Christmas 2013

Christmas is so much more fun with Sweet Em in our lives. 

 Every time she opened a present she said, "Oh my! Oh my!" which is her new favorite phrase thanks to the book, "There was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly". I can't get enough of her saying it...so hopefully that phrase sticks around for a while. :)

The big part that she didn't understand was opening more than one present. After she opened one, she wanted to play with it instead of opening more.

It was nice to not have to travel this holiday. Every other holiday for the past 5 years we have made the big trip from S.C. to Ohio and everything was always amazing {and really rushed}. This year - it almost didn't feel like Christmas because we weren't making plans to travel - weren't stressed out and packing.. and I didn't have to spend hours in my classroom getting everything ready for the new year.

We had a lot of family come in from out of town and this morning they all left. The house is definitely quiet and I'm a little sad that it's all over. We are still living with my parents because we just can't find a house we both love! It's been a blessing.. because we have somewhere to stay mortgage free.. but at the same time - it's been a hard adjustment. Sweet Em loves it though.

I still feel like we are living in limbo.. not really settling in here, but not really knowing where we are going to end up. I wish that I could just get past it and enjoy the time I have at my parent's house - but it's hard to keep perspective at times. I miss the little life we used to have.. I miss living in more than two bedrooms, I miss Saturday mornings together as a little family at the beach and Charleston... and I still miss Summerville and the people there a lot.

Even though life has been a little {off} for me lately.. I still know how blessed I am. An amazing hubby.. and perfect daughter. A family that supports me and a new school and community close to home where everyone has been so sweet. Not to mention a group of kindergarten students that make me smile every day {even if they are a little crazy}.

It's easy to lose perspective - and miss everything we used to have.. but it's also pretty easy to get it back.. especially when you have memories like this.

P.S. - Don't let this picture fool you - Em was terrified of Big Hugs Elmo for the first 30 minutes. Ha! :) 

Hope you all had an amazing holiday with family & friends! Xo.

Eek! Life is Crazy.

Hey Everyone!

I'm on my lunch break at school and I just wanted to write a quick post to tell y'all that I miss you! I miss blogging.. and I miss the memories I was documenting while I was doing a better job. Life has been crazy. We have moved back to Ohio and let me tell you.. I underestimated how hard it is to MOVE! Not even physically.. that was annoying.. but emotionally.

Let's just say I've been an emotional wreck. Well.. not a wreck.. all of the time at least. But It's definitely more like a roller coaster. My poor husband. :) Haha.

Anyway - I'm doing a guest post over on Strawberry Swings and Other Things. Erinn is amazing! If you don't already follower her blog, you definitely should!

We've been busy going to pumpkin patches and enjoying all things fall. I will say - that is something I missed with living in Summerville. You REALLY get the seasons in Ohio.. which makes me terrified for winter.

A few teachers said that SNOW is in the forecast for next week. {Say What?!} I seriously can't handle that.

Xoxo.

Greener Grass

Hey Blog Friends!

I know.. I know. It's a new theme that I start out every blog post with {Wow..it's been way too long!}.I was doing so well with posting all of the time and with the craziness of this summer blogging has definitely taken a back seat.

Thank you all for your sweet comments about our big move. It still feels like we are on a long vacation.. and not actually gone. I've been missing my sweet friends in South Carolina and our little life that we built there... a lot lately. Friends are still checking up on me all of the time and it means the world. We relied on so many people in S.C to be our family.. and now that they aren't close to us, I feel like something is missing. I don't know if anyone reading this has ever moved close to their hometown after being gone for a while.. but it's a big adjustment! Even though it's a place I've known my whole life and my family is here.. it just doesn't feel quite like home yet.

With that said.. I'm not being very fair! We've only been here for a few weeks and haven't even started our new jobs yet. :) I'm sure it will start to feel like home once we are an active part of the community.

Em is having a blast. Between weekends at the lake and unlimited space to run - she's set. She knows my parents by name now and just loves them. She screams and runs when they get home and looks for them when she wakes up in the morning.. especially when Mimi has graham crackers. :) The move is all worth it when we put things into perspective.

Another perk is the backyard. Wow. We moved from a tiny backyard in a neighborhood to acres and acres in the country. :) We play A LOT outside.. and Em has adjusted to her little farm girl life pretty quickly {especially when it comes to playing in the dirt and rocks.}

{Headband}

{Top Notch Dance Moves}

Xo. Happy Weekend! :)

Crazy Little Life

Wow. It's been way too long!

Big things have been happening with our little family. We are moving back to Ohio! I know.. I know.. the first question we get is {Why in the world would we leave the beach?}

Right after we got Engaged! 

