The best of intentions...

Well, I was going to treat you to a picture of the day each day from the beach, but unfortunately I left my memory stick reader at home! I guess you'll just have to do without pictures until next week.

The good news is, other than a few small mishaps (including some very important beach supplies being left at home), the trip has gotten off to a great start! We headed to Walmart this morning to replace the missing necessities and were able to replace them all for a mere $43! We then headed off to the beach with more than we could carry for Allie's first beach encounter!

She wasn't so crazy about the sand and turf, but boy did she enjoy her shaded blow up pool! We filled it up with a little water and more toys than she knew what to do with, and she was pretty content! It's a beautiful, oil-free beach day, and I think we all made it without getting a sunburn (which always seems to happen on the first day!)

The most relaxing part was the HUGE beachfront pool equipped with a lazy river and all! Allie was pretty much laid out and ready to nap right then and there in her shaded float. I'm thinking the pool may end up being my favorite part of trip! We'll see...

Tonight, we're heading over the border into Florida (a whopping 20 minute treck) to eat beachside at the Crab Trap. This is by far hubby's favorite part of vacations.... EATING! He is excited to load up on some serious crab legs and shrimp. As for me, I think I'll be sticking to something a little safer sounding and that involves a little less work to eat!

So, sorry for a pictureless post, but just know we're having a blast, and I'll be sure to take lots of great pictures to share when we get home!

Happy Birthday, Allie!

Allie's party turned out great! The birthday girl was ready:

And after a little initial stress with the decor, so was her mom!

The adorable cake that Steph made was a better photo op than anything else! Allie didn't quite know what to do with it!

The cupcakes were made! This, by the way, is about as good as it gets with me and cake decorating, and my Slice machine should take most of the credit with the cupcake toppers!

All of this was great and fun and all with Allie, but she really started having fun once we let her have some pool time!And, of course, when she got to open all of her gifts!

She got lots of great things, but especially loved all of her water toys! I'm hoping she'll be able to put them to good use, as we're leaving for the BEACH in ONE DAY!!! =) Can you tell I'm excited?

We had such a fun day! A special thanks to my mom and sis who helped me get everything together at the last minute! I can't believe little Allie is one!

Can You Believe

That this little girl is turning ONE tomorrow?! It really is hard to believe! I'm happy to say it looks like it will be perfect weather for her pool party! After a month or so of preparations, I am thrilled with all the homemade touches! Check back for pics!

MPM: Modern Convenience or Necessity?

The question is: Which of ONE these could YOU live without?

1. Cell Phones (Meaning you couldn't use anyone's, anywhere, EVER)
2. The Internet (Again, you can't use it anywhere EVER)
3. No CAR (you could, however, use public transportation, where available)

These are pretty much a part of each of our every day lives, but the question is, if you HAD to live without one, which would you choose?

For me, this is a pretty tough one. I mean, my phone, I'm pretty much glued to. If I ever so much as leave the house without it, I feel totally naked, and panic, thinking, what on earth would I do if I broke down, or something! I do realize that people lived for a long time without a phone, but to me, this one is a non-negotiable.

The car is also quite a necessity. Especially with kids. I mean, no cars, ever?! I don't think I'd do very well being stuck in the house ALL the time. And, by the way, Memphis public transportation? No, that wouldn't be an option here.

I guess the one that I would panic the least about losing is the internet. I would, however, have to give up blogging, and I know each of you would be very sad about that. But, seriously, giving up the internet would be very hard. Not just for the frivolous things like blogging and keeping up with emails and facebook. I actually save quite a bit of money by researching things online. For instance, I recently bought a pair of $50 shoes (which was going to be a HUGE birthday splurge for me, since I normally don't spend much on shoes) for a mere $32 with NO TAX and NO SHIPPING on shoemall.com. The internet is also the source for information - pretty much anything you want or need to know, you can find out within a few clicks. How else would I be assured that the Gulf Shore beaches as of right now are still beautifully white and oil free?!

Yes, it would be a sacrifice, but I think out of the 3, it would MAYBE be one I could live with. Good thing I don't REALLY have to choose.

What are your thoughts on the matter?

What's in a Name?

We've always had zero trouble coming up with girl names we liked, but when it comes to boy names, it's been a different story. We never really knew for sure what we'd use if we had a boy. Well, for those of you who know me, you know I don't like to wait around on things, so I naturally wanted to hurry up and get the name checked off! I am happy to say that we are both THRILLED with the name we've come up with. So what is this wonderful name, you ask?

Pierce Kendall

This was my Papa's middle name, and although we have several adrian/adriennes in the family, we have yet to have a Pierce! I love it! We haven't decided for sure on a middle name, but are leaning towards Wesley, since that is Eric's middle name, and I thought that'd be nice, since Allie has my middle name!

So, naturally once we picked a name, I got to work! Here are a few of the cute things I've made Pierce so far. Oh yeah, we're now offering diaper bags and pacifier clips, so feel free to go take a look at those!

The winner is....

Shannon!

Thanks to everyone who entered and helped us spread the word for our new site! Be sure to check back often, as we'll always be adding new pictures of things we're doing! Remember, if you'd like to place an order, you can email us at thepersonalizedpeacock@yahoo.com or give us a call at 901-831-6686!

Well....

I must admit it, the news was a surprise! It was hard for me to picture having a boy, since we don't have too many of them in the fam, but I know it will be fun and exciting! The poor thing has absolutely NO clothes, (since Allie doesn't have one single gender neutral item) and has no name, since we haven't given tons of thought to a boy name, and I have no plans or vision for what the room will look like....

