Just dropping in to say, I hope y'all had a lovely Thanksgiving!!

Ours was so nice! This year there was no issue with scheduling (which can be tough when going to more than one house) but everyone agreed on the setup this year and it was easy peasy. Thank goodness. This bodes well for our many Christmases. Here's hoping, at least!

We had lunch with my family first and then we went to Ronnie's sister's for an early dinner. We were full and beyond tired by the end of the day but it was wonderful. There's just never enough time with either of our families!

mi familia = my parents, my brother and his girlfriend and my sister

ronnie's familia = his mom, stepdad, sister, her boyfriend and his daughter

Oh and how could I forget the best news of the day!? Ronnie's sweet sister is now a fiance!! Her boyfriend proposed to her before we sat down to eat!! He made a toast, said a lot of nice things about her, her family and then the surprise! We were totally shocked but so excited. I'm so happy for her, she deserves a good guy like him and I can't wait to help plan the wedding with her!

So that was our Thanksgiving! On to Christmas!
(the most wonderful/my favorite time of the year!!!)

Rando catch up!

So we finally got our new appliances in last Thursday! It's probably the best present ever to ourselves. Merry Christmas to us! In all the years we've lived together (nearly 8! I said it wrong on IG) we've always had older appliances and it's driven us crazy so having BRAND NEW is huge!

and just some randoms to catch you up on our life. If you're so inclined! ;)

1. A cut and a color, holla! // Practicing her smile for picture day! // Admiring the pumpkins. Pumpkin patch, SOON.
2. Loving her sneaky spinach smoothie // Cupcakes at work. OMG. // The family's wild 2.5 year olds :)
3. Me and my gurl // Lazy Sundays are the BEST // My little tree hugger 

Lots of firsts in October

A big thank you to anyone who read my word vomit of a post earlier this week. I got a much higher number of views this time so I know it got read, whether it was just to measure my level of crazy or because you cared. Either way, I appreciate it. If you still wanna offer up any insight to hopefully help calm my crazy, you're more than welcome to. You could even email me. Or tweet me. Whatevs. But thank you again to those who read it.

In other, non-insane news, I am in love with life in October. The weather is cooler (Texas cooler, that is) and with so many Halloween/Fall events coming up, I'm a happy girl. This month so far, we've had a lot of fun little firsts in Violet's world.

1. First time in a car cart - oh the squeals! // Just a cute new plate, thanks to the HEB // First Scholastic book order!
2. First set of Holiday artwork (melt my heart) // I celebrated a coworker's retirement // First year she's actually scared of Halloween :(
3. First time facing forward - eek! // First time ever with play-doh. Crazy huh? She loves it. // Trader Joe's pumpkin errything

I'll end this post on a fun note because we did something so super exciting last night - we bought a new refrigerator, gas range and microwave! I'm so so flipping excited! Isn't it crazy what we get excited about now?! ha! It has been a long time coming and I'm just about to burst with happiness that we could finally make it happen. It's fitting for this post too because this is our first big purchase for our house! Sure, we got new carpet recently but that was a wedding gift from my parents. THIS, we're doing on our own and I'm way proud of us. I'll be back tomorrow with pictures of our fancy new schtuff!

On a #2.

Ask any of my close friends and family and they'll tell you that YES, Jessica really want a second child; it just depends on the day you ask her. And probably on how much sleep she got the night before.

I've been going back and forth with the idea of a second child probably since Violet turned 1. But it was just me being me and stressing for no reason because I never wanted a second child within 1-2 years. And every time I would talk to Ronnie, he wasn't really on board anyway. He'd say stuff like "Do you really want those sleepless nights again?", "Don't you like all of our focus just on Violet?"... All valid feelings that I too was feeling, I was just getting wrapped up in the superficial reasons for having another baby. Getting to name him or her, shopping for them, how cute she'd be as a big sister, outings with our little family of 4...not really thinking about the reality and $$$ of it all.

Fast forward to the past few days when it hit me that Violet turns 3 in February. No matter how many times I've gone back and forth about wanting another one, I always knew one thing for sure - I wanted my babies to be 3-4 years apart. No more, no less. And considering it would take however long to make a baby (especially because of my PCOS history) + 9 months to bake him/her....we'd have to make our decision to get busy ASAP. So, cue the freak out.

Now that we're HERE at the point of deciding on a possible second baby, my mind's been racing with all the pros and cons of why we should and I just can't figure out my stance. It's all very emotional to me and while some people might call me dramatic or say I'm way overthinking it, I can't say I agree. Having a second baby - adding another HUMAN to this earth! - is a ridiculously huge decision and there's no going back once you go there. (Not that I'd ever want go back on it, but you know what I mean.)

