Year End Wrap-Up

So 2012 has come and gone and we're already 7 days into the new year.  I cannot wrap my mind around how quickly time really does fly by.  After I went back to work full-time in September, all my spare time to maintain this blog quickly dwindled away.  One of my New Year's Resolutions is to carve out time every week to publish at least one new post.  I started Royal Feather because I loved connecting with new parents and their kids and helping them find amazing and useful products for their children.  This blog helped me connect with my fans on a much bigger level, and I miss that.  Since it's been a few months since my last post, this will be a photo blog of sorts instead.  Just a little recap of how our year ended.

Must Try Recipes

1.  Cheesy Egg & Bacon Pull-Apart Biscuits  2.  Mandarin Orange Oatmeal To-Go  3.  Strawberry Shortcake Muffins  4.  Hash Browns Breakfast Bites  5.  Clean Eating Tilapia  6.  Chicken Piccata  7.  Easy Bean & Cheese Burritos

I'm very grateful for all the meals Nicholas' school provides, but there are times when I'm not too happy with their breakfast options.  So because of that, I'll make batches of Hash Browns Breakfast Bites along with some type of a muffin (ie. items #3) and send him off to school with a healthy breakfast to start his day.  Both of these recipes were taste-tested by our little guy and were pretty good.  The beauty of the Breakfast Bites is their ability to never be boring {you can always vary what you mix into the hash browns; chopped bacon, turkey crumbles, chives, sausage, etc.}  Not only were they tasty but the fact that they're bite sized is a big plus.  Anything that he can grab and eat with his little hands is great since he's Mr. Independent now :)  The new oatmeal flavor was also a big hit with Jacob.  As I've mentioned before, there are days when he has to be at work at 4 or 5am so his lunch break is really a breakfast break.  These flavorful and healthy oatmeal options are pretty popular in our house as well.  

Project Pergola: Complete

After countless hours, (4) boxes of deck screws, (8) 8x8 cedar posts, (8) 2x12 cedar boards, (19) 2x6 cedar planks, (45) 2x2 cedar strips, and 5 gallons of Behr wood stain -  the pergola is finished!!  

 Fall Family Fun

Pumpkin Patch, Corn Maze, Nick all dressed up with his pilgrim hat for Thanksgiving lunch, and Indian Corn teacher gifts for Nick's awesome teachers at his preschool

Nicholas Parties with 

Chuck E Cheese

Last year Nicholas' 1st birthday party was rained out so this year I wasn't taking any chances.  The theme to his 2nd birthday was tailored around his current obsession, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.  I was so bummed that I didn't get a picture of his awesome cake before we added the candles.  But as you fellow Mommies know, you have to be quick when snapping photos of a toddler! I want to send a huge THANK YOU to the amazingly talented Jessica from Wee Sweet Treats for creating such a magical cake.  Everyone loved it!  And since Nick's birthday was on a Tuesday, I baked some super cute reindeer cupcakes for his class and staff members of his preschool.  They came out great! Super fun and kid-friendly.

 Christmas Time is a Happy Time

Christmas was actually a little challenging for us this year.  The three of us were hit with a pretty bad viral infection that lasted almost 3 days.  As a result, we missed Christmas but did our best to get better ASAP and at least celebrate the weekend after.  Nicholas absolutely loved his train table from Santa - it was a HUGE hit!  Traditionally we spend Christmas day at my Mom's parents' house but since we couldn't make it (nor could some other family members), we had a little re-do on the Saturday after.  We ate tamales, played games, exchanged gifts, and took some pretty memorable pictures.  Nick even popped fireworks for the first time! I love seeing our little guy have so much fun. His little smile always makes my heart so happy.  Here, Nick happily posed with his Great Grandpa.

All in all, 2012 was a pretty great year.  I love looking back through photos and reliving all our wonderful experiences.  As a family we laughed, we cried, we grew stronger together and as individuals, and we learned to reprioritize.  I learned to let go of things and people who won't change and are simply negative influences in our lives.  If you can't be happy for us, then I'm done trying to convince you.  In 2013 I have no plans of making unrealistic resolutions.  All I resolve to do is to be happy, healthy, and wise.  I want to only surround my family with all things positive and sincere - no stress and no drama!  I will continue working on growing Royal Feather and making an even happier home with my best friend - my Jacob.  Cheers to another amazing year!!
Thanks for stopping by!  

