Late Night Mom Confessions

- Sometimes the playground is closed during the day.

- Late at night while all of my men sleep, I've been know to go to the refrigerator and crack open an ice cold juice box.....or 2.

- I'm saving up all of my monogramming money to hire a potty training nanny to come and stay a week with us and train my child. Back when I was preggers with the munchkin, I read '12 Hours Sleep by 12 Weeks'.......do you know what I took away from that book?!?!!? I'll go ahead and tell you it wasn't the obvious of sleep training a baby!! It was that fact that you can hire people to come and live with you for a week or so and sleep train your baby.

Mind. Blown.

Umm...how much does that cost. And does it cost less to come and potty train vs. sleep train?!?

I would seriously pay someone to come and live with us for a week and help this mama out! $100 cash, some free monogramming and Campbell's cinnamon rolls everyday.

-Sometimes, Chick-Fil-A leaves out the "Frenchie Fries" until Jax eats his chicken nuggets. Then, all of a sudden.....I find them in the other bag.

- I have been known to go straight to the deli in Kroger and buy some mac-n-cheese and let Jax eat while I quickly shop.

Do whatcha gotta do.

I may have even bought the stinker a bunt cake from 'Nothing Bunt Cakes' just so I could make it through a Dr. appointment with him.

- Anyone else feel like their kid survives off of pop-tarts during the weekday mornings?

- Sometimes a cloud in the sky means that it is about to rain, so that means it's time to go inside and take a bath.

- Even though 'Toy Story' is recorded on our DVR......sometimes, it's just not on "t-bee" right then.

- We encourage Jax to cook with us. The more he stirs and taste tests, the more he eats. He's becoming bossy and will tell me "that's enough mommy" as I grate cheese over spaghetti.......and he thinks every recipe should have butter in it. Like mother, like son.

 

The majority of my day is spent trying to out smart a 2 year old.

There are a lot of days I come out ahead......and then.....some days......he beats me.

I tell H that Jax is making up words, and come to find out, the kid was just trying to tell me about a dodecahedron. I'll save you some time in googling that......I've already researched it. It's a shape with 12-faces. And, my kid knows that.

How.in.the.world.

Somebody bring me an ice cold juice box. Mama needs a drink.

Late Night Confessions of a Bad Mom

1. I tell Jax that we are out of chocolate sometimes when he wants chocolate milk. That's my late night snack and I don't want to run out it during a midnight monogram session.

2. We use skittles in our potty training. I take out all of the red and orange ones as a prize to myself. I don't like the other colors. It's a childhood preference that has spilled over into adulthood.

3. I don't like it when my baby is sick, but it doesn't hurt my feelings one bit when he has a low fever and we just lay around. I may even use it as an excuse to get out of a function. Maybe. Just sometimes. Whatever. I'm tired.

4. I may have shed a tear this month when Jax realized that Mac-N-Cheese is actually good. I was questioning if the kid was even American when he snubbed box Mac-n-cheese.

5. Jax's teacher said that he likes to sample everyone's lunchbox at school. I stressed over this for about 30 minutes......now, it just takes the pressure off of me trying to come up with a well rounded lunchbox for the kid.

6. Big bud was so tired after a full day of church and playing and skipping a nap, he literally fell asleep on the bathroom rug. And because I'm a bad mom, I left him there for 10 minutes so I could dry my hair.

7. I've created a creature of habit. Jax knows when we take a right turn to drive into Flowood........Sonic will be waiting for him on the right. He knows they ALWAYS have his tater tots and juice box ready. I can pull in the drive thru and the kid starts yelling for his tater tots.

8. Over the summer while living with my parents, Jax slept with me every night. When we moved in our new home, that habit quickly broke. He sleeps in his room now.......until about 6:30 am in which time he knocks on our bedroom door and asks to get in 'mommy's bed'. I'm not sure where he think H sleeps.......but he only refers to our bed as 'mommy's bed"

9.  Sometimes while out shopping, Jax will see a "cooookkiieee store mommy"......and request to go in. Sometimes we buy 6 small cookies with the intentions of sharing with daddy when we get home. Sometimes we eat all six before the red light.  


Mamas: what are some of your confessions that make you a BRILLIANT mom?!?

Baby Buddy Turns 2!

I no longer have a baby. 

I have a tiny tornado toddler. 

