Happy Birthday Mama!

Today is a very special day! It's my moms birthday!

She may not know it but I get very emotional about my mom. 

She's a very special person, a genuine person with a genuine heart. 

A strong person with more strength than anyone I know. 

Just a few memories that have always stuck with me with my mom.

It was June 2003 and we were on a camping trip. I always had pretty bad asthma. Well that trip I didn't have any medication with me and had an asthma attack. I had to control my breathing while I slept. Not easy to do but I have gotten used to it. 

My mom sat there next to me ALL NIGHT praying for me. I don't think she even went to bed. Stayed there the whole time making sure I was ok. 

When I was in the hospital with my first child. On complete bed rest. She took turns with Evan staying with me overnight. Helped wash my hair {and bathe me :/  because I mean I could not get out of bed for three weeks!} I watched day in and day out. Either my mom or Evan sleeping next to me in the most uncomfortable chair! Bringing in coffee for each other as they switched shifts. 

All of these things might seem like a thing any mom would do. 

My mom has a lot of health issues that keep her in constant pain, or extreme exhaustion.

But she always puts other first before herself. Always taking care of people in need with no consideration for her self. Always with a smile on her face!

Happy Birthday Mama!! Love you more than my luggage! 

XOXO

 

Happy Birthday to ME

I am another year older! It doesn't really feel like it. When I was younger I was in such a hurry to grow up. I wanted to get my license, have my own car, my own job. I wanted responsibility {to an extent}. Now here I am with all those things and more. I'm a wife and a mom. I have two of the most important jobs you could ever have. So I should be "feeling" like a grown up by now ?? Right ?? I still feel like a teenager sometimes. Minus the drama and bad fashion choices.

Since I planned this awesome family getaway to celebrate all three of our birthdays. I got to be in the car on my birthday with nothing to do but stuff our faces at Cracker Barrel and long horn steakhouse to celebrate the fact that I'm getting old. And take some selfies in the car while blasting some nsync. A little "ode to my youth". At least I got to wear a birthday dress! Oh and Evan bought me a lottery ticket and I won $2 and I never win anything!! That's exciting people!!! 

Shop my Outfit:

Necklace: CharlotteRusse.com

Dress: CharlotteRusse.com

Booties: Amazon.com

{Honorary Nocturnal}

 

It's the day... My day.. I think the "Birthday curse" may be lifted. Either that or I have changed my outlook on it. Staying positive helps. I know there will always be little/big problems that will try and get in the way of my birthday fun. But I'm choosing to not let it. First was this "Nemo" blizzard. It dropped like 3 ft of snow on us and they are still plowing and cleaning it all up on base.  So the concert got postponed luckily not just cancelled. Luckily the hubs already requested a 4 day and they just moved it to monday night so he could still go with me.

I arrange a babysitter we leave early enough to maybe get a movie and dinner before the show. Drive for about 45 min to an hour and realize that the tickets got left behind. Of course.. ! But I was prepared this time. I kept my calm exterior and just rolled with the punches. We turned around grabbed them then made our way back down to Providence and made it a couple hours before the show so we were able to grab some dinner. 

We walked over to Lupo's heartbreak hotel and there was a huge line of course but it wasn't too bad. When we got in it was such an awesome venue. Old downtown theater/club/lounge look to it. We made our way to the stage and stayed put and were able to get really close. 

With the first song I was hooked! Grace Potter is really something else. So fierce with her guitar like one of the guys! She's pretty awesome and absolutely one of the best shows I've ever been to! She's so energetic running from guitar, to the piano, to the organ then the tambourine. Then dancing around all over the stage. Evan was totally getting into the guitar solos of course too! Such an awesome band that definitely does not get enough recognition. They put on such a great show!

I grabbed a few pictures and video clips with my phone before it died. They didn't turn out too bad!

{Fashion Friday}

So it's almost my birthday! I'm excited for my plans but not so much about getting another year older. To some I know it's not that old. Or you are only as old as you feel. Is that a good thing when I still feel like I'm 16 or 17. The last ten years are so have gone by like a blur. Like an out of control blur! I graduated high school, got married, had two kids, lived in 3-4 different states! I wish I could freeze time sometimes.. Maybe If I'm lucky I will still look ten years younger than I will be. Wink Wink

{Miss Riley is 4!}

Ya know having a kid's birthday so soon after Christmas is pretty tough! It tricks us (the parents) into thinking we are spoiling our kid ... but reality is we really aren't.... I don't think. : /

 Riley did really well with Christmas, in my opinion. Some movies, princess and fairy stuff. I wanted to save the kitchen for her birthday since it was such a big gift and then just some leopard and zebra PJ's {of course}! I'm glad that worked out, she had been wanting a kitchen forever! 

Here's a fun fact about me I'm really big on birthdays. I don't think it stems from being spoiled, I don't think I was .. honestly! I just think that everyone should feel special and loved on their day! So nothing less for my baby girl! We made her special funfetti pancakes and took her off to the American Girl store to possibly pick out a doll. 

Just a heads up American Girl dolls are crazzzy expensive. It's like over $100 for one doll and those little girls just eat it up! That place was soo packed. Luckily they have little mini dolls so she got one of those. Then we took her over to the Cheesecake factory and let her pick whatever cheesecake she wanted. She saw that Oreo cheesecake in the menu and that was it she was in love! The staff came and sang Happy Birthday to her and it was so sweet she just loved it. The whole day she just kept hugging and kissing us. Saying Thank you for my kitchen, thank you for my birthday. A "spoiled" kid isn't that polite right? She has some really good manners. Props to that girls parents for sure! ;) I just love her to pieces and I am so happy and blessed that God thought I was good enough to be her mom.