To make matters more confusing to me, recently Ronnie has actually started to warm to the idea of another. Every time he sees Violet play with other kids or especially when he sees her playing alone, it breaks his heart and he says "Let's just do it, let's have another! She NEEDS a sibling.". But I know him and I know he's going through the superficial reasoning that I've often gone through. We see her loving and just cuddly, sweet personality and we know she would be an amazing big sister (and I'm tearing up just typing that)....But would I, would WE, make amazing parents to two children?? Or would she be just fine as an only child??

We're already stressed as it is, our schedules are stretched to the max and we're just now getting to the point where we're dreaming of taking family vacations in the next year, now that Violet is getting older. We also daydream of all the fun things we can do ALONE because now that Violet is at this fun, interactive age that it's easier on the grandparents to take her, they're actually taking her more often lately. So even with the hectiness of it all, we're in our groove and things are running smoothly. A year from now things may even be SMOOTHER, what with Ronnie having finally graduated and hopefully having found a good full time job by then. (He WILL have a great job by then - gotta put that good juju out there!)

That's all just a small part of it because what about MONEY. Everything is just so . freaking. expensive nowadays. Can we afford daycare AND preschool? What about those two new cars we were talking about getting next year? (that we NEED) What about staying put and being content in our 2br house - we'd NEED a bigger house sooner than later. We can say goodbye to any family vacations for a good while. And I can also say goodbye to the possibility of me ever working part-time hours like we'd talked about. It's just so overwhelming when I think about it and I'm afraid that's how our life would be with a new addition - OVERWHELMING. Are we ready for that? Do we want that?

Ok, all of that sounded so very selfish but it's honest, y'all. These are legitimate things we need to think about. And having said that, I want to add that we don't take our one amazing child for granted. I know there are many people who want even just one child but can't and that's completely unfair bullshit. And here I am talking the way I am when I already have my girl. But trust me, at the end of the day, I am the most thankful to just have been able to be a mother at all. I never thought it would happen (that damn PCOS) so our surprise baby will always be considered a miracle and a gift to us and we'd be perfectly content to stay the little threesome we are now. We are just at a crossroads now and I (we) need to be sure we make the right, best decision for our family's future and for her. It's a big one.

I know it's something within ourselves and within our family to figure out but if you have any helpful insight (either way), I'd love to hear it. Especially if you're also an easily stressed out, maybe even A.D.D. person like me. ha. I appreciate anyone who reads or even comments on this insane novel of mine. :)

One week of October down.

It's a new month and my goal is to actually keep up with this blog / diary of Violet's life. So to start us off, I'm going to do a quick recap of the last week so that I won't have to do one round-up with 100 pictures of October, that you totally know I won't post until late November! Again, this is used mostly as a personal journal so if you're actually reading through this mumbo jumbo, THANKS :)

So last time I blogged, I left off at Violet being sick. Thank goodness for antibiotics! She started feeling better just a few days in. The night she started to feel a little better (10/2) we went out for a family date for cupcakes and coffee at our favorite adorable place, Bird Bakery. Violet was so excited and knew exactly where we were as soon as we got to the door, where she yelled, "Cupcakes yay!". Melt my heart. We had some mini "Elvis" cupcakes and I had probably the best Sea Salt Caramel latte ever! This place is a must if you're in SA! The next night, Ronnie grilled dinner for us while I introduced Violet to the greatness that is "Girls Just Want To Have Fun". Please tell me you love that movie, too!

Early Saturday, a bit of a Texas cold front came in making the temps only about 80 for the high. You know that's huge around here! So we spent as much time outside as we could this weekend. My sister came into town for the weekend so Saturday night, Violet and I got together with her and my mom for my belated birthday dinner at a favorite diner of ours and then we went to the mall for some shopping. I had a Sephora gift card burning a hole in my pocket so I finally broke down and bought the Urban Decay Naked 2 palette I'd been wanting FOREVER! (Yeah, I'm way late to the Naked party. ha). Per yooj, my mom spoiled Violet and bought her a couple things from the Disney Store. It was her first time in there and she was awestruck as you can imagine. When we walked in she looked around and said "Wooow!" :)

Sunday was a rare treat because Ronnie only had to work a couple hours! Work was slow and he lost out on hours unfortunately but fortunately for us, it meant a weekend day together! It was the BEST. He got to watch the Texans game which made me so happy because since he started working every weekend, he hasn't had one day of watching football and that's his love! While he watched football I got into the garage and started cleaning and getting stuff together to donate. Of course while I did that, Violet was undoing all of my work and taking her donation toys out to play. ha. Ronnie joined in the cleaning fun after the game and it was just a really good day together at home. I'd forgotten how great it is having him with us on the weekend. But this weekend job is only temporary and we can do most anything temporarily! :)

1. Cupcake family date // Chatting with my grilling hubby 

2. Silly Saturday pictures with my girl // "No pictures!" // Dinner with the fam

3. Sistas // Random shot of my favorites // My Sunday view

Septeeeember. My favorite month.

