Happy...

Lately I have been really happy. I don't know quite what it is but I've just been really, really happy. I guess it's because I have been making more of an effort to spend some real quality time with my boy and my man. In the morning and later when Carter comes home from school I am all his until bedtime. We play games, read, go for walks, and find excuses to eat a lot of yummy treats. After Carter goes to bed, my full attention goes to my hubby. We relax, talk, and spend time cuddled up watching our favorite shows. I am making a more conscience effort to be present. It has been absolutely wonderful and I can see and feel changes not only in myself but my guys as well. 
I've been taking a lot of time away from blogging, thinking about what I really want in terms of this blog and other life decisions, and getting my priorities in line and let me tell you I am feeling SO refreshed. I am slowly letting go of the guilt I have been feeling about not being able to keep up and remembering that I blog first and foremost for ME. In a way I hate how selfish that sounds, but it's the truth. And if this is something that I want to make last it has to be enjoyable and refreshing...not stressful.
So I thought that I would share with you a few things that have really made me smile over the past couple of weeks. Things that maybe I would have overlooked or not fully enjoyed while I was wrapped up in other stuff. Proof that it really is the little things in life that make me the happiest.
Rain. We haven't had much of it lately, but I absolutely love watching it rain. And there's something about the freshness after a good rain that I love...kinda feels like a fresh clean start.

This face. Need I say more? Perfection. I swear I could stare at him all day. It's been awhile since I just sat and took in how precious he really is. It never ceases to amaze me that he is mine. He's the combination of me and the hubs love brought to life. He's all that I could ever ask for and so much more. I love him more than I could ever express. I am so blessed.

Splurging on something for me. Yeah I know it's just chapstick but trust me, spending $3 on chapstick is a splurge in my opinion! But I LOVE it!

Shaved ice. After school one day, hubs met Carter and I for this special treat. It reminded us of being in Hawaii...one of our favorite places.

Getting dressed in clothes other than sweats. Yup, since we are all finally feeling better it's so nice to actually put on a real outfit, shave my legs, and put on make up! Feeling like a hobo is only fun for so long ;){p.s.- please ignore the unmade bed in the background}

Star Wars. It's a big deal in this house. We took our little Jedi to see it over the weekend and had a blast.

This man. He is the breath of fresh air in my day. My safe place. My comfort. I am so incredibly blessed to be his wife and to be sharing my life with him. Nobody else would do, only him. 

New iPad games. Carter and I have been playing a lot of games together on the iPad. He's a little obsessed with the latest game I downloaded for him, Tap Tap Muppets. Watch and see, I think we may have a little DJ in the making...

And something that I just discovered today thanks to Kristine over at The Foley Fam...Birthday Cake Oreos.

MY LIFE IS NOW COMPLETE. 

Dear Oreo, if you are reading this please make these a regular flavor. Making these a limited edition item will only force me to be on the next episode of hoarders as a troubled cookie hoarder. I could possibly then die due from being buried alive by a cookie avalanche in my own home...or diabetes, whichever comes first. 

So until the next post my peeps...I hope you find joy in your day and lots of reasons to smile.

XOXO

The Little Things...

Yesterday I had the opportunity to attend a culminating event at Carter's school. It was a time where momma's and daddy's could come to school for about an hour and be "taught" by our kiddos. It was their chance to show us all the things that they had been learning in school so far, a chance to "show off their skills" as Carter put it. As soon as I walked into class Carter ran up to me and gave me a huge hug. The smile on his face said it all, he was SO happy to see me there.

To start, the teacher had all the kids line up and they started off by singing us a song. It's still stuck in my head...

"R-E-D red, R-E-D red, I can spell red, I can spell red..."

It was precious. Whoever thought that a song about the color red would actually make me tear up!  About a minute into the song, though, a little boy in the front row started to cry. I looked around to see why his mommy or daddy wasn't coming to his rescue only to realize that he was crying because his mommy and daddy were not there. The teacher scooped him up and did her best to comfort him. I felt so sad for the little guy.

Once the song was over we moved on to some activities. The kids were all so excited to "teach" us what they knew. As we walked to the table I noticed another sweet little girl with red eyes and a fist full of kleenex. Her mommy wasn't there either. My heart broke. It was all I could do to keep from crying myself. I asked if she wanted to come play with Carter and I and she reluctantly agreed. When I told Carter that his friend would be playing with us I could tell he was a little jealous. He wanted me all for himself that day and of course, I wanted to be all his. I took him aside and explained to him why his friend was so sad and how part of being a good friend to someone means that we try to cheer them up when they are sad, and he agreed to share me. I was so proud of him. Finally after a few games, the little girl's smile returned. We bonded over her awesome pink fuzzy boots.

There was a total of 4 kids in class whose mommy or daddy did not make it that day and my heart literally broke for each of them as I watched the tears stream down their little disappointed faces. Amidst all this I learned a lesson that will stick with me forever...

It's the little things that matter most to our children. It's coming to school to hear them sing about the color red. It's listening to them count to 100. It's playing blocks with them and showing them how proud we are of even their smallest accomplishments. It's being there for them.

Being present.

Being proud.

Being involved in what is important to them.

That day will stay with me for a very long time. I will never forget the smile on Carter's face when I walked into class and I will never forget the crying faces of those kids who had no one there for them. I realize that maybe those parents had to work. Maybe they wanted to be there so badly but couldn't. Maybe they felt extremely guilty. I realize that at some point we are all going to let our kids down and disappoint them, after all we are all imperfect. But it really impressed upon me the fact that our kids really ask so little of us. All they really want is our time, our attention...us. 