2 years ago at this time (time as in the time I'm typing this), I was in full on labor prepping to start pushing out a baby......or so we thought. As I'm sure you remember from my labor blog post, big buddy's head was HUGE and I had a section at midnight. 

2 years later, sweet buddy is asleep in his bed after reading 4 books to himself by the light of his bug flashlight. 

It's funny and extremely sad how fast the time has gone by. 

To catch up on all thats Jax, here's some bullet points (you know I love a good list) that I don't want to forget. And let's be real here.....this is essentially his baby book. 

- Jax LOVE LOVE LOVES Paw Patrol. He will ask to watch "Chase on Case" literally the moment he wakes up. 

- When he asks me to "turn light on" he really means for me to pull open his curtains that are closed. 

- He's obsessed with a good juice box. He calls them "juice bot"

- He thinks Oscar Mayer the weenie dog is out to get him. 

- All bites and bo bo's are "ant bite bites" and they all require "medzine"....which is generally a baby dropper with water or juice in it. 

- He wears a true 2t in most clothes and a 3t in pjs due to his man size gut. 

- Thank goodness, he is starting to snuggle again. He went through a phase where he didn't want to sit in our laps......now, thankfully, he will sit in my lap again and watch a "moo bee"

- While out shopping, my secret weapon is his iPad...... his "pad pad." He is so enamored by it that he only gets to use it in public places where we want to enjoy the food or think. 

- Prior to his birthday party, we practiced for a solid week at blowing out a candle. I bet we used up a box of matching prepping for the day. 

- He loves to sing his blessing for dinner, and with each plate of additional food. He wants to ensure every bite is accounted for with Jesus. 

Jaxon Riley-

Today you are 2. You are the greatest accomplishment in my life. I love your smile, your tight hugs and your sweet sweet kisses. I melt when you yell "mommmeee"! Your excitement for life and trucks make me cry and thank God that he chose me to be your mom. It's my daily prayer that God molds me into the mother that you need. You have a tender heart and you are jealous when your dad hugs and kisses me. You generally tell him "No! Dat's my mommmeee!" You are learning new words and phrases everyday that crack us up. You think every situation is a crisis and you yell "mommmeee help!"  You have a curious spirit and you need to find out for yourself. You simply will not take my word. You are stubborn, and so loveable, and funny. You LOVE to laugh and have us cheer you on. When you are in trouble, your feelings are easily hurt. Time out is effective for you (for now). You LOVE "prizes" even if they are M&M's or a coloring book. 

Happy Birthday baby boy. My baby you will always be. 

Happy Birthday to Me.

Apparently, I've been writing the following post since my birthday, which happened on April 27th. I had goals for this post.....but it just didn't happen. 



I'm so thankful to see another birthday year. 

I'm thankful that I was able to spend the day with my tiny human and celebrate small sweet moments during the day. 

Our day pretty much went like this:

7am- Jax woke up and said "Mommy, cha cha cha". When we sing the birthday song in this house, we sing it with "cha cha cha" in it to make it funnier for Jax. Apparently, he and H had been practicing. 

7:15 am- snack #1 commenced. 

7:17 am- snack #2 commenced. 

We enjoyed the rain and the snuggles and the little nap we took together while it thundered outside. Sometimes I have to play dead so Jax will close his eyes too. While I was playing asleep, Jax opened his little blanket and covered me with it. I.Almost.Lost.It. 

Is that not the sweetest thing ever?!? I love the fact that his little heart is taking shape and he enjoys serving others. Granted his classmates may not appreciate some of his gratitude or his love language of biting.......but he can be sweet. 

This birthday was really weird for me. 

By NO MEANS was it bad, it was just weird. H was on a business trip so it was just me, the weenie dog and little buddy. There wasn't any cake, or candles or confetti. Just me and little buddy who would randomly say "cha cha cha" through out the day. (For the record, we did celebrate as a family while in Orlando for vacay). 

I ended up ordering a watch and a Olay face cleaner from Amazon. I wanted a new watch and I though....."what the heck, I mean, it's my birthday and it was an 'add on item.' "   THAT is a clear example of what living on the edge is when you are older. 

Nothing makes you feel your age quite like ordering beauty products on your birthday all because Amazon recommended them.  

So, after my birthday, we a had a beautiful family wedding to attend. And then after the wedding was our family vacation to Orlando. 

Orlando should probably be a post on it's own, but let's be real, if I don't type it out now there's a good chance it will never be typed out. 

