Savings Some Money!

Savings!

Hey, Party Peeps, it’s me again …

I know what you’re thinking, twice in one week. I know it’s shocking, pull yourself together.

I remember when we found out about sweet Baby M and all her goodness. Everyone offered advice and told us how expensive babies were. I’m here to tell you, yes, babies are expensive, but not as expensive as some like to tell you.

I’ll share with you our tips on savings and still getting top grade products for our babies!

Clothes, Toys, Furniture . . . you name it. 

Trust me, I know how tempting it is to pick up 3 outfits at your weekly Target shopping trip, but try and refrain. First, if you’re like me, your family will do it for you. Seriously, between my sisters and our church pals, close friends -  Baby M and J have outfits to last until they’re in toddler attire.  

What happens is that you have your mind set on consignment selling, “I’ll buy this $35 outfit and resell it at consignment for $20!” Wrong. You’ll be lucky to get $15 for the outfit, maybe.

So here’s the skinny on baby clothes and toddler clothes . . . you go and shop consignment sales and stores, you’ll save a ton of money, trust me. Also, if you can find local swap shops on Facebook and you’ll have a year around consignment sale!

Same thing goes for toys & furniture. Let someone else pay the $80 for the toy or the $250 for the Pottery Barn chair, you come in months later and pay the $15! No joke, I’ve scored some amazing deals on used items!  My favorite is when  someone posts “free” on an amazing toy or piece of furniture.

Diaper Bags

Our first diaper bag was a gift from my sister, she bought me this adorable Coach diaper bag. I loved the look and loved the storage.  . . Until we had to travel with Baby M. The bag is really designed with small storage areas and not really good for cloth diapering or a lot of diapers. So I knew I’d need something different when  carrying for 2 babies… so I searched, read reviews and thought a lot about the Ju Ju Be bags. I fell in love with the reviews and then I started shopping for the bag. I was a little overwhelmed with the price, but I kept searching. Then . . . low and behold, someone posted a bag on a used swap page on Facebook. The person listed the bag for a 1/3 of the retail price and the bag was in perfect condition, complete with changing diaper station set. Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner!

 

Used Ju Ju Be, $46

Diapers

I shared with you that we started cloth diapering and I love it. I love the savings, I love the cuteness and I love knowing we’re helping our lovely Earth. So when we started the cloth diapering process, I knew I couldn’t justify to buy all new, I mean some diapers are $20-32 brand new. That’s a whole lotta money when you need 20-30 diapers. So I read a lot of reviews and found that we would start off with pockets. We also opted to try Alva brand and love it! We use flour sack towels and microfiber inserts. When buying used diapers, you need to be cautious and inspect so many things before purchasing. Don’t be afraid to ask questions, do your research. Also, just this week, while scoping another consignment place online, I found a set of 30 newborn & small diaper lot. Normally, the lot would cost roughly $250, but I scored the lot, with inserts, with disposable inserts and liners for $35. Oh, and the diapers were brand new . . . 

So for about $300 we will cloth diaper both girls, until the potty training days. Oh and before I leave the cloth diaper subject, the resale value on diapers is amazing, if in good condition. So I’m feeling pretty confident in selling the newborn lot for triple of what we paid. Selling the newborn lot will fund new diapers for the girls, new inserts or even different creams.

 

Huge Diaper Lot 

Coupons

I know when you hear the word coupons you think of the people who clear the shelves at the store, then pay $.01 for everything. I’m not to that level, though I wish I could spend the time to get to that level. I’m to the level of paying $12 for a total that started at $70. I mainly shop at three stores – Walgreens, CVS and Target. The stores print off different coupons, have coupons available online and even provide store bucks to use on later purchase – or in Target’s case, gift cards. I buy most of our household and some groceries through couponing. It takes me roughly 30 minutes a week to plan out what I will buy using coupons. I don’t clip coupons from the newspaper – shocking I know. I actually opt to not receive the newspaper and sometimes I score great coupons through friends, my sister or church peeps.

When you go to the store, make sure you go with a list and stick to the list. Seriously, you’ll thank me later. Sometimes I go in and I buy 5 toothpaste tubes, 3 shampoos and 4 body washes. Yes, that’s weird, but overtime, it adds up. So in one month I’ll usually stock our family for the entire year. It’s true. We haven’t had to buy a single toothbrush, body wash, lotion or shampoo product in a long time, years. It’s because of my one month of couponing. Of course, sometimes C will want to try a new body wash, toothpaste or toothbrush, but for the most part, we have a closet packed with goodness.

