The Yard

When we bought this house over 4 years ago, the previous owners were a darling couple that had taken great pride in the landscaping of their home. The front yard was full of beautiful bushes and flowers, and the backyard had unique trees, palms, and bottle brushes that really made the backyard a cool little retreat.

Sadly, about 30 days after we moved in, Houston experienced a freeze. Everything in the backyard died since we didn't know what anything was, nor how to take care of it.

Now, I know what you're thinking.... surely you're like "Wow, that is unfortunate. Surely they removed all of the dead things the following weekend."

No. No we did not.

It's just not been a priority. Since then, we have removed a few bushes and 1 or 2 dead trees if they seemed like they might physically hurt us. About 2 years ago we re-mulched the front flower bed and put some flowers in it that promptly succumbed to the Houston heat. And there was the time that Grant had the fantastic idea to pull up every blade of grass in the backyard using a sod cutter because our grass was so bad, but that also did not end well. We've made some minor changes to the porch. But everything else is either dead or embarrassingly overgrown. After 4 years, we finally took a look around and decided that we are the eye sore of the street. Furthermore, we decided we needed some professional help.

I am thrilled to announce to our family, friends and neighbors that next week a man named Jose is coming to remedy our landscaping problems. This definitely is not one of those big time landscaping companies that is going to build us an outdoor kitchen with a pagoda and a koi pond. This is one of those companies that is going to pull up dead things and plant pretty things. When Jose asked us what kind of plants and flowers we wanted, we said "LOW MAINTENANCE THINGS, PLEASE. WE CAN NOT HANDLE THE RESPONSIBILITY OF A TODDLER AND SHRUBBERIES."

I CAN NOT WAIT. Y'all. I'm going to feel like a new person. I would post before and after photos but I can't bear to show the world wide internets the silliness that has been our yard. But I'll post some after pictures for sure. Because we are going to be living on a resort basically, if by "resort" you mainly think of trimmed bushes and low price flowers in a flower bed. And tree branches that don't hang over the driveway and into the street.

We are totally rocking adulthood.

Friday Night Therapy

Grant was out of town last night. I usually hate this, but last night turned out okay. More than okay!

I was supposed to hang out with my friend Jen, but her sweet little boy has strep throat so we decided to reschedule. At first I thought about trying to find someone else to hang out with, but then I decided to have a night to myself. And I'm so, so glad I did.

Ellie went to bed at 7:30. I straightened up the kitchen and living room, and then I made myself a box of Shells & White Cheddar and drank a Diet Coke. And then I sat on my couch and watched a movie. And I gave myself a pedicure. And then I watched the Tonight Show and drank some red wine and laughed my bootie off. And then I did some online shopping. And then I went to bed.

Miss Ellie Paige slept all night long and woke up at 9AM.... which means I woke up at 9AM. Which is a beautiful, beautiful thing.

And now I'm sitting here, blogging, and drinking coffee. We are both still in our pajamas,  Ellie is sitting in a cardboard box, surrounded by all her babies while watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. It's the "Minnie's Pet Salon" episode - her favorite. Right now she's holding Lambie, rocking back and forth and patting Lambie on the back while she rocks. Little mama. She's the best.

Needless to say, I'm in a happy mood and a very good place. Zero stress right about now. God bless America.

I hope your day is the same. Happy Saturday, friends!




                                                             

Monkeys in a Dressing Room

Well, the good news is that I'm feeling a lot better. I still have some gunk in my chest, but I'm no longer in pain. And I'm pretty much functioning at a normal level. Well, normal for me.

The bad news is that now Grant has gone down and he is pretty miserable and he is all worked up about that. Because you know what this sickness has failed to take into account? Grant has a pretty major golf tournament this weekend that he has looked forward to for A WHOLE YEAR and IT'S A HIGHLIGHT OF HIS YEAR and he REALLY DOESN'T WANT TO BE SICK THIS WEEKEND because he needs to be ON HIS "A" GAME. Clearly there is someone in this house who is quite passionate about this topic.