Here's some things that we learned/observed while on vacation:

1. Our sweet child will last exactly 9 hours in the car. After that 9th hour, he will cry and scream and beg for things you can not provide him with at the moment. Examples of what he may ask for: 'a paw-paws house' or a 'juice bot' or he will request to binge watch 'Chase on Case' which is actually Paw Patrol. While watching said cartoon, he will then cry for 'op orn'. We learned that hours 1-9 with him in the car is very pleasant. It's just the last hour. It will kill you. Slowly. At 60 miles per hour. 

2. When staying in Orlando (or doing Seaworld/Disney), stay in a condo off property. We had so much room and enjoyed the washer/dryer which allowed us to come home with our suit cases full of CLEAN clothes. Traffic in Orlando was AMAZING! It took 3 minutes to get everywhere. 

3. When traveling with kids, do not even worry about researching the culinary delights in the town you will be staying in. You will end up just using the "Chick-A-La" app on your phone. And you will eat a lot of snacks. 

4. Orlando really doesn't have any culinary delights outside the parks property. The town has a LOT of chinese and chain food restaurants. But, we happened to stumble upon Johnnie's Hideaway on our last night and LOVED IT! They had a 2 man band that Jax danced to and the food was amazing! We just kept ordering more and more food due to Jax loving the atmosphere and my creme brûlée. That booger bear kept calling it pudding and scooping out spoonfuls. 

5. Our ninja turtle would rather go to a pool than a Disney park......which is sad to find out AFTER you purchase your tickets, drive 9 hours and make him an Animal Kingdom shirt. 

6. Jax called the hot tub the "hot pool" and now he thinks his bubble baths are "hot pools." Oh, and the stink will cry and beg to get in a "hot pool" after the 9th hour in the car. 

Seaworld was defiantly the highlight of this cool kid's trip.......until he pooped his pants in the middle of the splash pad. 

There are a few things that Jax does that is spot on to my personality. However, out of the 3 things we have in common, people watching and our lack of face filter is our #1 similarity. We have NO FACE FILTER. 

I give you.....Exhibit A:

Due to his height (or really lack there of), he could only ride 1 "roller coaster" while at Disney. I set up front so I could take sweet pictures like this.......

Lard! The character lunches will make the mama bear come out in you. You want your kid to get as much face time and pictures to get your monies worth. 

We had a great time and celebrated my birthday a few times during the week. And Mother's Day. 

Next vacation: the beach with a "hot pool" and hopefully some culinary delights. And more appliquéd shirts. And no 9 hour drive. And more memories with my boys. 

Thoughts for Thursday.

Hello Intranet.

I bet you think I've forgotten about you. But.....I haven't.

My sweet little buddy and my monogram machine have been kicking my booty.
(and I'm thankful for both)

Here's some life updates:

-Jax is cutting his last 4 teeth. At.one.time. LARD! Why can't teething be easy?!?

-His new favorite thing is to wake up at 4 am and get in the bed with us. Then request to watch "a moo bee" and have us pop him some "op orn." We never comply with his request.

- It's February and my 2016 planner is already falling apart at the seams. Don't judge me when I just Duck tape it back together. It would take me a year to move all of my notes over from this planner to another one. So, I think I'll just stick with what I have right now.

- Last week, South Central mailed me a refund check for over paying on my account. In the same mail, there was a past-due letter telling me I need to in fact pay on my account. Because they caught me in a weak moment where I didn't want to pick up the phone, I decided to just cash the check. I figured I could sort it out on Monday.

- I said "no" to adding 2 things to my life calendar this week. I really thought I would have guilt about it, however, it was very liberating and freeing. 

- Did everyone else think the Superbowl was a little 'blah' this year. I was more interested in the food than anything else. Being a PR major, I can't tell ya how many times I've had to write a paper on the dang commercials during the Superbowl. I try to purposely tune them out now. Otherwise, the people sitting beside me would have to listen to me analyze the hidden agenda, subliminal message, the color scheme, music selection and PR theories that may or may not have absolutely nothing to do with the making of the actual commercial. 

- I mopped the kitchen floor yesterday. Jax purposely spilled his juice a mere hour later. I then begged and pleated for a house keeper again. It's like I jinx myself ANYTIME I clean! 

