- Picture Perfect? -

So hereeeeee's a not-organized, poorly planned post..... But it makes sense in my mind, so try to hang with me 'til the end and I think I juuust might be able to tie the strings of all these mismatched thoughts into a big, beautiful bow. Just mebbe.

First!  I swear there is some kind of little switch in Harper's brain that flicks on the SECOND I pull my camera out of the bag.  It literally started when she was one month old and I was attempting her first chalkboard photo.  I don't know how to explain it, other than that she definitely knows that all I want is five minutes [or less] of cooperation so I can capture ONE good photo to put on a birthday invitation or Christmas card or whatever.  But no!  Not a chance of compliance ever.

Next!  Rewind back to Thanksgiving Day 2018: everyone was in a great mood, and I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to quickly throw a blanket down outside and snap our Christmas card photo.  "No sweat," she said!  "This will be easy," she said!  

...But we got outside, and:

 ...followed by more stone faces, pestering Scarlett via a grass blade in her ear, and a grand finale of body-slamming Scarlett and making her cry.

I scrapped the sister photo op and handed over the camera to my dad to attempt a family photo, but that didn't go much better:

We finally got one that we could use for the Christmas card:

...but when it was all said and done [and actually during the entire process, too], I WAS SO MAD!!! Soooooo fuming, mother-effing mad.  I mean, WHAT IN THE ACTUAL EFF WORD?!? Everyone else's good moods had evaporated, too.  The thought crossed my mind a few times to throw in the towel and not send out a Christmas card at all, but thattttt really wasn't an option at all.  It was horrible.

I got over myself a couple days later and went ahead and ordered the Christmas cards.  They showed up on the porch a few days later, and I stuffed the envelopes and mailed them out. We got so many compliments on them! But every time *I* see that photo ^^ and/or the actual Christmas card, it brings back terrible memories.....

Then!  Some of you know that I have a 40-60 minute drive to and from work; some of you also know that I get mild traffic anxiety -- or at a minimum, very antsy behind the wheel.  All of this is because I despise the thought of wasting ~6 hours every week. This "wasted time" is time that I could be spending with my babies and/or cooking dinner and/or hanging out with a friend and/or cleaning the house and/or mayyyyybe even doing something alone that I want to do for myself!  Part of my 2019 resolution was to "diffuse the drive" -- whether it be listening to motivational podcasts, talking on the phone to someone I love, or even just taking my time in the car and turning it into prayer time.  Whatever it is that day, it would always be time well spent instead of "time wasted." 

So anyway!  I was listening to this podcast on the way home from work last Thursday, and the host is a wife and busy mom of four kids. She was talking about how chaotic her life is [or at least how chaotic it seems, in certain moments], and she is very honest about how haphazard life with littles can be.  She said that she often times scrolls through social media and then leaves Facebook feeling worthless and hollow because her life doesn't stack up to others' lives.  Oh, there's a mom over there with four kids, too...but she's posting pics on Instagram of her coffee cup with a lily in the background; meanwhile, my kids ran in the kitchen and spilled my coffee and knocked over the lily and shattered the vase.  Or how about that woman who always has a clean house, not a dirty dish or toy out of place in sight?!  She continued talking about how seeing all these posts about others' "perfect lives" can really play with her moods and emotions and change how she feels about herself as a wife and mother.  She went on to discuss how social media is so toxic, and this is because it is not real life!

And that's when it all came full circle for me...  I immediately thought back to the Christmas card event; I thought back to how badly I wanted us to look "picture perfect" when actually, in real life, we are vulnerable and messy and NOT PERFECT AT ALL!  When I'm old and wrinkly and my memory fails me, I want to be able to look back at our stack of old birthday invitations and Christmas cards -- and even this blog -- and remember the real moments.  Because I already know that, even though it's chaotic and crazy now, these are the very best moments; these real, unstaged moments are the ones I'll treasure forever.