This month:

Violet started preschool. 

She was VERY upset about being dropped off and it broke my heart (and I completely sobbed when I got to the car. Amateur.) But luckily I had the day off with Ronnie so we eased the pain after with a quiet breakfast and day of relaxation together. She came home as happy as could be (when I finally got that "first day of school" picture) and all has been just fine since. She's on a Monday/Wednesday schedule and I'd love to add on a Friday sometime soon. She's thriving there, that's for sure!

I left on my "big work trip".

My annual Vegas work trip of course had to be this month. I left to the airport after dropping Violet off for her second day of school. That broke my heart too but I'm so thankful I was able to switch around flights to at least be there for her first full day of school. It was a good trip, our event went well and I came home with a ton of goodies for Violet but 8-10 day trips are no longer fun when you leave behind a child and a busy with his own schedule husband. But we all survived! And the reunion when I got home was perfect. It's amazing how much I missed just loving on my girl. 

I turned 32!

Not sure why there's an exclamation point up there - I'm not that excited about being this age. Thirty was just fine by me but thirty twooooo. That was a hard pill to swallow. Closer and closer to mid-thirties, y'all! But still no sign of crows feet around my eyes (just bags under them. ha!) so the longer I keep those away, the less old I feel. (Silly, I know.) We didn't do much because we just never do for birthdays but I had a fun dinner with my little family and then another dinner with my mom and sister and got tons of good gifts. Even my co-workers joined together and got me my favorite, an Old Navy gift card! It was a good birthday.

Violet got her first sinus and ear infection. 

It started off as just a runny nose so she went to school that first week but by that Friday (9/26) she got worse so that next Monday we took her to the doctor. She surprised us and actually did WELL for the first time ever at the doctor's office! I think it was the really sweet (new?) nurse who put her at ease and calmed her for the doctor. It was kind of amazing and a HUGE relief for us. Hopefully we can stop dreading those appointments now! *fingers crossed* She was prescribed antibiotics for 10 days and missed school that week but by the end of the week, she started feeling better, right in time for October! 

Notable pictures:
Our new "adult" table from IKEA!
My new favorite blanket ever.
Shared September birthday lunch with coworkers included the yummiest wine. 

August. One Month Later.

I'm getting better at this! I'm actually posting August pictures only a month after the fact! ha 

So, August. It was a fun but ridiculously hot month - isn't it always? We packed a lot of fun stuff in because it was both Ronnie's and Violet's last month of freedom before school started! With Ronnie's new schedule and working all weekend, we didn't do anything major but tried to fit in little family dates whenever we could. I'm so ready for him to be done with school and get his regular full-time job so we can be done with this hectic life! Mostly for Ronnie's sake, of course. He's always so busy and never has time to relax. I hate that for him!

Violet turned 2 1/2 on August 28th and she was already growing so much but I felt like she REALLY grew a lot in this month. She started saying things like "Cool! Wow!", "Baby Jewiss" (baby Jesus ;), "Goodness gracious!", "Open wide!" (which she learned after we played doctor with her 100x in preparation for her doctor's appointment. The prep didn't work. lol), "nice heart!" (another thing we'd tell her after "listening" to her heartbeat. ha). She just really has taken off with the phrases and repeating every.little.thing we say. She's really just a blast, tantrums and all!

1. We discovered a new splash pad by our house, she LOVED it! // I got a wild hair and decided to paint the walls next to our fireplace blue. I love them. // Toys 'R Us shopping trip courtesy of my FIL! // Her first tour of her new school.

2. Our house was packed into 2 rooms while we waited for carpet to be installed. It was cozy :) // Even cozier is our new carpet! I'm totally obsessed with it. (If you have pets and need new carpet, ask me about it!) // A moment of sweetness. Tantrums got way worse this month. // Wine tasting with my honey in Fredericksburg. So fun!!

3. Oh yeah, our kid was there for the wine tasting too :) She did really well! // Her 2 year doctor's appointment at nearly 2.5. She STILL hates going to the doctor. // My momma's birthday celebration! // We spent a lot of weekend mornings at the park even though we melted every time.

4. A random from my mom's birthday. I just love this girl. // I finally found my name(ish) on a Coke Zero! If you know me, you know my addiction so this was exciting. // Just another random cute picture. She pulled off those glasses better than I could have! ha // Another cute one of my two favorites. Notice my blue wall? :)

5. Family selfie! (#felfie?) // Our first Meet The Teacher night before school started. We felt like official parents! ha And then we totally turned it into a date night. // Officially 2.5 and becoming such a big girl but still always wants her mama's hand and I don't want it to end! // We had a mama/daughter brunch date and it melted my heart. I can't wait for more of those!

