Lean In

This is good...

hee hee..I agree with SO many of these..

I love this about her...

I came across this quote on Pinterest today and it reminded me of my girl...

One of my favorite little things about her is that little smattering of freckles across her nose...

:)

It's outta here...

Ok, how many of us have this pile of primary colored plastic plates,cups, bowls junking up our cabinets?

WE DO! or I should say we DID..my kids aren't little any more (well, you know what I mean, I guess I should say toddlers), and I finally just said "what the heck"? Why are we still living with this? Those bowls with the blue around the edges are from when Chaz was a NEWBORN! I think we've gotten our use out of this stuff, don't ya think? Character plates? GONE! (One of those bowls was Bob the Builder, no joke..and one of the plates was Cars) We have real glass plates and all, but this was our go-to stuff for breakfast and lunch and snacks...bleh! SO, yesterday..I bagged it up and threw it away..so freeing!

Which brings me to the wonderous Target..you can still have "plastic" to use for kids and for outside, but why can't it be cute and stylish? Have you seen all the CUTE melamine plates, cups, etc they have at Target for cheap? Ummm, I purchased some..I'm a black and white girl, so I mixed and matched some of the black and white collection, and I'm so much happier now..the kids were impressed this morning when their breakfast was served on this instead of the old "kid" stuff...

And man, if you decorate with blue, white, or yellow, that color collection is awesome! So many super neat patterns...AND all the summer patterns for beside the pool or on the patio? I could collect this stuff if I had somewhere to store it...

Now, I'm contemplating throwing out all of those yucky crappy plastic cups that we use at DINNER and get some more of this stuff..why not be cute? I'm telling you, it's the little things like this that make me happy..sigh...

Next on the agenda is the "Great Pantry Makeover"...oh yes, plotting it's makeover with matching metal baskets, jars, etc..even got a plan sketched out...lol..poor Brad, how does he live with me sometimes? 

Girl's Night Out...

Friday night, Bailey and I found ourselves alone with no plans while the boys went to a birthday party for one of Chaz's baseball teammates..what to do, what to do?? I wanted to go eat and then go get some ice cream or do some shopping or something..so at the last minute, I went about trying to find a friend of mine with a daughter..we were able to track down Meredith and Perrin..awesome! They are busy all the time, so it was a stroke of luck we were able to make some last minute plans with them...

We had Mexican food at Moe's and then took the girls up to every little girl's favorite store--Claire's...and we goofed off..I had my camera of course..hee hee..Nice cat hat, Mer...

Love these girls.. :)

These women really are the bomb...just sayin'...

SO, back in the Fall I joined Mom to Mom...it's not really a "Bible study", but more a ministry aimed at mentoring MOMS..how great is that..it IS based on biblical priciples, but we get down to the nitty gritty..the great thing is, there are groups all around the country, so if you go to their site, you can find a group in your area...

My leader, Pat, is just awesome..you have small groups that you meet with after the big group meeting...and a mentor that has "been there and done that"...I lucked out with Pat on my first year...she's transparent, funny, honest, shares her own struggles, loves us, calls us, emails us, cares about us..and the girls in my group? the same..it's nice to know you're not "the only one" going through things, ya know? I love these women..we end next month..and that makes me sad..BUT I have these friends and next season I will make more new friends! I am ALL about making new friends too to add to my circle...and I'm "trying out" to be on the team that presents Mom to Mom to the community..can you imagine? Event planning? Ummmm, I am SO in..lol

(I have no idea why I look like I have a belly? That's the one thing I DON"T have? but no way to crop THAT close in..lol...)

Ready to Strike...

The mini Vipers are ready for a new season...Such a cute, sweet group of girls this season..We had opening ceremonies last Friday evening..it's fun..lots of hair and face painting, stickers on faces, banners, signs, balloons, sound makers, yelling, cheering..very festive..Here are some highlights..

This series cracks me up...

There was lots of hair to be done..Shannon (on the right) owns Loopty Loo bows and made our team bows for us..cause big tough softball players need big bows in their hair! They turned out so cute!

Learning new cheers from the "Big Vipers"..our coaches have a 12U team too..

Bannertime! (and YES, I overexposed the pictures, darn it, but oh well)

At the end, everyone lets go of their balloons..very cool!

Like I mentioned, our coaches have an older daughter that they coach, so the big girls watch out for the little girls..so cute..love this series of photos..and Bailey digs the whole "big sis" thing too..

Favorite!

This boy, amongst all the hundreds of girls..lol

Our VIPER! 

and then team pics and our first game was the next day...

I snuck a shot over the photogs shoulder..shhh..

The girls played great! Won their first game..

Fun fun day...

Nurse Crawford...

