One.

With the reality of having a five - and a half - year old, I'm very much aware of how time flies. However, there are moments that still make it hard to believe JUST how fast it passes... aka our son had his first birthday this weekend. {{ Waaaaahhhh }}.

Amongst the after-Christmas chaos, we managed to get a nice little party together. The theme was "Cute as a Button" because let's just face it, he sort of is {says the bias mommy} but with time against me, I had to dig deep and find my inner Martha/Betty to whip up some crafts and sweet desserts.

And then it was party time! Here are a few highlights of the day. Photo credit goes to my sister-in-law and my cousin, because this gal was running around like a madwoman = mommy/host life.

One quick photo before the destruction began.

And then it was time to strip down to the diaper!

Excuse my face. The picture was taken mid-laugh because Mr. B kept swatting at the cake in my hands... he was ready! 

Although, he needed to feel the waters first.

He then got the hang of it.

And the damage was done.

What a day! We couldn't have been more pleased with how it all came together, and the pleasure of celebrating with our friends and family. 

And a very special thank you to this sweet face for being a big helper... and showing her brother "how to share his toys". Hehe ;) 

My heart is full when I sit back and reflect on these memories. I'm continuously amazed how God works and puts it all together. He is GOOD, and we are grateful.

Birthday number ONE, complete.

Happy Wisdom Day

Cheers to another birthday celebration! Yesterday marked my 29th (eeeek, last year of the twenties)!!! But instead of focusing on the years I've gathered, here's a few "How To's" I've learned in my growing years...

How to be grateful: it's ok to not have everything. Be appreciative for what you DO have.

How to be more patient: although it's an ongoing battle as parents, I continue to practice being more patient by breeeaaatthhhiinnnggggg and assessing the situation. Don't be impulsive and let anger or frustration cloud your vision on what needs to be said/done. 

How to be happy: it took me awhile to understand that this is 100% in our OWN hands. Only YOU can make YOU happy. There are things around us that increase that joy, but true happiness begins inside... and only YOU can control its presence. 

How to accept change: as we grow up, everything around us changes; whether it's the city, the lifestyle, or the people. For me it's mainly been people. I have learned (and beginning to accept the fact) that people change... friendships change... and that's ok. It doesn't have to be good or bad. It just is what it is.

How to NOT allow negativity in my life: again this is something completely in your control. If I don't feel that something is helping me grow - just weighing me down or making me feel blah - then I let it go. Move on.

How to stop and pause: this is probably the most challenging, because I feel I'm always on the go! Even if I'm at home, I never stop moving... cleaning, laundry, picking up toys, changing diapers, or just keeping two kids pleasantly happy throughout the day. But through the hustle and bustle I realize my children are growing at a rapid pace and I can't let a "busy life" get in the way of enjoying it... so I have to make myself STOP and slow down. 

How to give it all to Him: this area of growth has been by far my most proud accomplishment. To put it bluntly, I am a worry wart and with everything I think "what if", especially with my children. The anxiety level is unreal. But as I began building a stronger relationship with Christ, I realized how much more relaxed I become when I remind myself that He is in control and He will not fail us. My constant reminder is ... "to worry, means to not trust God." And under all circumstances, I DO! So I have learned to stop, pray, and give all my worries to Him. :)

There's been a lot of obvious growth in my last 29 years, but more so in the last 4. My perspective on what's important has changed tremendously and that's a result of life experiences. Life challenges us in many ways - sometimes to a point where it can feel damaging - but how we choose to handle it determines the end result. I chose to learn and GROW.

Can't wait to see what this next year has in store...

A special thanks to my dear friend, Tammy, for my new planner!!!

Unplug and Unwind

Although it doesn't seem like I do much in the virtual world anymore (considering my blog is left idle more often than not these days), I am constantly on my laptop or phone catching up on any updates, emails, webinars or newsletters I need to know in order to grow my little fitness business stuff. With that said, I took the time to actually "unplug" this weekend, and spend the time with my family! I did have a little boost of motivation to do so, given the fact it was my daughter's birthday!! So I closed my laptop for the entire weekend and just enjoyed my time with the fam. It was amazing.

