• Life

    Reader Survey 2018

    December 31, 2018

    Hi friends! How was your Christmas? I hope everyone had a great holiday and is excited for the new year ahead!

    Today I thought I would do a reader survey to find out how to better this blog in the coming year. Believe it or not, I have never actually done one of these so I am super excited to hear your guys’ responses.

    I am hoping to start blogging more in the new year and will be using your response to write more on your favorite topics.

    I will also be doing a giveaway to $10 to Starbucks for completing the survey since it will be a great help to me. If you fill out this survey by January 12th I will enter you into the giveaway. I will email the winner on January 13th. Thanks for your support of this little hobby of mine! It means a lot to me that you take the time out of your day to read what’s going on in my little world.

    If you’d like to fill out the survey, just click here.

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  • Coffee Dates,  Life

    Let’s Have Coffee | Vol. 14

    December 19, 2018

    It’s 4:53pm and I just made my second cup of coffee of the day. Probably not the greatest idea but I just love coffee so much that I hate skipping my second cup. 

    This is the first coffee date I’ve done since Shane was only one month old! He’s now 11 months old. That’s so crazy. 

    If we were having coffee, I’d mention how I have no idea where this past year has gone. I feel like I was in such a fog trying to figure out how to be a mom. I’m only now just sort of feeling like I’m coming out of the fog. 

    If we were having coffee, I’d tell you that we started sleep training Shane this past week because we literally had no choice. He started waking up in the night and not going back to sleep for hours. And it also used to take us anywhere from 20-60 mins of rocking at naps and bedtime. I was honestly starting to lose my mind. So we sleep trained and it’s going really well!

    If we were having coffee, I’d tell you that before I became a mom I had all of these ideas of what I thought I would or wouldn’t do as a mom and almost none of them are accurate, haha. I never in a million years thought I’d do the cry it out method, or give formula, or have a hard time putting my baby in the nursery at church. Motherhood is all encompassing and you can never know how you will react or what will be best for you or your baby until that time comes.

    If we were having coffee, I’d tell you that I missed this place and I’m really glad that I’m starting to make time to be back here again. I can’t believe I’ve been sharing my life on here for 3.5 years now!

    If we were having coffee, I’d tell you that I cannot wait for Christmas. It’s going to be so magical seeing it through the eyes of Shane this year. I can’t wait to give him his presents and see what our family got him too. It’s going to be so fun and special.

    If we were having coffee, I’d also admit to you that being a stay at home mom is so much harder and less glamorous than I ever thought it would be. I guess it’s easy to look at the mom bloggers on Instagram and assume that everything is going to be so fun and easy. I mean I truly don’t get how I ever thought it would like that lol. I do love staying home with Shane and getting to be there for everything as he grows, but having a lack of recognition has been a lot harder than I ever realized it would be.

    If we were having coffee, I’d say that I think that having my blog and Etsy shop now to work towards will help a lot with having something to work towards and being able to see actual growth. I’m excited for the future and to see where they both go.

    If we were having coffee, I’d ask you what you have been struggling with lately or are looking forward to. Can you relate to any of my feelings when it comes to being a mom? Please let me know in the comments. I love hearing from you guys! <3

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  • Etsy

    ATZHomeDesign – Our Etsy Shop

    December 15, 2018

    Hi friends. I know I said I would be posting Shane’s 11 month update yesterday but it was so dark all day I couldn’t get any pictures of him! So I thought I’d share about our Etsy shop today instead. I thought I’d write a post about my husband and I’s Etsy shop because it’s honestly one of the biggest reason why I haven’t been blogging much recently. I believe we started working on it in June and it officially opened on September 1st. 

    About Our Shop + The Setup

    Our Etsy shop is called ATZHomeDesign and it is a rustic and industrial home decor shop. We started this particular shop because I love working on home decor projects and have made quite a bit throughout our two years of marriage. We also thought it was perfect for us because Tommy loves welding (his job) and we also make tables and furniture, which requires him to weld them. It’s a perfect mix of our passions together and we are so excited about it.

    As I mentioned before, it took us three months to get it up and running. We opened our shop with six designs and they took a lot of time and work to get designed and made. Throw in a baby and holy cow we are busy. It’s slowed down a lot now that our designs are up so it’s a lot easier to find time to blog.

    Our Original Designs

    Entryway Coat Rack with Shelf

    This is one of my favorite designs that we have. We kept it in our house and it’s been such a dream as it keeps our coats off of the kitchen table. I really love the shelf where I can style it the way I like too. It’s also available in two other colors as well – gray and dark wood.

    Kitchen Organizer

    Our most popular design yet – the kitchen organizer. We have already sold seven of these and everyone seems to be loving theirs. Just like the Entryway Coat Rack, it comes in three different colors as well. Also available with two different basket colors.

    This is what the dark wood option looks like!

    Industrial Style Coffee Table

    This was our very first design! It’s a really fun one because Tommy gets to weld the legs of the table together. Super, super cute!

    Industrial Style Coffee Cart

    In similar fashion, our industrial style coffee cart would match very well with the coffee table!

    Farmhouse Style Number Plaque

    Our simple but cute house number sign!

    Metal Blanket Ladder

    Last but not least, our metal blanket ladder! This one is also available in a few different color options – black, white, and raw steel.

