Destructive Three Year Old...How Do You Deal?

Lately, Finn has come on a destructive streak. He wants to make huge messes, pull things off shelves, and throw things, to name a few things. I don't know if it's just a little boy thing but it's driving me crazy. I've tried multiple things. Just talking to him about what he is doing and why we don't. I've tried time outs, making him clean it up and even on occasion a swat on the booty(normally reserved for times of his listening being a matter of danger.)

This morning it came to a boiling point for me. As I was  changing over some laundry, I looked up in time to see him standing on the  couch throwing our laptop to the floor. I literally had to count to ten twice, followed by immediately putting him in his room until I could react in a level manner. The look on his face after proved that he knew what he just did and knew that I would be upset. I know he is just about to be three and testing boundaries but I'm at such a loss and running out of patience for it. So I'm here asking for any and all advice. Please help a momma out!

Toddlers Learning to Recognize and Spell Their Names

Yesterday, the kids seemed bored with being at home. Unfortunately, we are on a budget at the moment, due to some anticipate expenses coming up. Its almost time to renew the car registration, Finn's 3rd birthday and his 3 year checkup. So I knew it wasn't a good idea to spend money to entertain them when I could find something to entertain them here.

So to my craft shelves I went. After some thought while they napped, I had some things layed out when they woke.

First, I had a foam rectangle at each of their seats, at the table. I had written their name on their designated one. I started out by talking about the one in front of each of them one at a time. We identified the letters together and I explained it was their name. They both seemed to grasp that. Later, when I wrote their names in another place they both showed recognition of their own name.

Then, I spread some foam star stickers in front of me. They were multi colored, so we talked about each of their colors. As they would name the color of each, whoever had said it first got to put that sticker on a blank paper plate I had placed in front of them. Basically made a little game out of it. They thought it was fun and Im hoping it was a helpful lesson in sharing, as well.

Next, I gave them back their name rectangles. Before starting I had written one letter of their names on each star. I asked them to place the lettered star on the corresponding letter on the foam. Just a fun little spelling activity. They aren't anywhere near able to spell their names yet but they completed the activity decently. Finn did a lot better than Lorelai but she did manage to put them in order.

Lion King Diaper Wagon

Just a quick photo blog of tonight's creation:

Lion Kind Diaper Wagon! Our friend and frequently used baby sitter is due with a baby boy in September. Tomorrow is her baby shower. I was asked to make the diaper cake. However, I was feeling a little adventurous, so branched out a little.
I did this following the guidelines of this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5CTTrulUIc

Huckleberry Finn Birthday! Ideas Please!

I am a party throwing addict. I start contemplating birthday parties months before time. Once an idea/theme sparks, my mind goes nuts(eventually my budget calms my mind down and the ideas become more realisitic, but still cute). I just love it. In my life, Im not an incredibly organized or together type person. When it comes to my parties, I am a certifiable nut job/control freak. Our wedding day(I had put together and planned the entire thing myself), my friends had to beg me to go get my hair done and let them finish the décor. I had drawn out charts and placements for everything, so very stubbornly, I went.

My son turns 3(holy crap, how?) in October. Two weeks ago, after thinking through party ideas that were ok but I wasn't particularly attached to, it finally dawned on me what to do. I have very excitably come to the theme Huckleberry Finn. It is part of what inspired his name afterall. It is my favorite book, hands down. So with that theme in mind, I stayed up way too late thinking of it. Surprisingly there isn't much for it on Pinterest(which to be honest is part of the appeal, I can also be slightly selfish with my parties. I do love to help others with their own parties though). So it will all be coming from my own brain. Which brings me to the point of this post. If you were told you were going to a Huckleberry themed party, what would you expect? In my mind I picture old time games, burlap, pie, tin pie pans, twine, and just masculine/vintage feel. If you were going to this party, what would you picture in your mind?

I like to start planning early and I like it to be amazing. So all ideas are welcome! I have come up with favor ideas. I plan to make each of the kids a hobo sack with treats inside. I just think all the kids leaving with the stick over their shoulder would be adorable. I also am thinking pie instead of cake. Also perhaps instead of plates, tin pie pans. Just ideas like those. That's the feel Im aiming for. So any ideas you may have please comment. Or if you have thrown a party with a vintage feel, link me! Thanks in advance!

The Woes of One

My sweet Lorelai has a huge personality. She loves to give hugs and kisses. She has the attitude of a preteen, She can be ridiculously girly and she LOVES  to talk. With her brother being such a quiet guy, Im ever surprised with the her ability to have basic conversation. She responds to questions with "yes" or "no." She shows a lot of understanding for the things that I say.She is even learning to describe things. Which is my point of this post. Just a little funny tidbit, I wanted to share.

Yesterday, all 4 of us were in the living room. Finn was in his usual spot at his car table, Lorelai was at the end of the couch watching Elmo. Stephen and I were playing a game together on my Kindle(a recent and very beloved gift from him). The other day, I received a one cup sample of coffee. It was packaged in a Keurig single cup. It came with the mail and therefore was still sitting with the stack on the end table. I forgot about its being there and didn't think ahead to what a child finding it would do. As her father and I were playing, I see her waving her hand out of the corner of my eye. Before I can respond or even turn she starts exclaiming/whining "ewww, yuck, sticky!" The same little phrase over and over. Now the poor kid had gotten into the top of the Keurig cup, decided to dip her finger in and have a taste. Anyone who has tasted straight coffee grinds can understand her predicament. Not only did it taste awful, but her spit had made it wet and stick to her little finger and she was freaking out. She had NO  desire to touch it with the other hand to get it off because it was yucky. She was having a serious girly melt down about her fingers being dirty with this horrible stuff. After we mercifully stopped laughing(I know we are terrible, evil parents but despite her issue it was ridiculously adorable and funny), I cleaned it off with a wipe.