Here are few details from her Frozen themed birthday party! It was too much fun, and I have to thank my sister-in-law for the cute Pinterest-y ideas, and my daughter's great aunt who made her cupcakes!!

And yes, I had as much fun putting it together as it may look!!! Details are my favorite, and I love being crafty. Not that it was anything over-the-top... except for the Olaf chicken cheese ball!! My mother-in-law made her infamous appetizer (my favorite) but put a nice spin on it for the special occasion. Talent, or what?! :)

Last but not least, on Sunday we spent the afternoon at a local playhouse where we got see Mary Poppins LIVE!!! Audriana loves that movie, and it was such a delight to see her little face so happy, singing the songs along with them! My heart just melts seeing that light in her little eyes. :)

 It was a perfect weekend.

Unplugging may have kept me a little behind schedule come Monday, but it was totally worth it.
 

A Bloggy Birthday

Well, I have reached my one year mark! One year of my little blog. Yippee!!!!

I'm not sure if I'm more proud just having this blog, or that I've consistently stuck to something for one whole year!? I know that sounds terrible but for me, when it comes to hobbies they come and go like seasons. This was something different, though. I just love that this became a way of writing down weekly [or every-other-weekly] events and that I can easily look back on them when I want to go down memory lane. I have literally always scrapbooked memorabilia, so this seemed like an even better way to do it. 

Of course it didn't actually start out that way. I'll be honest, I wasn't sure how this blog was going to go. I read all kinds, and everybody seemed to have "their thing". What was my thing? Just the header alone was tough to figure out. Not only do you want it to be interesting and catchy, but it needs to be original. After a handful of different names I just settled on one... A Little Bit of This and That ... which in fact, was not original. There was another blog out there that had the same title, but it dated back to many years ago so I took the risk [thanks for sharing, title twin]. Moving forward, I finally had my name - in case you're confused, my current blog name was obviously not the original one I began with; here is where I changed it. After you have the name, then it's go-time! But what to write about? Shockingly, I had a ton of stuff I wanted to blog about. My preference in fashion, beverages, you name it. I even began motivational posts once a week. Whether it be mentally, emotionally, or physically, I loved the idea of possibly providing any kind of motivation. I like helping people. Love it, actually.

From there, I just started throwing in random events that our family encountered, or work events I was privileged to attend with my husband. The funny part about it all was pulling out my phone to snap pictures of e-v-e-r-y detail. Literally, you begin getting looks from people like you're crazy. Can't really blame them when you're taking pictures of a food buffet as if you've never seen one before, or oil stains on the ground because it's shaped like a heart. Dedication, at its finest.

One year later, I'm still taking random photographs to document. Although, it's with less consciousness. I just do it. Even my dear husband will wait to take a bite of his food with the expectations of me snapping a photo. Of course it's not without one of his clever remarks, "...hashtag cold food." But he loves me. 

Last but not least, I must give credit to one of my favorite gals, Katie, for inspiring me to do this bloggy thing. I remember the day I bugged her about the whole idea. At the time she was about 5 or 6 months into her own blog, so undoubtedly I had a lot of questions. In a way she sort of gave me that "just do it!" push. And so I did! If you get a chance, definitely hop on over to her page. Just be prepared for some serious adorableness of her latest creation - her son, Bennett!! 

Well here's to you, blog! Hoping for many more years together!

Now that's an oxymoron if I ever heard one.

My Golden Boy.

To the man who makes life so easy.
...who loves like no one I know.
...who puts everyone before himself.
...who loves his children more than life.

I am so lucky to be married to this man.

Chris,

Twenty-nine years ago, God broke the mold when he made you. For years I prayed for someone to share life's journey, not knowing His provision for me was already set - with you. What a gift you are. I'm so grateful for you each and everyday. Thank you, for your unconditional love and the true strength you provide for this family. You're my angel, and I love you so so so much.

Happy birthday, my love.

  

A sober birthday celebration.

