Judging...

Everyone does it. If you say you don't, then you're lying.
It's human.
But that doesn't make it nice.
Especially when you are the one being judged.

When you willingly sign up to be judged, then you're crazy.

Mr. T and I are currently in the process of completing our "Life Book" for the adoption process. This book is a simple 20 page picture book that is supposed to get your whole life story from: children, hobbies, education, interests, family, occupation, talents, and preference in toothpaste down in a neat and orderly manner without using too many words. You include pictures of yourself, your family and everything that might get your family story across.

Then you hand it over to be judged.

The adoptive birth mothers look at your life book and decide if they would be interested in meeting you for an interview to adopt the child that is inside of them.

Seriously.

It's a tad nerve racking to put yourself and your family "out there". Talk about millions of insecurities that begin to flood your brain and make you feel like you're not good enough at just the wrong time. Vulnerability is not my strong suit, but what I have learned through this entire process is that I am constantly having to get out of my comfort zone.
Because that's what faith's about, right?


So... here's to fair judging.

So What!

This week I am linking up with Shannon for a little So What! Wednesday.
This week I am saying So What:

That I am officially the old grouchy lady that talks about how terrible the weather is all the time. It was 95 degrees on Monday and 90 degrees on Tuesday. I'm sick of the heat people. Sick of it!

That I begged my daughter to not be a princess for Halloween. Yes, she told me that's what she wanted to dress like but later she decided against it. I may or may not have made ugly faces while showing her the "Princess" dresses, but either way she decided on something else. I'm sorry but I don't know why Princesses have to dress like little strippers. I don't see Kate Middleton dressed like that.

That Mr. T and I are going to Paris (yes France!) in less than a month and I can hardly wait! The most exciting part? Planning my fall, french wardrobe. I have no idea how that's going to happen, but I bet Target will help me out.

That I seriously did a little happy dance when I found out that The New Girl was back on last night. It's still hilarious.

That I love everything about Fall, except Starbucks pumpkin drinks. Don't get me wrong, they are delicious. However, they (for some reason) hate me and my body always rejects them.

That I think it's weird that people take pictures of their Starbucks cups. I know what the cups look like, I promise. What's more weird? When people 'tag' outfits on Pinterest and it includes a Starbucks cup like it's a little accessory. First world problems I tell ya.

Thanks for listening to me vent! I feel better and Mr. T enjoys when I complain to someone other than him.

A weekend hangover...

 

But not the cool kid.

The nerdy, parent kind. I am hungover from a milestone haircut (no, I didn't shed tears...that's embarrassing.), an 18 mile run, a craft fair, a 7 year olds' soccer game (while screaming on the inside while my daughter CHASED the big, creepy, black crickets trying to squish them with a stick), college football watching and hosting my mom's birthday party.

 

 

 

Sister will ride a horse with a smile when she is promised a sucker afterwards. 

Who brings their baby into a bar? This lady. They had a million TVs to watch lots of games and chicken wings were screaming my name after my 18 mile run.

Don't judge me yet. It was Buffalo Wild Wings and we went at 5:00 so we were a tad less inappropriate.

See, she's happy about it. 

You also read that correctly. We got rid of Isabelle's mullet. Of course it was a little sad. That hair was the hair that she had in my belly. Now it's gone, but she does look a lot "cleaner" without looking too much older. We picked a kids salon to ease her nerves and that seemed to do the trick. Sure, she went number 2 in her pants as soon as we walked in the door (potty training boot camp failed us there), but we blamed it on the nerves and just kept moving after a little clean up. The salon had free games to play and adorable different little seats to sit in and get a haircut while watching a little movie.

I don't know why this type of salon doesn't exist for adults. I would have a lot less split ends if I didn't have to do small talk at the salon and could just sit there with a sucker and enjoy a good episode of The Real Housewives.

 

 

 Look how long that mullet was getting! The sun bleached out the ends of her hair and she had a natural little ombre look. She's so trendy.

On Sunday we hosted my mom's birthday and half way through grilling hamburgers, our grill broke. We decided to bring the burgers in and we could put them on the griddle and even pop them in the oven. Great idea! The burgers tasted delicious and were so juicy.

That being said, I will not be eating burgers for a long time.

