Changes...

Hello & good evening. HA! That sounded kinda corny, eh? Anyways...I don't have much to say, but I didn't want to leave another day without posting something...So, I'll let you guys in on a couple of things:

1. I cleaned up le' sidebar and by that I mean, I took down buttons from people who have taken mine down without telling me so. The reason I like people's buttons over there on my left sidebar is because these are blogs that I like and want easy access to, so I can read y'all a lot easier. I don't really go through my google reader. So - if you want to swap with me - just leave a comment or email; either way, it all goes to my email. :)

2. I now have 114 followers on GFC (Google Friend Connect), also over there on my left sidebar. As well as 81 "likes" on my blog's Facebook's page. Wow, neat-oh! So...I think with that being said, I should do some sort of give away - right? Any ideas? Any one want to give me an idea or pitch in?

3. I guess you can technically say I changed my blog name...What do you think? I thought maybe I was messing up the riles by having the word "blog" in my title...and it's kinda bugged me all along. So, I felt it was time for a change. So...there ya have it.

Comments & thoughts are greatly appreciated!

And can you please stop being this cute? It's hard to get mad at'cha!

Love & Changes,

I'm late for Friday, like always...

Again I'm late for Friday, as always...I know it kind of looks that way to all of you, but seriously, with Mr.B. on 3rd shift, my late nights seem like my usual evening hours. Really, it's honest!

Without further ado, (did I spell that correctly?) let's move on to my favorite link-up, Friday Letters...

Dear Sweets, what is up with my insatiable addiction to you lately? I swear, I feel a massive heart attack or diabetes coming on really soon - it's bad when I feel the need to tell myself NO because I can't seem to get enough of you lately.
Dear Non-Hormonal IUD, stop playin'! Nuff said! :)
Dear Blog Readers, Thanks for continuing to read after my last letter!No, seriously, thanks for reading - makes the whole "blog thing" really worth it!
Dear Exclamation point, Where would my stop points be without you? I swear I sometimes (OK most of the times) forget there's still a "." lurking somewhere on my keyboard and I can't help but to use you ALL the time!!! <---see what I mean! <---(again)
Dear Mr.B., I love you, duh. I know you feel like you're just a working maSHEEN and that you just get to come home for sleeping only, but I am proud that you got overtime this week for such a good cause. Now if anyone falls down, busts open their knee and loses consciousness, you'll be glad you took those classes, right?! I'm proud of you anyhow, and yes, the paychecks help *wink*. Kidding. Ok, no, I'm not.
Dear Mackie, thank you for keeping me in stitches. You, my dear, are so incredibly smart and funny, to boot! I love when anyone who meets you (strangers and such) they tell you "Oh, you are sooo cute" and your response every time, without skipping a beat is, "I know I am so cute!". Man, I've taught you well, my child!
Dear Brooklyn, What's with those poops?! C'mon, give mommy (and your cloth diapers) a break already!! But, I guess your cute "Hai Da-da" *with a wave*, makes up for it. I love that you are becoming more of a daddy's girl rather than a sewed-to-my-ass-mama's-girl. :)
Dear Sister, My GAWD, I'm up way past my bedtime laughing my ass off (all by myself, which is kinda creepy) because you got me HOOKED to reading THIS site. Holy Lordy, I wondered if I was the only one thinking there were an awful lot of "Fauxtogs" out there now. And I always wondered why having a new fancy schmancy D-SLR cam made someone a "Photographer". Aye! That site is sooo great! Thank you for that...it's been a fun evening laughing by myself, but also hearing you laugh in my head right along with me :). Care to take an awkward family photo for me?
Dear My Life, Geez, how did you get so good so fast!? I love this whole "Cloud 9 Feeling" all of the time. It's fab.
Dear Mr.B.'s Work Schedule, Can you please hurry up & change? We'd love to have daddy home and sleeping the same time as us so we can stop being teased with knowing he is home but we can't play with him or talk to him because he's off limits and sleeping in bed. M'Kay, thanks.

Love & Exclamation Points,

Why we have boobs...

I have always had quite a hangup about never really getting the full experience of being an exclusive breastfeeding mama...M was on IV's the first week of life and never would latch and I didn't ever produce much with all the stress we were going through & with B, I was able to for 4 weeks, but it wasn't exclusively because, Lord Almighty, I couldn't keep up with that little piggy & I just wasn't producing. After 1 month, I gave up. Of course, I was happy about it then but I regret it now. Like most mom's say, right?

