5 ON FRIDAY!

1. Dawson's Last Day of School-First of all, I cannot believe how fast this school year has gone! Cliche, I know...but it's so true!! It literally feels like yesterday when I was waiting in the pick-up line for the first time awkwardly hanging my "Dawson Texeira" sign out the window like the first-timer I was because I had no clue what to do. ;) Seeing him standing with all his little classmates wearing his book bag did me in...hello Mommy tears! We've come a long way from last August! :) Daws has had such a wonderful first year of school. He's met lots of new friends and has grown up emotionally so much. I am so proud of him :) This Tuesday was his official last day of school in the classroom, and Thursday was the end of the year picnic at the park. The weather was awesome, and we had a great time! Now it's time to enjoy these next two months before it all starts over again!

The "baby face" is officially gone [so sad] and he looks a little taller!

He loved his teachers!

A few comments from his progress report...

Proud Mommy-especially the "careful to do the right thing" comment. :)

This make my heart melt!

Last day of school picnic at the park!! 

2. Hudson is sitting like a big boy in the bath now!

The kid is downright giddy now that he has made his way to the other side of his tub.  ;)

And, one more bath pic just because :)

3. Super excited for a mini session next week with our fave photographer! This will be her first time photographing our little Hudson, but she has taken amazing photos of Dawson, Garry, and I. Time for a Target trip to find coordinating picture outfits--which really stresses me out, by the way. Too...much...pressure. Or, maybe I'm too particular. Surely, that can't be it, can it?! ;) The excitement for the pictures should help with the outfit shopping!

http://www.photographybyleslieann.com/

4. Babyganics

I am trying this sunscreen for the first time this summer, and am loving it for my kiddos! If you haven't tried it, you probably should because it's the bomb. :) I bought both the spray and the stick and it works great! It goes on smooth, doesn't stink, and isn't greasy at all. Shout out to my friend Mary for the recommendation!

Check it out: { Babyganics }

5. Birthday Countdown is on! Not sure how I feel about my baby turning 4, but I'm pretty pumped for his birthday party at Monkey Joe's on Sunday! This will be the first party we've had at a location other than our house, and let me tell you...it's pretty much rockin' my world. No pre-party cleaning, decorating, or clean-up afterwards-no complaints here! ;) And, this is one of Dawson's favorite places ever so it's a win-win situation for all parties involved :)

Who knew a birthday countdown would've been such a hit? Dawson is loving seeing the number change every day and getting one step closer to the big day-aka...cake and presents. ;) Simple things that make my kids happy-love it!


Hope everyone has a fabulous weekend!

Oh, yes I did!

You never know what kind of gems you're going to run into at the post office! Happy Hump Day! ;)

Memorial Day Weekend

You can't go wrong when your weekend starts with birthday party fun and date night! 

Saturday morning we headed to Terre Haute to celebrate little Miss T's 4 Birthday. Her mom and I were best friends in college so it is always nice when we can get together, because it definitely doesn't happen as much as we like! I still remember when we both found out we were pregnant with our first. I sent her a message on Facebook saying "Guess what" and she responds with a "You're pregnant?" and her own "guess what" :) That was an awesome moment--both of us pregnant with our first at the exact same time...our due dates were within just a week of each other! Daws was definitely excited to kick off our weekend with cake, a pinata, and chasing around cute girls :) 

Enjoying a sucker from the Pinata! How cute is the birthday girl?!


My Dad was in town for the weekend (yay!), so he watched the boys for us so we could escape for a few hours for date night. We decided on Maggiano's. I don't think you can ever go wrong with Italian food, wine, and jazz music. Our meal ended with a pretty awesome (NOT) debit card rejection due to a fraud protection that was placed on our card. Thank god, we were still able to use the card at the ATM to get money out. Apparently, some douche from New York tried to use the card so the bank issued a fraud alert and froze my card. Awesome, huh? It was even more awesome that my debit card was frozen over a holiday weekend, so there wasn't anything I could do about it until today. Ugh.
Oh well, it was handled and we had a great time regardless :)

We heart date night the most. 