This weekend was our first night without the kids. The occasion was for my husband's upcoming birthday [his golden one, to be precise]. Going into it you would think 10-months of sobriety would push one to order their first drink at dinner! Negative.

Instead it looked more like this.

To justify my drink of choice:

1) I love coffee. 

2) I was sitting by a window where it was below zero outside. And while bourbon serves a similar purpose of body warmth, note previous statement above.

With my beverage preference aside, my post today is merely to share with you a delicious restaurant here in town; Doc Crow's. It's known for it's large supply of whiskey & bourbon [again shocking why my "when in Rome" instinct didn't kick in] where the atmosphere is rustic modern, and historical. 

For apps, the whole table [minus yours truly] indulged in three rounds of oysters, while I stuck to my own little side of shrimp cocktail.

Then came the entrees.

As you can see, the portion sizes are nothing short of huge. Staying alongside my better judgement, I decided to go with the grilled salmon & rice [borrrring]. The last time we ate here, I ordered the beef brisket tacos, fried okra, and lima beans!! Sadly, my post-pregnancy provision does not approve of such indulgences yet, so I surrender to the fish. Although, it was quite tasty. On the contrary to my "light" meal, two of our friends ordered the famously ginormous "Bubba" burger; which is on a list of America's Over-The-Top Burgers.

Wowsers.

We all know the best part about any dinner is usually the end... the dessert. To no surprise, however, I did not get any. So I suppose that puts this entry at a disappointing close. Muh-bad.

Nonetheless, the food was good, the company was great, and the night ended with us surrounded by a bunch of intoxicated adults riding wooden horses inside a church. I could totally elaborate on that, but the summary of it sounds so much more enticing, right?! Ok ok, so it was a Home Builder's function where we went to support a friend who helped sponsor the event, where they placed bets on people riding wooden horses on wheels. And yes, in a church. Quite the show.

Post Birthday Misery

Only one way to sum it all up...

Boom.

Boom. 

[not pictured, steamed dumplings]

Boom. 

...and boom.

The end.

Twenty-Seven Going on Six

With my birthday around the corner I'm realizing I haven't grown up in certain aspects. I'm a serious kid at heart, and after having children of my own that's been brought to light even more so. Here are a few things that can validate this discovery.

Fun cereals. As much as I strive to grab for my equally delicious grain cereals, this is a serious weakness.

Disneyworld. But not in a cheesy "omgosh MICKEY" kind of way. I just love everything about the place. When I'm there, I always feel happy [even in the mornings, which is a rarity any other day of the year]. Oh and vintage Disney is the only way to go. Classic.

Animated movies. Children sometimes introduce you to great animated films; entertaining with a little sarcasm for us adults. That's where movies [like this guy] come into play in my life.

Coloring Books. "Oh you don't want to color this page? Here I'll show you...". Every time.

[keeping all language PG, and 16th century for that matter]

Icees. This is not an everyday, or even an every week/month indulgence... but that one day when I shared one with my daughter [angels singing] it was glorious to the taste buds.

I sleep with my husband's shirt when he's out of town. Does this necessarily make me a child? In a way I think of it like a "need to be comforted", so I would say so. Audriana has her stuffed dog, and I have my husband's t-shirt.

Snow days. During my own school days it meant something to be snowed out of school, and today it doesn't feel any different. The other day I learned my daughter didn't have school due to current weather conditions, and it was a celebration. I turned off the alarm clock and slept until she woke up; usually another hour. Victorious.

So that's that. If I had time to really rack my brain on other things that kept me young at heart we'd probably be here for days.

I doubt any of the above will change in my 28th year of life.

December Bucket List

We all have a list of things we plan to do every season, or every month for that matter. But Christmas time is no joke. There's an infinite list of things I try to accomplish each year! Sadly, I come up short most of the time. But by that, I mean I didn't see the giant tree in New York, or skip down NYC singing "You Make Me Feel So Young" [my first of many references to Elf]. Pretty impractical wishes. Although, I can mark off the Rockefeller tree, since I indeed have seen it. I just can't make it happen every year. Pity.

