Ok, so it’s the day I’ve been mentally preparing for.  I’ve struggled whether I should share this here – it is a private decision – but in the spirit of honesty (and in the event any of you might choose to do the same thing) I’ll spill it. Last spring I took Charlie to this really cute mother/daughter tea.  There were tons of silent auctions – from date nights in hotels to spa days – and one in particular caught my attention.  It was for a boudoir photography session.  Yes, I said it.  Boudoir. What is that, you may be wondering?

The dictionary defines it as “a woman’s bedroom or private sitting room”.  It’s basically a sassy photography session – you, lingerie (or not), meant for the eyes of your loved one. 

I’ve heard of it before – even known a girl who did it – and I was intrigued but I walked away and bid on something else.  I couldn’t get it out of my head though…I mean, when (other than your wedding day) do you have the opportunity to feel like a supermodel?  Especially when you’re covered in baby goo most of the time? I’ve never done this before but I’ve certainly had my share of having my headshot taken, here (good heavens, who is this skinny girl???!!!!): and here: Mix in a couple other times and a smattering of modeling experience and oh yeah, my bridal portrait: aaand that’s my history with the camera.  I’ve had my hair and makeup done and felt pampered for the day.  But, all with my clothes on – only by the grace of God, I always say! I’m really surprised I had the chutzpah to walk back over to the table and put my name down to win the boudoir session.  And guess what?  I must have been the only gal brave enough because I won it and scheduled it back in the summer and now we’re HERE.  It’s TODAY. So I had this mental breakdown earlier in the week (um, who wouldn’t??) about what to wear/buy/bring and finally settled on a couple (I think) good options.  I’m walking into this COMPLETELY blind.  And it’s a good thing they serve free champagne because I have a feeling I’m going to be needing a lot of it. Wish me luck!

Have you ever seen a cake this cute???  Our celebration for little E was a quiet one this year – just Mimi and Poppy and the four of us – lots of red pom-poms and balloons and this stellar Elmo cake from Tart Pastry Boutique & Studio here in Dallas.  My sweet friend Michelle came through for me in a huge way – all I did was send her a picture from Pinterest and she completely took over from there.  And the best part??  The inside was vanilla cake with strawberry filling.  Uh, what?? Maybe someday my dream of making my own cake will be realized.  For now, I’ll just leave it to the experts. You’ll be happy to know that Ella is now caught up to other kiddos her age.  She still has some communication issues (as in, should have more words by this point and should be using more two word phrases) and will continue to receive early childhood intervention (ECI) services for those.  Cognitively and in every other way she is officially 2.  Pretty great progress for our little peanut since this time last year. Happy birthday to my sweet, spunky, and recently snuggly (yay for me!) 2 year old!!

So Halloween has now become a challenge for me – what will Charlie dream up to wear and how in the world will I make it possible? Last year she requested a “pink dinosaur”. Let me just tell you – I searched high and low for that costume and finally found one on eBay. This year, she was waffling, one day it would be Blu, the bird from “Rio”, one day it would be Lightning McQueen, one day she even told me she wanted to be a “blackbird”. ??? Strange little mind, that one.

I finally made her narrow her list down and she chose Mickey Mouse. Not too difficult, especially when I was in The Disney Store and came across the most fabulous Mickey you’d find. Complete the ensemble with a black tee, black leggings, yellow Crocs and Voila:

And sweet Ella – well, I’m afraid she’s still at the age where she has no choice, so:

My reluctant Minnie won’t keep the ears on to save her life. Here’s hoping I can sneak some type of pic on Monday.

I leave you with a spooky Halloween tale: one that will make your teeth chatter and your knees knock. One of a trip through madness and possibly, candy addiction??

Both girls had parties yesterday, Charlie in the morning and Ella at 2. At the end of the day, I chose to hit Ella’s party first and then walk over to pick Charlie up instead of my normal way, which is to pick my mostly independent child up first and then park as close as possible to the toddler building so I don’t have to carry my mostly always screaming crankypants baby too far to the car. This would probably be fine THIS ONE TIME except for the fact that Ella ONLY wants to walk. She doesn’t want to go in the stroller, or be carried, anymore, period.

And did I mention she’s SLOW??? Bless her heart, her little legs only move so fast – not super conducive to racing to be somewhere (as I am want to do).

I look up at the clock and realize we have 5 minutes to collect her things and haul a** over to the “big” building to Charlie. So we start the long, slow walk and of course I get impatient and try to pick her up to which she starts screaming bloody murder. Keep in mind I have her backpack, her napmat, and her Halloween treat bag – and I’m starting to sweat. Because it’s 60 degrees and I’m wearing a scarf AND hat. I know.

