Jaxson's 2nd Birthday - Sesame Street!

My sweet baby boy turned 2!

And, of course, we had to celebrate Sesame Street style!

I spent way more time than I had to get his little party together, but I'm so happy that I did!  It was so fun and I was thrilled with the way everything turned out.  I loved loved loved seeing his reaction to all the decorations the day of the party.  It made me so happy to bring him joy!
Below are some of the details....

Are these not the cutest cups in the whole world?  Everyone LOVED them!  They had everything from lemonade to water to rum punch in them!  I ordered them from Kimberly's Foam Party.  She was amazing to work with and did such an amazing job!

The drink area.  We had rum punch for the adults (something that was requested over and over again as people RSVP'd from Jaxson's first birthday party...I don't know if I should feel proud or ashamed of that!), lemonade, iced team, roaring waters, and bottled waters.

I wrapped the bottled waters with stationary that matched our invites and theme.  I purchased the files from StoryBrookLane Crafts.  There were so many cute things...I just didn't have time to print them all!

The sign in table in our entry way.  I created a shutterfly photobook for his first birthday party, and had everyone sign it.  My goal is to do one for each year (at least until he is 18...) and keep them all for him so he can see who celebrated him when he was little and how much everyone loved him.

This is me before the party...next to my wreath that took 3 evenings to make with ribbon, pom poms, elmo and a cable tie. 

Hubby made this sign for me.  He was super sweet...went to Lowe's...bought the wood...painted it and attached the sign and grover.  It's now in our playroom and it makes me smile each and everytime I look at it.

This mural is 5x6 feet, and is STILL hanging in our entry way.  Jaxson LOVES it.  He hugs and kisses his "friends" every morning, and rides over there in his little truck to say hello to them in the evenings.  I can't bear to take it down yet.  It cost five dollars and I would have paid five hundred for it after seeing how happy it's made him!

Here he is with his Aunt Vallie.

I spent lots of time making poms for the party.  I made Elmo, Grover, and Cookie Monster Poms in small and large sizes.  They turned out super cute, but were a HUGE pain to make.  I still have them if anyone wants them...just email me. 

The food spread.  I did a terrible job at taking pics of the food.  We served...

Buffalo Chicken Dip

Little Cheese Smokies Wrapped in Crescents

Chips and Summer Salsa

Southern Living Grape Pasta Salad

Peanut Butter and Jelly Star Sandwiches

Homemade Chex Mix

RAINBOW CAKE!

I made his cake all by myself this year...and didn't even get a good picture of it.  It took half a day...but it was delish and way worth it.  Everyone loved it.  It had six layers and tons of sprinkles on top.  I took a lot of pride in making his cake myself.

We rented a bounce house for him...and he LOVED it!  I barely saw him or any of the other children all afternoon!  All the sweet little ones had red cheeks and happy smiles all day.

My Daddy and his best friend.

I was super PC and bought a pinata that had pull strings.  So, instead of beating cookie monster to death for candy, you just pulled the ribbons and one ribbon made all the candy fall out. 

The kids did great...taking turns and then pulling all the strings together...

I LOVE this picture.  Jaxson laughed and laughed as all the candy fell on his head!

And then the big kids pulled Cookie Monster's legs off....and Jaxson cried...

His favorite part of the day was everyone singing Happy Birthday to him.  When the song ended, he said "More, More!"  What a little Ham!

Our little family.  Thank you God for blessing us.

Here is Jaxson considering a bite of the rainbow cake.

The bounce house was amazing and worth each and every penny!

My Cookie Monster pom and the adorable tie I ordered him that he refused to wear.

The view from above.

My dearest friends from college.  I adore these ladies and would not be the woman I am today without their love and support.

My favorite Mommy friend!

My Daddy with "Kiss" and Don, Jaxson's Godparents.  Kristy hung each and every pom and swirlie for me the night before.

My partner in crime at work, Rebecca and her sweet son, Carter.

Toys toys and more toys.

Jaxson's Godparents...in Bert Orange!

After everyone left we had some adult jump jump time.  I've gotta tell you - it's fun!  A true stress relief!

Favors - Candy Bars

COOKIE! 

The view from the front door.

My Grover tissue pom

I wrapped all of these little candies

Jaxson loved all of his little friends!

Happy birthday to my precious 2 year old!  My life has changed in the most amazing way possible!  I love you!

Let's Talk About Working Moms...

Being a working mom seems to be a hot topic lately...with lots of opinions.  Very few of those opinions are in that imaginary "gray area" where we pretend to respect stay at home moms and working moms alike.  I'd like to share my feelings on the subject...from a working mom's perspective.

Note: I am in no way ranting...just observing...and sharing...

I am a working mom.  A hard working mom.  I have a high stress sales job.  I'm good at it.  I love it.  I travel a minimum of 2 weeks out of the month; sometimes 3.  It's hard.

