Not Much More left.!!

I got the table covers for Cayle's party today. I had to order one off of Amazon, but the plain colored ones I bought at walmart today. I only need one more little einstein one and I'll have all the table covers. I've gotten almost all the stuff I need a large quantity of. But I still need balloon weights, napkins, cups, plastic forks, balloons, treat bags, and fillers. But luckily most of that stuff is cheap. My goal is to get it all bought by the end up September so I can start saving more for Christmas, and I think I can do it. Buying all this birthday stuff is going a lot faster than I thought it would. I'm pretty proud of myself for doing it all myself. As far as his actual birthday I'm thinking either a trip to the zoo or discovery museum will suit him just fine. It'll be just us considering Adam will be out of town :( but he promised to try back in and see him. Also, on a side note keep Adam's grandfather in your thoughts. He had a stroke last week. He's walking and talking. But it'll take some time before he gets to feeling better. He gets tired very easily and you really have to listen to him when he speaks to understand what he's saying. But he isn't the type to give up so I know he'll pull through.

Any suggestions on what I could put in treat bags.? I'm thinking of doing candies and party horns, but I would like to add a little something to them but not quite sure what would be a good fit.

Whoohoo.!!

I got the party banner.!! Mom offered to get it off eBay today. It was really sweet of her. It should be here in a week. I'm excited.! And guess what else.!!?!?!? Adam comes home tomorrow.!!!! I am so so so so happy. I know things are going to be awesome tomorrow. I can't wait to see him. I'm not too sure what the plan is. But I have a feeling I'm in for a good weekend. :)

Birthday Plans.

Here is the autograph frame I'm going to have at his party for everyone to sign. It was only 4 dollars at Walmart. I'm very happy to have found one for so cheap.!! As far as decorations go, I plan on going forward with my theme and doing more assorted colors than I had originally planned. It'll be cheaper in the long run. But it still sucks the little einstein stuff is more difficult to obtain. I plan on going on amazon and getting little einstein cups, napkins, and a banner. The rest will be assorted colors. And I'm okay with that because I can still make it work in my opinion. :) I don't have much more I need to get that's really pricey. I just hope I can get everything I want to get done done in time. I'm conerned about birthday pictures and a birthday dinner. I think those will be the most expensive. His birthday cake and present are going to be a little pricey too. His cake will be 27 and his toy box will be 30. I know I can do it though. I'll do people's hair between now and then. That's how I make my extra money. I have my pay every week and sometimes I do hair and make more. I think I'll get balloons from party city since it's the cheapest I've seen for 40 balloons. 6 dollars. And they will blow them up later if you save your reciept. Thank you Christina for letting me know that. We'll see how it goes.!

This is definitely a curve ball. :(

I'm a little upset. I had a great day overall, but while I was out shopping I went to look at the party stuff in Walmart, and you'll never believe it...the little einstein party supplies have been removed from the shelf.!! Walmart got their new shipment of stuff today and little einsteins stuff is GONE. I have no idea where to find it. I need to buy things induvidually because I have 40 lunch plates and the invitations. Everything online I have to buy in a kit I dunno what to do.!! Amazon has stuff, but not EVERYTHING I needm, and its very expensive. I wish I knew what to do. Does anyone have any suggestions.? I also got Cayle a new birthday present. He loves weebles. He likes to make them slide down the slide on their little tree house I bought him last Christmas. Walmart also said they would be able to do my cake. So at least I don't have to worry about that.
On the plus side today I got some new clothes. I got 2 shirts, a cardigan, and a pair of jeans. It definitely made me happy after not being able to find much in Pigeon Forge. But I can't wait to be back there. I can't wait for fall. I really need to come up with a game plan for his party though or I'm in trouble. I WILL do it though. He deserves a happy birthday. Speaking of his birthday...Adam will be on ANOTHER trip for work durign his birthday. I'm bummed he won't be at his party. But he did say he would drive in to see him. It sucks with Adam being gone so much. :/

Spur of the moment vacation.! (lots of pictures.)

