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.