Weddings.

We're talking about weddings today over

HERE!

So come on by to visit, and while you're at it, show my girl Casey some love!

Also, my friend, could ya vote?

You.Are.A.Maz.Ing.

Notions

What a beautiful day it is!

The birds are chirping, the weather's not too hot,

Carter had a wonderful time at the Angel's game last night,

And these babies are waiting to be ironed and sewn.

Woohooo!

Ahh, how easy it is to make me smile.

The patterns!

Gorge.

After some light ironing....

They'll be set!

I love when nap time has some structure to it.

And could you do a few things for a lady?

Could you like me please?

And that'd be cool if you followed me on the twit.

And one final, teensy-weensy thing....

Could you vote for moi?

You.Are.The.Best.

Ties and photoshoots

I may or may not be guilty of violating child work safety laws.....

.....And on Labor Day weekend of all times......

 .....But really, who could resist a mommy-made-me-all-these-cool-ties photo shoot when you have these kinds of looks going for you?

......I mean, my hands were tied!

I was just forced to turn our couch area into an Abercrombie and Fitch-esque, glorious beyond all glorious, adorable photo set.

And the Halloween element! 

I die.

And then my model had a little divo moment, so like every other seasoned photographer, I knew the clock was ticking.

{But check out the legitimacy of that beautifully constructed tie! It's even toddler proof!}

So out of pure professionalism I coaxed him into one more little shot, and it was a wrap.

Ahhh, to be an in-demand model.

Such a hard life.

But guess what?

In-demand models have nap times just like all those other small people he had to step on to get to where he's at today, and during those nap times, mommy produces cool things like......

That.

Oh, to be a mommy of an in-demand model.

Such a hard life.

{I'm stocking my shop as we speak, folks! Hi, I'm excited.}

I'll be linking up:

and here, here, here, here, and here.

And could you be an awesome beyond awesome and vote for me?

You are amazing!

Scenes + Lessons from the weekend so far

{1}

Don't give in to your husband's "money saving" techniques by allowing him to purchase four twelve packs in addition to the full twelve pack already sitting in your fridge, because the end result will a little something like that. Sheesh kapeesh.

{And Coke rules over Pepsi any day, so I'm a little bitter}

{2}

Chasing after a toddler at a family function is exhausting when there is a pool involved, but catching up with family members is quite amazing. 

{3}

Lying on your couch reading your Marie Claire with your husband playing FIFA right next to you is wonderful. Sound boring? It's not. It's what married people call "relaxing."

 {4}

Baking cookies with 1/4 cup of flour missing produces chocolate chip pancakes.

 ......But they were still delish.

{5}

Sewing is amazing. All you non-sewers out there, here's what you HAVE to do:

*Swing by your parents house when they're not home,

*Search high and low for your mom's sewing machine,

*Slyly sneak that thing into your vehicle,

*Drive away with a smug look on your face, without one clue as to what you're doing.

I promise you, you will be a happy woman.

{6}

Mass producing Jalapeno Poppers is amazing. If my sister hadn't of introduced me to this recipe, Chad and I would be the designated veggie platter party guest, or heaven forbid, the BREAD BRINGERS {oh, the horror!}. Now that the Poppers have made their way into our home, it's what we bring to every.single.social.function. And guess what? People love them. So do yourself a favor and make them sometime.

Here's the recipe:

{Yes, pigs must be flying, because I'm about to share a recipe}

*Cut jalapeno in half, and gut the seeds {unless you're a thrill seeker}

*Stuff each half with cream cheese

*Wrap in bacon

*Place on cookie sheet {we usually place them on cookie racks on the sheet, but since we had so many this time around, we just didn't have the rack power - oh, the greasy goodness!}

*Bake at 400 degrees for 50 minutes - 1 hour

*If you're bringing them to a social function, ask the hostess if you could pop them in the oven just before serving, or else don't plan on placing them in your own oven until exactly one hour before departure time.

And there's a recipe, ladies and gentleman!

Honestly, this weekend has been better than most. First of all, Chad had yesterday off, which is an oddity within itself, and he has today off AND tomorrow with us! I know it's Labor Day weekend, but three days in a row is golden. Also, Carter has been more clingy than usual, which I know isn't exactly a good thing, but it makes me sort of sad that I won't be able to give him as much clingy-time when the new Babe makes his/her appearance. But a good sad, you know what I mean? 

Anyway, enough chatter, I'm going to go watch Mad Men on our Netflix stream with the man. 

Happy, happy, happy, happy.

Instafriday - No Car Seat Edition

Today I'm helping my sister out with a little babysitting action for her almost 3-year-old.

It's really nice to get the kiddos together for a few reasons, 

the first being that they get along beautifully and make each other laugh,

and the second being that it gives me some time to do whatever the heck I feel like doing because they are distracting each other.

Woohooo!

ANYWAY!

This morning I was tired as a slug.

I don't know what it was. Yesterday I felt dead with exhaustion, so I figured today I would be perky as all perk, but low and behold, I was not.

