Life {Sweet} Life

A little of what we've been up to

2013-06-11T11:36:00.000-05:00

As much as I thought (hoped?) things might slow down after our busy May, they definitely have not. Between the party, Memorial Day, my sister's 40th Birthday Party, and just our everyday life, I have SO much I really want to blog about. Yes, I know I say that often, but the other day I had to look something up on the blog because I really couldn't remember, and it was so nice/fun to be able to reference it. Because my memory these days? It's in a sad, sad state. I know it has to do with me "trying" (and often failing) to multi-task. So here's to trying to get back in the routine of blogging. Again.

Last week Manny went to Garden Camp, which is kind of like a mini VBS at the church where his MDO is. He kept calling it Garbage Camp though. Not trying to be funny - he just thought that's what I was saying. I didn't think much of it til the 2nd day when his teacher told me he kept correcting her, and eventually had all of the kids in class calling it Garbage Camp too...so we had to address that. :)

We made our first trip of the summer to the pool, and MB loved it! She looks way too big here.

Last week I worked an event for an organization I'm a part of. We sat down to eat when we were done, and someone took our picture. Let me just say I am so extremely awkward at random photos, and always end up in odd poses. Like here, where it looks like I'm about to chest bump my friend. So there's that. It was a really fun night though!

And now this week, we are down in Dallas staying at my sister's having some fun family time. Manny and Ellie (my niece) are taking swimming lessons, which has been quite the adventure. I'll post more on that if when we ~~survive~~ finish them. This is his first time doing lessons where I leave him...I guess that means we're both growing up! :)

Mother's Day Weekend & MB's Dedication Day

2013-06-05T08:00:00.000-05:00

I'm going to pretend like it hasn't been almost a month since this happened and write about it while I still remember it! Yes, I'm ridiculous. It's okay as long as I realize it, right? Mother's Day weekend was a busy one for us, as it was also Maeva's actual birthday and baby dedication day at our church. On top of that, Patrick was on call but we still managed to fit a lot in for a fun weekend.

On Saturday, Patrick and Manny went to an air show. It was a last minute decision as Patrick didn't know if it would work with his schedule to get to go, but I'm so glad it did. The boys were so cute headed out on their little "date", and Manny was so excited.

I may or may not have nearly fainted when Patrick sent me a video of them going on a plane ride with one of his co-workers. Of course Manny loved it, but it slightly unnerved me. I know they were safe, but still...a bit much for me. :) Patrick has his private pilot's license but doesn't get to fly near as much as he'd like, so I was glad he got to go do this for a day as I know he really enjoyed it. Manny still talks about it and their fun day at the "airplane zoo".

On Sunday morning, Manny greeted Maeva with a birthday song. He'd been practicing it all.week.long, so was excited that the day was finally here. She wasn't feeling very social when she first woke up...wonder where she gets that. :)

And here we are before heading to church. They are both just getting so big it's crazy.

Our church had baby dedications that day, and it was extra special to get to dedicate Maeva to the Lord on her birthday! We feel so incredibly blessed to get to raise our kiddos, and couldn't do it without the strength and guidance from the Lord.

After church, we went home for naps, and then headed to the park to play and fly a kite. We ended the day with "birthday snow cones" and some sweet Mother's Day cards and a bracelet for me. It was a simple weekend full of fun family moments...I really couldn't ask for more.

Five on Friday

2013-05-24T14:51:00.000-05:00

1. Birthday party weekend was a success! Everything went great and we had a lot of fun. If I ever get a chance, I will blog some of the pictures. I had a lot of fun with this theme, and still cannot believe I have a 1 and 3 year old!

2. Manny's school celebrated teacher appreciation this week. With the chaos of birthday party planning, I totally forgot that it was coming up. I didn't send Manny to school on Tuesday either, and late Wednesday afternoon I randomly remembered that I needed to get something to take the next day. Luckily I'm a pretty big hoarder (mostly of random craft/gift supplies) so I was able to dig through my stash and come up with a gift that I thought was pretty cute. I used a paint pen to trace his teacher's names on a mason jar, boxed up a cupcake (leftover from the party - shhh), and gave them 2 photo holder jars that were inspired by an eighteen25 post. They used paint, but I did glitter, using the same method as my glitter ornaments. I did have to go buy the basket at Hobby Lobby, but I was pleased with how it come together pretty last minute.

3. I picked up this picnic blanket in a bag at Target a couple of weeks ago, and we love it. I just keep it in the back of our car for when we go to the park, and it's a great size for the kids and I to sit on and have a picnic, or for Maeva to crawl around and play on too. I love the fact that it zips right up into a nice little bag and has the shoulder strap. Looks like they're on sale for $16.99 right now too.

4. Every once in awhile I get ~~stupid~~ brave and decide to run errands with the kids. Not just regular shopping type stuff, but returning items. For some reason, those types of errands always turn into an event of sorts. I had to exchange some clothes that I bought MB online (luckily I was able to do so in the store) so I thought I'd run in real quick since I was in the part of town where this store was. Of course it was a bit of a process, but we managed, and I was glad to check that off my list. I got to the car and put MB's seat in the car, and turned around to see this herd of tigers hanging out in the stroller. I said, "Manny! Did you take these?" And he said, "No, Beeb Sawyer wanted them! Not Manny Martin's, Bebe Sawyer's!" So yeah. It's already begun. (We did take them back, in case you were curious.)

5. Manny sure keeps me laughing these days. Just the way he says things and his observations, not to mention his random memory, blows my mind! He pulled this shirt out of his closet the other day and said, "I wanna wear my 'merica shirt." Everytime he says 'merica it makes me laugh. He definitely has a little accent going on. And his hair has gotten so curly all of the sudden too! It's getting a little wild but I secretly love it. Though I guess it's not so secret since I just announced it here?

I'm a huge fan of random list-type posts, so when I saw this link-up I thought it'd be fun to join in too.

Happy Memorial Day friends..be safe!

Pray for Oklahoma

2013-05-21T15:15:00.001-05:00

My heart is absolutely broken for the devastation caused by the tornado in Moore yesterday. Thank you so much to each of you that have checked on us. Fortunately we are fine. We are about 15 minutes from where everything hit, and it was certainly a scary day. One of Patrick's co-workers lives just down the street from us and has a nice large shelter, and we were able to go there.

I was so sad to hear that my sweet blog friend Heather has lost her house again. Yes, again. She also lost her house in the '99 tornado that hit Moore. I cannot imagine what they're going through, but I am SO glad her and her family are safe. If you want to help with Heather's immediate needs, you can donate money via PayPal here.

Please continue to cover everyone in your prayers. And click here for a link of several ways you can help. Thanks for praying friends.

Be The Match - #teamwill

2013-05-16T09:30:00.000-05:00

I'm sure many of you know Lindsey and have followed her journey with her sweet kiddos Will and Kate. But in the chance there are any of you that don't know their story, I wanted to talk a little about it today.

In short, her kids were born with a rare genetic condition that causes them to need a bone marrow transplant to live. Her daughter, Kate, had a successful transplant and is a healthy, thriving, beautiful 2 year old because of it! And now, her son Will is in need of a transplant as well, but they are facing some challenges in getting there.

I "met" Lindsey through Twitter a little over a year ago now. I have enjoyed getting to know her and following her story as she shares their lives on her blog. I was honored when she asked me to design precious Will's birth announcement, and I can't believe that's been over a year ago now. The year has flown by, and Will has been doing fairly well, all things considered. They had found a match for Will, and were making preparations for the transplant to happen soon.

But then a couple of weeks ago, their world was rocked when they found out the donor that was Will's match had changed his mind about donating. Meaning, Will does not have a donor now and they are back to the drawing board as to what to do next.