Well, I've not really ever, OK, I've never talked about breastfeeding to my newly turned 3 year old, nor has she really seen it or been around it - ever. Not that it's been on purpose, it's just never presented itself. Trust me when I say - I'm totally for breastfeeding and if I ever choose to add to my brood - I will attempt again and I hope it's completely exclusive! Anyways... last night, I was going through my Instagram feed and she was cozying up with mama and wanted to look at it with me, so I let her...and well, she saw a picture very similar to this:

via

And I kid you not, without me saying anything, or thinking anything about it, her exact words were, 

"That baby is eat'en from his mama's boobie", very matter of fact-like. Well, ok, here's my chance, I thought...

So I said, 

"Yup, that baby is being fed by his mama...that's why mommy's have boobies, so we can feed our babies". She agreed, as if she'd already known this all along. Keep in mind, she's never seen anything to this nature, what so ever. I was so impressed. So, I took it an inch further and said,
"That's why you have boobies, too, McKenna, so you can feed your babies one day!" & I figured that would be it, haha! Yeah...

McKenna said, "No, mommy!! My boobies are too SMALL!!!"

Man, I love this kid. Mr.B. was laying right next to us and he let out a little giggle and said we were just too cute for words. See what I mean...having girls is so much fun. I'd much rather talk about breast feeding and the reason we have boobies as opposed to trying to explain to my son why.... never-mind, you get me, right?

Love & boobers,

Sunday's best...with a recipe!

     I wanted to share with y'all, one of my most favorite meals that my mama would cook as I was growing up. For our birthdays growing up, my mama would have the birthday child pick what they wanted her to cook for supper that night...this was my choice, every year. Yes. That meal. It's also a meal that only has 5 ingredients, so that makes it quite simple, cheap, and easy! I've shared it with other family friends and they still keep it in their meal routines, as well. If you love a yummy aroma to fill your home when you cook - this is THAT meal! My mother always called it "Oriental Chicken" and now that I'm older and have the great ol' internet, I've found out that it's actually called "Chicken Adobo" and it is a Filipino Dish. Whatever you wish to call it, it's GOOD!

Ingredients/Items you need:

1. Family pack of chicken thighs (We prefer to take the skin off before cooking)

2. ¼ cup of soy sauce

3. ¼ cup of white vinegar 

4. 1 whole onion

5. Rice (2c. uncooked rice)

{Side Note: Make however much your family might use in a rice based meal - We typically make 2 cups (pre-cooked amount) of brown rice because we try not to use white rice, but my mother always used white and if I could have it my way, I'd use white, as well. Also, with the Soy sauce & Vinegar - if you'd like more "gravy/sauce" increase the amounts to ½ a cup each or a full cup of each, my mother uses ¼ of each and we use a full cup of each...I have found it just makes more or less of the "gravy".}

In a large pot, add your soy sauce & vinegar. Slice up your onion and add it to the pot as well. 

Take your family pack of chicken thighs (or I suppose legs, quarters or even breasts could work, but we have always used thighs; best outcome) and take the skin off of them and add them to the pot, as well. 

Mix everything up so that the onions aren't all underneath the chicken or else they will brown and you don't want that. 

Make sure the wet ingredients get all over the chicken and onions. 

Cover.

Cook on Med-Low for about an hour, maybe a little longer (the longer/slower you cook it, I've found the better it is - whatever you do, never try to cook higher and shorter, it will not taste good at all).

About 20 minutes before the chicken is done, make your rice.

Your chicken should look dark and should be near falling off the bone, if it isn't already. (I'm getting hungry just typing this out.)

Mama's Oriental Chicken

To Plate:

Put however much rice you'd like on the center of your plate.

Top with 1-2 pieces of chicken and add some of the "gravy" or juice to the top and use that as your gravy with the rice. 

I promise you - Soy Sauce and Vinegar does NOT sound appetizing to most and let me assure you - you won't taste them, individually. They cook down and infuse together to create a taste unlike anything else. It's so delicious and the best part, besides being so easy/cheap, is that my children (both toddlers) LOVE this meal. 

Go ahead, try something new and give this a whirl. You'll be glad.

Love & Comfort Food,

Friday's Letters...

Well, it's been a hot minute since I've linked up, so I suppose I should jump in with Friday's Letters with Ashley. ...Shall we?

Dear Sunshine, Thank you for making your appearance every once in a while so my little princesses can actually go outside and sweat and feel your warmth on their skin. And so I can get really cute pictures like this: 

{Seriously, can you be any cuter, babygirl?}

Dear Mackie Mae, I love you to the moon & back but please, please, please, Go The F*#k To Sleep. I know it's fun to rack up mommy & daddy's light bill by turning on every light from your room to the other end of the house and to keep waking your baby sister up to partake in the mid-night's events you make up, but seriously, sweet babe, Go The F*#k To Sleep. I know you think you'll miss something, but I promise, you won't. It's more fun when we aren't fighting about going to sleep and we're actually waking up and enjoying each others morning breath and a banana...so please...hurry up...and Go The F*#k To Sleep.

