Some things I have learned....

Here are some things I have learned in the past week or so...

1) it is a terrible idea to eat a ton of cookies after riding in the car 5 hours and then standing in the hot, hot Texas heat....(yes, I know, duh, and yes, it is probably a bad idea to eat a ton of cookies in general but, what can I say??)

2) My child thrives on a schedule...I means THRIVES....and, I also mean, when he is not on a schedule, ohmygoodnesswhereismysweetboyandwhoreplacedhimwiththisscreamingkickingmessofaballoftears?! no amount of the quiet whisper voice, loud shouting, time outs, what not seem to be having any effect on his behavior....yes, also should be obvious but, still no....any advice would be great here....anything at all....

3) when my son is a hot mess, his mother is an even hotter mess and not in a good way....we are a whole house full of crankies and momma is losing her mind, ya'll.....don't believe me?? I went to the restroom after being at work for 2 hours and realized that my underwear were inside out....yes, that's too much information and yes, I think that "modest is hottest..don't talk about those things..shh what are you doing, lo??" but, I feel like that exactly sums up my level of frazzle right now.

4) it's okay to spend a little money on yourself...now, we are doing the "envelope system" and trying to save every penny to pay some things off, etc but, one of my envelopes had a little extra money and I am tired of wearing my "one pair of shorts that don't really fit but they are all I have" so I decided to splurge a little on myself. which brings me to #5

5) it is even more okay to spend a little money on yourself when you are able to buy two pairs of shorts, two pairs of trouser jeans, one pair of work slacks, a simple white tee, a polka dot chambray button down (for FREE via a credit from thredup.com...go shop there now because it's great!), and a pair of high end name brand jeans for.....wait for it.......$35. TOTAL. yes, I am patting myself on the back and yes, I consider spending $35 on myself a GIGANTIC splurge and yes, I am crazy but, that's old news....moving on....

6) this past week or two has been crazy 4th of july holiday, husband traveling, us traveling, upcoming birthday month, not enough sleep for any of us.... (crazy for us, I mean....could be much worse ahem, Grace..I would hug your neck daily if I could)

7) apparently, crazy is the word of the month on sesamccarty street...

8) God is good....He is good and reminding me lots of things and I am trying my very hardest to be the woman/wife/mother He wants me to be. I am not perfect and I mess up....a lot...LOT LOT LOT and I am a control freak. budget, scheduling, food, diet, everything....not good so I am trying to remember that I just need to put it all in His hands and everything will work out just fine. and, if it doesn't, it is because He has something different planned for our lives...so, I think I will just sit back and let Him drive....."I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.." Philippians 4:13

1 week in...so far, so good :)

I am back from my week long birthdaybonanazapalooza celebration and finally over what I like to call my "birthday hangover" (not that kind of hangover, peeps...) Let me just say...it was awesome. So many thoughtful gifts, great lunch dates, fun surprise activities, etc. They deserve a post all of there own and there will be one once I can get my photos organized and all that. I guess I am moving a bit slower in my old age...ahem 

Since today is Halloween "Eve", let's talk for a second....

This year, we are not going trick or treating....

let that sink in for a minute....

Or, maybe you don't have to but, for some reason I am having to defend myself somewhat for this decision. The reason behind this is that my son is a bit timid about some things. Friday night I took him to my dear friend V's annual Halloween Party (seriously, Martha would be jealous...always a great time!) and even though we knew everyone there, my son was terrified. We spent 99% of the evening in the toy room playing just the two of us or in one of the boys' bedrooms jumping on their mini trampoline. He just didn't understand the costumes.....and, it wasn't even just the grown ups that he was afraid of. He was also scared of the kids that were dressed up. I knew that he was timid about things before the party (trying to watch Wallace and Gromit the other night lasted about 2 minutes and we were up with nightmares) but, I thought he would be fine since we were at a familiar house with familiar people....I was wrong.  Let's just say he is definitely like his momma and just does NOT do well with things that are the least bit "scary" so for that reason, we gave him the choice of what he wanted to do. His reply "I want to have a dance party" (side note: we quite often turn some music on in our house and dance around...it's fun, it's exercise, it's a good laugh..we like it). So, instead of risking more late nights and bad dreams, I am having a "Mini Monster Bash" at our house and together Finn and I will be making some very, very kid friendly Halloween themed foods (sugar cookies, banana ghosts, etc) and just playing at home. The only problem is, I am having to really explain myself for this...wait...what? From the child's point of view, he is just fine. He has a Halloween party and costume parade at Pre-K tomorrow and then fun activities at home? Oh, yeah, he is PUMPED! But, I somehow feel like a "bad parent" for not taking him door to door to get candy this year. I have no problem with trick or treating at all...I just think he will do better next year when he "gets it" a little better. Am I the only parent who is in this position? Does anyone else have this going on right now? Am I depriving my child of something this year? Any advice on how to explain this to other people without being looked at like I am crazy? 

