The Birthday

I'm finally posting the recap of Baby Butterbean's first birthday. A whole two weeks late. Aren't I a good blogger?

Anyvajazzle, I've been MIA because..... I got a job! Can y'all believe it!? Wanna know what I'm doing? I'm a bail bondsman. I'm not even kidding. Like Dog the Bounty Hunter, but with less mullet and more class. It's frickin awesome.

OK, back to the birthday party recap. The party was great and Baby Butterbean had a blast. I was running behind, so I didn't get all of the decorations up, but it was still pretty cute. And now? On to the adorable pictures.

The theme was a Winter One-derland, so we decorated in snowflakes and snowmen. We had twinkle lights and snowflakes that lit up. It really was cute, if I do say so myself.

The Snowmen candles

Walking in a winter wonderland (ignore the mess in the background, we were still setting up)

Our homemade snowman balloon weights. They were much cuter in person.

"What?"

Baby Butterbean and her little bestie Ava

She thinks she's cute

Cake!

"Hmmmm, what's this?"

"It's so good!"

"Here daddy, have some!"

And the damage afterward.

It really was an excellent day, and I saved the tears until after everyone left! Now we've stepped into the world of being a toddler. I can't wait to see what lies ahead!

We Can Just Start Rolling the Clock Backwards, Right?

Friends, I am run ragged. My hair has lost it's sheen, my eyes are bloodshot, my hands are chapped, and I'm pretty sure my head is going to explode if this headache doesn't go away soon. In other words, I'm stressed. This party planning has gotten the best of me. And not because it's hard, because it's not, it's really a breeze. What's gotten to me the most is the emotional whirlwind that I've been in for the last few weeks.

I can feel an emotional breakdown right around the corner. Almost like it's teetering on the edge, and anything could push it over.

I cannot believe that I'm having such a hard time with my baby turning one. I knew it would tug on my heartstrings a bit, but I didn't think it would yank my heart right out of my chest.

Don't get me wrong, I'm glad she's growing up. I'm so proud of how smart she is, and how she has the most bubbly personality that I've ever seen. She loves people and loves to make them smile and laugh. She has the biggest personality to be such a teeny tiny little girl. She makes me smile and laugh daily. I love the fact that she comes over to me just to curl up in my lap and hug me. She has made my life complete. But it kills me that she's not going to be my little baby anymore.

It seems like just last week that I was holding her in my arms for the first time. Or lying awake at three in the morning watching her sleep in the cradle next to me. I can clearly remember those hungry cries in the middle of the night. I remember her first smile, her first giggle, the first time she sat up and the first time she crawled. So many things have happened in the last year. 

I guess the reason that I'm so distraught over this is that it's all gone by too quickly. Soon I will begin to forget some of these details. Her sweet baby smell will disappear. She'll eventually stop cuddling with me. She'll soon be a young woman and will be too big for me to rock in my arms. 

I look forward to watching her grow and I know that my heart will swell with pride with each passing day. There will be new milestones to celebrate. There will be many more hugs and kisses. There will be many more smiles and giggles. And there will be many more tears.

I know that I'm so blessed to have such a happy, healthy and beautiful little girl. But, I'd give anything to slow down time. Or at least be able to go back to last year at this time and hold my brand new baby girl just one more time.

Letters From Home

The lovely Summer over at Athena In The Middle wrote a post the other day about starting a pen pal project and I thought it was a genius idea, so, I emailed her immediately and told her that I wanted in!

And here's the best part, she made a nifty little badge so anyone can join in!

Who wants to be snail mail buddies? 

I get so tired of finding nothing but junk mail and bills in my mailbox every day. I'd love to find a note from one of my readers! So, email me {lilmissbutterbean at g to the mail dot com} and let's exchange addresses. You can send anything your heart desires, a post card from your town, a long letter, you can even follow in Summer's footsteps and send a recipe, and I'll send something back to you!

And if you want your readers to join in, just grab the badge and let them know what's going on.

How About We Work On Not Being An Asshole?

First off, let me say, sorry I haven't been around lately. I'm up to my neck planning Baby Butterbean's birthday party (it's on Saturday y'all, hold me. Oh, and check back next week for pics!) and I've been extremely sick to boot. But, I had the urge to blog tonight because I've got to get something off of my chest.

A few months ago, a friend of mine (you know who you are, and hopefully you don't mind that I'm talking about this!) came up with an excellent idea. She shared this idea with me, and a few other people on twitter. Then, to make a long story short, one of the other people basically hijacked my friend's idea and passed it off as her own. An "idea plagiarist," if you will.

Now, let's pause for a minute, and let me say, the reason that I'm being so vague about this is because I, in no way, have any right to speak up about this. It's not my place to say something to the idea plagiarist, seeing as how it wasn't my idea in the first place. And, if I went into detail about what my friend's idea was, it could possibly tip off the other person because they also read my blog.

Now, when I first met this other person, it was incredibly clear that she took herself too seriously. I felt like she looked down on me because I was some small time blogger with a handful of followers, while she was some internet superstar. She was all about business and I felt like she met people with the sole intention of getting blogging material. Like I was auditioning to be a character in her writing. Am I making any sense to y'all? Let's just say that my first impressions weren't all that great. But, as we all know, I don't hide the fact that I can be a bitch, so I decided to calm my mean girl side down, and give her another chance. 