Currently...{new regular entry}

Loving:  how much I actually enjoy blogging.  I started this blog because it was important for me that my customers and/or anyone who visited Royal Feather knew that a real Mom was behind the whole thing.  I wanted people to feel that someone genuinely cared about what they were buying.  And I really do!  I love being able to help out anyone with any kind of baby/toddler questions they might have.  But now my blog has allowed me to get my "voice" back.  Any stay-at-home Moms reading this right now probably know what I'm talking about.  Once you're home all day with your children, especially children who are still too young to have an actual conversation with, you feel like you've lost contact with the real world.  No one is around for you to talk about current events with or something you saw on TV or something you read online.  Your new world consists of Disney Junior, flashcards, Play-doh, and sidewalk chalk.  Which don't get me wrong, I don't ever want to give any of that up, but sometimes, you want to be able to connect with other adults.  And for me, this blog has been able to do just that.  So to all my readers out there, THANK YOU!!       Reading:  Does Goodnight Moon count?? Unfortunately, I haven't been able to read any age appropriate books {my age that is, not Nick's}.  I just don't have the time right now.  Any down time I am blessed with, I usually use it to write up my next blog, scour Pinterest for new recipes, or hang out with Jacob if he's home.  He works so much that there are days where we only see him for maybe about 4 hours.  Retail hours suck, real bad.  Fortunately for us, he's the Operations Manager at one of our local Big-Orange-Box-Home-Improvement stores but being a manager means he's a salaried employee....that means saying goodbye to regular 40 hour work weeks.  Work weeks for him are more like 50-60 hours.  But, he loves his job so that's all that counts. 
Watching:  I LOVE almost all the shows USA has been coming out with lately.  For the Summer, I'm hooked on Necessary Roughness, Royal Pains, Suits, and Burn Notice.  And ok, RHONJ and Teen Mom....I won't lie, I cannot miss an episode.  I've been watching those reality shows since they started so I feel like I can't just quit now!  I have to watch it all play out and see what happens to everyone.  Yes, I'm 27 years old and I watch Teen Mom.  
Thinking about:  Nicholas.  Last night was Nicholas' first night without a pacifier.  He's 19 months old and only uses a pacifier to sleep.  He's never really needed it, it was more like his security...something he was used to as being his companion since birth.  And I never tried taking it away sooner because I felt it wasn't hindering him in any way since he wouldn't use it during the day and I simply did not want to hear him crying at night.  It is very difficult for me to walk away from him when he's crying - with real tears streaming down his face.  But as I was washing dishes at the end of the night, the thought crossed my mind to try and get Nicholas to give up the pacifier.  While he was playing in the living room, I got out a pacifier and cut off the end.  When he came shuffling into the kitchen I asked if he was ready for bed.  As he got closer to me I knew he was going to want to grab for a pacifier {he knows where the clean ones are stored so that's where he was inching towards}.  When I gave him the newly snipped pacifier, he didn't even look at it and it went straight into his mouth.  Instantly, he started laughing! He took it out and inspected it and turned it around and would poke his little finger through the hole I cut.  He kept putting the pacifier back into this mouth and laugh.  As he continued this little game, I was telling him that the "mamo" {that's what we call it} was broken, that it just didn't work anymore.  I said that we were going to have to throw it away since it couldn't do it's job anymore.  Lastly I said, "Nicholas, we're going to have to say bye-bye to mamo and throw it away because it's broken, ok?"  He looked at me with his big beautiful eyes and simply took the pacifier out with one hand and said "bye-bye" while waving at it with the other.  He walked up to the trash can and tossed it in.  I literally had to fight back my tears...I'm even tearing up as I'm typing this!! I was so fascinated with how "grown-up" he was about it, he was so confident and independent.  He didn't cry all night and I simply cannot believe that getting rid of the pacifier was just that easy.  Lets see how the rest of the week goes!!     
Anticipating:  the next few months.  September is almost here and with it brings the beginning of Fall and the Holiday season.  Although living in South Texas doesn't allow us the privilege of chilly nights or changing leaf colors, simply being in those months makes me feel great!  It's not as hot during those months and all the holidays kind of snowball into one.  This year Nicholas will be old enough to go Trick-or-Treating {and I probably need to start looking for a costume but I have to deal with the heat issue so it's a bit challenging}, and then it's Thanksgiving, then Nick's 2nd birthday!, then Christmas, then New Years, and then a whole new year begins.  Jacob and I have even been toying with the idea of taking a delayed anniversary cruise at the end of December so that's pretty exciting to think about as well.  He has Inventory at his store at the beginning of December and I have my biggest selling weekend right after that - our Junior League hosts their annual Christmas shopping extravaganza {Dias Festivos} during the first weekend of December and I {Royal Feather} participate in the 4-day event with a 10x10 booth.  I really enjoy this event because it gives me an opportunity to actually talk to and catch up with all my customers in person.  So after all our hard work, going on a little vacation afterwards would be perfect!  
Wishing:  for courage.  For enough courage to face my fears and go and get a CT scan.  My migraines seem to be getting worse sometimes and there are moments where I swear I'm going to die at any minute.  I have prescription migraine medication, but at $120.00 {$500.00 without insurance - outrageous, yes I know} for only 12 pills, there are times when I say to myself "Its not that bad, don't take anything and just save them until it gets really bad."  Of course I decided to read up on migraines and aneurysms the other day and I'm convinced I have the latter.  I had a CT scan done a few years ago and it came out normal but I really do think I should do it again.  But I'm terrified of the results!!  I know, I just need to bite the bullet and do it.      
Making me happy:  our pergola is almost finished!!  If you follow my blog you know it's been a long time coming, LOL!!  Jacob has been working on this huge project all on his own for a couple of months.  When we talk about our plans for the backyard all his feelings of accomplishment wash over his face and he gets this huge grin, it really is cute.  He squeezes in time to work on it when he has a day off or gets out of work early.  He's painted and cut and nailed practically every board on that pergola all on his own.  Sometimes I think he's crazy for not asking for help but when I see that look on his face when he talks about how much he enjoys doing the work and feels like it's "therapeutic", I'm just happy knowing he is.  
So now, what about you?  What are you up to?  Feel free to try your own "Currently" post on your blog and link it up in my Comments for everyone to check out.  I must give credit where credit is due - thank you Danielle for inspiring me to start these regular posts.
Thanks for stopping by!   

