I'm still here!

Okay, so I've officially gotten really slack on the blogosphere.  The last time I posted was in early October.  I've been going MIA on the blog a lot lately.  I can't do this anymore, especially when I love it so much!  Sooo....

Speaking of MIA, I got off of Facebook over a week ago.  I have to admit that I do not miss the Book of Face.  At all.  I was so tired of letting that website define my mood; I'd log in having a good day, and log out either annoyed, pissed off, hurt, or a little of everything.  Now I do realize that I am in charge of my own feelings and that my being hurt, pissed off, annoyed, etc.; those were my own issues.  But I was over it.  So I deactivated.  And it's been so freeing!  I know I've only been "gone" for a little while, but just this past week without it I have been so much more present in our life.  We've played more games, I've cooked more, we've read more, heck, I've even watched television without scrolling Facebook during commercials and then missing the entire movie/TV show because I got so wrapped up in social media.  I would be lying if I said that I missed it.

On the other hand, the one downside about "unplugging" is the fact that I can't promote my Younique business on my Facebook group page.  Bummer.  But, please know that I am still selling your 3D Fiber lashes and other amazing makeup and skin products via my Younique website:

www.youniqueproducts.com/HayleyMosely

We're now running this amazing Black Friday special through December 1st that would be a perfect Christmas present for you or your loved one!

This awesome set includes:

• 1 Illuminate Facial Cleanser (Clean or Clear — choose one)
• 1 Moodstruck Minerals Pigment Powder (choose one of 32 colors)
• 1 Moodstruck 3D Fiber Lashes
• 1 Eye Brush Set (3-piece) 

I will probably be doing most of my marketing via my blog and Instagram from now on, so please check back for more specials and giveaways.



I'm hoping that with some of these minor changes I've made that I will be blogging more.  I hate to promise that I will, and not show up again in six months.  I'm always asking God, "What do you want me to do with my life?  Where do you want me to go?"  Not that I think I'm a great writer or anything, but I do feel like He has blessed me with the joy of writing, and I feel like as long as I enjoy doing it then that's one of His gifts.

I hope all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and friends!  What a year 2014 has been!  Can't believe it's almost 2015.  I'm ready.  In the meantime, I'm incredibly thankful for all of the blessings this past year. 

xo,
LL

Lazy Sunday's

Today has been one of those days where my attitude in general has been terrible.  I'm going to say what my mom would have already said to me today if I hadn't of said it myself: "you should've gone to church!"  Not that this is an excuse, although I legitimately could not have driven both of my kids to church today as I accidentally left  Harper's car seat in my mom's car.  #momfail

 I've lost my patience with both of my kids numerous times today, and actually said out loud in my frustrations, "Why did I have kids??!"  I'm ashamed of myself.  Yes, I'm only human and no one is perfect except for our Holy Father.  Luckily, Harper's still too young to understand words and meanings; Aaron, on the other hand, looked at me with such disappointment and hurt that it broke my heart.  I felt awful.  As soon as I said those words I wanted to take them back.  I hugged and kissed him and told him I was sorry.  Kids are so awesome in that they forget in a matter of seconds or minutes, where we hold onto grudges for years sometimes. 

So today, in all of my frustrations, I'm going to refer to this verse:

"But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing." ~James 1:4

I'm not going to clean up this messy house, not mop this sticky kitchen floor, and not fold all of this laundry (well, maybe I'll fold a little.....I'm going on 5 days behind- uh-oh!) and I'm going to enjoy my children because before I know it they'll be gone and I'll do anything to have these moments back.


Enjoy your lazy Sunday.

~LL

Happy Birthday, Harper Elizabeth!

Gosh, I cannot believe that you are 1!  Where did the time go??  I was thinking back today on where I was a year ago.  I was huge and so nervous.  I was up at 4 AM; we had to be at the Medical Center in Macon at six that day.  I didn't sleep a wink all night long; I was so excited and nervous.  On the way down to Macon, your dad and I listened to the Hall & Oates Pandora station.  I remember just wanting low-key and calm.  We arrived at the hospital, signed in, went to the recovery room, and from that point on it went pretty fast.  My c-section began at 7:30 and you were out by 7:40.  Actually, I think you were out before 7:40 (I was good and drugged up, honey).  I'll never forget how long it took to actually see you.  I remember Dr. Harper (that's my doctor: no you're not named after him and no, he's not your real dad) saying "Wow!  A lot of hair!  Whoa!  She looks big!  I think she must be 8 pounds!"  They took you away immediately because, bless your sweet heart......you swallowed your poop (shhh, I won't tell anyone).  Plus, you had a lot of fluid they had to suck out since you didn't come through the birth canal.  I was a little worried I won't lie.  It seemed like it took forever to finally see you.  Your dad even left me to go check on you, and when he came back he had a picture of you on our nurse anesthetist phone (long story for another day).  You were hurge.  I thought "did I just birth this huge baby???"  It was all the fluid you retained making your grand entrance.  They finally brought you to me when I was in recovery after surgery.  Ahhh....that moment.  That moment where my heart grew was one of the best moments of my life.  I knew that I'd love you, but I didn't know how much because my whole heart belonged to your brother.  It's so true that just when you think your heart can't handle any more love, it does.  It expands. 