    Well, that’s what we have been up to for most of the summer, while also staying busy with Shane! We also introduced a Christmas line. If you are interested in seeing any of these options or any of our Christmas designs, check out our shop at HERE! 

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  • Baby

    Shane Thomas: Ten Months

    December 12, 2018

    Finally getting all caught up… here we go!

    What does your baby love getting into? Shane loooves getting into everything he shouldn’t be. He loves trying to eat our dog’s food. 🤦🏻‍♀️

    Our first time eating out with Shane

    Your favorite thing about your baby’s personality:  I love how happy and playful Shane is. Everyone always mentions how happy he is.

    In what way is your baby moving? Shane is crawling all around and pulling up to stand on everything.

    What foods are your baby’s favorites? Shane’s absolute favorite food right now is yogurt. He will always eat yogurt. He also really likes bananas like his daddy.

    What new tricks can your baby do? He learned to clap and give kisses this month! I can’t even explain how adorable it is when he gives kisses. I’m sure you know very well if you have your own baby. It’s just the best!

    How is your baby sleeping at night? This has been the worst night for sleep since he was a newborn. He wakes up anywhere from 3-6 times a night! 😴

    This picture was staged but sometimes Shane and I would fall back asleep together. I miss those days!

    What noises does your baby make? Shane babbles all day. He likes to say dadada a lot.

    What does your baby dislike? Shane has started to dislike being in the car. I’m not sure if it’s because he’s bored or is uncomfortable in his car seat or what it is.

    Shane loves music just like his dad. When we play music he dances and it’s the sweetest thing.

    What is your baby’s relationship like with his cousins? How do they interact? He hasn’t noticed his baby cousin too much yet. He’s only been around him a couple of times. There was one time though where Shane did notice him and kept wanting to touch him.

    What is your baby’s relationship like with his pets? Shane loves his puppy so much. We are in the process of teaching him to do nice to her still but he loves following her around.

    Shane had his first Halloween this month. He was a hedgehog! The cutest hedgehog ever if you ask me!

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  • Baby

    Shane Thomas: Nine Months

    December 12, 2018

    I have fallen super, super behind on Shane’s updates but as I mentioned before, I want to get these up even if they are late just to have them to look back on. I’m going to be posting his nine and ten month updates today. On Friday I will be posting his eleven month update because he turned eleven months old today!!

    STATS: Weight: 16.13lbs (8th percentile) Height: 27.3in (10th percentile) Head Size: 42.86cm (4th percentile) Our little guy ❤️

    In what way is your baby moving? Shane is army crawling super fast!

    How is your baby sleeping at night? This month has been a little tougher. Shane has been waking up a lot and just wanting us to hold him while he sleeps.

    What new tricks can your baby do? Shane will fake sneeze if we sneeze at him first. It’s just about the cutest thing in the world.

    What is your baby’s favorite thing to do? Shane loves exploring new objects or places. If I give him a new kitchen utensil that he’s never seen before, he will play with it contently for 20-30 mins.

    Which teeth does your baby have? He has his two bottom teeth. I forgot to mention in his last update that he finally got his bottom teeth! Yay!

    Favorite book: Dear Zoo

    Describe the love you have for your baby: I can’t even begin to describe my love for Shane. His is my whole life, I love getting to stay home and take care of him. I’m the luckiest person in the world to be the one to spend all day with him. I wish I could protect him from everything. I can’t stand to think of anything bad happening to him.

    Some fun facts from this month: 

    • Shane started crawling this month!
    • He loves playing with Noelle (our dog) now that he can crawl over to her.
    • He is constantly babbling dadadada all day long.
    • Shane got his first cousin this month. His cousin Devin was born!
    • We took our first beach trip with Shane. I blogged about that here, in case you missed it! It was an awesome day. Shane loved the beach.

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  • Baby

    Shane Thomas: Eight Months

    October 25, 2018

    I’m still so behind on these as Shane is now 9.5 months old (😅) but I refuse to give these up so I’m going to keep posting, even if they are super late!

    What is your baby’s favorite toy? He has a few — he loves his Nuby teether, activity cube, and his activity table.

    What new tricks can your baby do? Just a couple of days before he turned eight months he started saying dada. He has not stopped saying it since. 😉

    How is your baby sleeping at night? To maintain my milk supply, I still nurse him at 1:30. He will 95% of the time just fall right back asleep after. Then he wakes back up around 6-7 to nurse again, and only sometimes will go right back to sleep. I think Shane is a morning person!

    What noises does your baby make? Shane babbles a lot, mostly only when you are home and comfy. Sometimes he likes to yell too.

    What foods are your baby’s favorites? Shane loves pumpkin and yogurt the most.

    What size clothes is your baby wearing? He still fits in 3-6 month pants, but is in 6-9 month sleepers.

    What does your baby dislike? He does not like being held too tightly, like if you are trying to give him a hug. He loves to explore and does not like if we try to stop him.

    This was the last time he ever sat in this toy… haha

    What is your baby’s relationship like with you? I feel like mine and Shane’s relationship has grown a lot this month. When I’m close by, he will sometimes put his arms up for me to pick him up. Or if someone else is holding him he will sometimes reach for me. I feel like he looks to me for comfort and it’s the best thing.

    Blurry but so cute

    What is your baby’s relationship like with his dad? Shane’s relationship with his dad is so precious to watch. Tommy is such a good dad and is always trying (and succeeding) in making Shane laugh. They have so much fun together!

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