Time.

Blood- The Middle East

Scarlett's pretty over the moon with her new leggings from Lola Bean. 

She asks to wear them pretty much...every day. 

Leggings: Lola Bean / Shirt: H&M

Scarlett. 
She's been teaching me so much the last few months. Yes, my 2 year old is teaching me. I'm was actually sitting here in bed tonight thinking. My mind was spinning so much that I crept out of bed to jot down these thoughts. Everything about Scarlett is wonderful. Today, she called to me, "Mama, look!".  I turned to see her holding up a card that I received at my bridal shower. It was colorful, filled with florals and a few birds. 
"Look Mama, this beau-ti-ful!" She was right. Her little mind always reminds me of all the small things in this world. This simple card was filled with beauty. She sees things that I miss. 

She reminds me. 

She calls for me when I am at my busiest. Up to my neck with wedding details and important things. "One minute Scarlett." I call to her. 

But one minute is all it takes for her to grow up. For her to change into the little person that she is becoming. Growing out of the heartfelt things that she says and the small gestures that she makes. 
"Bless you Mama." When I sneeze. 
The way she says, "I swimming." or "I tired." in her little voice, her tiny sentences forming together. 
"A big hug?" she asks. 
Watching her swaddle her dollies and change their diapers.
Watching her sing her abc's in the bathtub, lining all the letters up.
The way she wraps those arms around me.


I don't want to miss those moments! We have been trying to make more of a schedule around here lately. With everything going on with wedding plans, events and traveling back to Mass pretty much every weekend, it's easy to get distracted or lose track of time. 

Every night, after she has a bath and brushes her teeth, we have been reading 2 books. The other night, I had a million things going on and I was deep in concentration. I heard Scarlett call for me but I just didn't want to lose my train of thought. "One minute Scarlett." 
Before I knew it, it was 9 pm and Scarlett came to my leg and laid her head on me, "I sleepy Ma-ma." I didn't realize it was past her bedtime. I rubbed my eyes with frustration. I wasn't frustrated with her, I was frustrated with myself for not giving her any of my time. How was it the end of the day already?! Never enough time. 
I told her to go get blankie and sleeping baby and I got her some milk. After prayers, kisses and big hugs, I closed her bedroom door and made my way back to the living room. I paused by our bedroom door. Out of the corner of my eye, something caught my attention. I walked to our bed and pulled the covers down. Two books lay there idle. One on Ty's pillow and one on my pillow. 

I felt pretty small at that moment. 
Instant teary eyes.

I was too busy to read her 2 simple books. Those two books are the highlight of her night. 
I want all of her moments. All of those precious minutes that go by in the blink of an eye. I'm missing some of them with each time I say, "One minute Scarlett." And so she teaches me. I realize that I won't be able to come to her every beck and call for the rest of her life, but I want these moments now. I want her little-ness. Just another lesson in motherhood.

Everyone is so worried about career and money and success. When you die, what will that leave you? A good reputation and some money for your kids, maybe. But if you haven't experienced life, enjoyed it, then what good is it? I swear that having children makes you wiser. Time is so short. Sometimes I lay awake at night paralyzed by the fear that one day, everything I have will be gone. Or that it can be taken away in the blink of an eye. But then I remember that this world wasn't intended for us and there is much more to come for us. The only thing that comforts me is knowing that God will someday bring us home forever. FOREVER. Not sure I even understand the meaning of that. But I could get used to spending forever with Scarlett and Ty... 

Time is a strange thing.
Sometimes it's against us and sometimes it helps us. But always passing. We need to remember to stop and take that time to love our little ones, love our significant others, and soak up all the wonderful things around us.

This moment...these moments.








Links:
Two Thirty Five Designs

Late Night Thoughts.

(Photos from this past weekend.)

Shoes: Zara

Cat Dress: H&M

So here we are, less than one month before our wedding. How do I feel about that? 