The rest of the weekend was spent just hanging out at the house, grilling out, watching the Indy 500, and the boys playing with their favorite Papa :) Oh, and a little shopping to boot {gotta love the sales at Old Navy!} Here are a few pictures from our weekend:

Love, love. love this picture!

Our master grilling team for the weekend-pretty cute if I do say so myself :)

Ready, set, use your imagination, and go-Daws and Papa's "zoo" ;)  

No holiday weekend would be complete without a little T-ball!

Memorial Day flair for the table :)
Thank you to all those, past and present, who are serving/have served this country to make our lives safe and provide freedom. Much appreciation and admiration!

FYI-When your husband works at a dealership he doesn't get Memorial Day off. Totally suckey.
We managed to muster up a smile though for a holiday pic. ;)


Hope everyone enjoyed their extra long weekend!

5 on Friday

I recently just started reading this blog [The Good Life], and love it! In this new Friday series, you just make a list of 5 of your favorite things from the week and link it up. It can go in any direction...things you are currently loving, what you did during the week, or things your are looking forward to. Really, it's anything! This week I decided I would give it a try, so here it goes! :)

1. First and foremost-DATE NIGHT! I love when my hubby and I can sneak away for some alone time {even if we do spend 85% of the time talking about the kids;} I had arranged a babysitter for tomorrow night, but then my Dad decided to come for the weekend so he is going to stay with them. Thanks, Dad!

2. Dawson's Cake for his party next week- I pinned this cake on Pinterest, and finally ordered it this week! My Mom's friend is making it for us, so I probably won't be able to breath until the 2 hour trek is over and the cake is safe and sound in Indy! Daws is gonna flip when he sees it! :)

3. Workout Routine- After this week I've determined that running at night when the hubs gets home is just not gonna happen. Although it always sounds like a great plan around 11 AM, by 5:00 I am exhausted and have ZERO motivation to workout at night. I love exercising in the mornings. It gets me going and I do my best thinking in the morning. ;) So, next week I'm going to try my hardest to get up around 6 and get my ass in gear for a morning run the days I don't go to the gym for classes. Here's the tentative plan for next week:

Sunday-Run

Monday-Run in the morning

Tuesday-Zumba {gym}

Wednesday-Total Conditioning {gym}

Thursday-off

Friday-Run in the morning

Saturday-Zumba {gym} or morning run

4. Milestones-My baby turned 6 months this week and started sitting up. He is such a sweet baby and I can't believe how fast time is going! When I realized we were half way to his first birthday, I of course, had a mild panic attack, then immediately pulled up Pinterest and started pinning away for his first birthday bash :)

He has a smile that lights up a room :)

Just a little help from the Boppy :)

5. Stairway Pinterest Project- I'm hoping to get started on this, this weekend. I love everything about this mix--the color pop, the printables, and pictures. I foresee a trip to Joann's and Hobby Lobby over the next couple of days!

Happy 1/2 Birthday Hudson Mack!

I'm not sure how it happened, but I literally blinked and my kid is now 6 months old. He has the sweetest little face and gets the award for the best hair. I love watching him love his brother. All Dawson has to do is look at him and Hudson completely cracks up and grins from ear to ear. He is the perfect addition to our family and we can't imagine our life without this little turkey :)

Chalkboard Update.

Before.

After. LOVE how the color turned out!

Tag Team.

Because dividing and conquering is the only way to go.

Here is what today looked like:

5:00-Hudson wakes up, Garry gives him a bottle, then they both go back to sleep. 

6:00- I wake up, throw on some clothes, and head to Kroger to get cupcake supplies (Again!) to make Dawson's birthday treats for preschool {which is a blog in itself why I was remaking cupcakes 1 hour before school starts.} 

6:50- Both kids are up by the time I get home...Garry gets Daws dressed and they head downstairs.

7:00- I start the cupcakes and while they're in the oven I make Daws breakfast.

7:30- Breakfast is done for Daws...I make Hudson his cereal then Garry feeds it to him while I help Daws brush his teeth.

7:45- I'm busting my ass as fast as I can to ice the damn cupcakes so we can leave by 7:55ish. Oh, and I'm also repeating, "Daws, go get your show-and-tell and make sure it's in your book bag...Daws, go potty...Daws, go get your shoes."