This week Will had an appointment to determine where to go from here, and you can read Lindsey's post all about that on her blog. My heart just breaks as I read her words. I cannot imagine what she's going through, and all of the questions, fears, and outcomes going through her head. She is doing everything in her power to fight for Will's life, and is spreading the word about joining the registry in a huge way. And not just because of Will - but because she knows and has experienced first hand the result of a life-saving donor in her daughter Kate, and wants others to have that same chance too.

Because of her, I signed up for the registry a few weeks ago. My kit came really fast, and it was simple as can be to take a few swabs from my cheeks and mail it back in the pre-paid envelope they included. As I was sitting there swabbing my cheeks, I couldn't help but think - what if this was my child in need? You better believe I'd be doing the same thing as Lindsey and making people aware of this need. Why haven't I registered for this before now? To be honest, I just never really knew or understood the importance of it. Which is the main reason I'm writing this today. If even one person decides to join the registry because of learning about this, you never know whose life it could save in the future.

So, now I'm going to ask you to PLEASE consider joining the registry to be a bone marrow donor. But on that same note, please don't do so if you don't think you'd be able to donate should you get called as a match. When you go to the website to register, they explain all of that and also tell you more about what the process involves. To register, they send you a kit to complete at home with just a quick cheek swab. It really is simple. For more information or to join the registry, visit the Be The Match site here.

And in the meantime, please keep Lindsey, Will, Alex, and Kate in your prayers. You are SO strong Lindsey and all of us are here for you, praying for you, and supporting you any way we can! We are all part of #teamwill together!

Mommy & Me Mini Session

2013-05-15T08:00:00.000-05:00

About a month ago, I had the chance to get some pictures taken as part of a "Mommy & Me" mini-session through Amanda Rice Photography. The kids weren't all too excited about pictures (are they ever??) but Amanda still managed to get some great shots! And the wonderful thing about mini sessions is they're over so fast...nice and stress free. Ha! :) Here are some of my favorites from the session. Thanks so much Amanda for capturing some special moments with my babies!

Maeva's 1st Year Slideshow

2013-05-13T12:00:00.000-05:00

Maeva Beth {1 year old} 5.12.13

Dear Maeva Beth,

Someway, somehow...you turned 1 year old yesterday. To say this was the fastest year of my life would be an understatement. I cannot put into words what a blessing you are to our family! We had a fun family day yesterday celebrating you, and I can't wait for your party on Saturday. So much to be thankful for as the Lord has blessed us beyond measure! I wanted to make a little slideshow of my favorite pictures from your first year. Turns out that would've been more like a movie as momma is a little camera happy...so I made myself narrow it down to just a few of my favorite memories from a most wonderful year.

I love you SO much sweet baby!

xo,

Mommy

If the video won't load for those that read by email, click here: http://youtu.be/J2bH6fWBmS0
Song - This is Love by MoZella

Confetti Birthday Invitations

2013-05-09T13:52:00.000-05:00

As I mentioned, I'm doing a joint party for Manny and Maeva this year. With their birthday's being only 5 days apart, and given that they are young and truly don't care...I decided this would be easiest for everybody. It was a bit of a challenge deciding on a theme that would work for both of them. I like for the theme to have some personal significance to them, or a reflection of what they like or their year consisted of. When thinking all these things, I kept coming back to a "Bebe Sawyer" themed party.

For those that might not know, my parents have a dog named Sawyer. Manny is absolutely obsessed with Sawyer, and seriously talks about him multiple times a day. And then from the time we brought Maeva home from the hospital, Manny has called her Bebe Sawyer. And it caught on with everyone else, to the point that we call her Bebe Sawyer more than we call her Maeva some days. So it's safe to say that Sawyer/Bebe Sawyer have been a big part of our last year and I thought it would be cute to go with.

So the key was figuring out how to make this a "fun" theme, and not just a dog party. I decided a silhouette of Sawyer (who is an American Bulldog) along with a confetti theme would be the way to go. When the invitations arrived and I opened them, and Manny shouted, "Sawyer!" I knew I'd made the right decision. I actually glittered some of the confetti pieces with glitter glue, and it looked really cute. I patiently let them dry, and when I picked them up...the glitter glue just fell right off. I guess the texture of the card didn't work well with the glitter glue perhaps? Gotta love when projects are a waste of time.

I always like to include a picture on the back of the invitation. I'd wanted to take a "birthday" type picture similar to the one I took of Manny for his first birthday, but between bad weather and the kid's sicknesses, it just didn't work out. I ended up using this picture taken by Amanda Rice Photography which I think turned out SO cute! A couple of weeks ago we did a "mommy & me" mini session, and this is from then. I should have the rest of the pictures back soon and am so excited to see them! But more on that another day. :)

For the labels, I did this design with one concept in mind of applying the label. Without boring you the details, that concept didn't work, so I decided to just use washi tape. I would've preferred the design spaced out more, but I'd already printed them so just left it. I do think the washi tape made for a cute touch though!

However. I have no clue what happened, but apparently something was not acceptable with the format of the design. Turns out someone at the U.S. Postal Service took the time to handwrite all off the addresses on the envelopes. No clue why they didn't just return them - though I'm glad they didn't. I did ask a lady at the post office if the format was okay before printing all of them, and she said yes...so who knows. All I know is I hope it wasn't my mail carrier that had to hand address all of these, because if so, she's probably going to leave a bomb in my mailbox very soon.

These invitations were definitely a little different for me, and didn't turn out quite as I'd thought. Still yet, I'm pleased with them and even more pleased to have them checked off my to-do list. :)

Maeva Beth {11 months}

2013-05-08T09:17:00.000-05:00

Dear Maeva Beth,

You are 11 months old! In fact, you will be 12 months old (more commonly known as 1 year) this coming Sunday. I started writing this when I took these pictures right around your 11 month birthday, but just haven't had a chance to finish writing about these last few months. They have been full of lots of fun and lots of changes!

You are such a cute little peanut. You almost always have a sweet little look on your face, and people often stop me to tell me how precious you are. Your hair is a little bit out of control, but I absolutely love it. You really need your bangs trimmed but I'm scared of how it might turn out so am holding off for now.

You have 8 teeth and are working on a few more. You went to the doctor because you were sick with what turned out to be a double ear infection. While there, they weighed you, and you still weigh 18 pounds, which is what you weighed at your 9 month check-up. You haven't grown all that much, and are still wearing 3-6 month pj's, and either 3-6 or 6-9 month in everything else. Now that you're crawling everywhere, you've lost quite a bit of your baby chub. :(

You are still called Bebe Sawyer a lot of the time, mostly by your brother. He also calls you Sissy, which is so sweet. Sometimes we call you TroTro too. It's a new cartoon about a donkey that Manny likes, and of course that name somehow transferred to you. It's catchy. :) Manny also has a book called Skippy Jon Jones, and I've taken to calling you variations of that, such as Stinky Jon Jones, Grumpy Jon Jones, etc. You get the idea. I'm random. :)

Your favorite toy is the Roku remote. It's a smaller remote and I think you like it because you can haul it around in your little bitty hands easily. It's funny to see you fight for that thing. Manny will occasionally take it from you and put it up, thinking you shouldn't have it, and you will throw a flat out fit when he does. The insight into your flair for drama frightens me.

Bananas are your favorite food by far. You also like avocados too, but not as much as you love bananas. You are thankfully starting to try more foods and show more interest in food.

You still nurse about every 4 hours during the day. You are quite attached and I'm not sure how weaning is going to work when that time comes. You are sleeping through the night now pretty consistently, which I'm incredibly thankful for!

