FESTIGOODY 2010

Festigoody is our annual Christmas party each year. It is definitely my favorite night of the year! My house is glittered and sparkled out and so are my girlfriends. I love the fact that they wear sequins. Which is right up my alley! Makes me so happy....

Lots of friends couldn't make it this year...Anne Laura is in Baltimore, Kelly is in DC, and Erin's daddy has been sick (but he is doing so much better, which is fantastic!), and many other friends were just out of town. But one friend was in town....Dane! Dane was Stephen's roomate before we were married. He was in our wedding, and one of Stephen's best friends. Love him so much! He currently lives in Seattle, so it was great having him here...


Here is one of all my girls...



Love my tree and the Deco Poly Mesh that I am obsessed with. I found this stuff at Hobby lobby for $5.00 a roll.....




My BFF Amy! Doesn't she look beautiful?




Love my Stephen...




And Stephen loves boobs..he is so silly...

I am always gifted with some way cute hostess gifts!! I love the nutcrackers that Alexis gave me.

Margaret and Michael...

Amy and Forest

My sweet friend Meredith....

The Shake Weight was a huge deal!

Hot girls and Joey demo-ing the Shake Weight....

Dane, Stephen, and Ken....

Alexis and Joshua

XOXO-

KJ

BABY THINGS...REVISITED!

I posted this a few months ago, but my friend Erin M. sent me an e-mail today and asked what kinds of baby things I liked, since she is expecting her first. Please feel free to leave comments and add to the list.

I will announce the BABYGAP winner on Monday, since I am in full blown Festigoody mode!!!

Love to you all,

XOXO-

KJ

I have recently had a few people ask me what are my FAVORITE baby things? You know,the things you cannot live without. Well, here it goes...

I have a Bugaboo Chameleon and a Single BOB stroller. The BOB wins hands down! It is the easiest stroller EVER to turn, and it breaks down in one step. For two kids, I like the Double BOB because you can buy the car seat adaptor for when they are infants. The only thing I don't like about the double is that it is very wide for indoors.
The other stroller that I would give a high mark to would be the Maclaren Umbrella.



I also love sleeper outfits for newborns. My mama always says that babies sleep better when they have something on their tootsies. I always find cute stuff at consignments, E-bay, and Target Circo sleeper outfits.




I think these "Hooter Hiders" are too cute! And practical for nursing in public.





Obviously, the Baby Bjorn is wonderful! Some people LOVE the Moby. My problem with the Moby was trying to tie it and get Griffin in it with no one home.




The Bumbo is another "must-have." This thing is great for the in between time before the high chair. It supports their head and now in even comes with a tray, which is perfect for sitting objects on and letting them practice grabbing for toys.



The playgym is one of those items that I is ridiculously expensive BUT well worth the money. I had a hard time finding a used playgym with Griffin, so I bit the bullet and bought this thing new. It has paid for itself! I use it everyday!




I double heart LOVE my Nap Nanny. This thing is great just from a travel standpoint alone. You can leave this directly on the floor. It was invented by a mommy who had a colicky baby. The elevation is to help with digestion and reflux.






These Soothie pacifiers are also wonderful! My good friend Amy D. introduced these to me. I find myself holding it into place. But Griffin has tried other pacifiers and these are DEFINITELY his favorite!




Babylegs are great to pair with a onesie and then you don't have to unsnap pants or take pants off. Genius! And they have so many fun patterns and stripes.



A dependable video baby monitor is an investment you won't regret!




The next item are the swaddle blankets. Think of these as a tortilla and your baby is the meat! HA! They are wonderful for keeping your baby from startling himself and waving his arms in his face. You can obviously use a regular blanket, but these work great because you can velcro them in place and they stay wrapped firmly.






The Boppy is great for nursing, rocking, and just holding your sweet little pumpkin. I love this pillow! I used the same pillow with both and just switched out the covers.





The swing: Another life saver. Paisley liked the swing more than Griffin does. He LOVES it late at night after his bath and when he is ready for bed. Paisley would swing all day long everyday!! Funny how kids are different. We have the Rainforest swing and the Fisher Price Baby Papisan Swing.





I love mongrammed burp cloths. I think they are so much cuter than the plain white ones. You can always find cute ones on Esty.com




I used Dr. Browns bottles with Paisley and they always leaked. I tried the Born Free this time and I LOVE THEM!! They are the easiest bottles to wash and clean. Definitely a "must-have."





Amy Coe for Babies R Us has some great bags and cooler bags for bottles. My mama gave me this one for Christmas and I just LOVE it. It is great for those times when you are just taking a bottle and paci and no bag.



The last baby item I think you need is a really cute and practical baby bag! There are so many to choose from. I think this one is precious. I found it on E-bay.


A few baby shopping tips:
1. Borrow from friends. My girlfriends and I share it all!
2. Check the consignment stores.
3. Always check E-bay/Etsy for those one-of-a-kind gifts!!

Happy Baby Shopping!
XOXO-
KJ

WEDNESDAY...

2 POSTS IN ONE DAY!

That is a record here lately!!

