Memorial Weekend

This might be a boring post, but I've been told that something is better than nothing, so here goes nothing.

We had a great, and challenging, 4-day Memorial Day weekend. It started with a wonderful Friday where we slept in, went out and shopped a bit, babysat another sweet 18-month-old Lauren, played in the Wigglin' Waterpillar sprinkler with the little ladies, bathed up & cuddled on the couch while we watched the So You Think You Can Dance premier. It was a great night with two really sweet little girls. It gave me a taste of what having twins would be like...CRAZY. ha.

Then, Saturday morning rolled around. It was supposed to be a fun morning where the three of us ran a 5K together for the Rock-N-Stroll run as part of the Little Rock Riverfest weekend. But instead- dun, dun, dun...the THROW UP BUG bit us. Well, to be more specific, bit my little Kennady. She threw up in the carseat just as we rounded the first corner after leaving the house. This led to a quick bath, change of clothes, & a reattempt to stick with our initial plan. As we got about a mile from the house, round two of chunking came along. At that point, we cut our losses and decided our day wasn't going to be anything like we had planned. With an immediate turn-around, we got her changed up again & decided to cuddle it out. We spent the whole day catering to our sad little tummy girl. We also had to cancel our date night to see Pat Green, Charlie Daniels Band, & a couple of others at the Riverfest. Turns out that might have been a God-send seeing as someone was shot there that night. Freaky, much?! I believe so. I can look at things like her being sick and see that it was probably a blessing in disguise. Sometimes you just can't know when or how the crazies are going to come out in these bigger cities (not to say that the small ones are much better). Either way, we had an alright Saturday when all was said and done...at least we did as soon as I got that nasty curdled milk smell out of the house & off all things that just happened to get in her way.

Sunday rolled around & we woke ourselves up with a great breakfast at IHOP. It was yummy & Kennady LOVED the whipped cream they put on her smiley-face pancake. We have been struggling to get her to eat this last couple of days, but haven't been too pushy since she was getting over the bug. We packed up our house in about an hour and a half & moved over to the Residence Inn where we were much closer to civilization & all things shopping. :) I'm a happier camper now. I think Kennady has been struggling a bit with the transition though. She's been whinier & fussier than ever before...at least I'm hoping it ends & it's a symptom of the transition. We saw some live music at the Riverfest in the afternoon, walked about 2 miles, dipped our own Krispie Kreme doughnut in chocolate & sprinkles, had frozen lemonade, let Kennady play & run through the water-spray park & finally headed home. It was a good time & I was happy we got to get at least a little bit of enjoyment out of our $60 investment in tickets...& that no one shot at us of course.

Monday was uneventful. Chad gave me a baby break & I went & got my toes made purdy. I got an awesome color which I now wish I would have taken note of. It's like an electric coral color & super-summery. It was really nice to sit in a massage chair (for an hour and a half because I was there FOREVER) relaxing while reading up on artsy blogs on Chad's iPad. We found a couple of good sales at the mall & perused several of the craft stores (thanks for going hubby). I bought a couple of things & began work on my precious barley wreath (Tatertots & Jello) knock-off. I think it turned out super-cute & I will definitely make some more in the future.

Happy Memorial Day to all of our troops, both past & present. And may we all remember that freedom doesn't come free.

Well, that's all we've been up to. Just in case you fell asleep, here is your alarm...AAGGHH!!AAGGHH!!AAGGHH!!

Crafty Thoughts...

Lately, I have come across several fun and super-cute crafts that I really want to find the time to make sometime in the near future. Being in LR has really provided me with some time to myself, seeing as how I don't have my own home to clean closets out, mow the yard, organize the attic, etc. So, I'm taking advantage & Google searching, finding fun sites, & thrifty but adorable crafts for the home & for gifts. Here are just a few that I have found that get me a little giddy inside:

This is one of the most creative 'upcycle' projects I've ever seen. I wish things & ideas like this popped into my head randomly. This is a vintage suitcase turned cozy-chair. This girl at See Kate Sew got the suitcase for $3 at a thrift store...talk about a steal! I would love to try something like this someday, but I don't know if I need another chair right now. Plus it's kind of a 'bigger' project. It's so stinkin' cute though.