We have absolutely LOVED our time on the coast in Charleston. We are so thankful for the friends we have met here.. and the memories we've made. We have so many BIG things that have happened here.. Dan proposed, We married, Bought our first house, got a kitten, and then our little daughter was born.

Not to mention.. the friends that I've made.. they are irreplaceable. I can't say enough about them or how much they've been there for me. I think moving to S.C. has helped me realize what true friendships are. People that bring you up and not down.. people that truly listen and are there for you when you need them. I'm going to miss them a lot! :(

Anyway - When we first moved to S.C. - We thought we'd stay a few years.. and a few years turned into five. Five amazing years.

Our families are in Ohio. Both of us had the chance to be close to our grandparents growing up.. we are starting to feel like we're cheating Em and our parents out of that chance. It's the right thing.. and it's a hard thing. I loved growing up in Ohio.. I'm scared to move back in a lot of ways, but at the same time, we both have an AWESOME group of family and friends ready to welcome us with open arms.

I'd say we are pretty lucky.

Anyway - I'm sorry it's been so long.. and I'm sorry this post is so long!

Here is what I've learned so far from moving (which we aren't even close to being done yet):

Moving is not easy.

- Moving with a one year old is nearly impossible. {I put things in a box.. she takes them out. Over. and Over. Again.}

- Moving with a one year old, while filling Pretty Little Elm orders, while still wanting to go to the pool every day every now and then... well... that is a problem. Ha! :)

Speaking of my little Etsy Shop - We are on BRICKYARD BUFFALO this week! It's kind of like a dream come true. Our Sparkle Bows are 40% off! :)

xoxo. Promise to post MUCH more pics of Em next time.. but until then - I post on Instagram all of the time! :) {prettylittleelm}

xo,

Britt

Summer Break!

Hey Everyone!

Wow.. the past two weeks have been a whirlwind with wrapping up this school year and saying goodbye to my little students and classroom. The good news is that I'm getting more and more excited about part time next year. I know having my own classroom will definitely be in my future - but for now it's exciting to know that I can spend more time with Em.. and also help little ones learn how to read.

Anyway - All of that has really been on my mind lately. It's a big change!

We kicked off summer yesterday with a little pool action.. and by pool I mean miniature blow up pool. Ha. We were on our way to our neighborhood pool and found out it was closed - we were a little bummed, but happened to find a mini-pool in our garage.. How? I have no clue.

 It was actually a great "baby step" into the huge pool we're going to venture to today. Em STILL keeps trying to drink the water like a puppy - but at least this water wasn't chlorinated.. so no need for the Paci Block.

If you don't know what I'm talking about you should follow me on IG @ prettylittleelm.

Climbing in!!

Those shades stayed on for about a minute second. :) 

Well.. I think it's pretty obvious that this little lady has my heart. :) 

Life is sweet.

In other news.. My little Etsy Shop had such a big week and I am just so thankful for all of my customers and everyone else that has helped spread the word. It means a lot. So.. THANK YOU! :)

Can't wait to get back into blogging on a more regular basis. I still need to do a 13 Month Breakdown for Sweet Em. She is changing so much!

And I need to catch up with all of your blogs.. I've missed you all! xo.

Brittany

Playing Catch Up

Wow. Life has been so busy lately! Everything is getting wrapped up in first grade as we go into our last week of school. We had our end of the year party on Friday - and it was hard to talk about being done with these little ones! I definitely cried and had to stop talking for a bit. Ha! :) I think a few of my first graders were worried about me.. they came up to me after and said they would come visit every day next year and it would be okay. Lol. :)

I've missed Em every day this year, but my first graders that I have taught have really brightened my day as well.

This has definitely been a difficult.. but rewarding year.

Our Little Lady is 13 months old! I'm going to post on that sometime this weekend - but it's just crazy. Time is going even faster now that her first birthday is over.

A lot of changes are going to be happening in our lives over the summer. I'll be transitioning out of the classroom into a part time job to have more time with Em. Instead of being a first grade teacher, I'm going to be a literacy specialist in the same school for 4 hours a day. It's definitely bittersweet, but I am excited about it. Hubby will be moving into an Assistant Principal Job at the High School. Ahh. Life is crazy and it goes by so quick!

Hope you all have an amazing Memorial Day Weekend! It's GORGEOUS here in S.C. so we're going to be spending a lot of time outside. :)

P.S.
Hubby and I actually went OUT last night! With out having family in town, this rarely happens. We had so much fun with friends {I'm also a pretttyyy cheap date.. especially after having Em!}
It was nice to have an adult night out.. and Em had so much fun at the Sitters. We picked her up around 1:00 and she slept in today until 9:00!! Best. Morning. Ever.

