Meet My Friends!

These ladies are absolutely fantastic!  I'm honored to introduce you to each of them, and know you'll love getting to know them as much as I have! :)

Blog ~ Twitter ~ Pinterest ~ Etsy

Right after my daughter was born, I found myself calling her "pretty little baby" or "pretty little girl". Eventually all of the cute nicknames got shortened. I simply called her "Pretty Little". And you know what? That nickname fit! Not only is she pretty, but she's also pretty little! That's how I chose a name for this blog, and "Pretty Little" almost found it's way to my wrist in the form of a tattoo......This blog is where you'll find writing about our daily life, complete with milestones big and small. I also post a lot of photos, and I love making bloggy friends and enjoy a good link-up every now and then. I love big, and take note of all the little things in life.....those are usually the most important! I hope you'll stick around and get to know us a little. Welcome to our Pretty Little Life!

My favorite Holiday tradition is my family's Christmas Eve get-together. My dad's side of the family comes together and it's always a good time! I love seeing my cousins, who range in age from 5-35. And now we have lots of little ones to add to the mix.....seeing my cousin's child play with my own is mind-blowing. These are the memories I want for myself and my daughter. It's the simple things that make Christmas Eve special to me: family, our menu of German meats and cheeses (even if we have to commute hours to find the perfect little shop that still sells these delicacies), singing Christmas carols, and listening to the Christmas story. Just thinking about it makes me all sorts of warm and fuzzy.

The best thing about being a mother is that I've finally found my reason in life. It's purpose and a reason for living, all rolled into one!

Blog ~ Twitter ~ Facebook ~ Pinterest

Hi, I'm Joanna from over at Brock Paper Scissors! Wife to handsome sailor, Dan; mother to Nico and Lola. I'm working girl turned stay-at-home mom and military wife. Join my adventures in raising a witty, rambunctious toddler, his equally adorable baby sister and everything in between.

My favorite holiday tradition is how we spend the day after Thanksgiving! We put up the tree, listen to Christmas music and watch Christmas movies all day long. This really gets everyone into the Christmas spirit and pumped for the holiday! It's pretty much the shiz!

There are so many great things about being a mother, but probably my favorite thing? Is living life again, through the eyes of my children. They get so excited about everything, which in turn, excites me. I know it sounds cheesy, but it's really magical.

Blog ~ Twitter ~ Facebook ~ Pinterest

I'm wife to a wonderful and supportive husband and mami to 3 wonderful little kiddos, 5 1/2, 3 and 9 months. I left the NYC corporate world when my baby was born to become a stay-at-home mom and my life has never been more full of adventure! My life-long desire to is to draw closer to the heart of my Heavenly Father and be the wife and mother he has destined me to be. We have recently begun a Traditional Food/Real Food journey with more of a focus on whole body healing and organic living. The things I post here on my blog are my opinion only and what work for our family based on research and learning that I've done. 

My favorite holiday tradition: the day after Thanksgiving we always go out as a family (with extended family) and pick out our yearly ornaments. The kids all get a new one and we write names and the year on them and then each year as we decorate the tree, we get to sit back and remember how each one was obtained and why we picked that one. This year we're making our ornaments to make it a bit more fun. So excited about it! 

My favorite part about being a mother: The unexpected moments when cherished memories are made or sweet lessons are learned. It usually happens when you least expect or the least amount of planning has happened and I treasure those moments in my heart as a mother, knowing that all too soon, my babies will be all grown up

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I have been making my Beenana Bread for over 20 years, and it has seen more states then I have! I make by hand using only a potato masher, and a wooden spoon! Consistency is key, so I never vary from the main ingredients, and will make to order, I have made it so that those allergic to dairy and nuts can enjoy!

My favorite Holiday is Christmas….I love the music, and buying and or making of gifts. I love sending Christmas Cards, and buying the kids each an ornament that represents them or their interests at the time.

The best thing about being a mother? Is watching your children grow, I have 4 ages 18 to 30, and they are so independent, yet even if I don’t see them or talk to them for a few weeks, when we catch up its so much fun! I might not agree with what they say or do, but I give them room to make their own mistakes, and learn from them.


