Out of control mom voice...

So, I completely suck at taking videos. I know this. But, I did have several attempts this weekend during our 3 long days without daddy, so here are the best results. Oh, and yes, I realize they are still not good. Imagine the outtakes...

This one was supposed to showcase G's dancing skills. We got D a musical birthday card because Grace was getting tired of looking and when I opened it and "Party Like a Rockstar" started playing she started waving her arms and booty dancing. It was amazing and I can not take credit for her sweet dance moves...no clue where they came from. I tried to get her to do it here, and you can see her start when I take out the card, but I couldn't open it without her trying to dive off of the counter top and on the floor she just tries to take the Flip video from me so really we need another set of hands...

Haha...love the awkward ending. Oops!

In this one I was trying to get her in her new wagon that she got for her birthday from my dad- aka Pops. Her other favorite thing to do, aside from lunge at the Flip when she has free range of motion, is to ignore it and me while I try to encourage her to show off. Pardon the wind...

So yeah, total duds, but you can see some pieces of our weekend and I'm trying to get better at posting these more often. We'll try again soon. :)

xo,
H

Weekend Highlights

Most weekends fly by for us around here, but this past one was definitely an exception. It was long...and slow...and at times a little painful. As much as I was looking forward to having 3 days off, D is once again out for the week, leaving the rest of us to fend for ourselves. I hate sounding like a whiner and dependant on having the hubs around all the time, but weekends are just more fun when we are together. Plus entertaining an almost 14 month old and two rambunctious yellow labs gets a little overwhelming at times. So we got creative....

On Friday (which was also Veteran's Day and D's Birthday), we took a trip out to the store and stocked up on some art supplies! I wasn't sure how it would go over, but a box of chubby crayons and a pad of construction paper later, I discovered we have an artist! Here is a Grace M. original. As always, excuse the dark iPhone shot:

Guess what everyone and their mom is getting for Christmas?! (Haha...) We have a little sweatshop set up and G is getting down to business. ;)

On Saturday we met up with one of my GF's and her puppy and went to Hodges Gardens for the afternoon. There was a cute little Art Festival and we got our walk on while taking in the pretty scenery. We will be making a trip back this coming weekend with daddy and our puppies in tow. Here are a couple pictures from the day. Ignore my hiking gear and obvious need for a haircut/color. Gross. Luckily Grace provides a pretty cute distraction.

The rest of the weekend came in the form of lazy mornings with our pal Mickey and his Clubhouse, lunch outings and grocery shopping, and even some wagon construction- more on this later. D should be back home with us in a few days and light at the end of the tunnel? This is officially his last rotation before we move!!

Hope everyone's week is off to a great start. Check back later for a video post!

xo,
H

On (Parent) Friends

Another exciting aspect of our move (aka, the only thing I talk about lately) is the opportunity to see old friends who have moved before us and to meet new ones. One thing I think D and I have both found difficult is adjusting to our new parent status socially. We're young, and hip err...not totally boring yet, but we're also responsible for another real, live person now...and it changes things.

Among our groups of friends from growing up and college we are one of the few married couples and of those we are the first to welcome a new addition into the mix. When we go home to visit, things still stay somewhat routine...in fact, we have built in babysitters who love the opportunity to visit with their granddaughter, but that's not to say we spend too many late nights out on the town these days. The last time we did that was New Years 2010...and I'm pretty sure that resulted in Grace being conceived. Whoops. ;)

Where having parent friends really begins to matter isn't so much when visiting home, but more in our every day lives wherever we are stationed next. We have a few close friends we met here who have kids (and ALL have since moved...boo), but many more friends who do not. Don't get me wrong, we love them and it is fine, but I really look forward to meeting other couples who are similar in age and have similar interests, along with maybe a playmate for our little girl. I look forward to family BBQs, watching the kids run around, and having girl talk while the guys throw back a few beers and grill, etc. I wouldn't mind finding a new workout buddy too!

It's kind of nerve wracking moving to a brand new place in itself, but when you add the fact that you go not knowing anyone when you get there...it's a little stressful. Kind of like moving to a new city the year before starting High School all over again. Luckily that worked out pretty well for me, so here's to hoping this does too! ;)

So, I am currently accepting friend applications...