Happy Weekend! xo.

200 Fans & Free Shipping!

Hey Friends!

I'm so excited that we have 200 LIKES on Facebook! That was one of my first "goals" with this little Etsy shop and I'm excited we've gotten there. I've been having so much fun with this shop - and I've also loved seeing all of the little babes in my headbands. :) Sweet Em still doesn't have much hair, so I'm excited that she'll still be able to rock them for a while.

I'm offering FREE SHIPPING until Wednesday, and wanted to let my blog friends know.. and if you haven't liked PrettyLittleElm on Facebook yet.. you should! xoxo I am really thankful for you all!

www.facebook.com/prettylittleelm 

What's in There? 

We Dyed our Own Fabric! Ombre Style. {Ombre Headband}

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend. xo. 

Why Prius's are Crazy

Hey Friends!

Wow this week has been crazy.

So here is my story...

I took a personal day from teaching on Wednesday to catch up on my life.
Side Note: How people are mamas, work all day, AND keep a house clean is beyond me. True Story.

SO.. that's why I needed a catch up day. I took Em over to the sitters for a half day because it's nearly impossible to clean with her destroying everything in her path..
{you definitely know this if you follow me on Instagra: brittmarie14}

Anyway. :) I went to pick her up around 12:30 because my sitter and her little ones had a dentist appointment. They weren't at the house - so I ran over to the school to catch them.

 I found them in the parking lot, but they were getting ready to leave.. so I parked the Prius in a FLASH, kept it running, ran out like super mom in my running shorts, no make-up and hair that looked like it hadn't been brushed yet that day because it hadn't (so classy, I know) and caught them before they left.

We chatted for a minute and then Em and I headed back to the car....... that wasn't there.

I seriously thought I had lost my mind. This was so much worse than when I lose my car in the target parking lot.

Finally, this man shouted from across the parking lot and asked me if the car by the curb was mine. #Shesaidwhat? Yes I did just hash tag... in blogger which doesn't recognize them. #sorrynotsorry

Anyway - I'm sure you've figured this out.. but my car literally rolled backwards through millions of parked cars and managed to NOT hit anything. It just rolled up on the curb right next to a tree, and then back down while a frantic man in a truck tried to figure out how to save my life and put the Prius in park...

And because Prius's are crazy - he couldn't figure it out. Because it's a button. Understandable.

I swear I pushed the park button.


But obviously I didn't.

Either way - Em and I had SO many errands to run - but I had just used up all the luck that I had left for the year...so we went home and played hide and seek instead.

Well there you have it. My crazy story.

Okay - also crazy - I'm ombre dying my own fabric for bows in my Etsy Shop! It's been fun so far. :) Can't wait to show you all the finished product!

ABEAUTIFULMESS App! My new favorite on Instagram. 

Have a great night! Put your cars in Park! xoxo.

Being a Mama is Sweet.

Hey Everyone!

What a wonderful weekend it's been. I can't tell you how many times I've caught myself this weekend just being in complete awe of my crazy little daughter. She is learning so much! She doesn't prefer the speed crawl anymore and is walking all over the place! Sometimes.. she doesn't even want to hold my hand when we're walking! Tear. Not really - I'm so proud of her! She is so proud of herself too which absolutely cracks us up. :)

Her new favorite trick is putting everything through the kitty door that leads into the garage. Earlier today we found the remote, my sunglasses, and her favorite stuffed animal. Things are getting crazy around here. :)

We went to the beach on Saturday and met friends - and let me tell you - I thought it was going to be a di.sa.ster. I was preparing myself for a 10 minute trip. I was so wrong! It went great. Em only attempted to eat sand.. 3 times. :) But seriously - she really wasn't all that interested after she tried it once. She didn't mind getting sand all over her.. and she had a lot of fun destroying little sand castles we made for her.
 She wasn't a huge fan of the water hitting her little toes.. but let's be honest.. the water was a little chilly and Mama wasn't either! :)

Instagram Pictures...of course - { brittmarie14 }

This morning Hubby and Em let me sleep in.. and it was ahhh mazing. A perfect start to Mother's Day. Then we went out to breakfast {my favorite.} and went to Magnolia Plantation in S.C. It's one of our favorite places to go when we have the chance on the weekends. partly because teachers get in free.