8:00- In the van and on our way to school

8:05- Arrive at school and get to walk in the pouring rain carrying said cupcakes and 2 packs of juice boxes...good times. 

8:15- Back home

8:30- Hudsie is starting to fuss and is ready for his morning nap...so I make a bottle and Garry put him down.

8:45- I get the hell outta dodge and head to the gym for my morning of sanity while Garry mans the fort.

11:15- I pick up Daws from school and we head home.

11:30-Get home. Garry is feeding Hudson his lunch and Daws asks, in his sweetest voice, if he can have Boston Market for lunch. So, Garry takes him to Boston Market and Mackey and I head to Meijer to do some shopping.

See...I'm telling you, tag team city here.

1:00-Get home, unload groceries, countdown till naptime.

1:30-Garry puts Daws down for nap while I do some laundry and wait for Hudson to get sleepy for nap.

1:50-Hudson appears to be ready for nap #2, so I make a bottle and Garry puts him down. Except nap #2 was an epic fail. Damn teething... Motrin to the rescue!

The next couple of hours was pretty much a blur...I attempt to take a nap while Daws is sleeping and Garry is taking care of Hudson. I think he tries to put Hudson down a little later which works and he takes a little cat nap. Of course my nap was also an epic fail, but at least I got to lay down for a bit. 

3:30-Daws wakes up, then Hudson shortly after. Chaos begins again :)

4:00- I run to CVS to get some Sudafed for my sinus headache from hell, then make a Starbucks run for coffee #2. 

4:30-I get home, boys are outside playing...Hudson is ready to eat so I make him cereal. I feed him while Daws and Garry play. Then Daws requests that someone draw him all the Alice in Wonderland characters-this kid is crazy serious about his movie characters. He likes to pretend with them while he watches movies. Thank god, I didn't get that job because my awesome drawing skills are limited to stick figures.

5:00-I take Hudson on a walk in hopes that he falls asleep for his last little nap before bedtime. Garry stays with Daws and they watch Alice in Wonderland, of course.

5:30-Get home from our walk...Hudson ended up falling asleep, which buys us a little more time before he starts getting fussy and is ready to go to bed.

5:30-6-I put myself on kitchen duty and got the dishes done and kitchen all cleaned up.

6:00- Hudson is ready for bed (Yes!) Garry takes him upstairs for the 3 B's: bath, bottle, and bed. 

One down one to go!

6:30-I feed Daws dinner and then he finishes watching Alice after he is done eating.

7:00-Garry gives Daws a bath.

7:30-I'm on jammie and teeth duty, but Daws requests Daddy to put him to bed. {Darn! ;)}

8:00-We collapse on the couch and throw our plans to grill out out the window. Because frankly, grilling out, making rice, and snapping green beans sounds like a nightmare from hell at 8:00 at night. So we decide to order a pizza instead. 

Whoomp there is it. A day in the life of us when we decide to stay home. Dividing and Conquering--it's where it's at. 

Peanut Butter Brownies for Dummies.

I can't even call this a recipe, because it's THAT easy. But, if you like peanut butter and chocolate-then trust me, and just make these. I promise you won't be disappointed!

Simple as that. 

My cutie-patootie helpers this morning ;)

Weekend Fun.

Well, the weekend is essentially over and the dreaded Monday blues are already starting to set in. Except no Monday blues for us this week because we have a playdate to look forward to tomorrow :) Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend! Here's how our went down:

We kicked off the weekend with a trip to the park for a picnic on Friday...Daddy even joined us on his lunch break! Dawson was bummed at first because his fave park playmate wasn't going to be there to play "fireman" with him. He then told me that "maybe the'll be another friend I can find to play with." So he was on the friend hunt as soon as we got there and recruited an almost 2-year-old boy to be his buddy for the hour. He also had a brother who was 7 weeks, so his Mom and I bonded over teething woes and preschool. Daws knows no stranger, which should work to my advantage one day if I ever get low in the friend count. ;) It was hot, but we had a fun and it was a nice escape from the house after our 2-day sickness lock-down!