Mop the floor = toddler spills drink
Wash the rugs = dog pees on rugs
Vacuum the carpet = husband has muddy shoes and tracks on floor
Clean up the junk pile in the kitchen = lose cable bill
Shampoo carpet = dog throws up in the middle of the night

Am I solo in this area? Am I the only one with bad luck when they clean house? Or ADD? While I'm cleaning, I see 248,392 other areas that need attention and I try to clean them all at the same time. Then, I forget what I'm REALLY suppose to be cleaning!! 

Am I sweeping the floors or the cobwebs? Am I polishing the stainless steal appliances or the grout in the kitchen floor? 

- Reporting good news now, Scandal and Grey's Anatomy are BACK!!!! While I realize I'm the last remaining Grey's fan, I'm so excited! It's like a Mama "moo bee" Night! 

Happy Thursday! 

Christmas 2015. Part 1.

This post may be a little all over the place, and I apologize for that. However, it's 11:40 on Christmas Eve and the 3 cups of coffee that I've had today are REALLY kicking me right now. The weather made me want to crawl in bed and sleep for 3 hours. But, I couldn't do that because I'm a mom. And it's Christmas Eve. 

To start our festivities, we attended our church's candlelight and communion service. Since we were all dressed up, I declared that family photos need to happen. 

Photo #1, Jax:

Well, this may be a little too easy! He sat down and put his hands in his lap and was an angel baby. 

Pic #2, Daddy and Jax:

I mean, this is just too easy. 

I literally snapped 1 pic of them. 

Pic #3, Mommy and Jax:

THIS happened. 

So we tried again.......

Well, now I'm just mad. 

1. Apparently my hubs can't focus a camera. 

2. My child is melting after taking only 3 pics. 

3. I'm wearing a super cute new dress that obviously H doesn't care about. 

Merry. Christmas. Let's go to church and worship baby Jesus. 

After all of that, I did end up with these 2 gems. 

Still no dress. 

Seriously H....I'm wearing high heels! Can we get a glimpse of those? Also- this photo shows my love of sticks. 

It would be easier to baptize a cat than to corral a 1.5 year old during a church service where childcare isn't provided. I pulled out my bag of tricks within the first 5 minutes of the service. 

- M&M's

- crayons and book

-cookies

-goldfish

But of course, my child wanted the writing pen and was upset he couldn't see. 

By the time we made it back to the car, H looked at me and said, "well, Jesus knew we had good intentions."

Jaxon Riley- 18 Months Fun Facts

Earlier in the month, this cool kid became a 1 and a half year old. 

The minute that happened, er'body started asking when we will have another baby. 

Listen. 

Listen real close. 

I'm scared to have another baby. 
I can't commit. 

I LOVE LOVE this age with Jax because he is SO funny and is able to do so much on his own. However, that means that I'm running after him like a crazy mama. I can't run after him while holding a newborn. 

Because I use my blog pretty much as his baby book, here are the fun facts that I want to remember: 

-weighs 25 lbs. 

-wears size 5 diapers

- he is becoming a picky eater now. He loves butter noodles, but no mac-n-cheese. (he clearly didn't get this from me)

- he wants to pick out his own fork or spoon with.every.single.meal. 

- he has taken to blankets now. They are his "night-nights" and the struggle is REAL with him. We had to take a "night night" to Sunday School.

- He can identify his: nose, mouth, eyes and ears. He also likes to identify these features on Oscar, which Oscar HATES. 

- Sweet Jax is OBSESSED with a "nack".....which is his word for a snack. And, he wants it in "a bowl." After you place said "nack" in said bowl, he wants to carry it. As he is walking, he stops and then starts shaking his finger at Oscar and says "no no dog dog. no no."
It is the cutest thing EVER! Poor Oscar. He hates life now.  He actually enjoys being boarded now. 

- We have a nighttime routine that involves bath, books and then a "moo bee." Some nights, Jax will walk himself to his room and go straight to bed. Other nights, he's afraid he is going to miss out on a party. So, to trick the 1.5 year old, when it's his bedtime (7:30 pm) and he is resisting sleep, we may turn off the tv and all of the lights in the house and tell him that er'body is going to bed and that he will not miss anything. After he falls asleep, the lights go back on on the party starts. And when I say "party" I mean, a glass of wine, some crackers and cheese, netflix or laundry, or monogramming or wrapping Christmas presents or unloading the dishwasher. 

We sure do know how to party hard.

- Jax is starting to really love his "frands" and he calls them by name. When I say "name" I mean, the name he can say. 
Lilly is more like Liby. 
Malone is more like Ma Mone. 
Molly is more like mama. 

