more iphone pics. more clothing purchases.

Well here we go again.  H&M was having this ridiculous sale and I couldn't just WALK BY.  Hello.  So I loaded C up with goodies in his stroller to distract so I could snatch up some sale items.  

 I got this purple dress and threw a pair of gray tights on but couldn't decide which boots were best.

Flat:

or heels:

 Then I thought no outfit is complete without an infinity scarf:

 AND I haven't even told you the best part.  The price.  Originally $30.  Sale:  $10.  WHAA??
Yesh.
I got C a $5 shirt too. 
Successful Thursday shopping trip.

Maybe this will be a fashion blog?

JK you'd die if you saw what I'm wearing currently.

impromptu photo shoot. there are ZERO iphones pics of me in this post. you may rejoice now.

Lately, C has been ridiculously entertained just playing in his crib.  And I'm all like "sweet."  So this morning, I decided to open up his shades and strip him down {disregard the awkwardness in that sentence} and snaps some "lifestyle" pictures.
I hardly ever get GOOD pics of C anymore because as soon as he sees the camera, he's all like "I WANT TO PLAY WITH IT"  and I'm like, H NO get back. 
So here you go, some silly shots of my little monkey:

another post about clothes. i apologize in advance.

Here's how it went down:
We were in the car driving to my family's thanksgiving Saturday and B says this to me:  "Monday night when I get home from work I want you to go out and have a night to yourself.  And no editing."

......................
SAY NO MORE!

I had my hair ready, make up on, and ready to bolt as soon as B walked in the door.  He even told me not to worry about getting home to help put C to bed.  I got a good one, my friends.

So I left, and didn't really know what I was going to do.  But somehow, I ended up at H&M.  That's weird.
I walked away with a sweater that MAY go back+2 more mens tshirts+mittens.
I stopped by Best Buy to say hello to one of my sweet high school girls that had to work on her 18th birthday.  Unfair but she's such a trooper.
I then found myself at Old Navy, weird again.  But I had one of those "you did it!  $10 reward for you" which puts a skip in my step.  Obviously I had to go use it.
As soon as I walked in, my eyes fell upon a shirt and I quickly dismissed it.  But as I perused through the rest of the store, I found myself back at the front looking for my size in this shirt.  And I NEEDED a pair of gray skinny jeans.
So here's the Old Navy outfit.  Clearly I'm trying to be a hipster, but we'll get to that later.

Because you needed this flattering angle.
You see why I passed the shirt at first?  It's plaid.
But I kept thinking "it looks like what I'd wear to the cabin for the weekend."  Of course there is no cabin but whatever.
I love it.  I wore it today (of course) and felt so hip.  I'm probably not, but I'm ok with that.
Here's my number 1 goal when trying to be "fashionable" or really just buying clothes:
make sure the muffin top is hidden.
That's it.  Number 1 goal.  Nothing tight, no jeans that push it out and over.  Just hide that whore.

In other news:  in case you missed it, my sweet baby boy has phneumonia :(  I had shoots all day Sunday so B had to take C to the prompt care in the morning.  They did a chest x-ray and said it was definitely the big P.  So we've been doing antibiotics+breathing treatments.  None of which are foreign to us.  We did both of those things a lot last winter.  Thankfully no ear infection...yet.
The boy is in GREAT spirits.  Besides the cough you can't even tell he's sick.  Until bed time.  He still wakes up a lot of night and I have to try rocking him back to sleep.  But he struggles to get back to sleep even though he's EXHAUSTED.  So we've been resorting to "letting" him cry himself to sleep.  Which sucks and never gets easier, but it's what has to be done.

And lastly, I'll leave you with this convo B and I had today.  To say I hate Siri is an understatement..

What I was TRYING to say was that the Chatham police drive new RAM trucks.  And Siri took that to mean Graham trucks.  But clearly as you read on I'm also an idiot. 

fashion show. fashion show. fashion show at lunch!

Now, I don't want this blog turning into a "fashion blog" because I'm so fashion forward.  So please just don't even suggest it, though I know you'll want to.  I just couldn't keep up with that.
I'm sure you've all been waiting on pins and freakin' needles to see what my first H&M purchases will be.
Well, the wait is over.
C and I were at the grand opening yesterday, amongst a billion other crazies.  I wasn't able to focus and commit the time and energy H&M really deserved from me yesterday, so I went back this morning without my sidekick.
It.Was.GLORIOUS.
Let me just tell you--that store do not disappoint.
It can take the place of Gap any day. 

