Spring Break 2K16

 Last week was CK's Spring Break, and I wanted to document all of our fun... Because it sure was a fun (and exhausting! and busy! and hard! and crazy!) week!!

Spring Break kicked off with T heading out of town for too long... and my mama swooped in for a couple days!  Which was so incredibly helpful.  It was a quick trip because she had to get back for work, but the kiddos soaked up every second with their Bammy!

We spent a day at the zoo with I'm assuming most everyone who lives in Atlanta.  The weather (and company!) were perfect, and the kids had a blast!

And we played and played and played in the backyard...

And told Everette, "No!" over and over and over again:

 We spent time with friends, getting into trouble with sidewalk paint, water tables, and water balloons...

We ate (and shared!) ice cream:

We played with (and ate!) play-do:

And got donuts from our favorite bakery:

 And watched movies:

And went to bounce houses with friends:

 And watched my belly grow:

And didn't clean up (who am I kidding... her room looks like this 99% of the time, no matter what I do):

 And learned how to use a fork:

And rewarded myself with Papa Johns for surviving a week sans T, pregnant with two kids around me 24/7:

And welcomed Daddy home with open arms:

And checked out the cutest kids' art studio called Bubbles and Brushes:

And had more ice cream... this time, for lunch:

And wreaked a lot of havoc within the four walls of our house:

Because this picture pretty much sums it up:

By the weekend I was tired, getting sick, and a little cranky... but we really, really did have a great Spring Break and I'm looking forward to soaking up all kinds of fun with the kids this summer!!

Four point Five

Cameron Kate,

You're four-and-a-half now, and I remember the day you were born like it was yesterday.

Pushing with all my might, hearing your dad exclaim, "It's a girl!"

Becoming a mom.

All because of you, my girl.

And now, four-and-a-half years later, you have grown into a little girl who makes me so proud.  A little girl who made my dream come true, when she became my daughter, when she made me a mama.

Life with you is an adventure, full of silliness, and giggles, and tickling, and deep breaths, and emotions, and Ellie.  

Oh how you still love your Ellie.

And you also still refer to your feet by name - Gaddy and Bussy.  It makes me laugh... you give them personalities, and make them dance, and tell me they're asleep, or that they won't stop wiggling when you're trying to put on your shoes.  Hilarious!

A few months ago we had some rough days, with you being overly emotional and challenging and difficult and stubborn, particularly at nighttime.  But I think we're over that hump, and I am absolutely loving this age right now.  4.5 is pretty awesome, and everyday with you just keeps getting better.

You still want to wear long sleeves, all day everyday.  And peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch.  And anything dipped in Ranch dressing - especially cucumbers.  You play soccer now!  And I love it.  You prefer to be outside, especially if it means you're riding your bike (though your bike is currently way too small).  Your imagination is amazing, and more often than not you'll play by yourself, talking and singing and creating these stories and scenarios that blow my mind.

You still take a nap 4ish days a week, and will play in your room on the other days just fine.  But you are so grumpy after your naps!  It usually takes you ten to twenty minutes to come out of your funk.

You are also such a hoarder!  With the messiest room!!  I will find any and everything stuffed inside little bags and nooks and crannies in your room.  It drives my Obsessive Compulsive, want-to-be-organized personality crazy, but I figure one day I'll miss finding 87 Shopkins stuffed inside of a Christmas gift bag hidden in your underwear drawer.

You love going to preschool, and especially love your teacher, and you have learned so much this year.  You can write your name by yourself, know all of your letters and numbers, and can count to at least 100 (I stopped you there...ha!).

You'd eat raspberries with every meal if I'd let you (and if they weren't so expensive!), and you love playing with your baby dolls.  But your most favorite thing of all?  Playing with and making your little brother giggle.  You guys have become two peas in a pod, and my greatest joy is watching you laugh together.  Sibling love - there really is nothing like it.  So innate, so pure, so unconditional.  And because I wasn't sure if I'd ever be able to give it to you, I never, ever take it for granted.