Saturday started with an Insanity masterclass at my gym. Let me tell you folks, it was--wait for it--INSANE. I loved it though, and can't wait till they add it to the weekly schedule. After surviving that beating, we headed home {but not without a stop at Target to buy out the squeezie section} for naps. Except my boys were also apparently tired from our gym outing because they fell asleep on the way home :)

This is the first time they have both fallen asleep at the same thing in the car--it was heavenly, let me tell you ;)

My sis that lives in Wabash succumbed to my persuasion to come to Indy for the rest of the weekend. So, after the hubs got off work we were able to go to dinner. I love it when she comes to Indy and love the time we get to spend together. 

Dinner at Bravo and fro-yo at Orange Leaf!

Sunday...aka...the day I found a chalkboard. Remember I was gonna DIY it up this weekend? Well, we continued with more sister time {both of my sisters-YES!} and headed to Franklin to our fave antique store, Salvage Sisters. I found an awesome chalkboard for only $24! Score! So, now I just need to paint the frame a different color to match my kitchen/living room. Can't wait to get that bad boy painted and hung on the wall! 

Here is a pic of the before:

I actually don't mind the color, it just doesn't match my motif.  I started painting it tonight, but it will need another coat. I'll post the finished product once it's done!


Oh, and it's ALWAYS good to end your weekend with round 2 of this:

:)

{TMI} Potty Humor.

We all know your privacy goes out the window after you have kids. But, after these comments from my almost 4-year-old this week...I think it's time I start locking the bathroom door.

"Can you get that string out of your privates?"

"Why do you have those big boobs on?"

"Mom, I can see your booty!" 

Happy Friday! ;)

Mason Jars & Photo Apps.

I'm currently having a love affair with mason jars. Every blog, Pinterest post, and party site seems to be mason jar crazy and I've decided to join the craze! Apparently, they're not just for canning jelly anymore folks...

The rest of the non-dead flowers from my Mother's Day bouquet. So simple, yet so cute!

I know. It's missing a trendy patterned paper straw and a lemon. But, let's face it...this is the real world, and today my real world consisted of a grumpy, teething 5 month old and a recovering from the stomach bug 3-year-old. No fun trips to Target or JoAnn's for either one of those items. Just multiple doses of Motrin to my kids and me reassuring myself that bedtime is near! On that note--that water is now officially wine. Cheers! ;)


Love affair #2: The "Beautiful Mess" photo app on my iphone. If you haven't downloaded it, you should. I don't usually spend money on apps for my phone because I'm cheap like that, but seriously-get your $0.99 "splurge" on! I love the super cute doodles and the color palate. 

See...super cute and fun, eh? :)

{Almost} Wordless Wednesday

Chalkboard Envy

I have it bad. I have been dying to make a DIY chalkboard! Every time I see someone post something written on a chalkboard I want to make an immediate Goodwill/Hobby Lobby trip and get the goods to construct it. So, that's the plan this weekend--to FINALLY get my butt in gear, quit coveting everyone else's DIY chalkboards and make my own :) Here is a tutorial I found from one of my favorite blogs {Little Baby Garvin} Looks simple enough. Here's hoping I don't screw it up :)

Chalkboard Tutorial

Mother's Day Recap {Part 1}

Hope everyone had a wonderful Mother's Day! I know I did! I'm only splitting this into two parts because stupid me, I forgot my camera USB cord to download my pics off my camera. If anyone knows me they know I am a tad ridiculously obsessed with uploading my zillion pictures to my computer as soon as the "event" is over, then posting them to any and all social media sites. So you could only imagine my disappointment when we got home Sunday night and I realized that the cord was sitting on my parents couch. Woh...woh.

Anyway, my Mother's Day festivities started earlier in the week with attending a tea at Dawson's Preschool. My awesome friend Mary saved the day by watching Hudson so I could enjoy my time with just Dawson without running around like a sweaty pig in his cracker jack box of a preschool room trying to shuffle my time between both of the boys. ;) The tea Hawaiian Punch fest was really cute. The kids sang their favorite songs, made us a gift, then we had punch and cookies. I love to watch Dawson at school. :) After he gets his "omg, my mom is at my school so I better show off" behavior out of his system he is so fun to watch. He loves his friends and is such a social butterfly. I'm so thankful that this school year turned out to be such a wonderful experience for both of us!!