Here are my purchases.  Sorry for the poor iphone pic quality {WAIT NO I'M NOT because it means I finally have an iphone.}

#1.  This particular oversized hoodie came from the MEN'S side.  That's right.  I'm a cross dresser and I LOVE IT.  I will be spending most of the winter cuddled up with this bebe.

 #2.  Would you believe this is also a men's?  No?  Well it is!  Size small men's sweater.  LURVE IT

 #3.  This, my friends, is the absolute BEST v neck tee you will find.  Forget Target {I'm sorry, I still love you sweet baby} and Old Navy {psshh}.  MEN'S again {are you starting to get worried about me?}.  Size small.  Grab one in every color while you're there.

 #4.  Ok this is actually a woman's shirt.  It's gray with little specks of various colors in it.  Looking forward to throwing a little infinity scarf around mah nerck with it.

And then obviously I bought C a super cute red v neck sweater for $9.95.  Holla.
Sorry I'm not smiling in any of those pictures.  I'm not really hip to what you're supposed to be doing in these fashion pictures so I just went with the "meh" expression.  It's universal.

B will surely crap his pants when he gets home, but hello, my birday is in like...2 months.  Totally legit.

xoxo, your new cross dressing fashionista mom blog.

the great christmas decoration debate.

Growing up, we NEVER put Christmas decorations up before Thanksgiving.  Kath just wouldn't have it.
For the majority of my life, I never fought it or really gave it much thought.
But last year.  Oh last year.  It was my first year as a SAHM and I had a day with nothing to do {as I do most days}.  I was probably downstairs doing laundry when I saw it.
My Christmas decorations stash.
I tried to ignore it but it was too strong.
B came home from work one day, well before Thanksgiving, to our halls decked out.
I made no apologies, though he shares the same views as my mother.  But what was he going to do?  Put everything back?  Psh. Please.

So here it is, November 6th.  Election day and I thought it was only appropriate we vote for something super important.  Like when it's ok to put up Christmas decorations.

Since it's MY BLOG, here's my educated opinion:
I put up my fall/Thanksgiving decor back in September.  So I've been staring at pumpkins, orange+brown colors, and turkeys for 2 months now.
If I wait to put up my Christmas things until the END of November and I'm ready for it all to come down by the first of January, that only gives me a solid month of Christmas cheer in my home.
I'm not ok with that.
Equal time should be represented for both holidays.
So, Thanksgiving gets it's time to shine from September-November.
But from November-January I want trees, lights, and Christmas music dang it.

What are the rules in your house?  Why are there rules for a timeline of seasonal decor?  I somewhat understand holding off on outdoor lights/decorations until closer to turkey day/after, but inside?  I want Christmas to throw up it's merriness and jolly ALL OVER.

I'm a big fan of Christmas.
It's the most wonderful time of the year, after all!

tat time.

It is now time to talk tattoos.
Surprise:  I got my first tat this weekend!
Only like, a toddler size handful of people knew about.  Mostly because I didn't want to be swayed or told "omg that's so stupid you'll hate it when you're 80."  I'll probably hate most things about my body when I'm 80 so I don't really care.
I knew I wanted one for awhile but I'm sooo indecisive I didn't know 1.  What I wanted or 2.  Where I wanted it.
About a month ago, I decided to just commit to getting one and then I'd have to make these tough decisions.  I sent an email to my sister in law, who already had 2 tattoos, hoping I could convince her to come with me and get another one for herself.  She responded saying heck yes, she already knew what/where she wanted and let's do it.
So we did!  B, C and I went over to visit this weekend anyway, so she and I had appointments Saturday afternoon and we got inked, if you will.
YES IT HURTS.
It is not pleasant, it is not fun.  But it's tolerable.  I kept telling myself "you birthed and breast fed a human baby, you can do this."  And I did.

helper.

 Yesterday morning, C and I baked some chocolate chip cookies for our small group+for daddy to take to work today.

 His favorite place to be is on the counter, helping me with the mixer.

 And also eating his chocolate chips.

He's such a good little helper.
And looks pretty cute in airplane jammies.

Nostalgia

That's a big word up there.  I usually title my blogs with much easier words, like "what up?" and "what's been happening here lately."
So I apologize to my "slower" readers, please try to stay with me.

