2011: the year i bought a cardigan.

ever since i entered the beautiful world that is motherhood, my wardrobe has taken the back seat... and i'm talking the back seat of an extra long stretchy greyhound bus.  i'd rather have to buy diapers since it means i have babies, so i'm totally cool with it.  speaking of stretchy.  when i was pregnant with Hunter in the winter, i had the brilliant idea of wearing all my normal clothes.  it made me feel better to say they weren't maternity and i wasn't spending money on usually ugly and overpriced items at Motherhood Maternity.  i do think that Target and their Liz Lange line isn't half bad, but even those prices are pricey for Target.  needless to say, my winter wardrobe is years old and could fit the size of a full-term pregnant mama.

i had to revitalize my closet, without spending nearly any money.  i had to figure out how to wear my spring and summer clothes winter style.  the white long sleeve shirt under everything works for some things, but a few of you kindly told me it should not go under dresses and i believed you.

what to do?!  cardigan to the rescue!  if only i had gone down this avenue years ago.  for some reason, in my immaturity, i thought cardigans spelled g-r-a-n-d-m-a.  but i take it back.  i really do.  thank you Old Navy Outlet, and my 20% off coupon (thanks, Beth!) i scored myself an off-white cardigan for $11.

i'm telling you, i wear it like nothing else.  wanna wear a tank in november?  sure, grab the cardy.  wanna wear a sundress in the fall?  you betchya, pull on the cardy and secure it with a belt.  wanna act like a fashionista even though you're a mama in disguise?  layer up!  revitalized, i tell you.

my sister, remember she's 11, took the pictures above (which is why they're slightly off-focus).  after i set up the camera, i gave her a two second hold the button down until it beeps tutorial.  then we swapped places and i took her pictures.  we're such girls.

hannah: i thought of you when i took this.  : )

i might have to borrow her scarf. : )

what's your go-to winter-time wardrobe item?

miscellany monday

write your randoms; join in below!

1. thanksgiving has officially ended since i ate the last of the green bean casserole last night - yeah, the usual cream of mushroom soup kind with french's crispy onions and canned green beans; when something is a classic, why change it?!  besides i really like it. - the good thing is, i can still wear all of my clothes.  our day was full of fun, family, food, and most of all -  thankfulness to Jesus for the gift of life everlasting! ps. please don't look too closely at my last minute banner that took all of two minutes.  no pinterest needed here! 

my bro, grandmother and my sis

my aunt, grandmother and me

2. our feast was delicious and included my favorites - mashed potatoes and candied yams. i made these sugar coma-inducing treats with homemade hot caramel drizzled on top.  one bite was enough to settle your sweet tooth for an entire week.  

homemade caramel is almost sinful.

3. my gross children continue their gross trends.  for the first time, we had poop smeared and splattered all over the carpets after Hunter decided to take off his diaper to be like a big boy.  the best part?  i was at the grocery store while this took place.  my man had the duty of cleaning up the poopie.  poor daddy.  i love you, babe.

4. for the first and last time, i stood in line on black friday. (the whole go out and buy as much as you can for as cheap as you can mentality sort of completely ruins the mentality of the day of Thanksgiving prior, you know?!) anyways, the sales sucked me in this year... i waited outside of Target (big surprise!) for an hour and then inside the store at the check-out line for close to two.  all that to get our family a Christmas tree.  our budget was $20 and i preferred to get something more than a foot tall.  i got a 6.5 footer, pre-lit tree at half price for $30. my mom threw in $10 to keep me within budget.  thanks mom.  : )

5. i'd totally rather have a real tree.  but fakies do last longer to save you money.  i don't mind not having to clean up needles or do extra watering.  call me lazy or efficient.

6. my daughter, she's 17 months old, knows how to play the fruit ninja game on my phone.  i don't know whether to be proud or embarrassed.  ps. i love you Sage and find you entirely adorable still.

7. this was the night we kept our one and two year old up until 10 pm all in the name of visiting one of the top ten Christmas light shows in the U.S. at James Island County Park.  everyone was so happy. ; )

aunt cheryl, me holding sage, melanie, hunter being held by my mom, and my grandma. kelly was brave to come out with all us women.  he's taking the picture.  

8. so this is what i look like while talking.  i'm flattered. (shannan, i'm waiting on my membership to the claw-hand club.)

