Guess Who's Terrible at Blogging?

ME!!

Sorry. This Summer is kicking my booty. It's been so fun - but since I last wrote here, the following things have happened:

-Ellie had her 4th birthday

-Ellie had her 4th birthday party

-We went to Lost Pines in Bastrop, Texas with Grant's family for a glorious and amazing few days

-Ellie went to Gymnastics Camp

-We had guests come in town and stay at our house for 4 days - we had 5 kids total and it was so much fun!

- I went to a Dixie Chicks concert and almost cried. I sang every word and it took me right back to the 9th grade. IT WAS AMAZING.

-COUSIN CAMP!

In other news, I got INVISALIGN! I've had issues with my teeth for years, but after I've developed some pretty painful TMJ I knew it was time to take action. I got Invisalign which is awesome, however Invisalign has also brought with it a pretty awesome speech impediment.

I can't talk.

The letter S is hard.

I say "Yesh" and "Jeshush" and "Shtella & Dot" so that's neat.

I've never felt more secure in myself.

Since getting home from Cousin Camp, I've been slowly digging myself out of the laundry pile that I'm buried alive in and also watching the Olympics. I am incredibly impressed by these people but I also am so, so glad I am not an athlete. Way too much pressure happening there.

Here's a few pics:

Ellie's face in this pic has made my entire year.


Here's me and my Lou at the Dixie Chicks concert where we almost died of heat stroke but at least we would've died happy.

Last pic - this Brio Tassel necklace is new and it's perfect and once you wear it you'll never wanna take it off. She's paired it with our delicate engravable necklace which is low in stock so if you're interested now is the time :) 

Isn't it all so pretty?! 

I'm gonna try to be better at blogging. I really am. Ellie starts school in a few weeks and I am so ready for routine and structure I can't even stand it. 

Happy Thursday to you :) 

Ellie's Heart

I'll have overnight guests here tomorrow night - so while I have a minute, I wanted to sit down for a minute and write about my girl. She'll be 4 years old on Saturday.

Four years old has always been one of my favorite ages, mostly because they say really funny things. They're potty trained, they're a little easier to communicate with, and they are hilarious. Ellie Paige is no exception to this.

It's no secret that my girl is full of personality. I love talking to her and getting her point of view on things. She has so many questions and so much spunk. But she also has a whole lot of heart. I feel like I spend a lot of time talking about all the funny and sassy things Ellie says. Speaking of sassy... she thinks that's the word for sweaty. All Summer she's been telling me that she's starting to feel a little bit sassy. But I want to take a minute to talk about her heart.

Ellie is quick to apologize. She stomped up to her room last night at bedtime, arms crossed, upset with me that I was telling her it was bedtime. I walked in to help her put on her pajamas. I found her sitting in her chair, scowling with her arms crossed. "I'M ANGRY" she said to me. "Go potty" I replied as I pulled some pajamas out of her drawer. She marched into the bathroom all pouty. About 45 seconds later she appeared in the doorway.

"Hey, Mommy? I so sorry I said no to you. I so sorry I wasn't being nice."

Then she runs in for a hug.

Whenever she's starting to get upset, her little mouth turns into a frown and she tells me that "I'm starting to get a little bit of tears!" and then that curly mess of a head falls into my lap and cries. It really is the sweetest.

Words can not express what a good big sister she is. I am floored. She is so quick to bring me a diaper before I even ask. She is sweet with Jack and loves to sit on the floor and play with him and make him laugh. She dances for him, sings for him, holds up stuffed animals and gives him toys. She wipes his mouth. She stands up on the bottom of his crib and talks to him when he wakes up from a nap. She calls him "My Jacketty Quackers" or "My baby" and asks to hold him. She sings "Your Sissy is here! Your Sissy is here! Your Sis is here so IT'S OH-KAY!"

She loves family hugs and asks for them often. She adores her Daddy and when she gets in trouble she says "please don't tell my dad." Little does she know that there's literally nothing she can do that would keep him from loving her.

She's obedient. She's teachable.

She got hurt today, and about 45 minutes after the injury she crawled up into my lap and asked me to "pray to God for my cheek."

So, we prayed.