July. Two Months Later.

This must be my new trend, posting everything two months after the fact! ;) I'm not sure if anyone even still reads this old blog of mine but I find it hard to just let it go. I never kept up with a baby book for Violet (sorry, child of mine!!) so I at love at least having this to look back on. And Instagram, of course. I hope Blogger and Insta never go away!! :(

July was an interesting and busy month! My parents gifted us with money for new flooring and to just fix up our bathrooms and house in general. It was a belated wedding gift and just totally made our life. The focus this month turned into ALL THINGS HOUSE. It was fun but money goes FAST. Not sure if y'all knew that. haha But it was so much fun! We decided on new carpet, bought a bunch of random decor and got our master shower redone. I am forever grateful to my parents for that gift. We've always needed to do some upgrades at the house but with only one full-time income, that just wasn't possible before. We are falling in love again with our little 2 bedroom house and we want to make it work where we can stay here another few years (we've been here almost 3).

1. Celebrating the first day of July in winter fashion. ha. Girl is obsessed with all things cold weather! (Poor thing needs to be moved out of Texas! ha) // That time my parents took us out to dinner and gave us that amazing wedding gift! // We had a laid back 4th at home, and with Mexican food of course. // I started right away on buying things for the house. My little hatchback carries a lot of stuff but this was when I realized I NEED an SUV!

2. I actually bought and wore shorts in public! It had to be noted because I was always so uncomfortable in them. Not anymore! // One of my favorite pictures of her ever! That smile! // I went on a trip to Atlanta with some of the work girls. It was a good time of tradeshow'ing and drinking wine or beer in our beds at night. ha // My first tradeshow with my married name. So mushy and exciting!

3. I loved returning home to this monkey and her "pretty smile" // I think this was the month of trying out new restaurants. We blew a lot of $ this month eating out. Fun but UGH. // My parents celebrated their 33rd wedding anniversary!! // This girl got to know Lowe's REAL well this month. We all did.

4. After I got off work one Friday, we got a wild hair and raced to Round Rock (an hour and a half drive) to hit up IKEA before it closed! That was the quickest, most fun shopping spree ever! // Boss lady bought us all fitbits in preparation for our big event. Plus, she encourages our competitiveness ;) // Our a/c went out this month. Fixing it didn't break the bank but we were told we'd need a new one within a year. UGH. // Upped my water intake a ton this month, thanks to these bad boys!

Coming soon, August! ;) 

June. Two Months Later.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: I am so grateful for Instagram. It's quick, easy and I can use it from just about anywhere. I can't say the same for blogging, hence my absence this summer! Since I blogged about our month of May, Ronnie has gotten a Saturday/Sunday job working for a courier service. It's surprisingly great money and has helped our one income family a bunch! He still had a ton to do with summer school these past two months though so adding the job has been an adjustment and we both hate that it takes him away from spending time with us on the weekends. 

So having said that, our summer has been stupid hectic. Basically Ronnie's with Violet all day while I'm at work, then I get home and take over so he can study/do homework. The afternoons when he had class, my mom would watch Violet. Then on the weekends, she's all mine while he works. It's been tiring to say the least. We haven't spent much time together as a family this summer but the positive is that we've both gotten a TON of one-on-one time with Violet. I don't get nearly enough of that being a working mama so that alone is worth everything! Ronnie is finally done with summer school and has this week off until he starts back at Texas State next week. Then the week after that, Violet starts school for the first time!! So much to talk about, so little time. That'll come later though. For now, PICTURES.

I have pretty much a crap ton to share so I narrowed it down to just 16 from the month of June. Next post will be dedicated to July and before you know it, I'll have gotten busy again and I'll be making a very late August post. If we're not already Insta-friends, follow me there so you don't ever have to miss out on my exciting life! haha!

1: Her water setup at home. One of the last weekends we had together before Ronnie started working! :( // After a bout with a broken flat iron, I got a new one and was happy to be back to normal! // This was the month of phrases. She started putting two words together and just took off from there. This was "roni cheese" :) // Just a random new beer mama tried. 

2: I hope she doesn't ever need glasses but if she does, at least she'll look cute. // I let her play in the rain and immediately felt guilty and worried that she'd get sick. She didn't. I need to chill. // My mom totally spoiled her with water fun at her house this summer. // "Tinky feeeet". Another new phrase she added and thought was the funniest ever. And oh, the giggles. They are the best ever.

3. Meeting another animal friend, this one was my cousin's cat and SO freaking cute. // Ronnie got the best Father's Day gift ever - a Spurs Championship! // Date night of the month at Gartenfest. German food + beer. Nom! // We went to a baby shower and my child acted like a wild fool and was in everyone's way but she looked sweet and quiet in this picture beforehand. Ah, the truth behind pictures. ha!

