Cha-cha-cha-changes!

Oh me, oh my!  It has been an extremely long time since my last post, almost a year in fact!  A lot has happened since my last post.  I ended up experiencing a difficult pregnancy, almost delivering 11 weeks early, but thankfully in the end only delivering 6 weeks early.  Luckily my little girl is a strong trooper and only spent 9 days in the NICU.  Granted, those were the longest 9 days of my life.

Born 6 weeks early at 4lbs 7oz

Adjusting to life as a mom hasn't been easy.  I love my baby more than I can possibly express and being her mom is the most rewarding thing I've ever done.  However, I'm exhausted, and learning how to balance work and baby while maintaining my sanity hasn't been easy.  I'm still working everyday to find the right balance.

Her first week home

I've also been struggling with post partum depression since I returned to work.  While I am realizing I'm really one of those moms that does need work to fulfill myself, being away from my daughter hasn't been an easy adjustment for me.  I miss her during the day, and returning to work had a severely negative impact on my ability to breastfeed and even produce breast milk with pumping.  We made it 4 months feeding her only breast milk, and now at almost 7 months my ability to produce anything is really tapering off.  This was hard to accept at first, buying that first can of formula was a very emotional experience, but I now realize that my girl is growing and thriving and so it's ok that she is primarily formula fed now.

1 month old, also Christmas Eve

And, as if having a baby weren't change enough, my husband and I have decided that in the best interest of our family, it is time for us to pack up and move across the country to a city that we feel will provide Ramona with the most positive environment for growing up.  This is still in the works, so no full details yet, but each day we are getting closer to a definite moving date, a definite job situation, and a definite living situation.

4 Months Old

So yes, there have been numerous changes in the past year.  I miss this blog oh so much, and I really can't promise how frequently I will be able to post in the future, but I do hope to continue some posts.  Depending on how today goes there may even be a few additional posts coming (I'm currently taking care a sick baby in need of lots of sleep).  For those of you who have continued to come to this blog, thank you!  I know it can be frustrating when you find a blog you enjoy, and then suddenly the posts just stop coming.

6 Months Old

Happy Valentine's Day!

Image via

Happy Valentine's Day from Skillets.Sneakers.Style!!

Since today is all about showing love I'm going to ask you all to do me a little favor and show some love for me over at East Coast Creative.  I've entered the Creating with the Stars contest using my desk chair make-over as my entry.  They pick 12 contestants and pair each one up with a star blogger (please Sherry please!) and they all compete over 4 weeks to see who is the most creative, fun right!  One of these 12 contestants is chosen by popularity, so if you like this blog and if you were as impressed with that chair makeover as I was myself, please click here and scroll down to entry number 201 and just click on the entry, that's all you have to do!

Unfortunately because of the little post hiatus I had to take, I was not able to do a post of V-day gift ideas in time for it to be useful (so sorry).  However I figured the least I can do is give a few little shout outs to the sellers I purchased my gifts for my husband from.  Valentine's day is not a big deal in our house, we are definitely one of those couples that prefers small gestures throughout the year over large once in a while acts.  We don't completely ignore this day though, we just like to keep our gifts small and sweet or funny.  Maybe it's because I'm in the process of starting my own small business, but this year I decided to avoid the big name retailers and instead looked for special and unique items from small businesses.  Also being someone who prefers to shop online, Etsy became the perfect option to accomplish this goal.  I knew the theme of item I was looking for (we're opening presents tonight so I can't spill the beans quite yet), so I simply typed it into the search and scrolled through all of the items that popped up until I found the ones that spoke to me.

KBPaperCreations

The first seller I came across that piqued my interest was KBPaperCreations.  She makes custom note pads, recipe cards, and paper mobiles.  While a lot of items in her shop lean towards the feminine side, she has a few that I knew would definitely appeal to my husband.  Since I don't want to spoil what I bought I'll share a couple of her other items I really enjoy, and with birthdays coming up these could turn into some more great gift ideas.

I'm at that point in life where friends are having babies left and right and this sweet little mobile, which comes in different colors would the perfect baby shower gift.

Paper Bird Mobile

I love cooking and finding new recipes but I have a horrible habit of writing them down on random scraps of paper that I stuff into a folder, cute recipes cards like these would go a long way to help improve my current system.

Hand Stamped Recipe Cards

JWCDesigns

The next seller I found that caught my eye was Minimalist Art by JWCDesigns.  According to his Etsy site he is based out of Portland, OR, which was a sign that I was meant to find his shop because despite living in DC the dream of the 90's is more than alive in our home.  Jason's art is amazing, he has combined classic fandom icons with stylish design.  In fact, I fell so in love with the set of prints I found that I was worried my husband might not like them, so I actually emailed the link to him to check.  Since he already knows what these are I'll go ahead and share with you too.

Star Trek Minimalist Prints

I know these aren't everyone's cup of tea, but my husband loves Star Trek and I love the simple design and colors used in the background.  Also they seem to be of pretty high quality for a really reasonable price.  Now the only question will be where to put them.

DingbatPress

Lastly, I found the perfect letterpress card at DingbatPress.  I love letterpress and I love the quirky designs DingbatPress pairs with the style.  There are cards, prints and other cute items available with letterpress printed designs, including the cute print below (which is not what I purchased this time).

When You Know Letterpress Print

How do you celebrate Valentine's Day?  Do you make it a big deal or do you keep it low key?