So peace out, social media.  I'm sick of being pretty for you.  The podcast host hit the nail on the head: YOU ARE NOT REAL LIFE, and you and your portrayal of perfection will never again have a leg to stand on in this house!  Under this roof, we are raw and honest about life as we live it.  <-- Should I say it again for the people in back?!  Yes! 

From now on, we write our story as we see it, ugly Christmas card pics and all. 

And y'all, come see my messy house and [piles of] dirty laundry! 

...I'll brew you a cup of coffee when you get here. :)

- Oh, January... -

...you were a [not] jewel! 

We kicked off the month by ringing in 2019 in style...

...then celebrating a very special someone's FIRST birthday!  

There were several snow days and afternoons at gymnastics and even a Princess Tea and Grammy's birthday, too!  The month was shaping up rull nice...

...until BOOM:  GI virus for Scarlett. Boo.

Vomit here, there, and everywhere. She made a fairly quick recovery...

...then BOOM:  green, snotty noses and thick, nasty coughs for both girls! Hiss!

Essential oils and extra sleep for you and you and you! A week or so went by, and we got over that...


...next, BOOM:  RSV.  Rawrrrrrr.

Oh, pooooor, sweet Sissy and her sad little lungs! Can Motha' Nature and her despicable ole' viruses just cut us a break puh-LEEZE?!  Harper and Emma accompanied us to the pediatrician where Scarlett swabbed positive for R-to-the-S-to-the-V and also received her first breathing treatment. We went home with a brand new nebulizer [meet Sami the Seal!] and a stash of albuterol -- two of the main ingredients needed for our "a super fun weekend awaits us" recipe! 

We gave Sissy her treatments every four hours around the clock, and Harper was the absolute BEST big sister during all of this. She was always extremely attentive to Scarlett's needs and also regularly checked up on Scarlett's lungs.  ...And Scarlett really didn't seem to mind; she even let Harper give her a couple of the nebs! #sistersunite

Brian was spending a lot of time working at the house [by "a lot," I mean "all day Saturday and all day Sunday during this particular weekend but basically every waking moment that he's not at his 9-5 job"] -- and so! We were pretty much home to fend for ourselves from sun-up to sun-down.  I'm so very grateful that Harper was such a good helper to me and such a nice, sympathetic sister to Scarlett, because it all could've crumbled beneath my feet .justlikethat. But it didn't. Thank you for cooperating, Harper girl!!! You are the very best.

And of courseeee, it should go without mention but I'll say it anyway: the days without Daddy are long and sometimes seem never-ending, but every night I go to bed feeling super appreciative of Brian and all he is doing for us!  It really is a huge commitment, not to mention an exhausting job in the cold weather with a never-ending to-do list! But he goes at it every day without complaint and wakes up again the next day to start all over again!  ^^ This night, in particular, I realized more than ever that we may not have it all together, but together we have it all.  And that is more than enough. <3  If we can just get through these next several months without Daddy, it's allllll a downhill slide from there! *party emojiiiiiii*

 
Anyway, off my tangent. Thannnnnnnkfully, the treatments worked wonders! We were so very fortunate to escape an ER visit, and before we knew it Scarlett was on the mend...

...so much so, in fact, that the pediatrician said at her breathing checkup a few days later that she made a REMARKABLE turnaround! Respirations of 60 down to ~30ish AND having our sassy, strong-willed little girl back? I'llllll take it!

Go, Sissy, go!  

OVERALL, January, we will not miss watching you melt away! You were exhausting! 

And somehow, all of the sudden, here we are: 10 days deep into February.....

...So watch out, world!!!

- We have PORCHES, yes we do! -

...We have porches, how 'bout YOU??!

Weeeeeeeeee.

The winter threw us a week of warmness, so believe me when I say we took fulllll advantage of this unexpected blessing!  While Daddy and Papa Ron prepped the porches for pouring, we played and picked up nails.  Harper was an awesome helper!  [December 2018]

Snack break!