She may have ruined the cup and made it unable to brew but our house smelled amazing. We were able to leave it for a bit and enjoy the smell since we knew she wasn't going to get in it again. Haha. It had to be one of the funniest moments of our parenthood so far.

Body Art, Is It Really So Bad?

I'm up late waiting on my comforter to dry so I can go off to bed. We visited some family this past weekend which included sleeping in their living room. Somehow the night ended up with the 2 kids on the air mattress using the bedding I had brought for myself. My husband in the cushy recliner and myself on the couch. We arrived home pretty late last night and promptly got the kids into bed and headed towards our own. As I crawled in our bed and adjusted my pillows just right, I began to pull up my blanket and get it situated the way I like only to have the sudden stench of morning diapers waft up my nose. UGH!!! So off it went and I ended up stealing one of my husband's blankets for the night(one of the things that keeps us married is admitting to needing separate blankets at night. Also using separate bathrooms does wonders as well.) This morning I got up and went about my day and forgot about the blanket being crumpled in our bedroom floor. So when I went to go to bed tonight, I walked in looked at it and suddenly remembered I still needed to wash it. Not wanting to steal a hubby blanket another night, I opted to stay up and wash it.

As I set up watching Glee reruns(in my grieving process of Cory Monteith, heartbreaking!), I started thinking about a conversation over the weekend. We spent the weekend visiting some family. During the time, we had dinner with my Aunt, Uncle and 21 year old cousin. He is someone I've always enjoyed the company of. Growing up he always had the cool new video games and I don't know, we just always related well. I hadn't seen him in a while before this dinner, so as I sat across from him, I was engaging in conversation with him and of course the rest of the table. I noticed some scaring where piercings normally are. I assumed it was pierced holes, so I just asked if he still ever wears them. He said he actually went through the process of getting them pierced and gauging them. I asked how that goes(I had never been around someone I could really just casually ask before, so decided to take the opportunity.) He explained it and then said he decided he just really didn't like it in the end, so he had them stitched closed by a surgeon. His parents said something about it being more presentable with out them. Which you know led to the normal what jobs expect in appearances, as far as tattoos and piercings.

My husband is in a position with his job that requires interviewing and hiring employees. He gave the input that he does tend to take a second look at things like that and will generally choose the better presented one if qualifications are comparable.

Tonight I was thinking about this conversation and just have some thoughts swirling around. These days, its not hard to find numerous people who still have clean & undecorated bodies. On the other hand, you can throw a rock and find someone with at least a tiny tattoo somewhere. It's also become a society where MANY people get higher educations and qualifications. Tattoos and piercings don't carry such bad connotations anymore. They no longer represent just street gangs and husky bicycle guys. They no longer only litter the bodies of drunks and druggies. They exist in all shapes and forms on the bodies of all types of people. They range from creepy flaming skulls to innocent turtles(or in my case Tinkerbell and music notes.) They are found on such a large number of the population.

With that being the case, why is it still seen as a hazard to a successful life? Why do we pin so much pressure on these things? Do most people associate tattoos/piercings with being less knowledgeable or untrustworthy? I cant remember the last time I personally met someone with one of these and thought, wow I better get someone else in this store to help me. Those tattoos have got to be clouding their information! Are these views what society really still thinks or are they just left over stereotypes?

Im honestly not meaning to rant now, I just don't understand why we associate seeing the presence of these things with something bad. Are we still too close minded to just not care? It's a piercing not a hole in the brain. Just something I don't understand, I suppose. I just wonder if there will be a day where it doesn't matter anymore.

I tend to see these things as creative outlets or maybe even a hobby. Everyone usually has the thing they enjoy spending their time and money on. If it's a creative outlet, isn't that a good quality to have for a job? Creativity can go a long way in many things. It's a choice of expression. Often it's done as a dedication or in memory of someone or something important. I think those can be a beautiful expression.

I can maybe understand asking that foul or crude ones not be on display in a place of business but that's true of all foul or crude things. There could always be a rule that if it's more nudity than Facebook allows than you should cover it, haha! I don't know I just wanted to get my thoughts out. Hope this was a good read for someone! Goodnight!

Here is my ink:

I have my next one planned but this stupid being responsible with money in adulthood thing stinks!

Surpressing the Laughter to Appear More Serious

My son is IN LOVE with hotwheel type cars. Loves playing with them on the flat floor or sending them down the ramps on his car track table. He is very passionate about them. His favorite thing to do is line up like 7 or 8 of them and push them on a line down the hills on the table. Lorelai on the other hand pretends to want them and will walk and steal like one from the line up. This upsets him like a lot. He doesn't like her touching his cars at all. She is doing literally just to anger him. She has noticed how upsets it makes him and sees it as entertainment. It's a ridiculous show to watch. I step in some because Finn is very sensitive and isn't much of a fighter. He does nothing but cries. So I'll step in and get onto her for being mean to him. Sometimes I encourage him to take care of it and ask for it back. If he does she'll usually give it back. Tonight, however, he was eating a snack of graham crackers as he played at his track table, she came up and stole one car(a new one he received for his recently great potty efforts, so is still very cool and exciting). As she stood there waiting for him to get uspet, she was surprised to find that instead, he chose to start throwing pieces of cracker at her.

For me it was one of those moments of parenting where I had to take a few seconds to surpress the laughter I wanted to have in order to appear more serious in straightening out the squabble. It was beyond difficult. I barely had them apart and in time out before I rounded the corner where I could finally let it out. How often does this happen for you guys? What were your surpressing laughter moments?