But it will sure be fun picking out all of these things! Feel free to drop off name suggestions... just don't get your feelings hurt if we don't pick yours! =)

Mostly, I wonder whether he'll grow up to be a Gator or a Vol fan?! I'm kinda thinking he may not want to choose the latter, since I just heard that the Vols are picked to come in dead last (even behind Vandy) in the SEC.

Oh, and of course, don't forget that today is the LAST day to enter to win the giveaway!

Giveaway from The Personalized Peacock!

Well, I know you all probably LOVE giveaways as much as I do, so I'm hoping this is one EVERYONE will be excited about! To celebrate the launch of our new website, we are offering a Giveaway to win ANY ITEM OF YOUR CHOICE from The Personalized Peacock! Yes, I said ANY ITEM!!! We have a wide variety of items, so there should be something for everyone! If you'd rather just have an item of your own personalized with monogram and/or applique, then we'll certainly do that as well!

To Enter to Win:

***Head on over to The Personalized Peacock and take a look around. Come back here and leave a comment letting me know what you would pick if you win!***

Want to win additional entries? You can do one or ALL of the following for more chances to win (JUST BE SURE TO LEAVE A SEPARATE COMMENT FOR EACH THAT YOU DO):

1. Blog about this giveaway (Be sure to link to it!) and leave a comment saying you did (This will earn you ONE extra entry!)

2. Share the link to this giveaway on FACEBOOK, then come back here and leave a SEPARATE comment saying you did this. (This will earn you TWO more entries!)

3. Become a fan (or "like") The Personalized Peacock on Facebook by going here. Then, come back and leave a SEPARATE comment letting me know you've done that. (This will earn you ONE extra entry!)

4. Grab Our Button and put it on your blog. Come back here and leave me a SEPARATE comment letting me know you've done this. (This will earn you TWO extra entries!)

<a href="http://www.thepersonalizedpeacock.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i803.photobucket.com/albums/yy318/rachelgkendall/blogbutton.jpg" border="0" alt="The Personalized Peacock" /></a>

Contest ends Monday, May 10th at 9:00 pm. Winner will be chosen by random.org

Since you asked...

Brandi requested that I poll my readers, so from now until Monday, feel free to vote in the poll to the right on whether you think we'll be buying blue or pink....

Why is it that...

I am sometimes so bad at taking pictures and video?! I think it's an all or nothing thing for me. From May-January, Allie has TONS of pictures, and, while not tons, I did force myself to be sure to get out the video from time to time. Yesterday I realized I have not taken one video of her since January! Of course, I then went on to realize that this was in direct correlation with finding out I was preg and being sick all the time and taking afternoon naps when Allie did....

Maybe that explains it?! But, I'm convinced the real problem is that I am completely an ALL or NOTHING person. And, I mean ALLLL or NOTHHHING. When I'm in the "all" mode, I sure can get some great things accomplished, but unfortunately, I must admit to times where I'm in the Nothing mode, too.... It's frustrating. At any rate, several months ago, I finished this beautiful scrapbook from 0-5 months , and was planning to keep right on with it, but so far haven't even bought the supplies for the next one! Poor Allie! Poor new baby! Hopefully this doesn't reflect how I'll be with videos and pictures from here on out!




My news goals:

• To finish the disc on the video camera, so I can start a new one for her birthday party. I think the current one has about 10 minutes left on it, so I better get going.
• To do a 6-12 month scrapbook BEFORE baby #2 arrives
• To remember to take videos and pictures of Allie's birthday and our upcoming beach trip

Now, hopefully these are goals I can accomplish!

Oh, and just so you know, our new router came, so I'm no longer needing to borrow internet from our neighbors... for those of you who were bothered by that!

Also, Monday is the big day, so instead of a MPM, be on the lookout for an "It's a....." post. =)

The Birthday Festivities are Over

My birthday was Saturday, and I've decided that Saturdays are simply the best days to have birthdays! Too bad it only comes around every 7 years or so! We woke up Saturday morning and headed to a nice breakfast. Then, for lunch, a few of my dearest friends took me to Swanky's for lunch and Muddy's cupcakes for dessert! I then headed on to have a MUCH needed pedicure, and ended the day with a nice evening out alone with hubby. We celebrated with my family on Friday night and Eric's family on Sunday night, so I'd say my weekend was definitely packed full!

And of course, what's a good birthday without some presents!? Between adorable maternity clothes, a cute pink polka dot laptop bag, jewelry, Starbucks card, and crafting supplies, I'd have to say that my favorite thing was my gift certificate for a mommy-to-be massage from Gould's! I cannot even wait to book my appointment! Let me just say that if you are pregnant, or ever planning to be, even though this is an extravagance, it is SOO worth it! Surely your birthday or Christmas will fall sometime during your pregnancy, and if not, I say just treat yourself! These are amazing!

On to other news, well this is good and bad news really. The good news is: We picked a business name!! The bad news: unfortunately we came up with it ourselves, so no giveaway! We did however LOVE the suggestions, and tried to use some, but they were already taken on blogger, and I wanted to keep it simple and not have to add a 1 or something else to the address. So, drumroll please.....

We are now The Personalized Peacock! Cute and catchy, don't ya think? Stay tuned for the launch of our website, which will include a fabulous GIVEAWAY!!!

Sorry for the delay in posting, but the storm has knocked our router out, so right now, I'm borrowing our neighbors internet! =)