In closing, I want to make sure you each know that in buying used, comes some worry. People are shady and sometimes will not give you the right information, sometimes they don’t show when meeting you for an item and sometimes the item is not in great condition, as they advertised. So please, use your judgment, do your research, ask questions and bottom line, if you don’t feel safe meeting someone or don’t think the product is as advertised, walk away/don’t go. It’s okay, life goes on.

Whatever you decide, make sure it works for you and your family. I never let my couponing or any other money saving fun, spoil our family time, church time or anything else. 

Here’s to hoping I’ve helped you save some dinero! J

Until next time,

Mercedes

Hey, Hey, Heyyyyy!

Something crazy happened, overnight it seems that December arrived and it's now the 10th.

Holy smokes, Batman! It's hard to believe 2015 is right around the corner, but we're pretty pumped about it!

So what's happening in the Rodgers household?

Meal planning
Who am I? I'll tell you how this started. . .
One Saturday when Baby M actually decided to take a nap, I found myself cleaning watching Pioneer Woman. She talked about how busy she was and how vital meal preparation is in her household.
Then my mind started to wonder and my tummy began to growl . . . Then it hit me, I wonder if I too can board the "meal prep train." Well I went to the grocery store one Saturday morning and bought enough to feed an army. For starters, I only try and go to the grocery store to actually shop - once a month. So because I knew Baby M would wake up around 8 am, I needed to shop quickly and prepare the meals quickly. I left my house bright and early and to my amazement, Kroger doesn't open until 6 am . . . Kidding me right? Luckily, I had some other errands to run before lovely Kroger peeps were open. So I shopped for everything on my list - and was out the door at 6:30 am, no joke. I get home and immediately start unloading, petting Boomer, telling Boomer to stop barking and then finally start to cook. I made a list of everything I hoped to cook and I also made sure I had the containers to store the prepared dishes.

When I finished the meal prep, Baby M was yawning and waking up in her crib. Yes, that's right, before sleeping beauty woke up, I had prepared our meals for the entire month! Most of the meals were casserole type dishes, but I was able to properly store meats for tacos, chili, spaghetti, chicken and dumplings, etc.

The outcome . . . is fantastic. We literally thaw these meals and heat them at night, takes no extra time! So, if you're interested in meal prepping for your family, do it! I am forever a fan and plan to make even more meals before Baby J joins our party!


Cloth Diapering
What, that's gross! Save your words! I tried to cloth diaper months ago and failed. I was using the worst inserts available and luckily my friend Jenn helped a sista out! Shout out to Jenn!!

So I immediately bought better inserts, more diapers, more inserts, better diaper pail and .... low and behold, we're celebrating our month anniversary this week & I just bought Baby J's entire stash of newborn diapers yesterday!

I feel quite foolish for not seeking advice sooner, all the money we've wasted on disposable diapers, ugh, pains me to even think about it.

I chose to use pockets, one size for Baby M and I love them. Sure, the diaper + prefolds makes the baby's bottoms a lot more fuller, but I'm forever a fan of cloth diapers. I think C is still on the fence about the diapers, but I'm sure he's appreciating the savings!


Thanksgiving
We were able to spend most of Thanksgiving with Cody's family. It was pretty great to see his cousins, eat amazing food, and watch Baby M perform for all of the adults. I still wish I had taken a plate home with me, lawd, that dressing was amazing. The ham, tasted like nothing I've ever had in my life ... it was Heaven.

The week of Thanksgiving,  Cody's dad and step mom stopped in for a visit from Texas, God's country. It was great to see them play with Baby M and I think Baby M wanted them to stay, because who else would give a baby sweets at 8 pm? I guess that's what grandparents are for. . . it's payback since I'm sure C was a handful.

Martinez Christmas 
Every year my family gets together sometime before Christmas, to celebrate Christmas and birthdays together. We have family in Michigan, Texas, Oklahoma and Colombia - yes out of the country. So while the closer states get together often, the MI and MS crew tend to only see the family once or twice a year. It's always a blast, drama filled, food feast and calorie overload good time! When we arrived, it was about 1:30 am on Friday morning. Baby M was set up in her very own room and C and I were in one of the guest rooms. In my mind, I imagined setting up the baby monitor, walking to our room and catching some Z's before Friday's party. . . Baby M had other plans. She wanted to party in the guest room with us and she wanted to play slap-punch-kick us in the face. I wish I could say the next two nights were magically filled with sleep, but no, that would be a lie. Baby M wanted nothing to do with her pack and play and we wanted to nothing to do with co-sleeping.