Dear Brookie Sue, Well, hello there little one. I love these new words you all the sudden speak to us. For almost a year and a half you've barely said a word & in just a few days flat, you've acquired a new 5 words, at least. Bravo, little bean. Mama loves you.

Dear Grooming Clients, Hey, I love to meet all of your pets, but I I know that the 90% of you that have dogs who are completely matted up and covered in fleas that 100% of you didn't know they were. This isn't my first time grooming a dog. :)

Dear Iced Coffee from SmackRonalds (Mickey D's), I really would love to thank you for being my sweet cold treat for working so hard...thank you for being my motivation AND my pick me up.

Dear Mr.B., thank you hunnie...for proving to me what a real friend is. What it's like to have someone who genuinely cares about me and my needs & wants. And Thank You for being that type of guy that all women dream of, especially if they really knew everything I know *wink*. Kidding. OK, maybe only about half of that. Seriously though, Thank you for being the kind of man that makes me feel like I'm living in a dream...Is it really possible to fall head over heals in love every single day, even more than the day that just passed?

Dear Frenemies, haha, thank you for finally getting me to the point where none of you matter anymore. Maybe I just needed to see an ounce more of your "Do Not Care" attitude...& now I have. Buh-Bye & Thanks for that!

Dear Blog Friends, Thank you for all of the sweet comments and emails. Wow, you ladies know how to make a gal feel special. :)

Dear Clothes of Mine, I love that you are all getting too big, but seriously, can you at least hold off a little until the season changes? I have smaller jeans than I do Capri's.....ah hell, who am I kidding...BYE BYE BIGGER CLOTHING!

Dear Mommy, Thanks again for making me smile. A genuine smile. Even though your "tough love" attitude may have upset me from time to time, I love it and it taught me well. Thank you for that. & thank you for our chats. Love our chats. <3

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Have one helluva great weekend Y'all. I'll be having my busiest weekend yet, working from home, grooming pets and juggling my toddlers! Stay tuned....

Love & Thanks,

Happy Birthday, Jeniffer!!

Alrighty! Jeniffer over at Finding my way in Texas is having a huge birthday giveaway, you guys should really be heading over there - you can enter each day this month to win lots of REALLY cool prizes!! Today, I'm visiting her blog and introducing myself and giving away some great things: custom blog graphics! Head over there, give her a visit and a birthday shout out and enter to win some fabulous items. :) Make sure you tell her I sent you over.

Below is my post that I put over at her blog for her birthday giveaway...

Hey Everyone!! I'm sooo delighted to be a part of this wonderful birthday celebration with Jeniffer! She's too kind with all this giving she's got going on - isn't she the birthday girl? :) Anyhoot....On with the show...

So, let me start off by introducing myself - My name is Kristen! I blog over at Mama Winkle's Blog. 

I have two little bitty princesses named McKenna Mae & Brooklyn Sue. They are ages 3 & 1.

I am madly in love with their father, Mr.B. and he just so happens to be my best, most favorite person in the entire world, besides my kids...and I also claim his last name which I guess means we are married. We've been together almost 6 years and we just keep getting stronger and stronger...It's almost ridiculous the amount of love we have for each other, but it's really nice, too!

Although Mr.B. is a corrections officer at the work release jail here in our big city, we also run our very own Dog Grooming shop from our home! That way I'm able to stay home with the girls, have girl time with them and cater to them by doing things like cook, clean up after them, be their maid, teacher, nurse, and butt wiper. All jokes aside, I absolutely love my life and I love my job as a wife and mother and a Dog Groomer/Business Owner. Here's a little glimpse at some of my work as a Dog Groomer:

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Come on by my blog and you can read all about my crazy life and how I juggle my time between spending my lazy days being just one of the girls with my two girls, being madly in love with my man and also running a Dog Grooming business out of my home. It can get hectic, but it's all worth it in the end...find out how I do all of this and how I like to save money along the way! You'll be surprised!

Also, in my spare time, I love to play around with graphic design and always have. I make all of my own graphics and also digital scrapbooking designs. I make all of our Dog Grooming flyers and marketing tools, like the one you see above, too. It's my way of de-stressing from the day :)

In celebration for Jeniffer's big giveaway, I'll be giving away what you see listed below. Please be available to collaborate via email so we can create something splendid and gorgeous for ya! :) Happy Birthday, Jeniffer~!

Love & Giveaways,

Sorry so long...

Hello everyone! I am so sorry for the pause in blogging I took. Life's just been one crazy [fun] roller coaster lately. We've had so much going on...seems like ever since McKenna's 3rd Birthday til now, it's just been non stop. But, alas, here I am - never fret, I don't ever stay quiet for too long.

