Lil Muffin turns 2 !!

Seriously, i'm pretty much obsessed with these pictures and cant pick just a few.. so.. here they are. Lil Muffin turned 2 yesterday and im just amazed at how big she looks.. its pretty sad actually.
Mini me is in Jersey for 2 wks, so it was just the 3 of us that celebrated and went to Macaroni Grill- why there? Well, last year when we moved here, that's just the place we ate for her first birthday and so decided to make it a tradition.
I bought her cute little tutu on Etsy.com. I put in the search engine, Toddler tutus and this is from the selller sweetie pie tutus.

She wanted to show our neighbor : "Keyeeeeeeeeee" her tutu- shes the ULTIMATE peeping tom as you'll see in the pics to follow. Note the Crocs, lol

Yes, there is a Q on the front of her shirt- monogrammed is how we do now that we're in the South ;)

And then some pool time since that's what she wanted

Meeting daddy for Dinner with her Fancy Nancy purse from our nieghbor Kelly-

seriously have you not always wanted that neighbor that was like your FAVE neighbor that you could just walk into their house and borrow something or talk about anything? WE GOT EM!!!

wouldnt trade them for the world!

Watching Daddy text a pic of her to his family and lil muffins sissy that's visiting cousins in Jersey-

Were making S.L.o.W progress on the no paci thing.. but

its progress, people!!

Talking to kristin on the phone who was calling with a Birthday wish

Leaving dinner- look at her! could you just eat her up with her purse in hand?!

We wanted to celebrate with our super cool neighbors so went to cold stone and bought those cupcakes they have- the liner of the cupcake is SOLID chocolate- filled with cake and ice cream and frosting on top.. DELISH!

YEah... THIS little face is her newest FAVE- sissy taught her to stick out her tongue- FANTASTIC. Wait til i whip this pic out as her senior pic portrait for her yearbook, joke will be on HER!

Didnt want the outfit to get messy- eating across the street

We're sorry the celebration wasnt bigger with all ya'll there-- maybe next time.. but hope that thru these pics you felt as though you WERE there!!!

WE REALLY MISSED our grandpa and grandma AND our sissy!!!

Putt Putt

Today was a day packed full of errands, so i suprised the little ones and did an impromptu fun day in the midst of all the errands. We picked up some lunch and went and played mini-golf. Lil Muffin has never done this and it was funny to watch.

She wore her fave shoes from the G*P and they dont breathe AT ALL- so the suckers kept coming off due to all the sweat from her feet. She didnt want to be taught how to golf, so she basially followed her sissy like a dog and once in awhile swung the club one handed.
Notice whats missing out of the pic of lil muffin?!THE DANG PACI... i got it out of her mouth for the duration of mini golf. Whew- - - Enjoy the pics.. theyre pretty darn cute

I cant get over this girls EYES!!!! They say they are the window to your soul- i can honestly say this girls heart is as beautiful as her eyes. I am SO blessed to have her as my daughter. She'd do anything for ANYONE, she's like my mini nanny, its hilarious. That's why she needed to be a kid today-


Notice the hair? She now has it in poofy piggies on top of her head- it reminds me of that little girl on Sesame St. i cant remember her name-

SO.. completely off the golf subject- you know how we got another dog. Well, they each want to eat the others food- and little Jewel is on a special Liver diet due to her health issues. WEll, i'm getting a schedule down on how to feed them.

I told mini me that she needs to make sure she keeps the crate doors LOCKED - i've had to remind her so many times and had to make a point tonight. I told her if i had to tell her again, she'd be grounded for a day in her room.

Her response?

" shoot, i'd rather be grounded a day, than a week!!!"

uhm.. THAT'S AN EXAMPLE OF WHAT NOT TO SAY TO YOUR MOM!

Please Welcome a New addition!!

Our family has been SUPER MIA- partially due to me being lazy and also summer has hit and we've been traveling ALOT.. and oh the stories i have!!
Our little Jewel, pictured below is my baby. She was a Valentines Day gift from the husband and i couldnt love her anymore. i mean, seriously she is SPOILED! BUT.. she has serious serious health issues. She was born with a liver shunt and a heart murmur. Due to her shunt, she's on a special diet- the shunt causes her to vomit alot, have seizures and puts fluid on her brain. Most of the time she's normal, but when she gets bad, she's literally hanging on for life. I cant tell you how many thousands of dollars we've poured into her. We call her the Million dollar dog, and she doesnt fall too short of that ;) But, her weight is falling ( shes always been around 4lbs and LITTLE- also from shunt) and its getting worse. So, we've wanted to get another dog to help my mental status. ( the most recent time of almost losing her i couldnt get out of bed i was so depressed)

Well, at our apts before we bought our house i saw the CUTEST little brown poodle. I think poodles are UGLY! but this little fluff ball grabbed my heart- she was just adorable. I jokingly told the boy that owned her i would take her anytime they wanted to give her away. He told me their other poodle was pregnant and due in a month. I put my name on the list. Long story short, we went and saw the puppies and decided on a boy- we didnt hear anything for weeks. Monday, i get a call from the boys mom- her son had stepped backwards and stepped on our puppies leg, shattering it. She spent over 700 dollars on fixing it and didnt want to sell him when he wasnt in perfect condition.