CK, bug, Mcgee, Cameron Kate... you are my sunshine.  One of my greatest gifts, my best girl, my mini-me, my happy place.  It is an absolute joy being your mama, an absolute honor experiencing life through your eyes.  And everyday truly does keep getting better and better.

Happy 4.5, my girl.

-Mama <3

 Half of a year old:

And now, four-and-a-half.  And yes, we celebrated.

Friday Favorites

Here's to hoping one day I get back to writing blogs with a little more meat... But in the meantime, here are some favorites on Friday!

*Athleta!  We all know I looooove me some Athleta, it is my absolute favorite gear to work out in.  Let's be honest, my most favorite gear to wear 24/7 since I rarely if ever get dressed anymore.

*My Plum Paper Life Planner!  I mentioned awhile back that I had ordered one, and I am absolutely loving it.  Their planners are completely customizable - For each week I have a row for each family member, meal plans, work to-dos, etc.  It helps me stay sane, and we all know I love a list!

*Homemade soups.  I know the weather is getting warm, but I love a good homemade soup - bonus points if it's in the crockpot, because zero effort and dinner is ready during the kids' (and my) witching hour.

*Kind bars.  Ever had them?  They're such a good, "real," granola-health-nut-ish bar and the perfect snack in my opinion!

*My husband's my Yeti cup!  I pretty much swiped it from T, and I use it everyday.  I have to sleep with ice water beside my bed every night, and how nice it is to wake up and have the water still be ice cold!

*Four-year-olds learning how to write their names.  So proud.

*The movie Annie.  It was my favorite as a child, and it came on tv a few weeks ago.  I recorded it, and am not sure I'll ever erase it from my DVR.  I can sing the words to every song and almost recite the entire movie.  MY FAVE.

*Crayola Tissue Paper Creations.  Need to keep a preschooler busy for awhile?  This is the ticket.  Or at least it is for my CK!

*The Ibotta app.  Use it to get money back from grocery shopping.  It's so easy!  Scan a product, take a picture of your receipt, and earn money.  I love it!  Because in this family, every penny counts!!

*My "job." Seriously... I joined the company to try to earn some extra money, and now earn a substantial income, changing people's lives, and also earning all kinds of awesome incentives along the way.  In fact, T and I booked our plane tickets this week for an all-expense paid trip out of country this summer!!

*This book.  We're reading it for my bible study group right now, and it is equal parts entertaining, heart-wrenching, hilarious, and life-changing.

*Good, true, real friends.  You know the kind who know and love you just the same, around who you feel like you can 100% be yourself... friends who check in on you, how you're doing, just for the heck of it or when they know your husband has been out of town for an entire week.  Yeah, those friends.  The older I get, the more I realize how few and far between they are, and I will never take them for granted.

*Tassels - on anything and everything.

*Ebates!!  I've said it a million times on here, but y'all - if you do ANY online shopping, you have to use Ebates!  You simply click on the link, choose the store where you're going to shop, and BOOM you get money back.  They mail you a check every month or so.  Then you, like me, can totally justify your online shopping!!

*Toddler cheeks, toddlers who talk with lisps, toddlers learning how to use a fork, toddler everything before the tantrums start. 

*The Target dollar spot!  Thanks to good ol' Target, I was able to cheaply throw up some decor on our playroom walls!

*Greek food, especially when it involves a pita.

*Sibling love.  'Nuff said.

*Surprises in the mail!  I love getting them, but love sending them even more.

*Date nights.  They don't happen often enough, but when they do, I am reminded how much I adore one-on-one time with this stud.

  *Netflix.  I'm not sure why we waited so long to get on the Netflix train, but I'm loving it.  We just got through all of Making a Murderer, and I'm now starting Scandal.  Any other must-sees?!  I love watching shows one episode after another!!

*Speaking of tv shows, are there any Prison Break fans out there??  TJ and I were OBSESSED with that show (was it five years ago?), and I just heard it's coming back!  Ahhhh!!