4. We've made so many trips to Home Depot and Lowe's this summer, it's ridiculous. // Another trip to HD I believe, this time wearing her favorite hat of the summer. lol // More shopping with my girl. This time, Target. Because mama is always and forever an addict. // A new swimsuit from you guessed it, Target. And more water fun at you guessed it, her spoiler of a grandma's house.

Label Daddy Discount for Back to School!

This is a sponsored post with a discount provided by Label Daddy. 

It's been a little while because it's currently my busy time at work! But after September, I will finally have more time to get back into blogging/keeping up with this Violet memory book :) Speaking of her, she is starting a Mother's Day Out program in a few weeks and I'm nervous, excited and totally terrified. She's been in an in-home daycare before but that didn't go well. I think because there was no real structure, she had too much time to realize we weren't there and miss us! lol I'm optimistic about this one though, we've heard great things and she's just so much different now than she was early this year. She's grown up a lot, become more outgoing and doesn't miss us nearly as much. ha Expect a longer post about MDO SOON!

Now, I need to get her prepared. Like we  have an actual Back to School thing going on here, it's exciting! I'm not gonna lie, but I'm excited for me too because I have always LOVED shopping for school supplies.

Right now at Label Daddy, you can save 20% on labels for Back to School! Label Daddy is the number one solution for labeling your belongings! Remember to label all clothing, sports equipment and other personal belongings your kids bring to school, camp, sports leagues, day care, and other places. Label Daddy labels keep them from getting lost or mixed up with others. 

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hello, june!

To be honest, I dread Texas summers because the HEAT. Oh, the heat. However this year's weather so far has been unseasonably cool and not bad at all! The fact that today is June 2nd and it's only a high of 90 (yes, ONLY), is actually kind of wonderful. The month of May was downright cool in comparison to the years past and it was just really nice. So hello, June! I'm actually happy to see you! And since I haven't updated since Easter (typical me), here's what went on with me + us during the month of May.

(Ronnie and I both upgraded our phones to Samsung Galaxy 5s in May and I'm finally loving the pictures it takes (I was iffy at first) and I've also been using the crap out of the VSCO Cam app after I discovered it had finally come to Android!)

We're Spurs fans in our house so them making it to the playoffs has totally taken over our lives! // We've been eating much healthier and grocery shopping is actually more fun now - I love this picture of us at HEB :) // The cutest Cinco de Mayo babe! // A client sent me and some of the work girls to a playoffs game and it was awesome to see the Spurs win and to run into Spurs Jesus! // We had a much needed date night and celebrated Ronnie's birthday, Mother's Day and our 1 month wedding anniversary (that makes me laugh) all in one. We went to the Luxury for dinner and beer, Rosella for coffee and ended the night at Target ;) // Mother's Day was wonderful. Landa Park in the morning with his mom and then the afternoon with mine. // Violet has taken off this month and become the most talkative, outgoing little thing ever. We're so proud! // Mama got her first haircut since last September!

Violet's not only more outgoing but she's become even sillier, if that was even possible. I'm totally in love with this age. // I painted her toesies for the first time! I used Piggy Paint and highly recommend it for the littles. // I went on my annual spring work trip and this one was at a Disney Resort. Holy gorgeous!! // We hired these 3 celebs for our conference attendees to get a photo op with and you know I took advantage of it too! // Returning home was the best! What a difference from the last trip I took. She was sooo excited to see me and loved all her Disney presents. // Ronnie has taken off with his landscaping hobby and our yard looks great. We've been making many trips to garden stores. // Could she look any bigger here?! // We had a ton of rain last month and I actually loved it. I hope June brings more of it!

That's that for May! 

I've totally slacked on blogging but I'm always on Instagram (where all these pictures were posted) and I also spend a ton of time on Twitter because it's fun and because none of my nosy family hangs out there (ha) so follow me there!

Happy June!

So far this week.

Last weekend, after we got back from our failed trip (still bummed about that one), we did some fun stuff in town. Saturday, we went walking around one of our fave parks, Brackenridge and took V on the Zoo Train. The last time we went on it was months ago and we had to hold her tightly on our laps - this time she sat by herself (next to me, of course) and she was just such a big girl about it. Made me proud :) 

The weather all weekend was windy and cool and totally perfect. That night, Ronnie was fiddling around in the yard (his favorite) and I finally joined him on the front porch. We had some beer, talked about the future and I was freaking out the entire time that I was hanging out with my HUSBAND. Oh, it feels so nice to say that!!

Sunday, we went looking for bluebonnets. I'd read online that there were some good ones at McAllister Park (right down the street from our house) and while there were some good patches, it wasn't anything very lush. I think we're already late in bluebonnet season - which is typical of my procrastination every year, which is why I've never gotten a picture of Violet in them until this year. I just can't handle this picture. So big and so sweet. Love this girl!

