Raising M: Jama Jamas Days

Some days are best spent in pajamas. Or, "jama jamas", as M calls them. And we did just that on Saturday. And it was marvelous. 

Our schedules have been so hectic lately, running here and there, dealing with family emergencies, working like crazy, we're all just exhausted. So Saturday was just what we needed. M and I snuggled on the couch and watched movies all day. 

I love this age that she's at. Yes, sometimes she does get a case of the terrible twos where I feel like she's pushing back at me entirely for her entertainment, but for the most part, two is fun. Her imagination is so vivid, and she can spend hours playing mommy to her babies, or coloring wildly creative pictures, or making music like a rockstar. I love it. Then some days, like Saturday, she just wants to cuddle up with me and watch her favorite movies. And those times? Those times are my favorite. They make my heart swell with love. 

I love to watch her face as she watches the tv. Her expressions are so animated and lively. It's like her emotions are in overdrive and she's experiencing the movie right along with the characters. Does that make any sense?

I know that a lot of parents feel that two year olds shouldn't be watching tv, which I partly agree with. I mean, obviously using the tv as a babysitter isn't a wise decision, but sometimes you just need a movie day. A day spent in your pjs, filled with pillows, and blankets, and popcorn, and cuddling. Yes, sometimes you just need those days. 

But today, it's back to the grind. Back at work for me, and back at daycare for M. We'll rush through the week and barely have time to breathe. But Saturday will come around again, and we may just have another jama jamas day. I'm already looking forward to it.

I hope you all had weekends as sensational as ours.

Footloose and Kid Free

Happy Monday, darlings!! I am bright-eyed and bushy tailed this morning, because my boss called and gave me the day off! Random days off are the greatest, aren't they?

How was your weekend? Our's wasn't as pleasant as I would have liked it to be, but we ended it on a high note last night! Yesterday was mine and B's 6 year anniversary, and my mom watched M for us so we could go out. Now, here's the thing with B and I, we aren't crazy about big extravagant celebrations when it comes to our special days. We go a bit over the top when it comes to M's birthdays, but when we celebrate our birthdays and our anniversary, it's very low key. I'd rather spend the day curled up on the couch with him than go out to some fancy schmancy dinner. We were so busy yesterday, but ended up going out to catch a late showing of Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter last night. After the movie, I tweeted this:

Seriously, if you haven't seen it, you have to hit the theater as soon as you can. Take a long lunch, and catch a noon showing today!! It's soooo good!! 

Anywho, we left the theater and drove the hour drive home, all. by. ourselves. M stayed the night with my mom and niece last night, for the first time ever. I was a bit nervous, and even a little sad on the drive home, but once we got here, I was so exhausted, I passed out the minute my head hit my pillow. But, when I woke up at 6 this morning to get dressed for work, it was so odd not to hear the hum of the baby monitor, and not to eventually hear her talking and singing to herself. It's lovely that I can sit here in the peace and quiet and have a mug of hot chocolate, but I'm missing her terribly. Thankfully, since I have the day off, I can drive over and pick her up in just a bit. 

Well, I am off to do a bit of cleaning before heading to get M..... oh, who am I kidding, I'm going back to bed. I haven't slept past 7 o'clock in two and a half years, and I'm going to take full advantage of being kid free for just a little longer!!

X's and O's, m'dears!

Don't forget, tomorrow is the Texas Tuesday link up!! I loved all of last week's posts, and I can't wait to read the new ones tomorrow! Are you linking up with Amanda and I?

Weekend Wrap Up and June's Lovely Ladies

I hope the weekend was as good to all of you as it was to me!

M had so much fun at her cousin's birthday party, and sported her Minnie Mouse shirt like a champ (which I didn't get a picture of), and The Hubs and I had a blast Saturday night! My mom watched M, and we went out to this new place out in the sticks about an hour outside of Austin, to watch Jason Boland and The Stragglers play. We met up with a few friends, and didn't make it back to my mom's until after 3am. Needless to say, it was a wild night, but we definitely felt the tolls of our late night partying when M woke us up at 7 yesterday morning.

Sadly, I have no photos for proof of our good time, but I'm thinking since we had so much fun, we'll have to do it again soon. And next time, I'm definitely taking a ton of pictures. That way I at least have funny photos to show y'all of all of the drunken messes that were shaking it like they had no shame on the dancefloor!

Now, read up on a few of the lovely ladies who are sponsor swapping with me this month, and then tell me what you did this weekend!

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These ladies are fabulous with a capital "F", so if you aren't following them, you're missing out! Read all about them, and then go give them some love!

