Mother's Day Gift Guide

John knows that for every gifting occasion, he will almost certainly receive an extremely, ahem, helpful list of gift ideas from a certain someone.  It's not that I don't trust him to pick out something himself, it's just that I like to be a control freak help him efficiently organize his search.

I'm sure he finds this both darling and adorable.

(Or at the very least, predictable.)

Also?  #firstworldproblems

I know.

Today, I'm posting a list of my top Mother's Day Gift Ideas, over on the Edit blog.

Husbands, you're welcome.

The Fashion Wars

The other day, I asked Ally Grace if she knows what I do for work.

(And NO, she did NOT say, "watch Downton Abbey and eat mint M&M's like it's your job.")

(Although I'm pretty sure I'd kill at that.)

To answer my question, she very sweetly and adorably says, "Mommy, you help people figure out what to wear with their shirts." And I was all, well, actually....yes. You're right. And then, in a clever attempt at early brainwashing, I said, "see, mommy knows what she's talking about.....I will always dress you cute, so you will NEVER want to argue with me about your outfits."  Right? RIGHT?!?!

Wrong.

Cut to the other morning, when I am trying to shove her leg into a (fantastic) pair of cherry red skinny jeans. Paired with a gray, yellow, and red floral top, this outfit is so cute, that I may or may not have tried to shove my own leg into those jeans first.  Just in case.

(Which, um, NO.)

This moment kicked off Fashion War #1:

Me:  AG, let's put on your jeans (while grabbing jeans and a shirt out of her closet at the speed of light, because, did I mention that we're very late for school?).

AG:  EWWWWWWWWWWW!  Mommy, NOOOOOOOOO!  There's YELLOW on that shirt!!!!!!
(Spoken as if "yellow" is synonymous for "poo poo.")

Me:  But the yellow is so pretty!  Look, my shirt is yellow!  Don't you like my shirt?!

AG:  NO.

Me:  (Thinking fast) Um......but I hear Jackson downstairs, and he's saying "Ally Grace, I love your shirt!  Wear it down here so I can see it!"

Because dogs definitely always talk when their owners are having power struggles with their 3 year old. Clearly.

AG: (With a look of disbelief, accompanied by what may or may not have been an eye roll)  Jackson!  MY shirt is ugly, Jackson!  I HATE THIS OUTFIT, JACKSON!!!

Me:  Mama might need a drink now, Jackson.

Fashion War #2:
Recently, John got to "take clients" to the Masters "for work."  Also, yes.  I totally used air quotes every time he referred to this as "work." I'm sure he found it adorable.

Anyway, he brought home a little pink polo with the Masters logo on it for AG.  And it was as if he had given her an lifetime supply of fruit snacks, popsicles, and flashlights, all rolled up into a polo shirt.  Saying she's kind of obsessed, is like saying that the Real Housewives kind of disagree sometimes.

She wants to wear it EVERYWHERE.  And she has, um, some interesting ideas about what to wear with it.

Paired with a leopard print belt, purple sneakers, and the toddler mullet?
Bold choice, AG. Bold choice.

Fashion War #3:

All I can say about this one, is this: there was a winner.  And there was a loser.  I'll let you guess which title I claimed.

We managed to incorporate PJ's, high-waters, AND purple sneaks for a daytime playdate.   

In other words, a perfect trifecta of fashion "don'ts."

So, mothers of daughters, is this what I have to look forward to?  Years of arguing about clothes?

Excuse me, Jackson?.  I'm gonna need that drink now.

My Very First Guest Post

About 2 months ago, I got asked to write a guest post for the blog, Simple Marriage.  This blog has amazingly written articles about all things marriage and family-related.....and I immediately felt super intimidated.  

Because, well, it's ME.  I am not what you would call an expert on marriage.  Or motherhood.  Or on anything, really.  

I mean, do the readers of Simple Marriage want to hear about my endeavors to trick John into watching the Bachelor with me?  

Babe, look!  Sean clearly loves Jesus.  Let us support our brother in Christ.  

(He did not feel so inclined.)

Or would Simple Marriage readers want to re-live the time when AG decided that poop makes a fantastic art medium?

No one wants to re-live that, let's be honest.