You and your brother mostly have a great time playing together. You love playing in his room and will always go look for him there, and get so excited when you find him. You guys laugh and laugh at the silliest, almost non-existent things. It's the sweetest thing ever.

You do, however, LOVE to pull his hair. It's so funny...he gets so mad and tells me, "Mommy, Bebe Sawyer not being nice! She need say sorry!" and will turn to you and say, "Okay Bebe Sawyer, say sorry and give me hug." He's too funny, and I guess knows the drill. :)

Here is the monthly comparison between you and Manny. While I do see some minor similarities, I really think you each have your own distinct look.

I am so excited to celebrate your 1st birthday this week! You are such the perfect little blessing to our family. I love you baby girl!!

XOXO
Love, Mommy

Oh yeah, I have a blog.

2013-05-06T08:00:00.000-05:00

So I took a bit of an unintentional "blog break", so here I am, per usual, saying I have lots to catch up on. Same song, different day. I have tons I want to blog about, but first things first - I seriously cannot believe this sweet girl will be ONE in less than one week. How?! No clue where this year went, and honestly...she just doesn't seem "old" enough to be a one year old. But since the calendar tells me that's about to happen, I've started making plans as such.

My best friend and I had been talking about having a little getaway, and decided the last weekend in April was the perfect time to do so. Our getaway wasn't far...in fact it was only about 15 minutes from my house. :) But we decided our idea of a "getaway" would just be to get a hotel room and craft and prepare for our kid's upcoming birthday parties. (Her daughter's party will be the day after Manny & MB's.) SO.wild, right?

When I called to book the room, I was asking about the room sizes and if there would be space to set up a 6 foot table. Yes, Candice has a portable one. She doesn't mess around. So the guy on the phone wanted to know what we were doing with the table...and I said...sewing. What on earth?! Why did I say sewing? It was the weirdest thing ever, I like heard myself saying it and was thinking - who is talking? Needless to say, he fixed us up with a very spacious room. And when we went to check-in, it was the same guy who had made the reservation. He was like, "Oh yes! You guys are the sewing ladies." And then asked us if we could sew a couple buttons on some of his shirts. We couldn't stop laughing. I know he thought we were crazy with our cart of random supplies.

We had a fairly productive night...actually I really didn't as the 2 main projects I tried to do were a bust. So then I basically decided to sit on the bed and do nothing. Which was actually quite fun. :) Patrick brought the kids to the room before bed so I could nurse MB. I'd only been gone about 3 hours at that point, but you would think I'd been gone 3 weeks. Stage 5 clingers through and through. It was pretty sweet though and Patrick said they were fine once they left, so that made me feel better.

The next morning at breakfast, I'm getting a cup of orange juice when I hear an older man behind me say, "Well I'll be darned." I turn around to see him staring at this pancake machine. I'd never seen one either, and was very amused. As was he...pretty sure he watched the pancake machine for about 10 minutes, while occasionally shaking his head and mumbling "Well I'll be darned."

On Sunday afternoon, we took Manny to "Extreme Animal Racing" they hold once a year at our local race track. They had ostrich, camel, and zebra races, along with the regular horse races mixed in.

It was a long and drawn out process, and we ended up leaving before the zebra and camel races because we'd already been there 3 hours and it was hot and crowded. Manny loved the ostrich and horse races, however, he was a little disappointed to miss the zebra races. Almost every day since then, he has asked to go to the zebra races. Oops. Guess we'll be counting down the days til next year's zebra races. And googling zebra racing videos in the meantime.

To brighten his spirits, we stopped and had dinner at Santa Fe so he could have his beloved "moose peanuts". Perfect ending to a nice, fun weekend. :)

Scrubba Scrubba Scrubba

2013-04-12T10:30:00.001-05:00

We are finally to the point that MB and Manny can peacefully take a bath together. Or as Manny calls it, Scrubba Scrubba Scrubba time! (which he picked up from a Pajanimals book.) It is so cute to watch them play and it's basically like a little party.

I think they are the cutest things ever, of course, so had to share just a fraction of the million pictures I took the other night.

MB just squeals and sings the whole time. And how cute are her little neck rolls? I can't handle it.

I love these pictures so, SO much. These kids truly are something else.

And as with all good parties, they must eventually come to an end. Like when Manny decides to start pouring buckets of water on MB's head so I have to take the cup from him. Sad day.

Happy weekend, friends! :)

Thursday Randoms

2013-04-11T13:51:00.002-05:00

--Have you seen the party section at Target lately? They are seriously killing it. SO much cute stuff. I saw this banner the other day and decided to pick it up. Just thought it'd be a good cute banner (don't be fooled by the horrible picture - it really is cute) to have on hand for only $4. I want to start the tradition of having a banner to hang up on the actual day of the kid's birthday, and thought this would be perfect since it's felt letters and will easily fold up.

--I was so surprised to receive an email from BlogHer last week saying they would like to syndicate my post on character clothing. Syndicate? It just sounds so...fancy! But I was honored. I'll be honest. I was a little nervous to write that post because I know people can be easily offended when it comes to kid's clothing. So thanks to everyone for being nice, even if you didn't agree with what I said. :) In case you missed it, you can check it out here.

--Maeva has this habit of wanting to pull her sleeve down over her hand. It's kind of a comfort thing, and it's always her right sleeve. It's so cute to watch when she has short sleeves on and she'll start pulling at her wrist for a sleeve out of habit. Anyway, I found her like this after her nap the other day. She must've been working it!

--I posted this picture the other day and have had some questions about my headband. It's from Brady Bands, which I heard about from Skinny Meg. I've bought several and love them. They are so reasonably priced, and shipping is fast and cheap. They are not too tight but also don't slip. I'm picky about headbands because they easily give me headaches. These are just right after I wear them once or twice though.

--I've decided to make the switch to the Disqus commenting platform. I've tried before and chickened out, but I'm going to try to give it a legitimate chance this time. My main reason for switching is that sometimes I get questions on posts that I typically answer by email. Well then the answer isn't posted on the page for others to see, so I get repeat questions a lot. The other day someone commented on an old post, telling me how rude it was that I didn't take the time to answer the previous commenter and that they had the same question so it would have been nice of me to answer it. Well I had already emailed the previous commenter (the post was about 2 years old) but of course she wouldn't know that. And since I'm not good at keeping up with replying anyway, I'm hoping this will help. My understanding is my response will still be emailed to you - but it will also post in the comment section. I'm not certain if you have to have a Disqus profile, but I think it would be helpful? Still figuring it all out. So let's hope this works how I think it does, and that it will help me be more efficient in answering any questions I might get.

Happy Thursday, friends! :)

Making time for Me

2013-04-10T08:00:00.000-05:00

Today I'm joining in the Build 'Em Up linkup hosted by a group of sweet bloggers. (Don't you love their pretty logo, by the way? ;) This was different than anything I'd done before but I really enjoyed designing it!) This series is basically all about encouraging one another, which I know we can all use from time to time! The topic this week is Remembering You – taking care of yourself and keeping your identity. Originally I wasn't going to join in, because well...this isn't something I'm very good at. At all. But the fact of the matter is, I am trying to change that. I am finally starting to see how it's hurting me by not taking time to remember myself. So I look at this as a little bit of an accountability post as well, to start actively trying to make changes that will leave me feeling a little less frazzled and a little more refreshed.

Captain Obvious here with some earth-shattering news for you: motherhood changes things. I always put my kids and husband first, without even thinking about it. It's just a given, really. I absolutely love being a mother and wife, but I've come to realize I run myself dry if I am constantly about them. I think the hardest thing about making time for me is the guilt that comes with it. Because the reality is, my "stuff" is never completely done. There's always something else I could be doing, or doing better. Add to that the fact that I also have a tendency to over commit myself, and life was seriously becoming a never-ending whirlwind.