4th of July

It's the week of Independence Day! This is my favorite holiday! I enjoy the sense of pride you feel from everyone throughout the day. I enjoy the methods of celebrating. Bar-b-qing, lake going and fireworks watching are the usual. The whole day just makes me happy. The last 2 years we went with good friends of ours to an area military base. It has a nice sandy beach lake running through it. Their family includes a former soldier so they are able to get us on base. It's always been enjoyable to be among former and current soldiers on that day. It feels like we are celebrating them while celebrating with them, at the same time. This year however, my husband will be working. I do not feel comfortable taking my 2, getting ever quicker, toddlers to a lake on my own. Finn is a very stubborn boy and Lorelai is getting to the daring age. So this year we have to miss out on those plans. The kids and I will be joining some near by family for a day of bar b qing, instead. Regardless, I will not forget what the day is about and will be thinking of our troops. What is everyone else up to this holiday? If you aren't American, do you have a national holiday that you celebrate like this? I'd love to know! I enjoy studying and learning about other cultures!
Ive still been working on learning to do my own nails. This is a picture of my current DIY Fireworks nails. They all have a red base. I then used blue and silver glitter polishes to create the look of fireworks. Then I accented with white for a little pop.

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to all the wonderful dads out there! And a special Father's Day wish to Stephen the wonderful hard working father of my babies! We love him and appreciate everything he does for us. The kids adore him and love playtime with Daddy!

Toddler Life Update

My baby officially turned a year and a half yesterday. I am in complete disbelief that we are here. We have a 30 month old son and a daughter who is a year and a half. She has personality and attitude that can fill a room. He is my sweet and observant child. I am so proud of the intelligence they both possess. There isn't much Lorelai cant repeat or say. Some things are pronounce with the adorable little mistakes early talkers make and I love it. She doesn't shy away from attempting to conversate though. She can be a little timid with outsiders as far as one on one communication. She isn't too shy to be herself and show them what she is made of though! Her favorite thing is dancing! Anytime there is music the kid will dance her little heart out and I love watching her do so. She likes shoes and clothes and usually insists on picking out what she is going to wear. She likes the idea of hairbows but wont leave them in. Her hair has gotten so much longer and thicker. It has beautiful and wispy curls at the ends. She is working hard at learning to eat well with utensils. She can count to 2 and then will jump around to other numbers. She recognizes and points to numbers up to 10. She is learning shapes with her brother currently and knows circle, oval and star. She will point them out when she finds them in our daily life. She is about 30 pounds but we have her check up this coming week and I will know exactly. She is loving, bubbly, bossy and all around the best definition of a little sister.

Finn as I said is quiet and observant. He will utter some words here and there and shows plenty of understanding for what we say but isn't a talker. He likes to observe those around him or even get into his own little world. He must have an amazing imagination because he can just be quiet one minute and totally cracking up the next. I cant tell you how many times Ive wished I could see in his head when this happens. He gets so tickled at himself sometimes! He is incredibly coordinated. I don't have to hover over him because he can conquer obstacles with a lot of grace. He is a ladder master at the park. He is obsessed with slides and will do one 20 times over and laugh just as hard each time. He is just in love with being happy. He likes trying to take things apart to see how they work. He wishes he could get into Daddy's electronics and have a field day. He has the eating with utensils thing down. Drinks out of normal cups perfectly but still most often gets sippy cups because he likes the way liquids poor out of normal cups. He still loves cuddles and kisses.

They still share a room and have their beds next to each other which they seem to really like. They seem both comforted by that and sleep great. When they wake in the morning they will play in their room a bit before knocking on the door to be let out.

They are also both officially potty training. We are still in early stages. The kids' cousins visited over the last few days and are a little older, so they made for good influences in that department. It was a big step to have them here and get our kids more interested.

This is pretty much the life of our toddlers currently. They are healthy, loving, both have a decent stubborn streak and amazing.

DIY Nail Tips?

Tonight I am up perusing Pinterest. I'm looking at nail art. Lately I have come into enjoying paying more attention to my nails. I'm not one to go have my nails done and I don't like wearing acrylic ones. I have been enjoying doing my own and adding designs, though. Im not awesome at it but they have been coming out acceptable so I keep trying. Eventually, Im sure Ill have my techniques down. Growing up, my parents didn't really allow us to paint our nails. My dad didn't like it and my mom couldn't stand the smell(she was uber sensitive in the sense of smell department). So I was use to maybe having clear or light pink on here or there, but for the most part they have been all natural. Ive been blessed with healthy fast growing nails, so a lot can be done with them. It's one of the reasons I choose not to do fake nails. I like my own.

Im looking through Pinterest for some fun summer designs. It's mid June so I want something fun and representative of that. Then come early July I'd like something American Patriotic. Do any of you reading this do your own manicures? Do you have special techniques or tools you could recommend? I didn't grow up getting much practice but have been enjoying it. I'd like to get better. I find doing my own nails is relaxing and therapeutic. It feeds my creative hunger. So if you can offer any words of wisdom, I welcome you to share!
My nails for Disney World, my first attempt at any design, ever...so no harsh judgement please, haha.
http://instagram.com/p/X26dnCBRd_/#

Hashtags...What's the Deal?