So..I just wanted to share this with all of you. I found this to be kind of scary at first, but then I realized what it was that my blog was giving out to warrant such a hit when people search such things.

Take a look, you'll see what I mean.

At first glance, I was thinking some how some way, someone was trying to tell me something and I began wondering how in the world that was happening. Well, after a little digging, I found it was 

THIS:

& people are google image searching "You Stink" and getting this image off my blog, from this post. How crazy. But, ok, so, anyone wanna fess up to "Rubber pants" & "He wears the pants - submissive" ..anyone? No? okay.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

So, as most of you may know and some of you may not know, I set my phone on the roof of my car while we were at a car wash cleaning out all the trash inside of the car. Well.....I laid my phone on the roof and didn't think to get it before driving away. Noooo, never. Why would I want to do that? I'd love to lose all 1200+ pictures I didn't have backed up because I'm a moron. I'd love to just go spend another $110 that I didn't really need to save...save money? Who does that, anyways, right? Ohhh, yeah. Well, said car wash was right off a busy road here, and well, I hear Mr.B. say "What was that?" and look in the rear view mirror. All the sudden, it hit me. Like. A. Ton. Of. Bricks. And then, I turned around to see twenty other cars/trucks/SUVs/HEAVYASSCARS behind us, also traveling a brisk 65 mph. YAK! But, My wonderful man was soooo good to me. As much as I would have nagged ALL OVER him if that would have been his mistake, he graciously tried to calm me down out of my 2 year old crying fit that I was now doing in front of my two children in the backseat. He got off the next exit and went back. And then went back even further. Until, there. There he was, standing NEXT to the zooming traffic and inching closer to try and scave off a few cars to try to see if just maybe it might STILL work. Then I see him grabbing up 3 other pieces, until finally making it back to the car. I waited...still blubbering. He then re-enters the car and showed me the phone still turned on, but the lovely screen adorned a really interesting looking but useless spiderweb effect. Ugh. He then drove STRAIGHT to the nearest phone place and purchased a replacement of the exact same phone. Only to point out all the positives about the situation and to not put blame nor fault anywhere it should've been placed. Yup. That's my man. I love him. And I'm glad he still loves me after that dumb mistake I'll try and never make again. 

Just thought I'd share, :) Be glad it didn't happen to you. The guilt is immense.

I have big news tomorrow for all of you lovelies...Stay Tuned and make sure you come back and see what's going down... :P

Love & Uh-Oh's,

Just a note...

Hey you guys...I'm here & I'm lurking around. Been so busy with REAL goings ons that I'm not online much as of late! I will be though, betchur bottom dollar! Stay tuned and I'll BRB.

Make sure you take a moment to follow me on twitter...and on Instagram if you aren't already! These social networking sites move with me throughout my day to day life :)


Love & Much Needed Vacays,

Really, you guys?!

Wow...you guys...seriously? I got more comments than this blog ever has in it's entirety on the sole fact that I HATE BACON, but I will eat the bacon fat!!! haha, you guys are so crazy funny. Totally been making me laugh off each comment! I never knew that was so bad, well, I knew eating anything refered to as "FAT" wasn't GOOD for me, so to say...but, I surely didn't think everyone would flock to that one ounce of information that most people don't know about me and bring it to the table as you all did. THAT was hilarious. Thanks you guys. 

And another WOW, I'm up over 80 followers on GFC. That's pretty amaze to me. Thank you all for coming to see what all the fuss is about - don't worry, I'll refrain from ever telling you fat secrets anymore. haha.

So, I've decided to talk about something other than MYSELF for a change. Tomorrow I have a 2 part mini series beginning. I got this idea from one of my favorite sponsors and bloggy friends (her blog, self & kids are sooo lovely!), Lena. She blogs at Mom2MemphisAndRuby. So, as I was meandering around her blog one night, I came across her two posts about her children that she wrote as if she were her kids (Here's Memphis & here's Ruby). Pretty snazzy, I'd say. I'd love to take part in that and do that for my kids as well, so....I'm gonna copy it. Rad idea, Lena..thanks for the writer's block cure for the next two posts! :)

On another note...I found AnaWhite just today, and I am totally in love. I think I just uncovered a secret hobby love of mine I never knew I had waaaaay back in that part of my brain that also houses my love for homework and washing baseboards? lol anyways, yeah...am I behind the times in just finding this cool website? All the sudden I want to get my own wood shop and woodworking tools and go to the lumber yard and use that wacky lumber yard cart thingy and buy tons of 2x4's and 4x4's and just build stuff. Yeah.

Well, I was looking around, just getting my fill on ideas when I came across:

Crib mattress toddler bunk bed set!! 