This is a really sweet & delicate banner that would look so cute on my mantle. As all of you creative minds know, this could say anything you wanted it to. The tutorial for it can be found at My Blessed Life. You probably wouldn't have guessed that you only need 5 materials & that cute paperback is scrapbook pieces, huh?! So easy and cute.

This one, I found today via The Frugal Girl's website. The woman labels this Framed Chalkboard as a wedding gift, but I think it would be cute for anyone, especially high school grads. Super cute, because I LOVE this frame. I probably would have left it a mirror for my home, but the chalkboard is super creative. A little love-note from your hubby left on a chalkboard only makes the morning better, right?! Alright, I know it would most likely be the other way around, seeing as how I am usually the last to get in bed & the more thoughtful note leaver, but hey...a girl can dream, can't she?!

The cutest thing ever might be this Burlap Wreath. I'm a little hesitant to post this one as I'm thinking about making such things as presents for my favorite people. I'm sure you would still be excited/shocked/overwhelmingly happy to receive one as a gift even if you read this, right?! We will have to see how easy/hard they are to make and go from there. A tutorial for this cutie can be found on Tatertots & Jello. C.U.T.E. stuff, lady!!

Another one from the My Blessed Life site is this tiered plate server that can be done for under $5!! Can't beat that! I think I might make one for every season, but then I'd have to find somewhere to store them...oh well, what crafter can actually ever find somewhere to put all of their crafts, anyways?! It doesn't seem to make them stop making stuff, so I guess I'll figure that one out. That's what the attic in the off-season is for, right?! I might even throw a few more parties, just to show them off! ha. Like I need another reason to have friends over for a good time, but whatever. I'll rationalize my crafty-craziness in whatever way I choose. :)

Well, those are just a few of the fun things I've wanted to delve into these days. We'll see how much I can find time for, afford, & get home from this place. If you're bored this summer, maybe you should try a few too! :)

Consider us cultured...

Little Rock has proven to be quite the place to be for festivals & springtime fun. The past two weekends, we have experienced the Jewish Food Festival & a Greek Food Festival. We went to the Jewish Festival with the Webb's after church & it was a beautiful day outside. The sun was shining, we were nearby the river at the River Market, & we were hungry which was a GOOD thing. We had beef kebab plates with salad & pita bread with hummus, add on a kosher hot dog for the hubs. It was yummy stuff. For dessert, Chad bought some homemade macaroons & because I don't do coconut, I got myself some homemade chocolate & almond biscotti. Kennady was a huge fan of the cookies too. To see pictures of these events, check out our Facebook page because you all know I'm too lazy to post pics in multiple places by now. :) We hung out after eating & decided to head home for naptime with full bellies. The music was fun to listen to, too!

At the Greek Food Festival yesterday, it was wet & humid from the rain Friday night, but that didn't stop our bellies from filling back up. We ate a Greek Chicken platter with a Greek Salad & new potatoes. It was de-lish. Then, Chad took himself back to his Germany days & HAD TO have a chicken kebab, so that was also consumed. We topped our lunch off with an assortment of Greek cookies which included Baklava, Ginger Snap thingy, a traditional wedding cookie, & a Greek cannoli. It was another successful and yummy festival luncheon. We hung out for a little while and shopped the Greek novelties, but didn't buy anything. The 'shows' started about 30 minutes after we left & we would have stayed, but I wanted to visit the Whole Foods store before we had to head home for K's naptime.