*Taking my kids to the zoo.  I'm like a kid at the zoo - I've always loved going!  And since T's sister gifted E with a membership for his birthday, we plan on going as often as possible throughout the next year!

*Spring weather!  Minus the pollen, bleh.

*A Chick-fil-a chicken biscuit... mmmmm...

*The Skimm!!  Please tell me you use this by now.  It's the only way I have any clue what's going on in the world.  You get a brief, in-layman's-terms email (that's usually pretty witty) every morning to keep up with today's happenings.  Love it!

*Summer beach plans!  My family makes it a point to plan a week at beach a year in advance so that everyone can plan accordingly (because let's face it, when you're working with multiple families who have multiple kids and multiple jobs, the only way to make sure you all spend time together is to make plans!).  My mom also does the same for a weekend in December... it's on everyone's calendars well in advance so we know we'll all be together!  All of this to say we've had our beach week planned since last summer, and I am so so SO excited and already counting down the days!!

*FRIDAYS!  After a week of T being gone, this pregnant mama-of-two is happy to see Friday, which means the weekend, which means our family of four being a little lazy between some fun Saturday and Sunday plans.

TGIF!!

Five on Friday!

Oh hellllooooo and Happy April (how is it April already?!) and Happy Friday!

Apparently pregnancy and two littles to take care of and running my own business and life in general are all continuing to kick my butt because geez, this blog has been neglected lately!  Which makes me sad, because writing is my passion and my outlet, and I also love documenting our lives on here (I get my blog published into a book once a year so we'll have it forever and always)... so hopefully I'll be able to get back into the swing of things around these parts sooner than later!

And without further ado, here's a riveting Friday Five...

O N E
Speaking of that whole pregnancy thing, I still cannot wrap my brain around it!  Even though I'm getting pretty chubby pretty quickly, it is all just so, so crazy.  And of course I am still a nervous wreck.  We recently had a good checkup, and will go see an MFM (Maternal Fetal Medicine doc, aka at-risk specialist) later this month for a pretty detailed scan to check on all things bambino... so prayers are appreciated, as I am really anxious about that appointment!  I'm feeling much better these days - I'm still not 100%, but I have definitely turned a corner, even managing to run trot around the neighborhood every now and then!

T W O
And speaking of the whole running my own business thing, I know I've mentioned a time or two that I am an Executive Consultant for Rodan + Fields - which I try not to talk about too much on here.  But y'all, I recently earned a pretty amazing trip through this little side gig, and my hub and I will be headed to Banff Springs, Canada this summer.  I cannot wait!  We don't do these types of things, me and my hub.  We dumped our savings accounts and sold our cars for IVF, and are choosing for me to stay home, therefore pinching pennies is usually our game.  So the fact that we're traveling out of country (sans kids!) on an all-expense-paid trip is cRaZy.  We booked flights today, and are getting our passports ready.  I know I'll be a nervous wreck leaving the country and leaving the kiddos at home, but am hoping this once-in-a-lifetime trip will trump all of those nerves!

T H R E E
We had such an awesome Easter!  I intended to blog about it on Monday, but, life.  From CK's preschool Easter celebration, to egg-hunting with friends, to an incredible church service, to a delicious home-cooked meal (I made all by myself!)... it was just such a wonderful way to celebrate that He is Risen!!

F O U R
I am absolutely in awe of the relationship forming between CK and E.  Every time I hear them playing together, and laughing, and running around, and just being brother and sister - my heart wants to explode.  This is something I never thought I'd experience - having kidS, CK having a sibling... and this probably deserves its own post... but I am just so overwhelmed with gratitude lately for these two.

F I V E
Bammy is coming today!  Bammy is coming today!  We are just so super duper excited to have my mama here for the weekend, and are all counting down until she walks through the front door.  And with that, I'm off to finish cleaning and getting ready for our visitor.  Have a wonderful weekend!