What a great weekend.! My parents were celebrating their 20th anniversary yesterday. And decided on a spur of the moment vacation to Pigeon Forge. It was EXACTLY what I needed. We got there around 3 in the afternoon. Our cabin was so cozy. Something about those cabins makes all my stress melt away the moment I walk in. They're so homey.! They're not missing a thing. And the view was incredible. Cayle was especially excited to be somewhere new.! That night we went to dinner at a Mexican place. It was delicious. And we went shopping in one of the outlet malls. I went into Carter's outlet, and went NUTS once again. But I got a great deal on clothes. I got about 200$ worth of stuff for 76$. Cayle needs a few little things but he's pretty much ready for fall.! I got a sweater dress and a black fedora. I've always wanted one. And it makes me feel like a rock star. After shopping we went and got a few snacks at the grocery store. This morning we woke up and went to breakfast at the Apple Barn. We go every time we're in the area. Afterwards we spent the rest of the day at the other outlet mall. That...was a NIGHTMARE for me. I couldn't find ANYTHING that fit right, or anything I liked. It made me so frustrated. I need new clothes and it's hard to find what I like. But I guess I can try other places around here tomorrow or so. Cayle got some new shoes for fall. They're black and grey sneakers and they fit perfectly. And I got him his first pair of Christmas pajamas. It's probably the pair I'm gonna wrap that he opens Christmas eve. That's a tradition I am sticking with. It seems so fun.! This weekend was exactly what I needed..not only did it relieve stress, but Adam and I have been working on issues. We've been in a bit of a rough patch, and it seems like last night we made a breakthrough. And he tells me when he gets home things are going to be perfect. So I hope he's telling the truth. Below are some pictures from my trip. There's more on my Facebook. :)

I couldn't resist.

I added up how many invitations I would actually need considering I'm sending one per family and I needed 12 so, I went out and bought them. They cost 5 dollars total. So there's another thing marked off my list. And here they are. I will probably send them mid-October. Please be sure to R.S.V.P. and if you need directions please let me know.!


Also, MommyMays the pictures of him in the orange fleece jacket that are on my Facebook are his birthday pictures. ;)

Party Supply Shopping has begun.!

Today I got paid and thought about starting supply shopping for Cayle's party. I thought it would be best to get the biggest things out of the way first, so I bought 40 little einstein plates. I thought it would be best to get the things I need more of first. Like balloons, balloon weights, plates, and table cloths. I need at least 12 balloon weights, and quite a few balloons. Table cloths will be pretty easy. I plan on doing assorted colors on the tables for the guests, and little einsteins table cloths for the gift and favor tables. I'll probably get those next week or the week after. I am having some difficulty finding an autograph picture frame. So I may just not have one. :/ I'll have to get creative I suppose. I looked in party city and I couldn't find them anywhere.! I plan on doing birthday pictures probably at JCPennies. For his actual BIRTHDAY...I would like to take him to breakfast or something, and we go to the zoo or aquarium. And that night let him open one present from me. I don't plan on getting him a crazy amount for his birthday like I did last year, but I would like to at least get him 4 gifts. His big one will be his toy box. I'll probably end up getting him some books or movies for little gifts. I dunno. I'm just feeling pretty accomplished. I won't be able to get Cayle more winter clothes until it gets closer to fall, but that's okay. Right now he has a lot of what he needs. I'm glad everything is working out. :)

A post dedicated to Fall.

Fall is getting so close.! And this year, I have a lot of things planned. Not only do I have Cayle's birthday, but I thought it would be fun to do a lot of things in spirit of the season. I had planned for us to go to Rock City at least once and do the corn maze they have up there. I wanted to attempt several recipes including caramel apples, candy apples, apple cider, and others. Hopefully it'll turn out good. I also bought Cayle two new hoodies and I cannot WAIT for him to wear them so I can take pictures. I wanted to get him a hoodie since last year, but I was never able to find one, and this year, I found 2. Today Cayle and I had a mini craft session. We took leaves from the yard and painted them to make a picture. It didn't turn out quite the way I wanted, but it was fun nonetheless. We still have some time before Fall actually begins, but it's nice to do things in the spirit of Fall. I've also come up with an interesting idea. I have an obsession with Yankee Candles, and I was thinking about getting the ladies on my Christmas list little ones or something like that. These candles fill up the room with a delicious scent and they last a long time. They had Fall and Halloween scented ones out now. And I can't wait to go look for some. I dunno. Tonight is Alliea's birthday dinner and Cayle and I are going to it. I can't wait for fall. :)

Birthday Plans Are In Full Swing.