Holy moly...really?!?!

Cost to make: $65

PIC NOT MINE NOR ARE THE CUTE KIDDOS

And, let me just clear the air - I don't have wild monkey kids that have the guts to fly jump off the top of anything. I know there are warnings and such stating that kids should ever be in a bunk bed under the age of 6 but there's also about half a million kids that are killed every year from just taking a nice evening drive in their brand new state of the art car their mommy & daddy just got. When will we stop driving cars? Well, anyhow, I would have our anchored to the wall and also lay down some conduct rules; plus my kids aren't in their room much throughout the day anyhow. Besides all that, we live in a smaller house and with subtracting their once toy room so that mama can work from home and groom dogs, we need all the floor space we can get. I don't think we are ready to transition our youngest into that bottom "bunk" or any type of toddler bed, this is just something I really want to make. And think of allllll the possibilities you can do with that. I see pretty paint colors and veils and girly stuff all over it. Don't you?

I can't wait...to make something. Anything. 

Love & funnies,

If you really knew me...

Like other bloggers around, I keep seeing the "If you really knew me, you would know..." & just because I really wanted to do it & I think it would be great for y'all since I am still rather knew around the blogging world, here it is!

...that I'm so very LOUD! I've always been known as "that loud girl" and my family still always gets onto me at family gatherings to tell me to shut it up and it still pisses me off.

...I hate bacon. OK, that's a lie - I'll eat the white fatty part that isn't crunchy, but I will NEVER eat the crunchy bacon-y bacon that is either a topping, a meat on a sandwich, an entree at breakfast, etc. For some reason I always get a crazy angry reaction from people when they find this out.

...I have a shared obsession with Mr.B with our bed. OMG. We love our bed and would stay in it forever if we could figure out how to pay our bills without leaving it. Minds out of the gutter, please! :) My bed is my sanctuary...when I'm away from home, I daydream about my bed. It's a canopy bed and has blue & teal drapery all the way around it and blue string lights, too. Really creates a cozy ambiance that can not be found anywhere else.
{Since the picture below was taken, we've gotten a better, BIGGER mattress and it is even better now}

...that I do not like real potatoes: baked potatoes or even mashed potatoes (unless Mr.B makes them mashed, because he knows how to make them taste like instant potats, just for me).

...I cuss so bad that I don't even realize I just said "fuck" 3 times in the last statement I made about changing my kids diaper in front of 4 other women who probably don't cuss. No, kidding, not that bad, but it is pretty bad.

...I hate waking up before 11am. My kids have even been such a blessing as to sleep in, too. It's really cool, but I catch a lot of flack for it. & if you really, really knew me..you'd know I don't care what anyone really thinks.

...that I'd do anything to help you in a time of need. Seriously. I would. I'd open up my home, give you food, clothing, watch your kids, give you a ride, make dinner for you, clean your house, listen to hours of crying on the phone, anything. Doesn't matter, I do it if you are my friend.

...I'm really strange about someone else preparing my food. I will literally rearrange a sandwich that someone else makes me...whether it's Mr.B making me a ham sammy or the nice lil ol' lady working in the deli making me a Boar's Head Publix Sub: I'll give specific instructions on how to assemble it (i.e. like please spread the mayo from edge to edge and the banana peppers shouldn't overlap, they go in a straight line without touching) & then I'll surely rearrange it myself once I am about to eat it.

...I'm one funny lady. I've had a secret ambition to be a comedian (shut up, Kim) and I love, love, LOVE to make my friends & family laugh.

...that I'm obsessed with anything hot pink/black for myself and when it comes to my baby girls, it's ladybugs for Mackie Mae & Cuppycakies for my Brookie Sue. One day I want to get a tattoo with a cupcake & a ladybug somehow incorporated together. Fun stuff.

There ya go...& because it's Tuesday & Lena does the whole "Tuesday 10" linky party, I'll just link up to that. Thanks, Lena!! She is so totally cool, go check her out!!



Love & know it alls,

Random nothings...

And...today I worked my boo-TAY off & I'm falling asleep at the keyboard, but I feel the NEEEEEED to blog a little something. So, here we are!

Today I...
Groomed 3 dogs. Picked up and dropped off the first two & they were really good Toy Poodles. Toy poodles are my absolute FAV dogs to groom.

Here's Tocha. Although he's very sweet, he refuses to stand. Ugh!

{I would have loved to have shared the other toy poodle but she is such a dark black that she just resembles a silhouette...I think it's more of my sucky lighting to blame & no flash on my really nice non-iPhone phone. ;) }

& the last one was a puppy, Maltipoo. He was sooo rambunctious, it was like trying to groom a fish out of water while riding down a white water rapids boat thingy ma-bobber. Yeah. Scratches all up & down my arms to prove it. But, he sure was a cutie! Only about 4lbs of total cuteness!