I hope that I will never be the momma who lets her son down or makes him feel unimportant.
I hope that by always being there for him he will know how proud I am of every single one of his accomplishments no matter how big or small they may be.
I hope that he will always feel like he can count on me to be there to support him and cheer him on.
I hope he'll know that every sacrifice I make for him is worth it to me.
I hope that in my presence he will always feel the unfailing love that I have for him.

xoxo,

Lacee

Tears Turned to Smiles

Today the morning started with lots of tears.

Carter fell while getting out of the car to go to school and scraped up his knee pretty bad. I scooped up my crying, bleeding little man and lugged him, his backpack, lunch box and my purse all the way to the office which was about a block away since I couldn't find a place to park in all the crazy morning school traffic.

I was huffing and puffing by the time we made it to the office so the nurse could clean up and bandage the booboo, it was then I realized that my hair and shoulder were soaked in tears, snot and slobber...joy.

After a few minutes of trying to convince Carter that he could still walk and his leg was not going to fall off, I finally managed to get a smile on my boy's face by telling him I would beat up and kick the bump in the sidewalk that made him trip. So when I got back to my car I kept my promise and gave that sidewalk a good kick in its bump for hurting my baby! *flexes strong momma muscles*

Just when I thought the waterworks were done for the morning, a song came on the radio while I was driving to run some errands.

It was the 9/11 version of the song "We're In Heaven" where 3 different little girls talk about how much they miss their daddy's who died.

They talk about all the things that their dads have missed out on over the past 10 years and just how much they love and miss them.

My eyes start to burn. 

A lump forms in my throat. 

My heart begins to sink. 

Even though I didn't lose my daddy in the 9/11 tragedy, I can't help but think about how much I miss him too. {you can read about my dad here}

I can't fight it anymore so I just let the floodgates open. 

The boohoo fest begins.

I feel for these poor little girls because I know what it's like to lose someone so important to you. And my heart goes out to anyone who lost someone that day because I can't comprehend how hard it must be to constantly be bombarded by all the media reminding them of just how horrible that day was. Having to see it on T.V. and in pictures wherever you look must be so very hard.

I don't want these two sad events to be what shapes the rest of my day, so I do the one thing that I know will make me happy. 

I make an emergency stop at Starbucks for some warm, comforting happiness in a cup. 

And to my absolute delight they have their Pumpkin Spice Latte back on the menu! Yay!

My smile begins to return with each yummy sip.

Then when I got home I placed an order for some AMAZINGLY beautiful curtains for my new home on etsy! I LOVE them so much that after submitting my order I actually stood up and did a little happy dance :) Here's a sneak peek...

Gorgeous huh?!? They are from a shop called Sew Panache and there are so many other pretty designs to choose from. Click here to go check them out!

So now my day is much happier and I sure hope it stays that way :) But I wanna know...

What do YOU do to cheer yourself up on a sad day?

xoxo,

Lacee

Smile...It's Monday

Oh Monday...sometimes you really SUCK!

I was up at 5am this morning with my sick little Booger Bear. Yep, my sweet little guy was attacked by my germies and now has a cold :( For the rest of the morning he stayed in bed with me while I listened to his stuffy-nosed breathing and coughs. Ugh I feel so guilty for getting him sick. So it looks like we'll be stuck inside the house again this week. Last week I think we only made it out to the land of the living twice. I miss the sun, the pool, grocery shopping {yes you read that right} and I desperately need a Starbucks...they really should deliver don't ya think? 

Droooool

Anyways, here are a few things that still managed to put a smile on my face on this crumby Monday morning...

{all pics via Pinterest}

Is this not the best beanie ever? Every lil boy should have one!

Sonics has the best little ice pellets EVER!

Forget the drink I'll just have a cup of ice, please.

I pretty much have this very conversation in my head every morning.

I do this several times a day actually.

This makes me laugh EVERY time!

How sweet is Pooh??

And now for a little blast from the past...

LOVED this man when I was little! Wish he was still on today.

He had the most soothing voice in the world.
"Happy little trees"

Hope I wasn't the only kid who got a little woozy from sniffing these markers!

If they still made these they'd be in my freezer RIGHT NOW.

Haha did anyone else ever watch this show? It was on Nickelodeon. I loved it!

I still remember the theme song too!

My momma always used to pack these in my lunch. They were so good!

And last but not least, words to live by... 

It's 5 o'clock somewhere right?!?

So stay tuned I have some REALLY great stuff happening on Mommas Like Me this week! You won't want to miss it!

 Hope you all have a happy Monday and a fabulous week!

xoxo,

Lacee

Smile...It's Monday

It's Monday.

Everyone can use a reason smile on Monday, right?

Here are some things that did the trick for me...

Awesome

Yes ma'am!

Anyone else have one of these? Remember how it sounded like the devil?

Some days that's how it is!

Isn't that the truth?!?

The only place cottage cheese actually looks cute.

Story of my life.

Words to live by :)

The game of Perfection. 

This made me smile because when I was little every time it "popped" it scared the crap outta me!

Fun times around the dinner table.

                              

Fun and face painting at Daddy's company picnic.      

                                    

A sleepy superhero.

Good reminder.

And last but not least...

YES!!

So remember to smile today and to be grateful for another beautiful day of life!

xoxo,

Lacee

What makes YOU smile?