Despite Baby M's sleeping fun, the weekend was a blast! The aunts and uncles went above and beyond for the nieces and nephew's visit. We went to the museum, the boys played football, dodge ball, we spent some time with Santa and opened mounds of presents. When we left, our entire car was full of all sorts of things, no joke. My sister even bought Baby M the girl and boy elves, don't worry, I'll cover these in a bit. Keep reading. 

The cousins 

Maggie at the Museum 

Play dough sesh with the best 

Birthday Celebration Part 1

My sister Fran always captures the best moments

Christmas 

We have such a large family, we have amazing friends - just really blessed with so many awesome events and fun around the holidays. So we do Christmas all throughout the month of December. The day after returning from Oklahoma, we hosted our church party, this Saturday we're hosting a gingerbread house party and then on Saturday C is also going to another Christmas party . . . so we love us some Christmas and good times!

Now, onto the elves. When I first saw the elves I laughed and thought, how creepy. Then we welcomed Baby M into the house and I wondered . . . What will we do about these elves and Santa. I mean, who doesn't love an adorable picture to show M's future husband Baby M when she gets older? Well the elves are adorable, but the whole story about them watching you and reporting back to Santa, seems like a story I heard off Dateline. . .

So, yes we have the elves and yes, she went to visit Santa, but we put no importance in either. In fact, we're keeping the elves out all throughout the year because she loves to chase our dogs with the elves. I mean come on, even Blue and Boomer are deathly afraid of these little devil elves . . .what does that say? As for Jolly Ole Saint Nick, no thanks. I think he's a great guy, but he's creepy too! I can't teach our kids to believe in a weird reward system around the holidays. "You act nice and this large, beardy, strange man will come bring you presents, down a chimney we don't have." I just can't and we won't. Now, with me giving you my opinion, sharing with you what we won't do, I'll also add ... that we do not judge our friends or family for bringing these traditions in their home. That's 100% a okay with us, trust me, we're fine with Santa and the elves, its just not something we're going to put a major focus on. With that being said, if you need someone to play Santa aka eat cookies for you, sign me up for that gig. I'll take one or three for the team. #teamplayer

Growing up, Christmas wasn't about the gifts, the food or about Santa, it was really about the birth of Jesus. From the beginning, I hope I've shared enough for you to know that our faith in Jesus may grow weary, but we're big fans of him and his works. : )

In case Baby J comes early, or in case I fall into a food coma, I wanted to wish you all a very Merry Christmas. I pray you are surrounded by loved ones and that wherever you are, that you know you are loved!

Many blessings to you and yours!

New, faster way to open gifts 

Oh, don't be alarmed if you don't receive a Christmas card from us, we've got something special in mind for the New Year! No, we aren't sending you elves.

Until next time, stay classy amigos.

Mercedes

Giving, Receiving & Gratitude

Hey y’all!

It’s hard to believe that next week I’ll be in a mashed potato-dressing-turkey coma, but I’m ready for the goodness.

In today’s post I wanted to share my story about giving, receiving and gratitude.

When I was a little tot, maybe 5, I remember my dad coming in Christmas Eve night with a large black trash bag. It was way past my bedtime and the only reason I was awake, was because my mom told me I could have a fresh tamale. Insert - I'd do just about anything for a tamale. Every year my mom would make a ton of tamales and we’d have a tamale feast for Christmas dinner.  I remember seeing him walk in with the bag, huge smile on his face and watching my mom start to cry.  It was a gentle cry; I think it was happy tears. I remember my dad opening the bag and all sorts of beautifully wrapped boxes fell to the floor. I walked over and started looking through the boxes and I saw my name, my little brother’s name, even my mom’s name. Of course my parents were lame and made me put them under the tree, not letting me open even one. The next morning we were all in shock to see the boxes under the tree. I opened a box and it was a beautiful coat for me, then my little brother opened a box and it was a toy truck, I think some got perfume, clothes and even more toys.  

