From Ashley to Awesome

High Five For Friday

Posted by Ashley Elizabeth March 15, 2013

Happy Friday. I had quite an exhausting week. I'm pretty sure I could go to bed now and sleep through most of tomorrow. I'm pretty happy that we don't have quite so much on the agenda for next week. Here is a little recap, linking up with Lauren at From My Grey Desk.

1. We had some pretty great weather here in Oregon this past week, and the little ones and I took full advantage of it. We ran around outside, played ball, blew bubbles, drew with sidewalk chalk and had races in the yard. I'm so excited for spring weather. I love that one day it will be pouring and the next it will be beautiful.

2. We picked the first daffodil of spring. I walked into the kitchen to find Amelia taking a big whiff of the flower, which led to my #3 recap of the week...

3. Another sign spring has arrived... Amelia's allergies are here in full force. Poor girl!

4. I got some craft projects done. Look for this one on the blog later on this week.

5. We spent last Saturday at my Grandma's house. I love the relationship that Amelia has with her Great Grandma, and I love how much time and how many memories we get to make with her.

Happy Weekend! Tonight we are going to a local Beauty and the Beast play... if LivingSocial will fix the problem with my vouchers!!!

Ashley Elizabeth

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High Five for Friday

Posted by Ashley Elizabeth March 08, 2013

Happy Friday! I'm looking forward to a weekend of crafting! I have a few projects that MUST get done. Here is a quick recap of my week, linking up with Lauren over at From My Grey Desk.

1. I managed to keep my hair curly all day, without it falling. This was after 9 hours of chasing 4 little ones around my house. I have incredibly fine hair so the fact that it stays this way for so long is awesome. I will post about the miracle product I use another day.

2. We've managed to take advantage of the two nice days of weather this week. Trips to the park, walks to the local cafe, playing in the yard and sitting on the front porch.

3. Amelia drew me an awesome picture while we were cleaning our craft/play room. I love all of the little creatures she draws.

4. Amelia and I made no bake cookies for the first time ever. They taste good but are a little too crumbly for me. I think I will try a different recipe next time.

5. I love coloring dates with my girl. She definitely got her love of arts and crafts from me.

Well that's about it. Happy weekend.

Ashley Elizabeth

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Liebster Award Nomination

Posted by Ashley Elizabeth March 07, 2013

I was nominated for a Liebster blog award by Stephanie over at Die(t)ing to be a Skinny Bitch. Thank you so much for the nomination! The Liebster award is given to new or small blogs (under 200 followers). The Liebster Award isn't an actual award in the sense that you receive a certificate, prize, medal or statue of some sort; it is blog recognition from a fellow blogger. This is a great way to gain exposure for your blog and a sweet acknowledgment from the nominator. There are some incredible small blogs out there and I'm excited to have been nominated for this award. To qualify for the Liebster award you have to complete a few tasks and then pass this along to other new/small bloggers.

The Rules

List 11 random facts about yourself.
Answer the questions the tagger has set for you, then create 11 new questions for the bloggers you pass the award to.
Choose 11 new bloggers to pass the award to and link them in your post
Go back to their page and tell them about the award
No tag backs

11 Random Facts about Me, Ashley

In college I took writing courses for fun. I took all of the required classes, but then jumped up a couple of levels and took all of the 300 level and specialty courses because I love it.
Pride and Prejudice is my absolute favorite book, and probably one of my favorite movies (with Colin Firth). I first read the book when I was in 4th grade and immediately fell in love with it. Mr. Darcy secretly has my heart, but don't tell my husband.
As a child my favorite number was 88, and I always planned on having 88 children... until I became old enough to comprehend that. I think I will settle on 3, 4 or 6 or something like that (haha, I can see my husband rolling his eyes as I type this).
I lost 15 pounds during my pregnancy with Amelia since I was sick the entire time. It wasn't until after I had Amelia that a hormone imbalance really packed on the weight.
I have a friend named Ernest that resides on my tongue. Really, there is a ball that I've had on the left side of my tongue for years. Since he is apparently a permanent resident I decided to name him. The doctor wasn't concerned so I don't worry about it.
I don't know what I want to be when I grow up.
I dream of one day spending time in New York during the month of December.
I have no problem talking in front of several hundred people at a time.
I gag in really cold weather. I know... I'm a freak of nature, but it's true. If I am outside in the cold I always end up gagging. I ALWAYS wear a scarf so that I can shield my face. This is something that started after my pregnancy.
My all time favorite band is Disturbed.
I love make up. I'm a MAC addict and really had to change my shopping habits after having Amelia. Prior to mommyhood I could easily drop a couple hundred at the MAC counter each time I went.

