Little Grey Dress

Several items in my wardrobe get worn over and over again. I do this for the following reasons:
1. Since I'm a SAHM, my clothing budget is significantly smaller than it used to be.
2. I'm a creature of habit!
3. If I like something and feel confident in it, it becomes my "go-to" item.

Case in point: the grey dress pictured above. I LOVE this dress and what makes me love it even more is that I got it for $40!! It almost looks like something from my favorite store that I can't afford... Anthropologie, but I actually got this little gem at one of those "cute clothes for cheap" type stores in the mall. I purchased it last summer to wear to my 20 year (yes, 20 year) high school reunion. Since its debut at the reunion, I've worn it 4 more times including a wedding I went to last night. It's my standard wedding and special occasion number and it has more than payed for itself. I can wear it as is or with a pashmina or cardigan if it's chilly. This little grey dress in fact has gotten much more wear than a dress I also purchased last year at my favorite store that I can't afford!

So if you see me in this dress over and over again in pictures, now you know why. I hope I'm not the only one who does this.... am I?

May Madness..

The very merry month of May has proven to be merry, but very busy! I really haven't had a moment to slow down and blog. So, I have lots of catching up to do!

First there was Mother's Day. I celebrated my 3rd Mother's Day as mommy to Avery. I LOVE that part of Mother's Day.. being Avery's mommy. I love celebrating my mom and Brian's mom and the other mothers in my life, but Mother's Day is still somewhat akward for me. Truth be told, I'm sure it's akward for many women. Those who long to be mothers but aren't because of infertility or loss, because they aren't married or some other life circumstance. Those who have lost children in the womb or to illness or tragedy. Those who have placed babies for adoption or who struggle with the regret of abortion and those who have lost their mothers. I'm sure Mother's Day is a hard day for many of them. Before Avery came, Mother's Day was a big struggle for me. There were even a few that I spent the entire day in my house in my pj's and for at least 5 years in a row I didn't go to church on that Sunday. I just couldn't handle the "all the mothers stand up and be recognized" tradition and mother themed sermon that usually goes on in all well meaning churches. It was far too painful. I almost always left the service in tears and spent the rest of the day crying. Thankfully when we started going to The Village, I got a much needed reprieve. No mom themed sermon (THANK YOU Matt Chandler!), no flowers handed out to the moms, no standing up in the service, etc... So refreshing! All this to say, I'm still trying to navigate this weird holiday. I want to celebrate the joy and privilege of being Avery's mommy, but my heart is always reminded of those who are experiencing that all too familiar pain on that day and probably sitting at home in their pj's waiting for it to be over.

Okay.. on to more pleasant things!

My little brother got married on May 15th to his girlfriend of 4 years, the lovely Kimberly Bye. Our entire family calls her "Kim Bye" and has since Matt started dating her. Don't ask me why we felt compelled to call her by her full name, but we did and it stuck. For example... "hello Kim Bye", "how are you Kim Bye?", or "hey Kim Bye would you like a piece of cake?" I'm pretty sure we're all going to have to go through some sort of hypnosis to call her by her new name... Kim Phelps.



The wedding was beautiful!! The ceremony and reception were held at the Rockwall Wedding Chapel and it was the perfect location! Kim was a stunning bride, Matt looked so handsome, the ceremony was sweet and the reception was so very fun!! Such a happy day!!



Did I mention that I was a bridesmaid, I sang in the ceremony, Avery was a flower girl, Trevor was an usher and Brian was a groomsman?? Yeah, we were a little busy and I was just a wee bit stressed on the the big day, but everything went great! Avery did a great job for her first time as a flower girl. She almost made it down the aisle without any issues and thanks to my sister in law Alison (Avery's personal assistant for the day), she was very well behaved during the ceremony. She was finally able to cut loose at the reception where she cut a rug... I'm serious.. the girl got down! She was a dancing fool and it was the cutest thing I have ever seen!! Loved it!



During the few weeks leading up to the wedding, my mom & I spent alot of time together running errands and doing wedding prep. My Saturn Vue became our second home. We had some mishaps, including a spray on tan incident that was like an episode of "I Love Lucy", a few melt down moments, and lots of laughs. This pic proves that we survived, that we emerged relatively unscathed and that we still love each other.



Here are a few of my favorite pics from my camera:
















One of the highlights of the evening for me was when my husband schooled the new Mrs. Phelps on some 80's classics. They were singing at the top of their lungs and Kim even busted out with some riffs on the air guitar... classic!!





My latest adventure is babysitting our friends the Corsos' 2 month old baby boy Brooks. His mommy is an elementary school nurse so I'm watching him for 3 weeks while she finishes out the school year. So far it's going great. Brooks is a very sweet baby and Avery is handling him being here very well. She hasn't had any "that's my mommy!" moments and she's actually a great helper! She loves baby Brooks. I'm learning what it's like to have a tiny one in the house again. It's definitely interesting with two. It's quite the challenge to get a shower or even get out of my pj's for that matter. I haven't fixed... let's just be honest here.. haven't washed my hair in 3 days and haven't put on any makeup except much needed under-eye concealer and lipgloss. Guess it's good training if we get to be parents again. I think Avery would be a good big sister. :)

Brother Jack

I'm a dog person. Some people are cat people, some are both, but I'm strictly a dog person. I love dogs. I've always loved dogs and this love began with my very first dog, Jamie Allen, a poodle my parents had before I was born. Thankfully, Brian is a dog person as well, and before we became parents, we truly considered ourselves to be "parents" to two furry kids. We even referred to them as "grand-dogs" to our parents who were eagerly awaiting grandchildren. When Avery came home and we became actual parents, we immediately began calling our two furry kids Avery's brothers. Although many dog owners told us that our love for our dog children would likely change when we became "real" parents, we didn't believe them. I even got irritated on occasion when someone suggested that I just might love my human child even more than the furry ones. (What can I say... I was clueless).

Well, let me tell you.... "those people", the ones who irritated me, were absolutely 100% correct!! Although I still love my dogs, they most assuredly became 2nd class citizens once our sweet girl arrived. Thank goodness for Brian, because those poor guys get very little affection from their Mommy these days. My affection has been stolen by a blue-eyed blondie who very rarely drools after she drinks, whose bodily functions are contained to a diaper, who smells like Johnson & Johnson's, who doesn't shed and who is thankfully hypo-allergenic.

Clearly, my "favorite" child is Avery, but Avery's "favorite" person in our home(there I go again, calling them people) is Jackson... aka Jackie (Avery's name for him). That girl loves her basset hound brother! When he's not around she asks about him. When we pass the turn-in to our neighborhood she shrieks, "I want to see Jackie!" At home she talks to him, she plays with him, she offers him snacks, she asks him to play, she hugs him, she tries to ride him, she chases him, she lays on him... all with very little protest from Jack. Jack is a dog. Jack is often smelly and has a slight drool problem. His shedding is beyond annoying and on rare occasion he loses it on the tile, but Jack is a good brother. He's gentle and sweet and I think he loves his sister.

So today, I thought I would pay tribute to our basset hound, Jackson Stubblefield. He has been the subject of many photo shoots lately and it turns out that not only is he a good big brother, but he is a fabulous model! He really knows how to work the camera!