See? You can barely make out his face because it's so dark :(

Anyhow, in between those 2 family's worth of doggies...I got to hang out here at my house with my mama! YESSSS!!! She got to sneak out for a bit to come over and play with my kids and just chill out to some yummy vanilla iced-coffee compliments of Smack-Ronalds (ok, McDonalds, but that's what Mr. B calls it, heehee). My mother is so fun & really good with her grandkids...ok, and she's really good with me, too. She's my favorite lady to gab with...& we gab very well, together. She brought me a whole bunch of goodies (hand-me-downs), like 2 almost new pillows and some old tupperware that I remember her using a lot when I was a kid. *Crazy random fact: I am a HOARDER when it comes to anything my mother or sister hands down to me that I remember being in our childhood home. I've lost a lot of my belongings a couple of times in my deep past thanks to my X & so those dumb random things that have made it all these years with me, WILL NEVER be allowed to leave my home.*

Don't you ladies just love it when your mother or someone else from your life gives you something you may have remembered from your youth? Today was a couple pieces of old "REAL" Tupperware & one of them she always kept the Christmas Cookies she made with us every year in. Seeing that totally sent me into one of those flash forward visuals that seem to last a year but are just random visions in your mind that play out, in like, 3 seconds flat. Yeah...well, anyways..as soon as I saw that one piece of Tupperware that she used every year to put Christmas cookies in, I was totally envisioning myself making Christmas Cookies with my bitty Princesses & making it a huge deal WHY we are keeping them in THAT Tupperware. I'm such a dork. But, a happy dork...I love stuff like that. Call me what you will, but I'm the one with the Tupperware that I'll own til I'm 90 because it brings back happy kid memories. Ugh, if this passage ends up on my episode of Hoarding: Buried Alive, I'll beat you all with a wet noodle. ;)

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I'll leave you with this funny excerpt from the my day with my girls:

Sissy: (tossing her pieces of dinner off her highchair tray onto the floor)

Me: *gasp* "Sissyyyy!!"

McKenna: "What is it, Mommy??!"

Me: Oh, Sissy is just throwing her food onto the floor, again...." 

McKenna: "Oh, Dear! This. Is. SeWEEous."

...It's safe to say, My girl loves her some Wonderpets...
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One more thing, before I close....

Bill O'Reilly & Donald Trump doing the wave @ a Yankees game...Really Bill?

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Love & nothin' else,

Friday Letters...

Friday...it's not our Friday, but actually our Tuesday, since Mr. B's days off are Tuesday & Wednesday. 

Anyhoot...I'm linking up with the adventurous Ashley for Friday's Letters!

And away we go....

Dear Mackie Mae, Thank you for being the most loving, compassionate 3 year old mommy has ever met. Seriously, I hardly know any other human being as compassionate as you...well, maybe your daddy, so I think you come by it honestly. I can hardly get enough of your wit. You have been coming up with the craziest, funniest stuff lately. C'mon, "Duck..Duck..Duck...CHICKEN!" haha, it's funny! Everyday, telling me how you love your "people" is too cute. I'm glad you know who your cousins are and that you love them. Also, that you love Nana, Aunt Kimmy, Gaige & Gregory. I love that you are old enough now, to have your own "people", as you call them. :)

Hooray for baby/toddler wearing!! (pardon the horrible pic,
quality & the fact that I was wearing no makeup and
 was sweating from being outside in 115 degree heat!)

Dearest Brookie Sue, What a cutie you are. Thank you for making it through that God awful teething session you had last week - you poor thing. Now, you're back to your old crazy self. Not as many temper tantrums...but, thank God mommy found that baby sling at the yard sale today, for $1.50 so that I can FINALLY wear you...& I knew that was all you needed...heck, just around the house you loved it and mommy did too. We used to dread having to go to the store & now we can't wait! Thank you for being so loving to your daddy, now..you are a hard kid to win over, that is for sure!

Dear Mr. B., Oh Em Gee..I love how I can totally feel that you have fallen in love with me all over again...& when you tried to tell me that today, I had already felt it. I love that kind of connection we have. I love how our new stability has brought us new love and brought us back to that "new love infatuation" feeling all over again. The comments, the stares, the flirting and groping. Yes, it all lets me know what you're feeling. I know you are doing so much for us girls and it never goes unnoticed. I really hope you know that I've been trying to step up my domestic duties. I try to let you sleep uninterrupted during the day and put my own selfishness aside. Oh, & I have noticed the increase in diaper changes you've done the past week or so - thank you, my love. You really are a dream come true - still..almost 6 years later.