Good thing he made up for the whole age thing with that super cute drawing of us! 

Check out their ADORABLE rendition of "5 Little Monkeys" :)

So...apparently they also sing this same song but substitute fish for monkey. ;)

My boys.

Thank you boys for making me a mommy! I love every minute of it--the good, bad, and the ugly. :) You both make me so proud and I am blessed beyond words that I was chosen to be your mom! 

I love you!

How soon we forget...

Warning: Soapbox Time

Let me start my saying that when I had one kid I absolutely hated when someone (strangers or people I knew) would say, "Oh, you just wait until you have another one." No matter what the issue, I feel like I heard this line all the flippin' time. When I would talk about his sleeping (yes, I acknowledge I got a good sleeper and am very thankful for that) I would hear, "Well, you just wait...your next kid won't be like that." Guess what? Good sleeper #2. I'm not saying this to brag, just setting this up for my annoyance with know-it-alls and people that seem to have a case of word vomit.

When it was just Dawson, I felt as though people with more than one kid would give me the "oh, just wait till you have more...one is a breeze." Nothing made me want to punch someone in the face more than when I would hear this. When you go from zero kids, to one...it's hard. And, I'm sure the comments from those parents thought that parenting was hard as well when they had just ONE. I'm sure they were completely exhausted, overwhelmed, and just wanted a sanity break every once in a while. Being a SAHM is THE hardest job I have ever had, even when I only had one. I wouldn't trade it for anything {well, maybe for a week by myself on the beach with a hot cabana boy bringing me endless fruity adult beverages. ;}

Always in my head, I thought how rude of people to just assume one was easy. Nothing was easy when trying to get pregnant with Dawson. It took us a year, which compared to some people doesn't seem like a long time...but let me tell you, that's was THE LONGEST year of my life. Luckily, we never had to seek fertility treatments. But, during that year it felt like everyone was pregnant except me. When it takes you a year to conceive you begin to wonder if it will be like that the next time around. And, then you start to think of others. This has always caused me to keep my mouth shut when I see couples with one child. I never ask, "when are you going to have another?" because maybe they just can't. Maybe they don't want anymore children or maybe they have struggled with infertility. Either way, you better believe I'm not going to be one of "those people" who just loves to tote around the fact that they are more tired or experienced than someone with only one kid.

Fast forward 3 1/2 years later, and I now have 2 kids. Guess what? Yes, it is more tiring...yes, my kids are different..yes, I want to run and hide sometimes...yes, sometimes I think of the "good ole days" when I only had one kid. But, you know what? I still remember everything about having one child and I never forget. I have empathy and sympathy for parents with one, because I too was at that point at one time in my life. I remember exactly how anyone with one kid feels and let me tell you, it's exhausting. I don't care if you have 1, 3, 7, 12, or 20 kids--being a parent is difficult! I absolutely LOVE being a Mom. I loved being a mom of one, and I love being a mom of 2 even more. I have vowed to never use the phrase "you just wait" or "you wouldn't understand" because I couldn't stand when people would say that to me when I just had Dawson. Seriously, ultimate pet peeve.

Hear that? That's the sound of me stepping off my soap box. :) On that note: I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend and a HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY no matter how many kids you have! ;)

I have THAT kid.

Ya, you know the one. The kid who belts the words out at the top of his lungs and just dances like no one is watching. And, I LOVE it. I love that he is so full of spunk and life. Yes, his excessive talking drives me crazy sometimes...yes, I'm sure he drives his teachers up the wall at times...yes, he is the orneriest of the ornery, but that personality is priceless. And, anyone who knows Dawson knows this about him. If this kid isn't in plays when he is older I will shocked. The way he memorizes stories, songs, and lines is ridonkulous.  His first Preschool program was this Wednesday night. The amount of cuteness from that night was over-the-top. I have been waiting all year for this--no really, the moment I enrolled him in preschool I couldn't wait to see his first program. ;)  It was a super cute night and we we're so happy that my mom, dad, and sisters were able to come too! 

We are so proud of our little star :)

So happy to see us in the audience :)

Mimi and Papa got to come!!

Told ya.

Aunt Whit

 Mimi, my sisters, and Hudson 

Cuteness.overload.