So somewhere around 9:30 I thought to myself,

Woohooo! It's almost coffee time!

Such is when I heave Carter into the car and we take a little trip down to McDonald's for my 

McCafe.

It's a glorious event, executed daily.

And then I realized something terrible.

No! No! No! No!

I had forgotten to ask my sister for her car seat!

No car seat for my niece = dare I even say it? No drive to McDonald's.

{hee-haw, hee-haw, hee-haw}

{deep breaths}

Dang!
How could I have been so thoughtless?!

What to do, what to do?!

My heart was racing, my eyes were darting all crazy-like just from thinking about what A FULL DAY would be like without my glorious coffee.

Would this mean that I would have to actually brew my own pot?

Barbaric!

And then a thought occurred to me.

What if I just walked down there and got the kiddos a Big Breakfast so I can enjoy my McCafe and everybody will be happy?

Was that nuts?

I didn't care! To hell with the critics!

Kids! Where are your shoes?! We are going BYE-BYE!

And that's what we did.

I strapped Carter to his stroller and held Tessa's hand the whole way down there.

.....After, of course, a quick tackle resulting in tears and screams.

But after that, we were on track!

Ahh, peace.

It actually turned out to be quite an enjoyable walk......

.....Until I figured out that all my picture taking had forced us to miss breakfast.

{I was irrationally angry about this during the entire meal. I mean, who wants to eat regular McDonald's food at 10:30 am? I walked in at exactly 10:30, McDonald's staff! Couldn't they have cut me a break!}

But it was all good because the kiddos had a great time playing on that contraption which kind of gives me the creeps.

Anyway, last but certainly not least........

I got to enjoy my MEDIUM McCafe.

{I have been ordering smalls in consideration of Babe #2, but today I felt that I deserved to bump it up.}

So it all worked out, after all.

Now those youngins are asleep, and I'm still enjoying my frothy goodness.

HAPPY, HAPPY, HAPPY.

I'll be linking up here!

Also, could you be a doll and vote for me?

Thanks!

Top Baby

Would you be a doll and vote for me?

It will only take you a second, my friend.

And I would love you forever.

And ever.

And ever.

And it would make that mommy+baby pair a very happy team.

Thanks, you hot {mama}{lady friend}{male amigo}.

You. Are. Awesome.

Woohooo!

Awkward and Awesome

Let's. Get. Rollin'.

AWKWARD

* Saying to my mom, "Yes mother, I actually do miss wearing make-up, I'm just, you know going through a non-make-up wearing phase....." Maybe I need to start a What Make-Up I Wore link party or something to hold myself accountable for actually caring about my face enough to throw some mascara on. Let's just say that staying at home with the tot doesn't exactly help the situation.

* The hair on the top of my hair that is actually not growing lush and long with my prenatals, but rather falling out in creepy doses throughout the day. It's safe to say that if any morsel of food falls to the floor at any location in the apartment, there will be a strand of blonde hair attached to it. Yuck.

* Wearing my precious dress from Paris which buttons in the front and having it burst open as soon as I hopped in the car to go to church. Not. Comforting.

* Hearing from my husband that not only have all the bolts in his brand new bike shaken loose, but HIS PEDDLE BROKE OFF! What?! Stupid bike! We just bought that thing on Sunday! Ridiculous.

* Having to reschedule my dentist appointment AGAIN because I completely forgot about it. These people at the dentist office must think I'm one of those people who just don't care about my personal hygiene. I've rescheduled that darn cleaning numerous times, and it doesn't help that Chad has some sick obsession with the dentist, so they're all pals with him over there. I probably seem like his creepy, unhygienic wife. Oh, well. I don't like the dentist.

* Going through old pictures from my freshman year of college. Yikes. A little too much time on our hands.

AWESOME

* The fact that I'm getting a brand new Kindle in the mail at some point today! My other one has one of those ads permanently stuck in the top right corner, so I called the help line ready to complain, and the nice lady with a Southern accent said, "You know, honey, I'm going to send you another one." I stupidly said in response, "Are you sure?! I mean, thank you!" Awesomeness.

* The hubby having a three day weekend coming up. Oh. Happy. Day.

* Carter being excited about brushing his teeth. Smiles, smiles, smiles. {Except when he wants to run around with his tooth brush in his mouth.}

* Carter counting to three without me prompting him. Ahh, the joys.

* Feeling Babe #2 kick around in there every night post 9:30. It's like our special little routine, just the two of us, and Chad, when he can feel Nebechenezer. {That's our name for Babe #2 around these parts until delivery day, since we have no idea if he or she is a lady or a gent. Isn't that a more flattering name than Babe #2?? We think so.}

* Carter surprising us with kisses. 

* Hearing from the husband that although he has had a strenuous week, it's been awesome for work. Hi, I'm proud. 

* Making this little beaut last night:

Yep, sewing is now a friend of mine.

Woohooo!