Pure love

Hello, sweet girl.  I've been waiting on you!

The first few months were a little tough, of course.  You had your days and nights mixed up, you had bad reflux, and I'm sure there were plenty of other things that I thought were a huge deal at the time.  It's funny that as I type this I can't remember them.  God has a way of making your forget things like that, I suppose.

Around 2 months, your little personality started coming out:

And then the real cuteness began....

Not real happy about a Christmas tree sweater....

But loving your fancy NYE outfit (thanks, Aunt Meme!)

Doing super cute gymnastic moves in your crib....

Loving any kind of attention your big bubba gives you!

Being REAL excited about going out to dinner with mom & dad!

"Uh, I know I look good.  And I know this foot propped up is cute, too!"

To wrap up this wordy blog, I want to tell you 12 things I love about you since you're officially 12 months. :)  Of course, I love every hair on your head (and trust me, there are many) but I've got to end this post today.  Here goes!

1. I love your beautiful blue eyes and the way they light up when you smile.  You smile with your eyes, and there is nothing better than seeing those baby blues twinkle up at me when you wake up in the morning.
2. I love the way your pretty hair curls in the back after your bath when it's still wet.  Heartmelt. <3 li="">
3. I love the way you sit on your knees when watching your big brother play with his toys.  It breaks my heart in the best way possible every time.
4. I love that you already love friends and LOVE a good party.  You get it from your mama! ;)
5. I love the bond you already share with your dad.  It's always been said that girls are "daddy's girls" (although I think you're more of a mama's girl) and lemme' just say: your daddy is wrapped. 
6. I love all of your cute 10 (yes, 10!) teeth.  I especially love looking at them while you're laughing when your daddy and I hold you upside down.
7. I love that when you want me or you're tired you say "mamamamamama" over and over again.  
8. I love when you lay your head on my chest, or your daddy's chest, or even Sophie May when we say the world "loves" to you.  You already know at such a young age how to show love.  You amaze me.
9. I love that you love the song "All About that Bass" and dance when it comes on.  You really do.  (You are so your mama's child!)
10. I love that when you kiss they're big, open-mouth wet kisses.  They make me happy.
11. I love, love, LOVE the relationship you already have with your big brother.  Watching the two of you together sometimes brings me to tears, and I'm reminded of God's love when I look into both of your eyes.
12. Last but not least, I love you, my Harper Beth. 

"You are the twinkle in my eye, star in my sky, beat of my heart, mate to my soul, skip in my step, smile on my face, bee to my honey, song in my heart, love of my life."  ~Unknown.

Happy, Happy 1st Birthday, Sunshine!!!!

Rainy days=pj's till noon

What a dreary Monday.  I don't mind it so much when I'm in pajamas drinking a cup of coffee, but it's such a pain when you're trying to run errands.  Aaron's glasses have officially bit the bullet- as in the nose-guard is gone.  Bless it.  After I pick him up from school we'll be headed out to get our fourth pair of glasses since he started wearing them in April 2012.  I know that sounds like a lot, but from what I hear that's great for his age.  Bless him.  I'm really hoping starting glasses this young we'll improve his vision so he doesn't have to wear them forever.  I don't care if he's only seven- when he tells me he wants contacts I will make sure it happens.

Tomorrow is his 4 year check-up.  He'll get a few vaccinations, too.  I made the mistake of telling him that he's going to go to the Doc to get his "big four year old shots" last night- bad decision.  I guess the words "big four year old" doesn't sound that great when "shots" are at the end of that sentence.  I promised him ice cream afterwards.  Who cares if we have ice cream for lunch?

 I haven't posted in days, but we were legitimately busy last week!  Between kid stuff, house stuff, and everything in between I didn't have time to sit down and blog at all.  Most of all, we were just enjoying the gorgeous and warm weather. 

I hosted my Nerium launch party this past Friday.  It went great!  I'm so pumped for this product and I really believe in it.  Y'all: it's a miracle worker.  No kidding.  I keep on saying this, but I swear it's botox in a bottle.  Here are some pics of Nerium's incredible transformations:

Just a couple of images of what Nerium can do. Visit my website at: www.lhmosely.nerium.com for more info!

 I decided to attempt a wine and cheese party.  I had never done one before, and wanted to do something different than my usual buffalo dip and meatball apps.  After scouring Pinterest for ideas and proper "cheese etiquette" this is what I came up with:

Not too bad, huh?

 All in all, a successful evening with friends, and I landed a preferred customer!  What, what!

Also, this happened:

A friend of mine (thank, Micki!) posted a pic of Ryan Gosling leggings on my Facebook timeline and I, of course, was obsessed.  (Y'all know I'm a total Ryan G freak.  Ride or die.)  Soooo, I hit up Etsy this weekend where said leggings are sold, and decided to buy the tank instead.  (Leggings were $70/pop!)  HOLLA!!