So in no particular order, here are some things that come to mind in regards to making an effort to take time for me.

Boundaries --- The biggest slap in the face came about a month ago at church. The pastor was talking about priorities, and being "yes people". He said something that has resonated with me on almost a daily basis since. When we say "yes" to everybody, even when it comes from a good place, it leaves little or no room for some of the most important things. It spoke to me because I like to say yes to people to help them out, but in turn, I was hurting myself, and more importantly, my relationship with God. By saying "yes" to so many, I was saying "no" to more time with Him. Since that revelation, I've tried to make a more conscious effort to say no to things when it's necessary, and realize it is imperative I set boundaries. It might sound simple, but I can really tell a difference in my general state of stress-level, and also just the fact that I have more time for me and the things that truly matter the most.

Exercise --- I've finally started working out again. I had started when MB was a couple months old, but it hurt my milk supply and nothing seemed to help, so I felt selfish and stopped. Then about a month ago my neighbor asked me to start going to Crossfit with her, so I decided to give it a try. And I absolutely love it. They are short workouts and even though it's a challenge to get there sometimes, I feel SO much better when I do. I still have quite a bit of baby weight to lose, and that will be an added bonus if that comes off. Working out was something I loved doing before having kids, but like so many other things, it fell to the wayside. Now that I've picked it back up on a semi-regular basis, I remember why this is something I need to be doing. It is such a huge stress reliever for me and I actually look forward to this time (most days - let's be honest).

Me Time --- I love my kiddos and my husband, but sometimes I just need a break. Patrick is really good about recognizing when I'm about to fizzle out, and he is very supportive at trying to get me out of the house by myself. Sometimes I go shopping, just roam around Target, or of course - go get a massage at my favorite mall kiosk. Part of the reason Patrick might be so quick to shoo me out the door is this motto that my dad engrained in his head ;)

The main thing I've come to realize is this: I do a better job at taking care of everything else when I actually take the time to take care of myself. The load doesn't feel as heavy, and I've learned all those things I felt guilty about putting off? They really can wait. There can be a balance, and I'm determined to find it, no matter how many trips to the massage kiosk it takes. ;)

The Proof is in the Pin: Volume 8

2013-04-09T08:00:00.000-05:00

Somehow doing this every month has made the month's go by even faster it seems? Anyway. Here's what I've been up to via Pinterest this month.

Pin #1 - DIY Confetti Vase: I pinned this shortly after deciding the kids' birthday party was going to be confetti themed. I did mine a little different than her tutorial and just used glitter glue pens to dot the pattern on. I'm kind of underwhlemed with them, but it could just be because they don't have as much visual impact as I'd imagined. I might need to make the confetti a bit more dense. Or maybe I need to use them to display something else at the party. The party which I've done nothing for but make a couple of utensil vases. Love my priorities (or rather lack thereof.) You can see the tutorial on how to make these here.

Pin #2 - DIY Sequin Pillow: I thought this pin was such a fun and easy way to personalize a pillow. Plus I'm obsessed with all things gold and sequin/glitter these days. In hindsight, this probably wasn't the best project for a now mobile baby's nursery. She will try to tear those things off just as soon as she gets her little paws on the pillow I'm sure. So it's now safely tucked away on the top shelf in her closet. Sometimes I don't know what I'm thinking. Or maybe I'm just not thinking. However, I would like to pat myself on the back for realizing it's not exactly kid proof before she choked on a sequin. This project probably would've been better for our bed. It'd be the perfect addition to the 27 throw pillows we have ~~that are piled on the floor since I never take the time to put them on the bed.~~ The full tutorial by For Chic Sake can be seen here.

Pin #3 - Healthy Banana Oatmeal Cookies: I found this recipe a couple months ago from @adventuresofmamarazzi on Instagram. I thought I'd pinned it but I think it's one of those times Pinterest failed me because it never actually pinned. So I pinned it again so I always have it easily accessible because it is a definite favorite around here. Manny even begs for these! Don't get me wrong - this will not replace a good ol' fashioned chocolate chip cookie. But it will (at least in my case) satisfy your sweet tooth while keeping things on the healthy side. Go here for the recipe.

Pin #4 - Greek Yogurt Ranch Dressing: I've seen this pinned more times than I can count. Ever the ranch snob, I always just scrolled on by when it would show up in my feed. But lately I've been trying to pay more attention to what exactly it is I'm eating, and in particular sauces/dressings/etc. SO many calories it's crazy. So I decided to give this a go. It is not identical as the Pinterest caption claims, but I do think it's a really good alternative. It has a little more tang to it than regular ranch, but I like it and will definitely keep this on hand now. The recipe can be found here.

That's all for today! If you've done anything lately you discovered via Pinterest, feel free to blog about it (whether it turned out good or bad!) and link up below. Happy Tuesday! :)

A Weekend to Remember

2013-04-08T08:00:00.000-05:00

We were fortunate to have a simple weekend at home. No major obligations or places to be, and it was so nice. We didn't do a lot, yet we did...which I realize makes no sense. Bear with me. I'm working with a bit of a head cold that is making me crazy today.

The weather on Friday was beautiful, so we decided to head to Bricktown. Manny had been asking to see the horses, so we thought we'd walk around and possibly take a carriage ride. You never know with him. Sometimes he's all talk and freaks out when he actually gets close to them. But Friday he had his game face on! We went straight to the area where they start the carriage rides and he insisted it was time to go for a spin. He was SO excited. The whole time he asked over and over, "What's the horse's name?" And we repeatedly said, "Bill" no less than 100 times. Wish I was exaggerating. I'm not. Despite how it may appear, Maeva-girl loved the ride too. She just looked around and babbled the whole time.

When we finished the ride, Manny kept saying he wanted to touch Bill's face, so the nice driver took him over to pet Bill. Manny was a little shy (I love how he's giving the driver the side-eye here) but he talked about it alllll night after that. After the ride, we had dinner then headed home. And of course, the whole way home Manny asked, "Where Bill go? I need Bill's face." His love for animals is definitely at an all time high these days.

On Saturday, Manny and I went on a little "day date". I asked him where he wanted to go and he said Hobby Lobby, Target, and Dollar Tree. It's so rewarding to see the fruits of my investment in his life. We had so much fun running around together. He thought he was such a big shot. Normally at Target he rides in the cart. Since it was just us and we were mostly just browsing, I let him walk. And he was on cloud nine, just strolling along looking at things, and singing Jingle Bells loud and proud. He was oblivious to all the people looking and smiling at him, and he just really was enjoying the moment. And I was too. He is such a fun, unique, little guy and it was a treat to get some alone time with him. When we were checking out, the lady in front of us in line kept turning around and smiling at him. At one point she told Manny he had a pretty singing voice (he was still singing Jingle Bells, with an occasional remix of Old Macdonald). She had her son with her - I would guess him to be about 14. She looked at me and said, "He'll be there before you know it," while nodding in the direction of her son. "I remember when my son would only wear rain boots too. I hated it and now I long for those days." And right there in the Target line, I started tearing up. Manny is a handful right now, but I also just adore this age. This time together was good for us and I'm so thankful for my silly little rain boot wearing, jingle bell singing buddy.