If You Really Knew Me

I started advertising on Sometimes Sweet this week and I am so happy to announce that my little 125x125 ad has created such amazing traffic to my shop Royal Feather.  Thank you Brenna for steering me in this direction and Jesus for all you continue to bless me with :)  Earlier this week Danielle, writer behind Sometimes Sweet, blogged about a post she'd seen "floating" around the blogosphere.  The post has been about revealing a little more about who you "really are" to your audience.  I instantly loved this idea because just this past weekend Jacob and I were discussing how some people (people we thought were close to us and complete strangers alike) have no idea who we really are.  Said people assume they know us, but they truly don't.  Should you decide to participate as well, post your link in my comments section so I can check it out!
Here it goes...if you really knew me...
you'd know that my husband and I live our lives for ourselves and Nicholas and no one else - period.  The decisions we make are what's best for the three of us.  We don't plot out ways to be better than others or to "keep up with Joneses" or to "one-up" anybody.  The house we live in, how we choose to decorate it, the cars we drive, the things we enroll Nicholas in, and what we buy as gifts for each other are things we simply want for one another and for absolutely no other reason.  Nothing annoys me more than to hear "oh, my child already has had that for so long, it's so old" or "oh, we have something like that but ours is better because x, y, and z" or, "you're son is barely doing that? mine did it at {insert some extremely unreasonable age here}."  Really?!  Seriously people!  Why does everything have to be a competition? Especially between children.  And even between adults too!  That just really irritates me.
you'd know that I was laid off while I was on maternity leave with absolutely no explanation - none, whatsoever.  As a result, I felt pretty depressed and lousy for a long while.  To be told "we're terminating you, but not your position" is pretty rough to hear.  And then when you're begging for an explanation and fighting back tears while holding your newborn and all you get is "I'm sorry you feel that way but the decision has been made", you just feel horrible.  I remember being on an emotional roller coaster - first sad, then angry and upset, then hurt, then worried and scared about our future, then angry again, and then finally acceptance.  Don't get me wrong, it's not like I didn't want to spend every possible moment with Nicholas, I was just so angry about how the whole thing happened.  Jacob and I weren't prepared for something like that.  I was ready to return to work on a Monday when I got the "phone call" on the Friday before.  Talk about leaving it to the last minute on their part.
you'd know that I love with my whole heart.  But I do have to be treated fairly and equally to show that kind of affection.  I've learned the hard way that being nice all the time doesn't get you anywhere but stepped on.  Too many times people have confused my kindness for weakness and I simply won't have it anymore.  If you criticize or judge my husband or my son, we're going to have a problem.  
you'd know that I'm kind of a homebody.  Now of course I do love going out on Date Night and trying out new places and restaurants or taking Nicholas to playdates or the library for storytime.  But sometimes there are days when Jacob finally has a day off and I just love to stay home and relax with my family.  We secretly call those days "Gray Shorts Day."  Somehow the 3 of us coincidentally have a pair of super comfy cotton gray shorts and we wear them on those days when all we want to do is nothing.  I know it's cheesy, but it's just one of our things that we enjoy.  Being home means I don't have to do my hair or makeup and I can just be Me without any judgements.
you'd know that my memory is impeccable.  Ever since I was a little girl I had this amazing ability to recall where I had seen or read something in vivid detail.  My sisters and parents would say I had a photographic memory.  And that's all still true today.  I remember the faces of pretty much everyone I've met, things that have been said to me (directly or indirectly), how I felt when things have happened, sometimes even what I was wearing on certain occasions.  So you better think twice next time you want to lie to me, it won't work :)
you'd know that I've always wanted a bulldog and to name her Lola.
you'd know that I'd love to just pack a suitcase for the three of us and live on a beach somewhere.
you'd know I would love nothing more than to be accepted by everyone.  It really bums me out when people have a false understanding of me - when they've been painted an unfair, one-sided picture of me and then just judge me from there on out.  Get to really know me first before you write me (and my family) off.
you'd know that I'm really bad at drinking water - always have been.  I'd rather drink Crystal Light or more recently cups of herbal lemongrass tea.  Even when I eat, I don't really drink much.  When my cousins and I were younger and we'd stay at my grandparents' house during the summertime, it used to really freak out my Grandma that I wouldn't really drink anything all day.  She couldn't understand how I liked to "comer seco" {eat without drinking anything}.  Those summers were such a blessing.    
you'd know that I'm a major night owl.  Right now, it's 1:57AM and I still have to proof this post before I publish it in the morning and possibly add some pictures.
you'd know that I wish I had more time in the day to read books like I used to, I've been watching General Hospital for over 12 years, when purchasing something new, pretty product packaging gets me every time, I can't walk out of Sephora without buying something, I'm afraid of dying, I worry about not being a good enough mother to Nicholas, my guilty-reality-tv-show-pleasures are Teen Mom and RHONJ, and the dentist absolutely terrifies me.
How about you?     