Now, onto the goods:

• ACM's: Didn't watch all of it because I'm not a huge country fan but these are my thoughts:

a) I'm sorry (actually I'm not) but Florida/Georgia Line is terrible.  They're perfect for Mama's Country Showcase on Griffin's North Expressway.  They could pull in a huge crowd there, no doubt.
b) Luke Bryan's not cute.  And he's cheesy.  And he twerks.  'Nuff said.
c) I thought T Swift and Miranda Lambert looked amazing.

And.....that is all.  I could only handle 2 hours before I turned the channel. 

Enjoy this rainy Monday!

~LL

*Patiently* Waiting

I am exhausted today.  I tried to nap some while Aaron was napping, but I think I might have dozed for maybe 30 minutes.  Sleep is so essential right now, and I just can't get rested.  I'm sure it's part excitement/anxiety/discomfort from carrying this baby girl, etc.  Either way, things are getting down to the wire.  I can't believe I only have 4-5 weeks left.  Eeeekk!!!  I keep on looking at her chunky face from her 3D picture and falling more and more in love with her.  I wonder if she'll come out with tons of long, black hair like her big brother; heck, she might come out blonde, red, or even bald (although the ultrasound tech showed me her hair).  Bless it.  Her room is coming together, and I've decided I will only post a pic once everything is officially ready.  Adam painted my old dresser a pretty, matte pink and we are getting new hardware to replace the old, rusty knobs already on there.  I bid on a Pottery Barn Kids chandelier on Ebay and won (yes!) so we still need to get that installed.  We still have some wall pieces that have yet to be hung, I want a pretty rug for her floor, I want a skinny book shelf stand next to her closet, and we still need to get her car seat/base installed in the car.  I absolutely love her room.  It's so girly and pink, and as soon as you walk in it immediately feels like her.  We've been so lucky that basically everything we needed for her, we got at showers through gifts or gift cards.  The only thing left that we need is a swing.  I don't know why I never thought about a swing until now!  Adam and I are such last-minute people (which is totally not a good thing) so I'm sure we'll be collecting these items, and finishing all these "to-dos" up until it's go time.  I ordered some pretty pj's and a bathrobe to wear in the hospital so I'm more comfortable, and I can promise y'all that I will have my makeup bag, dry shampoo, and my curling iron on hand and ready.  Call me prissy, crazy, whatever, but I want to look halfway decent in those hospital pictures!  Priorities, people. ;)

Aaron (finally) starts back school next week.  Last night was his orientation, and today he met his two sweet teachers at Open House.  I hope he has a great year.  I can't believe my monkey is growing up so fast!  It's so sad how fast time flies by.  We popped over to his old teacher's classroom to say hello and she couldn't believe how big he is.  Last time he was in her class he was only 1; toddling into her class- just a baby.  Tear.  It makes me cry.  I would post a pic, but that would send me into a full-on melt-down. He's such a little man now, and I'm so proud of him.  My sweet, big boy. 

Enjoy your weekend, friends!  I'll try to update at some point.  Tomorrow starts UGA football, and my hubby is acting like it's Christmas Eve tonight.  Ha!  Can't believe it's already that time!

~LL

Updates

Aaron and I have already started this day out by being incredibly lazy, and still in our pj's at 10:30 AM.  Oh well.  Yesterday was crazy.  I was up by 6:30 that morning and we were out of the door by 7:30 to get to Aaron's eye doc appointment at 8:30.  Never again.  And when I say never again, I mean never again will I make an appointment that early in the AM an hour away thinking it's going to cut our wait time in half at the Doc.  Not true!  We arrived a little before 8:30 and did not walk out of that place until 10:30.  I'm sorry, I know that's pretty standard at the eye doctor, but I think it's a little crazy.  An hour and a half out of those 2 hours we were waiting.  I thought by scheduling the first appointment of the day we would be able to get out of there sooner, but that's not the case.  I really don't think there's any way of getting out of there in less than two hours, no matter what time your appointment is.  Oh well, it's over and Aaron's not due to go back until January.  And next time, Adam's making that trip!

In other news, the royal baby was born yesterday and it's a boy!!  I must say, I was surprised by two things:
1) I was convinced that Kate was having a girl.  Convinced.  However, I am very happy for her and William and cannot wait to see this little royal prince.  I'm sure he's beautiful.  I imagine a head full of beautiful, dark hair- like his mom. 
2) How is it that Kate gave birth to an 8 pound baby and looked like she was maybe 5 months pregnant when she gave birth??  Call it good genes, I guess.  I'm impressed.  I'm A LOT bigger than her in my seventh month of pregnancy than she was in her ninth month.  She's gorge.  Also, in every picture we've seen of her during pregnancy, she was always covered up and dressed very conservatively.  I'm sure she was not shopping at Old Navy, and wearing flip-flops and stretchy leggings on the daily.  And, I'm also sure that she will be back to her awesome pre-preg bod by the time People has the royal fam featured on their cover.  Mark my words.

Last weekend we celebrated my mom's birthday.  She turned 52.  I pray I look as good as she does some 20 years down the road!  We enjoyed hanging out with family all weekend, and eating tons of good food and cookie cake (nom nom nom).  I've blogged about my mom and how special she is before, so I'll just link that entry up in case you want to read.  She's awesome and such an inspiration to me and I just adore her.  Hope you had a wonderful birthday, Mama!

