The little old blog has been dying a slow death, hasn't it? I can't tell you how many times in the last couple of weeks, I've brought the laptop over to the sofa after putting the littles to bed with the best of intentions...and yet nothing. I've felt the need to unplug quite a bit lately. Two littles at two schools is no joke! I'm not sure how mamas with lots of littles of all different ages at several schools do it - not a clue!
But you see, I've needed to unplug to replug, if that makes sense. This past Summer, when I hurt my back, it was an eye-opening experience for me. A defining moment. Even though I asked the docs and they denied it, I felt that my weight contributed to my back giving out. I made a decision to claim back my health. Not just my weight, but my health...mind, body and spirit.
As many of you can relate I'm sure, I found myself nowhere on my priority list. Not in the middle, not at the bottom - NOWHERE.
I knew right then, I needed to change that. To be a better wife and mother, I needed to put myself back on the list. So when Grace started school on August 12th, I embarked on a journey of my own. Today marks exactly 1 month, and I'm down 19.6 lbs and 3 dress sizes! I have more energy and I haven't had a single headache or backache since - praise the Lord for that!
So I'm back on the list. Not at the top, not at the middle, but also not at the bottom. Progress, not perfection.
Off to spend a girls weekend shopping with some my favorite girls from Sewing Club!
Have a great weekend! I'll be back soon to share more!
Let me start with this...I LOVE having both a daughter and a son...love getting to experience raising littles of both genders. I LOVE having a girly girl who likes to dress up and do all the super girly things that moms of daughters can attest to, but can I just say that S-I-X has been a challenge!! Oh my, the opinions over eVEryThINg!!
So let's talk fashion for a second. She's had a major growth spurt this Summer and most of her shoes don't fit. I knew I wanted to get her a new pair of boots for Fall and I decided we better go try them on since I had no clue on size...and good thing we did, I was way, waaaaaaay off on boot sizes!!
Do you see what I'm talking about...I bet you can almost here, "But mama..."
{and yes, she's wearing two right shoes...silly pumpkin!}
And for the record, the sparkly, bedazzled pink ones ended up on her Christmas wish list and we came home with the brown pair.
But goodness, she sure does make a cute little cowgirl!!
And this right here is very much "Grace" at the moment...unicorns + ballet/dance + pink + jewelry + sparkly, frilly stuff...
And apparently this little fella does not want to be outdone! Check out his pick...Spiderman boots! Oh my! .......yes, another item added to the Christmas wish list - he he he!
What a pair!! Love them both to pieces!!
{and so thankful that Hudson couldn't care less what clothes I put on him - ha!}
I love September because it's one step closer to my favorite season...Autumn! Even if we don't really get to enjoy a true change in the seasons here in the South, I can still daydream, cook some scrumptious Southern Living recipes, and make it look Fall-ish inside our home, right??
Hudson, smile please!
Cheeeeeeeeeeeeese!
Such a silly boy! Love him!
The little pumpkin is growing by leaps and bounds. She's had a major growth spurt this Summer. So much so that I had to schedule a doctor's appointment because I was worried about her I'm hungry-all-the-time comments. {She's A-OK, thank goodness!}
August was a whirlwind month for us with lots of things happening. I wasn't able to keep up with the blog. I'm going to be going backwards and adding posts that I want to include for when we print the blog into this year's family book. So feel free to scroll backwards if you want to see what we were up to this past month...hint, the Tooth Fairy paid us not one but TWO visits!!
Hope to do a better job keeping up now that we are back in the swing of things with school.
Happy Sunday!
Happy 1st day of September!
Happy Labor Day Weekend!
Something very special happened on Sunday, August 25th!!! Here's a little sneak peek at how it all went down...
Yes, the little pumpkin lost her very first tooth!! We were at Mimi and Pop's house...they were going to watch the littles while Lance and I went on an afternoon movie date.
That bottom left tooth was super wiggly ever since our beach vacay. Both of her bottom permanent teeth had already started making their appearance BEHIND the baby teeth - whaaaaaat???! Here look at one of the pics I took while at the beach the first week of August...
So before we left for the movies I told her to let me take a peek. That little tooth was literally hanging by a thread. The root had even come out on one side. So I asked her to let me give it a tiny little tug and POOF!...it popped right out!
A couple of months ago, a super sweet blog reader {Hi, Faith! Thanks again!!} sent me the sweetest tooth fairy summoning wands for the littles. Here's Grace's...