Must:
- Enjoy working out...extra points for running and spin!
- Have a sense of humor and appreciate the occasional dirty joke (or you will hate my husband...)
- Food! Eating it, making it attempting to make it, talking over it, celebrating with it. Double points if you like Mexican.
- Appreciate the outdoors and even more importantly, dogs. We have 2...they are very friendly.
- Think my kid is adorable. 'Cause she is, promise.
- Agree that wine is the nectar of the Gods
- Be willing to partake in the occasional girly pedicure date
- Additional extra points for: watching football, knowing where I can get a good haircut/color, and not judging me for wearing workout garb 4 out of 7 days a week. I clean up alright, when necessary.

Any takers?

Hahaha...KIDDING. Wouldn't it be nice if it were that easy, though?

xo,
H

T-minus 1 month!

I always talk about how I need more hours in the day...and yesterday, I got one! ;) I also got super motivated and managed to finally clean out my entire closet, drawers, and other various places my clothes were hiding. 9 pairs of shoes and two trash bags full of clothes later, donations were made and I have a clean room.

D is thrilled, but is also taking bets on how soon I will revert back to my messy ways. I'm determined to make it to move day mess-free and hopefully stay like that after we get to our new place. There is really no excuse for my clothes hoarding based on how few times a week I have to actually wear something presentable. Plus- the fun part- now I know exactly what I need wardrobe-wise and can make smart purchases. I hate the feeling of  "I don't have anything to wear" and hope to eventually get to a place where I have a nice, adult wardrobe and don't get frantic every time an event comes up. I'm getting there and I think I'm finally starting to find my own sense of style. For now, I'm pretty sure I'm putting myself on a spending freeze until after the move and Christmas shopping. Plus, we'll be in suburbia for several weeks over the holidays where I'll make the most of being in civilization. (YAY!)

Speaking of the move...this time next month, we will have movers in our house! Last night my mom and I booked her flight here and she will be joining Grace and I for our drive to Georgia (while D drives the other car with the dogs). I was feeling a little anxious about the 10+ hour drive turning into a nightmare, but with Nana in tow, Grace will have a backseat buddy and I have a feeling it will be a quick trip! We are SO appreciative of the help.

Between now and then, time will fly...here's a quick peek at some of our highlights:

Nov. 11 - D's B-day/Veteran's Day
Nov. 17 - Major's 1st b-day...ok, this is not really a huge deal, but we do recognize our dog's birthdays. Haha- I know you're thinking it: "Loserrrssss!" It's okay. We know. :)
Nov. 24 - Thanksgiving
Nov. 28 - Our 2 year Anniversary
Nov. 30 - Hail and Farewell...D will be farewelled this time!
Dec. 6-8 - Movers pack and move our things
Dec. 9 - Final walkthrough/Out of house
Dec. 10 - On the road!!!

I think we are all ready to move on. Me, to a new location....D, to a new job or phase of his career...the dogs, to a place with a dog park (no really...they have one!), and Grace...well, she's pretty easy going right now, but I think she'll be happy with some changes too!


Thank you for your hair input on my last post. I think I'm going to take the plunge, and worst case? It grows back. I'm going to wait a couple of weeks so that I am not due to go back in over the holidays or while we are in the middle of moving and settling in, but I'll be sure to share pics!

Here's to a great week, everyone!

xo,
H

So many randoms

I guess it would help to post more regularly so that I don't have weekly "brain dumps", huh? I feel like I need to catch up, so here is what's been going on in my world lately...

Did you notice how I skipped any and all talk about Halloween earlier this week? Well, it just wasn't in the cards for us, apparently. Grace came home from daycare completely tired and fussy and was not having it as I tried to get her all dressed up. She was supposed to be a cat...easy, peasy. We had a grey and black cheetah (or would it be leopard?) onesie, some black leggings, kitty ears, and I had grand plans of whiskers and a sweet little nose being "painted" on by yours truly. Grace wanted none of it.  As I eye-linered on my first whisker, she turned and ended up with a skinny moustache...haha...I gave up shortly after. Here's the best shot I have of us "practicing" the day before, sans costume.

Note that food is distracting her from taking off her ears. Also, does anyone else's kid go through gallons of milk like it is going out of style? I'd be sick if I drank as much as she does...

My 26th birthday was on Wednesday! Thanks for the calls, texts, and virtual cards. :) I spent the day doing my usual commute into Alexandria and then came home to some presents and dinner out with my loves. Wanna see my new pretty?

Love my Michael Kors watch from Grace and D. I couldn't get a good pic and I was too lazy to take out the big camera....surprise, surprise...it's gorgeous though, and D picked it out all by himself (with a little help from my best gal) and that makes it even more special to me.