I remember that day like it was yesterday. I can still see my mom standing in the room and my dad’s smile. I remember what I wore that Christmas morning when I opened my box. It wasn't until years later, that I learned more about that night. The bag my father carried in, the bag filled with beautifully wrapped gifts, was from a family who “adopted” our family for Christmas. See, my parents worked hard to provide the necessities and sometimes that meant that on Christmas day we had a tamale feast and watched the Christmas Story reruns. The presents were great, but not a necessity. Up until that day, I never knew Christmas was to involve gifts, I always thought  Christmas was about family time, mom and dad were both off work and of course tamales for everyone!

I am not sharing my memory with you to make you feel sorry for me, please don’t you dare. I grew up with the greatest parents in the world. I know their time on earth was cut short, but they did their job well. I am blessed with a military of brothers and sisters, the world’s toughest and most loving brothers and sisters. Our home was always full of arguments, laughter and great food. I always had my necessities – God, my family, food, shelter & much more. So please, don’t carry that with you when reading this post.

My hope is that when reading my post, God stirred a little in your heart. Maybe God gave you a name, family, or situation. Maybe God challenged you to give generously this year. 

Whatever way you give, give cheerfully. God truly does honor a cheerful giver.

Be blessed my friends, be blessed.  

I'm still hungry, nothing new.

Mercedes has been living a busy life these days. Something about holidays approaching makes my time part ways. . . 

My life still consists of bad eating habits, Pinterest overload and Target. As a family we have a lot of exciting things on the horizon, scared to say the least and excited! 

For starters, yes, I still have to cook dinner. I try and mix it up a lot of times, my go-to meal will always be spaghetti bake. It's easy and it's delish. Last night Baby M helped cook and she was pretty excited until she realized she couldn't beat Blue with that particular spatula. 

When I say beat Blue, I mean occasionally spank him and force kisses on him.  

Baby M is still keeping us on our toes, finding new ways to keep us laughing, scared and all of the above. She's actually training for the circus right now, working on some of her tricks for her upcoming show.   

On a wild whim, I started browsing new furniture for Baby M's room. I wanted something that was unique and antique like. I found the beds immediately and loved them. Right now, we have left the beds red, the original color, but this weekend we're painting them an antique white. This weekend I'm also making some white bumpers for the beds. I'm pretty sure my favorite color is white and coral, so of course you'll see those colors throughout our house. I'm not wild when it comes to snazzy colors, I'm boring and love my neutrals.   

Her room isn't finished, we're adding some to the walls and other areas of the room,  but for the most part, I like clean walls with very little on them. 

 My favorite part of the room is coming together, but it's not finished. I found this dresser and fell in 

love. I originally wanted to paint a dresser, but when I locked eyes on this beauty, I knew I couldn't even stomach the thought of putting paint on this beauty. We polished and cleaned the dresser and I pretty much go in everyday to look at it, several times a day. 

Side note, if you don't know, you should know, that I love platters, cake stands, furniture and decor. Oh, people too. I love people. Duh. 

C built some shelves to hold the books, but I wasn't feeling the shelves with the new decor, so we opted to use something we've had for a while - an old pallet shelf. 

I know the space is perfect for a mirror, but I think we're going to build a wall collage near the book shelf. Hence, the random lonesome pink frame.  

We hosted some get together recently and I made this garland. It was simple, used my heart punch to make a million hearts, twine and some tissue paper to make some pom poms. I loved it so much that I didn't just want to toss the garland, so it now helps fill the soon-to-be collage wall. 

Next, my MIL celebrated another birthday last week. She'll never know how grateful we are for her and all she does. She's truly a saint & the worlds greatest MeMary. 

To add to the fun, we threw a wedding in the mix. C's cousin asked us to join in on the festivities and the day was pretty grand. The girls met a few days before and had a girls night, nails, drinks, good food and way too much laughter. I'll never forget the girl at the nail salon - don't worry, I'll mention that in a future post. 

*Also, before I forget... if you're in the Memphis area, do yourself a favor and book your nail appointments with the Nail Bar. I can only speak for the Harbortown location - but to say they are the best is an understatement. They're professional, amazing at their job and very friendly. Their amazing prices will shock you! 

At the Nail Bar

Family Picture 

The bride 

Baby M rocking the flower girl dress

Before we part ways on this VERY long post, I wanted to say Thank You. 

Thank you for your prayers & love. 

Thank you to our family. 

Thank you to our dear friends. 

Thank you to those that have offered so much support. 

Thank you to those who have gifted us so many precious items. 

Thank you to those who promised to walk with us through this journey. 

Our words will never be enough, they will never amount to the gratitude in our hearts. 

