Grapevine, TX {Have you been there?!}

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In a few months, I'll be headed to Grapevine, Texas for a work conference.  Of course, the first thing I did when I heard I had to go was Google the city.  So I know they have a large, nice mall and a few wineries.  And I'm hoping to find a real ranch to ride horses at.  I'm thrilled about all of that, but whenever I travel, I always like to ask you guys for the real 'must do's' of the city.

So, I'll be in Grapevine, Texas, in January, with no car.  What do I need to do/see?  Best restaurants?  Local businesses that are to die for?  Also, I'll {hopefully} be traveling with my mom, so anything girly is very welcomed! :)  

Our hotel is set, so recommendations won't be necessary.  Also, feel free to email me with any suggestions/recommendations. Thanks!!

Currently...

Outside my window..it is raining.  It's supposed to turn to sleet and then snow, with 45 mph winds, before noon

Today I feel..overwhelmed.  happy.  productive.

I am thankful..for healthy babies.  I can't believe Jordyn is almost 2 1/2 and Cullyn turned 10 months yesterday.  How is this possible?!

Tomorrow I am going..to have my MIL come to watch the kids because I have a photoshoot in the morning.  Then I want to spend the afternoon just playing with the kids

I am wearing..dress pants that I haven't fit into since Adam and I first met

I wish..weight loss were quicker & more noticeable...haha! :)
I am planning..Cullyn's 1st Birthday.  Okay, I haven't started yet, but I really need to!

This weekend..I have two photoshoots, a wedding reception, & hopefully church

I am reading..Promise Me by Barbie Bohrman

I am working on..packing my office up because I'm moving to a new location

Yesterday I..worked, worked out, & did the usual nightly routine
I want to..make a blog book {for 2010, 2011, 2012, & 2013 posts}  Anybody have any suggestions of a company to use?

I am hoping..transfer a bunch of photos from my computer to my external hardrive and then transfer all of the photos and video from my iPhone to my computer and also my hardrive.  It's going to be an all weekend process, but I'm determined to clear out my phone because it's a constant source of stress for me.  I would love to be able to put some new kid apps on it for Jordyn or take a photo/video without having to delete a bunch of other stuff. 

I am hearing..Right There by Ariana Grande
I need to..start getting our outfits together for family photos {YAY!!} and Cullyn's 1st Birthday photos.  Any color scheme suggestions?!
I bet you didn't know..We still haven't made an appointment to get our taxes done.  I sure hope we don't have to pay in because we won't have much time to save!

Happy {almost} Friday!

FOR THE LOVE! [please share your blog knowledge!]

Can someone please tell me why I have been unable to upload photos to my blog for almost a week?!  A post without photos is boring!  Does anyone know if Word Press puts a limit on your photos?  Any other platforms people recommend to get me away from Blogger without a great deal of knowledge needed?!

Any help is appreciated!  Thanks!

Mama Needs Advice [!!]

Lord have mercy it's been a long couple of days at our house!  I'll just lay it out there...our kid is not happy with us!  We're trying to make the transition from bottle to sippy cup.  We introduced sippy cups [off and on for a couple of months]...baby girl has never wanted anything to do with them.  [side note: she also has ZERO interest in any food except homemade babyfood!  What is up with my kid?!] 

So, as I was saying...Monday night I picked her up from daycare and thought 'tonight is the night' I only offered her a sippy with whole milk.  She wasn't happy with me, but did drink about 4-6 ounces throughout the night.  She woke at 2am [hungry/thirsty I can only imagine].  I went in and offered her the sippy.  She nicely swatted it away and proceeded to cry [whine] for about a half hour.  She woke around 6am and Adam again offered her the sippy cup.  This time she drank none of it and decided she was getting up for the day. 