Pretty excited!
There have been quite a few points along the last year or so that I wanted to forget the whole wedding and just elope. Ha! But now that things are coming together and falling into place, I'm more excited that our family and friends can come share this day with us. Despite the money, planning, stress and hassles of planning a wedding, I keep reminding myself that my love for Ty is really all that matters. It's a lot of back and forth every weekend from New York To Massachusetts. In fact, I'm packing up again tomorrow errr....today I guess since it's midnight,  and leaving my loves to go back and tend to more wedding stuff & one of my bridesmaid/friend's wedding shower. I'm tired. You would think that staying home with Scarlett would give me free time to relax. That isn't so. Scarlett is slowly letting go of her afternoon nap and my two year old is an attention craver. She loves my undivided attention and as much as want to give her every bit of me, I do have a lot to get done in 3 weeks. Ahhh!!  

On another note, Scarlett had me laughing tonight. Usually when I put her to bed, she asks for "Sleeping Baby" and "Blankie". Tonight, she asked for those two things and a book. Confused by this, I told her that we already read books. She insisted so I gave her a book. She tucked it in beside her and pulled her blanket up to sleep. Ha. Oh that babe!

What's new with Ty and I? Well, as much as I'd like to leave you with some juicy drama about our life, to tell you the truth, everything is the same....wonderful. I often wonder if people get sick of hearing me say that. But I'm not going to lie, we are really, really happy right now. 

I've started to think about going back to work. I have mixed feelings about this. I love getting dressed up every morning, grabbing coffee and heading out to work but I also love spending every precious moment with my two year old. My two year old that is growing up so quickly before my very eyes. I think about if I would have gone back to work 3 months after she was born like I had planned and I can't imagine it. But now, she's 2 and I can tell she's starting to want more. She loves when I drop her off at the gym playroom, or going to dance where she can dance and sing. I hate to admit it, but she is thrilled to leave me and go explore and learn. So I know that she would be over the moon to go to preschool 3 or so times a week. I originally signed her up for 2 days a week, 3 hours a day. I'm thinking that isn't going to work out if I really want to go back to work. And the program was more of a play-based preschool. I want her to learn something since she's definitely ready to absorb some more knowledge. 

I took a day and went to visit a new preschool that was recommended to me, just down the road from our house. It is a state of the art, brand new, school catered to toddlers. I was surprised by how much they had to offer. A Library for her age group, themed rooms to teach them about the real world (post office, school, grocery store, etc) a gym with mini-sized equipment, all bathroom facilities miniature-sized to accommodate them, brand new playground and lots of indoor play toys. The teachers are all equipped with iPads that link right to the parent's iPad/iPhones so that the parents can ask the teachers a question at any time of the school day. The teachers also input everything that the children do throughout the day. If I want to see what Scarlett ate for lunch? I just go to the school app and look to see what they fed her or if she napped. With only 10 kids per classroom, and 2 teachers per class, I felt confident that Scarlett would receive enough attention. It seemed that it was too good to be true. Scarlett, of course, didn't want to leave and so I came to the conclusion that this fall, I will put her in this learning based preschool and go back to work part-time. What will I do for work? Haven't a clue. 

But after the wedding, I plan to put my resume back together and head out in search of one. The area that we live in here is a lot different than the small-town I'm used to. To find a job back home was like finding a needle in a haystack. Here, my options are good. Well, those are my late night thoughts for the night. 

I guess I should put my lap top away, snuggle up to Ty & fall asleep before Scarlett starts calling, "Mama, WAKE UP. I have der-tee diaper." ;)

Good-night loves!

Just in case you'd like to follow along, like me on Facebook here.

Links
On Your Heart
Casual Friday
Best of Friday

Mini Style in May.

 I must say that one of my all time favorite places to shop for Scarlett is Old Navy. Not only has their clothing quality come a long way, they are getting pretty trendy with their cute styles. AND, the best part, you don't have to spend a fortune. I'm pretty sure 40% of Scarlett's wardrobe is Old Navy. Here she is again, head to toe, Old Navy for toddlers. Steal Scarlett's Look below.

Dear Ty.

"Over The Love"

By: Lauren Hutchinson
Copyright © 2013

Dear Ty,


Drowning....


I sometimes feel like that about my life before I met you.
Those days were hard,
Tearful.

I felt as though I was drunk, spinning around wildly with no intention of stopping. Every turn taking me further away from the light.
Bitter and angry.
Not knowing how I had gotten to that place.

I think I asked God a million times why?
I think I prayed a thousand times for it to go away.
Drowning.
It's a word I use often when I describe that time in my life.