There's been another trailer released for The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, and my dorkometer is going crazy.  I.Heart.Peeta.  Here it is if you want to watch:

We can't forget Finnick!!  Especially since we're totally best friends with him in real life! (Sorry this joke will never get old, y'all.)  I think next to the birth of our second kid, this movie coming out is the next best thing about 2013.  There, I said it. 

One last thing: my dear friend Katie sent this pin to me last night, and I think it speaks volumes.  Katie Anne- you know me so well, my dear!

Enjoy your Tuesday!  Gotta go hit up the grocery store- life is so exciting! ;)

~LL

Lots of catching up to do!

Hey!  Do you remember me??  I have a blog titled "Laughing Lolly."  Ever heard  of it?  If you haven't, I'm not shocked because there's been zero bloggage in what, three weeks??  Sorry, y'all.  We moved into our new house two weeks ago, and we just got Internet yesterday.  I wish I was kidding.  Let's just say that next time we make a move (which we're not planning to do for a long time) we might rethink the AT&T relationship.  Not impressed. 

Anyway, we are all moved in to our new house and loving it!  We've never had this much room since we moved into our first home in December 2006.  More room=lots of empty spaces which we'll have to build upon as the time goes by.  The new house things I'm super stoked about are: a separate laundry room, separate master bathroom, carpet (yes, I know I'm crazy), and the fact that I have a foyer.  I haven't been able to access Pinterest that much over the past couple of weeks, but since things are finally settling down and since we finally have internet I plan to get my pinspiration on.  I'll post pics of the house soon, I promise.  My hubs is super pumped about the fact that we have a partly finished basement that's the size of the house.  His own personal "man home."  Oh, the things we have planned......can't wait to put these plans into action!

The most important "to do" right now is getting Harper's nursery ready.  I am so lame that I haven't even picked out nursery bedding yet.  That's cray.  I'll be entering 3rd trimester this Friday (28 weeks- whoop!).  By this point in my pregnancy with Aaron the bedding was already chosen, and Adam was painting the nursery.  The only excuse I have is the fact that we just moved, and haven't had much time for nursery planning.  I do have my eye on some precious bedding from Pottery Barn that I will most likely purchase this week.  Once I do, I'll give y'all a sneak peek.  I feel like once the bedding gets here, the creativity will take over.....hopefully.  Her walls are already painted beige, and I'm fine with sticking to that color.  My main color is pink (duh), and I feel like I can pull in all kinds of fun colors with that as the base. 

Speaking of baby girl, we went for her Fetal Echo two weeks ago Friday, and her heart is healthy and normal!!!  Ahhhh.....relief.  Like I've said before, I've felt pretty confident from our past two ultrasounds that her heart was normal, but it was music to my ears to hear from a pediatric cardiologist that her sweet heart showed no abnormalities and is normal.  We are so blessed.
This Friday is my Gestational Diabetes test (the glucose screening) where I have to drink the yucky, orange stuff.  Not looking forward to it.  However, I am looking forward to the 3D/4D ultrasound of Harper Beth next month!  I just want to see if she has hair.  Aaron had tons of it.  I've been plagued with heartburn again this pregnancy so I'm taking that as a good sign.  My Aaron Mo came out with tons of black hair, that had basically grown into a rattail it was so long.  I could not believe I grew all that hair in my belly.....hahah!  Guess we'll see!

Since it's been forever since I last blogged, and a lot of things have happened since I'm just going to let my photos document the past few weeks:

My girlfriends and I went to see NKOTB/98 Degrees/Boyz 2 Men a few weeks ago.  Y'all, we had a blast!  We started out in the nosebleed seats at Phillip's Arena, but ended up on the second row right before NKOTB took the stage (thanks, Lori!).  I know we're totally tweens, but I'm just going to put it out there and say: NKOTB put on a great show.  We even lingered behind after the show was over trying to get a glimpse of Joey and Company.  My sweet friend Brooke and I even tried to pimp out our pregnant bellies to get backstage access and all we got was a set list from a nice guy that was working production.  Oh well, it's the little things!  Here's a video of the guy's singing "Tender Love;" an old-school love song that I've been obsessed with forever!

The next day after the concert, we closed on our house!  Here's a pic of the front of our new casa:

Wish I could say the white BMW was mine also, but sadly I cannot.  Dreamers can dream!

Best news of the week!!! 

We were only in our new home for a week before we headed to Destin for our family vacation.  With the exception of the last three, rain-drenched days of vacay, we had a wonderful, relaxing time. 

The night we arrived.  Heaven. 

Crab Cakes at The Crab Trap.  My mouth is watering. 

We took our annual boating trip around the Gulf to Crab Island and Dewey Destin earlier in the week due to the terrible rainy weather at the end of the week:

The Captain & his Skipper ;)

We're on a boat, y'all!

My boys enjoying Crab Island.  The water was a little green this year, but nevertheless beautiful!