Dear Mommy, I love that I have you. Even though we haven't been able to take advantage of the fact we all live in the same city again, we will soon enough. I know your entire year so far hasn't gone your way, or even been at all anything you'd want, but trust me when I say - You are the most amazing woman I know. I love you for all that you do. Thank you for all that you do. 

Dear Sister, I love you too...& I want a sister day...I want to start taking advantage of the fact that we live in the same city again and actually do stuff together. & I love getting clothes together for my niece and giving them to her...speaking of, there's a HUGE couple of bags over here for her. Come over (squeeee) & pick 'em up! OK, and visit, too! :)

Dear Blog friends, Where are most of you at? I've had soooo many new followers this past week but yet nobody ever seems to comment or say much at all to me...why so quiet ladies?!? lol, I won't bite!!! Seriously though, you guys are amazing...I've had, like, 40 new followers in the past week or so. Awesome? Shhhhyeah!

Dear Florida, HOLY SHIT! Can you back'er down on the heat a 'lil bitty? It's been so effing hot I can't take my kids outside for fear they might melt into a puddle of kid! What would I do with my kid melted into a puddle? How would I explain that to the ER my parents ANYONE? Lighten up, already, will ya?

Dear Daily Readers, Yes, you guys are so sweet - thank you for actually reading and I am sooo sorry my posts seem so long winded. I even try to "weed out" some stuff, but I really think everything needs to be said that is said. No? Am I long winded? LMAO!

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&& check this out! This is my first time linking up with Lauren @ The Little Things We Do for:
 Fill In The Blank Friday!

Shall we?!

(My answers follow the underlined part)

1) I am proud of myself. I think I'm doing really good @ keeping up with my household duties (especially the laundry, holy crapola, I've ironed, folded AND put away every load this week, HOLLA!), putting myself together everyday (so I can look & feel my best), and for not putting myself down lately, for saying things to Mr. B. about myself that are nice, for a change.

source.

2) This weekend I will spend time with my mommy and my grandparents! Yay! We are going over to my mother's house to spend the day and just hang out so everyone can see the kids as this is mom's last weekend of her summer break before school starts back (she's an elementary school teacher). I'm hella excited about this.

3) A secret dream I have is to get laser treatments done to my face to fix my horrid acne scars that have ruined my self esteem. I guess it's not really a secret now - but it will always be a dream of mine until it happens!! (hint hint)

4) I can't handle certain over dramatic people in my life. It's always "something" but to everyone else, it's nothing that big'a deal. It's annoying and being around it makes me feel like I'm having an allergic reaction. 

5) The most annoying thing in the entire world is the fact that there are BUGS on our planet!!! WHY?!?!?!!

source.

6) The most relaxing thing in the entire world is taking little cat naps with Mr. B. while the girls are napping, too. It's sooo relaxing to lie down, hold each other face to face, fall asleep and keep waking up intermittently to just make out real quick and fall back asleep. LOVE LOVE that. Do all couples do that?

7) I think everyone should help other people in any way they can. If you know someone who needs help & you can help, don't make them ask, offer to help! That is huge to someone who needs it. Plus, it will make the world a happier place & you'll feel so good at the end of the day.

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I know I am technically a day late, but we are a 3rd shift family...so, technically, I am not late by my clock!
By the way...I feel like I'm losing my eyesight more and more each day- drastically! Standing 8 ft from my baby sitting in her high chair today, I couldn't make out her face - it was all blurry and I could just see blurry eyes and lips, not even her nose. That's bad. & scary. & my glasses were working and now they seem too weak...oh no!!! :(


Love & more love,

Little bit of this, Little bit of that...

Sooooo...it really bothers me that every single time I start typing a blog post, I can't figure out a different starting off word other than "SO". THAT bothers me.

Anyways..lets move onto My Thursday link-up:

"It's OK"

So... (lmao)

It's OK that my 3 year old tried to french kiss me at bedtime earlier this evening...after all, I'd rather her try that on me because she sees mommy & daddy so in love, rather than her choke her baby sister out because she saw daddy do that to mommy - thank GOD my kids never have to witness anything like that!!! Yeah, I'll take an attempted french kiss any day, haha! (but, yes, I set the record straight for her, haha..awkwarrrrd)

It's OK that I seem to ramble on and on about absolutely nothing on my blog because it seems to be the only thing remotely similar to adult conversation.

It's OK that sometimes when I'm singing lullabyes to my girls, I try to pretend that I'm singing in front of "a live audience" and really give it my all. (Shut up, I really do)

It's OK that I haven't washed my hair in 2 (or 3?) days...At least I've taken what we like to refer to as a "bottom half shower". 

It's OK that I just ate 2 Chobani Greek Yogurts..I couldn't choose between Mango & Honey so I had them both. Yup. Sure did.