Somebody in this household (I won't name names, but it was not me. Or Isabelle) decided to put the burgers in the oven on a cookie sheet. Do you know what happens when grease gets all over your oven? Your house smells like an old burger shack.
Disgusting. I know.
So we have had the windows open and every candle, scentsy and piece of baking soda out to try and get rid of the smell.
Things are getting better, but several cows will continue living thanks to this household.

It's the freakin weekend....

So spend it hangin' with your buddy

 

Or be a good support system



 

 

Or make someone laugh. 

Either way, have a good freakin weekend.

Busy little bees.

It's fall which means that life starts getting crazy and won't slow down until after Christmas. The fall decorations are making our house look cozy even though we are spending NO time in our actual house because the weather is so amazing.

 

I didn't get to decorate our house last year because we put it on the market, so this year I am making up for lost times. I have learned that the best way to keep a toddler busy while you are trying to decorate your house is to have her practice counting with candy corns while you are quickly putting everything out. Best part? Don't tell her that they are delicious candies. One day she will figure it out, but for now we will continue to work on counting without too many trips to the dentist office.

I have also been working hard on the new Fall Noonday Launch  and I couldn't be more excited to show everyone all the pretties! Some of my new items will be on a local morning TV show and I will also be at a Grand Opening for a delicious bakery here in Tulsa. If you are interested in coming to shop for a GREAT cause, or just want to eat some yummy new pastries come out to the Goods & Goodies party hosted by Prairie Hive. It should be a good time.

I have some exciting news on the adoption front that I can't wait to share with you (we have not been placed with a child yet so don't get too excited) so I will catch up with you soon!

Weekend Warrior

Sorry the pictures are blurry, but it was rainy and I was jumping around trying to catch a semi cute picture of Isabelle and her cousin Elijah.
He stayed the night with us to go to a high school football game and hang out with Izzy while Mr. T and I ran a long run on Saturday.

I have jumped on the crazy train again.

I'm training for ANOTHER marathon. After what happened to me at the Boston Marathon, I thought I would take a bit of time off to recover.
Then my competitive side kicked in and I decided to sign up for a local marathon in November.
I may be an idiot, but I'm going to give this whole marathoning thing a try. I just can't quit running! Forrest Gump and I totally see eye to eye.

This weekend, Isabelle also went to stay with her Gram for a night. Mr. T and I enjoyed an early bed time, sleeping in and going to church without a toddler crying, "NO CHURCH!"
It's funny though, because she's at such a fun age that I don't feel like I need a "break" from her like I did when she was a baby. She can no go to the bathroom by herself, entertain herself and entertain me. It's awesome! The little break was nice, but we were ready to have her back at home.

And just like that...

She became a big girl.

It took her less than a week of mommy/daddy boot camp before she had potty training all figured out. Many kitty cat treats were given, and tons of potty dances occurred in our living room but it was all worth it.

I am really happy to not have to change dirty diapers, but at the same time it means that Isabelle is no longer a "baby". She is a fully trained pooper in the potty and she's not afraid to tell you just that.

Hopefully, she will not be our last "baby", so I am embracing this time of no diapers, yet I am still hoping that I will be able to buy tiny diapers again sometime soon.

Suddenly she looks and acts a lot older than she did a few weeks ago. She is picking out her own outfits, including cowgirl boots to look like her daddy (although Mr. T doesn't wear pink ones) and she is making a lot of witty comments. I am loving it.

This weekend we will be enjoying the new, cooler weather, I will be getting out all of my fall decorations (HALLLELUJAH! My favorite time of the year kicks off!) and we will be watching a ton of college football.
I couldn't be more excited.
Which, officially, makes me my mother.

So WHAT!

This week I am saying So What!:

 

That I put so much creamer in my coffee that my coffee now resembles chocolate milk. It's delicious and I'm getting lots of calcium. It works okay?

 

If I am a lover of yoga pants and workout gear, but it drives me nuts when moms where them ALL THE TIME in public. Ladies, put on some regular clothes. I know it sucks, but it's not that hard. If I can do it, so can you. I promise.

 

I need to get my haircut, but I don't really have time in the evenings and I don't want to sweat to death from the stress of trying to get a haircut with a wild toddler on my lap. Therefore, my hair looks like a horse mane.

 

I was literally scootching Target workers out of the way as they were putting out cute Halloween decorations in the dollar bins. Those bins go quick and they don't restock them. And I never get a chance to buy giant, sparkly candy corn for a dolla.

