Friday Five

I'm linking up with the ladies today for Five on Friday. Join in here.

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Tomorrow, Tarl and I will celebrate six years of marriage, however we have been together for almost 12 years. Wow! Where does the time go? Instead of sharing wedding pics, I wanted to share pics of our first trip together with just the two of us, Myrtle Beach. We had such a great time back when we were just two kids scraping pennies and dimes to go away for the weekend. I will never forget this trip!

It's beyond obvious that my taste in hair has changed...praise the Lord, but what a great time we had!

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Last night Cadence had her second T-Ball practice. My girl sure does love to run the bases, that is by far her most favorite thing about this sport. As soon as we arrive she asks her coaches if she can run the bases, and before she leaves she does the same. I'm so happy that she is enjoying this activity. 

The sky last night was beyond amazing. Pinks, blues, purples and oranges looming over a baseball field. It just doesn't get more American than that. No filter, look how beautiful!

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Keeping it real today by hopefully getting some advice from some of you ladies. I have recently started on birth control (pill). I've had the IUD forever, and had to have it removed because my "time was up" for it. Instead of getting another one put in, I decided on the pill because I'm a chicken shit and the IUD hurts like a mother when they put it in. (remember, I'm keeping it real) My husband and I also don't like how permanent the IUD is. If we ever wanted to try for another child, I have to make an appointment to have it removed and then wait three months to offset the chance of twins...too long, so the pill it was. 

Well this pill has made me exhausted and sometimes nauseous. I've only been on it for three days, but it's been a rough three days. I spoke with my doctor this morning and she said it's completely normal because my hormones are going cray cray right now and they have to get regulated. She said it could take up to a month until I'm back to normal again...ugh!

My question to you ladies is, did you go through something similar? If so, how long did it take and did you stick to it? Help!

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I purchased a yoga DVD about a month ago and have only used it once and didn't even do the entire workout. You may now call me a lazy ass. Well this weekend I'm determined to get my butt in gear. I only want to lose about 5 pounds, which would put me at 120 (pre-pregnancy weight) but my goal is to tone up. I want to get my butt tight, legs tight and abs to show...bring on the yoga! There are four different workouts, and I think I'm going to do four workouts in a row Sunday - Thursday and take off the weekends...thoughts?

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It's Friday, say it with me...it's F-R-I-D-A-Y!

Woo-hoo!

Throwback

Today I'm linking up with Ashley for Throwback Thursday.

If you're a mom then you know all about those bittersweet moments and memories. There are days when they are young and all you can think about are the days when you will no longer have to change a diaper, have a full conversation with them, and the day when they can make their own juice or open their own yogurt cup.

What you don't realize is that those days come a lot sooner than you think. I know that everyone says to cherish the time that you have with your children, because it goes by in the blink of an eye. Well I'm here to tell you, it truly does. Cadence is five years old. She and I now have full blown conversations, and I so miss those days of trying to understand what she was trying to say. She can fill her own juice cup with ice and water, and I often miss her asking me for help. Although I don't miss the diaper changes, I do miss the yucky faces she would make when I was changing one of her stinkies...it was so darn cute!

One of my favorite ages was when Cadence was two. She was really starting to speak words and put together sentences, and her voice was the sweetest little toddler voice you ever did hear. She was such a silly and playful child (not much has changed on this part). 

I just wanted to share some pictures of her when she was two.

I have learned to take in every sweet moment that I can with her now, because I know it won't be long we will be looking for prom dresses and picking out class rings. 

xo

So What!

It's been a while since I have done a SWW post, so today I'm linking up over at Life After I Dew.

So what if I'm going to be that mom who posts 1000 pictures of her kids firsts? For instance, Cadence has her first ever, real life, extra curricular activity. Due to her age she will not start school until later on this year, so T-Ball has been her first true activity outside of playing with friends and cousins. Last night was her very first T-Ball practice, meeting coaches and teammates were fun for her, but the best part was the actual practice. She loved throwing the ball and running the bases! I only took about 1500 pics, I'll spare you all of them and collage a few...

So what if I have already started writing down my packing list for a small weekend trip that is still 9 days away. I feel like making a list makes it official. Plus I love lists! Am I the only one who makes a list for most all things? Cleaning. Shopping. Packing. To-Do's for work/home. Lists are beyond helpful for this girl.

So what if I added to my Victoria's Secret Credit Card bill yesterday? I got some super cute tops for warmer weather. Also, because I spent over $75 I got a free getaway bag. I love VS and all their freebies!

Free with a $75 purchase through 3/2/14 while supplies last...click here

Fitted Poplin Shirt

Keyhole Bra Top

Lightly Padded Bra Top

The bra tops are the perfect warm weather shirts with their light padding for extra coverage and their beautiful spring colors. I am beyond ready to wear these with white skinnies and nude pumps or wedges. The fitted poplin is the perfect lightweight shirt for work clothes. They are elegant enough for work, but the fitting is still sexy enough to show off your curves. I picture the blouse tucked into a pencil skirt or with a pair of crisp coral colored slacks. I'm ready for all of these beauties to be in my mailbox!

