Brody's 1st Birthday Lumberjack Shindig

Since it's Flashback Friday and Brody-man is about to turn the big 0-2 this February, I decided to reminisce on Brody's first birthday and share some photos.

Holy shizz yall, I can't believe he's about to be 2! Next thing I know, it will be his first day of kindergarten and then college. HA! I feel like he'll be hollering that he hates me while slamming his bedroom door next week. And, I'll get that "Mom-you're-embarrassing-me" look and I'll be like "do you remember how amaze balls your first birthday was!? Um, yeah. I DID THAT. OK, me and some help from your grandparents, but you should re-think your attitude bud."

So before he's 14 and rolling his eyes at me, let me enjoy remembering his first birthday for my sweet baby boy...

I'd been looking for some great ideas for party themes six months prior to Brody's birthday. If you don't know me or my family (meaning my mom and sister), then we are the type of gals who see something we like and then we figure out a way to imitate and make it our own. We are pretty creative (or at least they are!), and when we don't just 'throw' something together. I mean we have, but we work our butts off the nights, days and weeks prior.

Parties, weddings, kids costumes, (ok with the exception of this year for B's halloween costume--he was John Wayne and it was last minute; like literally day of...), baby and wedding showers--you name it, we've done it!

I had a few runner-ups when it came to themes, but I decided to go with something I'd never seen or
known anyone to do--LUMBERJACK!

I got my inspiration from The Cake Blog, who featured a lumberjack party. Brody loves being outside, so I figured it suited him well!

Once my decision for the party was in full force, my M-I-L and F-I-L had some left over tree trunks they cut up and lacquered for me to use as cake stands and table decor. We bought some little chalkboard signs at First Monday, plaid fabric and we were off prepping for a Lumberjack party our little man would have a blast at.

Luckily, my mom and dad's house is lodge-like and woodsy, so she had plenty of decor lying around the house that we could use.

CAKE Catastrophe

The night before the party, I went to pick up the cake and came back crying. I ordered it from Brookshire's and had shown them a photo of this gorgeous cake with a sky blue top with clouds and the bottom was green with spray-painted mountains. I told them not to worry about the decor on the cake image (which was camping-themed), we'd handle that, but I just needed the backdrop.

I SPECIFICALLY SAID, if they couldn't do that then just get it a solid color.

Well, I went to pick it up and it was a mess. It looked absolutely awful. Brody could have made it prettier. No offense, Bro! It was NOTHING like I wanted. The people at Brookshire's could tell I was upset and gave me a discount, but I needed a cake.

I took it home and my mom started working on it and blended it all so it was solid green. I was literally a basket case the whole time.

She added some decor we had and it turned out great! Thanks, Mom!

The party was as off-the-chain as a one year old's party can be. People sported their flannel, he kids had a blast in the bounce house and surprisingly everyone made their own ax at the ax-making station. All in all, it was a pretty epic first birthday party complete without a birthday boy meltdown! Not sure how that happened, but hey I was thankful.

At the end of the night, Brody hadn't had a nap all day and started to fall asleep sitting up in Da da's lap. Yup, he had fun.

Painted lumberjack backdrop: Made by my Mama

Flannel family.

My father-in-law, M-I-L and Nanny with Brody Jack!

My mom and Dad with Brody. 

All the kiddos. 

My bearded friends. 

My grandparents! Moo Moo and Papa (Jack) w/ Brody Jack!

Cake time!

Custom invitation and printed graphics - Made by Tricia

Tree Stump Cake Stands - homemade

Chalkboard signs on cake table - First Monday

Chalkboard Writing/giant backdrop art - My Mom, Joni

Happy Birthday Banner - homemade

Cake - Brookshire's made it, but it was hideous so we re-iced it and decorated ourselves.

ALL Material - Purchased at JoAnn's Fabric

Moss Table Runner - Hobby Lobby

All Moose, Bear and Camping/Woods decor - Pulled from my mom's house! 

Wishing all the parents creative, fun bday adventures this year! 

Hello 2014 --from the most inconsistent blogger ever

I can't believe it's 2014. It's crazy to think I started this whole blogging thing nearly two years ago, and to be honest I'm disappointed at how inconsistent I've been. Boo!

Bottom line: I really love doing this, I need to stick with it this year and I'm totally going to this time.

So now, I'm considering getting my blog custom designed, thanks to my longtime BFF, Stephanie, who has a fashion-driven blog (GO CHECK IT OUT!). But she blogs on Blogger, and I've had to switch from Wordpress to use the fella who crafted her beautifully designed blog.

Other things that are soon to come: A NEW and IMPROVED blog name. I need help. I'm terrible at headlines... I'm open to suggestions people! Speak up! Do you like the new name?

Beyond my needing to improve things on the blog, I should try to update you on my life. I'm still staying at home with my little love, Brody Jack. My days consist of watching "Alvin and the Chipmunks" three times a day, cleaning the house, doing my wifely chores and changing diapers (I'm scared to start potty training! EEK!). And, I have all three movies now, so that helps my sanity but it's all he wants to watch. What's sad about this "Alvin and the Chipmunks" phase is I catch myself talking in movie quotes from the movies. Seriously! It's awful. And I constantly have the songs on replay in my head; they just won't leave.