OK, this hashtag thing....What is going on? Im kinda being driven nuts by some friends who post hashtagged words as half of their status updates! Why is it important to use so many of them? If you gotta use it, is it unreasonable to post maybe like 2 of them and call it a day? I don't use a twitter, mostly because I don't have enough interesting things to post that often. So maybe that's why I don't get it. If it's a Twitter thing, then why is it spreading to other places like Facebook? I'd be happy to have input/ opinions on this subject. Maybe Im missing what really makes it cool? I didn't want to vent this on my Facebook because a couple of the people are good friends. One of the reasons I have a blog and don't tell friends about it is so I can have a safe place to vent sometimes. Haha. I can be pretty opinionated but I find my friendships more important than the need to spout out what Im thinking sometimes..haha.
So again, if anyone wants to enlighten me on the subject, I welcome it! Thanks for reading my ridiculous post yet :)

Rainbow Baby Shower

Saturday morning, I posted a preview to our day. Now I would like to go back to that subject and talk about the day.

Over the last 3 months, I have been hard at work getting ready for the diaper shower of my best friend. They are having their 4th baby, so the idea was not to have a huge shower since she has 3 previous babies, but to have a small celebration of a new life. I think every life should be celebrated, so even if its a small diaper sprinkle or a welcome party, I believe in every baby getting a party. So that's what we did :) This baby came after a miscarriage so it has received the nickname Rainbow. They do not know the gender. nor do they have a picked out name. This is how the shower looked:
The games we played?
Guess how big Mama is with string.
2Adult baby games-Who can drink their bottle of juice the fastest(crazy how difficult that actually is) and who can make the best diaper of toilet paper on their friend. To protect the pride of my lovely friends I will not post those pictures here, but if you get the chance include these games at your shower. They are fun and hilarious!
Of course how many candies in the baby bottle
We made collages from magazines of what baby will look like(those always turn out funny)
And we did a version of the clothes pin games but with leis, wanted to have the color, plus I never know what to do with all the pins after the party. Leis can be taken home for kids to play with.
It was all very fun and colorful. My goal was to make it pretty and the rainbow theme she wanted without it looking like the inside of a 3 year olds coloring book.

The Decorations:

Preparing to Celebrate Rainbows!

Up late again...
This time it involves prep work for throwing a baby sprinkle for my best friend. I just wanted to give a little preview of my next post. That one will be after today's party. This is her 4th baby, so we aren't making it into a huge shower. However, the day is gonna be pretty big because two of her other children will be having a big water party for their birthdays, as well. The theme flowing through all of this? Rainbow! So expect some colorful pictures to come! As well as more details about our day!

 

Welcome Texas Summer!

Our last couple of weeks in pictures:

One day of our almost daily visiting spots. So cheap and easy fun! Taking advantage before they are old enough to ask for more expensive outings :)

 

She is now 28lbs

He is now 25lbs...That's right, sister finally outweighs him. He is lucky his height is keeping up.

We had our first go with normal markers(I have let them use Color Wonder, which they have done well with, so I thought I could let my guard down.) This is how it turned out. I took a quick potty run while they were quietly coloring. Of course, he would choose the red one, too. I came back and about had a heart attack before I realized it was ink. We are back to Color Wonder unless I can sit right there the entire time.

 

My husband got himself a motorcycle, recently. Finn thinks its sooo cool.

We spent the Sunday before Memorial Day at the zoo. We are trying to let the kids walk stroller free as much as possible lately. I'm really wanting them to get more practice staying with us. They are both getting a lot better. I'm so proud of them both.

This is Lorelai and her cousin Blaze. He is the son of family who stayed with us shortly.

This is what their Memorial looked like. We hung out with some family about half an hour from us. We grilled some chicken, burgers, hot dogs and ribs. We had some potato salad and corn on the cob. It was delicious and a really fun day.

Enjoying her corn on the cob.

Her first attempt at a tricycle.

Having some late lunch at McDonald's with my loves. I prefer taking them to the park. Lately, we have had quite a few afternoon/evening storms. This was one of those days. They desperately needed out of the house, so this was our backup.

This is his cheese face :)

 

Everything has just been typical, "day in the life" around here. I love it that way. For me that is comforting. Tomorrow we plan to go for some water fun! Our Texas summer has definitely arrived. It is time to give it a proper welcome! I'm hoping to post soon with a developmental update on both kids. I have been writing stuff down to keep track. I will probably do it around the 14th. Lorelai turns 18 months and Finn will be 30 months. Seems like a good time to talk about all that they are currently doing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TastyKake's Dessert Shell..not kid approved!

On my recent grocery shopping trip, I ran across TastyKake 6pk dessert shells. They seemed perfect for individual sized strawberry shortcakes. I thought the kids would think they were fun, since they usually are delighted when things are just their size. So I put them in my cart with fresh strawberries and cool whip. I had a moment of debating between these and normal angel food cake. I also like to bake a normal cake to make it with. In the end, I decided to purchase the shells.

The next night after dinner, my kids were exhausted so I put them in bed early. I made two little cakes for my husband and myself. He never complained about his, but he ate the toppings and not all of the shell. I think he was trying to protect my feelings because when I bit into it I was not impressed. I finished the cake but found myself having to smother the pieces in cool whip to make it taste better. I just didnt find the flavor or texture satisfying. The texture didnt have the soft fluffiness of a good yellow cake, which essentially is what it appeared to look like. It was crumbly and kind of dry. To top it off it had an odd sweetness. I cant put my finger on what it was but it just wasnt a sweet suttle flavor that you expect a yellow cake to have.

I decided the next day to make these for the kids, thinking they wouldnt be as picky and would enjoy the treat. They did the same thing as their dad. They ate the toppings, but only one bite of their little cakes. So essentially the almost 4 dollars I spent on them was thrown in the trash. I do not recommend them to anyone, ever. Stick with the classic angel food cake or better yet, my favorite version is to frost a homemade yellow cake in coolwhip and top with fresh cut strawberries. I firmly do not believe these are worth anyone's money!