Since day one, C and I knew we wanted kids and when our fertility problems started, I prayed and prayed for one child. Then when we finalized the adoption with Baby M, C and I kept believing God would open the door for more babies, more children. 

Then one early morning before work, God opened the door. 

Last, I think a lot of people give C and I this amazing credit for adopting. While we are indeed adopting children, we are in no way heroes or closer to God for doing so. 

What we are is humble and grateful for these opportunities. 

Our birth moms are amazing for giving us these opportunities. 

C and I take no credit whatsoever for God's work. 

In my mind and my heart, I believe God mapped out his plan many moons ago, before I even met C. God knew we would face these fertility trials. God also knew that he would grow babies in bellies that would one day make their way to our home. 

C and I aren't perfect, but we do believe and call upon God's name. 

If you take anything away from this blog post or adoption, 

know that nothing is too big or impossible for God. 

With love, 

Mercedes 

Hey Y'all

So sorry for the absence

Life is so crazy busy it seems. 

We have lots going on at the house, visiting friends, celebrating friends and starting church small groups. Though we’re in a busy patch in our lives, we’re having fun and grateful for everything that's filling our time!

I'll start everyone off with an adorable picture. We do bath time around 7:45 pm, brushing of the baby teethies, book reading/milk time, then sleepy time. 

I'm extremely grateful to our family who supplies her book selection. Seriously, every week we get new books for Baby M and clothes, it's amazing.

This past weekend we hosted a wedding shower for our dearest friend & cousin. They're getting hitched in mid-October and they've asked us to join the festivities. It'll be Baby M's first time dancing down the isle.  I feel like we should sign a waiver as I'm not sure I want to be liable for her actions... 

When re-doing our kitchen, we add this snazzy chalkboard

On Sunday, a good friend invited us to the fair. She gave us some awesome passes  - the rides and admission were included on her passes and we had a blast! Baby M enjoyed the animals and the funnel cake. She cried when we saw a friend and offered her the funnel cake. She wasn't a fan of the pronto dogs, which was sad to me, as they are truly my favorite. A part of me was a little happy too, as that means I won't have to share my pronto dog... 

C bought the most disgusting burger ever and the world's best fries. . . It was literally Fat Girl Central aka My Heaven on Earth. 

Unicorn C won for Baby M. She's obsessed with the Unicorn - they named
her Pearl. 

Finally, I'll leave you with this picture. It's how Boomer feels about mornings, Mondays, empty dog bowls...  

 Until next time! 

Hello Survey

When a friend emails you a survey… you complete said survey:

Q: Describe your parenting style in one word.

A: Hilarious

Q: Favorite T.V. family of all time.

A: Boy Meets World

Q: What's always in your refrigerator?

A: Milk

Q: Last meal you made for your family?

A: Spaghetti

Q: Physical trait you hope your child doesn't inherit from you.

A: My feet

Q: Craziest thing you've done because you were sleep deprived.

A: Slept through some alarms.

Q: If you wrote a parenting manual, what would the title be?

A: It gets better

Q: Last lost toy you helped your child find.

A: Basting tool

Q: Kids' T.V. show you love.

A: I like Dora

Q: Fill in the blank:

"I almost fell over when my dog humped a guest recently. . .

Q: Guilty pleasure?

A: Keeping up with the Kardashians

Q: Favorite place on Earth?

A: My bed.

Q: Best piece of parenting advice you ever got?

A: This too shall pass

Q: First word that pops into your head when you hear the word "mom"?

A: Badass

MeMary

A year ago today, I did something I wasn't really ready for. 

I became a working-outside-the-home mom. 

I remember when I announced our adoption at work. I was a little nervous and a little fearful. What happened if I did want to stay at home? What would it be like to never eat again and to be homeless with a newborn? Kidding, kind of. . . 

I truly do love my job and working. I work for a great company and most days are great days. If I focused on the bad days, I wouldn’t grow and I wouldn’t enjoy my job. I remember leaving my safe-haven aka the banking world and venturing out to this side of the world. I’m glad God opened the door and kinda kicked me to take this opportunity. I’m grateful to work here and to work among these great men and women.

I remember the last week of my maternity leave. I remember trying to plan for the weeks ahead and thinking of every possible scenario that could happen. Then Friday came, then Saturday, Sunday and then Monday night. On Monday night I remember holding Baby M just a little tighter, just a little longer. I remember not going straight to sleep, but instead fumbling through the channels. As I made my way to bed, I remember stopping at her door and silently listening and wondering.