Monday, I was surprised at work with a little wedding celebration! One co-worker made cake pops for the first time because she knew I loved them and they came out so good! We had chips and dips, champagne and those big, fake wedding rings you get for bachelorette parties. Such a fun afternoon and I'm seriously so grateful to work with these people. Drinking on the job never gets old either.

Monday night, this is the only picture I got but you can tell why it was a must. Girlfriend only got one bite of chocolate pudding and while I was behind her cooking dinner in the kitchen, she made the biggest mess of her whole life. I guess it's good we got this far without huge messes. ha It was hilarious, she was squishing it between her fingers and loving life. She got a goood bath after that!

Last night, I took this picture because now every time we get home, she has to sit in her chair for a bit before we go inside. It's so cute and I'm glad she got the relaxing gene from us ;) And if you're wondering, the chair is from Walmart. FIVE DOLLARS! Get your kids one stat!

 

We're official!

9 years after we met.

8 years after we started dating.

4 1/2 years after we got engaged.

2 1/2 years after we bought our first house.

2 years after we had our baby girl.

We finally did it.

We got married yesterday!!!!!

// mr. and mrs. c.a.s.h. 4-11-14 //

I can't even tell you how happy I am that we made it official. We really have felt like a married couple from the moment we moved in together and felt like a real family the moment I found out I was pregnant but THIS, this makes it official and we are so so happy. I finally get to share a last name with my now HUSBAND and our daughter! Marriage wasn't a necessity for us but I'm glad we made it happen. Yay marriage!

Whoa, it's April already.

Where has the time gone? I swear I forget I even have a blog sometimes and then it hits me and I feel awful for not updating it in so long! So what have we been up to?

Well, last I told y'all, Violet turned 2! And since then, she has been very. much. a. two. year. old. People weren't kidding with all the talk about terrible twos ;) The tantrums have been upped, her stubbornness is holding strong (Thanks, Ronnie for passing on that gem! ha) and she is just totally fearless! But it hasn't all been terrible, not even close.

She's sillier than ever and has so much more energy! She makes the funniest faces, learned to stick out her tongue (because I showed her how I curl my tongue one time and it stuck!), talks so so much, laughs at eeeverything as if she even understands our jokes, dances constantly and she wants to hug and kiss us all the time. She loves hugging and kissing so much that she's even started her dolls on doing that with each other and it melts my heart. Violet has really taken after me with the feistyness and bit of attitude (whoops) but she's a total sweetheart, too. We're amazed at how smart she is and she leaves Ronnie and I looking at each other like "Did she really just do/say that?" nearly every day. Two really does have its terrific moments as well :)

On the Ronnie end, he's doing SO well at his job and is even considering taking a full time position. It would be great for him but it's also a huge bummer because it means putting off school yet another year. (He's having a ton of issues with his school. Of course it's not the case but you would swear they've chosen him out of their 30,000+ students to pick on and make it difficult to get back into school after his last year off. Don't even get me started.) On the weekends he's been spending a ton of time on our yard and it looks mighty pretty, I must say. We still need new grass and some other landscaping but he is well on his way with that! We had a date night a couple weekends ago and that was our first one since September! I cherish that alone time with him and hope we can make date nights happen more often. We so need it!

As for me, I'm still on the forever hunt for a fun hobby (besides drinking and social media). I'm just not creative and not sure what I can get into. Things at work are the same (good!) and I'm now prepping for my annual Spring work trip. We're going to Orlando at the end of May and our event will be held at a Disney Resort! I'm pretty excited about that! Can you believe I've never been to Florida?! I've been to airports there but that doesn't count. I wish Ronnie and Violet were going with but it's not currently in our budget and honestly, I'm not ready to spend a ton of $$$ on taking my 2 year old to Disney. I'd rather save that for when she's 4 or so. Ya know? Plus, I'll be so busy during the event, it wouldn't be fair to leave them on their own. 

So that's that! This is actually a really exciting and hectic week for us with something super fun coming up but I'm being super secretive and no one will know until it's happened. I'M EXCITED! Stay tuned ;)

All of these pictures were posted on my Instagram. Follow me there if you're not already! 

big day success!

What has two little thumbs and rocked their first day of daycare?! 

This girl!!

And apparently I crashed her fun when I showed up yesterday to pick her up because that's the look I got - the "Already?!" look. Honestly though, I'm ecstatic about that! I don't even care that she didn't squeal with delight to see me. I'm happy she did well and was content to be there!