I'm off to make those lists...

Posts with Substance & Some Inspiration

Today I'm linking up with some lovely gals for Tuesday Tea, join the fun here.

As of recent some of the blogs that I have followed for years (even when I didn't blog) have been so standard and dull. It seems all they post about are clothes, jewelry, etc. What happened to your life? That's why I followed you to begin with, because you posted the happenings of your daily life and it was authentic. I enjoy reading about everyone's real lives. What's really going on? Don't sugar coat it because then it makes me feel like I'm not the normal one.

Did your kid pee on you last night? Do tell. Are you and your husband in desperate need of some alone time? I want to read all about it. Are you going through a hard time? Ask for prayers, because they do work!

Don't get me wrong, I love seeing that Kate Spade satchel you just bought, but when all you post are new purchases, how to do your makeup, and the newest sale, well it just gets boring to me. Maybe this is just me though, no? Then again this isn't a fashion blog, so maybe that's the case.

Sure I want to hear about your purchases, but not every.single.post.

Either way, I thoroughly enjoy posts with substance. Posts that are real and those are the blogs that I love and follow and read.

Here are some inspirational quotes that I have found on Pinterest and wanted to share with you.

Happy Tuesday friends.





Have you ever been...?!

to Universal Studios in Orlando?


Tarl and I are celebrating many years of marital bliss and getting away for the weekend. Each time we go to Orlando we have always done Disney, and to be honest, if we didn't have a Disney trip planned for the end of the year, we'd probably be doing it again, alas, we chose Universal and I am beyond ready to go. Tarl and I are both Universal Studios virgins!


First let's talk the hotel. One thing that Tarl and I always splurge on is the hotel. We always want something that's in a great location, with a nice pool/bar/lounge (for late night drinks w/o having to pay for a taxi) and of course, the cleanliness factor.


This time we chose the Crowne Plaza Universal Orlando which is located in the heart of everything. We have access to Universal Drive as well as International Drive. We have dining reservations that Friday night and the restaurant is one mile away from the hotel. We could walk if we wanted to, emphasis on "if" because I don't foresee me walking a mile in a maxi dress...just sayin.

via

We plan on leaving early on Friday morning and getting to Orlando by the time the parks open at 9. Grab a quick breakfast on the way, and put on our best walking shoes! We purchased the park to park pass which is Disney's equivalent of the park hopper. Essentially, you can visit both parks in the same day. This way, we can get the most out of our time there.

The first park to visit will be Universal's Islands of Adventure, the park which has the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Am I a Harry Potter obsessed fan? No. Do I like Harry Potter? Absofreakinglutely. The parks close at 7 on Friday so we plan on seeing all of the Harry Potter stuff on Friday morning and then when we're finished with that head over to Universal Studios.

From reviews that I have read online I hear that you can do Universal Studios in half a day or so and you could spend days at Islands of Adventures because of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. So I figure get the Harry Potter stuff done on Friday, head over to Universal Studios on Friday afternoon, and then spend all day Saturday at Islands of Adventures & the WWOHP again.

To say I am excited is an understatement. A weekend away is just what I need and I pray the weather stays warm like it currently is right now in Orlando. A sunny 79!

It's also tradition for us to try our favorite restaurant in every city because the atmosphere and ambience is completely different in each, so I have reserved The Melting Pot in Orlando for Friday night. Yum! We're also Fondue Club Members and because it's our anniversary we get chocolate covered strawberries at no charge, which is like a dollop of chocolate frosting on top of the cake.

The rest of the time we will eat at the parks to utilize the time we have there.

So my question to you all is. If you have ever been to either of these parks, what is a must do/see? Please keep in mind we are really only going to be there for two days, so we're strictly doing Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure.

Thanks for the advice!





weekend

This weekend was some great catch up for my family of three. Tarl finally came home and we spent some much needed quality time together, starting with breakfast on Saturday at Cracker Barrel...you just can't beat those biscuits! It turned out to be a beautiful sunny day so we took a drive out to Fort Pulaski in Tybee Island, Georgia to be a "local tourist" and take in the sights.

A true southern belle knows how to fan properly...just like this!

My mom got out of the hospital yesterday, praise the Lord! On Saturday though, after our trip to the fort, we drove out to the hospital and visited her. She was doing so well and we are beyond blessed that she is better. Cadence, in typical five year old fashion, managed to make a hospital fun. She loved looking out the huge windows...love that kid!

After the hospital visit we went to our local mall. Cadence was a little concerned about the bear, but still managed a pose for the picture. I also went to Target and picked up the most perfect Spring dress and the cutest workout outfit you ever did see. See the workout clothes below and I'm going to wait until I can wear the dress (warmer weather) to show it to y'all.

I love the green and love that if I'm running, no one's going to miss me or hit me because it's so neon it's hard to miss. 

Once we got home we all snuggled and watched The Jungle Book, even Hector the cat.

I just love this picture of the two of them, snuggled up, watching the movie, eating their ice cream cones at the same time. This is my Heaven...I'm beyond blessed to have them in my life.