It felt that way.

Like no matter how hard I tried, the water kept hitting my face and pushing me down.
Like I couldn't catch my breath.
Like the more I struggled to reach the top for a breath of air, the faster I sank.
I couldn't hold on, so I began to just...let go....
Free falling down into that murky water.
I watched myself fade...


And just as I felt I was about to hit the bottom, just when I had given up hope, just as I was about to close my heart for good,
two strong arms reached down and pulled me up.
They wrapped around me and held my cold, half-damaged body against theirs.
I opened my eyes,

And there you were.
The answer to my every prayer.
What I had been unknowingly searching for for years.

I know it seems rather dramatic to say that you saved me. 



But truly, you saved me.


I find it completely surreal to think that we found each other in this chaotic, mess of a world.
But I know there was help in bringing us together.
With every choice bringing us in a different direction, I realize that all of the bad things that have come my way, no longer matter. Those difficult times swung me around like a rag doll, not caring if I was on my knees already.

Dear Ty, my lover, my rescuer, my heart, my everything.
I want you more than I have ever wanted anything.

The love I feel for you makes my heart beat faster every time I think of our first kiss.
It makes me burn with passion when I think of you telling me you'd wait forever.
It fills my eyes with tears when I think how you unconditionally love me....

This IS the love of a lifetime. I'm so in love still.
The best part is, I know you are here to stay...the day is coming quickly. I'm savoring how I feel in this moment. And yet, I know the best is yet to come.

.............................6/21/2013 










Links:
Carissa Graham
Covered In Grace

Graphic Tees.

 This Mother's Day, we just hung out all day in cozy clothes. I thought our graphic tees were just perfect for a lazy day... And the photos were just too cute not to share! 

Born to Rock tee: ForeverXXI

Tiger tee: Target

Links
WIWW
Rolled Up Pretty
Look What I Got
Passion for Fashion
Best Of Friday
Weekend Shenanigans

Things I'm Loving.

Warm sunny days in New York.

The way Scarlett says "baby soup" (bathing suit) Just too cute to correct.

The smell of sun tan lotion on our skin.

Iced Tea with LOTS of ice & lemon.

Opening the mail to find wedding response cards.

Fresh flowers in the house.

Pool days.

Outdoor Dining.

Listening to Scarlett in the back seat, sing along with me to the radio.

Ty.  

My new living room rug. (check back this week for a living room post)

Trips to the greenhouse.

Saltwater Sandals.

"Come on, Mama!" 

Scarlett's Whimsical 2nd Birthday

This year, I really didn't want to do a big party like I threw last year. I just wanted to have family, a couple of kids and a cookout to celebrate Scarlett turning two. Soooo, that's exactly what we did. Of course, I'm a sucker for small details and small party or not, I wanted some cute decor and a couple of fun activities. 

I decided I would throw her a whimsical party with white bunnies, fresh flowers, spring colors and some flowing fabrics. I picked a couple of spring activities, (planting spring seeds and chalk fun) that I will go into detail about in later posts, But the real hit of the party was the gift Ty and I bought Scarlett. We bought her a water/sand table that I almost didn't get her since I wasn't sure if she would like it. I'm glad I did! We weren't planning on bringing it out until present time, but it was just too nice of a day to not include some water! Good decision.....The kids spent the majority of the time at that little table, occasionally stopping for cupcakes or food. 

Scarlett was thrilled with everything. Overwhelmed, even. Our family and friends gave her wonderful gifts. She hasn't even gotten through all of them yet! They will keep her busy for quite some time! I feel so lucky to have such a loving family that made it all the way from Massachusetts to celebrate with us. And for great new friends that we've met here. The best part of the party.....For me, it was when Scarlett smiled as we sang Happy Birthday to her and then, she pursed her little lips together and blew out her candle for the very first time.....I think I may have gotten a little teary. I can't believe my baby is 2!! We took so many photos that I was completely overwhelmed with sorting through them. But I think I picked a good variety to show you how much fun we had this weekend! 

Bunny Cupcake toppers HERE

Dream Catcher: Wildflower Dream Catchers

Links:
Misc Monday
Mon Meet Up
Ivy & Elephants