I was in meetings most of the day yesterday, but I got a few updates from the sitter indicating things were not going well, but she's had off days before so I didn't think too much of it.  Adam talked to the sitter multiple times and was giving updates [on how very mad she was that she wasn't getting the bottle she wanted!].  She took a morning nap [something she rarely does] and a [short] afternoon nap.  I picked her up from the sitter after my meeting and she just looked pathetic.  She was also wheezing a little, which is something she has never done before. 

This is getting long, so I'll cut to the chase.  I took her to Urgent Care last night for the wheezing and long story short they said she was fine and just being stubborn.  They also said that as long as her mouth is wet/pink she is okay to go without drinking. 

So basically...she's just being stubborn confused.  She doesn't know what's going on and is sad.  I really feel like if we could go another day or so she would get that her only milk is going to come from that sippy and she should embrace it.  But yesterday when I picked her up from the sitter she said if she acted that same way again tomorrow [today] she wouldn't be able to watch her. 

I don't know what to do!  I hate seeing my baby sad [especially when I could make it better] but I also feel like the bottle situation isn't going to get any better.  I feel like I'm not getting support from my sitter and she is frustrated from hearing her cry and be unhappy, but I don't really know what to do.  I don't want her to be upset or short with Jordyn, but I really don't want to find another daycare provider either.  I'm so torn!  I don't think she is a bad kid & she spends less than 30 hours a week at daycare.  What do I do?  Do I take today and tomorrow off and work with her for the next 5 days?  Do I give up and try again in a couple of months?  Everyone I talk to [friends, parents, our sitter] said their kids transitioned fine and it was never an issues.  What did I do wrong?  

Crying & Desperate,
Mama

HELP! me choose

a new header!

Jess is revamping my blog so it quits screaming 'beginner blogger' which is ridiculously nice, but now I have a problem.  Which header do I choose...they are all awesome!  Just when I think I've picked a favorite I totally change my mind.  I cannot make a decision for the life of me!  So it's really simple, just tell me

[one]

[two]

or [three]

And I would be ohSOappreciative!

Camcorder::HELP!

So my parents are buying us a camcorder and we want to pick it out early so we have it when Baby H arrives BUT I'm lost!  I don't know much about them [as in I've really never used one].  My parents had something that resembled this growing up...

Not exactly, but definitely similar!  Via Google

Note:  No worries...they did upgrade to a handheld when those hit the markets!


But really I don't know what we need.  We want something that will just hook up to our computer to make digital files [which I'm sure they all do by now] and something semi small so that we'll actually use it.  I don't need crazy awesome quality, but I would like something decent.  Good color, clarity, and image stability.  We aren't brand specific.  We have an apple laptop, canon camera, samsung tv...you get my drift.


Is a $100 flipcam good enough for our needs?

Or do we go with something a little bigger?

HELP!!  


What camcorder do you have?  What do you like/dislike about it?  Is there anything we must know before we decide on one?


--the clueless parents!

What's in your reader? {Please Share!}

For some reason I decided to clean out my Google Reader Subscriptions tonight.  I deleted all of the blogs that haven't posted since 2010.  I went from 300 something to just over 200.  It felt so good.  

I'm always up for new [good] blog reads, so which blogs are your favorite?  I love real life, family posts.  Children, photos, decorating, new purchases, workouts, 1 follower or 1 million, meals...REAL LIFE!  Please share...I always love finding new [to me] blogs!

Help Me Choose! [Time Sensitive]

I'm in a dilemma...we have a very formal event coming up and I cannot find a dress for the life of me! :(  I've narrowed it to my two best options.  Please help me choose dress 1 or dress 2.

Dress 1

Cheap [already own]

Afraid it may look too weddingish [It was my maid of honor dress in a wedding]

No alterations necessary [already done]

Dress 2

Pricey

Would have to order from Dillards.com

BEAUTIFUL [nails the classy look I'm going for]

May need alterations

Without further ado...