- He doesn't seem to be afraid of Santa. We didn't push Santa on him, however, we welcomed Santa into our home and Santa brought gifts. It melted this mama's heart!! The sweet kid can tell you what Santa says...... "Ho Ho Ho"! 

- My heart is so full that at times, I literally cry thinking about my cool kid and the love I have for him. I'm beyond grateful that I'm a SAHM and this is my kid. While traveling to Dallas, H asked me when I would be ready to "go back to work"......that was my cue to lay in the backseat and nap for 2 hours. I had no words to answer him. After my nap, I told him I "slept on the question" and answer is when Jax starts kindergarten. I don't want to rush anything. While my child is sleeping to 7:30 and 8 am, I dare not want a 5:30 am wake up call! That's also another reason I can't commit to another child. 

-He LOVES school and seeing his "Mammy" (aka Tammy). However, the church nursery is a different story. I have to wait in the hall until he catches his breath from crying. It's BAD. Like REAL BAD. Like, so bad, we left church one time because he wouldn't stop crying. 

- I can't believe that I've been a mama for 18 months. I feel like a veteran mom now. I know what sippy cups to buy, what clothing brands "run big or small," what restaurants are kid friendly and what the best Disney movies are (Pocahontas, I'm looking at you! The raccoon and bird are so funny). 

Jaxon Riley- I know I'm biased, but you are the best.  You are a sponge that repeats everything. I melt when you hold my hand. If you hold my hand, I will pretty much buy you whatever you want in that moment. However, when you pick your dad over me.......you are on your own! Just kidding. Sorta. 

Your dad is the BIGGEST push over I have ever seen. I always thought he would be the stern parent, but, he proves me wrong every day. He has the biggest soft spot for you. I wanted to buy you 3 presents for Christmas. Your dad wanted to empty our checking account and buy you 398 presents. We compromised on 4. Your dad also wanted to buy you a jungle gym. I vetoed that purchase until you are 5. He wanted to compromise with a pony, but I said no to that too. Instead, you are getting a dump truck. It's a tad bit safer than a pony and jungle gym. 

Here's to hoping the next 18 months are just as fun as these first 18! 

Blogging.

How ironic is it that right now while I have the time to blog, I have nothing blog worthy to share?

I'm sitting in Starbucks right now......alone....with my computer....and I have nothing to say. 

All I can think about are the stupid "red" cups that er'body made such a fuss over back in October. 

Apparently people everywhere have too much time on their hands. 

Y'all, when did people become so dumb? 

Meanwhile, we have real world problems like sick babies, and poverty and divorce and the wrong people meeting Jesus too soon. 
A lot of things on the intranet do not even warrant a response. 

To prevent me from standing on my soapbox for longer than I should, I'm just gonna move on. 

So- moving on.....

Can we talk about Adele and the AMAZE performance she did on NBC?! Umm....HELLO....amaze. 

I may have tried to buy tickets on the intranet for her show in Dallas next November. I'm sad to report, I didn't have luck.  

Sooo so sad for me. What are the odds that when I have H's blessing for a concert, I can't even buy tickets. 


Little Oscar Mayer the Weenie dog has been feeing bad lately. Apparently, he has a bad back. Because I allow my mind to automatically go to the worse possible place, I asked our (very patient with me) vet if Oscar will need a wheelchair or if he needs to be put down. I'm happy to report, he doesn't need either. I did in fact tell our vet to go easy on our bill because it's Decemebr and Santa isn't cheap! Having 2 kids of his own, I think he heard me loud and clear. I hope. Big gulp. 

Totally wished Starbucks gave free refills right now. 

I woke up this morning wanting pancakes....so I ordered these:

At the risk of sounding like a diva....they were tough. So tough I had to cut them with a knife. 

Let's analyze this for a moment: I had to cut flour with a knife. 

To cancel my diva status, the Vermont syrp was really good and I may have packed the extra bottle in my suitcase like a maw maw. 

My little vacay is about to come to an end.....and then I put back on my mommy hat which is a ball cap and ponytail. Let's be real. 

Mommy time outs are CRAZY WONDERFUL.......but I miss my little buddy and can't wait to hug and squeeze his little cheeks (both booty and face). 

See ya next time Dallas. More than likely with my monkey man again. 

Helllllooooo From the Motherside.

I'm currently on vacation right now. 

And if you want to know the truth, my child is too. 