Nikki from Southern Momma with a Bad Mouth

Hi, I'm Nikki I blog over at Southern Mama with a Bad Mouth. I live in Georgia with my country soul mate and our wild bare foot 2 year old. My blog is about my journey through mommyhood, wifehood, workhood and crafting. 

I also own a shop called Southern Survival Charms. I make military style bracelets with cute charms.

BLOG // FACEBOOK // TWITTER // ETSY // FACEBOOK SHOP

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Lindsay from Littler Mudpies

Hi!! I'm Lindsay, the Momma behind Little Mudpies. I love chocolate and wine. As a Momma of two boys I am learning to Embrace the Chaos that is my life. Little Mudpies is a record of my every changing journey though Mommahood. I share recipes and tutorials too. I recently opened my Etsy Shop and I couldn't be happier. Making jewelry has always been a passion of mine, and now I get to share that. I'd love for you to stop by and say "Hi!" sometime!!

BLOG // FACEBOOK // TWITTER // PINTEREST


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Rachel from You Can't Google Everything

Hi everyone!  I'm Rachel and I blog over at Can't Google Everything!  I live right outside of Philadelphia, but I was born and raised in Florida and I will continue to wear flip flops as much as I can!  My blog is a little bit of this and that!  I blog about my life, recipes, pinterest and my newest obession- my pregnancy!  I am currently 26 weeks pregnant and due September 6th!

I have a husband who can't sit still, so we are always trying out random new things to do!  I also really love to travel, cook, go to the beach and shop.  My dog Rocky is the cutest little guy you'll ever see!

BLOG // TWITTER // PINTEREST // FACEBOOK

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Jeanne from Life in Cleveland

Hi!  I'm Jeanne aka Sourire11. I was an architect, knitter, and world traveler before my life was happily hijacked by a fashion obsessed redhead and a baby so chill we call him the dude.  Now I blog mainly about raising them in the city I love, Cleveland, Ohio. 

BLOG // FACEBOOK // TWITTER // ETSY

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OK, I'm off to try to get some chores done. Or, you know, sit on the couch and watch tv. Potato, potahtoe. 

Happy Monday, my darlings!

When Did This Happen!?

Y'all?

My kid is two.

I'm not sure how it happened so quickly, but suddenly, my baby isn't a baby anymore. She's a full fledged kid. It seems like just yesterday that we were welcoming her into this world. How could it have gone by so quickly!? I now have an opinionated, independent toddler living in my house. She wants to pick out her own clothes, she wants to give kisses when she wants to, and she has no problem giving me the silent treatment when I tell her that she absolutely cannot have leftover birthday cake for breakfast.

I look at her and see that she's growing up right before my eyes, and I don't even realize it until it's nearly too late. My heart swells with pride, but breaks at the same time every time she learns something new. Parenthood is going to be the death of me. "J passed away this morning at 8:45 am. Cause of death was a broken heart brought on by a child who grew too fast."

Don't look at me like that, I am not being over dramatic.

Anywhoodles, I just thought I'd drop in and share some of the photos from her Rhinestone Cowgirl birthday we had last Saturday. Thankfully, I only cried once during the entire party. Go me!

M and her favorite cousin, Cade

Blowing out the candle



M and her two favorite cousins, Cade and Reese

See? I told you she's a stinker. 

Pawpaw and M

Rocking her pettiskirt and pistol boots

"WANTED: For crimes of cuteness and random bouts of sass"

Her party wreath

This one kills me.

And now you know my child's name is Mylee. Don't tell anyone, m'kay? We like to keep our secret identities.

Overall, the party was a huge success. There were a few other things that I would have liked to have finished, but no one missed them.

And I'm already planning next year's party. But if someone could figure out how to make her stop growing, we'll cancel those plans and just freeze her in time.



 *I'd like to thank my friend, Misti, for the amazing photos of the party! She does all of our photos, and having her there to shoot the party made it so much easier on me!!

Where My Heart Lies

Today I am off to watch my brother graduate from college. This has been a long time coming, and I'm so proud of him for accomplishing this!!

So, since I'll be gone all day, I figured I'd leave y'all with these adorable pictures from our adventures last weekend! Between wearing the wheels out on the jeep, visits with Santa, shopping all day, and a night spent at Lights of Tejas, we were exhausted come Sunday night. But, I love the time that I get to spend with The Tot and Princess R, so I'll gladly take the exhaustion that goes along with it!!

Are you ready for some major cuteness?

I hope all of you have a fabulous weekend, and I'll see y'all back here bright and early Monday for my Week of Wish Lists!!

