Now What?!

Well, the Pageant is over and done with, classes are wrapping up and MD is almost out of school for the summer! What are we going to do with ourselves?! Finding a place to live might be a good start...I think I'll work on that!

Speaking of the Pageant!

 
 

Wowza, Pageant pictures, right?! Sorry, I had to share! This little MD took 1st runner up at her first ever pageant! She was a bit nervous for her formal wear question, which was how can you make your school a better place. She stumbled a little to quietly reply "I can make my school a better place by always helping teachers and being nice to others" which was pretty much the "world peace" of this pageant as another mom put it, ha! She totally nailed her cheer routine which included a back walkover, heel stretch, jump and the splits. Her daddy said everyone was in awe of her cheer moves and I totally agree...but we might be biased. She did great introducing herself and the candy she was representing since the Pageant theme was candyland. We waited forever to get the results since there had been a tie. The girls had to walk out on stage one more time for the judges! SHE WAS THAT CLOSE TO WINNING! Which, we don't mind. she's thrilled to have had the experience with her adorable friends! We were so glad these three shared a "dressing room" Look at all that sass! 

WE OWE A HUGE THANK YOU TO SWEET RACHAEL FOR MAKING MD'S DRESSES! If you are looking for something custom, I couldn't be more confident in recommending her! MD was a big part of the designing process and I love it that much more because of it! Here is her tootsie roll dress! 

I'm glad the extra practices are over but I'm also sad she is back to only 1 day a week of cheer. She was so busy with pageant and cheer practice and all that extra time with her little buddies I think she is going to really miss it. 

But not for long. We have cheer tryouts just a couple weeks after their final showcase so Miss MD is going to be doing some tumbling classes during the week to get ready for tryouts! I'm certain we will stick to a Mini's team for next year but you never know. 

So, Miss MD has joined the Ursula Weidmann Model agency, http://www.ursulawiedmannmodels.com, but we are still waiting on a casting to go in and do all our paperwork. I'm so excited for her and can't wait for it all to begin. Hopefully we can do a lot this summer and take breaks during the school year. 

In case we have some friends looking for a local cheer gym, here is MD's gyms tryout info! 

Stay tuned as we have our disney trip soon and we have super savings advice :) 

Thanks for keeping up and much love! 

We have a lot of catching up to do!

Hey All,

So sorry it's been a minute since we caught up! We've been swamped! Md's daddy got home a couple days after my birthday! YAY! Since then we have been so busy running around, with school, looking at houses and all the other fun things grown ups do ;)

Rachael, who is working on MD's Pageant Dresses has stopped by for a couple of fittings and I am so excited to see the end results. They are not your typically princess dresses you see at pageants but MD isn't your typical girl. These were designed just for her. From her interests and choices in sketches and fabrics. The pageant is only 2 weeks away!

MD had a little incident last week. She was playing at a friends and hurt her hand when they were goofing around. We brushed it off thinking it was no big deal at all. MD is a pretty tough girl and typically doesn't complain a lot and only mentioned it hurting a couple times. The next morning she couldn't move without crying that her hand hurt. It was overnight covered in black and blue bruises and swelled up!She couldn't color, get dressed or anything so we decided to take her in to the Dr's. We figured better safe than sorry and the Dr agreed and wanted to get an X-ray since her swelling and bruising were so crazy! They explained lucky her little bones aren't all fused together yet so she avoided a fracture but we kept it in a wrap all week and it's still giving her a little trouble, poor thing! 

 

MD's daddy and I have been pretty dedicated to getting back in shape and have been doing P90x again. I always seem to have a horrible time AFTER I have had my babies with weight gain. With Baby Diva I gained a total of 6 lbs when I had her. I had lost 35 lbs just two months after having her. I have gained all of that back in the 5 months since. I don't get it?! Anyways, it is what it is and we are trying to make healthy changes to fix that problem! How cute is MD working out with us! Do you and your family "get fit" together? What activities do you let the kids join in on?