The Closet of A Curvy Girl

My adulthood has turned me into a curvier girl. While I could stand to trim it up some, I'm good with this. A lot of my comfort level with my body shape comes from how I clothe it. It took me and is still taking my some time to learn how to work with it and what makes me feel comfortable. No matter body type, I like to feel modest and pretty. I don't really have the self discipline to do work out routines and such but I do try to fit in some good exercise every morning. I generally do something like dancing. I have to keep it something my kids can participate in. If they aren't participating, then they are distracting me. We change up what we do daily. My kids have this thing with running from the front door, down our long hallway and back, sometimes Ill participate and we'll jog back and forth for a while. We have dance parties. Sometimes we take long walks around our neighborhood or the park. Just generally whatever we are in the mood for and what our daily time frames allow. The majority of my activity comes from keeping the house up or keeping up with two toddlers who seem to always be going in opposite directions.

That being said, I have had to find things I am comfortable wearing, things that cover and hide the right areas, as well as being functional for a mom, who can sometimes be seen with a kid on each hip. So comfort and modesty are important in the things I buy. Just like any stay home mom, I have my arsenal of sweats and such for when I'm hanging around the house. These are reserved for messy activities with the kids, not going anywhere days and of course sick kid days. They are my items that can get as dirty as I need them to get. No worries for under 10 bucks I can pick up a new pair. I generally rely on the Danskin ones that Walmart sales. Accessible and cheap!

Of course paired with any old tshirt, makes for a no worries mom outfit.
When grocery shopping late at night, you may find me pairing it with the so not attractive, but ridiculously comfortable run of the mill, hoodie


This covers my general stay home mom uniform, ha ha.

Now for my clothes that make me feel human with the rest of the species. I have come to find I rely on some usual basics.
Camis/Tanks Tops for layering, to help with more length plus cleavage control. I love the ones with lace edging. Then I get the modesty but get to feel a little sexy at the same time.
I currently have a few of these in different colors. From various stores when I see them:http://www.walmart.com/ip/Faded-Glory-Women-s-Plus-Size-Lace-Trim-Tank/22621366

A couple pairs of comfy boot cut jeans(usually have a medium, dark and black) I do not like skinny jeans. Others can pull them off, I don't feel that I can. I don't like calling that much attention to the shape of my legs. So I prefer nice wider legged jeans.

I always have a few flowy maxi skirts. Colors vary depending on what I think will match the most of what I currently have. I almost always have a white one. Sometimes black but since I like to wear them in warmer weather, I prefer lighter shades. I like the crinkly ones like these:

I can wear them with any basic matching shirt and sandals/flip flops. Super comfortable, pretty and helps heat management in crazy Texas summers.
I also like to keep a few v-neck shirts, generally with fun designs or prints on them. I usually layer them with the camis or tanks that I have. I don't wear shorts, I just don't like them. So Ill usually pair them with one of my skirts or jeans. Sometimes capris, if I happen to have found some cute ones that I like. I don't think a picture is necessary v-neck tee is pretty self explanatory.
Sandals and flip flops are always a self preference thing. I personally will keep 2 or 3 of the inexpensive kind you can get in any color. Ill usually keep white, black and brown. I also will have a couple of the nicer ones with jewels and such on them for nicer occasions.
I'm also a sneaker girl. I love converse. I have a decent collection of them. Generally if I'm not in sandals I'm in those.
I also have a couple pairs of nice slacks and my nice mom night out or date night tops. These tops can vary in style. My requirements are they have to have some length to them. Nice sleeve cuts. I don't like sleeves that have a band at the end of them. My favorite is the fluttery sleeves. It also has to have something pretty going on.
This is a shirt I would buy.

My closet also consists of a couple cardigans and a nice black cord jacket, in case of chilly date nights or outings like the movies. I also have my big coats, one black button up and one in brown.

I have found a trick in clothing my body type is layers and fun pieces for leading the eye away from my not so favorite areas. Obviously layers aren't always necessary, that's a personal preference thing. I like to know that if a keep grabs and pulls down on the neck of my shirt, or if a legs gets caught on the bottom of my shirt that I have that extra layer to keep things from popping out. Its a safety measure as well as adding a little modesty.
One other thing that is important to me when piecing together my wardrobe is prices! With being a one income household, I don't get huge shopping spree budgets. I'm often picking up one or two items I may need for an event or replacing something that was worn out or damaged somehow. So I'm a huge bargain shopper. I'm not above purchasing a top from WalMart. I love Target and places like Ross. I just cant stomach paying more than 20 for a shirt. I'm a natural money stretcher, so that never sits well with me.

This has been the basic rundown of a curvy girl's closet. Want more details, feel free to comment! Only appropriate comments please.

International Delight Iced Coffee

Im the occasional "coffee" drinker. Sometimes I drink it purely because Im in the mood for it or because its the only thing that can salvage a difficult day. I put it in quotation marks because what I drink can't really be called coffee. At Starbucks, I always order a Mocha Frapuccino. At home, I brew the Cafe Escape brands of mocha or caramel and add some flavorful creamer. My husband calls the stuff I drink a cup of candy. By the time I'm finished there is barely even a taste of coffee. Occasionally I'm in the mood to taste it and will ask the barista to put less pumps of mocha in my drink, but for the most part, my husband is fairly accurate.