Cheers to Many More Years!

Today Jacob and I celebrate our wedding anniversary!  I'm usually pretty private about my husband, but since I'm so open about our activities with Nicholas and all the other aspects of our lives, I'm making an exception.
Jacob and I met on a Sunday afternoon on a Southwest flight that was headed for LA.  We were both on our way to California for work trips and didn't even notice one another until he sat next to me on the second leg of the flight.  His rather chatty co-worker was adament that the both of them move into the empty seats that were next to me.  I didn't mind as long as I didn't have to give up my aisle seat :)  For the most part, I was tuning them out as I kept to myself and my Jodi Picoult novel.  Little by little, Jacob kept trying to make small talk with me so I put my guard down and we chatted the rest of the flight.  As the plane began to make it's descent, I found myself not wanting the flight to end!  We really clicked!  I couldn't believe I had just had an amazing conversation with someone who was funny, educated, had a good job, and had so many similar interests as I did.  
Once the plane landed and everyone started making their way off the plane, I gathered my carry-on and we said our goodbyes.  I was feeling pretty disappointed that he didn't make an attempt to ask for my number or email address or anything.  As I walked off the plane I found myself getting annoyed with the whole situation and just told myself he was such a jerk - "this guy is such a loser! He's probably married or has a girlfriend and here he is hitting on me! The nerve of some men! Ugh!!"  I told myself to forget it all and to just enjoy my few days in California and simply concentrate on work.  As my co-worker and I were waiting at baggage claim, who do I see making his way towards me?! Yup, that's right, Jacob.  I thought, "Oh no! This is going to be so awkward!! Maybe I'll just keep my back turned and he'll stay away."  It's all so hilarious now....remembering it all....good memories.  Just like I had feared, Jacob came right up to me and just picked up our conversation where we had left off.  I didn't want to seem too interested but we somehow got to talking about the season finale of CSI Las Vegas (my all time favorite TV show) and how we couldn't believe that they would just kill off Warrick Brown!!...and the rest is history.
We didn't see each other again until about a week after we were both back in Austin and our whirlwind romance just continued from there.  From the beginning we knew what we wanted for our futures and our futures included each other.  We've endured quite a bit of hardships in our short time together - the loss of my Father, living 400 miles apart from one another for most of our engagement, criticism from people regarding our relationship, and being laid-off while I was on maternity leave - just to name a few.  We may not see just how strong we are in the midst of all the craziness sometimes, but I know there is no one else I would rather be going through it with.  At the end of the day, we have a roof over our heads, food on our table, a beautiful and healthy son, and God on our side.  We couldn't be luckier.  We may not be perfect as individuals, but we work together perfectly.  Cheers to us!!

Hope you enjoyed the photos and thanks for stopping by!