 

If I am a hoarder of all things that are a good deal. I noticed this while cleaning out Isabelle's old clothes. I am now giving away stuff and staying away from kids clothing stores. It's seriously an issue guys.

 

That I got the stomach bug after Mr. T and I went on a "date night" last week for Sushi. How romantic is indigestion and gas? Super hot right? And now the thought of sushi grosses me out which is devastating for me.

 

 

 

Come on over and link up with Shannon!

 

 

 

 

Weekend Away

This weekend marked the first time I have ever left Mr. T and Isabelle alone overnight and it went remarkable.
I went to Nashville with my sister to help her clean up some things (they are selling their house in Nashville and moving back to Tulsa) while my nephew celebrated his 7th birthday with his friends. It was a fast trip, but we had a lot of fun.
Mr. T has never had Isabelle all alone for that amount of time so I was nervous.
Not for Isabelle, because Mr. T is super Dad, but for Mr. T.
I knew that plenty of trips to Chic-fil-a would ensue, but he assured me that ice cream wouldn't be the main source of calories for the weekend...I still don't know if that's true.

They did all the things that I HATE doing. Zoo trips (I hate the depressing Zoo. Like really, really, hate), multiple trips to the hardware store all while listening to Eric Church's "Springsteen" on repeat.

Isabelle had her first pee pee on the potty while I was gone and she also learned about all sorts of different animals from her zoo experience. The relationship she has with her dad is amazing and I am so glad to be able to leave town and know that she is in great hands with him and he is actually teaching her things and not just making sure she stays alive (although that is important).

Mr. T also acknowledged how much harder the weekend was then he thought it would be.... which made me smile. We talked about how hard single parenting would be, not just for the tough stuff but also for the awesome stuff that you want to enjoy with someone else. So if you're a singler parent reader...I applaud you. You.Are.Amazing.

I had a great weekend away, but I was glad to get home to see my two favorite faces.

Even though I think both of them were even more happy to see me.

Patience my friend

I feel like the theme of my life right now is patience. We are waiting for the next "step" with our adoption and we completed the process of buying and selling our house.
Lessons have been learned. Sure, traffic jams and long lines still give me anxiety, but I am learning how to deal with them and learning to relax and not be too "busy" for life.

Potty training is the final exam in the test of patience.

Holy. Moly. It's hard.

Our living room has been transformed into the main command post of potty training boot camp. Sure, that sounds a tad serious considering her potty is pink, soft and has Dora stickers all over it, but we mean business over here.

Like I said, I've always made it clear on the blog and in real life, how patience isn't my cup of tea. Unfortunately, that characteristic occasionally extends to my tiny little lady. Insert potty training boot camp. Now, I can assure you that it isn't all mean and hard core. There are pretty undies with pink ponies on them, stickers, candies and kitty cats.

Yes, that's right you heard me say kitty cats.

My daughter likes cats. I use the word, "like" loosely. If I were being honest and straight forward, I would tell you that she LOVES them. We took her to the store to pick out a few "treats" to reinforce her potty use and we left the store with TWO cat items. I tried every trick in the book to make other toys look cooler, but she is so into cute little cats.

My first failure as a parent.
I hate cats. They make me swell like a tick and they kinda scare me.

I'm a crazy dog lady.
Anywhoo, I'll fall in love with them if they keep me from changing another dirty diaper.

I want instant potty training and the only way I know how to get anything quickly, is to get rid of the old stuff and get in with the new stuff. Which meant this week, Isabelle started wearing her big girl undies exclusively (except during nap and nighttime) and we became the annoying, nagging parents. "Do you need to use the potty?" "Remember where we go pee and poo poo? On the potty." "Let's try to sit on the potty so we can go pee pee!" Every 20 minutes we put her on the squishy potty (why don't adults have toilet seats that comfy? Oh, probably because Mr. T would NEVER come out) and pray for a little pee pee.
We told her not to pee pee on her pony undies because the ponies would run away. If that were true, we would of had two run away ponies today. One wet, and one stinky. Poor ol' ponies. 

We tried to use stickers. That worked for about an hour the first day, and then she was on to us. She knew candies were available and we had to up the ante. I'm certain she knows I'll dole out any number of kitty cat candies for her to use that potty.
She's not new here.
Anyway, that's the word on the street in our world at the moment. Potty training is officially a full-time job. Wish us luck.
Send cat stuff.

Maybe this lady just wants some privacy? I'll try that tomorrow.