Nursery Tour

Hey, so remember back when I was pregnant and I told y'all that I would take you on a virtual tour of Peyton's nursery? Ok well, she's almost 12 weeks old so let's go ahead and do that now, mmm-kay? Presenting, Peyton's beautiful (in my biased opinion) baby girl nursery...

Peyton's nursery is basically my pride and joy. My mom and I worked really hard for months to make this the perfect space for our little girl. I absolutely love how everything turned out and this is by far my favorite room in our home...as it should be since it's the most well decorated and has the nicest furniture. Mommy obviously has priorities.

My mom and I went to this amazing baby furniture store in Atlanta called Georgia Baby to order the majority of the furniture. This store is so much better than any other baby store or furniture store I went to because it is basically a giant warehouse full of baby furniture. Most baby stores and furniture stores only have a few models actually out on the floor and everything else you can only see in a catalog. Let me tell you, buying furniture without actually ever seeing it in person is way too difficult. I loved going to Georgia Baby because they had hundreds of cribs, changing tables, etc. all out on the showroom floor where I could see and touch them all. Mom and I spent 8 hours in there trying to make decisions, but by the time we left all of the nursery furniture was ordered and on it's way!

This convertible crib is from the Enchanted collection made by Baby's Dream Furniture. 

These ruffle blackout curtains are from Pottery Barn Kids. The crib skirt is also made of this same ruffle material from PB Kids too. The floor lamp is from Jubilee lighting, and we ordered it through Georgia Baby. The cross on the wall was made by me. I searched and searched for the perfect cross for the wall, but I couldn't find one that was exactly what I wanted so I decided to make one myself. I bought two unfinished wooden crosses from Hobby Lobby. I used the white trim paint from the room to paint the big cross and the pink wall paint to paint the smaller cross. Then I layered the two crosses and hot glued them together. Voila! A custom wall cross that matches the nursery perfectly.

My awesome mother-in-law also happens to be really talented at painting walls. Therefore, I enlisted her skills in painting Peyton's nursery. I must say, the paint job in this room is far better than the paint job in the rest of our house which was done by the professionals. Go figure. It took quite a few paint samples for us to find the perfect shade of pink, but I could not be happier with the color we chose. It is the perfect hint of pink. The color is Diminutive Pink by Sherwin-Williams.

Wooden shelves handmade by Jared's dad. I love the little carved out hearts on the brackets. 

Peyton is so fancy, she gets her own private gate. This is basically the most important piece of furniture in the nursery. It's my "Sadie-you-better-stay-the-eff-out-of-here-or-die" gate. Needless to say, Peyton's room is the cleanest and most dog-hair-free room in our entire house. Thank you baby gate. I highly recommend this gate. If it can keep Sadie out, trust me, it will keep the creatures in your house out too. 

The glider is made by Little Castle, and we ordered it through Georgia Baby. I love this glider because it has a much higher back than most of the gliders out there. That makes it super comfortable for tall people like Jared and I which is why I chose this model. The pink ruffle pillow sitting on the glider is from Pottery Barn Kids. I had it monogrammed myself by a local shop. The floor rug is from The Rug Company, which we also ordered through Georgia Baby.

The little wooden bench is from Lowe's and made by good ole' Martha Stewart. The pink canvas baskets inside are from the same collection as well and come in a bunch of colors. Thanks Martha.

Peyton's crib bedding set is from Pottery Barn Kids: {Maya Floral Nursery Bedding} However, it is no longer available so good thing we bought it when we did. 

This adorable ABC print came from the Etsy shop, LucyDarlingPrints. That girl also makes the super cute little monthly stickers that I put on Peyton for her monthly photos.

This personalized toy chest came from Pottery Barn Kids: {Sabrina Toy Chest}

I am obsessed with Peyton's wall monogram. I really am super jealous and seriously want to order one for my room too. The monogram and the quatrefoil shaped frame both came from this amazing little Etsy shop, SouthernNest.

The lamp on the changing table matches the floor lamp behind the glider and is from Jubilee lighting, which we ordered through Georgia Baby.

This custom canvas wall art was hand-painted to match Peyton's bedding. It came from this Etsy shop, addilyneli. This girl will custom paint canvas to match anything you want. Just send her a picture of a fabric or decorative piece that you want her to match it to and she can paint it! She did an amazing job and I absolutely love this piece of art for the nursery!

Peyton's changing table was hand-crafted in Romania. I know, this kid has nicer furniture than I do. Ridiculous. It came from the manufacturer Romina, which makes super high quality baby furniture all made from solid wood. I love this piece and for some reason it reminds me of the enchanted chest from Beauty and the Beast which makes me love it even more.

Basically my favorite little nook for snuggling with my baby girl :)

Hope you enjoyed our tour of little Miss P's nursery!