But if I need Brody to sit still while I do a few things around the house, it works. He absolutely loves it, so I guess it's a win, win.

This little guy has been a hoot-and-a-half lately. If you don't follow me on Instagram, you should at Casswhite21. I always post videos and pics of our lil fella.

He's talking up a storm, saying new words everyday. I'm starting to notice new things he says or does or points out to me daily. It's crazy to see how much he absorbs and how quickly it happens. I'll try to keep you guys up-to-date with the latest!

Cheers to a new year and a more consistent blogger,

Brody's Birth Story Part 3

Read part 1 & part 2 first.

Soon after our first few wonderful hours together, Brody was off to the nursery to get examined, poked, measured and watched by daddy, who was standing with a camera in hand eyeing Brody and his nurse's every move; he wasn't going to leave his side any time soon.

Meanwhile back in L&D, I was getting the treatment--getting cleaned up via sponge-bath which made me feel much better despite still experiencing the migraine.  Before I realized it, it was midnight and I was beyond delirious.

I had a new visitor--my dear friend Cami. She arrived just after her shift ended at work--Dodie's Greenville--, and bumped into Klay at the nursery.

"Brody's so cute," she said as she sat down and asked how I felt. The light was dim in the room to help ease with the sensitivity to light from the gruesome headache. Honestly, I don't really remember much of our conversation because I was so exhausted and OUT OF IT. I remember talking, though it could have been about politics, baby Jesus, who knows?



After Cami left, my nurses prepped me to move to a room upstairs. Lauren and Brandy, my two nurses of the day, were truly spectacular. I'd gotten so attached to them I was crazy sad to move upstairs. I felt like they were sending me off into the wilderness to fend for myself. It was almost as if they were my parents sending me to live in a new home with a new family. At least that's how I felt. They guided me through the most incredible, scary, up and down rollercoaster ride of my life and I didn't want to let them go. Through my labor I discovered one was from Forney and even got her contact info to meet up. I was attached.

But it was time for me to take my leap, start walking on my own and for them to let go of me, wave goodbye and let me  figure this thing out called motherhood. But I was so afraid that my next nurses wouldn't take as good of care of me as they did. But if they were so great, surely the hospital has more great nurses right? WRONG.

After our move to our newest digs, the nurses brought me my baby boy. I was so eager to hold him despite my exhaustion. I didn't mind feeding him, I was just happy he was with me; I didn't want him out of my sight.I looked back at Lauren as I lay on the portable hospital bed, grabbed her hand, and shifted my focus to Klay who was walked beside us.  Whisked me out of L&D, we were on the move, I closed my eyes opening them to only see glimpses of walls and florescent lights that skated above me.



While I was holding Brody once more, I felt my nausea resurface. Looking at the new night nurse in my room, I said "Get me something I'm about to get sick. I'm about to sick. Take him, take him." She just stood there looking at me like I was speaking a foreign language. Maybe I was? Thankfully, Klay stood up took Brody from me and handed me a hospital barf bag. Why they make those bags so small?!?

After getting sick again for the millionth time, I started to dose. Every three or so hours people would come check my BP. Then, my nurse came in and said my oxygen levels were low. Down in L&D, they'd put this thing on my finger which is supposed to monitor my oxygen levels. Well prior to delivery, Brandy (my L&D nurse) had trouble getting a good read on my finger. I'd gotten the shellac or gel nail polish (navy blue) and it wasn't reading through my nail. So, after trying it on my toe (which had gray polish), and that didn't work, they moved the monitor to my ear. When we got upstairs, they placed it back on my finger.

I told the new nurses this a thousand times, but they didn't listen, they continued to ignore me. I kept dosing off intermittently between nurses shuffling in and out of this tiny room.

Around 4 a.m., a specialist came in to check on me. I told him through the oxygen mask--feeling sort of Darth Vadarish--that'd I said 500 times to check it somewhere else but no one would listen. He simply took the clamp, opened it and turned it sideways so it was on my skin rather than the nail, and voila! it was normal. Thankfully that was the end of that.

We were eventually moved to a third room later that morning. Brody's tests were coming back normal with the exception of one--his jaundice test. With rising jaundice levels higher than normal,  we were going to keep good track of it, which meant more pokes and blood test on this heel of his foot.

Despite everything, he seemed to be taking to my breast well and everyone told me I was doing a great job breastfeeding. The lactation nurse even told me my milk was coming in. I was hopeful. I had this dream that I would be the mom that traveled everywhere with her kid in a baby bjorn, popping out the boobie when he got hungry like his very own milk vending machine. I was going to be the source of his food. It was my responsibility to be his one-stop shop for the goods. That was me, the milk-making mommy machine. I could see it.

What an idiot, I was...