Em absolutely loved looking at all of the animals in the petting zoo and called every single one of them that had 4 legs... a Dog. :)

Since we've been home - we've just been enjoying each other which sometimes we forget to do on the weekends with all of the things we are trying to cross off our to-do lists.

We've made a pact to do it more often. Messy houses? Dishes in the sink? All might stress me out tomorrow morning when we're running around like crazy getting ready for school - but for today - it's just fine. :) xo.

She has insisted on taking those two stuffed dogs everywhere today. :) 

xoxo.

12 Month Baby - One Year Old Toddler

I still can't believe I have a one year old! A friend of mine told me that between 1-2 years of age.. crazy things happen in the life of a baby and I should jot things down as much as I can.

Well.. this post is the opposite of a quick jot and more like a crazy way too long documentation.

 I just. can't. help. it. 

{And FYI.. I'm still refusing to say Toddler..}

{Weight} 20 pounds

{Teeth} 6 - but more are definitely on their way!

{Food}

• Milk - I Breastfed Em up until around 11 1/2 Months and then started to wean. (another post on this for sure..) She's been doing a mixture of formula/whole organic milk since. She drinks out of Sippy Cups and Bottles. She still has a bottle in the morning and at night. Sippy Cups in between. She isn't a huge fan of Cow's Milk. I'm not sure if it's the taste or the temperature.. but she does like saying MOO when she sees a cow, so I'm sure she'll warm up to milk soon enough. :) 

• Food - So far - Em isn't really that picky. She loves treating Avocado like play-doh, spitting green beans out while waving her arms in the air like a crazy lady, and dropping things on the floor over and over and over again. She also loves being a detective and finding ALL of the cheerios that she's lost in her high chair and eat them. Saving them for later I guess.

• All in All, Em is pretty easy going. Ha. We're feeding her basically everything that we eat. 

{Play}

• Em LOVES hugging every stuffed animal she can get her hands on. Like squeezing it so hard she almost knocks herself over.
• We love playing hide and go seek. She mainly does the seeking and it cracks me up because she's so proud of herself when she finds me. She loves getting chased by her Daddy. When I say "I'm going to get you!" she chases me instead. It's amazing. heart melting. perfect. 
• She loves being outside.. she gets cranky when the screen door isn't open and bangs on the window like we're holding her in baby jail. She loves playing in the dirt from our planters and the water table.
• She absolutely loves books. 

{Words}

• Em is a pretty vocal baby. She's always babbling about something. :) She's doing pretty well with words and lately Dan and I look at each other and say, "Did she really just say that?" then we cheer for her like she just won the Olympics. 
• Words - Hi, Mama, Dada, Ball, Dog, Ozzy, Boo (In Peek-A-Boo), Night Night, Baby
• Hi, Mama, and Dada are just perfect.. but seriously - I would love to translate the rest for you. Bah, Daw, O-yee, Ba, Nigh Nigh, dayday. 

{Skills}

• Em took her first steps around 11 months. She's walking more and more each day, but if she's really trying to get somewhere (Like to the stairs when I leave the baby gate open) she speed crawls. 
• Clapping, Peek-A-Boo, Chasing Ozzy, Putting Cheerios on her head, opening cabinets that have baby locks on them, unrolling a whole roll of toilet paper in approximately 30 seconds, making everyone in the grocery store say Hi to her because she'll say it over and over again until they break...Hm. I could probably go on forever. Ha! 

{Moments}

• I had my sweatshirt hood up and I was holding Em. Out of nowhere she grabbed my sweatshirt hood and pulled me in for the biggest baby kiss I've ever had. It was the cutest thing ever. Ahh. That little baby. not toddler

Well.. this post has been entirely too long. Sorry not sorry. Well actually. I am kind of sorry. I also fully admit that I'm probably forgetting 20 things. Oh well! Happy Wednesday! xoxo.

My favorite look lately. She is such a little mess. :) 

New Toy. She loves it. 

First Birthday Treat Table

I had so much fun baking sweet treats for Em's treat table @ her first birthday party. Below is a {Treat Table Breakdown} and links to the blogs that gave me the recipes! 

Oh Pinterest.. How I love you. 

1. Neon Cupcakes - Food Coloring from H.L. and {DIY cake toppers} made from washi tape and striped paper straws. 

2. {Bunny Bait} - So easy to make...and seriously I couldn't stop eating it! 

3. Smash Cake! No link here.. just used neon food coloring to make the different layers.. and an extreme out of control amount of icing.

4. {Chocolate Dipped Marshmallows} - SO easy and probably the biggest hit at the party!