I feel guilty now like I am keeping him from something even though I really and truly think it is for the best. Any thoughts?

1st Haircut

Last night, my baby boy got his very first hair cut ever.

 EVER. 

I have never even trimmed one single strand of those beautiful white blonde curls. We have always smiled and nodded (and chuckled) when people called him a little girl...and remember the bullying incident because of the ponytail? Whoops! Finn has always said he likes his long hair and never mentioned really WANTING it cut....until recently. He started asking for a haircut...not just any hair cut but he wanted to "get spiky hair, momma" like a little boy in his class. I put that thought in the back of my mind and then again yesterday, when I picked him up from school, he looked at a photo on the Rhea Lana's flyer we got and brought it up again. With bright eyes, he looked at me and said "momma, I want spiky hair like him" in the most serious 3 year old tone. We talked for a minute about how we would have to have our baths in the morning now so we could fix our hair, how it would be really short, etc. He was adamant about "getting spiky hair from the spiky hair store". I asked him when he wanted to go get a haircut and he said "Now". This was serious business, you guys! Off we went.......(after I washed his hair because the major downfall to that head of long curls was the HEAT...bless his heart...he was SO hot all the time :/ )

Those of you that know me know that I no longer have a regular hairdresser. I was dedicated to a fabulous lady (by dedicated, I mean, the 2 times a year I used to get my haircut/colored, she was the ONLY one who could do it....) but, I had Finn and spending money on those kinds of things was no longer an option so my hair was placed very far on the justifiable spending list. I have gotten the occasional "so so" walk in haircut and then let it grow several times.....then the last time I got my hair cut, I went to a different walk in place and got a really good haircut! We went to the Supercuts and even though it wasn't the same person who gave me the great cut, we were really AMAZED at how great of a job she did. Her name was Chiree and she will officially always be cutting Finn's hair. I couldn't speak more highly of how good she was with him and how great of a job she did!!

Now, on to pictures!! 

Before: 

While I LOVED my baby's long curls, they were unruly 98% of the time. Humidity, little boy activity, plus naps made it kind of a mess :/

Long hair combed walking into the salon...he was so excited I could not get him to stand still enough for me to get a good photo!!

Bye, bye, curls....Kept the first curl to save ;)

Such a big boy! Did not move or shed a tear! He was mesmerized watching her cut it in the mirror...

At this point, he held his hands up to his hair in the shape of a point and asked if it was going to "get spiky"!!

Finished!!! 

Of course, we had to go show it off to husband's family!

Grown up hair? check..Big boy scraped elbow? check.

Wiped out after all the excitement :) Oh yeah, and daddy got his haircut "spiky" too :) Husband, I love you and I love how you always want to match Finny

Little things...

(As I mentioned before, I will be doing some posts about things that make me happy/unhappy modeled after posts I enjoy reading by Brandilyn on Cats and Cardigans)

Things that make me happy this week:

New projects in the future with my shop. (Remember my shop? I haven't talked about it much on here but I have been busy!! There are around 100 items currently for sale! I plan on featuring more of those items on this blog as well as some things I have my fingers crossed about!)

Successful recipes and new recipes to try in the future

Toddler snuggles

Having husband around the house with us for 99% of the time Saturday and Sunday (!!)

Miller has a new sister!!!!!!!!!!! The Woodruff family welcomed a sweet baby girl, Mattie McNeil, into the world on Monday! Congratulations!!! <3 

Things that make me less than happy this week:

Ty Louis Campbell. Please go read his story. Please pray for him and his family. If you live close to them, please go give his sweet momma a hug from me. I know I have said this before but their battle is long from over and every tiny thought helps. I have never lost a child. My child has never battled a major disease. I know or know of people who have but, as much as I would like to think I can sympathize, I know that my aching heart for them and for what they have been through in no way compares to what they are feeling. 

This list ends there. As much as I would like to complain more about my "terrible threes" or the fact that my child hasn't been sleeping through the night, I can't. My "problems' are so trivial compared to what others are facing. As weird as it may seem to constantly think about someone you don't really "know", my thoughts have been filled with this family. I have been meaning to write about the recipes I mentioned or about silly things happening in our home and I just haven't. I promise to get back to posting about the other things but, just wanted to mention them again because they have been on my mind so much.

