Saturday, July 27, 2013

Rainy Saturday

Rain, rain, go away, come again another day. Because this guy is bored and wants to go outside.


Mama tries to distract him with crayons and a biiiiiiiiiig sheet of paper.



That lasts for about 5 minutes, so I pull out the big guns. 
Stickers can always be relied upon for a good 10 minutes of fun.


Maybe even 15 if Daddy joins the game.


And Mama, of course.


After breakfast/crayon/sticker/ipad time, he still has cabin fever, so we decide to brave the rain and let this kiddo loose at Barnes and Noble (his very own personal theme park, as far as he knows).


At which time he runs straight to the beautiful "Thomas the Train" activity table, carefully selects a lucky bunch of trains, and promptly moves them (one-by-one) to the big, empty stage. 


Surely trains appreciate a change of scenery on a rainy day, too.



Friday, July 26, 2013

Mommy Makeup Experiment -- Part 1

After Marty was born, I went through the typical new mom "my hair/face/clothes/personal hygiene are the last thing on my priority list" phase... which morphed into the "okay, I'll shower and brush my teeth, but I can't fit into anything but sweatpants, so why should I fix my hair and wear makeup" phase... which eventually led to the "when I lose these last 5 pounds, I'm gonna buy new cute clothes that fit and start making myself pretty again if I magically get more than 2 seconds to myself." This is normal, no?

These days, I'll admit I still like to keep things simple. I'm not usually fussy about my appearance, but I've recently decided that I need to step things up a notch. Get gussied up a little more often. Gotta remind that husband of mine that the young, hot, fashionable girl he married is still in here somewhere and he just never can tell when she might emerge (--> insert inappropriate tiger roaring here <--).

This morning I played with makeup for 30 whole minutes (gasp) and put on my first "full face" in over 2 years. Since before Marty was born, my weekday makeup routine has slowly dwindled to either a few swipes of whatever I can put on before my toddler catches me, or just forget the whole thing because no one really cares if I wear makeup anyway. On church days and/or date nights, I may spend a little bit of extra time applying my Bare Minerals, a little blush, and mascara (eyeliner sometimes). I can't remember the last time I applied eye shadow, and I know I haven't worn foundation in several years...

So anyway, I was surfing the web earlier this week and I came across the most adorable vlogger, who just so happens to do makeup tutorials (and also happens to be 15 years younger than me without a fine line or mysterious brown spot in sight, but I tried to overlook that small offense). Her "Summer Makeup Tutorial" caught my eye, and after watching it, I decided to have some fun. I want to share my results and some thoughts on this little experiment, but first let me say 2 things:

Thing 1-- It has been years since I put my face as close to a mirror as I did this morning. You know that saying about ignorance being bliss and all? Truth.

Thing 2-- The second my husband walks through the door tonight, I am high-tailing it down the street to the Indian eyebrow threading place. Sheesh.

By the way: Are selfies not the most awkward?! Here we go...

Before and after. No filter, no editing. 

My first thought when I finished the last stroke of mascara was, "Wow, I really like the way this looks, but dang, that took 20 freaking minutes." Before I had Marty, I probably spent way more time in front of the mirror every single day... but when my favorite kiddo in all the world is tugging at my sleeves and begging me to read him Dr. Suess, it is so easy to forget those days ever existed. And wouldn't I rather have my little man and his book than myself and a mirror? Any day of the week.

(Product reviews on my next post...)



Thursday, July 25, 2013

How to Raise a Texan

Back in March, we took Marty to the Houston Rodeo. It was my first time to go, and I was not at all prepared for how HUGE of a deal it is around here. It lasts for 3 weeks, and has so much to see and do that we were only able to scratch the surface with our little half day visit.

Next year, I think I will have to take two or three trips. One with Marty, one as a date night (they have fantastic concerts practically every night), and maybe one with my grown-up girlfriends because the shopping is killer.

This time, the clock was ticking because the place opened at 9am, and we had a nap schedule to keep!  So we hit the ground running, and in a couple of hours, M managed to pet a live kangaroo, share a glass of chocolate milk with the famous Borden cow, and score his first pair of gen-u-wine cowboy boots (with matching hat, of course).

We are raising a Texan here, y'all...


The biggest petting zoo I've ever seen. They just throw the kids in with the animals and hope for the best. I was just hoping Marty wouldn't put rabbit droppings in his mouth.


Mart's haul from the Houston Rodeo. They had so much cute stuff!!


And after nap time, I subjected my son to the kind of torture only a mother can come up with:


 He looks so little there!! In just a few months since, he has grown up so much. My baby is quickly disappearing. But oh how I love this "big boy" that emerges a little more each day. This was yesterday:



Marty still loves his hat. And every time he shoves it on his head (backwards or sideways most often), the little horsie gets to stretch his legs. Yee-Haw!! 

Graham Crackers

When you are almost 2, they fix just about everything...