The creamer I usually buy is International Delight branded. They have some really yummy flavors. I thought that since I enjoyed their creamer as much as I do, I would give this product a try:
My husband picked the vanilla for us to try. Today I finally popped the seal and tried it. Upon first taste I liked it. I thought it was flavored well and good. As I continued drinking, I found I liked it but at the same time, I almost felt as though I was drinking straight creamer. Its a lot thicker than I like my iced coffee to be and just intensely sweet. After what I said earlier, that says a lot coming from me. It's not perfect but it does satisfy a sweet tooth. However, if you like your coffee drinks to resemble actual taste of coffee, this may not be for you. I honestly will still probably drink it and I wouldnt mind trying the chocolate. I do believe my main source of coffee cravings will still be filled by what I brew with my Keurig, while still using their creamer.

I thought I would share my thoughts. I had passed it a few times before actually buying it because I was worried about how I would like it. So in case anyone else is on the fence as well, I was hoping this could be helpful! I think its sweet and tasty, as well as reasonably priced.

Harry Potter: A Love/Hate Relationship

In eighth grade I moved to a new school district. After 2 months of living there, I contracted head lice. It took some time for me to realize something was up. I think I was in a little bit of denial when my head started itching. Ive always had issues with a dry scalp so I was attributing it to that. Then I was at a salon getting my hair cut and the hairdresser pointed it out. I have ridiculously thick hair. Its currently cut to shoulder length and easy to maintain but when its long, it takes a lot of effort to make it look good. Blow drying my locks when I have long hair causes arm cramps. It's that thick. By the time we found out about the lice, it had was almost a lost cause. For a week we tried all the methods. However getting it all out even after it was dead was impossible with just a little comb thing. So I made the difficult decision to cut it really short. I was really worried. I wasn't yet permitted to wear makeup, I was new at school and I wore dorky glasses. My pretty hair was all I had going(or I thought, if my daughter said something like that to me I would probably be upset that she thought that.)

Anyway, so we chopped it off to chin length. As I mentioned earlier, I had dorky glasses. I still have glasses, but I have some that are cute and spunky. My glasses then were horrible round lenses that made me look 5 years younger and it was completely noticeable if the flimsy frame got a little bent because they would sit crooked on my face. We made the decision to cut so that what was left in my hair would grow out of it, as it was the only way to get every bit of it out. It really was the only reasonable way, I just hated that I had to do it. So after being absent from school for a week, I was finally able to return feeling completely insecure.

As the day started no one said much, they were shocked and wanted to know why. As I mentioned I was new to the school so I didn't want them knowing what was really happening so I blamed a freak gum incident. Luckily they bought it. I mean seriously, doesn't lice happen in like 2nd grade? I rarely hear it happening to older kids. Still to this day, I haven't been able to pin point where I picked it up. I arrived to my second class of the day. This is the year that Harry Potter was starting to pick up and really become a thing. In this class, the boy sitting next to me had a copy of said book sitting on his desk. As I sat talking to a friend behind me, the boy decides to point out that my new style with my round glasses now bared resemblance to the picture of the boy wizard on his book. This was a small school. So by the end of that class, the whole room had also noticed the comparison, this resulted in the entire 8th grade class knowing these happenings by lunch. Being called Harry Potter those next couple of days was incredibly embarrassing and made me feel like crap. I was 14 and starting to like boys and had noticed some cute ones at my new school. This occurrence, however, made me want to become invisible to all of them.

As my hair grew out, and through high school the name didn't come as frequent but every once in a while it would rear its ugly head. I was over the embarrassment of it. I had dated by now and established friends, allowing me to gain some confidence in myself. However, it created a hate for a fictional character I didn't even know. Purely the mention of the series or the movies that had started coming out, repulsed me. All I could think of any time I saw a picture or anything of it, was the embarrassment it had brought me. I didn't think I would ever care, or ever pick up one of the books...

Then I met my husband. This is where the definition of irony truly had a place in my life. I could not have met a bigger fan of the wizarding world. Without warning, I was falling in love and being introduced to this world. Suddenly I lived in a home with the books on the shelves, the movies that had come out thus far being played on my TV and having it being a household topic. I resisted it all at first. I resisted hard. It didn't work. I knew in order to be with this man that I love, I had to make peace with Harry. I had to accept him. I couldn't expect something my husband loved this much to be dropped. So I picked up the first book...

Today, I find myself enjoying references when I find them. I request that we watch the movies occasionally. Ive been to the since book openings at midnight and movies. I'm no where near being able to call myself a buff or anything but Ive learned a lot. I am here today to say, me and Harry have a truce. What happened in middle school obviously doesn't sting anymore and I can live with the fictional being finally. It's amazing what bullying can do and even more amazing what love can fix.

Press 1 for English

I grew up in a small town. It was mostly made up of middle to upper class caucasions. In high school, I had very little to go on in terms of forming opinions of anyone outside of these classifications. I had a father who was raised in a fairly racist home. While he claimed not to be, you could still see these thoughts occasionally escape him. Like in middle school, one of my first crushes was on a boy of a different color than I. Upon telling my father this, I got a 3 hour lecture about why that isnt ok. However, my dad owns a business and has since employed many types of people and this ignorance of his has seemed to dissipate. He is much more welcoming of these circumstances and different backgrounds. So I completely blame his previous issues purely on ignorance. The fact that his parents denied him to be educated enough to not feel this way. It is most certainly a generational thing. While I spent my childhood in a fairly close minded society, I knew there was more. I couldnt wait to graduate and leave those thoughts in that town. However, I did leave with one thought that others around me would quip and I would think it's funny and even agree with it. This was the "why do I have to press 1 for English sentiment." I would agree and think how ridiculous that others would come here and not even know our language or that we have to learn to talk to them.