It's OK to be upset about having to buy a new plastic Starbucks Tumbler...it is my favorite cup. HATE that it cracked.

It's OK that we are a 1 car family and our 1 car is only a 2002...it's paid for and it's got cold AC & heated seats in the winter. & it's a 3.8L V6! 

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& next, let's talk about some thankfulness, yes!

Thankful Thursday!!!

Today, I am [so] thankful for...

Our Dog Grooming business & that at any given moment, we can get a phone call and within an hour make up to $50! So blessed to have this. Forever thankful. When we moved across the country in January, we never planned on having every back up plan falling through and being compltely 100% without income for 7 months was so incredibly hard. To go from that, to now Mr. B having a wonderful job doing his passion and aside from that we have our Dog Grooming business...man, all those people who pretty much didn't like us because we were always broke or feeling sorry for ourselves becasue we couldn't do fun things...and now look at us. Totally doing it big. Making money like it's nothing! Financial stability is what I'm thankful for...Thank GOD we have it now!

I'm also thankful for my children. How can I not be thankful for them each & everyday? Today we just played & played & played..it was so fun. They are so fun. Dancing to the radio very loud. Romping on mommy & daddy's big king size bed with mommy & daddy. Playing hide & go seek. Making lunch & eating lunch together. Playing dress up & laughing. Playing "chase me" and "I get'chu". Our girls finally getting to the age where they really interact with each other. This was just some of our fun from today.

Thankful for finally loving my self & my body. Yes, I've lost weight and acquired cute clothing and that makes me look better...but recently, for the first time in a long time...I am feel pretty & sexy. & Mr.B. is really damn good at making me feel pretty & sexy. All we did the last 2 days was hang out around the house with our babes and yet, he couldn't keep his hands off me, kept stopping me & asking for a kiss, telling me how beautiful I looked in whatever I was wearing {or wasn't wearing}...or that he is soooo in love with my body & me. ok, yeah...that stuff helps. Sure. But, really...I am thankful for my new found attraction for my own physical self.

I linked up here:

Love & Thanks,

7 Questions...and more...

Hello...Guess what? Gentri Lee is back with her 7 questions, so I am excited and I'm linking up (for my first time)!

First off, let's begin with my funny picture. 

This is Mr.B. wearing his mask he's had for years. Every once in a while, he'll come across it and decide it's time to scare get the kids reaction to him with it on. & just like the time before and the time before that, it's freaking hilarious! He's been doing it since our oldest was an infant. As you can see here, she is not thrilled and was squirming her way out of his hold, haha. Such funny mean parents.

Here's the 7 questions for this week:

1. It's the first day of August- Are you savoring the Summer or ready to jump into Fall?

I live in hot, sunny, sometimes rainy, Florida...Of course I'm ready for fall!! I want my windows open and my kids outside all day long!

2. You need a quick and healthy meal, what do you make?

Fresh Fruit!!! I crave it all the time. I hated fruit until I went through both my pregnancies and the craving never went away. I love to have it all cut up and prepared...so it's really easy to eat. & Yes, Brandon will always cut it up for us girls so I usually always have fresh fruit cut up & ready to eat.

3. You're at the mall, how do you shop?

How? Uhh..FAST! I have two toddlers & the youngest is NEVER happy with shopping. & the oldest thinks the only reason there is a mall is for that tiny little indoor playground (that we LOVE!).
That's right, this is her "shopping face".

4. Would you rather buy a new house or renovate an old one?

OMG I want a new one. We are renters and have rented some really old places and I just don't like living in an old place that has had who knows how many occupants. It's just eerie to me.

5. Long hair or short hair?

Long!! Have you seen mine? I love it. So does Mr. B. & we have made a promise to never cut the toddlers' hair either.

6. Who is your oldest (not by age) friend?

Kimmy-Poo! My friend Kim...She's been my friend long enough to have played every role from 2nd mama to sister, to best friend. And now she is an Aunt to my children. A best friend for over 15 years.

7. What is your favorite blog- currently? 

This was hard to pinpoint as I have just found so many of y'all and all of you have such awesome blogs...but, seriously, my favorite blog as of right now would have to be Raven's blog:
A Momma's Desires & Pacifiers. That chick is crazy funny and from a writer's point of view, she has mad writing skills. I love her writing style and her humor keeps you glued and wanting more! Plus she has the cutest little boys & a boat that we all wish we could have spent the summer in. :)




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And I also linked up, today, with these great link-ups..Holla!

Well... Technically, I know I missed Wednesday by almost 2 hours, but hey, it was Mr.B's day off & I had really cool "off computer" type things to do. But, leave me a comment & let me know you were here...Have a great Thursday everyone! 

Love & questionnaires,