Since I got home from getting Cayle new clothes, I've turned my focus to his birthday party. I booked a place today. I originally wanted to have his party at the pavilion in the park literally a minute from my house, but it was booked the entire weekend and both weekends surrounding it, so I am having it at the church where I had my baby shower. It's a nice place, and won't cost me anything because my aunt will be renting it in her name. She's a member of the church. So that saves me at least 50 dollars. I can easily fit the 40+ people in there and still have room. I am already planning how I'd like to decorate. I want to buy decorations a little at a time. I am starting this week. I have a pretty good sized list of things I need. But luckily, the most expensive thing as far as decorations are plates and balloons. Only because I need a good amount of both. Walmart has all the things I need for his party and not a single item costs over 4 dollars. So I'll get a little at a time and maybe eventually get myself some fall and winter clothes too. I need at least a few tops. And a few pairs of pants. I cant keep wearing the same stuff. It's not gonna work for much longer..but anyways. I promised myself I would take care of Cayle first and completely before I thought of myself. No matter what. I am looking forward to throwing Cayle a birthday party. I even talked to a bakery about making a little einsteins cake. I want to do matching cupcakes, but I'm not sure. I really don't wanna make them. I wanna be able to spend time with Cayle. But if it comes down to it I will make them. I did 2 hair cuts tonight and made almost 10 dollars. I wanna use that to buy some decorations along with my pay I get this weekend. Alliea's birthday is Friday and I need to get her a gift, but I'm not sure what. We're going to a family dinner Thursday night for her birthday. I can't wait. I love her and her family. So far for Cayle's party, I have a place, a date, a time, food planned, and his gifts planned, his birthday shirt, the guest list, and supply list.

My Carter's Trip.!

I did AWESOME. The car ride was very smooth. There wasn't any traffic. Cayle talked to me the whole way. I got 101 dollars worth of stuff for 80.45 with my 25% off coupon. I was very satisfied with that. I got pretty much all 2T size. But those are so hard to find, but I was able to get what I could. I got him some halloween pajamas, several long sleeved shirts, his birthday boy shirt, a pair of pants, and two hoodies.!! I've wanted to get him a hoodie forever.!! And I found 2 for 10 dollars each.! Here's some pictures of what I got.

The pants, a pair of pajamas, and his halloween pjs.

Family portrait shirt (maybe) and his two hoodies.


long sleeved shirts and his birthday boy shirt (far right)


more long sleeved shirts.!


I'm very happy with my purchase. He only needs a few more things and he'll be ready.!

Mission for Cayle's clothes with a slight change..

The change being..I'm going alone. Mom said she would give me extra money if I went on Saturday rather than tomorrow. I can't turn down the extra money. It's better to go with 100 dollars for clothes rather than 75. When I told Kay, she said she already had plans with her fiance. Which I can respect with her working 3rd shift her time with him is limited. I hope she has fun. I am content going alone. It'll give me some time to clear my head and sing with the music as loud as I want. But at the same time, it won't be as much fun. Kay and I talk about everything. And the first time we ever spent time together away from everyone we drove down to carter's and talked about everything. And got starbucks afterwards. But I guess there's always next time. Ah well, it'll be ok.

Party plans. Second post of the night.

