Embrace the Camera & Outlet Shopping

Last night we stepped out to the local outlet mall in search of deals.  Mr. R. heard Banana Republic was having a 70% sale this week and he was itching to use his birthday gift card. Mr. R. and I both came up empty handed, but Miss Pip scored a new pair of shoes! 

Being the shoe-hater that she is, a friend suggested we try baby crocs. They are super lightweight and less constricting than actual shoes. So far Pip is a fan. She loves to touch the Minnie Mouse pin and try to poke her fingers through the holes. 

We also took some dressing room photos while Mr. R. was trying on new duds. Pippa loves watching herself in the iphone camera. Instant entertainment!

Linking up with Emily @ The Anderson Crew

Sushi Anyone?

My friend Danielle is due with a baby boy in May. A group of friends and family members gathered in my hometown to celebrate Baby Boy Williams on Sunday. Unfortunately we currently live 17 hours from my hometown so I wasn't able to attend. (Insert super sad face)

I wanted to make sure his Mama new how much we love them both and how excited we are for his arrival. I searched pinterest and etsy for an unusual, but functional gift for the little Mister. 

Enter Baby Sushi

Mr. R. and I love sushi and Miss Pip has been known to swipe a (cooked) sushi roll from our plates now and then. Using this tutorial I created sushi from onesies, hats, socks, baby legs, washcloths, and a fish bath toy.

I love how it turned out!

Here's the breakdown in you are interested:

 California Rolls: two onesies, one hat, one washcloth, two pairs of socks

 Spicy Tuna Rolls: two onesies, one washcloth, one pair of baby-legs, one pair of socks

 Nigiri Rolls: one onesie, three washcloths, one pair of socks, one fish shaped bath toy

Ginger: one onesie

Wasabi and Soy Sauce:  two washcloths

A Perfectly Pip Sized Playhouse

  Mr. R.'s parents gifted Piper with a playhouse. And Mr. R. spent this afternoon snapping together plastic parts to make her playhouse a reality. She thinks her house is amazing! She loves that the door swings open and closed and she must have crawled back and forth under the front gate 30 times in a 10 minute period. She laughs when Mr. R. and I try to crawl inside. And Just before it was time to come in for bath-time and dinner she discovered she can play hide and seek behind the walls of her little cottage. She laughs hysterically when she pops out from behind the wall. I know this house was a gift for Pip, but I think I might love it almost as much as she does. 

Our Life in iphone pictures

I will admit it, I am addicted to the iphone. I must also admit I use it less for phone calls and more for photos, email, and photo storage. My phone currently holds 1150 photos going all the way back to the day we found out we were pregnant to the picture I snapped 10 minutes ago of Piper tearing through the house chasing after Simon. The iphone holds the story of our life.

Here are a few pictures of our last week. 

 1. Post Bath 80's Dance Party with Mr. R.

2. Endangered Animal Masks made by my students

 3. Sushi for dinner on Tuesday 

4. Piper the Biker (or should I say bike seat rider)

5 & 6 Neighborhood Canvasing for Ron DeSantis

aka Republican Stuff

 7-9: Birthday Celebrations for Mr. R.

Complete with an ice cream sandwich cake 

Happy Birthday Mr. R.!

Mr. R. turns 30 tomorrow!

Mr. R. was being difficult about his birthday this year, although who I am I to talk, I wasn't too excited about turning 30 either. We decided not to do a BIG party this year and instead celebrate with our little family. I personally think 30 calls for cupcakes and champers so we will be having both tomorrow. 

Along with not wanting a party Mr. R. felt he didn't really want/need anything in the gift department either. So I racked my brain for something fun and frivolous. 

Enter the best homemade gift I ever made: The Birthday Bouquet!

 Mr. R. is always in need of dress socks because our dryer eats them. I rolled each sock into a rosebud and attached it to a wooden dowel. 4 pair of socks = 8 flowers. I knew Mr. R. wouldn't appreciate a vase so I paced his "flowers" in a mason jar. Since socks are not the most exciting b-day gift ever I included a few gift cards to Mr. R.'s most favorite places.

We are big on clues here at Casa de Republican. So I included a clue for each gift card on the individual envelopes. 

I had a blast making and planning this gift and I am hoping he loves it too. 

America's Favorite Cookie...

is now Piper's favorite cookie.

Mr. R. received a package of Oreos in his birthday box from my Mom. He decided to share and offered me two of his favorite cookie. Piper wanted in on this cookie business and snatched one of mine for herself. As you can see it was love at first lick. 

Our Little Soap Star

 Bathtime is successful when your kid gets wetter than you do.

Swings!

She squeals with delight, raising her arms high.

She tilts her head back and enjoys the sun on her face.

I love how her little legs dangle.

I love that one day I will get to show her how to pump her legs and gain momentum.

She giggles when we push her higher.

She laughs a bit louder if a breeze blows her bangs back. 

I know that one day she won't need us to push her.

I know that day will come sooner than we think.

Can we just freeze time for a little bit?

My Calling

Today was one of those high pressure, high stakes, long meeting kind of days. As a family we did not sleep well last night and I left for work already tired. If you were to ask me how my work day was I would tell you it was intense, busy, tiring. I have been using those same adjectives for months now.

If you know me well enough for me to really tell you about my day, I would tell you I am feeling overwhelmed, confused, and disheartened. I might say I am losing my passion and that I am unsure if the classroom is my calling. I might say that I am praying for wisdom to see if this is where I am meant to be right now. If you were with me on my drive home tonight you would hear me pray out loud for peace and guidance.

I love how God answers prayer. Tonight when I opened my google reader a post from Emily was sitting at the top. God spoke to me through Emily tonight. You see, no matter what my current 9-5 job is, my calling has not changed. As a Christian I am meant to LOVE Jesus and SERVE others.

These past few months I have not been following my calling. I have been loving my daughter, my husband, my family, and at times my job, but I haven't been putting Christ first. I have been serving my friends, co-workers, and loved ones, but I have not been loving or serving my neighbors. I've been hiding my light under a bushel called "Marzano" and "I have a new baby" and it's about time I start letting it shine.

So in conclusion blog world, If you see me snarling, gossiping, rolling my eyes, and taking the roll of poor me Debbie Downer, feel free to call me out. Tell me I need a little more Jesus and a little less of myself. I promise I will thank you for it.