On Saturday night, Patrick and I went on a date to celebrate our 7th anniversary, which is actually today! We had dinner at Deep Fork, which was SO good. We had planned on going to a movie later and had some time to burn in between, so Patrick suggested I get a massage at my favorite little kiosk in the mall. I know, I'm ridiculous! But my back was so sore as I'd overdone it the day before lifting weights. So I jumped at the suggestion, and we headed to the mall. Romantic date night, huh? :) After that we saw Olympus Has Fallen, which was good but stressful. And I think it reminded Patrick why I'm not a good movie going companion. (I have a tendency to ask questions.) But it was a nice date night and so fun to just have a laid back night with no time constraints.

And then yesterday morning I woke up feeling crummy. (That word makes me laugh. I don't use it enough but when I do I think of you mom!) Manny and I seem to have some kind of sinus stuff, and I'm afraid his has turned to an ear infection. Needless to say, Patrick offered to go grocery shopping for me. I had basil on the list, and he came home with this basil plant and was SO proud of himself. He just kept going on about how cost effective it will be, and the whole time all I could think is...we've been married 7 years and you still don't know I can't keep a plant alive longer than a week?? BUT you better believe I showered him with praise and thanks on a job well done. He's so cute. :)

Happy Monday, friends!

Friday Fragments

2013-04-05T09:00:00.000-05:00

I ordered some little barrettes/clips for Maeva from this place called Strawberry Hill. Her bangs have gotten SO long and these are perfect to keep them out of her face. I'm just not ready to think about a haircut yet! Anyway, the clips are the cutest thing ever on her and I adore this picture so much. My little peanut. :)

I'm finally starting to plan Manny and Maeva's birthday party. Because their birthdays are 5 days apart, and to make things easier for family coming out of town, we'll be having a joint party. Deciding on a theme has been a bit of a process, but I think I've finally settled on something. I found these napkins at Target and they kind of kicked me into gear for inspiration, so hopefully I'll have the chance to work on the invitation soon as I'm running out of time! Pretty sad that at this point prior to Manny's 1st birthday, I'd already mailed the invitations out. Such is the life of a 2nd child. :)

Our weather has been such a tease lately. So nice one day, and freezing the next. It was beautiful the other day, so I told Manny we'd go on a "wagon walk", which is his favorite. This was the first time MB got to ride along too, and she absolutely loved it. She just squealed and looked around the whole time. Unfortunately the temperature literally dropped 10 degrees within the time we were walking, so we had to cut it short. Manny has been asking to go on a "Bebe Sawyer Wagon Walk" ever since, which of course means her riding along in the wagon too. :) It's been raining all week but hopefully this weekend will be nice and we can take another stroll.

I decided to try Kenra Blow-Dry Spray at the recommendation of Big Mama, and I swear it has changed my life. Actually I believe she recommended the serum, but I mistakenly bought the spray. But I've been really, really pleased with it! Anything that claims to "dramatically decrease blow-dry time" is definitely something I need in my life seeing whereas it takes me about 4.5 days to dry my hair. But of course I can't leave well enough alone, and have ordered the Blow-Dry Serum too since it specifically says it's for thick and hard-to-manage hair (that would be me!) AND?! it claims IT REDUCES BLOW DRY TIME UP TO 50%. Yes I'm shouting. Do you know what this could mean for me?! I mean the spray definitely helps, but I can't wait to see what the serum does. I have visions of applying it to my hair and it instantly becoming dry. Too much? Obviously I'm far too excited about this. And hopeful. Throw lame in there too and that pretty much covers it all.

I'll be sharing my latest Pinterest projects on Tuesday for the Proof is in the Pin. If anyone has completed anything from Pinterest and wants to share about it, I'd love for you to link up! More details here.

Happy weekend, friends! :)

Love & Marriage: In the Beginning

2013-04-04T11:10:00.000-05:00

A group of bloggers is hosting a series this month on Love & Marriage. Patrick and I will be celebrating our 7th anniversary next week, so I thought it'd be fun to join in when I can on some of these topics. This week is just about how "we" began. I've talked about it once or twice I think, so this might be old news to some of you. But if you haven't heard and you're curious, here we go!

Patrick's dad is actually from northeastern Oklahoma, which is where I grew up. Though Patrick never lived there, they still had family in the area and would come in to visit when they were kids. So technically, we "knew" each other as kids because our families went to church together, but since he was 1.) a boy, and 2.) almost 5 years older than me, we weren't so much hanging out when we were 5 and 10 years old. :)

Fast forward to May 2005. Patrick was living in Chicago at the time and just finishing medical school, and I was living in Tulsa working a job in airline marketing where I traveled quite a bit. Well Patrick had been in to visit his Aunt Treva, who went to church with my parents, and shortly after that, his aunt and my mom decided we'd be a perfect match and started scheming to set us up. Since I traveled often with my job, I wasn't in when he was, so we ended up not being able to meet right away...but then finally we did on June 5th, 2005. And as they say, it was love at first sight. :)

Actually truth be told, he almost didn't ask me on a 2nd date because he thought I wasn't interested. Our first official date ended up being really late at night. He was coming in from out of town and didn't make it in til almost 10 pm. Well I figured we wouldn't eat at that point, so I'd already had dinner. Turns out he hadn't eaten yet so was starving, and wanted to eat anyway. I felt awkward sitting at the table just watching him eat, so I picked up a newspaper to look at. He claims I sat and read it the whole time, which is NOT true. I read little bits and pieces and would make conversation about those things. Yes, probably while looking at the paper...but I felt so weird just staring at him eating! Definitely an awkward situation, that we both interpreted and remember differently. But luckily he took a chance and asked me out again. :) However, he STILL talks about the newspaper reading to.this.day. It was somehow even brought up tonight. Every chance he gets basically.

When we started dating, he was in the process of moving to Waco to start residency. I still lived in Tulsa, and about 2 weeks after we had been dating, I was offered an excellent marketing job with North.west Airlines in Minneapolis. I was torn because it was a great opportunity career-wise, but at this point I already knew Patrick was the guy I would marry...I just didn't know if he knew it yet. :) So do I take the job that would move me even further north from him, or stay put and see what happened with us? It was a hard decision, but our connection was so instant that I knew I wouldn't regret turning down the job to give us a chance.

And I am sooo very glad I did. Because only 3 months later, we were engaged. Our engagement came as a bit of a surprise to me...he really blew me away! Patrick was living in Waco (I was still living in Tulsa) and things were pretty crazy. Since we had a long distance relationship, we often sent each other care packages, and I always joked that the FedEx man was quickly becoming my new favorite guy. A couple days prior to our engagement, he had told me he sent me a package so to be watching for the FedEx guy. Patrick was on his ER rotation, which meant he was working some long shifts. We talked on the phone one Friday morning, and he had told me he was getting ready to go in for his shift, so that he'd just talk to me the next day. Fast forward to that Friday night, where I was hanging out with my roommate eating Taco Bueno and watching Friends reruns. It was probably around 10 pm, and her phone rings and she takes off to her bedroom to take the call. In hindsight, I should've known then that something was up. She never came back out, and a few minutes later there's a knock at our door. I contemplated not answering since I was in my pj's and probably had hot sauce smeared all over me from the crunchy potato burrito I'd just inhaled, but I decided to answer anyway. Imagine my surprise when I found Patrick standing (actually kneeling) at the door when I opened it!! He had flowers, and the nurses he worked with had made him an official looking FedEx name badge that he was wearing. :) He said all sorts of sweet things, and I just stood there in shock, still not processing how he was here when he was supposed to be in Waco working. When he was done talking he handed me a clipboard that had what looked like a FedEx delivery confirmation on it, and said "Will you marry me?" The whole thing was so cute and unexpected, and just blew me away. I will never forget that night. :)

And just 6 months after that, we took our trip down the aisle. And now here we are almost 7 years and 2 kids later. It's crazy to think back on all of it and what we've come through. Marriage is work and anybody who thinks it isn't might be surprised. But the work is totally worth it. ;)

Easter Weekend 2013

2013-04-03T20:46:00.000-05:00

We had a pretty full Easter weekend, but it was lots of fun! Patrick and I started off Friday night with a date night. We've tried to be better at making time for these, and I'd say we've done a pretty good job. It helps that we've found a good baby-sitter that the kids love. We just went out to eat and enjoyed a slow-paced dinner, which we haven't done in awhile. Before we went into the restaurant I asked this guy to take our picture. He seemed less than thrilled to do so, but there was noone else around. I couldn't stop laughing when I saw the "artistic" shot he got.