Here lately my main focus is getting Cayle new clothes and planning his party. And I am happy to say I have a lot done. I made a list of the decorations, the food, and guests. I am estimating roughly 40 people maybe less. I thought about posting my lists and you can post your opinions. Soo..here is my list of decorations

streamers
ballon weights
ballons
banner
treat bags
plates
cups
autograph frame
birthday bib (maybe)
invitations
birthday boy ribbon
plastic table cloths
plastic silverwear
a birthday candle.
party hats
party horns
napkins


Here is my food list. I will be making most of it.

cake
matching cupcakes
fruit and veggie tray
chips and dip
pigs in a blanket
sausage balls
sodas.

What do you think.? Also if anyone knows anywhere where I can get good deals on any of this stuff please feel free to let me know. Most of these decorations are at Walmart and they're all pretty cheap. I plan on buying some next week. The balloons, streamers, and most of the table clothes will be assorted colors. But I want Little Einstein table cloths for the food and present tables. I have a feeling I can make this a good party. :)

These past couple days..

These past couple of days have been very crazy. School is finally starting to pick up. I've had two clients this week. This is my "Locks of Love" charity client. I cut 12 inches of hair in one sitting. It about gave me a heart attack to do it. Hahah. I've made almost 10 dollars in tips this week and I only need 15 more to meet my goal of 75 for clothes. I started composing a list at school today of what I wanted to get him at Carter's and what I wanted to get him at Walmart. Which places had the best deals on what, how much of each thing I needed to get..etc.. And so far I've got a lot in order and I think I'll be able to get my money's worth if I budget just right. I am also going to start birthday shopping in 2 weeks. I wanna try to get the decorations bought as soon as possible. I am definitely doing a little einsteins party. I wanna keep it pretty traditional. I am renting out the pavilion in the park by my house if it's available. It's 15 dollars an hour. You can't beat that. Tonight I was on my feet for four hours doing a client's hair. Her hair was massive. And very thick. But she was a sweet lady. She always asks about Cayle. I'm happy tomorrow is the last day of school for the week. I'm ready for a relaxing weekend. But more than that, I'm ready for Adam to come home. I miss him. Cayle misses him. It gets really lonely when I don't have anyone to talk to during the day, but he'll be home soon enough. And we can be together again. I need some down time though. I am really tired. This weekend I have to get Cayle clothes, get my dress altered for Kay's wedding, and Sunday I think Christina and I may get the babies together. We're still working on plans. It's time for a hot bath and some down time for tonight though. :)

I hate auto maintenance.

These are the cupcakes I made for Kay's bridal shower. I honestly think the colors compliment each other so well.! They turned out better than I thought. I decided to do these colors because they are her wedding colors. The chocolate drizzle ones were the most popular. I was surprised. I was happy everyone liked them. Today I was washing my car, and I noticed that my tires need replacing. BAD. It's down to the thread on a few of them. It makes me nervous. I told daddy about it and he said when he gets back from both Las Vegas and Michigan (13 days from now) that he would take me to get new tires. I wish tires were cheap. I would replace them myself. But they aren't and I can't afford it right now. I've been pretty much by myself all weekend, and I'll be honest with you..I've had about all I can take with being left behind all the time to tend to everything and clean up after everyone. I have a short rant and if you don't like my rants I suggest you stop reading now.. But my parents flew out on Thursday to go to Las Vegas for the weekend, and I ask Mom what I'm supposed to do about school...she forgot to find someone to keep Cayle. Okay fine, whatever. Then she proceeds to tell me that I need to take and pick up my brother from football practice and she would give me extra gas money for taking him. I have no problem taking him or picking him up if she's willing to help me by giving me extra gas money. But anyways, they left Thursday. I filled up my car that night. I had 12 gallons of gas in my car..By Saturday, I had 6. I had taken him to practice twice. And went to Kay's bridal shower that was 20 minutes from me. My brother's practice is 10 minutes from home. I have an O2 sensor out in my car which causes me to have awful gas mileage..you know how long I've had this problem.? Since APRIL. It's AUGUST. And from the reference of one of my mechanic friends, its a 30 dollar fix. Why is it that my parents wait until AUGUST to fix my car yet they can go all over the freaking country every other weekend.?! In the past 6 weeks they've been to Florida, North Carolina, and Nevada. But they can't fix my car, or give me the extra gas money I was told I would get.?? I have to get back and fourth to school for the next week with 6 gallons of gas. I have NO money I can spend. I have tires that are down to the threading. I have an O2 sensor out. I need an oil I need new windshield wipers. I am NOT happy. You know what I was told.? "You're tires aren't THAT old" I haven't had new tires put on MY car since I was pregnant. Cayle is about to be 2. I can't renew my tags until I get the O2 sensor fixed. My tags needed renewing in MAY. But they can leave me at home while they go on 3 vacations in 6 weeks.?! Well, technically Dad is traveling for work...but still.????? Seriously. I HATE auto maintenance. It's expensive and nothing but tedious. How am I going to go all the way to Dalton to get Cayle new clothes if I don't have a reliable car to do so.? I seriously hate having to depend on people that are total procrastinators.!!!!!!! Ugh. Someone win the lottery and throw a little my way.?