The next day I was up way earlier than normal, prepping and preparing for my first official day back. I remember pulling up at MeMary’s house and dropping off Baby M. I remember saying bye and getting in my car. I remember crying as I backed out of the driveway and wondering if I had made the right decision. As the days passed, it was easier to let go, little by little.

Trust me, I get that our situation is different. Not everyone has a MeMary, or a giving mother in law like I do.  If you do, count your blessings!

Today, I’m sharing some MeMary stories:

Our MeMary likes to laugh

Baby M and MeMary actually laugh at nothing. MeMary can start this loud laugh and Baby M will start giggling uncontrollably.

Mid-tantrum Vogue pose 

Our MeMary likes to dance

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve pulled into the garage and heard our surround sound blaring. I walk in the door and find Baby M busting a move and MeMary watching nearby clapping for an encore performance.

Our MeMary lives outdoors

Of course Baby M is an outdoors fan. She cries when we try to bring her inside. She actually would prefer to sleep, eat and party outside, but the friendly mosquitos love her baby lotion, so we have to limit the outdoor parties.

who needs a shirt? 

Our MeMary breaks the rules

I lost count at how many times Baby M has had a chocolate mustache before dinner or the moments Baby M stalks our drinks in hopes of the occasional Dr.Pepper swig.

Every day when I leave to head into work, I know she’s in the greatest of greatest hands.

To our dear MeMary,

  May you always know how grateful we are for everything you do for us. We truly enjoy our time with you and always hope you know just how much we love you.  

Love,

Your fan club

Aka Baby M, Blue, Boomer, Cody & Mercedes

Mercedes

I’m this 30 year old girl, born in Texas, raised in Oklahoma.

I married my high school sweetheart, I’m obsessed with baking.

I truly adore my family, Baby M & the dogs. 

I am strong only because of the people who do life with me.

Today I wanted to share some bits and pieces of Mercedes.  

Here’s why. . .

I think sometimes social media paints an amazing picture, when really, we’re all wishing for Friday and hoping to find some extra cash in an old winter coat. .  . Am I right?

I think sometimes people think I have it all together, when in reality, I don’t & I'm super weird. 

I know it's shocking to find out, but I'm not perfect and I’m okay with that. 

What I am is enough. 

I am Mercedes.

  

Mad

Yup, folks I’m not always happy. I have road rage to the extreme and I am extremely impatient. Ask C he’ll give you several hundred thousand examples. I seriously try and pray before I ever touch my door handle to my car. I don’t like being mad at drivers or mad at slow moving peeps, but it’s a struggle.

Eager

I’m always multi-tasking, trying to check anything and everything off of my list. Yes, I really do make lists.

Re-run fan

If you ever go on a long car ride with me or could somehow get into my head phones. .. You’d know I love to repeat my jams. Like seriously, I listened to 1 song over and over during my half marathon. No lie.  

Are you starting to feel sorry for Cody?

  

Crazy

I’m crazy about a lot of things. Like, why are the sanitation wipes empty every time I go to Kroger? Why do people wait an hour in the Chicfila drive through, when they could park and get their meal faster? Why does Baby M not like her $300+ car seat?

Excited

I get weird type of excited. I get excited when Pier1 has a sale. I get excited when my dog comes inside after I call his name twice, not 10 times. I get super excited when toothbrushes are $.50.

Dishes

I’m obsessed with dishes. I also love platters, cake stands, bake ware. Seriously,  I would buy a platter every week if I had the room for said platter or could convince Cody I needed said platter.  The colors, the shine, the placement. Don’t get me started on pottery or bowls, we could be here all day.

Engaged

If you and I are having a conversation, I am engaged. I do not look at my phone, I do not drift into outer space, you get all of me.  

Sleepy

About 2 weeks ago I became a non-sleeper. I only sleep for a couple of hours, then I find myself pondering and pinteresting ... Do you know how many pallet projects I've made, in my head?  

I tried to stick with the letters of my name, but I’m also a few other letters.

I’m J for Judgmental.

I struggle with understanding everyone’s opinion and reasoning. I know it’s not okay and I’m working on it. The struggle is real.

I’m L for Loud.

I’m the loud friend – laughs loud, parties loud, has the loud house, buys the noise makers for kids – I’m loud and proud.

Basically, I’m working on me every day.

Could I work harder, yup.