When I tell people about my job, I get one of four reactions.

1) True Interest - Wow, that's interesting.  Tell me more about it!

2) Pity - Oh, you have to work?  You poor thing.

3) Judgement - Oh, you decided to work instead of stay home?  Hmmm....

4) Assuming I Teach - That's great, what school do you teach at?

There really are not any in betweens; that's pretty much it.

Here's the truth.  I like working.  I enjoy my job.  Do I think it might be nice to not have to spend time away from my sweet little boy each day, sometimes for days at a time?  Of course.  Do I miss him?  Duh.  Do I cry when I've been on the road a lot or sometimes when I just drop him off at daycare on a random Tuesday?  For sure.  Would I like to not have the extra stress of worrying about meeting a quota and being successful in my career?  Sure.

BUT - 

Working is good for me.  I get a huge amount of satisfaction from success at my job.  It's healthy for me, which means it's healthy for my family.  It makes me a better mom and wife.  There is nothing like that rush of making a huge sale or meeting a quota....or leading your team.  It rocks.  It doesn't compare to hugs and kisses from my son, or hearing him say "Mommy" for the 411th time that day.  Not even close.  But, there will be a day when he is grown up and I will need something to do.  So I will still be working.

I don't believe that working makes me a less devoted mom.  I love my little boy just as much as any stay at home mom.  I stayed home for the first three months of his little life.  I breastfed him for over 4 months.  I would do anything in the world for him, including quitting my job if that was what I felt he needed.  Hands down, no question.

Am I selfish for working?  Maybe.  I choose to see that I work hard for my family, and that it makes me better to the most important people in my life - my family.  I trust GOD completely.  My job is a blessing from him, and I pray each and everyday that I am in HIS will. And that if this is not HIS will, that he will remove it.  And I would be okay with that.

Being a working mom is hard. You miss your little one.  All of those errands and projects that stay at home moms can do during the day?  You have to squeeze those in during the weekend.  Which is the only time I have to spend quality time with my child.  That means that chores, laundry, cleaning, grocery shopping, and cooking for the week are crammed into 2 days.  It can become overwhelming at times.  So, sometimes our quality time is spent running errands and grocery shopping on Saturdays.  There are no MOPS groups that meet in the evenings or on the weekend.  There are no playgroups or little gym classes that I have time to make.  I don't fit in with most of the women in my church because they all get together during the day while I'm working.  But - that's my choice and I understand that.

I know that staying at home is difficult.  I get social interaction at work, and lunch breaks.  They don't until their children go to school.  The standards seem higher for stay at home moms too.  Like they are expected to have everything together since they stay home.  I can't imagine the pressure they put on themselves to get everything done while keeping up with multiple children under their feet all day.  I'm sure it's hard.  

BUT - please don't make me feel badly for my choice.  Please don't judge my choice to work on the level of love that I have for my child.  Don't think that I work because I'm money hungry and want to buy designer clothes.  I am not and I do not buy them.  I bought a $13 dress at Ross today for goodness sakes.  

I have a huge amount of respect for moms that stay home.  I think it takes a very special woman to devote her life to raising her children.  It takes tons of patience and self disipline.  I admire that so much.  

Please do not thinking I'm ranting...I just feel like this is something that I am starting to discuss on an almost daily basis, and frankly, I am curious to see why people get so upset about moms that decide to work.  I wanted to share my perspective and gain some knowledge from all of you.  Please feel free to share your opinions in the comments below, or share a similar post on the topic with your point of view.  I am open and excited to seeing how you feel on the topic.

XOXO, 

A tired working momma.

What's up with us...

Hi Friends!  I know it's been awhile since I've blogged!  Things are going great with our family.

Work has been amazing.  I've been traveling all over the place and am enjoying it so much.  It's super stressful and very hard being away from Jaxson and Hubby, but I survived my first quarter in the new position and am excited to see what this quarter brings.

Jaxson is almost 2 years old!  Can you believe it?  I can't.  He's growing so quickly and saying new words each and every day.  It's so fun watching him grow up and have his sweet little personality.  He has stolen my whole heart.

We are getting settled in the new house.  It's nowhere near where I want it to be, but we will get there.  We have been here 6 months this month, and I haven't shared any of it with y'all!  I'll start sharing pics very soon.  It's a work in progress, so bear with me!

Hubby and I are doing really well.  He's been super helpful since I stared traveling so much, and I am so grateful.  I think God put this promotion in our lives to improve our marriage too, as weird as that sounds.  He has been so fantastic.

I'm planning Jaxson's second birthday!!  The party is a month away from today!  If you know me at all, you know I've been planning and buying and stressing for a couple of months now.  The theme?  Sesame Street! I can't wait to share all the fun little projects I'm planning with you.

That's really all that has been going on in my world...what's up in yours?