 This week has been pretty exciting for me. MY NEW TULA CAME <3 I had myself convinced it was ridiculous and my Ergo was JUST FINE. I didn't need another carrier. Even though I really liked my friends when she was here. They are so soft and comfy and cozy and ohhhh man, I just love them. Well, then a Willow popped up on a Tula B/S/T for retail price. I had to. I HAD to. I mean, that never ever happens and it was the print I had been drooling over. As it turns out I was having some suck pads and a hood made for my ergo to test out. I quickly emailed Alicia letter her know I scored a Tula and she made some quick alterations! How cute are my accessories? Baby Diva seems to love them, too! And she has them in her etsy shop, https://www.etsy.com/shop/SerendipityCloth?ref=shopinfo_shophome_leftnav for almost half the price I've found them anywhere else. I do think I like to wear my tula without the hood so I'm not sure if i'll keep it on or just fold it up and put it in the front pocket! I think on my next pair of suck pads I'll ask for more of a flare at the bottom, too since baby diva likes to pretend she is an owl and turn her head far back to chew on her carrier. She is just so afraid of missing out on whats going on in the world, ha! Look how big she is getting. Sitting up all by herself and chewing on just about anything she can get her little hands on, including the dogs.

         

     

LOOK!!!! We also got these today to review for you guys! THEY ARE AMAZING! They have Elsa, They have rhinestones, THEY ARE PINK. I mean, it's like the staple shoe for a mini Diva. I found Rahmel on Facebook. He started off just making these for his daughter(aww) but he has started making custom designs for purchase. Anything from collegiate, NFL, Cartoons, you name it he's got it! And they are put together so well. The stitching on elsa is very sturdy. I totally give these babies 5 stars! You can get ahold of Rahmel Oliver at rahmel12@hotmail.com about the shoes! Make sure and tell him you read about them on raising a mini diva :)

 
 


Between MD's Cheer practice from 8-11 this morning and meeting Rahmel and Alicia to get products we had about 1.5 hours to play at the park. It was a perfect day weather wise and all three little people had a great time. They played at the park, ran around in the fields like crazy people and MD's daddy got them Dip n Dots Ice cream. He even let baby diva try a dot...she wasn't super impressed with it. We had an amazing family day and I'm so thankful we get to make these memories. We've had a rough year and it makes me appreciate the good things a bit more.

MD's little brother started Occupational Therapy a few weeks ago.

 For some time now I thought he was just the child from hell. It sounds awful, I know, and some may understand while others judge, but it's true. He was NAUGHTY all of the time. I mean ALL of the time. He was hitting and biting and kicking and the tantrums he was throwing were honestly overwhelming. They would leave both him and I in tears by the time the day was done.

But then it started being more than just him being naughty. He could not make a decision to save his life. He would have anxiety attacks over which pair of underwear he was going to put on or if he wanted apple juice or milk and no matter what we decided on once it was happening it was all wrong. And I mean actual anxiety attacks where he is shaking and crying and feeling scared and confused.

His tantrums were not normal tantrums, either. They were violent. Toward us, toward himself and anyone else in his path. He was gone when he'd throw these fits. He would repeatedly say I want my mommy as I would tell him Buddy, I'm mommy i am right here. It was terrifying. He was confused about what had happened and a lot of times didn't recall most of his fit.

Finally I broke down and reached out to my sister in law. She suggested we mention it at his 3 year appt and ask to see an OT. IT HAS HELPED SO MUCH!

MD's little brother has sensory disorder. He is over stimulated easily. He is an extremely intelligent little boy. He can count to 100, loves to sing us songs and is very verbal and speaks better than a lot of the children in MD's class. He has zero developmental delays and we are really thankful for that. But in certain situations we have to be accommodating! One example, his sisters choir concert. He had a total meltdown. He was SO SCARED of all the kids there. He repeatedly begged to go home because of all the kids and I, again, thought oh he's just being naughty. Then music started and he was shaking and crying telling us it was to loud and he just wanted to go home. I feel awful now.