Mi familia

Our last night dinner at Whales Tail.  See you next year!

Sadly, I didn't get as many pics as I would have liked to, but like I said before, it rained.  A lot.  Boo.  Oh well, there's always next year!!

Enjoy your Tuesday, friends!

~LL

What's Going On

It's Tuesday!  The past few days have completely bypassed me.  Things have been busy in the Mosely hacienda!  First things first.....catching up:

• Ashley's baby shower for Baby Brooks was this past Saturday at Basil's, a great restaurant in Atlanta.  The restaurant was adorable, the food was delish, and the company was even better.  Brooks is sure to be a handsome little guy- he got tons of super-cute outfits.  It was such a nice shower, and I was so happy to be there! 
• Last night me and my fellow Gemini friend, Lauren, celebrated our June birthdays (I'm the 10th, she's the 17th) with 8 of our closest girlfriends at Carrabas.   Again, the food was amazing and the company was wonderful.  We both got surprised (thanks, Jess!) with a huge piece of their "Chocolate Dream" dessert and I cannot stop thinking about it today.  So delicious!  I swear, I've had the biggest sweet tooth this pregnancy.  Anyway, truly a great night with great friends.  I'm truly blessed.  Here's a pic:

 

• True Blood came back on Sunday.  Whoop!! I am so excited for this season!!  I'm most excited about the fact that we're already getting the sad/"I'm in love with you, Sookie" looks from Eric.  I.Heart.Him.  I think if I were her, I'd be all about re-living Season 4 (y'all know what I mean) all day long.  Holla!

I have been feeling so much movement from Harper over the past couple of days.  I love it!  She's always been active at certain points during the day, but it seems like I'm feeling her a lot more frequently now.  I think she's already practicing the choreography for Beyonce's "Diva" so we can officially hit it big and start touring together.  Once she's walking I'm totally going all Dance Mom, y'all.  (KIDDING!) ;)  For real though, she's really making her appearance known.  She's gave Adam 2 hard kicks last night (what's up, daddy-o?!) and he just started laughing.  I love her.  So much.  I can already tell we're going to have our hands full.  I went to the Doc today and everything went great; her heartbeat was good and strong, and my weight gain total is 17 pounds.  I'll be 25 weeks Thursday.  I honestly don't know how I haven't gained more than 17 pounds (thank you, Jesus) because I've been eating like an effin' cow.  I call it a miracle.

It's looking like we'll be moving this weekend (fingers crossed!).  We're getting our ducks in a row, and hopefully we'll be closing this Friday.  Yay!!  As soon as I know something more concrete, I'll be posting.  In the meantime, you might not be hearing much out of me over the next few days.  Still have a good bit of packing left to do and ends to tie up.  I'll try to post again this week, but if not don't be surprised.  I promise to get back at it as soon as I can devote more than 15 minutes to it.  

Enjoy your week!

~LL

Father's Day

Happy Father's Day, friends!  Whether you have a special dad, hubby, granddad, brother, etc. it's a special day.

I'm blessed to have many great dad's in my life.  My husband, for one, is not only an amazing husband but the best daddy.  And I'm not just saying that.  There are few men that completely take over daddy duty (aka: bath time, potty time, playground time, etc.) like my Adam.  He's been the best daddy since I had our son 3 years ago.  He willfully jumped into the diaper duty and 3 AM feeding duty like a champ.  No complaints.  I remember being pregnant with Aaron, and already being so in love with my little man, and asking Adam if he loved Aaron as much as I did.  He said, "I love him, but I don't think I'll really understand what it is to become a dad until he gets here."  I was disappointed in his answer, because I was immediately connected; immediately a mommy as soon as that pregnancy test was positive.  That cloudy, St. Patty's day that Aaron Mo came into our world (and totally rocked it, btw) I looked over at Adam and he just stood there bawling, holding Aaron, and crying tears of joy.  That's when I knew I hit the jackpot.  Aaron is so much like his dad: so smart- too smart, he walks like him, sometimes talks like him, looks like him (according to everybody else- I think he looks like me).  He's one of our biggest blessings.  Now God has blessed us with a little girl.  Our sweet Harper Elizabeth.  Although she won't be here for a few more months, I can only imagine what an amazing dad Adam will be to our little girl.  I can't wait to see that relationship unfold, and watch just how "wrapped" Adam will be around her pretty little finger.  So today and every day, I am thankful for my Adam, my love, my husband, and one of the greatest daddy's on Earth.

Last, but most definitely not least, I have to give a special shout-out to my Daddy.  I've blogged about how special my Dad is before: how when I was only 2 days old (my dad at the time was 24) we have a picture of me already smiling up at him- already my hero within hours, how he ingrained his love of "Led Zep" and Stevie Ray's "Leave My Little Girl Alone" in mine and Meg's head forever, how before he walked me down the aisle he looked at me and said "let's rock and roll."  The list of memories goes on.  It's because of him that I knew Adam was the one; I chose a man that was going to be trustworthy, loyal, and above all, loving, because that's what my dad showed both Megan and I every day.  He's the first man I've ever loved, and I am so thankful God chose him to be my dad.  Happy, Happy Father's Day, Daddy Rick!!