On the way home, we discovered a place called Burns Park that had ALL kinds of stuff. It's a huge 1,700 acre park with 2 18-hole golf courses, 17 soccer fields, a mini theme park called Funland, a BMX course, endless hiking and biking trails, a playground, & a river that runs through it. :) I'm sure I left a couple of things off, but you get the gist. We let the lil bit play on the playground for a little while & finally headed home. It was a beautiful day. I think one day that we are here, we may check out what Funland has to offer us & might even get the jogging stroller out to check out a couple of those trails. The trees and woody areas here are so pretty.

This coming Memorial Day weekend is going to be a good time. We are going to experience the Little Rock Riverfest, which is a huge party & concert series for families. There are so many people that are going to be playing on 6 different stages, to include Pat Green, Johnny Cooper, REO Speedwagon, Nelly, & many more. To see all of the awesome and crazy events going down at the Riverfest next weekend, check it out here. We are considering doing the Rock-N-Stroll 5K race with Kennady & will definitely be there for some concerts, good food, and fun activities. Hopefully the weather holds out and we get to have a fun-filled and super busy weekend! :) And give proper thanks to all of the current troops & military families for all that they do to protect and serve our wonderful country. And to all of the veterans out there, we wouldn't be here where we are today without you. Thank you.

Hallelujah, the stress is lifted!

I want to be the first to announce and congratulate my intellectual man-of-a-husband, as he has officially completed his Master's program this past weekend & has earned a MBA. HALLELUJAH!!! My sweet hubby has been STRESSED out, my friends. Not for just a couple of weeks, but it's been months. He has had so much on his plate including, but not limited to, Instructor school, 3 Master's classes, being flight commander at the 40AS at Dyess, J-school for the C-130, being out of state & in foreign territory, raising a 1 1/2 year old, & being the supportive & helpful husband he is. That's a lot going on, people!! So much, that a case of stress-induced Alopecia, where your hair falls out in a circular area & takes a while to grow back, has taken hold of his noggin. Poor guy. These courses that he has been in, both professionally & educationally, are all going to pay off for us as promotion boards come up. I am so proud of him for keeping everything together, for powering through, and for setting such an awesome example for Kennady. I know she doesn't realize anything right now, but one day she will understand the amazing character that it takes to have so many things going on & still be able to care for a family as he does. Kennady LOVES her 'daddy' & for good reason. He is like SUPERMAN & this supportive wife is so happy to have ONE LESS THING on his plate.

The biggest of congratulations & the best wishes for hair regrowth go out to the smartest and most good-looking man I know...Captain Donald Chad Douglas Sellers. :) You're my hero.

What to wear, what to wear...

I have a wedding to attend in Texas the weekend of June 11th & because I either haven't seen many of the people that should be in attendance in several years (like maybe 8...when we graduated high school) or I haven't seen them since the magnificent arrival of Kennady, I want to look good. Everybody knows what I'm feeling. We've all sat back and set dates to 'get thin', clear up your face, or get tan by when you know you're going to see people who have no idea what your life has dealt you in the recent past. I want to feel confident, look cute but not overdressed, & be comfortable. Asking too much? Maybe, but that's what I want so that's what I hope to get.

I say I want to be comfortable and not overdressed because it is going to be an outside wedding at a ranch in mid-June in Texas. All of that being said, either way I'm going to be sweating & probably need short heels (for the outside, chasing after a 1.5 year old factor). I assume many girls will probably wear dresses with boots, but I've never thought that I could pull that look off very well. Maybe I need a new pair of boots...yea, that could be it. But, really, I just want to find a cute and mediocrely-priced dress that fits all of the above criteria. My friend Elya got me addicted to following a blog by a fashionable girl named Kendi. I have yet to take on her challenge of the 30 for 30, but one day, I think it would be fun to do. One of her sponsors is the Spotted Moth store & at their site, I found these two cute dresses & I'm asking for your feedback. I realize they are super-similar in style, but I wanted to know which one went over best with you guys. The website is giving an extra 30% off discount on an entire sale ending today, so I was thinking about taking the plunge and just choosing one. No pressure, but please comment soon. :)

This one seems casual enough, but still super-cute. Shoe help though, please?