Now as Ive been around more types of people and had friends of mixed cultures, I see that too is an ignorant thought. I've been pondering this lately, as Ive seen little pictures or facebook statuses about it. Here is what Ive come up with.

 Some scholars estimate that the Western Hemisphere at the time of the first European contact was inhabited by 40 million people who spoke 1,800 different tongues. By the middle of the 20th cent., as a result of European conquest and settlement in the Western Hemisphere, perhaps two thirds of the many indigenous American languages had already died out or were dying out. So based on this, English isnt even the original first language of this country. It is spoken primarily now because of the influx of our ancestors into the country hundreds of years ago. That means the Native Americans were standing around probably saying the same thing! People came here for freedom and to be in a place of acceptance. They came and formed churches, societies and classes. How many of these people do you think understood each other? How long it must have taken to get to where we are now with the ability to more easily talk to one another. How many generations of Germans or Frenchmen did it take for them to be able to communicate with others in this new society? Our country exists because of other languages living together. We created a place of acceptance and others wanted to be part of it. So in today's society we have this amazing Smörgåsbord(that's scandinavian, btw) of languages and cultures to expose ourselves to and benefit from. This country is a place of constant changing and new things. This is a good thing and as long as it is, we will never be a country of everyone speaking one language. There will always be someone we dont have the language skills to talk to. This isnt something to complain and be annoyed about. It's oppurtunity for our society to grow, and flourish.

Underneath language, skin color, religion, traditions and status we are all people trying to function in a crappy economy. We all get married and have children, for whom we strive to provide a good future. We all have complaints which lead us to calling hotlines and pushing our correct language button. I think its important for everyone to put effort into communicating with each other but I dont feel its fair to expect everyone who lives here to conform to understanding one language.

So there are my basic thoughts on the subject. As I said, it was just something that has been on my mind. I love other cultures and living in a place that allows me to see a peek into others just from walking out my front door.  Im happy to raise my kids in a place they too can learn from other views and maybe end up bilingual. Im not meaning to open up a political debate or anything, I just feel like this is a safe place for my thoughts. I love living in Texas, there is a lot of pride in it but it definetly can not be complimented on its open minds. It is good in some areas but the majority of its residents are conservative thinkers. So if you are reading this, thanks for allowing me to vent this to a hopefully understanding mind.

Crappy Pictures Book Review

I wanted to give a shout out to this book:

My husband gifted this to me for Mother's Day. I had been wanting it, as I read her blog and love it. There have been a few instances of him reading it right along with me. I often find myself laughing pretty hard at her truly relatable posts. Well, the book is no different! I laughed through all 200+pages. I thoroughly enjoyed it! Due to her style of illustrating it, it felt like I was reading a mommy comic book, haha. I finished it in a day(during the weekend my kids were with Nana & Papa, he had gifted it early, otherwise Id still be on page 5!)

I feel it was totally worth purchasing to own. It not only has some good retelling of some things on her blog, but also a lot of new material. She put together an excellent, funny and witty collection! So if you are looking for a fun lie by the pool read or read in bed book, this is one you should check out! It's light, fun and very relatable for any mom! Also, if you dont know who she is check her site out here:
http://crappypictures.com/

Family Influx

Wow, total influx of visiting family, lately. In our normal life, we go months without seeing any family. This month, apparently, was month to see some. We started out with our family that recently moved to the area and occupied our dining room until their own place became available. That went surprisingly well. Sometimes living together can leave people on nonspeaking terms. If I learned anything from my younger years, dont live with your best friend! You should have a roommate you have a good and trusting relationship with but still someone you can remain on somewhat professional terms with. Heck, sometimes my husband is lucky I let him keep living here, haha! Anyways, this little short term thing went well. Everyone was respectful of boundaries and space. They cleaned up after themselves and pitched in on cooking and little things like that. Their child was well behaved and made a good playmate for my littles. I actually enjoyed having someone here with me during the day some. They also werent in the house 24/7, they had their own things to take care of here and there, so I still felt like I had space and time to myself. Well as much time as I can get with 2 toddlers.

Anyway, this past Saturday they moved out to their place. We also let our kids stay with their Nana and Papa for a weekend for the first time, to weeks ago. They handled it well, I had some trouble, haha. I was ok, I just missed them  A LOT  more than I thought I would. I certainly did not expect to cry as I dropped them off. I did however, enjoy my free time and time with just my husband. Of course, he and I found that are kids create a really good buffer, haha. We had a lot of time to occupy just us and couldnt remember what we did before the kids. We ended up pillow shopping, running errands and reading at Starbucks(the last one was rather nice.)

Mother's Day brought the visit of Stephen's dad and stepmom. That was nice! They insisted on doing most of the child care for the 2 days they were here. It was a very nice gift! My kids enjoyed having them here and playing with them, so we were all happy. Of course, my husband wasnt a failure this day either. He got me nice gifts.  What did you all receive? I have to say, I can not wait for the day that I get hand crafted gifts from my kiddos. I see pictures of the ones my friends got and I just think its so freakin sweet. I cant wait! I feel the same about Christmas. I cant wait until our tree includes little homemade ornaments. I know my parents still have a couple I made as a child. It's so fun to still see them out every year.

On a fun note, I ran across a pin on pinterest that led me to a fun list. 38 babyshower cake nightmares. Thought I would put the link here, http://www.buzzfeed.com/peggy/baby-shower-cakes-made-of-nightmares?crlt.pid=camp.Wf1iMwIyHR0x. At your own shower, did you receive an odd cake or gift? If showers are not custom where you live, what are your customs when expecting a baby?