Also, she was being transferred to VA for her job- she didnt have anyone to take her dog ( THE DOG I HAD ORIGINALLY WANTED!) ALL of the animal shelters here are FULL and so she was afraid she'd be put down.

So, we rescued this little ball of fur- i love her. shes the BEST dog.. EVER- we just have to train her to sleep in a crate. She currently barks all night long. BUT she's potty trained, doesnt chew- all the hard stuff is done!

She is mini me's SHADOW- i love it, they play with each other all day long. She's the hit of the neighborhood -

Once named Sage, mini me decided she now needs to be called COCOA- which oddly enough she comes to more than Sage-

As for our trips.. i'll post some of those pics in the next posts- we made a suprise visit to Oregon. I needed some R&R- its good to be back! ;) And thanks to my sweet blog friend, The pink owl for sending me a shout out to make sure i was ok. Thanks, girl!!

These pictures just arent flattering of her and dont do her justice. She's adorable i promise!!

Its Baaaaaaaaaaaaack..

My creative side has returned!! Today was the FIRST day that i could home after the gym and STAY HOME for the day- i mean, i got SO MUCH done!!! i decorated my laundry room to satisfy me enough until i do it how i REALLY want ( New paint color, etc)- i also found some 4th of July stuff at Target Dollar spot and ran with it with decorating today- I still have plans for the front yard, but for right now this is what i have- * Strawberries are vase fillers - target in home decor section. They have them at ours for 1.98 a BOX!

*Flags - dollar spot, Target!!

*Random straws i had from grocery store- walmart i think

*Glitter stars- Dollar spot at Tarjay ( they have them in country-ish type too one with blue and white stars and white and red stripes. They are pretty heavy duty, i just LOVE them!)

I took a Mason jar, filled with blue and white marbles, vase filler and then have these red things.. i think they are Christmas tree filler! but they remind me of fire works!
*Flag from Memorial day from joannes fabrics
*there are fake fire works to left of jar- its a toilet paper roll with striped crepe paper, and then Vintage cutouts glued and fun stuff coming out of top ( i bought these in Oregon)


These are the COOLEST vintage looking metal buckets! Once again 2 yrs ago, Corky's Daughter- they are metal buckets and i have them in Rusty Red, Blue and sky blue with the white star in middle. I LOVE them! (Super easy to make your own, i was just too lazy!)

I Love this bench!!! I got it on a clearance sale YEARS ago. but it was still spendy- so shabby looking.. the blue polka dot ribbon matches blue star.. looks better in person.

Im going to take my other 2 metal buckets and one more and plant red, purple and blue flowers in them and place them in an old, rusted out wagon and position it in front of our house/driveway.. our driveway is off to the LEFT of our house, so driveway is upside down L shape.. pics to come

Its Pool Time, Ya'll

MY girlfriend whom i've known since i was 12 comes to visit us often now that she lives in Virginia. How funny that we grew up on the West coast in Oregon together and now were close again, YEARS later on the Opposite side of the country? Its been super hot here lately, so i decided to take the girls over the pool at our old apartments. Ghetto, i know.. but here's the thing-

we have a pool in our new neighborhood that the workers are diligently finishing up and will be ready in 2 wks.. so until then, i'll justify that its ok to swim in that pool with paying a grand in rent every month last year.. i've paid my dues, people!

My friend has been a lifeguard and swim coach since she was 15 - lemme break it to you and let ya'll in on a little secret. I.HATE.SWIMMING! i'd rather lay in the sun and occasionally get in the pool, BUT NOT MY FACE. IF MY FACE OR HAIR GETS WET, I FREAK. THE. FREAK. OUT!! My girlfriend just hopped on into the pool and started a swim lesson with lil muffin.

PURE BLISS * PURE HEAVEN * A MOMENT TO MYSELF !!! Is this what all you women with Nanny's feel? I ENVY YOU! Much to my dismay, Lil Muffin is a FISH! She was like a fat kid on a cupcake- she couldnt get enough!

Im tan, huh? ITS FAKE.. ALL .OF.IT! (Rusty Hands included)

VERY rare shot of the 3 of us girls.. always someone NOT looking or into having the pic

taken. Suprisingly this time it was lil muffin

now THIS is how you lounge in the pool.. oh SHE KILLS ME!!

LOVE the flip flops and knock-knees,, and how bout those

CURLS!!!

Look who passed out on the couch STILL wet and in their suit! ha ha

Birthday Wishes

To my the BEST dad and BEST Grandpa~ Who could ask for anything better? Thanks for all the memories-
A few pictures and many memories.. We hope your birthday is a special one and wish we could've spent it with you!!

With Mini Me at Canyonview Camp & Bauman Farms

Getting the backyard ready for a flower bed and Grass- cause on the West Coast, they dont give you ANY grass in your backyard, unlike here in the South where they at least give you HALF a backyard of grass-

Mothers Day after brunch
Meeting Lil Muffin for the first time ( who wasnt so little when she was born, almost 11 lbs!!)

Lil Muffin a few weeks Ago with "BAMPA"

Saying Goodbye to "Bampa" at the airport

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!

WE * LOVE *YOU !