Whoo Hoo.! 75 cupcakes.!

I did it.! I made 75 cupcakes for Kay's bridal shower. And I had a little help from my friend Alliea. We had a family dinner at her house. And then went to Walmart and I got the supplies I needed to make them. And when I go to make them...I'm out of vegetable oil.! So I had to make a run to bi-lo. My brother was nice enough to stay with Cayle so we could go grab it. It didn't take long to make them. Alliea and I worked like an assembly line. I'll frost them tomorrow night and they'll be ready for the bridal shower Saturday.

I'm really missing Adam. I was expecting to miss him..but it's been really lonely without him. Fixing things with him and him going away sucks. He gets paid tomorrow, and said he wanted to go ahead and send the money for me to buy my wedding band. I'm really excited about that. I wish we could do engagement pictures this fall when the colors really pop. But it would probably be better to wait until it got closer to do our pictures. We'll change a lot between now and next October. So it would be nice if they were more current. I know one things for sure, I'll be happy when he comes home. Because right now..I'm kinda lonely and heart broken.


I think I have found a place to rent for Cayle's 2nd birthday, if it's available. There's a park about 2 minutes from my house with an indoor pavilion. And its 15 dollars an hour to rent it. It's spacious and really nice. But I feel kind of bad for making my friends from Georgia drive that far for his party, but I really can't find anywhere else in my budget and that I like. I looked all night at school Wednesday night. I didn't go to school tonight. My parents flew to Las Vegas this morning. Mom won 300 dollars in the casino.! Again, I wanna apologize to my friends in Georgia invited to Cayle's party. I know it's a bit of a drive and I fully understand if you don't feel like making it. But I wanna call tomorrow about reserving it.


I am almost saved up for Cayle's clothes.! I need about 25 more dollars, and I'll have met my goal.! But it looks like I'll have to throw new shoes in the equation. Cayle is in a size 7, but when he was outside playing, they looked too small, so I suppose I'll have to find new shoes for him. But they don't have to come from Carter's. They can come from wherever. I have a couple things I really wanna get while I'm there. I want him to have a pull over hoodie, Halloween pajamas, and a zip up vest for some reason. I guess they look warm is why. He needs at least one outfit that's good for a family portrait. I don't care what has to go down, but I WANT an updated family portrait. I can't wait to take Cayle to the corn maze. I also can't wait to order more prints from Walmart. I was so happy with how the last ones turned out. I need to get some August pictures for the scrapbook. I'm at the point now where I can just add photos as the time comes for it. Which is very exciting.!

Birthday Ideas.

Cayle will be 2 years old in 3 months. And I really don't have many party plans other than the theme and his gift. I have a notebook that I write all my plans, goals, and lists in and this is what I have so far for his actual birthday (not his party) I am probably not going to do them all, but I'll pick some out that I like.