My dad w/ me and Meg circa '87-88.  Saturday Night Feva!

And again to all of you, Happy Father's Day!!

~LL

Catching Up

Hope y'all had a great holiday weekend!  I can't believe it's already Tuesday.  Our weekend flew by- time flies when you're having fun and staying busy I guess. 

Friday, Aaron and I met Ashley at the pool for a little fun in the sun, and we had such a great time!  Aaron was on his best behavior (save for a meltdown or two) and I was lucky that Ashley's husband basically babysat Aaron the whole time.  (Thank you, JG!!)  Ashley is having a sweet little boy in late September, and I'm due a week later, so you can imagine all the fun we had discussing our crazy, growing pregnancy bods.  So nice to have prego buddies!  I'm so excited to do this all summer- this big belly is going to stay in a pool.

We left town for the weekend, and didn't get home until late yesterday.  We drove up to Marietta Saturday to spend the night with my sister and her hubby.  They moved into a gorge house last August, and luckily their subdivision pool just happens to be right next door to their house (score!) so we spent the majority of Saturday afternoon by the pool, too.  While my mom, sister, and Aaron got to enjoy the sun I sat under the umbrella with a magazine since I decided to not wear sunscreen the day before and turned into a lobster- I'm smart. (Eye roll).  Sunday we spent the night with my parents, and left late yesterday.  Fun but busy weekend. 

I still haven't packed one thing to move into our new home.  And we'll be moving in the next 3-4 weeks.  Can you say procrastination??  I just cannot get my act together.  I hate moving.  And I don't mean I hate moving to a brand new house that we're in love with; I just mean I hate the process of moving.  It sucks.  I know that most people feel this way, but I just have to whine for a second.  After Aaron wakes up from him nap, we're heading to Lowe's to get some moving supplies.  Here we go again......

I think my belly grew more over the weekend.  I feel hurge; like I might be carrying Renesmee hurge (Twilight reference if you're wondering wth.)  My mom and I went to Subway to pick up sandwiches Sunday, and the girl asked me if this was my first baby, when I responded no she asked if I was "that huge with my first baby."  I said "yep", whipped around, and stomped my fat a$$ out the door.  The nerve.  Yesterday, my family and I went to Pizza Hut for lunch I just realized that I'm that girl that talks about food all the time.  Not good. and every time I went up to the buffet (which was only 3 times, y'all!) everybody watched.  I mean, have they never seen a pregnant belly before?  Were they worried that I was going to eat all of the cinnamon sticks?  Because if they were, then they had a right to be- those things were damn good.  Over it.  I got a little over 4 more months to go, and I'm wearing this bump proudly. 
And btw, I did go back and look at pics of my pregnant belly with Aaron and no, I was not as big with Aaron as I am with Harper.  Go figure. 

Alright, gotta go.  Enjoy your Tuesday, y'all!  Only 3 more days to the weekend- whoop!!

~LL

One more day left!

My eyes are swollen shut this morning.  I stayed up late last night watching the Naomi Watts movie, The Impossible, and I cried through the whole movie.  If you haven't watched this movie, watch it.  It's a true story based off of a family that experienced the 2004 tsunami in Thailand.  I have a weird obsession with tsunamis (don't ask.....don't know where/when this happened) so of course I was on board to watch this movie as soon as the previews came out.  I picked it up at the Redbox yesterday, and after I got my rug-rat in the bed I watched....and cried....and cried.   Trust me- it's worth the tears. 

So, I have news about the house and it isn't good.  Doesn't look like we're getting it.  (Sad face.)  For the past two days we have gone round and round via our Realtors with this offer/that offer.  We did stand firm on our final offer which we submitted Tuesday, but the seller was not on board.  Ugh!  So disappointing and aggravating.  I was talking to Adam about it last night, and we both agreed that if someone showed up on our doorstep offering to buy our house for $10,000 cheaper than when we bought it, provided we pay the closing costs, we'd jump at the chance.  I'm guessing maybe the owners aren't in such a hurry to sell because the house is an estate??  Who knows.  Honestly, I'm disappointed but I'm okay with the current situation.  It's all in God's hands.  Maybe He has something better for us?  The old me would fight for this house tooth and nail, not praying and asking God if this is where He wants me to be.  I'm just trying to listen this time around.  I know the answers (and house) will come with a little trust and patience.

In other news....have y'all bought Mother's Day gifts?  Ideas?  Aaron Mo and I are going shopping tomorrow morning, and I have no ideas of what to get my mom and my two mother-in-laws.  All of these wonderful women are different in so many ways, but I would like to do something other than a gift card.  I would look on Pinterest, but I don't have the time/energy to put together the "ultimate Mother's Day" gift; i.e. something homemade, super-duper cutesy, and absolutely over-the-top fabulous.  Pinterest has made everyone else look pathetic in the gift department if you hand somebody a card with a (gasp!) gift card inside it.  It has to be a handmade card, in the most beautiful calligraphy imaginable, with a balloon attached, an adorable poem, and a puppy.  For reals.  I can't handle it. 