Those cheeks kill me...

It's hard work being little. Now that Grace is walking more, she is also starting to fall asleep earlier at night, again. She had pushed her bedtime back to 8:30...almost 9 some nights, which was killing D and I. We would literally get her in bed and practically pass out ourselves. Now she's back closer to 7:30, sometimes right after 7, and it has really opened our evenings back up to do housework, get ourselves ready for the next day, and have some couple time to just catch up with each other. We'll take it!

Speaking of Miss G, she LOVES books in a major way. Her favorites change weekly, but right now, this is the winner. She has it at daycare and I am ordering a copy for home...too funny. In checking it out, I discovered it is actually part of a behavioral series that includes titles like, "Teeth Are Not for Biting" and "Hands Are Not for Hiting". Ask me how many are in my cart right now... ;)

Grace's Current Fave...ironic?

Another recent purchase? This adorable shirt via Etsy for Thanksgiving. They have little sizes for onesies and boy styles too!

To end the randomness with some more random-I'm thinking about chopping all of my hair off.Well, not all of it, but 6 or so inches. What do you think? Keep it long or go for it?

The last time I had a shorter cut was when I was pretty early into my pregnancy with G. Here's a little blast from the past.

 I don't want to go quite as short, so I'm thinking long bob, with the front slightly longer than the back...and no bangs. Every time I get them I end up putting them back and never styling them correctly...and look like I have a little kids hair cut...like this:

Thoughts? Help a sister out! :)

Hope everyone has wonderful weekends. We'll be minus daddy for most of ours...womp, womp...I'll try to be back more regularly next week!

xo,
H

Fall Decor-ish

A couple of weeks ago on one of my Wednesday drives into work, I decided I'd use my lunch break to do some Fall decor shopping. I was pumped to make my way to Target and Marshall's and maybe even Hobby Lobby or Michael's to find the goods.

First thing's first...check out the stowaway in my laptop bag:

I started off at Target and was overwhelmed with cute candles. I'm so boring. I was thinking about doing hurricane vases with candy corn as filler and nice pillar candles. Maybe finding a cute wreath for the front door...

I kept over thinking everything...we are about to move....why should I spend $X on candles and vases...etc.

Then I went to Marshall's. One of my favorite places to find inexpensive things for the home. It's like a Homegoods knockoff...and we'll take what we can get around here. Anyways, I went to Marshall's and saw the most gorgeous Fall plates:

I know, not decor.

First, check out our "everyday" dinnerware.

They are White Pearl by Crate and Barrel and one of the main reasons we I decided on them, was because they are so plain and versatile. I figured that I could have fun table linens and accent plates for different occasions and it would all match.

So long story short, the fall plates came home with me. Along with a couple new hurricanes and some wine cork vase filler...'cause I swear all of those are not from me. I tried to "make my own" using corks from bottles of my wine and apparently I don't indulge enough, cause I was up to about 5 corks since late June...

The new plates are white with different gold tones of leaves and I am in love with them. I got 4 each of mugs, bowls, salad plates (the one over the large plate), appetizer/dessert plates, and one oval shaped platter (not pictured). Each piece was about $3...so I spent less than $100 and have a whole new look for our table!

Necessary? No. But I guess I'll have to work on the decor factor next year when (fingers crossed!) we should be in a more long term home situation. For now I'm making far too many batches of Pumpkin Spice Cookies and other baked goods to serve on my cute little plates. D pretends to mind, but I think he secretly enjoys it...

xo,
H

Fashion Show

I had to take a few pics of my little lady in her pretty brown skirt before school last week. One of my sweet friends, Laura, got her this adorable Baby Gap skirt for her birthday and we wanted to show Auntie Lala how Grace looks modeling her gift. :) She also got a matching headband and pretty pink top that Grace has worn as well. We are still working on headbands!

Ignore my messy counter...focus on the cute toddler....

New favorite activity: Sitting on "big kid" chairs by herself.

Blurry pic, but look at that fluffy baby booty!

Manhandling a Mickey Mouse DVD

In the Pantry/Laundry Room to find animal crackers. Just your basic 7am snack...

I know I'm the worst photographer ever, I'm working on it, ok?! Now that we have a semi-walker, our mornings have gotten a even crazier than before. Maybe I can teach the dogs to herd Grace into one area so we can get dressed and out the door? Haha...Major could really use some brownie points...

xo,

H