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charleston charm and a thanksgiving wish.

for the first time, on a tuesday, i had a reason to get dressed in something slightly (wishfully) fashionable rather than in the usual workout garb i spend most days in.

i had a morning without the kiddos (thank you, awesome Husband!) with my mom, grandma and aunt in downtown Charleston.

a very pretty way to view the historic charm of downtown is in the seat of a carriage from the Red Barn, pulled by a white horse or a few mules.  either will do.  the tour takes you back in time, to peel away the layers of rich southern history, both the good and the bad.  it's exceptionally fun with Justice the horse and a tour guide whose name is Rebel.  she's an author of historical fiction and told every story of the past with perfectly laced words as we cruised the streets in our Palmetto Carriage Company ride.  if you visit this city, it's a must and even worth every dollar of the $21 ish dollars it costs.  only we were so lucky to get to go for free (thank you Nichola!). it's really fun when my west coast family visits and i get to transform into a tourist in my own town.

i took in all the buildings, homes, landscapes, finally figured out where the pink and pastel painted houses came from... in the 17th century, Charleston had a Caribbean flair because people from Barbados flocked here.  they came to escape a draft in the navy or a bout with seminary and to start a new life rice farming on the Southern Peninsula.  how interesting!  i love history. 

oh, and have you ever had a hush puppy? they're big here.  and really delicious.  their roots began as biscuits made to hush the dogs while dinner was being prepared.  and now they're human food.  sounds not as delicious.  but trust me, they are.  

take in the sights ~

my grandma loved the cobblestone streets.

as i sat in that carriage, i got to thinking about all the pretty things the Lord gives us.  they may be small, simple, mundane, or big and large and melt-your-heart sweetness like the gift of children or a make-you-smitten husband.  they are all good gifts.  and all good gifts come from the Lord, indeed!  i'm reminded, as we give thanks for everything, not to settle for the little things instead of the biggest thing of all.  we have been given Christ - He is all we need and deserves our every praise and thanksgiving.

happy Thanksgiving, may you have a wonderful day.

miscellany monday

happy Thanksgiving week, lovelies!  write your randoms and link-up below.

1. trader joe's chalks up 17 more awesome points in my book.  have you seen their Christmas bags?  the paper ones, can double wonderfully as gift wrap or gift tags.  this is what all of my presents will look like without buying any wrap ~ 

image credit

2a. on friday night i ate 2 slices of papa john's pizza.  which never happens.

2b. on saturday night i ate a mexican dinner.

2c. on sunday i was miserably sick and throwing up.  connect the dots, much?

2d.  which is why this gall-bladder-less girl has to stick to eating rabbit food.  

3. younger siblings make the best (free) babysitters.  can i get an amen!

4. last week our toilet bowl scrubber went missing.  hubby and i knew who to blame... but the question was which little took it and what did they do with it?  a week later, i found it in Hunter's long-sleeve shirt drawer.  i think we lucked out. this could've turned out way worse. 

5. this morning i caught my daughter trying to unwrap and eat a tampon.  my kids have grossed me out way too much in the last week.  

6. i think all of womendom have an obsession with target.  well get this.  i had a $5 off coupon and the gal at the cashier doubled it just because.  she had to have been an angel and knew i was crying all morning over finances.  God bless her.

7. if you live near me in Charleston, Riverfront Park is the best place to take pictures.  

8. i am the resident family picture taker and i can't say that i mind.  it's fun stuff.  i hauled my mom, step-dad, and siblings out to Riverfront to get their Christmas card pictures taken.  mom, here is your preview.  

my bro and his girl ~

9. my grandmother and aunt flew in yesterday evening from California for Thanksgiving.  it's bound to be a good week around here!  hope yours is too.

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outside the box.

i remember being in the 11th grade.  college was drawing closer and the pressure to decide who i wanted to be for the rest of my life was heavy.  at 17, there are more important things like boys and who's who in the junior class.  in youth group, us girls would write down lengthy lists of who our future husbands had to be.  a lover of God, handsome, a leader, a servant, at least six feet tall, a millionaire... you know, the usual.

then you wind up with a man who is in full time ministry (i think that is the antithesis of a millionaire - ha).  and then thank God that He did not grant you everything on that list.  He granted you something more and better.  something more than your mind could conceive.

i think of one of my dearest friends.  she found out they could not have children.  although she went through grief with this new reality, her mourning quickly turned to hope.  hope for something better than what she imagined, realizing God has a plan that is beyond the box.  and happens to look like a curly headed, seven week old beauty that she calls her own.

