ready for it to be over with.

Weekends

Cameron and I have been going to visit my parents every weekend on Saturdays. A few weekends ago they were camping in their new camper testing everything out before their upcoming vacation. We decided to go down to the campground and hang out with them. Cam had so much fun! We took him to the playground there too and he loved it. (He would hardly put his cars down though to play.) I really enjoy getting out of the house on Saturdays with him. Here are a few photos from our trip down there a few weekends ago. (I promise to have more new photos very soon!) :)

He loves his Cars!

A trip to see Cars 2 is in our very near future. :)

A New Chapter

Cameron and I are starting a new chapter in our lives and I wanted to document it somewhere. It has become really hard for me to do anything (namely work on my project life) except go to work, figure out dinner and do some house work before I go to bed and do it all over again.

Since I have started working a lot of changes have taken place in our household. A new job, a new car, new friends, etc. Most of the time, I am able to keep myself together. I've actually felt very confident and peaceful throughout this period.

There is no easy way to tell people about the new change I am going through though. There is no easy way to tell your family and friends you are getting a divorce. (It could be part of the reason why I'm not into my project life scrapbook right now.) I am accepting that it is all part of God's plan for my life though. I have had a few 'moments', but I've been okay with it for the most part. I've known it was coming for quite a while.

I am doing really well at my new job and have been told so by the people I've worked closely with for the past month. I really love where I work and it feels so nice to be appreciated in the workplace and have normal work hours without being called in constantly. It's something I haven't experienced in a long time.

I'm enrolled in classes to finish my degree and am beyond excited to hopefully have my Bachelor's degree in a few years.

Yes, this new chapter will be hard but it will be so worth it. At the end of the day I remind myself why I'm doing it and I don't even question myself for a second:



I am having faith.