 Final thoughts:

• I have a maj crush on Deacon from Nashville.  Loving the fact that he and Rayna are finally gettin' it on.  Knockin' da boots.  Bumpin' & Grindin'.  (I told y'all......this little girl in my belly has my Pandora station permanently on early 90's R&B.  "You Remind Me of my Jeeeeeep....")
• I put on makeup for the first time all week, and I literally came back to life.  I think I was a tad depressed until I put some eyeliner and bright pink lipstick on.  Note to self: wear makeup.  Even if you're depressed.  You'll feel better.
• I cannot stop jamming out to will.i.am and the Bieb's new single, #thatPOWER.  Love it!  Me, this baby bump, and Aaron seriously had a dance party when he performed this song on Ellen. 
• I cannot stand Sabrina on General Hospital.  I know this is a random thought, but it's been on my mind and had to be said.  I think she's incredibly annoying and it's high-time for Robin to come back from the dead.
• True Blood comes back on in exactly 31 days.  I am SO ready to spend my next 3 months obsessing over ASkars and who he's dating.  Heart him.

Enjoy your beautiful day!

~LL

I might need to get a job....

To pay for all the adorable girly things I keep seeing everywhere!  I knew girls clothes were much more abundant than boys, but dang- it's really not fair.  Walking into Dillards last Thursday the whole section was dominated in pink, ruffles, and frou-frou.  There was one (maybe 2) racks of boys clothes.  And I know it's not just there.  I've got to keep it all in perspective.  If I don't, I'll go bankrupt.  Luckily, Harper has grandmother's that love shopping so we might not get into too much trouble.  It also helps that friends who have girls have been so kind as to offer their hand-me-downs.  If you read this, thank you, thank you, thank you!  I have already learned by having one child that they don't have to be in smocked bubbles/jumpers/and Kelly's Kids latest trends every day; Aaron wears Walmart and he always looks like one of the coolest dudes in the room. ;)  Harper will have some Mud Pie dresses and Matilda Jane jumpers, but I won't hesitate to snatch a dress off of a Sock Shoppe rack if I like it.

Speaking of clothing, I ordered more maternity clothing today.  I got so excited to see an email from Loft this morning saying that everything was 40% off, until I went to their site and saw that even if I used my 40% off promo code, I'd still be paying at least thirty bucks for a shirt.  Um, no thank you.  Old Navy it is!  I think my look this summer will be simple clothing in solid colors.  Nothing flashy or busy.  1- I'll be big as a house and don't need anything else to make me look bigger; and 2- It's going to be hot as h*ll.  I ended up going with 3 tops and pair of denim cut-offs.  Total (with their promo code) was $65.  Not too shabby.  Another prego friend of mine told me that Ross has a maternity section so I'll probably be checking that out, too.  At first I was kicking myself for getting rid of all my maternity clothes awhile back, but I guess it doesn't really matter now.  When I was pregnant with Aaron (and sweet Luke) I was pregnant during the cold months.  This bambino is going to have me sweating as soon as I walk out of the house.  Therefore- as little clothes as possible- ha!  All worth it in the sweet end. :)

I hope y'all had a good weekend!  Between looking at houses and going to baby showers, my weekend flew by.  I'm so excited because I think I might have found our house.  Adam hasn't seen it yet, so we're going back Friday.  It would be perfect for our growing family.  Perfect size and beautiful, huge backyard with a deck.  Harper could probably have her wedding reception back there.  Just praying and crossing my fingers that it'll work out.  If Adam likes it, then we'll probably put an offer in.  I'll keep you posted....

Have a good Tuesday!

~LL

Is it Friday yet?

Aaron's at preschool this morning.  Hallelujah!  As much as I love being home with my favorite person in the world, Mama needs a break.  I don't know about y'all but this week has just dragged by for us.  Sunday afternoon we headed up to Kennesaw to spend time with family.  We had a wonderful time!  I noticed that afternoon Aaron started coughing, but I didn't think anything of it.  Monday the cough continued and he woke up from his nap with a low grade fever.  Monday night he woke up at 2 AM coughing with a fever of 101.8.  Bless it.  I gave him some Tylenol, got him some juice, and put him in the bed with me (poor hubs got assigned the couch).  So of course, I take Aaron to his pediatrician Tuesday morning where I'm informed that it's viral and has to run its course.  Ugh!  So after a long week of coughs, congestion, and fever it looks like we're on the up and up today.  Aaron has been fever-free for the past 18 or so hours (yay) and was able to head back to school today.  I blame the pollen.  I know allergies don't necessarily cause fever, but it seems like when the yellow stuff gets to swirling around your body reacts as if it has the flu.  Needless to say, we haven't spent much time outside since Sunday.  Ready to get back at it this weekend!