it is magnificent to see how God takes cinders and ashes to paint beautiful canvasses of crimson and gold.

our heartbreak, changed courses, new directions, become avenues for God's extended grace.

today, i'm reminded to be thankful for a God who does not fit neatly inside my narrowly constructed box. i'm glad God does not stay in the walls i create.  He is bigger and better and greater, far beyond my wild dreams.

linking with my sweet friend, rachel.

time and management and time management.

i go through the days, most of the time they seem long but then as i look back on a year it seems really fast.  to a two year old fifteen minutes is an eternity yet to a twenty-six year old mama fifteen minutes is never enough.  the older i am the quicker time passes.  when i was three, nap time was dreaded but now it's welcomed. growing up, i thought there was something magical about being a grown-up. now that i'm grown i realize the magic is in the child-like.

isn't it all so weird?  perspective totally changes things. 

i am not one of those professional moms with a to-do list for everyday along with a set time schedule to order our days.  i mean, there are the necessaries - lunch at noon, naps at 1-2 ish, and bed at 7 ish - but beyond that i'm flexible.  i used to be a perfectionist; however sometime after i became a mom, i let it all go. i got rid of the try hard because at the end of my day when the to-do's were left undone, it left me flustered, un-gracious, and crabby.  if my to-do list wasn't crossed off then i was not happy.  so what did i do?  threw all those lists in the trash can.  

and guess what?  i am not mastered by a list that tells me what i need to do every single day and i'm free to live without measuring up to some self-created tabulation.  i highly recommend it.  

i am not a three steps to such and such program type of girl.  i don't think there's a magic formula for managing time well.  i read my Bible when the house is quiet - sometimes it's in the morning, most of the time it's during nap time or even at night.  and guess what?! some days i even take a nap myself.  because i'd be prideful if i didn't tell you that i'm tired all too often.  on days that i really have my t's crossed, i prepare a crock pot meal for dinner in the morning.  mostly, though, around five o'clock i'm dodging two toddlers and attempting to make a tasty and healthy meal.  my honey's schedule changes somewhat every week - two to three days a week he works long, long, late days.  since i don't have a car while he's at work, i'll often run an errand here or there in a very sporadic-like fashion in case we need milk or bread or diapers.  heaven forbid we ever run out of diapers.  i clean my house when it looks dirty.  i do laundry when we're out of clothes.  i wish i could say that every monday was vacuuming day and every tuesday and thursday was laundry day.  nope.  and i'm okay with that.  

because when i look back on this sweet life the Lord has given, i won't regret not vacuuming on mondays or doing laundry every tuesday and thursday.  i'd rather look back and see a gal who let go of the perfectionism and the i have it all together mentality to see how His grace covered me and carried me.

how do you do with time?  

ps. professional moms are welcome here. : )

miscellany monday

write your randoms, grab the button and join in below!

1. haircut success.  phew.  i am so relieved... after 18 months of no cuts, my ends are refreshed.  i visited a new hair dresser named alicia.  alicia works wonders.  i love her.  my hair is hers to cut for life.

2. this is the beginning to the downfall of my waistline.  at christmas and easter time when these perfectly coated chocolate candies hit the shelves, i lose every ounce of self-control and exchange it for a few pounds.  good thing it's marathon season.

3. my little brother just turned into a teenager.  

he opted for unconventional and went with donuts to celebrate.

i am so happy for him... he is a sailor and is going to the US Olympic Sailing team training next month. he is even going to be on the cover of a sailing magazine.  how cool is that?! 

(this is my bro sailing. photo by us snipe sailing)

4. i counted how many different gallons of various types of milk my family of four uses. FIVE.  what in the world.  i calculated out how much per month we spend on milk: $75 ish.  our varieties include: chocolate silk, lactaid milk, skim milk, organic vanilla soy, organic chocolate soy. (ps. i've done my research, talked to our pediatrician and believe soy is a-ok! when your peeps have a lactose intolerance you do what you have to do.)

5. i'm always a fool for a good love story.  and everything ree puts her hands to is golden.  win-win.

6. it's blurry but i like it.  if you knew the task it was to get them to walk toward me holding hands, you'd like it too.  : )

7. do not attempt this at home.  we did the unthinkable... borrowed a tri-pod and hit my favorite spot for an attempt at some family photos. we tried once and failed.  we tried again and the shots will suffice.  maybe third time will be a charm?  or maybe we'll grow a brain and not try it ourselves with a one and two year old.  

8. bring on the color and the cute kid lovin!

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