So we are all hoping and praying that he gets better soon. His health needs it, my sanity needs it. Some people handle "sick" well. Other people don't. :)

Also, I saw this on Pinterest and I said "EXACTLY" out loud. Because when I'm trying on a suit, and I look in the mirror.... this is my exact posture and emotion.

Yep. That's pretty much it.
                                                             

Medicated Blogging

The thing is, I took TWO night time sinus pills last night so that I could breathe.

They helped.

Unfortunately, I'm still a little hung over from the meds this morning, so naturally I figured that this would be a good time to do some medicated blogging. Hey, at least it's not medicated online shopping. Cause I have done that before and regretted in beyond measure.

Since I am not going to be good at stringing thoughts together in any kind of cohesive way that makes sense, let's just settle for a bulleted list:

1. Why don't the Bubble Guppies have more merchandise? Sofia the First is EVERYWHERE. Dora? EVERYWHERE. Bubble Guppies? Meh. I don't understand it. I'm thinking of having a Bubble Guppies birthday party for Ellie's 2nd birthday and I am not finding much. It's bizarre.

2. Yes, I'm in the beginning stages of planning Ellie's 2nd birthday party. Because it's in 3 months. THREE MONTHS, Y'ALL. How is this possible?!

3. Last night, Grant and I brought a meal to some friends who had a baby last week. He is so cute and squishy and lovable. And he slept on my chest and I really feel like that should be a drug. Ohmyword. However, when I got home I did the logical thing to do, which was turn on some sappy music, open up my computer and go through the photos from our first month with Ellie. And I cried. And then I took 2 sinus meds and so do you see how this is all coming around full circle?

4. We've been watching the show 24. We're almost finished with Season 1. I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. Yes, we are about 10 years late. But I get it. I see what all the fuss is about. It's an amazing show and I am using every ounce of self control I have to not look up spoilers online. I will also say this: I am liking the show... but I don't love watching the show. I feel like I have a panic attack the entire time. When we finish watching it, sometimes I need to turn on something funny because I am a stressball and I've bitten my nails till they're gone. So I turn on The Mindy Project because it is my "get happy" place. Do you watch that show? You should.

5.  We're going to the beach a lot this summer so I have been doing some online shopping to load up on gear. Beach toys, beach towels, cover-ups (because Lord knows my white legs aren't something anyone wants to see), tote bags, coolers.... the list goes on and on. I also had a minor panic attack the other day when I realized that I need to look into some life jacket/floaties set up for Ellie as I guarantee that Little Miss Independent will want to be free of me in the pool and/or ocean. And, she'll be 2 this summer, so that is to be expected.... but still. I can't imagine her just kicking around the pool with floaties on. SHE IS JUST A TINY LITTLE INFANT BABY.

Alright, well, I know y'all are just blown away by the eloquence and professionalism of the writing that I've done in the last 10 minutes, but I am going to have to wrap this up. I need to finish my coffee and eat something that's covered in butter and syrup.

                                                             

Mama Got Some Brand New Hair

Spring has sprung. 

FINALLY.

I'm hoping that the cold months are behind us and we can enjoy the sunshine! I have been ready for a change in many areas of my life. Changes in home decor (I went to Target the other day and spend $80 and totally redecorated our guest bathroom), changes in beauty products (it was time to change eyeliners. It was just time), and now, a change in hair.

I took a deep breath before my friend Liz chopped my hair off. I had to tell her to just give me a minute.....

But she did it.

And I LOVE it!

Can't wait to try to style it on my own.... that is always quite a challenge after the stylist does it so cute.

Plus, I got 2 new pairs of shoes today so we are just living on the edge over here.

Who knows what I'll do next?! New front door wreath? New dish towels? THE POSSIBILITIES ARE ENDLESS.