ALY ALLEN | THE BLOG

** don't miss the discount codes and free printables at the bottom of this post :) ** so if you follow me on instagram [alyallen1] , you know that Reese turned three last week.  May 14 was her big day, but since my husband had a meeting that night and wouldn't be able to celebrate, we just acted like her birthday was Tuesday [which was the 15th].  since she can't read a calendar and has no idea either way, it totally worked! Tuesday morning she woke up to balloons in her room we made cinnamon rolls for breakfast and sang happy birthday and she blew out a candle and i hid her little gifts around the house. since i spent a total of $10 on all the "gifts", i thought this would make it more exciting. i don't know if i'll do this every year, but it was fun... so i probably will. so that evening, all her grandparents & great-grandma came over for burgers/hot dogs and cake. oooohhh the cake. i had seen the rainbow ca...

so i thought i'd share a few things i learned during my year long potty training experience. i say year-long because i tried last July and it was just not working. ever since then, while we weren't actively potty-training, i kept talking with her about how she really needs to start going in the potty soon and how big girls don't wear diapers and how she can go to preschool if she goes in the potty, etc. but i never got up the courage to really buckle down and try again. her third birthday seemed like the perfect milestone, benchmark, whatever you want to call it. besides, for the past few months she'd been telling me that she'd start going in the potty in may, when she turned three. so i held her to it: her third birthday came, and we started going in the potty the next day. and as i shared with you monday , it totally stuck! i can say that because we're a week later and she goes in the potty every single time , let's me know she has to g...

oh hey... thought i'd pop in to let you know that this darling girl is POTTY TRAINED!?! like, 100% totally and completely potty trained. i have found myself at least 30 times saying "thank You Lord" & "praise You Jesus" in complete awe. meaning, i have no idea how it happened... it just did. all Him, not me. we went from this [the very first day] where she's crying for a diaper!?! to loving her big-girl status.  undies-wearing, potty-going, prize-getting is very fun :) she even wore undies to her birthday party. we brought her little potty in the car  [still hasn't warmed up to the big potty, at home or in public, but that will come] best part is, i figured we'd do daytime and nighttime all at once and it totally worked! 4 out of 5 nights have been completely dry. to say i am relieved and thankful and excited is a HUGE understatement. [read my last experience with trying to potty train when she wa...

if you follow me on instagram, you may have seen these last week? custom hoops for a beautiful  friend , that i am totally in love with. so much so, that i added them to the shop ! the lace peeking out is my fave, and the stitching up the edge just adds that extra sweet touch, doesn't it? personalize to your child's name and birthdate, or choose a totally different phrase. doesn't have to be for a bedroom or nursery. regular walls are okay too :) and i love this one too, don't you? i had originally made it for my own home, but a sweet friend snagged it up after i posted on instagram. you can buy one too, right here . those days where i just have uninterrupted crafting time are my absolute fave. and not just because it's fun. but because i truly honestly need that time. my mind needs to decompress and pour out in a way that is different from my daily grind. i love my girls and i love my home and i love my husband and i really do feel blessed to t...

see that cute little screen shot above?? click on it ! my friend Sarah is hosting a giveaway right now for a set of   three prints from my shop! [your choice] i believe it ends thursday at midnight, so hurry over right now!  your odds are pretty good, too. only a few people have entered so far :)