School

Enough said.

I've been up since 4:30am getting Eli ready for work, sipping coffee and filling out my agenda with five thousand due dates between now and December 6th. 

I have been stressing to the max lately about how I will juggle school, a household and a family.  Several negative thoughts have crossed my mind, even one including the thought of backing out and dropping my classes. I am so worried that I will not have enough time in the day to completely dedicate myself to school AND make sure I am spending tons of sweet time with my boys. 

I was scrolling through Pinterest and I saw this quote that completely caught my attention and it was then that I realized everything will work out.

I have been focusing so much on getting organized for school that I lost sight of what is really important. With the help of Eli and my mom, I know that I will be able to get my school stuff done but I will always make time to spend with my boys! 

I am mostly nervous about the workload being that I am enrolled in 15 hours (and I haven't been in school for over two years now), but I have my eye on the prize and once I earn my degree and start my career, I will be able to help support our family and finally live my dream....whatever that is. (I have changed majors like six or seven times now, ha!)

What are your fears? Did any of you go through this with your family? Please leave any tips, God knows I could use them. ;)

Our weekend

We LIVE for weekends. We will love weekend even more when Eli gets to be home on Saturdays AND Sundays. 

This past weekend, Liam got his chubby little hands on some Oreos and enjoyed them a little too much. ;) 

Dad came over Sunday and hung out with Eli and Liam while Eli cleaned the pool. I sure do love the bond my dad shares with those two! 

Sunday evening we had a huge rainstorm and we absolutely loved it. I won't lie though...I was totally bummed when I woke up Monday morning to clear skies. Who doesn't love a good rainstorm early in the morning!?

We ended out weekend by playing indoor volleyball with my sister and sipping mommy's sweet tea. Did I mention I love weekends?

What did you guys do this weekend?

Laughing with Liam

Every single day, Liam does something new.  Yesterday, he pointed to his nose and proudly said "noooooo" (nose).  Eli and I FREAKED. But what was even more adorable was the huge smile he had on his face after and the giggles to follow.  This guy laughs at everything. Anytime we say anything, he laughs. Anytime Ellie runs around in circles, he laughs. Anytime I change his diaper, take him a bath, tell him no-no (oops), or tell him its snack time....he laughs. This little boy has brought so much joy to our lives, I don't even know what we ever did without him.

Along with these smiles and laughs, we are also getting attitude. I was starting to worry because he will give us mean looks or scream if we tell him he can't do something or something along those lines. Then, one morning, I opened my emails and to my surprise I had my usual daily email from What To Expect for my 16 month old and sure enough the title was something related to temper tantrums and how to handle them. Thank you baby Jesus.

I have to admit, even though we are really working on trying to get him to stop making those "mean" faces, they are so funny and cute I kind of secretly like them.  Eli and I always try our hardest not to laugh, but sometimes we just can't help it. ;)

And I just love this sweet picture of our sweaty and exhausted prince.  Him was soooo tired from a fun day outside when we were visiting Momma Jo in North Texas. 

So, tell me, did/do your toddlers have tudes like Liam? Any tips or tricks on how to help prevent them or to stop us from laughing? ;)

16 months!

Being a stay at home mom is so much fun. And tiring. 

Liam is so full of energy and nothing makes me more happy than to see a smile on his face.  I swear, each month I say "this is the most fun stage EVER!!!!" but it just keeps getting better! His facial expressions are forever changing and he keeps learning new words and surprising us each day. 16 months really is the best stage. ;)

age: 16 months

clothes: shorts are still 9-12 months but we suffer with pants because he is SO LONG. nothing fits how it is suppose to. :( Shirts, he wears a 2T. what? where is my baby?

favorite foods: pasta, pita chips, green beans, "chiten" (chicken), yogurt

favorite toys: any book or ball, his play phone, drums and his piano

favorite words/phrases: chiten (chicken), bye-bye, no no mama, pup dog

At-home shellac kit

Ok, we all know I am a sucker for nail polish, but even more for a shellac manicure.  I was walking through Kroger a few days ago and I found this SensatioNAIL gel polish started kit on sale for only $44! I picked one up and rushed home to see if it would work.  I have tried so. many. different polishes and finishes to get that shellac look and feel and I had zero success. This kit worked its magic and my nails look like they were done in a salon! 

The kit includes 10 full manicures and you can buy additional colors for only $8. It took about 10 minutes to do both hands with zero dry time. Winning! Painting your nails with a toddler is hard stuff and when they are napping, you only have one million other things to do! I could not be happier with how my nails turned out. 

Finding time (and a sitter) to go to the nail salon and spending $35 just for my nails is hard for me to be okay with. I spent $44 for 10 manicures and I'm pretty sure you can use this kit to give yourself a pedicure, too.  

Do you guys have any affordable beauty tips to make your life easier? Please share! 

Staying organized

Two years ago, I took my last semester of college when I found out I was pregnant with Liam. Everything was put on hold and I took some time off to be with our baby.  Now that he is almost a year and a half (what?!), I am going back more determined than ever. I will be 22 in a few short weeks and most of my friends from high school have already graduated and have started their careers.  

I couldn't be more excited about having the opportunity to finish my education.  But here is my confession....I am so nervous. How am I going to juggle a toddler, a home, my relationship with Eli AND 15 hours of school this semester? I am that girl who has pinned four thousand pins on "how to stay organized" or "top 5 study tips" and while I hope these work, it is ultimately up to me. With being out of school for so long, I don't really know what to expect. I'm hoping to find the perfect schedule that will help me balance all aspects of my life. I think my biggest fear is that while I'll still make time for Eli and Liam, I will be so worried about my school work that I will be stressing and not 100% engaged in spending my time with my boys.

I know it will be hard, but it will be so worth it in the end. Do you guys have any suggestions on how to stay organized while juggling so many other things in life?

Staying at home

I have been a stay at home mom now for a little over a month. When I first decided to quit my job, I was like "oh ya! free time with Liam...play dates...the house will be spotless, I can enjoy my coffee in the mornings, the clothes will be washed, folded AND put away....this will be the life". Yeah.....NO. Our house isn't clean, the clothes have been folded five hundred times to only be thrown on the floor five hundred and one and they are not put away and I have only been able to enjoy maybe five cups of coffee. Being a stay at home mom is tough stuff! 

Liam is 16 months old now and he is in full force.  Don't get me wrong, I love staying at home with him and there are projects that have gotten done, but the dirty truth is deep cleaning your two story home with no baby gate at the top of the stairs is hard shit and Liam will only stay in his pack and play for so long. ;)

Nap time is nice. Half the time I use nap time to clean and get last minute stuff done before Daddy gets home from work. Other times, I use nap time to catch up on my shows or browse through Pinterest. 

Lately, a few blogs that I follow (and love!) have been talking about how the blogging world is all about showing your best and there is nothing wrong with that! Besides, who wants to post pictures of their dirty ass house with 4 hampers full of clean unfolded clothes on the floor and mounds of dust on their TV stand? Ok...I'll stop describing our room now. ;) But in all seriousness, I am guilty of only showing the good in my life on my blog and even on IG when in reality, my house really isn't spotless and my make up isn't done daily. What is important is that we are healthy, happy and in a good place right now and that is what is so fun to share!

Am I the only one who leaves out the picture with the dirty background or refuses to post a house tour because it will never be clean enough?