5. Chocolate Dipped Animal Crackers (do you see a theme? Chocolate..Chocolate..Chocolate..) 

Pretty New Headbands on PrettyLittleElm

Hey Friends!

Wow. We've been spending all week trying to catch up from the weekend and Em's first birthday bash! And when I say we.. I really just mean {I}. Please don't judge but we still have half of Em's decorations hanging up.. I can't help it. POMS make me smile. :)

Now that Em's party is over.. I've had some time to add some brand new headbands to the shop! I would LOVE to hear what you think! xo.

Based on my current color choices.. I Clearly have one thing on my mind and that is S.U.M.M.E.R.

Check back in for my {breakdown} of Em's First Birthday Treat Table! I can't wait to share all of the D.I.Y sweet treats.

Hope you all are having a wonderful week! xoxo.

www.facebook.com/prettylittleelm

{Let's follow each other on instagram! brittmarie14}

www.etsy.com/shop/prettylittleelm

Mint - My Favorite. 

Lavender & Gold

Headband {DUO} Deal

Neon DIY First Birthday Celebration

 Wow. Throwing a birthday party is no joke. I thought I was doing things well in advance {Had some decorations hung a week ago..ha!} but on Saturday morning I was scrambling around like a crazy lady until the party started at 3. I've learned a few things through out this process - NEVER say, {Oh..I'll just wait until the morning of the party to do this} - because "this" turns into about thirty things.

True. Story.

Really though - The party turned out perfect..and Em had so much fun with her friends. I had so much fun planning/making all of the DIY decorations and sweets. Hubby had fun playing corn hole with the other Dads. Again - it was perfect. :)

Another thing I realized this weekend: Our S.C. friendships mean the world to us! We both have ZERO family within 10 hours of us. Em's Nana was able to make it to the party, which was so special {and helpful!}

Even with just 1 family member here..The day FELT like we were surrounded by family. People that have supported us since we moved here. They have been with us through belly bump, to sleepless nights, first laugh, first crawl, to now celebrating our little lady turning one. We are so lucky to have the support we have while being so far away from family. Ahh. We are blessed.

Okay - that was a little sappy. Now for the pictures.. Happy Sunday!

Wait.. you are telling me I'm one?

Shocking! Why didn't anyone tell me? 

{Em's first bite} 

Just the Babies! {Headband} - {Dress}

Quite the after party with the water table.

Follow Me On {Instagram} brittmarie14 to see Em party all of the time! :) 

Smash Cake Success

I had way too much fun baking this smash cake. It turns out that making bright neon colored cakes is pretty simple! I bought a little cake pan - some amazing gel food coloring - and a box of vanilla cake mix... and Voila. A cute Pinteresty Cake.

{SMASH} Cake.

Just so you know.. I did make homemade icing. {I know.. so classy. I would have used store bought, but we didn't have any.}

Anyway - today was perfect! I didn't stay home with her even though I wanted to. I taught my firsties and then rushed to get her after school.

After school we did all of Em's favorite things..

- Shared a String Cheese and some Cheerios
- Petted Ozzy our Kitty
- Played at least 10 rounds of hide and go seek in her bedroom. {Also known as.. Mama hides behind the same door every time and Em finds her} :)
- Played out on our porch, picked a few flowers, put our hand in the dirt
- Called Grandma and listened to her sing Happy Birthday
- Climbed the stairs together... three times. :)
- And last but not least.. enjoyed some cake while Hubby, a few of the neighbors, and myself clapped and shouted for her.

We ended the night reading the story that ALWAYS makes me tear up The Night You Were Born

It was the first book we ever read to her.. the day we brought her home from the hospital. I cried then.. and I cried today.

She was a tiny little newborn last year at this time. So tiny that her newborn clothes didn't even fit her. So tiny that we were afraid that we would break her. How in the world is our beautiful little lady one? Ahh. I guess time flies when you can't sleep in on the weekends are having fun. Ha! :)

We are so blessed. The past year has been the best year of our lives. I can't tell you how many times I look at Em and count my blessings over and over. I never knew what life would be like as a Mama.. but it's been more than I could ever hope for!

Em's one year appointment is tomorrow afternoon - I can't wait to post the STATS of our little lady. :)

xoxo.

O.N.E

Eek! Just a quick post - more to follow that obviously includes eating cake after school. My attempt to make a layered smash caked was semi-successful... but I will say - neon food coloring makes me happy. Especially PINK neon food coloring. :)

We let her try the icing last night and based on her reaction - this is going to be a lot of fun! :) xo.

Happy Birthday Sweet Em! Can't imagine life with out you.. and I am so blessed to be your Mama.