Saturday morning an organization I'm a part of had an event called Breakfast with the Easter Bunny. I had to get there early to work it, so Patrick and the kids came later. Not sure if it was the fact that I was tired or the smell of hot Krispy Kremes in the air, but for some reason I was extra emotional that day. I was working a station when I spotted Patrick and the kids walking through the crowd, and I just started crying. Manny looked so big and handsome, and Maeva was just sitting there so sweet. And Patrick looked cute as ever just walking with them all calm, cool, and collected...which is more than I can usually say when I take these two somewhere. Seriously though, just an overwhelming feeling of gratitude came over me. I am so thankful for our family that the Lord has built.

Neither of the kids were too thrilled at the sight of the Easter bunny. Actually Maeva was fine until we set her on his lap. Then she wanted no part of it. Manny just kept saying, "Bye, bunny! See you later!" I think he thought if he kept telling it bye, it would leave. He wouldn't get within 50 feet of him though. Much like the cow at Chick-fil-a. But that's another story for another day.

I wanted to get a picture of the kids in the shirts I made for them. These were a PROJECT, to say the least. Per usual, I waited til the last minute and ran into every.obstacle.possible when making them. I'll never understand why my machine hates me, but it absolutely does. It became more of a matter of I wanted to finish what I started, then actually wanting the shirts. In the end, it was worth it and I'm sad I didn't make these shirts earlier in the month because I think they are precious in them! It's totally acceptable for them to wear through April, right? ;)

Back to taking their pictures. All I wanted was one of them together, looking. I didn't even care about a smile. But that was obviously not on their agenda.

MB wanted to be held all weekend. She's fighting some nasty cold/allergy type stuff lately, so can't say I blame her. I gave up after these 3 shots because I just felt mean with how miserable she looked. And Manny was too busy to look at the camera because he was keeping an eye out for the Easter bunny who he was sure was going to attack him at any given moment. We went to a birthday party that afternoon and the kids had a blast there too. Manny was on a sugar high like never before, and it was a little bit frightening. That kid has a sweet tooth for sure.

Sunday morning we got up and headed to church. I couldn't wait to get Maeva in her SheShe Made dress and bonnet. Have you seen anything cuter?! I think not.

And Manny in his matching bowtie. Of course no sooner had Patrick gotten him dressed, Manny immediately put his boots on. We were able to convince him to wear different shoes with a little ~~bribing~~ reasoning. Ridiculous, I know. But just once I wanted him to wear normal shoes. :)

Sunday at church while we sang Amazing Grace, they played a video of the crucifixion, and it was so hard for me to watch. I simply cannot imagine what Mary felt like watching her son endure all that he did. I don't think I'll ever be able to fully grasp the sacrifice that was made for each one of us. It is overwhelming to comprehend, but I am so so thankful for the gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ.

Since Patrick was on call for the weekend, we weren't able to leave town. Some friends of ours invited us over for lunch and it was nice to be able to join them since we couldn't be with family. I still hadn't gotten a picture of the kids together, but knew they were tired so decided to wait until after naptime, thinking they would be in better moods for pictures. Jokes on me, apparently.

Neither of them wanted to take pictures, for different reasons. MB just wanted to be held, and Manny wanted to go throw rocks in the pond.

At one point, Manny started trying to calm Maeva down. It was so sweet.

So though none of these turned out "picture perfect", I still adore them.

I love this one of my handsome little dude!

And this is the closest we got to a family picture. :)

We ended the night with Easter baskets. The dollar spot glasses were quite the hit. As usual, I can't believe Easter has already come and gone. Next big event - Maeva's 1st birthday! :(

I Gave in to Character Clothing. And I Don't Care.

2013-03-28T09:35:00.000-05:00

At the risk of sounding snotty, I've never been a huge fan of character clothing. It just tends to be a bit cheesy and not necessarily "stylish". Or so says the old me. I'm here to testify that times...ohhh how they've changed.

It all started with potty training. Of course I bought Manny some Cars and Thomas undies, and he was thrilled. At that point, he was at the age where he was really starting to "have a voice", to put it delicately. And by "have a voice", I mean it was impossible to get him dressed without a wrestling match if it's not what he wanted to wear. So the characters began with the undies and some pj's, and then a new character shirt here or there. And suddenly, it seems the character shirts have taken over his closet. If given the choice, it's what he'll always choose to wear. And most days? I let him.

I dropped Manny off at Mother's Day Out the other day wearing the Cars shirt in this picture. When he walked in the room, 4 of the little boys stopped what they were doing and said, "Wow, look at Manny's shirt!" And Manny beamed from ear to ear, so proud of his "Dinoco McQueen" shirt, as he calls it. When I picked him up that afternoon, he was still talking about his shirt and how cool the boys thought it was. Who knew a little t-shirt could bring this much joy?!

We had to make a stop that afternoon at Wal-Mart to pick up a few things. As we were walking past the children's clothing, he spotted the swim trunks he's wearing in the picture above. When he saw them, I thought he was going to stroke out. He started stuttering, "Mama, mama, mama - look look look! Mama - look! Dinoco McQueen! Nemo! Buzz Right Here! Cowboy Movie! Mater! Mama loooook!! I wanna take back home. Come on. Let's get those shorts mama. Manny take back home! Thank you mama. I love you mama!" Please note - the thank you and I love you comments came before we'd even picked them up. This kid knows how to butter me up.

Of course the second we got home he had to put them on. Then he comes marching into the room and announces to me (and Bebe Sawyer), "Hey guys, look at me!!" He was giddy, to say the least.

The purchase of these shorts officially sealed the realization of: he's won. This is not a character shirt - this is a character explosion. And I really just don't care anymore.

So my kid might not always be the best dressed. But you know what? The joy on his face makes it all worth it. And that's not to say if you don't dress your kids in character clothes you're a bad parent. Not even close. I won't even get into the judgement I've seen fly around on how other parents choose to dress or not dress their kid. When did it become such a battle? Do what's right for you and don't let someone else's preferences make you feel any worse (or better!) because you do something different. We are talking children's clothes here people. Stop caring. Stop comparing. Just dress your kid. Preferably in some pants at least, as mine isn't wearing any 97% of the time.

My point in even posting this is I've had some people ask me if I was embarrassed to embrace character clothes given their "stigma", or just my thoughts on character clothing in general. So it prompted me to share my "evolution" on the matter.

Ultimately I decided - now that he's asking? And now that he has a voice? It's only fair to honor it at times. No, he doesn't wear character clothes everyday, despite how it might look at times. I draw boundaries when they are necessary. But for the most part, I figure - hey, he's little once. Let this be a reflection of who he is in this season. I figure it will be fun for him to look back on pictures and see some of the character shirts he's wearing, and recall those were his favorite things at the time.