Super Ty

I woke up this morning all gung ho to share with you some delicious food I made last night. It has been a while since I have been cooking up a storm in the kitchen and last night's dinner was the first "success" we have had in a while. But then..something more important came along......

Super Ty

"Super Ty" is an understatement. Ty is a hero. Ty is my hero. At just shy of five years old, this little boy (and his courageous family), have gone through more than most people go through in a lifetime. Ty was diagnosed with cancer in 2010 and his mother documents their miraculous ups and heartbreaking downs. Super Ty was the first blog I ever started reading. It used to be the first website I went to each morning (long before I ever signed up to get the updates by email, long before my blogger reading list, etc). Ty needs our prayers. His family needs our prayers. If you have not ever gone to their site, please do. Please just take a minute or five or ten or however long you choose to read their story.

 My heart aches for him....for his mother and father and little brother. 

whoa, momma....

Whew! What a weekend!! How about yours? This weekend we really didn't do a whole lot...partially because we have been so busy that I was not only badly in need of a weekend at home but also, if I didn't get some housework done, dust bunnies were going to start playing games with Finn! (I am only half joking here, guys....I feel like I can be honest here!) Although, if we are REALLY being honest, I would tell you that Finn already has lots of "people" to play with around our house because he has several imaginary friends....Hi, Fred, Annie, and oh, um, one other "friend" whose name doesn't get said as often as the first two......is that strange to talk about? We are pretty out in the open with the "friends" at our house. Anyone have an opinion on that?

Which brings me to what I really got on here to talk about.....my toddler. We are three months and 2 months old.....going on 16. Does anyone else have this problem? Growing up, I remember people joking about the "Terrible Two's" then as I got older and got to where my friends were actually having children, the truth came out that the "Three's" were actually worse than the "Two's" and man, they kind of are! There is a fine line between being old enough to know right and wrong and then just pushing the boundaries to see how far they will go before mommies eyes go crossed! Then there is also that line between "independence" and "neediness". While this may all sound like I am complaining, please understand that I am NOT! Children are a gift from God. To be fortunate enough to raise a child where my biggest complaint or worst experience is a touch of sass is truly and completely a blessing. We are beyond blessed in a countless number of ways so please do not think I am enjoying a pity party for one here...I really am not! I am however curious if any of you readers can give me some insight into your own parenting methods....what works for you? Are you a time out household? Do favorite toys go into time out? Do you spank? (yes, yes, I know...I just opened a flood gate here with that one.......I just want to hear what "works" for everyone else). In our house, it seems as though the best response to a fit is to simply walk the other direction. Nothing makes my son stop a fit quicker then if I just walk out of the room.  Next thing you know, "tears" have stopped and he is right behind me.....but, then that makes me question..is this reallllllly working if he continues to start to throw the fits in the first place? or is this just that road that all parents go down where you just wait and follow the old saying "this too shall pass".

This post has already been wordy enough, so I am going to leave this open for discussion. 

What works in your household? What advice do you have? What methods to you use in your household to correct bad behavior or mold your children into gracious and respectful adults of the future?

Happy 3rd Birthday!!

You are so very beautiful, sweet baby boy <3

BEYOND excited about that balloon!!

So handsome!

You are such a ham! This is what 99% of momma's photos look like....you never stop laughing! 

3 years ago today...

....I met you face to face. I was already consumed with a love for you that can only be expressed from one momma to another. I remember the moment I found out I was pregnant. I remember crazy months following that moment and how glad I was that you were safe in my tummy while I got life in order to start over on this new road ahead. oh, how I LOVED carrying you in my tummy. I must have looked so funny just walking around smiling all the time knowing you were there...every movement was such a blessing. I looked forward to the evenings when I could be off my feet from a long day at work and just lay in bed and watch you move. I loved playing with you then just as I do now. I remember the long days leading up to when you would get here...I was so ready...a stunning and beyond generous baby shower girls night threw you to get your momma ready with everything I could ever need and more...my bag packed by the door a month before you were due to arrive...and a good thing too! Because you did not wait a month to get here! I remember that feeling the morning I woke up and something just was not right...little did I know the adventure that lied ahead or that I would be rushing to the hospital that very evening...two weeks early. I remember the flood of tears when they wheeled me back to the OR...fear, exhaustion, excitement....I could not stop them....until you were here and I heard you cry...then they brought you around to my face and I spoke to you and you stopped crying and just looked at me. I will never forget that face...you recognized my voice after months and months of talking to you and singing to you. Groggy from medication they wheeled me to recovery and took you to be examined. You needed help, dear baby....something was not right. The next three weeks were the longest three weeks of our lives...but I thank God every single day that it was only three weeks. It was so hard to go home without you but I am eternally grateful you did get to come home. So many of your "roommates" in the NICU had been there for so long....or shudder to think of the alternative. We are so blessed, little baby boy. So very lucky. Momma will never forget those moments.....those things we went through....I will never forget your drs or nurses. As three years have gone by and I have watched you learn so much and grow into the little man you are today, I can't help but be overcome by emotion. I am SO proud of you. SO very proud of your hard work and of the little person you are becoming. And though there are times you test me, I am still in awe of you....watching you discover new things everyday and watching your brain work. You are so smart, dear baby boy...you will do great things..I just know it. God has big plans for you, my dear.

