A Little of This, A Little of That....

It's been quite the week over here. Ellie's had a tummy bug which she so graciously shared with her mommy. What fun we have had! We seem to be on the upswing and symptoms are fading away. I'm seeing glimpses of the spunky 1 year old I've been missing these last few days. (Homegirl literally fell asleep on the living room floor yesterday around 11am. She's just been pathetic.)

Here's what else is happening around our neck of the woods:

1. We had Fall for about a day. It rained really hard this weekend and then for about 24 hours we had some beautiful weather. And then it went away. So that was that. 

2. Yesterday, Ellie and I really needed to get out of the house. It had been far too many days since we had an outing. Grant took us to the Dairy Queen. We are a classy family. We sat in the DQ and had some ice cream and Ellie seemed to perk up. This is not the first time we have taken a family trip to Dairy Queen in the middle of a work week. Sometimes you just get a hankerin', ya know?

3. Ellie is "singing" Jesus Loves Me. During the verse, she just says "ah" to the rhythm that I sing the words, and then on the chorus she says "Yeeeeehhhh" every time I sing "YES, Jesus loves me!" It's enough to melt me into goo. Seriously. 

4. We now have a library card and have already checked out 2 books. One for me, one for Ellie. I'm hoping this is a life long habit for us both!

5. The shows, y'all. They are back. THE SHOWS ARE BACK. The premiere for How I Met Your Mother was wonderful and there were about 3 minutes towards the end that nearly brought tears to my eyes. We still don't know her name, but she's just darling. And perfect for Ted. Love, love, love. 

6. I haven't mentioned this on the blog yet (how is that possible?) but I want to ask for your prayers for sweet baby Jack. Our dear friends, Ben & Trish, had a baby on August 13. He wasn't due till November. He was born at 28 weeks gestation and has been in the NICU since he was born and will not be leaving there anytime soon. He is trying really hard to get better, but there have been some setbacks. Isn't he just a pumpkin?! Oh, he is the sweetest. 

Please pray for him. He needs healing in his brain, his heart, his lungs, he currently has a staph infection.... his parents Ben & Trish are walking with great faith and know that God can heal their son. Please pray! Also, some friends have set up a love offering for the family as they face the hurdles of the next few months. Click here if you feel lead to give!

Hoping today is a better, sick-free day in our house! 

Red Carpet Recap: Emmy's 2013

Oh, I love me a good award show. I've missed it. I've missed the red carpet. I've missed the gowns and the awkwardness during the interviews. I've missed the shows and the acceptance speeches. I was a little flustered tonight as Miss Ellie needed to be fed and bathed and kissed and snuggled all during "Live! From the Red Carpet!" so I had to DVR and fast forward through the arrivals. I took scribbled notes and this is what I came up with. 

Allison Janney. She looks GORGEOUS. Great color. Beautiful gown. Love. 

This is Allison Williams. Did you know her dad is Brian William from NBC Nightly News? True Story! I do like her dress. I feel like she needed some blingin' earrings but altogether just beautiful.

This is Ariel Winter, she plays Alex from Modern Family. But did you know that she is the voice (speaking AND singing) of SOFIA THE FIRST? It's for real! She's Sofia! (Clearly my life is less Modern Family and more Disney Junior than it used to be)

Aubrey Plaza. I think she is funny on Parks & Rec but I think she is one of the most awkward people I've ever witnessed in any interview she has ever done. I'm also not sure what is going on with her sleeve jewels. 

BLOSSOM. WHY ARE YOU NOT WEARING A SKIRT MADE OUT OF NECKTIES?

Y'all. I can't get over how pretty she is. Make it stop.

Cat from SYTYCD. You have a beautiful, flawless figure but the cut of this dress makes your hips look like there are triangles sticking out of them.

Dude. This is Cobie. She plays Robin Scherbatsky on How I Met Your Mother. (Y'all... tomorrow night is the season premiere! We meet the mother! Yahoo!) Anyways, I think this look is flawless. Flawless, I tell you. Perfect color. Perfect hair. It's just loveliness. 

I actually really like this on Zooey. It's different and unique but not bizarre. 

This is a color we rarely see on red carpets but I think it's perfect for her!

I'm not super in love with this dress but the hair, makeup and earrings are just perfection. 

Meh.

I kind of love Giuliana Rancic. And my arms are just as skinny as her arms.

Heidi. Why. What. 

Once again, she nails it. Every time. Can we please have a moment about these earrings?!

How would you not be constantly worried that your dress is falling off? How does one walk around comfortably? I have anxiety just looking at this. Also, it's clearly a bathing suit underneath. So, no. 

Okay, she is a doll. But this reminds me of another doll. My Peaches n' Cream Barbie. 