I was stuck.  But, then, I realized that maybe I could mash-up motherhood and fashion, Glee-style.  (Well, except minus the awesome vocals and amazing dance moves).  And so, "5 Ways to Update Your Mom-iform" came to life.  

Y'all.  I love writing.  I really do.  But here's the thing:  it is VERY tough to put something out there, and be afraid that no one will like it.  SO, since this is my very first guest post, and since I'm hugely afraid that only 2 people will read it, would y'all go check it out?  And maybe even comment?  Like, tell me about YOUR mom-iform.  Or fill me in on simple ways you've updated your own look.

Or maybe, just possibly, even tweet or share my post on Facebook.  I mean, I'm not saying that I'd love you more if you did.  

But I'm not saying I wouldn't.  

  

On Wednesdays We Wear Pink

Tomorrow I'll be answering fashion questions over on the Edit blog, and I would love to answer any of yours! No question is too silly or embarrassing, I promise.

For example, you may have wondered why people think it's okay to bring overalls back?

(It's not.  Unless you're a farmer. Or a 5-year old.)

Or, you might be all like, why CAN'T I wear leggings with a cropped top, Sherri?

(No.  Just NO.)

Or maybe you heard that on Wednesdays we wear pink. 

(Um, how did you get in here, Regina George?)

Whatever your questions may be, I would LOVE to hear them!  Post a comment, Facebook or tweet me, and then be sure to check out the Edit blog tomorrow!

Lately

I have a great idea.  Let's just pretend that it hasn't been 2 months since I posted here, and pick up where we left off?  They say with good friends that you can do that, and since we're all friends here (yep.  I just made you all my friends, and you're just going to have to like it.), let's just act like it's still December.

Or not.  Because that was a long time and a LOT of pecan pie ago, and I'd rather just move on into February, if it's alright with you.

As I type this, I'm in Jackson Hole, looking out at some of the most beautiful scenery God created.  I've just survived a day of skiing, which probably deserves it's own post, since the last time I skied was 1992.  In Georgia.  While wearing jeans.

All I can say, is that I can now confidently maneuver a chair lift.  And I kick butt at picking myself up  from a fall without assistance.  You can attribute that skill to quite a bit of practice.

Anyway, the last couple of months have been crazy busy.  I've been doing lots of editing, styling, and personal shopping.  And can I just say, that I LOVE this job?  Not to mention, I now have an excuse for all of my time spent shopping.

It's research.

Obviously.


I've also been having entertaining conversations with people in my life.  For example:

John:  Hey babe, what are you doing?

Me:  Oh, just watching The Real Housewives.

John:  Are you learning about booty again?

Me:  No, that's Atlanta, babe.  I'm watching Beverly Hills, so I'm actually learning about Botox.

See?  Booty and Botox.  #thethingsyoucanlearnfromrealhousewives


Or how about this conversation with our UPS guy?

Me:  Hey, thank you so much!

UPS Guy:  Where do you put it all, lady?

Me:  (nervously laughing and hoping John didn't hear that), Oh that's hilarious, and by the way, stop looking at me like I'm a hoarder.  

John:  (coming up behind me because he DID hear it) Man, you're at our house every day. (while giving me the evil eye, and a mental "I told you we get a package a day.")


And then there's this adorable convo with my little presh:

Ally Grace:  Hey mommy,  you know what?

Me:  What is it, sweet pea?

Ally  Grace: I can't wait until I grow up and become a grown-up, so that I can drink coffee.  

I know.  Good moms say, NO honey, coffee is bad for you.  Honest moms, on the other hand, say that coffee is a gift straight from the Lord, and hey, is it too soon to take you on an outing to Starbucks?

Guess which kind of mom I am?

(Because we're friends, you should know the answer to that.)

Disclaimer:: As mentioned above, I typed this in Jackson Hole.  I'm posting this two weeks later.  I realize that I'm a slacker, but life has been kind of hard lately.  Busy, full, and just plain hard in a lot of ways. I so appreciate that hopefully at least a few of you are still around to read my silly stories.  I don't know about you, but I need some silly in my life right about now.

Thanks, friends.