Receiving her wand for the very first time...
There's that teeny tiny tooth!
Setting it all up for the tooth fairy...
Cutest little tooth fairy pillow!
Making a wish...
And then in the morning...
The tooth fairy came!!!
She left her this sweet note...and apparently the tooth fairy can't spell at 1:00 a.m.!! *losing*
She also left her this super sparkly $5 bill!!
Someone was veeeeeeeerrrrrrrryyyyyy excited!
"Mama, my tooth fairy's number must be 20, because look!!!!"
Sporting new boots and a new gap-toothed smile!!
And then..................................................
That's right!! TWO in ONE week!!! The other little bottom tooth fell out this morning!
So with the money she received this week from the tooth fairy, the little pumpkin is now half way there to buying the American Girl doll she's been saving for all year!
I have so much to share from our family beach vacay, but this pretty much sums it up: We fell in LOVE with Seaside, FL!!! So much so that we have already started planning our next trip.
Seaside is sort of like stepping back in time, but with all of the conveniences of modern day, if that makes sense. I'll be sharing lots more pics of all the fun places we visited, but for now, how about some beach pics!
I loooooooved all of the entry points into the beach...each one had unique architecture - I couldn't get enough of it!
I wish I had not cut off her little hands in this picture - boo! Love my sweet little pumpkin!
Sweetest little fella!
The littles...4 and 6...my mama heart is full!
Two of my loves...
My other sweet love...
How did I get so lucky?
Our little family...
{thank you to the sweet voleyball-playing young lady who snapped this for us!!}
Still mama's little baby boy...even if he is growing by leaps and bounds!
I love this one! Grace LOVES the water, I mean LOOOOOVVVVVEEEEESSSS it. It took everything she had not to jump right in. When I snapped this pic, she was standing there at the edge just taking it all in, her eyes closed and her long hair just blowing in the salty air...
And this little fella LOVES the SAND so they are quite a pair - ha!!! He's so-so about the ocean but the sand, oh my! He is on cloud nine playing in the sand. I love that I was able to capture a bit of that in this picture.
Such sweet memories we have from our time in Seaside the first week of August. Can't wait to share more with you!
This may just be my favorite! Just as we were taking pics, this sweet couple walked by, hand in hand. I couldn't help myself and just *had* to take a picture. I hope this is us 40 years from now!
And just to keep it real...this is them...my sweet + silly littles. Life with a 4 year old and a 6 year old is never boring! he he he
Happy Sunday!
Friday was Hudson's long-anticipated first day back to school! I made these treats for his teachers...
Printable and idea via {here}.
I love this sweet picture of my baby boy...he was soooo beyond excited that it was finally his turn!
This one is a phone pic, but just check out that smile!! Such a sweet boy!
When I grow up I want to be...
A VETERINARIAN!!!!
"...and I want to be a doctor too." he he he
His lunch requests..."anything blue and orange...my favorite colors!"
Ready to go!
He looks like such a big boy here!
All 4 yr. 2 mo. of him! Love him.
Sweetness!
Mrs. P was also there when Grace went through the same program - we loooooooove her! Hudson was excited to see a familiar face while checking things out...
Cookies for you, Mrs. P!
Hudson and Mrs. P
Meeting his new teacher, Mrs. D!
Cookies for you too, Mrs. D!
Here's to the beginning of a great year!
Proud Mama & Daddy!
Oh, the places you'll go!
{cute prop made by his teacher}
Little treats for his classmates via {here}...
My dear Hudson,
This is the beginning of a new, wonderful, and exciting adventure for you! Daddy and I are very proud of you for being accepted into this gifted program. You have so much love and light inside of you. When you hug people, you hold on and truly squeeze as if transferring the love from your heart onto them. You also have this way about you, at just the times when I need it most, you will come around and look straight into my eyes, sometimes holding my face with your sweet little hands and sometimes just laying your head down on my chest. It's as if you sense that Mama needs extra Hudson-love at that very moment.
I pray that your teachers will help you learn while nurturing that loving, sensitive side that just means so much. I pray that God will help you develop all those little skills that are so important in life...waiting your turn patiently, not interrupting, sharing, teamwork...and I can't think of anywhere better than K-4 to give it a go!
Now that you will go to school every day Monday-Friday, I will miss my little Friday buddy more than you will ever know. Fridays were our day to hang out and now we will just have to carve out time on the weekends to continue having those special moments.
We love you more than words can say!
Mama, Daddy & Grace