Since our first encounter, my opinion hasn't really changed. 

So, in the last few weeks she has taken my friend's idea and ran with it. Leaving the impression that she came up with it, and giving absolutely no credit to my friend. Now, here's the thing, my friend is an insanely sweet person. I don't think it's possible to not like her. We've talked about this whole ordeal frequently, and, to put it in her words, she "decided to take the high road" and not say anything to the other person. I have to say, I really respect her for this. I would have handled this entirely different. It's taking everything I've got not to say something now. Or at least call her a fake bitch. But, I just couldn't keep quiet any longer. I may not be able to say anything to the person directly, but I can at least put my opinions in print. That's the whole reason for having a blog, right?

Here's the bottom line, don't be an asshat. Give credit where credit is due and don't step on people just because you think you're more popular than they are. You may have more blog followers, but I promise you, that person that you treated like shit is a better person than you are. And I'd rather be her friend any day.

Random Thoughts

The hubs thinks I'm annoying. I'm totally not kidding, he actually said I'm annoying. Mostly because of my excessive use of "Yo," "Werd," and TWSS jokes. Oh, and because whenever I make tea, I prance around the house singing "tea, tea for two, tea for two and none for you," for about an hour. He just doesn't appreciate my artistic abilities. And because he's an asshat.

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Baby Butterbean's birthday is in 11 days. Eleven days, y'all! The party planning and preparation is coming along great. Besides the fact that I don't have a location for it. That's just a tiny detail, right? Once I get all of this squared away, I'm going to sit in my closet with copious amounts of alcohol and cry my eyes out. I don't want my baby to be a toddler!!

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In related news, she's walking now. Not confidently, but she's at least doing it. And her vocabulary amazes me, but the fact that she chooses to only speak at certain times is downright annoying. One of the reasons you have children is to show off what they can do, right? So, speak child, speak! Momma wants to impress folks! 

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Well, that's about it. I just needed to empty my thoughts so I could keep working my fingers to the bone on these party preparations. Hope everyone is having a great Tuesday! xoxo 

Resolve This

Hi guys! I haven't seen y'all since last year! Get it!? Ba-dum-cha! Now that we've established that I'm a loser, let's move on, shall we? How was your New Year's Eve? I hope everyone was safe and no one ended up in jail. Our NYE went off without a hitch. Mostly because the hubs was out by 10 and I followed him around 11:30. Wild night, huh? 

Anyvajazzle, Saturday morning found me sitting on the couch, with a mug of hot chocolate, contemplating a ton of things. I was reflecting back on what the last year had handed me, and how many possibilities the next year had in store. 2011 was fresh, clean and shiny. And, maybe it's cliche, but I felt like I needed a change. I felt like I needed to do things differently this year. I'm 25, a quarter of my life is over, and it seems like things have shifted, and I'm really about to start living my life. So, I started making a list. Not so much a list of resolutions, just a list of goals, and things that I wanted to make happen this year. 

First up was my appearance. I've been back and forth lately on what I wanted to do with my hair. I was a blonde, and I was thinking about going darker, but I was scared it was going to look horrible. Well, yesterday I said screw it, and took the plunge. I am now a sassy brunette with a small side of strawberry blonde highlights. And I love it! Plus I did it myself, with my cousin's help, so instead of my normal price tag of at least $100, I got these luscious locks for a dazzling $16.75. Much better. I'm also planning a cut, but that takes a bit more research. And, I've spent today going through my closest and getting rid of anything that doesn't fit, or that I don't love. I also won't be buying any clothes that I don't absolutely adore or that don't fit me perfectly. 

Next on the list was my health. I want to start eating healthier, and getting more exercising. We've got a Wii Fit and it hasn't been used in who knows how long. Plus, Baby Butterbean loves for me to take her on walks, so I have no excuse not to be doing so. 

Next up is spending more time with my friends. It's insane how many times I had to cancel plans during 2010. Luckily, most of my friends have been really understanding and have stuck by me. So now, is my time to step up to the plate and show them how great they are. I will brunch more, drink more, and laugh more with my friends in 2011. For sure. 

Then, there's this whole blogging business. Listen guys, y'all are great for sticking around even when I went weeks without writing anything. Y'all still came back to see me whenever you saw a new post of mine in your reader. And I love each of you for that. I want to try and blog more. I know I've said that before, but this time, I'm going to try harder. I'm going to try and comment more on the blogs that I read as well. Just over all, be a better social media user. Plain and simple. 

Lastly is my career. Now, right now, you may be thinking, "what career!?" and let me just say, right now, you're right, there is no career. And that's what I want to change. I've always been fascinated by two things, broadcasting and PR. Both of which I feel I'd be really good at. So, this year, I plan on pursuing a career. I'm going to decide what I want to do, and go for it. I will check into going back to college, and make it happen. 

Overall, I plan on making 2011 the year that things change. The wheels have been kicked into gear, and I'm ready to get this ball rolling. By this time next year, we will see just how much I've accomplished, and hopefully, it's quite a bit!

So what about y'all? Did you make any resolutions? Are any of you changing your lives this year?