The End of Summer

Today would have been my 22nd first day of school. But it wasn't. This could have been my 6th year of teaching, but I won't be there. As the teachers and students in my area began a new school year today, I couldn't help but reflect on where I am now and how different my life has become. Last year, I sat in my classroom at the end of that first day of school and I cried. I was pissed. I was starting yet another school year, no closer to being pregnant and I was angry. I didn't want to be there. I wanted to be at home taking care of my baby, a baby which did not yet exist. I always wanted to be a stay-at-home-mom. Teaching was something I loved to do, but it wasn't my dream job. Being a stay-at-home-mom was my ultimate dream job. So there I was facing yet another year in a job that I had a love/hate relationship with. I was emotional, I was hormonal (from all the failed fertility treatment attempts), and I was pissed. I hoped and I prayed that would be my final school year as a teacher. And it was. In fact, I chose to had to leave in the middle of the school year.

Being a teacher is one of the most emotionally, mentally and physically demanding and difficult jobs out there. Going through invasive fertility treatments is one of the most emotionally, mentally and physically demanding and difficult experiences a woman can put herself through. Having to do both of those things together made for one of the most traumatic times in my life. I was a hot mess. I hated everything. I cried about everything. I was literally having an out of body experience all the time. I felt like I was up on a cloud, looking down and watching this person who I did not even recognize completely fall apart. There was nothing I could do about it. I had to give up something. I couldn't do it all. My family, my happiness, and my sanity is worth far more than any career could ever be. So I left teaching. Maybe one day I'll return to the classroom, but until then I am going to enjoy living out my dream job.

As I watched everyone return to the classroom today, I can't help but be thankful for my experience as a teacher. The good, the bad and the ugly. I learned so much about myself, our educational system, how to be a parent, and how to effectively be a part of a child's life. I know that I will be a better parent because of my experience as a teacher. 

There are things I will miss about teaching. The kids. My classroom. My co-workers. School spirit. Coaching volleyball. Watching kids who were once struggling, finally understand. Hugs. Handmade cards. Being a positive role model for kids who really need one. Creative projects. School supplies. Making kids feel special, loved and proud of who they are. Field trips. Changing someone else's life for the better.

There are also a lot of things I will not miss about teaching. But I will not get into the specifics of that here. Unfortunately for me, it was getting to the point in which the bad was starting to outweigh the good. Nowadays, majority of people who enter the teaching profession leave within the first 5 years. What does that tell you about the work environment we provide for our teachers? Just saying.

Today sort of felt like the first day of my new life. My new life where my identifier is no longer "teacher", but "mother". Teaching is no longer my profession. Yes, I still have a teaching certificate, but being a teacher no longer defines who I am. Mommy is my new profession and I could not be more excited. This is exactly what I have always wanted and I am feeling very blessed to have the opportunity to be a stay-at-home-mom.

While all my other teacher friends were back in the classroom today, I was in my neighborhood with my other stay-at-home-mommy friends from my church group doing this...perfection.

Lorelei (3.5 weeks), Peyton (9.5 weeks), Mary Claire (7 weeks)

The summer is now over for kids, parents and teachers. I haven't really noticed because not much has changed for me. I can't believe that summer is really coming to an end already and that Peyton is over two months old. This was a great summer for me, thanks to Peyton. However, I am ready for fall. Ready for football, pumpkin beer and more than anything, cooler weather. The heat of summer is very difficult with an infant. It's so hard to do anything outside with Peyton right now because if it's sunny then I have to worry about heat and sunburn. If it's not sunny, then I'm fighting thunderstorms. Once it starts to get dark, then I'm worrying about mosquitoes. Basically, there is no good time to be outside in the summer with an infant. Peyton and I are ready for some fall weather! 

I hope that all the students, parents and teachers had a wonderful first day of school today! There is nothing like the fun and excitement of the first day. I used to love that. I always thought teaching was very unique in that you get to "start over" and have a new first day of work every year, no matter how many years you have been teaching. Good luck to all and I wish you a spectacular school year! 

I've also been thinking about all the ladies who began Panhellenic Recruitment at Florida State today. This time of the year always reminds me of how much I loved Recruitment week when I was in college. That week changed my life freshman year because it brought me to Phi Mu. In the years that followed, this week was always my favorite part of being in a sorority. It was a time to reconnect to our sisterhood and remember why I joined Phi Mu in the first place. Good luck to my Phi Mu sisters at Alpha Epsilon this week with Recruitment and best wishes to all the Potential New Members who are in search of the perfect home :)

Needless to say, I'm feeling very nostalgic this week. Reminiscing about college, Phi Mu and Recruitment. Saying goodbye to teaching and learning the ropes of being a full time wife and mommy. Peyton and I just love getting to spend all day together :) I can't wait to see what new challenges and experiences being a stay-at-home-mom will bring!