I also had a doc appointment Tuesday morning.  I got to hear that glorious heartbeat (156)!  I still have no clue what is growing in this belly.  I'm thinking it's a boy for sure.  Actually, most everybody thinks it's a boy.  We'll see soon!  My next appointment is April 25th and it's the big heart ultrasound appointment.  I'm incredibly nervous.  I feel confident that this baby is healthy, but of course there's the worry that lingers.  Praying every day!  I'm pretty sure I'll find out what I'm having at that appointment.  Eeekk!  I'm so excited!  I think it's crazy how this ultrasound will fall on Luke's due date.  April 25th.  I think that's him smiling down at me.  It blows my mind that I have a child in Heaven that I've never met.  One day I will.  But for now, I know he's my angel.  He's Aaron's angel, Adam's, and he's this unborn child's angel.  How blessed we are.

On a totally different note, are y'all watching Nashville?  I love this show.  Anyway, Connie Britton and Hayden Panettiere are the big stars and they always looks fab.  The shows website has videos on how to get Hayden's look on Nashville and I (of course) love it since I'm obsessed with makeup.  Plus, Hayden is gorge so who doesn't want to know what makeup she wears?!  Anyway, watching these videos makes me want to become a full-fledged Neutrogena girl.  I've never really worn the brand's makeup, but I think once I finish my Makeup Forever foundation/powder combo I'm hitting up Walgreens for some Neutrogena goodies.  This kind've stuff thoroughly excites me, y'all!  I'll keep you posted.....

Which brings me to the question, where's my Birchbox this month??

Before I leave you, here's a little eye candy in the form of ASkars:

I heart him. Via

Happy Thursday!!

~LL

Mamakat

Goodness, I haven't blogged in a week! 

It's not that things have been particularly exciting; since last week was mostly spent inside away from the rain, Aaron and I had a lot of time to watch movies, build "sire trucks" out of Legos, read books, and (of course) hit up an indoor playground or two. We headed to my parents for the weekend and got to spend some much-needed time with family.  Last Thursday was my grandmother's (affectionately known as Mamakat) birthday, so me, Aaron, my mom, my Aunt Trish, my cousin Jill, and Jill's precious baby girl, Mary Leigh, went to The French Market in Locust Grove for lunch.  The food was delicious, but being with my family (minus my sweet sister and other family members) was the best.  We all don't get to see each other as often as we'd like so when we do it's nonstop conversation and laughter.  Here's a pic of Aaron and his cousin, Mary Leigh.  Are they not the sweetest things in the world??

presh

I'm embarrassed to say that I don't know how old my grandmother is.  Sadly, I don't even have a recent picture of her.  How terrible is that?  I should have taken a picture of her yesterday with her great-grandbabies and totally blanked.  Here's a pic of her from 4-5 years ago (I think...)

As you can see good looks & good drinks run in the family ;)

I love her so much.  I don't tell her enough.  I need to be a better granddaughter.  I need to call more, go see her and Pawpaw more.  She's gotten so old now.  She uses a cane to walk, and will ask you the same questions over and over again.  She's smart as a whip.  She's not as quick as she used to be, but every now and then she'll surprise you with her quick-wit.  She cusses like a sailor.  She can be totally inappropriate.  I remember going to see her once while I was in college.  I was 19 and (of course) thought that I was the coolest chick around.  I remember eating lunch (she used to be the best cook) with her and Pawpaw.  I was telling them some elaborate story, and I happened to have on a low-cut shirt that day.  After finishing my story Mamakat replied "You just walking around with your titties hanging out?"  I fell over laughing, and the funny thing was she did, too.  She was like that.  Another one of my favorite things she ever said: I had a Honda Civic with a sun roof, and when the weather was warm and beautiful, I kept that thing open.  One day I happened to drive over to see her and Pawpaw.  After our visit, they walked me out to my car (like they always have) to say goodbye.  Well Mamakat did not understand "why on earth" I had left my sun roof open while I was not in the car.  Instead of fearing rain, a break-in, etc., she said "Hayley, somebody could have come over to your car and poured a "Cocola" through that window."  I think I laughed so hard I had tears that day.

We almost lost her in 2003.  While undergoing an operation, she had a stroke during surgery.  She survived, but we thought she'd never be the same.  The doctor's had prepared us for the worst; she might not be able to speak correctly if at all, she might not know us, etc.  I remember leaving the hospital in tears the day that happened; we had gone to her room to see her, and all she could do was hold my hand.  It was like she knew who I was, but was struggling to say my name.  I cried all the way home from the hospital.  A couple of days later we went back to the hospital.  At the time it was me, my mom, and my dad.  My dad had not yet seen Mamakat; all he knew was what we'd told him about our last visit and what the doctor's had said.  Basically, we were preparing him for the worst.  Lo and behold, we walked back into the room and clear as day she said "all they're giving me to eat is this damn jello."  She was back.  God gave her back to us.  We were overjoyed.

Since then, she's been our Mamakat, but a more toned-down version of herself.  She's not as fiery, but the fire's still there.  She's not as quick, but her wit's still there.  I don't know what goes on in that big brain of hers, but I hope she knows how much I love her.  To take the one line out of Jodie Foster's infamous Golden Globes speech that made sense to me:

“But this is the only important one to take in: I love you, I love you, I love you. And I hope that if I say this three times, it will magically and perfectly enter into your soul, fill you with grace and the joy of knowing that you did good in this life."

You're a great grandmother, Mamakat. :)

~LL