So glad to have each of these fantastic ladies in my life…and hope you will stop by and introduce yourself today! ;)

"Pinning!" {Wk.5} All That Glitters

Welcome to "Pinning!" Week 5! Our Holiday Fashion edition!

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1. 2. 3. 4.

5. 6. 7. 8.

9. 10. 11. 12.

Do you dress up for the holidays?  Are you excited for any big parties this year?

THANK YOU for Linking up last week…

What are you pinning this week? 

Are you "Pinning"?  

Come on, everyone is doing it.  

Join me MONDAYS for weekly sharing of Pinterest finds.  

After all, together we are "Pinning!"

{Rules}

December 12th: All that Glitters (Holiday Party Fashion)

December 19th: 12 Days of Delish (12 Mouthwatering Recipe Pins)

"Pinning" will take a SHORT break for the holiday (12/26 & 1/2) and start the new year with a bang! 

January 9th: Motivation

Sneak Preview Saturday!

I've decided for the next couple of Saturdays, before we hit the New Year, I'm going to share little peeks of what the redesigned "Baxtron{Life}" Blog will look like. I'd love any feedback you're willing to share!

Please bare with me this month as I implement changes, things may not work the way they should but everything will be FANTASTIC by 1.1.12!!

Newly Designed "About" Page:

{Top 5} Productivity Software for Homemakers/Bloggers/Writers/Everyone

Time is of great worth to me at this point in my life.  I've always had a "Type-A" personality, but with an 18 month old I've definitely been forced to learn how to be flexible, patient and adaptable.  I'm going to let you in on a (not very secret) secret.  {I'm a closet geek.}  Well, actually, I've been out of the closet with my geekiness for a while.  I like computer games, the full blow online fantasy RPG kind.  (If you don't know what that means…its okay…probably better for the both of us.)  Anyway, this edition of my Top 5 (is not about gaming) highlights the software/productivity programs that make my life easier to manage.

I'm not getting any kickbacks here, folks, just sharing the secret weapons of household/life/sanity management.

{5} G-what what! Google---mail, calendar, analytics, talk, voice, plus…you name it.  I love it for my personal account as well as my professional.  I love the calendar sharing, the way it is streamlined and easy to use.  Fantastic.  If it bears the Google name, I'm likely to use it.  Sad, but true!

{4} iPhoto/Picnik - I was once a PC elitist…but now that our household is outnumbered by Macs 5:1, well, I've become sort of infatuated with anything that bears the Apple emblem (who isn't seriously!?).  I love iPhoto for organizing my albums and swiftly
uploading.  It definitely doesn't have the editing power of other
programs, so that is where Picnik comes in.  Free to use, but worth paying the $25/annual fee for the premium features.

{3} Spotify - Okay, yeah, it isn't technically a "productivity" program…but I feel like everything in life can be better experienced with a good soundtrack.  I'm LOVING Spotify and have tried premium…and plan on subscribing in the near future.  I don't know how what they do is legal, but I love that it is!

{2} Mint.com - As far as free goes…this is probably the best financial software you can snag up without spending a dime.  Manage your accounts, track your budget, and set goals.  I really enjoy looking at the pie charts at the end of the month to see where our cash is going.  Can be very eye-opening!


{1} Evernote - As a writer…I use this for EVERYTHING.  I mean everything.  When I save blog posts that I enjoy (recipes, diy, tutorials, etc.) in my reader, I go back through them and clip whatever specific details I want saved to my Evernote.  I am then able to make notes, and organize everything.  I can't even begin to tell you how useful this program is to me.  I add writing ideas and inspiration, keep track of passwords, take notes during church services.  And the best part (besides that it is FREE!)?  It syncs with all of my mobile devices.  Seriously amazing program.

Do you have any secret weapons for managing your household/business/life?

Let's Connect!

       

Wordless{ish} Wednesday

It has been a tough week for me.  I'm dealing with health issues that are making life difficult to say the least.  I will write more about that later, but for now I just want to share my beautiful little girl and her "Pree-Cuh" {Princess} Couch that she got from her Nana.  

The couch/sleeper is a Christmas present, but was needed, so we gave it to her early (Nana approved!).  She loves it.  I scored the cute little sparkly purple tray at a trip to Michael's today for only $5!  She loves to unfold the couch into the bed, snuggle up into the blanket and then pretend to snore.  It is hilarious.  I love seeing her so happy that she has her own big girl seat.