Weekend Wrap-Up

This past weekend was a very special weekend. It was filled with love and laughter, and we got to spend a lot of time with our family, which is always nice.

On Friday I surprised my sister with dinner for her birthday. I love how excited she gets when we throw a party for her. We went out to eat and had cake and presents, and she even got to dance while the staff were singing to her. I am so very blessed to have such a special sister. She always manages to bring a smile to my face.

The Princess addressing her people.

It took all she had not to tear into the cake the minute it arrived!

Obviously Baby Butterbean was ecstatic about the celebrations!

My beautiful sister and I.

Then, after spending part of the day at work on Saturday, we decided to get out in the heat and blow some bubbles!

Blow!

Blow harder!

Even Aunt Charla got in on the bubble action.

Then we decided that the colored bubbles worked well as a lipstick.

We took it a bit far when we got some up our nose.

Sunday found us at G.G.'s house (my grandmother) where Baby Butterbean ran around getting into everything all day.

But, despite getting into trouble, G.G. and Gran always spoil the kids, so Baby Butterbean was rewarded with giant lollies.

And then she wanted to take silly pictures of herself until it was time to go.

I always love weekends like this. We laugh so much that our bellies hurt, and I always leave feeling closer to my family. I never met my great-grandmother, so I love that Baby Butterbean gets to spend time with her's. My heart just swells with pride every time I see them playing together.

So, now you've seen our weekend, tell me about yours!

What A Weekend

Happy Monday, y'all! I hope everyone's weekend was as wonderful as mine. We had my cousin's son's birthday party on Saturday, ya know, the one I made all the volcanos for? And it was so fun! The kids had a fabulous time, and the decorations ended up being so cute! Everyone told me what a good job I did, which did nothing but make my head swell. By the time we made it out of there, I could barely get my head through the door. We had to break out the butter. 

After the party, Baby Butterbean, my niece Princess Aurora, and I, all went downtown to a street dance that was going on. Talk about a good time! The girls danced until their legs were dead tired. Need proof?

Ignore the crappy quality, I shot these with my iPhone.

Needless to say, since we partied so hard on Saturday, we all slept in on Sunday!

So how was your weekend??

Since We Last Spoke....

• I tumbled
•  I kinda took a twitter hiatus
• I spent a day hanging out with almost my entire family
• I worked on that huge project that I was telling y'all about (come back tomorrow for the big reveal!)
• And I had adorable spring photos taken of Baby Butterbean 

Over all, I'd say it was a pretty successful weekend! Hope all of you had amazing weekends! See ya tomorrow for the surprise!

Southern Shenanigans

So, I didn't tell y'all the other day since I was doing the birthday recap, but I had an amazing weekend.

Why?

Because I met the oh-so-adorable Kora Bruce from Dixie Lust!! This is where you all get very jealous of me because, she? Is kick ass. Like, seriously. 

Now, here's the story, I've been lurking following Miss Kora for about a year and a half now. Her blog is wonderful, she writes the greatest shiz around, and it seems like she's always having adventures. She's been to Houston a few times since I became her personal stalker a fan of hers, but we couldn't ever get together, so finally, a few weeks ago, she said she was coming to town and wanted to have a tweet up. (Of course I follow her on the twit, I just can't get enough of her cajun cuteness!) And since then I've been pretty much geeking out with excitement. 

Anyvajazzle, Saturday rolled around and I was supposed to go to Dallas that morning to see my other favorite person, Becky, but our power was out that morning, so I didn't get to go. That pretty much dampened the whole day. But, the electricity came back on that afternoon and there was no way I was missing going to Houston! 

{viz}

(on a side note, I'm so sorry I didn't make it to see you Becky! Can we hang out sometime in the next few weeks??)

So, I got dressed and off I went to a hipster dive bar to meet up with some of the most awesome people in the world! 

Let me say, Houston is the shizzy. Seriously. It's my new favorite city. I had no idea it was such a cool place! I thought it was full of 80 year old oil tycoons, hobos, and gangstas. I'm going on the record and saying that I was dead wrong. Houston has a vibe almost like Austin. It has a kick ass music scene and everyone has their own style. I want to marry Houston and have it's babies. And the bar that we went to? I really thought I'd stick out like a sore thumb, but I didn't feel awkward at all. Which is saying a lot, since I feel awkward on a daily basis.

It really was a damn good time. I haven't been out since my birthday, and I haven't been out to a bar in even longer. Everyone that I met was insanely nice and hilarious as hell. And if it's possible, I love Kora Bruce even more!

I can't wait to go back, but until then, I have a little souvenir from our southern shenanigans. 

Photo booth fun