Please Help! :(

Mishmash! Weekend Recap & I need your help! :)

We're heading back home from a whirlwind trip to my hometown.  The Hubs is driving so I can blog.  Thank goodness for wireless internet! :)

What an ugly weekend for our sports teams!  Loss [Iowa] & Loss [Vikings]! Ekk! :(

Friday night we had tickets to go see Lifehouse, but decided to stay in.  It was cold & rainy so we just rented 'Grown Ups' off the DVR and ordered pizza in.  It was great.  

Saturday was a huge lounge day!  Since I had cleaned the house like crazy Friday I just say on the couch and bummed all day.  It was lovely.  I think I watched 13 recorded episodes of Law & Order!  That afternoon Adam had to work for a while, but when he got done we decided to head home early instead of waiting until Sunday morning.  I'm still debating wether this was a good idea or not.  Saturday night we had fun chatting and playing games, but we didn't sleep with a hoot!  We went to bed a little after midnight and all was well until Murdock had to go out at 4am [okay, fine].  Take him out and he thinks it morning.  So...for the next 4 hours he paced around, licked/scratched himself, and nudged me to get up with him.  Sorry pooch...not happening!  So sleep was brutal last night!  Guess I wont have a hard time falling asleep tonight! :)

Speaking of Murdock...all signs looking like we'll be taking a trip to the vet lab for allergy testing.  Ugh!  :(

I've got several Christmas gifts purchased, wrapped, and ready to go.  We pretty much just need to get the Hubs parents done now.

Only 12 days until shopping with my fam...pretty excited for that.  I can't believe we're gearing up for another round of the holidays already!  

Spent the day with my grandma today...full post to come.  Well...hopefully.  I still haven't even posted about Mexico.  I promise we did go!  :)

It is supposed to get cold here this week.  We had our first flurries this morning.  Not sure how ready I am! :/

Trying to think of NYE plans...any ideas?!

Speaking of help from you guys...anybody have some unique 'grab bag' gift ideas?  We have to get 3 of them this year [2 unisex, 1 female].  Taking all suggestions! :)

Hope you all had a fabulous Weekend!

How Often Is Really Necessary?!

Seriously..

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This is what the laundry looks like on a constant basis..and I do it every.single.day!  It's always my favorite when I wash something in the morning and see it back in the laundry that same afternoon.  If you throw a jersey on over your clothes for 13 minutes does it really need washed?  How about soccer socks [over your regular socks might I add!] that you had on inside for all of 32 seconds?!  Is it really necessary to wash these items?  Do you have a spouse or children that do this to you, too?

How often do you wash your jeans?  Hoodies?  How about Pajamas or dresses?  I have to admit..Jeans & hoodies are my favorite the second wear after wash!  I usually only wash my pajamas & bath towels 1-2 times a week.  Dresses...well since I hardly wear them I..well..I'll be honest..I don't know if I have ever washed a dress!!  Does that make me disgusting?!  I just bought 2 more so I think I own like 5 now but I never wear them..if I do it's for like 2 hours.  Wow..I feel like I should go home and wash all of my dresses now! :)

Thoughts?!

LOVE♡HATE

I have a very LOVE♡HATE relationship with Google Reader..

iLOVE

..that it's quicker & more efficient

..I read more blogs with GR

..I 'stay on top' of my blog reading better

iHATE

..you can't see layouts [changes, colors, polls, etc.]

..I don't comment near as much

..sometimes the whole stories don't show up for me

Anything else that I forgot to mention? Am I the only one with these feelings? What is a girl to do? I like feeling like my blogging time is used more efficiently [if that is possible!] but don't like that I comment less & don't see the changes to my friends blogs. Any suggestions for me?

Help!

[Join me] on my quest for 75 followers & enter my {giveaway!}

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So...I have a quick question before I hit the hay tonight [yep, it's 9 o'clock now so it's okay! :]  

We finally got our marriage certificate and now I can't remember....

am I supposed to change my Driver's License, then Social Security Card?

...or...

do I change my Social Security Card, then Driver's License?

We live in Iowa [although I think it's the same in each state]

Please help if you have been through this...or even if you know the answer for that matter....

Thanks a Million!