This Memorial Day was uneventful for us.  My mom came to town this weekend and left on Sunday, so on Monday it was just the three of us spending a quiet day together.  On Friday, Katherine and I met my mom and brother for a little shopping in the city. 

{Window shopping at Little Shop Around the Corner.}

I love holidays and Memorial Day is no different.  We had patriotic inspired foods today.

{Memorial Day French toast.  Adding strawberries and blueberries makes anything patriotic.}

{Mommy and Me Memorial Day outfits.}

{I couldn't resist.}

{Dinner:  Grilled steaks and vegetables with cupcakes for dessert.}

Katherine and I had matching red, white, and blue outfits that lasted most of the day.  Right before dinner Katherine had a disgusting blow-out that ruined both of our outfits.  Oh well. 

Happy Memorial Day!  Thank you to all who have served our country! 

After hours of work, I'm excited to reveal the new blog layout!  What do you think?  Thanks to Nudge Media Design for an awesome layout!

Having time to do projects around the house is very scarce.  I have a long list of things I would like to get done, but I'm slowly making my way through it working when Katherine naps (and when I'm not so tired that I have to nap too!).

I bought this coffee table last summer, with hopes to have it done before Katherine was born.  Ha!  I just finished it this month, almost a year later.

It took me almost a year to decide what to do with it.  I wanted something simple, but chic; something that would still go with whatever decor I had going on in the living room.  I spent hours looking on Pinterest looking for inspiration.  The table has wheels on the bottom so it can be easily moved (but not easy enough for a small child to move while trying to stand....I hope).  Here is what became of the coffee table:


Now on to the next item on the list:  a new ottoman for Callie and Sammie to sit on.  The one we currently have has a huge gash through the upholstery.  Considering it's six years old and has had Callie jumping around on it, I'd say we got our money's worth.

Continuing with "A Year of Chocolate Desserts," May's dessert was Classic Egg Cream.  It turned out pretty well (surprisingly enough, no eggs used).  I topped mine with homemade whipped cream.

{May:  Classic Egg Cream}

Just for fun, here is an outtake from last week's 2 Month photo shoot.

{Photo bomb by Callie.}

Let me start by letting out a big long exhausted sigh.....

We survived our first trip to Kennett.  We're dealing with our usual Kennett hangover (tired, bloated from too much food, tackling the massive load of laundry, etc.), which now includes a spoiled infant.  As I type this, Katherine is strapped to my chest in her Moby wrap because she insists on being held constantly.  Awesome.

This weekend was packed full of family and friends.  I don't know how we managed to fit everything in, but somehow we did.  Instead of trying to put into words what all we did, I decided to tell the story in photos.  You're welcome.

{"Peace out.  I'm ready for my first trip to Kennett."}

{Sammie got bumped up to first class so I could sit in the back with Katherine.}

{Then Callie said "Forget this.  I'm driving."}

{Sammie enjoyed her front seat view and getting to hang out with Daddy.}

{Callie was less enthused to be in the back with me.}

{This is the official look of the trip.  Wide eyes.  No sleep.}

When we got to Kennett, we met LOTS of family....but not before visiting my favorite bakery in the WHOLE WIDE WORLD.

{This is heaven.}

{These two couldn't get enough of each other.  Only girls in the family.  Got to stick together.}

{Uncle Jamie, cousin Taylor, and Aunt JoCarol.}

{Meeting all of our cousins:  Connor, Landon, Taylor, and Jared.}

{Papaw and Nana with all of their grandkids.}

{Some of us were more excited than others,}

{I think Uncle Jamie likes us.}

{Uncle Shane was a big fan as well.}

{The next day we met our great-Granny Lu.  Four generations.}

{Then we met our great-Uncle Joey.}

Later that day we traveled to Jonesboro, Arkansas to see my good friend from high school/college get married.  This outing went well.  Katherine slept most of the way to Jonesboro and through all of the wedding.  Of course she had to be a super sloppy eater right before the wedding and get breast milk all over my dress.  I had to sit in front of the air conditioner vent for a few minutes prior to going in, trying to get the wet spot on  my dress to dry.  At the wedding, she got to meet lots of new people (even though she was asleep).      

{Family photo before the wedding.  We're never all three dressed up at the same time.}

{Me with the beautiful bride.}

 The following day was Mother's Day.  For my first Mother's Day, I got a cushion to put on our outside swing and some Rachael Ray cooking spoons I had been wanting.  We also had Katherine dedicated to God at church.  I'm a terrible public speaker, so when Brother Ed handed me the mic to introduce Katherine, I forgot her birthday then told the congregation I was "sleepy."  (One time, in front of this same church, I said the word "like" 57 times while describing my trip to youth camp.  True story.)  Of course I forgot my camera, so Uncle Zach took pictures with my phone. Then it was back to my mom's to (you guessed it) meet more family.  This time she met her great-Granny and great-great-Aunt Rita.

{Baby Dedication at First Baptist Church.}

{We missed getting youngest baby by 3 weeks!}

{With Granny and Mom after church.  Four generations.}

{With Aunt Rita.}

{Me, Katherine, and Mimi.}

{Add Grandpa and Uncle Zach.}

{My baby and I on my first Mother's Day.}

{My sweet family.}

{All babies love Aunt Rita.}

{All smiles.}

{Granny wouldn't show her face.}

It was so nice being in Kennett and seeing our families, but I am more than glad to be home and back to our normal routine (minus the constant baby holding).

Our busy little bee is now 2 months old (WHAT??).  She's already getting an attitude with me when she doesn't get what she wants when she wants it.  I guess I'm paying for my childhood.

My mother mentioned recently (like yesterday) that I love holidays.  It's true.  I've always loved celebrating holidays, even when I was little and would decorate my dollhouse for every holiday.  My dollhouse was the only one on the block that had pumpkins in October, Christmas lights in December, flags in July....you get the idea.  Yesterday was Cinco de Mayo, so of course I prepared a Mexican feast.  We had homemade salsa and guacamole, fajitas, and virgin margaritas (would've loved to have had real ones but because I have a tendency to guzzle them, we could have had a drunk Angela and Katherine).  I don't drink very often at all, but margaritas are my drink of choice.  I've been craving them since I found out I was pregnant back in July.  It turns out, tequila is really what makes a margarita taste like a margarita.  What I made was good, but tasted like lime cool-aid.  Oh well.  Maybe next year.        
In cute munchkin news, my little baby Katherine will be two months old this week.  Crazy!  We are also traveling to Kennett for the first time later this week.  It will be Katherine's first trip to Kennett and her first time meeting the rest of her family.  Prayers appreciated!  I'm not sure how that is going to go.