Runway All-Stars

Jarrell is out tonight so I was flipping through the DVR looking for something to watch and guess what I found?! Project Runway All Stars. I didn't even know this show existed but my DVR recorded it because it said Project Runway. At first I was skeptical because reunion  all-star shows aren't really my thing. Despite the host, the show is actually really great. Also, my favorite Project Runway designer, Mondo, is on the show. I fell in love with his designs and him as a person during his season. Tonight he said the funniest thing about another contestant's dress. She had streamers on her dress and he said, "It reminds me of Easter at a Mexican families house. It looks like a pinata. I hope her model is full of candy." I couldn't stop laughing about this.

During the show I was inspired to write a fashion post. I hope to do this at least once a week but definitely every other week. I really miss writing the fashion portion of Being True, so I decided I would incorporate that into my personal blog. We will be touching on two different trends tonight. 

#1- The high/low hem. If you are anything like me, you started seeing these all towards the end of last summer (mostly in the form of shirts). It is so true that fashion cycles around. I remember my first high/low hem piece, it was a dress. Do you ever have those moments when you look back at things that you used to wear and were like, "What was I thinking?! That would be this dress. The cut was amazing BUT it looked like someones Easter M&M's melted all over my dress. It was a pastel-swirled mess. Anyway, as far as I can tell the high/low hem will be around all spring/summer. I have already seen it in stores everywhere. I personally feel like it stands out most when it is a high/low skirt or dress. They have a tribal one at Target right now that I love. 

Here is a cute example from Free People Image

#2- Two Toned Lipstick. This is a really fun, bold take on make-up. I am not really a make-up person, but if I was you would see me doing this. Basically, you put one color of lipstick on top and a different color on the bottom. 

Image

What do you think about these styles? Have you tried them? Will you try them?

Carpe Diem

Days off of work are my absolute favorite. I love unscheduled days. They seem to carry a sense of endless possibilities with them. These are the days that I get to take my babies on adventures, cuddle them more, cook with them, and devote all my energy to them (and Jarrell). Today was one of those perfect days. 

At the risk of sounding like an irresponsible parent, I totally forgot to schedule Emery's 15 month and 18 month checkups. To my defense, the kids' pediatrician is weird about scheduling out appointments too far in advance and they don't send reminders, they expect you to remember to schedule them. Crazy right?! Anyway, today was the day for Emery's 15/18 month checkup combined (at 19 months). She is developing wonderfully and the pediatrician said, "There is nothing bad to say about this girl." He also affirmed our parenting, which is always a blessing. The funniest part of the appointment was seeing how much Emery weighs. She is now only 2 pounds less then Moses! Emery had to get several shots so we stopped at Target on our way home to pick up some pain reliever. 

Emery at Elmo's Bay of Play at SeaWorld on Christmas Day.

I am constantly looking for good deals and it annoys Jarrell because I always have to check the sales racks. (even if I looked at them the previous day) I scored some pretty awesome things though. The biggest deal was a insert for potty training that was Sesame Street themed at 50% off. Since Emery is obsessed with Elmo right now, I was hoping we could use this to springboard into potty training. I think it kind of worked. She hasn't used the potty yet, but she keeps saying, "Elmo pee." She has spent a lot of time on there today and really likes to put toilet paper into the toilet. We never really pushed Moses or used a method for potty training, so I think that is what we will do for Emery too. 

After we came home and conquered meal time and naps (anyone with two babies knows this is a huge accomplishment) we had a lot of fun playing outside. We have two outside play cars. One of them is a little coupe that you sit in and push with your feet and the other is basically a car shaped push wagon. Moses would start at one end of the porch and I would start at the other with Emery in the car wagon. We would run towards each other and crash. The kids laughed hysterically each time. It was wonderful! We came inside and had some snacks and I even treated myself to my favorite ice cream. 

Thanks for sharing in my day and I hope that you had a wonderful start to your week. What are some of your favorite activities on your days off?

Highs and Lows 2.0

I hope that you all had a wonderful week. Mine was busy but full of special moments with my friends and family. Here are the the highlights of my week:

#1- My Husband. I absolutely adore my husband Jarrell, he is wonderful. This week I was extremely thankful for him because he is a very hard worker, an amazing father, and a very Godly man. I definitely think I got the better deal in our marriage. We have our ups and downs just like everyone else, but I wouldn't want to be doing life with anyone else.