To shorten my ongoing list of things to do this winter was nearly impossible, but I did it. The following is my current, more practical, bucket list of December 2013! Not including having a baby. But he better not make his appearance by Christmas, or we're in trouble.   

Plain and simple, you see.

Hand me a cup of hot chocolate overflowing with marshmallows, some Nsync [yes, I said it] Christmas carols, and the movie "Elf" on repeat [because I don't have to watch it to enjoy it; a simple Christmas back drop in my home]... and you'll have yourself one happy girl. Even letting my four year old decorate the tree is a sweet accomplishment, not caring that I have to redo it later. It's all about the little things my friends. I cannot wait for this season to begin!!! WELCOME DECEMBER!!!!!!!

I didn't even add my birthday on that list. That's how much everything else is more important. But what the heck...

14. Celebrate my birthday!
15. and my aunt's birthday...
16. and my dad's birthday...
17. and my best friend's mom's birthday...
18. and my mother-in-law's birthday...

The list actually goes further on, but we'll leave it at that.

Surprise! There's a kid at my door...

Where's this post title leading to? I'll get to that. First, I want to wish my bestest friend a:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!! 

I have explained our years of friendship and have possibly overused this plug in on many many posts, but here it is once more for good measure... why she is indeed my best friend.

So, Saturday evening I decided to host a small dinner. Originally the idea was just a party of four - myself, Chris, Jess and her husband, Blake. But I wanted to make it a little more special, so I reached out to her sister's family and another best friend of ours. As luck would have it, a party of 8 was now in effect.

Trying to decide on that evening's dish was easy peesy, given Jess is never too difficult to please. I asked, Italian? She said YES. Sweet. I already had the menu set. Homemade bruschetta, Caesar salad, and miniature breadsticks for the apps, then dinner would consist of two different baked lasagnas; meat/cheese/mushrooms/peppers, and meat/cheese (for our plain Janes; or should I say Joes). Sadly, the only display shots I had of the evening were of the appetizer and salad.

After successfully prepping all the food, stress free I might add, the birthday girl had arrived. Originally, I had the other parties arriving beforehand, but I figured she would recognize the cars while driving up to the house. With that said, we had everyone else arrive afterwards; and it couldn't have been a more perfect surprise entrance. This is where my appropriate title comes into play.

Prior to their arrival, her sister and I thought it'd be hilarious to have Jess' nephew stand outside of the door and ring the door bell, just him standing there. From inside, I was going to stay busy where I'd need Jess to answer the door for me. It almost didn't work out as I found myself standing in the living room when the doorbell rang... I just stopped. Jess says, "Megan? Your door bell just rang..." and there I am just standing there as if I didn't hear a thing. Smooth, I know. Yet I dashed away as if I had something I needed to do and she offered to open the door. WHEW! From around the corner I begin filming, to capture her reaction. However, it didn't quite go as planned in the first few seconds. Instead of opening the door and recognizing her nephew, she just looks out the small window and replies confused, "...oh it's like a... it's a kid." She was stunned and waited about another few seconds, until she finally opened the door!

The look on her face said it all... it was a successful surprise!!!!

  With everyone arriving, it was now time to dig in. I tried snatching a few candids, but I was a bit sloppy with the timing. Regardless, everyone seemed to enjoy their meal thankfully. Gavin made have enjoyed his more than anyone else. ;) He's sooooo stinking cute!!

 And then there was the traditional surprise... the birthday cake! I've explained the meaning of the birthday cake in my previous plug-in above, so to say it's a surprise isn't quite accurate - however I switch it up every year, so she never knows what it's going to look like. :) This year I may have topped them all!

 Sweet Stuff Bakery, truly outdid themselves again; fourth year in a row. Our stomachs could certainly agree on that as well. We were stuffed to the bone! Not to mention leftovers for days. Score! 

Finishing off where we first began, I'm sending out lots of birthday love to my bestest friend, Jess!!!! I'm always grateful for our friendship, and can't wait to share many more memorable years!!! Love you!!!!