Nope, not me...my "mini Me"..today was Community Helper Day in Kindergarten, so really, what else could she have been, right? I realized she needed a costume last night..doh! So, went through her closet..found her bathing suit cover up, layered it up with a long sleeved shirt underneath and a white cardigan and white tights (no white shoes though sadly, but we wear Crocs at work!)..found her pretend medical kit, altered one of my old ID's..and voila! I was going to google how to make a cap, but I was too tired..

She looked quite cute I must say..and I know she will be checking lots of hearts today cause that's all she kept saying..lol

Hope she has a good "shift" at school and her patients are nice :)

Yep, it sure does...

(image from Pinterest..not sure of source?)

I'll be the first to admit that I battle with being productive on days when I am home all day by myself..I get distracted by the computer first off..and then I lack motivation..it really is a battle for me...not sure why..sort of always been that way..I also procrastinate..it's like I like to stress myself out or something..say we have a trip we're going on..well, I'm not going to start packing a thing until the night before..I have to have a deadline hanging over my head to motivate me..and I'm sort of tired of it..

THIS is how I tend to cope with feeling overwhelmed..

and THAT has got to change..or at least decrease..

SO, this morning, I went for a run/walk for 50 minutes, came straight home and vacuumed and cleaned the inside of the van (and don't ask me the last time that was done, although I DO have to admit that my kids are relatively clean people I realized while cleaning given how long it has been since I cleaned it), there is laundry going, sheets to be washed, and a few plants to be planted...I made a list this morning..maybe that helped? Not sure, but I have got to start being more productive during my time at home..it's not like we live in a pig's stye or anything..our house is pretty neat and clean, but just don't open closet doors and look under cabinets..THOSE are the things I put off and that need to be tackled..MY closet is my dirty little secret..it is HORRIBLE right now..I can hardly get my door open, seriously..and my armoire of clothes..things are just stuffed in there..which both of those things lead to my stress level going through the roof when I'm trying to get ready to go somewhere..I can't find anything..and it feels so good to have things neat and organized..it's just getting myself motivated to jump in and DO IT...

Just a note to self :)

A good day thrifting...

Yesterday,on a whim, I hit one of my favorite thrift stores in the area (Upscale Resale in Summergrove) on the way to run a few errands..and found some really cute stuff...I like this store because it is small and not overwhelming, I don't get caught in a "time warp" as my Mother and I say, and I always find really good clothes/shoes/purses especially..not really house stuff, but got stuff for me to wear...and the money goes towards a great cause, Southwest Christian Hospice.

I sort of felt like her today...hee hee

Let me show you..

Probably my favorite two things I found were these purses, both in perfect condition..the first one is Tommy Hilfiger and the turquoise one is Nine West..both perfect for summer!

and then I found these strappy little numbers...Ann Taylor Loft, practically brand new..sort of a snake print..

Two shirts, the first one a nice, crisp, not a stain in site, white Coldwater Creek one (with a tad of stretch in it, so it's very comfortable..picturing it with my turquoise necklace for Spring/Summer) and the other more of a shell with some shimmer..I like me some shimmer..

OH, I was thrilled when I found this real leather across-the-body purse thing..I've been needing something very badly to be able to put an extra camera lens in and a few other things to keep from toting my big ol camera bag for sporting events and other events I sometimes photograph and find myself wanting to switch a lens here and there...Voila..for like $4..I'm too cheap to buy a Shoot Sac and really wanted something even smaller...I used it tonight at the softball opening ceremonies..worked like a charm..AND I could actually fit my 300mm lens AND my external flash!! and with room to spare for a few little things like lipstick..I'm just so happy about this!

Also found this nice burnt orange t shirt (it's darker in real life..I have issues with camera exposure) that will look great with some beads I have (burnt orange is one of my "colors" by the way..it's the auburn hair)..not terrible exciting, but very practical..

and a stainless practically brand new Polo for Chaz (for $1.50)  SCORE!...

Am I weird for getting excited over this? It's sort of like a treasure hunt..and let me tell you..there were two pairs of shoes there that would have also been in my bag if they hadn't been a size 10 and 8..darn it! One pair was a pink slip on style with a wedge heel and a flower on the top..uggh, they were so cute! and the other I would have worn all the time..brown slip on sandel type with three turquoise beads on the top..oh well...

Forgot to mention..I spent $30 for all of this..my original total was $35, but they have a punch card system where you get a punch for every $5 you spend (and it takes 5 punches to fill it up)..I had a full card so that took off $5..AND I filled up another card for my next trip..haha..they run specials on certain days as most thrift stores do..today happened to be 1/2 off women's shirts, green tags, and something else..score!

One of my most favorite things about March is...

Daffodils! They always remind me of Bailey because she was born on March 5th, right when the daffodils start popping up, reminding us that Spring is on it's way :)

And I love them in my frog vase...on my kitchen table..

Happy Spring! and Happy Weekend...