#2-The Weather. It has been absolutely gorgeous this week and I took advantage of it by going on a long, peaceful walk. It was a wonderful time of reflection and renewal.

#3- My Job. Many of you have heard about my job before. I have always loved it, but this past week I had a renewed sense of appreciation and purpose. It has become extremely clear as to why God has me here and I feel humbled that he would use me in such a great way.

#4- Moses. I love both of my children so much, but I had some really special moments with Moses this week. He is at such a fun age and is full of life. He really teaches me to look for the small joys of life. After Emery went to sleep one night we were sitting on the couch cuddling and he fell asleep in my arms (he hasn't done this since he was a baby) As I held him, I couldn't help but think about the entirety of his little life. I was in tears because I am so thankful for him and all the joy that he has brought to me.

My low for the week was that I had a riciculously bad migraine on Thursday that put me out of commission almost the entire day, but I bounced back quickly. It was a good reminder to manage my stress better.

Give Me All My Kisses Back

One of my favorites gifts that I have ever received was from the beautiful family that I nannied for in North Carolina. They put a ton of pictures of the kids, them, the house, trips we took, and the pets in the shape of my name. Surrounding my name were small words of things the kids used to say, characteristics that describe me, or words directly related to my experience working for them. I absolutely adore it and it hangs in our bedroom. I look at it often and it reminds me of the rich experience I had with them and brings back vivid memories. I know that I would not be the person I am today without meeting them. Love you Dunnagan Family!

The reason that I share this is because those phrases that the kids used to say mean so much, but I would never have remembered them if they hadn't been written down. Moses says the craziest things so I have been keeping a running list in my phone from the past couple of weeks. When I get enough of them, I will make a post about them. (I can't wait until Emery starts saying funny things too). So here is the list from the past couple of weeks:

My little jokester laughing at himself. 

Moses was in timeout the other day and I went in to talk to him.
Me: Moses are you sorry for what you did?
Moses: Not yet Mom. Maybe in a little bit.
Me: Okay, I guess I will come back in a little bit.

We were playing the game where you catch fish as they spin and open and close their mouths. 
Moses: Say awwww little fish.

Every night we set a timer before Moses goes to bed and when the timer goes off he knows that it is bed time. So the timer goes off...
Jarrell: Guess what time it is?
Moses: What? I don't hear that timer.

In the car the other day I was telling Moses that I was agitated about something. Later he was telling me a story...
Moses: Mom, I get so magitated when Mimi....

Moses is dancing and pumping his fist in the air
Me: Moses your pumping your fist, have you been watching Jersey Shore?
Moses: No Mom! I am too little. Maybe when I get older.

Moses gave me a kiss. Right afterwards he grabbed my lips and said, "Give me all my kisses back."


That concludes our Moses-isms for now. What are some of the funny things your kids say?

Baby, Baby, Baby Oh!

Have you ever had a day when one crazy thing after another happened? That was yesterday for our family. We were suppose to go to Disneyland with some of our friends and had plans to pick one of them up along the way. Well our friend got stuck in traffic and it was taking here a while. We were meeting her at a Target parking lot, so I decided to go in and get a few snacks. When I got back into the car I realized that Moses had peed his pants. (This is literally the only time that he has done this since being potty trained) Of course we didn't have a change of clothes so I went back into Target to buy some underwear and pants. While we were waiting, our friends that we were meeting at Disneyland called us and told us it was crazy busy and that they were turning around. The parking structure was full! Of course we decided that we didn't want to go but try telling that to a really excited (almost) three year old. It didn't go over so hot. In fact, he kept bursting into tears. We told him that Disneyland was closed and I even called a fake number and confirmed that they weren't opening for the day. He was not having it though so we literally had to deal with the tears every couple of minutes. Our friends still ended up meeting us and we ate at a restaurant called The Whole Enchilada. It ended up being a great time and we made it up to Moses with Cars 2 and an ice cream cone. He did however ask to go today and I said it was closed again.

Today was a fun and productive day off. When I woke up I found out that my friend Jill had her baby girl. I was so excited for her. I spent most of the morning doing dishes, laundry, and sorting our recycling. The best part about recycling is the money you make. With that money we took ourselves out to dinner and had fun with the babies. We went to Target to do some shopping for baby Presley and I even found a pair of pajamas (fleece bottoms, a long sleeve shirt, and fleece slipper socks) for Moses on sale for  $1.04. It was a steal of a deal. As we were looking at clothes I couldn't believe how little they were. I swear I don't remember Moses or Emery being that small, it seems like forever ago. On the way Moses serenaded us with one of his favorite songs, "Baby" by Justin Beiber. (Don't judge me...I am not sure where he heard this song, but he loves it). You can check out his skills in the video below.