To say I love you, dear Finnley, is such an understatement..."Love" alone does not express what you are to me. You gave me a purpose....I used to thing that God blessed me when He saved me from my own little hospital adventure when I was young but no, that was not it....that was nothing compared to Him giving me you. 

Happy, happy, happy birthday, my little Finny Berliny <3

*believe it or not, but this was definitely the short version! 

Mommy's Day

What Mother's Day was for me....

Art projects

Flowers

Playing Candy Land

My baby grew this for me at school...so proud!!! (for those of you that know me, the only thing I have ever successfully grown has been my sweet baby and my pants size..however, this little gem has STAYED ALIVE since Friday....3 days and counting.....)

Living coloring book...

ta-daa!!

God bless this sweet baby....the very best Mother's Day "gift" ever <3

(See those flowers on there shelf there? Husband got them for me...I need to throw them out because they are wilted...but I don't want to...not yet, at least)

What We Read

During a super quick trip to the library this week on my lunch break, I grabbed a couple of books for the little man and I to enjoy this week until we can make our usual Saturday morning trip to pick out books together. (and, to tell the truth, my books were due and I HAD to go! Whoops!!)

Here are a few of our favorites from this week:

"The Day Dirk Yeller Came To Town" by Mary Casanova, available here

This book is so cute! A rough and tumble outlaw meets a brave boy named Sam. A great book promoting reading!

"The Gobble Gobble Moooooo Tractor Book" by Jez Alborough, available here

Are you guys seeing a theme in my favorite books? We like farm animals. Seriously, I would have a garden and livestock if a) I didn't live in the city and b) I had someone to teach me how to garden and have livestock. Any takers?? Back to the book, this is a really fun read about a group of adventurous farm animals playing on a tractor. Get your little one involved in reading this one and get ready for lots of giggles!! 

"Oh no, George" by Chris Haughton, available here

This book doesn't have a long story but I loved the illustrations and the simple lessons of a dog named George getting in trouble while his owner is out. 

We will be heading back to the library on Saturday so stay tuned for more books coming up next week! 

Moments from Mommyland..

In no particular order, here are a few things I have learned in the past 2 and 1/2 years:

1) Unless you want an audience, showers are best taken before 7 am or during naptime

2) OxiClean Laundry Stain Remover Spray is the best stain remover I have ever used and no, I did not get paid to say that....(although I would gladly be paid in product...Hello, OxiClean? Can you hear me?)

3) Always double check that the wet diaper you asked your son to put in the trash actually made it to the trash....and not, say, the laundry basket like the one I discovered while starting a load of laundry on my lunch hour today....(thank goodness, it was only wet..while I am brave in handing out "chores", I am not dumb or the term "dirty laundry" might have had a whole new definition....)

4) I should have named my son Hansel for the never ending trail of chex, pretzel crumbs, etc that are always magically appearing around my house.

5) The writers of Wall-E must have named "MO" short for "mommy" because I am constantly trailing behind my son cleaning...see above

6) Cuddles are always a little tighter in the middle of the night when he has a bad dream

7) Ain't no shame in my game, I will, without second thought, bite a grape in half, remove the seeds and hand it to my son to eat in the middle of the Chick-Fil-A patio....my apologies to anyone sitting around us.

8) Telling you child that under eye concealer is to cover up your "tired" will result in any time you say you are sleepy, he will ask you if you need your make up...

9) Asking your son to put his plate in the sink after dinner is a great "chore"....do NOT forget to remove the fork and spoon from your plate unless you want to find it down in your garbage disposal...

10) There is absolutely no greater love than that of a child. <3