As much as I enjoyed the nice little childcare break, I am kind of excited to have our house back to ourselves. Its nice to know I can go from the bathroom to our room in just a towel. Or get a drink in the middle of the night in my underwear without bothering the people sleeping in our living room. Or that I can stay up watching tv in the living room, when its not being used as a bedroom. It's just nice to have it kind of peaceful here again.

This Week with the Eyestones

Last Thursday we drove about 20 minutes from our area to visit some family. Stephen's cousin(close enough to be a sister, though), her husband and their 2 yr old boy have just moved back to Texas from Oklahoma. Her husband got a good job offer that needed him here, ASAP. However, it did not give them much time to find their own place. They originally moved down here with the plan to stay with his mom. They did that for almost 3 weeks but her landlord wasnt thrilled. All apartments where they need to live have waiting lists. They are on all of them and now are just waiting for one to become available. So currently they are staying with us. They came to stay on Sunday and since then we have been enjoying their company. I have to say I dont mind it. We are pretty close and are kids are enjoying the heck out of it. Anyone else would probably be driving bonkers by now but we all think similar and respect each others space and things. We have similar parenting structures so we all feel comfortable with each others kids. So currently that is whats up. She also stays home with their child. So Ive rather enjoyed having the company during the day. They have attended some playdates with us and its been rather enjoyable. So all in all just enjoying each others company. Their child is also pretty on track with our two as far as learning. So I am currently planning some fun little activities for the end of the week. Im interested to see how my plans work with an outsider!

Getting Caught Up

Life lately:

Easter 2013

Easter party with our playgroup

First day of our Disney visit:

 

Honey, I Shrunk the Kids Playground

 

Aerosmith's Rockin' Roller Coaster

 

 

 

This kid was not into the stroller while there at all. Finn rode so nicely but she didnt want anything to do with it most of the time.

 

Second day was our visit to Magic Kingdom

As I mentioned before, we invited Stephen's sister to join us. Well Lorelai, also thought this was a fabulous idea. Here on the monorail, you can see just how upset she was about that decision, haha.

Castle show going on.

 

Thursday night, as we were all getting ready for bed. The kids were sleeping after having showed signs of being completely exhausted from the trip so far. The park had been pretty hot that day and they spent a decent amount of the time in the stroller, even with getting out often to do activities. So as we prepared to go to bed, with the thought of getting up the next morning to hit EPCOT, I asked Stephen if we should take Friday off. Give the kids time to run around in their diaper and enjoy themselves in our suite a bit. After all, its their vacation too and thats their favorite thing. We had brought some new toys, that would be new and interesting to play with in the hotel, so we knew they would have fun. It would also give us a chance to go to the store like we needed Then in the evening we could clean up and go enjoy a nice relaxed dinner at Wildnerness Lodge. The nights before that had been grabbing quick dinner because we were on the road, or tired and ready to crash. He agreed to this idea, so we went to bed with the excitement of sleeping in and having a nice relaxed vacation day. After all, thats one of the reasons we had planned the number of days that we did.

 

We made the right decision, that Friday was the perfect day to the kids and even his sister, who had been dealing with some back pain herself, The kids and her relaxed while Stephen and I hit the store for breakfast food and some snacks for our room. We spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing. Once evening hit, we all got cleaned up and dressed and went to a delicious dinner. It was the perfect rest day.

 

On Saturday, feeling all refreshed we visited EPCOT. Which ended up being a great idea because, it was even less crowded than the others had been. I guess people depart on Fridays to be home by Monday.

It was a great day, with mellow lines. We knew we made the right decision.

 

On Sunday, his sister suggested instead of a date night that we spend the day together. Since a day isnt offered to us often we obviously took it. She had been awesome with the kids all week, so I had no issues with her watching them that long. We left her the stroller so they could go out to the playground at our hotel and went on our way. We decided to use the extra day on our ticket and go back to Magic Kingdom. We had missed a few attractions before because of rain, so we went and spent the day there.We got there early, had breakfast overlooking the castle and just had a fun day together. It was perfect!

 

Sunday night, when we returned to the hotel, we got things sorted and did the beginning stages of packing. Then Monday morning, we woke early packed everything up and checked out and went to Animal Kingdom, our final stop.

 

 

 

 

This is the train station I worked at when I did the college program. I drove the train.

Stopped for lunch, the backs of the chairs were butterfly wings, which made her look like one.

Getting tired.

We finished the day in Dinoland. Here they have a large playground they call the Boneyard. In this they have an area with trickling water that comes through the rock. Out of the entire week, this is the most fun they had. Since we were on our way out, I let them get as wet as they wanted. They loved it! It completed the super fun week we had just had.

 

We got to the van stripped the kids down and started the long drive home. On the last leg of our drive I started feeling symptoms of a cold. So once we were home and for the next 4-5 days I was stuck home with a full blown cold. It is not fun to try to unpack and get things back in order when you feel that miserable.

 

For those wondering, the road trip with our toddlers went surprisingly well. On the way there, we left late so they slept through it all. On the way back we left about 7 but they were so exhausted that they slept that direction too. They woke about 8am the next morning, so we stopped and had breakfast and let them stretch. Then we put them back in seats with their activity trays and finished the drive.

 

The couple of weeks since being home were mellow and boring. The kids and I have mostly been home with the occasional outings to play at the park and such. Today we are having some family visit, they have a little boy between their ages so they are gonna love it. I just wanted to come update this. I wanted to write daily while on vacation but the hotel charged for internet. So anything social was done on my phone but blog had to wait.

 

Hope everyone is doing well, and getting geared up for their summer fun. It's approaching quickly!