Front porch...

...and back!

This shack is really starting to look like something, and we are soooo excited! 

- Princess Tea Party -

This year for Christmas, my parents gifted Harper a ticket to a Princess Tea Party.  It was amazing on all levels, because a) who really needs more toys piling up in the house?, and b) who doesn't love a special/fancy day out?!!  I'll take experiences > junk any day! :)  Best of all:  Kate and her mommy were gifted tickets, too!  We gussied ourselves up and hit the road.

The princesses made crowns and sashes and wands and bracelets...

...and also a little mouse cupcake to take home as a treat for later!

There was story time with Prince Charming...

 ...a parade of princesses through the store...

...and then a full spread of food and drink for the Princess Tea Party!

Harper was in the early stages of a full blown, nasty cold and cough, but she mustered up the energy to make it through the afternoon. She was really excited to get home and tell Daddy allllll about the things she did and made, and I know she really enjoyed it all! 

Thanks for the royal treatment and a special day out, Grammy and Papa! What a wonderful idea! :)

- HBD, Gram! -

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to this beautiful gem: my role model and the girls' beloved Grammy! May today be the beginning of your very best year yet.

We hope you enjoyed your homemade/toddler-decorated yellow box cake and all the calories love that comes along with it!

We love you to the moon! :)))

- SNOW FUN! -

Snowwwww fun is SO fun; see what I did there?! ...

I'm typically more of a "watch through the window while sipping hot chocolate ...under a blanket and next to the heater" type of gal, butttttt when Daddy's gone every day building us a new house, Momma has to pick up the slack!

3, 2, 1.....let's go!

Do you wanna build a snowmannnnn??! :)

^^ Scarlett was not a fan of the cold OR snow and preferred to watch the action from afar.  I see beaches and sand in our future, Sissy! :-* 

Then! What's that you say?! Ohhhh yes, the fun parent ditched the new house project and arrived home early to save the day!  Daddy and Harper bundled back up and hit the snow while Mommy and Scarlett stayed inside and snuggled up for [Sissy's] naptime.

I have to admit: while I've never once been excited to trudge around in a pile of wet snow, experiencing a snow day through a toddler's eyes was actually pretty wonderful!  Bring on the next snow storm... This momma's all in!!! :)

- Turning ONE is so much fun! -

^^ Soooo so much fun, in fact! In honor of our sweet snowflake's milestone day, we transitioned our home into an igloo and opened it up as Scarlett's Winter ONEderland! :)

After dinner was finished, Harper helped her little Sissy get a taste of the smash cake...

...and it was allllllll downhill from there!!!

Pretty sure it's safe to say that she thoroughly enjoyed it! I wiped off her face a few times to give her tiny nostrils a pinprick of patency, but she just kept shoveling it up and in by the fistful.  Like momma like daughter; I'm thinking we have another little sweet tooth on our hands!

Thanks to this bath time crew for helping me get that messy, cake smeared ONE-year-old all cleaned up!

On to presents...

...and then a little love from both of Scarlett's grammies! 

Is it true what they say? ...We have another BIG GIRL in the house?!? :(

As if a full blown party and successful cake smash wasn't enough celebration, we skipped off to IHOP on Monday morning to celebrate Sissy's REAL birthday! She looked through the menu a few times before settling on the perfect pancake.

^^ Brian finished his food and dashed off to work mid-meal, which left me stuck with two sticky girls. Syrup here, there, and everywhere; messy messes for you and you and you!  We finalllllly finished up ...and cleaned up ...and hit the road for Grammy's house...

...where Scarlett was serenaded again and lapped up a lemon macaroon! She smiled and clapped as we sang, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY TOOOOO YOU!" and her sweet little self just literally couldn't even be a tiny bit cuter.  [PS - No children were harmed/burned in the taking of this photo.] 

Happy 1st birthday, Scarlett [for the last time, I promise!]!!!