My "Secrets of Adulthood" List

In my last post  I mentioned that I was inspired to create my "Secrets of Adulthood" list. These are few lessons that I have learned throughout my short life. I will continue to add to this list as I think of things. 


#1 Despite what you have been told in the past, it most certainly is acceptable to eat dessert before dinner. In fact, sometimes you should eat dessert for dinner.

#2 Never apologize for who you are. Embrace your uniqueness

#3 Family is important. Spend as much time with them as possible, you will never regret it. If anything, you will wish you spent more time with them.

#4 Truly great friends are few and far between. When you find hem, don't let them go. Love them deeply and invest time.

#5 No one likes to hear they look tired or sick.

#6 Don't wish your life away. So often we find ourselves looking for the next step or thing in life. Enjoy where you are right now.

#7 Retail therapy is a lie. It provides very little therapy

#8 Gas doesn't magically appear when you run it down to empty. Unfortunately you still have to go to the pump, so you should do that before you run out of gas.

#9 Don't feel bad about saying no.  If you say yes to something you will be saying no to something  else.

#10 We all have issues. At some point and time you have to decide to put your big boy or girl underpants on and move on.

#11 If all your friends and family don't like your boyfriend or girlfriend that should tell you something.

#12 If all you're doing is complaining about a problem then you are doing nothing to change it. A good place to start, is looking at yourself.

#13 Some of the best things in life are unplanned or unexpected. If something doesn't go the way you wanted it to, look for the good.

#14 You can't make everyone happy so make decisions for yourself, not for others.

#15 Try to think of others more than yourself. Most people are worse off than you.

#16 It is important that you spend time by yourself.

#17 Learn to forgive yourself for mistakes. It will make it easier to forgive others.



What are some things that you have learned that are valuable? Or silly?

Highs & Lows 1.0

There is a thing that we practiced when I worked at SpringHill called highs and lows. Basically it is what it sounds like, a high of the week and a low of the week. I really think it is important to reflect regularly so that we can develop  grateful spirits but also to really see the things that matter to us. (Trust me, if you do this consistently you will see themes). So with this being said, one of my resolutions goals for the year is to blog more consistently (at least three times a week ) and one of those days will be a recap of my highs for the week and one low. (I definitely want the positive to outweigh the negative).

All though it is technically 2012, these are my final highs for 2011.

#1-Community. We have been so blessed by the people throughout our lives and currently this remains true, we really have the greatest friends ever. People that have literally woven themselves into every page of our lives. People that our kids look up to. People that know us and care for us. People that have changed us into better people. 

#2-Co-Workers. I truly lead the greatest team of people. I learn so much from them and see Christ in them daily. They are real people, with very real circumstances and choose to love Christ despite them. I am incredibly humbled to be allowed into their lives. Seriously.

#3-Coffee. I know this probably sounds superficial compared to the other things that I have said, but it is so true. Coffee has been a huge part of my life for so long. It is comfort to me. It is everything wonderful in this world (only if it is made correctly).

#4-The Happiness Project. So I am in a book club (and have been for a while) but have never read a book. I promise I have good intentions, but little follow through. This will be the first book I read and I am so happy that I did. It is wonderful. It is inspirational. Basically this lady decides to devote a year of her life to becoming happier and creates an action plan to do so. I really like this quote, "More important, I didn't want to reject my life. I wanted to change my life without changing my life, by finding more happiness in my own kitchen." She isn't looking for something extraordinary but looking to make the most of the ordinary moments. I am not very far into it, but as of right now I recommend it. One of my favorite parts so far is the "Secrets of Adulthood" list she created. She basically outlined some practical things that she has learned up to this point in her life. I will be sharing my own soon, so be looking for it. 

It is really hard for me to come up with a low this week, but I will start off the year with one of my biggest lows most weeks...I am quick to anger. I have a hot temper and I hate when it rears it's ugly head. It is almost like I don't even realize it is happening and I say hurtful things. I act irritated. This has happened this week (more like everyday this week).   

What are some of your highs or lows this week?