-These pictures are HIGHlarious! Paisley looks drugged and Griff is asleep sitting straight up. I try to keep his little tail up AS LATE as I can, so he will sleep all night. HA!

-Please pray for my friends, Erin and Courtney. There dad is in the hospital at Vanderbilt and is on life support due to organ failure and sepsis. Please lift him up. His name is Lee and he is super young. They are devastated.

-This quite possibly was the longest day EVER.

-I saw about a 100 doctors (okay, 13) and then went and spray tanned, went to Michael's, went to the post office, had lunch, ordered 2 lunches and food for this weekend, came home, took care of babies, made dinner, baths, decorated Paisley's Christmas tree and then it fell over. So we redecorated. Then I counted samples, entered them, worked on a case study, and baked cookies for a doctor. I am exhausted!

-Nighty night friends!!

XOXO-

KJ

PALIN POWER...

Sarah Palin is going to be at Costco today in Franklin, Tennessee. She will start signing books at 11am, and there are already 1,000 people there!! And it is 31 degrees outside. INSANE!

I make it a rule NOT to talk politics on this blog, because people get into a spitting match and that is sheer craziness. Some of my very best friends have different political opinions than I do and I love them dearly and variety is the spice of life.

In saying all that, I have flip flopped on my views of Sarah Palin. At first I liked her, especially when I heard she E-bayed the jet they provided when she was governor of Alaska (At the time, Nancy Pelosi, who is incredibly wealthy, was asking the US Government to fly her and her entire family back and forth weekly from Washington to San Francisco, aboard Air Force One. Translation = we paid for it.) And I loved the fact that she had been married, to the same man, her entire life. And had a child with Down Syndrome who, by the way, is the cutest thing EVER!! She is beautiful, smart and very practical. And she has a litter of kids! I don't know about you, but every mother I know who has 3 or more kids is VERY productive in getting things done! Multi-tasking is their specialty!

But then she became a psuedo-celebrity. Which I am not a fan of. I am very old school in thinking we should have politicians and celebrities, but NOT both. I didn't like all the drama. Too much spotlight, family drama, etc., etc, etc.....And now a reality show?? Please make it stop.

BUT THEN...

I watched Sarah Palin's Reality Show for 10 minutes and I found her very fascinating. And I have to say, I like her as a person. I don't know if I feel she is the best candidate for President, but I like her. I think she is the most normal person ever. To see her family fish and hunt, and live in a house that looks like it is 100 years old and there are shoes and coats and food everywhere! There are no maids (GASP) and cooks...wait, WHAT?WHAT?

Yes kids, she is grilling out her food with her husband, bare footed and kissing his cheek! You know, like us normal girls on a Saturday night! And there are no nannies (take note Camille Grammer.) Just babies, and grandparents, and prayers at supper time! I am thrilled to see that most of the time, she is a mama, wearing sweat pants and a pullover jacket. Now, the bangs...I am not a fan...

BUT she rocks it with those glasses.

And what about how beautiful Alaska is? I want to take a trip! Holy smokes, it is gorgeous!!!

So what are your thoughts about Sarah Palin?

Please keep all comments clean and no garbage.

XOXO-

KJ

OH CHRISTMAS TREE, OH CHRISTMAS TREE!

FINALLY...IT IS UP!!!!

YAY!!!!

XOXO-

KJ

GAP GIVEAWAY!

Leave me a comment and you qualify for a $25 GAP CARD!

XOXO-

KJ

PS-ONE COMMENT PER PERSON!

NEW BLOG!!

My cousin Julianne has her very OWN blog! SO give her a whirl....you can check it out here.

XOXO-

KJ

PS-If you sign up and follow and leave me a comment, there MIGHT be a present in store :) :) :)

ELF ON A SHELF....WELCOME NIKKI!!

This is a picture of Paisley and my very favorite office staffer Nikki, who works for my biggest dermatology office. Paisley has known Nikki since she was born, and Paisley loves her! Sometimes on Fridays Paisley goes with me to offices to make calls. She loves Nikki because she always gives her candy.



So when she got to name her "Elf On A Shelf", of course she picked Nikki!
I think this is so funny...it is crazy how their little minds work.




Nikki rang our doorbell on Wednesday, and brought M&M's, Go Fishing, balloons, and a note.


Paisley was SO excited. What are your Elf On A Shelf names?
XOXO-
KJ

GOBBLE GOBBLE...

We had a fantastic Thanksgiving...We spent the day with Stephen's family in Lebanon, Kentucky. We went up and visited for the day, due to the fact that we are NEVER home as a family of four, and I wanted to have a jump start on decorating. Which didn't really happen. But I did start decorating. That counts, right?



Here is one of me and my sweet Paisley...



Here is Paisley and Grammy....




Paisley, Grammy, and Griffin looking scared!


Stephen and his dad chowing down...



Paisley took this picture. She is into photography these days. HA!




Aunt Mitzi and Uncle Terry...and Mama Reynolds...




My sweet boy in his first Christmas apparel...don't worry...there is PLENTY more!! Ha!






My boys watchin' football!

I hope you had a blessed Thanksgiving!
XOXO-
KJ