And maybe it's just me, but it seems some of the character clothing is getting cuter? Old Navy and Target I think have the cutest options...but it could also just be that I'm seeing it through different eyes now. And those would be Manny's. :)

Manny at 2.5

2013-03-25T08:00:00.000-05:00

Dear Manny,

Well you've been 2.5 years old for a couple of months now, and you are growing and changing with each passing day. I've been meaning to write down some of the funny things you say and do, because one thing is for sure - it's never a dull moment with you. :) As challenging as this age can be at times, it's also pretty darn fun and I want to remember all of your little highlights from this age.

You absolutely love to do puzzles. You blew me away one day several months ago when you pulled out a 24 piece puzzle I'd bought at the dollar spot and worked it fairly quickly. Ever since, puzzles have become your "thing". You have about 2 dozen puzzles and are always asking for more. Your favorite to work by yourself are the 36-48 piece ones, but you also have a couple bigger ones that we work with you. You and I work puzzles using a different method, so we don't work all that well together. :) I prefer to complete the border and fill it in, where you like to piece groups together. So you get upset with me if I start making the border first. We are learning to work together.

You call us Babe sometimes, probably because that's what Daddy and I call each other. But more times than not, you've taken to calling us Sarah and Patrick. Pretty sure it sounds like I'm a psycho kidnapper when we're in public and you call me Sarah and I say, "Call me mommy! I'm mommy, remember??"

You are quite the observant little cat and notice everything everywhere. You can spot an animal or car anywhere. A lot of times we'll be shopping in a store and you'll point one out, and I have to search to find the one you saw. You even have a keen eye for feminine hygiene products. One day we were walking in Target and you loudly announced, "Hey, it's mama's! The green ones!" Sure enough, you were pointing to the right kind. Frightening. Nothing gets past you for sure!

Which brings me to...your boots. Oh the boots. You have become one with the rain boots I got for your Halloween costume. You wear them daily, most of the time just with your underwear. Anytime I say we're getting ready to go somewhere, you say you're going to get ready and will come out in your boots and underwear only. I'm trying to teach you about appropriate attire for public places, but you haven't quite grasped that yet.

You love playing basketball, which you call back-e-ball, and hotball, which is your name for football. When you're playing your "sports", you usually ask to wear your back-e-ball shoes, which are your Converse. We also have a version of baseball we play where you get the plastic frying pan from your kitchen, and I throw you a little ball to hit. It's pretty fun and I think you'd like a t-ball set. I'm still a little nervous to get you an actual bat though. Bebe Sawyer might not ever be safe again with that around.

You love anything to do with animals. You often like to pretend to be a camel, hippo, rhino, or horsey. You make all sorts of funny noises while doing so, and assign a role to Maeva usually too. You like to be the giant hippo, and she's the baby hippo.

Speaking of Bebe Sawyer, you are SUCH a great big brother to Maeva. You still call her Bebe Sawyer the majority of the time, but sometimes will call her Mayba. You like to play alongside her and she just laughs and laughs at your craziness. You have been wanting her to crawl for awhile, and now that she finally is, I think at times you wish she wasn't. She has a tendency to automatically go for your toys. And whether you're playing with them or not, you suddenly take an interest in them and have to go claim them. It's quite the ongoing battle around here. You do take pretty good care of her though. One day I had to take a quick shower, so I set Maeva in our room with some toys and you were just running around doing your thing. I got out of the shower to hear you saying, "Open up Bebe Sawyer! Oh no! You're a mess!" I look into our room to see you feeding Maeva yogurt. You'd even brought wet wipes and were trying to wipe her face off as you were making quite the mess.

You love for me to sing songs to you at bedtime. You typically request Twinkle Twinkle, Jesus Loves Me, The Itsy Bitsy Spider, and This Little Light of Mine. Sometimes you'll ask for the Horsey Song, which is "Little Red", but I try to avoid that one as it gets you excited...not exactly a soothing bedtime song. You sing all the time too, and there is nothing cuter than hearing your little voice singing a song while playing or riding along in the car.

From time to time, you randomly break out in Jingle Bells. Typically it's when you're excited about something. But sometimes you're just running around playing and will start shouting, "Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells!" Not the whole song, just that part usually. And recently, you've switched it up a bit by singing E-I-E-I-O! For example, you'll ask if we can go to the park. I say yes, and you'll shout, "Yay! E-I-E-I-O!" while running around.

Though I never thought the day would come, you are potty trained for #1 and #2. It's funny because when you have to go #2, you always close the door. If I happen to be in the bathroom too, you always tell me "Get out, mama. Go, go." And if I forgot to close the door on the way out, you kindly remind me. You are such a big boy now!

Some tidbits & things you like to say:
--"I want moose peanuts!" This is in reference to the peanuts at Santa Fe Cattle Company. You call the longhorn on the sign a moose, and you love the peanuts there. So you named them moose peanuts. Anytime you spot that restaurant you start shouting for "Moose peanuts!!"
--"Manny soooo tall!" (while standing on anything)
--When you want me to hold you, you say, "Hold you. I want mama's hold you!"
--"I want giant banana/giant pizza/giant water!" (for when you want more of what I gave you, or for me not to cut it up.)
--You call stools towers.
--You often call yourself Super Manny, and love to run around in your cape and mask. You have officially entered the superhero/batman/spiderman/superman loving phase.
--"I'm a boootiful boy!" Sometimes you add that you're a boootiful princess too. So yeah.
--"Mama, what time is it?" Not sure why you care, but you ask that. A LOT.
--"I want Manny's moosic." (when we're riding in the car and you want me to turn on your songs)
--"I wanna mark, set." (when you want to play one of your favorite games, where I say, On your mark, get set, go! and you run a "race")
--One day I asked you to get mama a tissue. You came back with my tennis shoes, saying "Mama's tissues!" They do sound alike buddy. I can understand the confusion.
--"Hey guys, look at this!" or "Hey guys, look at me!" usually followed by a "stunt" of some sort.

As is evidenced by this "little" update, I could go on and on about you. It's hard to believe that in less than 2 months you will be 3 YEARS OLD! I am realizing that the days of you wanting to cuddle up on my lap are numbered, and it makes me so sad to think of that. But, I'm trying to soak up the times you do want to cuddle in between your shenanigans and tantrums. You make us laugh all of the time and I wish I could just record you all day long, in a non-creepy stalker mom way of course. I love your spunky, silly personality and am so thankful that God created you, the perfect little boy for our family!

I love you baby boy!
xo,
Mommy

Thursday Randoms

2013-03-21T08:00:00.000-05:00

--I love stationery. Like love, love. So when I heard of this site that makes it easy to have personalized email stationery - and trendy styles at that? Of course I couldn't wait to give it a try. It's called Meeble Mail, has some free options, and is incredibly easy to personalize a design. And they give a great (easy) tutorial for how to insert it into your email browser. Once you set it up, it's just a simple click to add it into your email each time you want to use it. I also like the fact that it displays the same on your phone (this is a screenshot from mine) or computer. They have a small selection of free templates, but several really cute styles for less than $3. Some free options I like are here, here, here, here, here, and here. I thought I'd try out the free version for awhile to see if I'll actually use it before buying a custom design. But I definitely think it's a fun touch and always love to share sites like this when I find them. Has anyone else used this before?

--My friend Miranda told me about her Eye-Fi SD card awhile back, and I finally ordered one last month. A wireless SD card...who knew?! Their site explains the product like this: "Eye-Fi memory cards use built-in WiFi to simplify photo capture, sharing and organization." Simply put? A lazy girl's dream come true. I'm not sure why, but it seems like such a chore to me to actually get my cord out and plug it into my computer. But with this SD card, it uploads your pictures to your computer wirelessly! (You can also set it to upload them to other online places for back-up.) I'm hoping this will help me do better at taking pictures with my real camera.