This one is a bit more dressy, but a better color for my skin tone...unless I luck upon getting ridiculously tan in the next 3 weeks. That's doubtful, but I'm hopeful. :)
Your thoughts, por favor?

Oh yeah, to keep myself accountable (because I plan to keep it going), I wanted to tell ya'll that I have done really well this week with my workouts. Starting last Saturday, I ran & did some sprints on the track & Mon., Tues., Thurs., & today I have been doing Insanity workouts with the very ripped Sean T. My calves are more sore than I can ever remember them being & it's been tough to keep it going, but I'm feeling stronger everyday and that's the whole point, right?! That part feels good. That's all on that note. :)

B8-I23-N35-G48-O72...BINGO!! BINGO!!

Tonight was a fun and interesting night. It was one I will never forget. The night I lost my Bingo Hall virginity. And it was epic.

My friend Cassandra & a new friend Amanda all went out to dinner, sans kiddos (hallelujah!), at Casa Mexicana where we indulged ourselves with fajitas & a couple of margaritas....EACH. They weren't those little wussy ones either so we were feeling p-r-etty giggly & excited going over to the bingo hall across the street.

Well, we walk in, are directed to where we needed to obtain our 'hard packs' (a.k.a. game sheet stacks) & our free Dauber (a.k.a. ink blotter) for being first-timers. Woo-hoo! We just arrived & already 'won' something!! Well, we got something for free...almost the same thing, right?! Anywho...we're happy and obnoxious to all of the people already present and enthralled in a (come to find out) somewhat serious game of Bingo. So, we are lucky enough to find seats by a sweet African-American woman by the name of Lovely, and that's exactly what she was.

She tutored us on the different games & helped us along on our first Bingo journey. She was a professional Bingo-er. She had 24 games going at the same time, while we were only playing a measly 6. Yet, she would still occasionally notice when one of us missed a number and was sweet enough to Dab our spots for us. Then, we quickly caught on and were on a roll. About 7 of 15 games in, Cassandra was lucky enough to win one. She was looking at the monitor & the next number comes up so that people like Lovely who play so many cards at once can stay a little ahead of the game. The announcer then announces the number on the screen & THEN it's okay to yell Bingo if you have it. Well, she was excited as she saw the last number she needed pop up on the screen & prematurely yelled it out. Lovely then sweetly put her hand on Cass' shoulder and said "you can't yell that yet..." as we all gave it a good giggle & our cheeks turned red. As soon as the announcer got "I-22" out, Cass took full advantage of her luck & yelled it out again with valor. We were so excited for her and couldn't stop giggling until the people finally stopped looking our direction. The 'money-man' came over and paid her her winnings. It was great, or at least that's what all 3 of us thought.

Turns out the veterans of this bingo hall had a different feeling & so did Lovely. Since Cassandra won on a little '1-game piece', we think Lovely got a little jealous that she hadn't won anything yet. She didn't talk anymore. She didn't help Dab anymore. And she overall was a bit more reserved & concentrated on her bazillion game sheets. Amanda & I kept our hopes up to maybe get lucky & win one, but to no avail. I think that satisfied Lovely a bit. It's unreal the amount of money some people will pay for these games in hopes of barely doubling their money. Nuts, people... just nuts! Well, we had a good time anyway. Next time we go, we'll know to carry ourselves with a cooler demeanor and not be so 'kid's first time to the ice cream shop' excited.

Overall, we had a great time & are now just a little more cultured. I guess we have to go back...my pink Dauber still has plenty of ink!! :)

p.s. I did get pictures, but I'm too tired to post them right now. And I think I might leave that up to Cassandra once I get them to her. She's good at that. :)

Word Vomit & Moose-heads

My goodness...where to start?! I guess we will begin with 'we have been busy', again. I promise I don't skip out on blogging because I don't care about ya'll, it's just that I'm lazy & tired & busy. Sometimes it's just more fun to just sit back & watch t.v. while holding your hubby's hand. We all know holding hands is hard while your typing, and if you haven't ever tried it, well, there's a lot of logistics & wrong letter-hitting that goes into it. On another note...