Sarah (our daycare lady) asked me again if she'd ever been in daycare before because she would've sworn she wasn't a newbie, as well as she took to it! She played well on her own as well as with the other kids, took a while to go down for a nap but eventually knocked out (and on a little mat which she's never done!) and while she refused lunch (typical Violet), I found her eating her snack like a champ. I'm so proud and SO relieved to know she's totally fine being left with other people. Makes me wanna leave her with all kinds of strangers now so Ronnie and I can just get out for a date more often! (Kidding. Sorta.)

Last night she was just the sweetest and in such a good mood. And you see that face on the end? WHAT. Is that not the cutest little smile EVER? That's her "new" smile and she breaks it out every now and then and it just completely melts my heart.

Her big day was a success!

a big first.

We've been lucky that Ronnie's school schedule allowed him to be a SAHD for most of Violet's life and that his mom has been able to watch her a lot too, as needed. Now that Ronnie's working though, we needed something more consistent and didn't want to put that on his mom either so we found a daycare! It's an in-home daycare in our neighborhood, just a few blocks away! It's Violet's first time ever in daycare and it's the first time she's ever been in the care of "strangers" so I've been pretty emotional the past couple of days. Such a sappy mom. ha I am really excited for her though; for all of us!

We thought this would be a good start for her before we eventually put her into a preschool type of program. I'm so excited for her to get some good socialization and also have more of a schedule. It's hard to keep to a schedule when she spends her days with Ronnie, then his mom, then me and then on the weekends with just us. It'll be good for her to have a real routine!

When we dropped her off, she totally forgot all about us. ha! She went right in and made herself comfortable playing with all the toys! As soon as we left, I cried like a baby and Ronnie had to remind me that we are just normal (albeit overprotective) parents. ha. We know she's in good hands and I've already texted the lady to check on her - she said she's doing great! She didn't want to nap or eat lunch lunch but that's typical stubborn Violet. She assured me that they've seen this plenty in some of their newbies and that they all eventually caught on when they see the other kids doing it. Here's hoping!

I pick her up in a couple hours and can't wait to see her little face!!

Violet lately.

So, I have an almost 2 year old now! And to be honest, the past two months have seen the most change we've ever seen in her. She's talking like a mad child and she's now just flat out repeating what you ask her to repeat. Before it would take some coercing but now she just says it back to us immediately! I knew the time would come to get our cussing under control and that time is here - before you know it, we're gonna have a potty mouth on our hands if we don't chill with that stuff. It's so hard though! ha

Newest words for Violet: "Milet" (Violet :), book, slide, "shhh" (finger in front of her mouth and all) "ock" (sock), diapey, chippey (girl loves her chips), "cheeeese" (and it gets the biggest, cutest smiles outta her), hi and bye bye (not a big deal to some but she's refused to say those two forever! ha) and she no longer says "key" for kitty, she now says cat. I know there's more that I'm not thinking of right now - Ronnie, I know you're probably reading, help a sista out?

She's still as goofy and hyper as ever and seeing her play with other kids recently, I see what a calm, sweet demeanor she really has. She's very independent and plays well on her own but when she sees other kids, she's very chill around them. Sure, she's stolen a toy out of their hands before but she's not once been rough or mean to other kids. If another toddler has a huge tantrum or screams/cries a lot, she just kinda shrugs it off. A few months ago that sorta thing may have set her off and caused her to freak out, too. lol While she does make her messes, put things in her mouth that she shouldn't, pulls down my purse from the table making junk fly everywhere and reaches for everything she shouldn't, that's typical - she's really well behaved otherwise and we've lucked out with that. I am so thankful for her and her sweet personality in our life.

Thrifting with mama!

A breakfast date with Daddy on a gooorgeous day.

Seriously, this kid. Reading with her breakfast. The cutest!

A Starbucks date with Daddy before he left out of town.

"Colll kawhy" - cold outside :)

Making a mess of her room and looking oh-so-sweet while doing it.

It doesn't get any cuter than a bundled up Violet.

Yup. And I posted about it here. 

My current favorite picture. I wish she could stay this exact age.

In between the cold days, we've had some really gorgeous days, too.  

Play date with Ayden

Saying cheese as she proudly holds her measuring spoons, wearing a hat and my necklace :) 

Playground cutie at Ayden's 2nd birthday party

With Ayden at his party - both begging for soda!

With Violet getting close to turning two, we're really getting the question a lot about a second baby. We have always said we were one and done (and might still be) but the older she gets and the more she begins to understand things, I find myself dreading her ever feeling lonely and bored. Both Ronnie and I have multiple siblings but we also know what we can handle and right now, one babe is perfect for us. I do find myself daydreaming about another baby sometimes but I'm still mostly in that place of just wanting to focus on her and not share my time. Maybe when she's older I'll get there but right now, I love things just as they are :)

And back to that two business - Violet turns 2 in 23 days. I can't even begin to process it. TWO! 