She dances. She does tricks. And after she does them she says "MOM! WAS THAT AWESOME?!"

I adore, adore, adore, adore that girl of mine. Today I picked her up and asked her "How come you're the sweetest girl there ever was?"

"Because God made me!"

"How come the best girl in the whole world gets to live with me and Daddy?!"

"Because God said I should live with you!!"

I'm so thankful.

I'm so, so thankful.

Big Plans Tomorrow!

Okay - here's the plan:

Tomorrow I'm dropping my kids off and I'm driving to the Big D. Dallas, Texas y'all.

Well, McKinney to be more exact. It's trunk show time with my dear friend Liz and I'm going to drive all the way there all by myself!

With no kids in the car.

And no car seats.



I should be packing right now and getting myself organized, but instead I'm fantasizing about the car ride and all the silence and also all the singing and all the play lists.

Let's state the obvious things right off the bat:

1. I will totally jam out to "It's All Coming Back to Me Now" complete with Celine hand gestures. Full on belting. No shame.

2. There may be a Whitney Houston medley.

3. Broadway - The Hamilton Soundtrack. Duh.

4. Dixie Chicks.

5. There will probably be a good hour with no music or singing at all. Just quietness.

Let's state what there WILL NOT be in my car:

1. The Frozen soundtrack

2. Bible verses sung by children

3. "Everything is Awesome" from the Lego Movie

4. Questions. No one will be asking me any questions.

But here's where I need your help - should I listen to an Audiobook? If so, which one? Can I also be honest and tell you that I've never listened to an Audiobook? Am I missing out?

Any music I should listen to?

Please advise.

This is very important in helping me avoid packing. Thank you.

Sometimes Facebook is a Liar

Hi.

Hello.

Go ahead and sit down. We need to talk. You're not going to like what I have to say, but you need to hear it.

Sometimes Facebook lies to you. And you believe the Facebook.  You believe it. Because you're good hearted and you're an optimist. Believe me, I'm an optimist too. I'm a glass is half-full kind of gal. But I need to tell you about a little trick Facebook is playing on some of us and some of us believe it and I'm here to break it to you: FACEBOOK LIES.

Well, let's rephrase. Facebook itself, the corporation, isn't the one telling these lies. It's Facebook users. It's the Facebook community who lies and we are sweet and gullible little things who click and share. But I'm here to help out my fellow Facebooker. Don't let these lies happen to you!!

There are 2 big lies on Facebook right now:

LIE #1: Random Celebrity Was Seen in Your Town And/ Or Hit Movie Sequel is Going to Be Filmed in a Town Near You

This is what they call click-bait, my friends. You read a headline, you get all excited, you share it with your friends, they click it, they get all excited, they share it with their friends.

NO.

Look at the website. Looks like it was posted by some random local news station, right? Google that news station. IT DOESN'T EXIST.

The cast of Harry Potter was not in your city eating at a restaurant.

They aren't filming The Notebook 3 or the next Father of the Bride movie in your college town.

Star Wars IS NOT FILMING ITS NEXT MOVIE DOWN THE STREET FROM YOU.



There's a Tom Hanks one that's also been circulating lately. Also not true. NOT. TRUE. The best tip I can possibly give you is to look at the source. If it's from Entertainment Weekly or People magazine or something - hooray. If it's from "Local 23 News Channel Station Entertaiment Site Now"or something like then it's probably NOT REAL.

Lie #2: THE COPY AND PASTE RIDICULOUSNESS

Friends. Friends. FRIENDS.

Look into my eyes. Listen very carefully.

You will never ever accomplish any kind of anything by copying and pasting something into your status.

Facebook is not going to start charging you, ever. And they certainly aren't going to not charge you just because you copied and pasted something into your status.

Remember when Michael Scott "declared bankruptcy" on The Office?

That's essentially what is happening when you copy and paste something into your status. IT WILL NEVER ACCOMPLISH ANYTHING, EVER. 

You will not win a prize. 

It will not prevent Facebook from "owning" your images and using them without your consent. 

You will not win money.

It will not earn you a trip to Disney World. 

It is a hoax. It is not real.

It's okay. We're all gonna be okay. 

Thank you.