--I've mentioned in the past that Manny loves to wear MB's headbands. One day I posted this picture on Instagram, and April made the brilliant suggestion to buy Manny a sweat band to wear.

And yesterday when we were at Target, I finally remembered to pick one up. Naturally he immediately had to put it on, and kept shouting, "Hey guys, look at me!" He was quite proud.

Of course it was only a matter of time before Maeva girl got to try it out. It actually comes in quite handy keeping her bangs out of her face!

--If you read via Google Reader, by now you've probably heard the sad news that come July 1st, it will be no more. I've started making the switch to Bloglovin' for my blog reading and think I'm going to like it. If you want to follow along via Bloglovin', just click the button above.

--And finally, yes, we did make a trip to the mini-zoo. It was a smashing success, with only one small hiccup when Manny asked where the giraffes were. But overall, a good time was had by all and he left a happy customer.

Happy Thursday, friends! :)

A Day at the Park

2013-03-20T08:00:00.000-05:00

Yesterday we thought it'd be a good idea to go to the zoo. Unfortunately we didn't think that through as it's Spring Break and apparently everyone else in Oklahoma City thought that was a good idea too. As we approached the zoo and the traffic all but came to a dead stop, I started getting concerned. Then when I saw police directing traffic? I knew it was over with. The masses of people crossing looked like a New York City crosswalk, I kid you not. But a little voice in the backseat encouraged me to press on. And when I say "little voice", I mean the barking commands of the dictator known as Manny. We finally found a parking spot in the north 40. Then I sat there, numb. Dramatic, you say? Yes, of course. But the last thing I felt like doing was hiking up (yes, it was going to be uphill) to the zoo pushing that beast of a double stroller and fighting crowds all day. So begins the dance of trying to convince Manny the zoo is overrated and there are far better things we could go do.

I knew Megan was also going to the zoo with her family, so I called her to see how bad it was inside. Turns out they were just pulling in too. Which was kind of ironic because I can't tell you how many times I've met Megan at the zoo, and she's always there like 5 hours before me waiting since I'm habitually late. Needless to say, they headed on in but we skipped out. Since Gabi was with us, I figured I could distract Manny enough with other activities such that the zoo would be a distant memory. After a quick stop at Chick-fil-a, we made our way to the park with only a few ~~dozen~~ mentions of the zoo in the meantime.

At the park I experienced what I'd like to call a life-changing moment. Did you know these swings can hold 2 kids?! When I saw this being done my mind was blown. I always thought there were leg holes on both sides just so kids could face either direction. And who knows...maybe a 2-seater is not the true intention, but I'm here to tell you it sure works great! The kids absolutely LOVED it. They were so cute and MB squealed and giggled the whole time.

I still get a little nervous anytime he wants in the "big kid" swing, but he loves it so much...regardless of the little scowl you see here. He takes swinging very seriously.

I loved swinging with MB. She was just SO happy and I really think she would've stayed there all day just chilling.

Of course the fact that cousin Gabi was there made the park a thousand times better. MB & Manny always have the best time with her.

And on the agenda for today? What I like to refer to as a trip to the "mini zoo" aka we'll be visiting PetSmart. We'll save the real deal for another day. :)

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Harlem Shake & Other Cousin Fun

2013-03-18T08:00:00.000-05:00

We spent this last week up at my parent's house hanging out with my sister and her kids. It was a little cah-razy, but of course we had lots of fun!

One night we were sitting around talking and my sister Jenny was showing us some Harlem Shake videos she did with her class. The kids were acting wild (as usual) and she was like - why don't we try one with them? I thought it'd be hard to do, but apparently I'm out of touch and there's an app that makes it simple. It's called Video Star and you can record it and add the music over it afterwards. It took her like less than a minute to put it together after she recorded it. I love this video so much. Manny was throwing a fit at the beginning, thus why he was covering his head with his shirt. It turned out pretty funny regardless. :)

Of course any time spent at Mimi & Papa's wouldn't be complete without a trip to "the farm". The kids are obsessed with that place and are always overly eager to help.

My mom got the kids some cute carrot bubbles, which of course were a hit. Unfortunately as soon as I went outside to start taking pictures of them, the battery died on my camera. I'm so bad at remembering to charge it regularly.

Manny absolutely loves loves loves Ellie, my sister's oldest daughter. Pretty sure he idolizes her. She is so sweet with him and tolerates him chasing and calling for her all day long. I caught this picture of them taking a break while playing outside and it was so precious.

And then we have Maeva and Zeke. They are so funny together. Zeke is kind of sweet on Maeva and lets her crawl all over him or pull his hair while he just sits there and smiles. I've never seen either of them act this way toward anyone else so it's really cute to watch them interact. Crazy to think they are almost right at a year apart, and in less than 2 months Maeva will be one and Zeke will be two!

On Thursday we swung by my sister-in-law's house for a bit to ~~terrorize~~ hang out with them for a bit. Of course Manny had to get a moped ride from Laci. It was quite a visit, to say the least. Oh these kids are wild. Sorry Tonya. :)

And to end the perfect week, we brought Gabi home with us while she's on Spring Break!! Even Maeva is cheering about this. We always love having Gabi here and are looking forward to a fun week with her!

And while I'm thinking of it, I thought I'd share about an exciting event coming up! I've mentioned before that my parents have an amphitheater. Well on April 19th, they are going to be having a concert there. The Kings and Queens Tour featuring Audio Adrenaline, Group 1 Crew, and a few other awesome bands will be part of it. I'm so excited - I've been a huge fan of Audio Adrenaline all the way back to middle school church camp days - Big House hand motions anyone? And now I love their newer stuff too, and particularly the cause of this tour. If you're interested, go here for more details or to purchase tickets.

Happy Monday! :)

Weekend of Fun

2013-03-15T08:00:00.000-05:00

The first weekend in February was a busy one for us. I'm part of an organization that had their annual fundraising gala on that Friday night. It was a lot of work to prepare for, but we had so much fun and it was great to get out for a night with friends!

In a shocking turn of events (sarcasm font) I wore a chevron sequin dress. I found it at White House Black Market, and it was actually on sale, which made it even more perfect.

My best friend and her husband came as our guests, and we had so much fun! One our good childhood friends was also there with his wife and it was a total walk down memory lane. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time.

The next morning we rolled out of bed bright and early and headed to Dallas for my niece Olivia's 4th birthday party. Thankfully it was a pajamas and pancakes party...so when I say rolled out of bed, I'm not joking. ;) My sister did such a great job with all of the decorations...I really loved this theme and the colors she used!

The kids had so much fun at the party. I think Manny's favorite part was the pinata. I was about to faint the whole time he was swinging that bat though. He was so intense.

Livvy was such a sweet birthday girl! Manny didn't mind being one of the girls as usual, and had a blast chasing them all around.

Not sure how this happened, but at some point Patrick decided to push MB around in the little shopping cart. She absolutely loved it. Such a sweet little peanut. :) It was such a great weekend that seems like forever ago...seriously need time to slow down just a tad please!

MB on the Move!

2013-03-13T08:00:00.000-05:00

While these pictures aren't of Maeva girl on the move, they were taken the same day last week that she officially started crawling! (Read: an excuse for me to share some cute pictures of my little lady.)

It was really out of the blue, and it's still a pretty "rough" crawl. She kind of does a hop with it. In fact, when she first started doing it, Manny said, "Look mama! Bebe Sawyer's a kangaroo!" Then started hop-crawling along with her, and called her the baby kangaroo and he was the giant kangaroo. :)

It's still weird to me to see her moving around, even though she is 10 months old. Just doesn't seem possible she's that old already!

We're both pretty shocked this day has already come. ;)