I'm alone in a hotel room in Dallas and my child is riding 4-wheelers (both real and toy) in the backwoods of Greene County. 

H has a business trip this week and I wanted to tag along. Solo. 

This mama needed a minute. 

I still haven't recovered from Thanksgiving. 

In downtown Dallas, there are so many restaurants and date nights that H and I want to go to........but our sweet stinky buddy prevents that. If the restaurants don't offer crayons, we pretty much don't go. 

So, the solution was: GRANNA AND POPS CAMP, Round #2. 
This is Jax's 2nd long stay visit with my parents. 

Last time, they taught him to walk and to say 'uh oh, doo doo!'
I'm holding my breath this go around. 

I can't even begin to talk write type about their selfless sacrifice to allow me to sit in a hotel room, and a Starbucks and Neiman Marcus and catch my breath and get caught up on life. 

So, my title.....the Motherside. 

I think my "motherside" could be best described in these photos:


I'm creating an independent little monster man. Every morning, I ask him what he wants for breakfast. This particular morning, he grabbed a "sppppooooon" and these. 

Ummm....No. Try again. 

How about some grits? Maybe eggs? Oatmeal?

This is sorta happening at our house. Sorta. 

By no means are we officially potty training. 

However, little buddy is taking an interest in the potty and saying potty words (for clarification here, those are not cuss words, those words would be "tee-tee" and "poo poo"). 

I figure......what the heck! Let's sit on the potty twice a day. 

I sit on the floor in front of him (hence this photo)....and we read a book or count down on my fingers from 10. 

He has never tee teed IN the potty, but rather he tee tees ON the potty. 

There's a good chance my child will be the next Emeril. He LOVES to "cccoooookk" and wants to do whatever I'm doing that isn't kid friendly in the kitchen. 

Pictured below: that's just some hot boiling white gravy. 

He pushes a chair from the kitchen table over to the stove and insists on helping me. 

Don't judge the non-matching outfit. Obviously H dressed him. 

There are certain things in life that a mother wants to savor. Every mother feels the same way on these things. I'm just gonna list a few real quick.

Things a mother wants to savor:

1. quiet time

2. starbucks

3. wine

4. Grey's Anatomy

5. jamming in the car by herself

6. comfortable, yet stylish shoes

7. Target

I love Target. I love all of it. I love all of the things in Target. Everything. I never have a list, yet my purchase  always equal $234.34 and 1 bag. 

Anyway, I "needed" to run in Target "real quick" and my boys were starting to ruin it for me. 

Don't ruin this for me. 

This is Mama's treat. 

So- I quickly found Jax a buggy to push around. 

MOM WIN!! The child put everything in his buggy. 

He wanted H to take items out of the big buggy and put in his buggy. 

He even managed to find some cookies and just put them right on in. 

We bought them......and H and I polished them off like good parents should do while their child naps! 

You know it was a good play date with your BFF Lilly when your shirt looks like this afterwards. 

You would think I have learned lessons on allowing my child to wear white......

Meanwhile, I almost washed baby Jesus from Jax's nativity. 

Sweet baby Jesus was almost cleansed with the power of Tide on the quick cycle! 

Apparently, Jax threw the "baabbeee" in his dirty clothes hamper. 

Things are always more adventurous, crazy and full of love and laughter on the motherside. 

I wouldn't trade most of the minutes I have on the motherside and I can say with certainty, the motherside is much better than the other side. 

Thanksgiving Recap.

If you ever want to make plans just to watch them change.......have a baby. 

A baby changes everything. 

99% of the change is good. 
But, there is always that 1% that will kill 'ya. 

Let's start our recap on Monday shall we?

Monday am: 8am, Jax is being tested for the flu. 
Remainder of the day: pajama day. 

Tuesday: Jax is still sick. Another pajama day. 

Wednesday: Mama was climbing the walls and left the boys to another pajama day while she met up with Granna to Christmas shop. 

Wednesday night: it's time to start cooking. 

My little chef loves to help me "cooookk." 

Thursday am: I had imagined cooking a breakfast casserole for my boys and watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade. 

Instead, my little buddy was still running fever and tag team parenting commenced. 

It took 2 hours to load the car because Jax thought it was Monday or Tuesday again and he wanted me to sit on the couch with him and watch a "moo bee." Meanwhile, the corn casserole in the oven is now dry. 

Once the car was loaded and everyone was buckled up.......click.click.click. The car battery is dead. 