Hope you are all having a fantastic week! 

Linking up with these ladies today:

          


Let's Connect!

       

Welcome Carly of Texas Love Birds!

Hello Life with the Baxtrons readers! My name is Carly and I write over at the blog Texas Lovebirds. I was so excited to win Courtney's amazing giveaway of the extra large feature and ad, and I am so excited to be posting here today.

I live in Texas (hence the blog name) with my husband, our two dogs (a Great Dane and a Boston Terrier), and we have a little boy named Gunner on the way. Texas Lovebirds started as a blog of "Dear Peanut" letters to my son and soon became a way for me to document my beautiful life. I still write my "Dear Peanut" letters, but you'll also see posts about my random thoughts, our daily life, crafts, recipes, and much more.

Courtney gave me lots of great suggestions of what to write about in my feature post, so instead of picking just one or two, I thought I'd briefly address them all.

What's your six word memoir (read more about six word memoirs here)? "So called youngins, so in love." I haven't written about it on my blog (yet), but Cody and I are "young." I'm 22, he's 25. We've been married for two and half years, and like I said, we have our first child on the way. We were so ready for marriage and we are now so ready for a child, but that doesn't keep others from judging. I feel like Cody and I can live our lives as a strong example of "youngins" who are living and loving in the greatest way.

The best thing about being a wife or a mother?Since I'm not "officially" a momma yet, I'll go the wife route. For me, one of the best things about being a wife is serving my husband. I must admit, it's something I just recently found the joy in, but I really love it. I'm so thankful that God has begun to create this servant heart in me. It brings a smile to my face to get out of bed a few minutes before Cody and make him a pot of coffee. I truly believe in the calling of service and really enjoy partially fulfilling that calling with my husband.

How do you maintain your "self" while flourishing as a wife/mother/any other role? I again went the wife route with this question...for me, this is a tough one. My husband is my best friend and we enjoy so many of the same things (football, Sons of Anarchy, The Hunger Games book series, etc.), plus his work schedule at the fire station already makes our time together limited...thus, maintaining my "self" is definitely something I could work on, and something I've really thought about lately. Blogging is really a me thing and I try to make time to just be by myself with a cup of coffee and my thoughts...I know I need more though, any suggestions?? I'd love to hear them!

If you could change one thing about today (about anything), what would it be?I think I'd have to change the society and culture that kids are growing up in today. Sure, I know it's a big task, but the question said anything. There's so much to be worried about...idolization of reality TV stars, girls starving to be a size zero, the willingness to do anything for money... Man, oh man.
If you've made it through this entire post, thank you so much for reading. Again, thank you to Courtney for giving me the opportunity to post. I really enjoyed sharing my thoughts and I'd love for you to stop by my blog and say hi! Leave me a comment or email me if you have a blog you'd like me to check out, I'm always looking for new reads.

Below are just a few places you can find me and one way you can contact me:

Blog ~ Pinterest ~ Email

Love to all, Carly

Carly, I'm thrilled to have "met" you through this giveaway and I'm very excited to watch your adventures unfold as a new mother!!  Lovely readers, be sure to visit Carly at Texas LoveBirds to say hello! XO, Courtney

Pinning {Wk. 4} - Winter Whiteout

Welcome to Pinning {Wk. 4} Winter Whiteout:

Before I share this weeks finds…just a reminder that following the theme is optional, the linky is for any Pinterest finds you'd like to post.  The theme is only necessary if you want to compete for the award of "Pinning-est".  Also, don't be afraid to get creative with your interpretation of the themes, just keep it simple and have fun!  :)  

1} 2} 3} 4} 5} 6} 7} 8} 9}

Are you dreaming of a White Christmas?  Do you love or loathe snow??   

THANK YOU for Linking up last week…

What are you pinning this week? 

Are you "Pinning"?  

Come on, everyone is doing it.  

Join me MONDAYS for weekly sharing of Pinterest finds.  

After all, together we are "Pinning!"

{Rules}

This Week's Theme: Winter Whiteout

Next Week's Theme: All that Glitters (Holiday Party Fashion)

Week After's Theme: 12 Days of Delish (12 Mouthwatering Recipe Pins)

Let's Connect!