- A trip to the aquarium
- The Creative Discovery Museum
- Playground
- 2nd birthday pictures (these are a must)
- family portrait
- birthday dinner

I have decided on a toy box for his birthday gift. I like this one, but I'm torn between that one and a toy story toy box. This one would probably be a better investment since it can go with everything. For Christmas I want to get him some books, just because he loves to read. I found this book sling online, and I figured it would be a good Christmas gift. I want to get these storage things for when we move out. It'll add color to the room and I am assuming we'll start out in an apartment/ townhouse. They don't have very much storage from what I understand so this will work out nicely. I guess once again I am planning ahead.

As far as Cayle's birthday party goes, I want to do a little einsteins themed party. I am not much one for themed parties, but he's young and this will probably be the only time I'll get to do something like this. I want to do party favor bags. At one of my friend's parties for her son she gave out books instead of party favor bags because most children were too young to eat candy, and that's not a bad idea, but it can get very expensive. I want to have it November 5th. I wish I was better at planning parties. If I can think of party games we can play then we will. I want his scrapbook there. I can't even think of a good location. I didn't really like where it was last year, but I can't think of anywhere that's easy for everyone to get to. I hate making people go out of their way for a party, but I am seriously stumped on this one. Suggestions are welcome.

Adam leaves for a month tomorrow. :( I'm really sad. We've really been working on our relationship, and it's paying off. Tomorrow I have to take him to get his rental car for his trip, and I'm surprising him with hot coffee and a biscuit for the ride. Hopefully he likes it. You would think with him going on these trips often, it would get easier, but it doesn't. It feels like we fix things and now he has to go away. It sucks. But he does these things for us and I understand that, and that's what's gonna make him a good husband one day. We're getting wedding bands when he gets back, so I guess that makes everything official official. Yes, I said official twice. It's just hard to believe its actually time to start planning this thing. I'm excited to be getting married, and to be a real family, to be finishing school and starting my career doing something I LOVE. I'm gonna live my dream and its almost within my reach. I will be DONE with school in about 6 months give or take. I'm getting married next year. I'll have my family together all the time..not just some of it. I'm gonna sleep next to my best friend for the rest of my life. And I just need to realize how thankful I am, and take a minute to be proud of myself. Because I feel like I have come a long way. I really do.

Kay's bridal shower is Saturday. I have a lot of baking to do.!! My parents fly out to Las Vegas Thursday. So it'll be just Cayle and me for the weekend. Cayle and I need a vacation. For sure. I can't wait for her shower. It's going to be a lot of fun.! I'm so happy for her. We're going on our Carter's adventure next weekend. I can't wait. They have a lot of stuff on sale. And I am ready to say Cayle's ready for Fall and Winter so bring it on.!

This is gonna be A WEEK.!

This week is defnitely going to be a rough one. I cleaned Cayle's room today. I did his laundry, cleaned the house, washed my sheets, and went to school. I hate that it's so slow at school, but it's almost over. As soon as school starts back, people will want hair cuts. I have about 6 months left though. I'm pretty excited about that. I feel like I'm getting closer to where I want to be. Adam leaves Wednesday for a month. I'm not excited about that at all. You would think I would be used to it or that it would get easier, but it really doesn't. Kay's bridal shower is Saturday. I don't even know where to begin with that. It's hard trying to save money when I have so much crap going on. I have to make 50 cupcakes for that and decorate them and come up with a gift for that too. How.?!?!?! I have to have 75 dollars by next week to go to Georgia to get Cayle clothes. I know if I don't go next weekend I won't go at all. I won't have time. Ehhh. I just hope everything works out. I have a new goal to try to pack away toys that Cayle no longer plays with to make room for his new toys that he will have on his birthday and Christmas. I'm completely set on getting him a toy box for his birthday, but I can't decide between two that I like. There is one that is just multi colored and has the seperate bins..that one is 50 dollars, and then there is this toys story on that is 35. It has one big bin on the bottom and 3 smaller ones on top. He has a wooden toy box downstairs in the living room so whatever toys don't fit in the bin can go in there. The toy box I want is for his room. If I got the toy story one, it would match his ball pit he got for his last birthday, if I got the multi-colored one he would have more toys in his room to play with. But he mostly plays in the living room anyways. So opinions please.?