Hubs, K-bug, & I are all temporarily relocated to the Natural State. And if you're no longer familiar with useless 5th grade U.S. trivia, we're in Arkansas. We have rented a home from a single man who is in the Air Force & who came to AR from a tour in Alaska. He lives in a log cabin house which he calls the Moose Lodge & has filled it to the brim with dead-animal memorabilia of many different types. He has stuffed/mounted ducks, a HUGE moose-head, 3 bear skins & even duck wishbones hanging from his chandelier...OVER THE KITCHEN TABLE. Gross, much?! Well, the house is truly beautiful in it's own way. Not to say that a woman's touch wouldn't be accepted and appreciated. It is made of solid wood, has a wrap-around porch, 2 sweet Golden Retrievers (Aly & Rusty), & a very natural setting where we are surrounded by woods & cozily set back from the road & all other civilization. We have made ourselves pretty comfortable here & Kennady is LOVING the puppies. She barks ('ruf-ruf') regularly and randomly thoughout the day. While we have been here, we have played outside, gone to the park, gone to church, eaten sno-cones (K loves her Ice ('Ishe')), & gone shopping. It's been fun so far, but we have been told to visit the fresh market on the river & to visit The Wonder Place for kiddos before we leave, so we'll definitely have to find some time to fit those in.

And just to throw things off, I'm going to bullet the rest of this post:

*I have decided to focus on getting fit for summer so I ran on Saturday & did an Insanity workout today....I have a feeling tomorrow is going to be a 'sore' day. But it felt good to get my butt off of the couch.

* I also laid out today in hopes of gaining a little bit of color in all of my extremities. My stomach & legs always have the hardest time getting tan, so I'm going to try my best to at least achieve a basic tan before the real summer hits. We'll see how that goes.

* There is a HUGE moose head dangling over my own head right now...kinda freaks me out a bit. Maybe I'll shift to the right on the couch just in case his 400 pound head decides to drop.

* Happy belated Mother's Day to all of you wonderful mothers out there. Your stories & experiences as mothers has helped me many a time as we all go through very similar things & often need each other's help. You are all so good at being a mother and I hope your day was made special.

* Chad bought me a real Coach purse when he was in Las Vegas with his brother. I was really appreciative, but ended up sending it back for a couple of reasons. 1. It was the newest seasonal pink flowery one & I felt its design was a bit limiting for use. 2. I only carry fake ones so that I don't feel bad when I get it dirty, spill K's drink in it, let a yogurt raisin melt in the bottom of it, etc. 3. I never go anywhere or do anything WITHOUT Kennady, so there weren't many instances in which I thought I would get much use out of it. 4. I would never carry a real one with little miss sticky fingers/miss tear things up around. It would be a wasted investment in 3.0 seconds if she got a hold of it. 5. I want to use the money he spent to buy something I've wanted for a while now...a new camera. A nice one...one that captures things in motion & presents things in their true beauty. Any suggestions, throw 'em at me! And that's it for my 'for 3 very short days, I owned a real Coach purse' story. The end.

* In the past couple of nights, Chad & I have taken advantage of an early 'ny=ny' time for Kennady and have capitalized on it with cuddle-on-the-couch with a Redbox movie time. We saw Black Swan (kinda freaky, but interesting), Love & Other Drugs (cute love story, but lots of Anne Hathaway nakedness), & Casino Jack (which we barely got a 3rd of the way through before we returned it). It's been fun. Gotta love those $1 a night rentals...unless you're like us & drag it out for 4 or 5 days...but hey, they have to make their money off of somebody right?! Let it be us, I guess.

* It's bedtime. :) Ny- Ny.