Okay. Here's the thing. This is Kerry Washington, or Olivia Pope. Olivia is going to have a rough year as her name has just came out in the press as the mistress of President Grant. Who leaked her name to the press? Was it Mellie? And what was her dad doing in the limo? I don't know. But I need to find out, and soon, since I've been worried about her all summer. And I'm not even so sure about this dress. It has positive and negatives. I don't think Fitz would like it. 

It's definitely impressive... I just don't think it's my fave. 

The answer to this is "No"

Look. Lady Mary is going to have a rough year as well. She's recently widowed and has a newborn and there's just a lot to take in. The preview shows her weeping in the arms of Mr. Carson and it's more than I can really think about without getting misty eyed. I don't love this color combo but I'll forgive her since Matthew died. He DIED. WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?

Two very enthusiastic thumbs down!

So much beautiful purple this year!

 Well this is just very well-put-together. A+!

Y'all. Mindy Kaling is HILARIOUS. And you need to read her book. It's called "Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?" and it's just delightful. And I love her show "The Mindy Project". She gives me the giggles and speaks my language. This dress isn't really speaking my language. But, YAY MINDY!

I can't.

Connie Britton. RAYNA JAMES, y'all. LOOK AT HER HAIR. It's amazing.

I really, REALLY love this dress. I feel like it's something I would pick out if I were ever to walk a red carpet. Cause that is totally likely to happen. 

Before we proceed, I just need to talk a minute about Rayna James and Deacon Claiborne. They were in a car accident and are they okay?! Will Deacon ever forgive himself?! Will he stay sober?! 

CLEARLY I HAVE MISSED MY TELEVISION PROGRAMS.

Here's Seth and his new wife. I have a soft spot for Seth because I think he looks like my husband :)

  

Except my husband is more handsome.

Sofia. We get it. You are well endowed. 

Tina! YOWZA! Look at you! Bringing your A-game tonight!

When she and Amy Poehler crawled their way up the stairs (so they wouldn't trip on their gowns) to present the award, I fell in love with them even more. I want to have lunch with them. At the Olive Garden. With bread sticks. And Alfredo dipping sauce. 

Um, okay. 

So, here's a few comments about this. First of all, her name is Zosia. Which I think is also a kind of grass? Secondly, why is she so unhappy? Thirdly, the only comment I can make about this is a jewel that my friend Raegan shared on my Facebook page tonight. "I mustache you a question"

Seriously? What is that? The dress isn't bad except for the leather boob strip. 

Not sure.

Anywho, it's been fun, y'all. Until we meet again!

AND it's PREMIERE WEEK PEOPLE. Prepare your DVR's accordingly!!

And I Said "Hey, What's Going On?"

And the bad blogger award of 2013 goes to me, myself and I. 

 I don't know if it's writer's block or if I just get overwhelmed at the amount of things I need to catch up on when it comes to this blog, but I just can't get myself into the habit of blogging. I'm working on it!

So what's going on with us? Let's break it down by family member, shall we?

Grant:

Grant starts a new job October 1. We're excited and I am very proud of him. Until then, he is filling his time with honey-do's, vacations, golf, hunting, and playing with his Ellie girl.

Jen:

I am trying to get into some sort of routine cause I am needing one, badly. I've started going to the Mother Wise Bible study and my church and I am loving it. I am helping with the kids choir again and have already started rehearsals for the Christmas show. I chase after Ellie all day, am trying to get myself back onto a diet, and tonight I'm getting a haircut because I need it ever so desperately. Oh, and last month I turned 29.

Ellie:

Oh, this child. She is 14 months old today. She is funny. She is very opinionated about her food to the point that her mother almost submitted a letter of resignation but then she does her Woody Woodpecker laugh and everything is better after that. She will consistently eat blueberries, bananas, peanut butter and jelly, chicken nuggets, hot dog, peaches and pears. Sometimes she eats yogurt. She never eats vegetables, pasta, or cheese. And I wish she would try pizza but she won't. Pretty much all Italian food in general is against her core beliefs and I'm not sure how to handle all of that. 

She says "Hi", "Daddy", "Mommy", "Puppy", "Thank You" (kank-koo), "Nummy Nummy", "Buhbuh Guhee" (Bubble Guppies) (Kinda not proud of that one, but it's precious), and "Ball". She has 7 teeth, she waves bye bye, and she just started pushing a walker toy around the house. She has been slow with her interest in walking, but now that she's trucking around behind a toy, I think it won't be too much longer. She climbs in and out of our storage ottomans and when we go anywhere with stairs her favorite thing to do is climb on up as fast as she can. 

We just got back from a beautiful family vacation in San Diego. It was our first vacation with just the 3 of us. We went to Sea World, the San Diego Zoo, Balboa Park, La Jolla and Coronado. We really had a beautiful time and I miss the weather because IT WAS GLORIOUS, I TELL YOU.

Here's some pics from our vacay!