I steel my resolve at the door and just try to make it out alive head into the building and up the stairs. We grab Charlie and her backpack, napmat, and Halloween treat bag and make the long, slow walk back down the stairs and outside.

At this point I’m sweating like a house on fire and ruing Halloween and my children. I order Charlie to stay right behind me crossing the parking lot (as I have no hands for her to hold) and again put my screaming toddler in the football hold and finally make it to the car. By the time I get them both strapped into their carseats I need a stiff drink and a ride to the loony bin. Because I am just that much of a multi-tasker.

I’ve been drinking ever since. Oh, and bingeing on Reese’s Piece’s and mini Twix’s, as I am want to do this time of year.

Happy Halloween, to you and yours!!

I’m linking up with Tracy at Sellabit Mum and Jessica at Four Plus an Angel!! Grab the button and join the fun!!

So, I have a bit of a hoarding problem. Before I had kids, there was really one of two things that made my heart skip a beat.  Expensive handbags (although I didn’t have the money to buy them) and this: Makeup. Luckily, I have a friend who shares my obsession (EMILY, YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE), and for many years we enabled each other during all those trips to Sephora and the Nordstrom MAC counter.  In fact, I even had birthday parties in my 20’s that revolved around makeover’s at Saks.  And as we left the store I would oh so subtly pass by the Dior counter and take a gander at the lovely ladies who stacked the shelves.  *Sigh* So the other day I was reading this article about the “shelf life” of makeup.  Ooops.  Apparently the max you should keep any makeup is 2 years, tops, and that’s just powder.  Lipsticks and eye shadows have an even shorter lifespan – like, 3 MONTHS.  Well, that ruffled my hoarding feathers because…gulp…I’ve had some of these goodies for over 10 YEARS.  And not that I use it all, mind you.  I’ve just never met something sparkly that I didn’t like. So I felt like it was probably time to let some of it go.  Sad face. And let me just say, this doesn’t even include the gargantuan nail polish collection I own – OR the bags upon bags of samples I threw out when we moved.  Clinique Bonus Time, anyone?? Here’s some good news though – MAC has a recycling program.  Did you know that?  You can trade in 6 of your (primary packaged, doesn’t include pencils) items for 1 brand spankin’ new lipgloss, lipstick, eye shadow, what have you.  Look at how green I am!!  I’m trading in 24 pieces!!  I admit, little girl’s clothing has taken over my life these past 4 years.  But I do still love a good stroll through Sephora and I ALWAYS buy new lipgloss palettes when MAC releases their holiday collection.  ALWAYS.  Which is like…NOW!!

Oh yes, your friend Amanda (aka Martha, Part Deux), attempted a treat for a girl’s night coming up this week.  I was made to believe that these were “frightfully easy”.  Really?  Then how come they are supposed to look like this: and came out looking like this: Might be a good idea next time to use chocolate that actually MELTS.  AND have enough so these little Caspers are fully robed.  It’s like a Nutter Butter peepshow up in here.

Ok, so I’ve never been much of a DIY’er (that’s a “Do it Yourself-er”) – admittedly I probably don’t give myself enough credit – you know, that I can actually carry out a project to completion.  Maybe I’m just afraid to fail?  Yep, I bet that’s it. My parents are amazing that way – they can seriously do anything they set their minds to.  Anything.  So it didn’t surprise me that my Dad had yet another brilliant idea for increasing the value of our home.  There is a long closet in our garage that we keep seasonal decorations in, and it’s kind of awkward – most of it isn’t being used in an efficient way.  So one day we are standing in the garage and my Dad suggests we knock down the wall between the laundry room and garage closet, seal up the outer door and have it open from the inside – basically creating a second pantry that’s accessible from the laundry room.  Sound confusing?  Maybe these pictures will help: Before. Imagine that the garage closet is directly behind this wall.  Now see what it looked like when my Dad busted through the wall this past weekend: See that walled up doorway on the right?  Yeah, my Dad moved the door and put it here: I admit, I didn’t know what the end result would be – but I knew he had a vision.  24 hours later, he put up tons of shelving and this is what it looks like now: And in this picture, what you don’t see to the left is the space underneath our back staircase – so plenty of room for all those seasonal decorations. So this self-professed anti-DIY’er is GEEKED OUT about this pantry.  Like, crazy pinning on Pinterest, gearing up for a trip to the Container Store, already painting samples on the walls, ready to tape and get those brushes moving, GEEKED.  I’ve seen some AMAZING pantry re-do’s online and I am now SO excited to try my hand at this.  Our plan for Pantry, Part Deux is to be the overflow storage for Pantry, Part Un and the most stacked up office closet you’ve ever seen.  And when Pantry, Part Un looks like this: …I know this is going to be a big job.  But I can’t WAIT to share pictures along this DIY journey.  More pantry inspiration soon.  Wish me luck!!