Apparently, leaving the back hatch of your car open for 2 hours will drain your battery. 

After a trip to Walmart for a new battery, we were on our way. 

Due to fever and hunger and who knows what else, sweet Jax cried half of the way to Birmingham. 

However, our day turned around. By 8:45 pm, everyone was showered and laying in bed watching Paw Patrol. By 9pm, the lights were out and we all slept until 7:30am!

Friday was a new and better day. 

Even on the down right terrible days, I'm thankful for them. 
I love my people. 
I realize that my terrible days are still better than someone else's terrible day.....and that puts things in perspective. 

Because H and I were both in terrible moods on our way to Bham, and because we both needed attitude adjustments, we had to talk about putting our "bad day" in perspective. 

1. Our car battery died......not a family member. 
2. Our child has flu symptoms......but, he's not in the hospital. 
3. In order for you car battery to die......it means you actually have a car. 


Sometimes in the midst of the storm of the day, we need to step back and put it in perspective. So, I held my man's hand all the way to Tuscaloosa and I sat with Jax some in the backseat so I could hold his hand and "play." 

And because Jax slept until 7:30 am on Black Friday, we treated him to stack of "pan pakes" at Ihop along with his first glass of chocolate milk. I swear my child looked at me like "woman, why haven't I had this sooner!" I felt the same way when I took my first bite of Haverie cheese. WHY DIDN'T I KNOW ABOUT THIS CHEESE?!?!

I digress with the cheese. 

But, just know, I'm thankful. And grateful. And undeserving. 

My Life in Memes.

Sometimes you find "photos" that speak to you. 

You can relate to them. 

You realize they are you. 

If you want to further understand me, just keep strolling. 

I'm funny about my coffee though. I'm sorta a coffee snob. This is what I need to function in the mornings. And Jesus. I need Jesus too. 

This. Is. Me. 

I love a good XL sweatshirt. 

However, living in South MS, we only wear sweatshirts for 5 minutes for 1 day in January. 

I really didn't feel this way until I had a child. 
I think I should carry around an umbrella everyday. 
After you have a child, you tend to have a zero tolerance for stupid. However, in the midst of your zero tolerance, you realize that you are surrounded. Therefore, bring on the umbrella. Just.Like.Brittany. 

Heaven Help. Er'day. 

I just love memes with funny kids! 




Ummm.....hello Will Garnder from The Good Wife. I may have cried when he died. 

I do this every.single.day. 
When I showed this meme to my man, he laughed so hard and said it's ME! 

True Story: I literally had 2 knives at the kitchen sink today. 







I'm so glad that it's finally "legging" season. 
Hallelujah.  

I realize that "leggings never lie".......but let me tell 'ya.....I don't dress to impress while I'm buying the ingredients for pb&js in the Kroger. Gimme some leggings and a sweatshirt and THIS sista is happy. 




The older I become, the more and more and more and more this is me. 

I have my daily routine that includes quiet time. And I LOVE it, and frankly need it. I also include a jam session with Adele which makes me realize that I sound just.like.her. 

Round 2: Dallas, Day 4

Day 4 about did me in with the exercises. 

I think I burned more calories than I took in. 

Today was the day I realized, I'm a 100% boy mom. 

Today, I was in my child's element. 

Dinosaurs and the great outdoors. 

BFF Katie located a natural woods sanctuary that had a dinosaur exhibit. My child was in heaven. Granted, the sanctuary pretty much looked like Greene County. I kept thinking my dad and brother would have a shooting blind popped up in a minute in this place. 

The dinosaurs would move and make noises which was comical to my big buddy. I have a video of him literally laughing at a dinosaur "growling." Do they growl?? What do they really do??

Because best frands need matching shirts! Clearly Jax is thrilled about this! 

Auntie Katie is the best and she provided our picnic lunch. When you are living in an 800 square foot home with no groceries, you rely on your frand. 

This was probably one of Jax's favorite days. He got to run free and enjoy the weather with a Sonic "nack" afterwards. 

After we recharged our batteries, the mama's hit up Ann Taylor. Because all stay at home moms need career clothes. We just can't stop it.  

We dined at Blue Masa for dinner. Essentially, it's a swanky mexican restaurant that is good. Jax wasn't impressed with his tacos, but, don't take culinary advice from a 1 year old. This is the same little dud that is temped by dog food everyday. 

Day 1 

Day 2

Day 3
Just in case you need a recap.