Do you ever have one of those days {or weeks, or months} where you can't seem to stop wishing things were "still they way they used to be??" 
I don't do this often, mostly because things are so busy I just don't have time to stop and think about the past.  But lately, there has been SO MUCH change in our lives I can't help but continuously go "there."
"There" is a lot of places for me.
1.  College.  I really loved college.  I've blogged about this before so I won't go into a lot of rambling details.  EIU will always hold a special place in my heart.  More specifically, the Christian Campus House where B and I met.  We made A LOT of great friends that I miss very much. 
2.  Being newlyweds.  Life was simple during our first year and a half of marriage.  B was in grad school, I was finishing up undergrad.  We had an apartment the size of a Barbie house.  We slept on a double bed.  We played guitar hero like every night.  I baked in our TINY kitchen and life was good. 
3.  Our church a year ago.  Our small group had 7 couples and they were all our closest friends.  Our senior pastor, associate pastor and children's pastor were all still on staff.  Now,  a lot of friends have moved away and my heart aches because we miss them.  Our church dynamic is changing, and probably for the best.  But still changing.

What it really all boils down to is missing life without responsibilities.  I love my child more than anything else, but now I have another life to take care of.  That's huge.  We have a mortgage, bills, cars, a marriage to make work.  Things are stressful. 
I feel like I'm still trying to figure out my role in all of this.  I know I'm supposed to be a wife+mother, those are givens.  And I know I'm supposed to mentor high school girls.  But what about ME.  What am I supposed to be doing to better the Kingdom?

These are just a few of the things going on in my head lately.  Amongst about a hundred others.  Anyone else ever feel like this?  I'm not trying to be a debbie downer, seriously.  Just ready for some jolly Christmas times, I think :)  Amen?  

lion and tigers and...

I don't have anything besides lions and tigers to talk about.  Maybe next year we'll add a bear.
Last year, C was a tiger for Halloween.  Not very creative, I know.  But I'm not a very creative person when it comes to Halloween costumes. 
Although, I should be because my mom sure was super creative when it came to our costumes as kids.  For example, one year I was a puppy salesperson. 


I know.  That isn't even a thing.
I literally had a huge box around me with stuffed dogs sitting inside ziplock baggies that were stapled to the inside of the box and I said "puppies for sale."
WHAT?


Anyway.  So last year we went with warm, easy and comfy.
So this year, I've been putting it off because I have NO CLUE what he should be.  B is ready for him to start being cool things like batman and spiderman.  I still want him to be cute furry animals.
At this point, we've settled on a second hand store buy (thanks mom) because I hate spending full price for something they'll wear for a few hours.  No thanks.

Here's your sneak peek:

 

Cutest lion you've ever seen?  Probably yes.

Stayed tuned for more exciting pics as he roams the streets requesting candy in a couple weeks.

My love for little boy clothes.

Ok moms, truth time.

4 out of the 5 days I'm at home with C during the week, I walk out the house wearing a hoodie, black yoga pants and sneakers.  On a "good" day, those yoga pants are replaced with skinny jeans and sneakers replaced with gray Toms.  But in reality, it's all the same.

Sad but true.
When we first found out I was knocked up, my heart skipped a beat for little girl ruffles, tutus, dainty bows and head bands, and all things PINK.
We had a boy instead.
But HELLO.  You get to dress little boys like grown men....only MINIATURE!
I lurve all things mini.  Donuts, muffins, cupcakes...ok mostly things that make me fat but in smaller portions.
This is why we recently got a membership to the Y. I digress.
So, having a boy hasn't been so bad after all, fashion-wise.
The kid is usually dressed way better than me on any given outing.
But can I just tell you, my mouth is literally LITERALLY salivating thinking about what is in store for us when our new H&M opens in a few short weeks.
Example:

He needs these.  NEEDS THEM. 
That sweater?  10 bones.  Tennies?  20 bones. 

Yes,  I'm serious.
Can you not see him in all these things? 
This store is completely the most amazing store in the history of all stores.  And I'm not exaggerating.  I never do.
So, this winter C will continue to look super cool and I will try to wear more skinny jeans and less yoga/pajama pants out in public.  I will not wear jeans in the house longer than it takes to walk into my room and change them.  I just can't do it.

field trip to the apple barn

C made his 2nd trip to the apple barn today.  This was his first "field trip" though.  Technically, we went with our Fun Shop group that we go to every Monday morning.
We got a tour of the apple trees+some delicious free cider and an apple.

 

C really just wanted to climb trees and throw pumpkins, but overall it was awesome and successful :)