I’m not the best I can be yet, but I’m making strides to get better.

Adios Amigos.

Birthday Goodness!

Gifts 

I love giving gifts and I love getting gifts! 

I’m not the normal person though, I don’t glee for joy when the gift is $1,000, I’m the odd person that jumps for joy when the gift was $1,000, but you only paid $50 because it was used and in good condition. . . Not kidding. I love a good sale and I love when people shop smart! Another thing I love about gifts, is thoughtful gifts. I like when someone puts some serious thought into your gift, that makes me glee for joy.

So when I had an awful day on Friday, in all C fashion of being an early gift giver, he told me to grab something for him. So Baby M and I walk over to the deck and grab this tool bag. I’m about to hand it to him and he said, just open it and hand me the tool, my hands are full. When I open the bag, it’s gift boxes! *note – small gift boxes excite me more than large gift boxes* When I unwrap the gifts it’s the camera and film I've been eyeing! 

It's a Polaroid type camera, prints pictures off immediately

I love projects, so one reason I wanted the camera, was to start on my next project! I wanted to hang some pictures in Baby M's hallway. So as we built the deck, I started to shop through the scrap pieces to build my platform for said pictures. About a year ago I found a bow making tutorial on YouTube, so I knew I wanted to add a bow... then C helped me twist a wire hanger to clip the pictures to. I plan on adding more pictures, but for now it has 3 cute pictures! Oh, I also painted the board some mint color, let it dry, then sanded the edges and middle for more of an antique type look. 

On Monday I came home to some unique items. My sister recently went to visit my other sister in Colombia. They had a great visit and I didn't expect to receive birthday presents from Colombia, but I did! Baby M, C and I received chocolates, toys and cool pieces of art! 

To most people, this cup wouldn't mean much, but when C handed me the cup I started crying. Only a few know my obsession with Mexican type art or donkeys for that matter. Here's why: 
When we lost our dad, I made a trip back home to help my siblings clean his house. It was a cool trip because I spent some time with my brothers and sisters, we laughed, cut up and busted our butts cleaning the house. We found a lot of cool things, but I didn't take a single item, except 1 thing. Rewind to his last Christmas,  my sister J bought him an adorable donkey figure. The donkey was carrying baby Jesus and had a sombrero and all kinds of cute little decor. My dad loved the donkey and laughed because of how funny and cute it was. So when we were cleaning the house, I took the donkey with me. The donkey is truly a Christmas item, but it doesn't matter to me and the donkey is proudly displayed in my house everyday of the year. As the years continue to pass, my sister Josefina always seems to find a way to sneak me a new donkey or something with a donkey on it. I've gotten some cool items through her travels, but the donkeys mean so much to me. She knows what the little figures remind me of. So when I got this cup, in a weird way, it was like my dad was with me. In that moment in time, it was a small reminder of him being with me always and on my 30th birthday. 

When you lose someone important, the smallest items carry so many memories. Sometimes when I'm dusting or walking by, I glance at the donkey & I smile. 

I had a training session on my birthday so after training I had about an hour of free time. I wanted to go home and party it up with Baby M, but I knew I could use this hour to do something I've been putting off. So I made an appointment with an amazing stylist and she did her magic. 

I am not a fan of long hair or super short hair, but I knew I needed to donate at least 8 inches, so Teresa did her magic. I picked out some short styles and she started chopping and combing. I was a little scared because short hair can be unforgiving. . . 

I ended up digging my new do and I'm glad I was able to donate 8 inches to some kiddos in need. 

My locks before the cut 

Selfie haircut pic

It wouldn't be my birthday without some amazing food. So of course C takes me to my favorite restaurant. . . Frida's in Midtown. 

I love the restaurant, but hate the wait and sometimes the service isn't grand. 

The food is amazing. I'm from Texas/Oklahoma and this restaurant is the most authentic tasting place I've ever eaten at in Memphis. I could eat here about 3x's a week and never get bored. 

I always get this amazing burrito and can never finish it. It's big & beautiful 

This picture doesn't do this meal justice. This is hands down the meatiest nachos ever.
Yes, this is the only "Mexican" food C eats. Lame.  

Of course the night ended at my favorite bake shop. Muddy's is good for breakfast, lunch, dinner and in between. Love the service & treats! 

So far my days in the 30's are pretty righteous. Lots to be thankful for and lots to be excited about! Here's to many more! 

Thanks for the birthday love friends!