Thanksgiving and Car Shopping

Hi blog friends!  Sorry I've been neglecting the blog lately....I really do have so many stories to tell.

(Uh-oh.)

I feel like I always say that "such and such month is killing me."  And December has turned out to be the worst of all.

(It has also turned out that I'm not very good at time management.)

Not only have we had something every night, I'm kind of concerned that AG may start calling her babysitter "mommy."  It's been THAT bad.  Add a new job, Christmas shopping, and getting sick in the middle of it all, and it's a wonder I've been able to keep up at all.

Okay, actually I haven't kept up. AT ALL.  I'm literally sitting here SURROUNDED by clean (yet unfolded) laundry, wads of used up tissue, and piles of unwrapped Christmas presents.

But at least it's not dirty laundry, am I right?  I can give myself props for doing the bare minimum of moving clothes from the washer to the dryer.

I'll take it.

But, Thanksgiving.  I was going to tell you about Thanksgiving.  It was awesome y'all.  We went to Nashville to see my in-laws, ran our traditional 5 mile race on Thanksgiving morning (very helpful for consumption of large amounts of pecan pie later in the day), and we even got the boys into aprons.  A good time had by all.

Oh yeah. This happened.

On Black Friday, I tried to bribe different family members into going to the mall with me.  They were all too smart too tired for that, so instead, John, his dad, and I went to test drive some cars.

(Why purchase a shirt at the mall, when you can purchase a car at the dealership?  Isn't that what Thanksgiving is all about?)

(NO.)

Really, we had already planned on looking at cars, since my precious Big Red just turned TEN YEARS OLD. My amazing parents gave her to me for graduation from college, and she has been everything a girl could want.

Until that girl added a baby and a RATHER LARGE dog to her family, and now when we go anywhere, Jackson has to ride on top of a suitcase.  And if we were to add another carseat at some point, Jackson is in danger of having to ride on the roof.   I feel not one iota of guilt, though, after having driven my car for 10 years, including many trips to the shop, breakdowns at the pediatrician's office (with a crying baby in tow), and calls to AAA.

It's time.

We arrive at the car dealership, and John kindly issues his standard reminder about NOT ruining anything by talking.  Because I may or may not be prone to statements like "oh, what's that price on the window?  Well, that seems fair to me!  We'll take it!"

Ahem.

I learned a few things that day, though.  For instance, when you've driven a car for 10 years, you may be surprised to learn that cars no longer come with tape decks.

Also, when searching for where to plug in the headphones your child will use to watch movies (yep.  Movies.  Plural.  On long trips, all tv rules go straight out the window, people.), it may surprise you to learn that "oh, those headphones are wireless, ma'am."

(And who are you calling, Ma'am, guy helping us, who cannot possibly be more than 2 years younger than me?)

(Let's stop that now, m-kay?)

You also may find yourself calling all the cars "space cars" while your husband silently laughs at you.  Which now that I think about it, probably doesn't help with the whole "ma'am" thing. 

John's favorite car of the day was the freaking huge very manly Toyota Sequoia.  I may or may not have caused all of the sales guys to go into fits of laughter as I tried to park it.  Several times.

AND NEVER SUCCEEDED.

And eventually had to let our ma'am-calling sales guy do it.

Needless to say, it's probably not making my short list.

Then we moved on to my favorite car of the day, the Buick Enclave.  Which is when this conversation happened:

John:  Babe.  A BUICK?  Did you suddenly turn 85, and I didn't notice?  You're freaking out about this guy calling you ma'am, and now you want to drive a BUICK?  Come on, now.

Me:  What?!  Maybe I can help Buick re-brand themselves to the young (ish) mom scene.  And would you please stop laughing and calling me Gladys???? Besides, it's like I'm driving on AIR.

One might even call it a space car.  

The Closet Project-Week 3

Hey guys!  I'm blogging over on the Edit blog today; Week 3 of the Closet Project is up!

(Also known as Week 3 of "Why Did I Not Think About How Painful it Would Be to NOT Shop During Black Friday/Cyber Monday Sales?")

Or possibly called, Week 3 of "Embarrass Myself Publicly on The Internet."

You're right.  We all know it's been a few years of THAT.

Go check it out!