A Photo An Hour - Ice Day

It takes a link-up like this one to show me just how boring my life really is. Like, hilariously boring. ha

I figured the only time I'd remember to take a photo every hour would be on a weekend but I got the chance  to do it last Friday when my office closed for an "ice day". Let me tell you, I absolutely live for the days where I can pretend to be a SAHM! I wasn't sure I'd taken enough photos that day but surprise surprise, I did! Shows you how many random pictures I take of my day anyway. You're welcome for not posting them all on Instagram! ha We had a great day but it was nothing mind blowing or exciting so thanks for humoring me by reading along ;) 

As soon as I woke up, I went outside to see what ice we'd gotten. Not all that much, as you can see. But still, bosses said to hold off on coming into the office until they texted us. I had my fingers and toes crossed. I was desperate for a day off! So I waited...

I got the text an hour later that the office was closed. Hurray! Ice day! It was then that I decided it was a must to climb back into bed. Too bad my child didn't get the memo that you're supposed to sleep in on really cold days. She woke up 5 minutes later. And so really began our day, doggy kisses and all :)

I decided to forego coffee that morning (WHAT?) but really it's because I'm obsessed with my new mason jar cup thing and wanted to use it. So lots of Coke Zero, it was. There was nothing in the cup at this time because obviously I drink fast. I went through two big cups, too. I seriously love this cup and grabby toddler over there loves it, too.

After we ate a late breakfast (she never wants to eat as soon as she wakes up), Violet proceeded to tear apart my kitchen cabinets, her favorite thing in the world. I should've taken a picture of that but it might have caused y'all OCD'ers to to have a heart attack! It was nuts. And then we took a selfie because she's cute and I'd much rather do that than clean the mess.

In my temporary state of SAHM-ness, I decided to bake cookies. A good idea gone bad. They were smelling so heavenly when the timer went off but I had to tend to a toddler tantrum at that exact time, leaving the cookies an extra few minutes. So they burned. BAD. I'm usally a decent baker in real life :/

After playing inside for a bit/airing out the house, I decided we needed fresh air. So we bundled up (minus mittens. whoops. #momoftheyear) and braved the cold! V got to play in the "no" (aka snow. aka it's just ice) for a bit but it was so.damn.cold. It was in the low 30s y'all and I was crying frostbite! (And yes. We need to clean up those damn leaves.)

Back inside, we finally changed out of our jams, ate lunch and read some books and colored. Then Violet got stir crazy. She really really wanted back outside but I refused so she moved on to destroying my kitchen for the second time of the day and did things like scoot herself around in a strainer for a while. Girl's creative, I'll give her that!

But then she moved on to destroying the rest of the house. And that's when my nerves set in. I mean, how do y'all Northerners deal with being stuck inside a lot? I had cabin fever after one day! We both did! So she got put down for the nap that she'd been trying to avoid. It was time. I then proceeded to watch my favorite, Roseanne and respond to work e-mails. PEACE. QUIET.

Then because I'd been working so hard, I decided I'd try and nap a little too so I got back into my jams (duh) and hopped in! But this is the view from my bed. I can't close the door during a nap because the cat always wants in/out so the bright light kept me up and also reminded me that the kitchen window NEEDS a curtain. And so began my running 24/7 brain. I wasn't able to nap after that :/

Since I couldn't nap, I had a little more "me time" (aka Twitter/TV time) and then V woke up and I was back at it. I started on laundry and cleaning the mad house. Ronnie was arriving back in town that night so of course I had to make the house look like I'd kept up with it all week, right? The cleaning lasted a couple hours but I won't bore you with another picture from that fun fest. What - you're already bored?!

Then it was 6:30! The time I'd been looking forward to for an entire week!! I got myself ready and we headed to the airport to pick up my bearded man!!! It was still so cold outside but thankfully the roads weren't bad anymore. Otherwise, he would've had to cab it home!

Then because I'm an awesome temp-SAHM that didn't make dinner, we went to our fave Corner Bakery. We ate quickly, talked each other's heads off and then headed home. Ronnie was beat from a long week of training and I was beat from a long week of single mom'ing it. I was just ecstatic to have him back!!

The entire time at the restaurant and once we got home, this is what V did. She was probably the most ecstatic to have her daddy back. My heart was a pile of mush all night with her sweetness. They really are the best daddy/daughter pair I've ever seen. No bias here of course.

Finally to wind down, in her sleepy-but-dont-wanna-sleep daze, she watched a little bit of a movie, I got caught up on The Following (gah I'm obsessed with that show!) and Ronnie? Who knows. I was too tired to pay attention. ha Thirty minutes later, I put her to bed and knocked right out, too.

That was our day! Thrilling, huh? :) 

One day I might try doing this again but on a work day. I think I'm much more productive when I'm forced to shower, look presentable and go to work! I'm much too lazy when left to my own devices. ha!