Questions from Stephanie

What is your guilty pleasure? Chocolate and craft supplies
What is your favorite activity? Spending time with Amelia. My favs: reading to her every night, snuggling, tea parties, we have dance parties almost every day, do craft projects several times per week, go shopping, hit up the park, go for walks and always have a great time playing.
What is the one goal your are striving to achieve more then anything? to lose a lot of weight!
What is your favorite blog to read? I read four blogs regularly. Katie at Runs For Cookies, Mandy at Biblical Homemaking, Kate at The Small Things Blog and Lauren at From My Grey Desk.
What are you most proud of accomplishing? I'm most proud of the mother I've become and the decision my husband and I made when I became a stay at home mom. I am in awe of the little person Amelia has become and I love how Mark and I parent.
What is the most spontaneous thing you have ever done? I must be boring because I can't think of anything incredibly spontaneous that I've done. I guess ditching class almost weekly for an entire term to drive over an hour one way to the beach with my friend Brian. We never planned it, he often just met me outside of my class and asked if I wanted to go to the beach... and I always thought it was a good idea. What college kid wouldn't want to head to the beach immediately following math, biology, chemistry etc.
What silly thing do you do behind closed doors? Mark, Amelia and I can get goofy. We dance, make funny faces, talk in funny voices, put on silly make up... it's always a good time here at our house.
What is your all time favorite song? Oh wow, this is a hard question for me. I love almost every genre of music, with the exception of jazz. A few of my favorites... 'Down with the Sickness' - Disturbed, 'Falling Slowly' - Glen Hansard and Marketa Iglova, 'Time to say Goodbye' - Andrea Bocelli and Sarah Brightman
What is your idea of a perfect day? Spending the day with my amazing little family. It doesn't really matter what we do, it's spending time with one another that makes it perfect.
What chore do you hate more than anything? The litter box!
What is your favorite nail color? It has to be french tips on my toes and a rose color for my fingers.

Questions for my nominee

Why do you blog?
If you could spend one day as any famous person, who would you choose and why?
What is your favorite movie, television show and book?
If you could go anywhere, money not an issue, where would you go and why?
Siblings... how many, if any, do you have?
What is your New Year's resolution for 2013?
Favorite meal?
What is one luxury you are willing to live without?
What is your favorite childhood memory?
Favorite band? Favorite song?
What is your dream job and why?

My Nominees: in no particular order

Ashley Elizabeth

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Squirrels in Love

Posted by Ashley Elizabeth March 06, 2013

I know I've written about the tenants in our attic, but lately they have been going crazy. I think it must be the rain that is keeping them indoors, making them run laps up in the attic. I say they/them because I recently, as in just a few moments ago, realized that it was not one squirrel we were dealing with, but a pair of squirrel lovers. They were just running about on the branches of the tree outside our window, playing chase, before I heard them both run back into the attic. I've posted the first picture before, but the second was what I saw when I came out of the craft room this morning. Amelia and Rudy are fascinated with our friends and they are so incredibly loud that even on the first floor we can hear them as if they are chewing through the walls (our home is 2 stories). I wonder if we will have to capture them and take them when we move.

Amelia, Rudy and the Squirrel all staring at one another

Amelia and Rudy listening to the squirrel running around in the wall/attic

Perhaps they wouldn't stick around if we stopped feeding them; I just have a hard time telling Amelia she can't give them food anymore.

Today has been a great day. I think I'm finally getting into a schedule that works for the little ones and I, although I could go to bed earlier than I have been. Tonight we are going to look at a rental. We aren't quite ready to buy yet so we want to find a place we can stay in until that time comes. Our current house is large which I like, but it needs a lot of work and our landlord isn't the most attentive person. I am keeping my fingers crossed that the house we are looking at works out, but this neighborhood is quite popular and there are always TONS of people that look at each house.

Have a great evening all.

Ashley Elizabeth

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Family Photos Part 2

Posted by Ashley Elizabeth March 05, 2013

As promised in my previous family photos post... more pictures are here! Again, I can't stress how wonderful Kim is. She took the time to really get some amazing shots that showcase our family. Now comes the hard part, deciding which ones to hang. I'm guessing I will have a wall of family photos up now instead of just a few of the great shots. You can find Kim's blog here.

This was the mouse face she had to make while performing in the Nutcracker, and now we see it all of the time