I truly don't think this will affect him much in the long run as long as we help him find ways to cope or more importantly prevent his anxiety early on in life. His teachers would have never guessed he was having such a hard time and a lot of my friends thought I was crazy for thinking he was naughty. Oh, but those he trusts have seen his anxiety attacks and have seen his meltdowns. His therapist explained when I asked why he was SO SHY and so reserved at school and then just EXPLODING at home that he is anxious and scared at school. He doesn't want to let anyone down or be in trouble but he feels safe and comfortable at home and lets all of his bottled up anxiety out here.  It is truly so sad to see a 3 year old with severe anxiety and we are committed to parent in ways that are productive and proactive. His therapist is an angel, he absolutely loves her(which is rare for him. he's very selective on people he likes and will typically be honest about his feelings, ha) and we have had 2 whole days this week alone where we didn't have massive melt downs(little fits here and there and night terrors but I can live with that ;) ). Part of it is us being proactive and patient but more so he is doing so much better himself!

Wish us luck on this new journey with him as it will bring peace to our whole family. We are so glad we get to share it all, the good and the bad, with you. Much Love. 

OH.MY.WORD

I like to pride myself on my ability to juggle life. I've always been better off busy. I love taking on projects and having goals. Right now however, I have to admit I've taken on more than I can handle. I woke up to a beautiful sunrise, rushed MD and her little brother to get ready and out the door to school and had a mini anxiety attack. Where do I even start?! My current commitments include Full time student, Full time mommy, Instagram for a Rescue I volunteer with, MD's crazy schedule of pageant and cheer practice, all on top of MD's daddy being gone on and off. It's not so much the constant to do's but more the lack of me time. I need to find a way to take an evening to myself. I recently read an article on why moms are bad friends and oh my gosh is it ringing so true lately. I simply do not have the time or the energy at the end of the day to be a good friend. I'm more often than not turning down invitations due to sickness, practice, schoolwork, etc. (Speaking of our Instagram Find us and follow, pretty please! Help us find these babies their humans!)

These crazy times certainly make me look back to when I was working 50+ hours a week and maintaining MD's crazy schedule with the help of our amazing nanny, Kasi and my bestie Christie. Our little family would not have made it without their help while MD's daddy was gone from May-Oct! Kasi even helped with Sergeant when he was just a pup! We will forever love and miss her! (no she's not dead, I'm still mourning the loss of her as our nanny over 1.5yrs later LOL) Here are some pics of MD from that summer! And how cute is baby Sergeant sitting for MD!              

 

It was my turn with this awful stomach bug our family cannot rid ourselves of so MD attended our friends Tea party baby shower without me. A friend of mine picked her up and let her tag along. BD and their brother had felt off all weekend as well. I took them (baby diva and their brother) for a walk while MD was at the baby shower so their daddy could get some work done hoping the fresh air would do them good! Apparently baby diva hasn't gotten over it yet since she's had 4 outfit changes today due to throwing up, ha! She started off all cutesy, then I gave up and went with pajamas! 

(MD with sweet Grace at the Baby Shower)

(Don't worry, I never walked away from her while she was in her bumbo...I had it in the bassinet because the dogs always manage to smack her in the face with their tails when we sit on the floor!)

I got the sweetest message about MD from my friend Rachel, who the shower was for. I was so disappointed I couldn't go and when she sent me this it warmed my heart, ha! She is such a sweet woman and I'm so excited for her to be an amazing role model for their sweet princess!

" I just wanted to tell you that it was such a pleasure having (MD) there. She was VERY adorable and so sweet. My mom talked about her for hours after the party last night. She said the sweetest things and toward the end was on the floor playing with Grace keeping her company so Amanda could walk around. I just thought you should know you had one very well behaved little lady who honestly made everyone's day!! Please tell her again that I said thank you for coming. "

I am so proud of MD for so many reasons. She is so talented at anything she sets her mind to and she is such a loving person. She has the biggest hear yet has plenty of Sass to balance it all out, ha ha. She is such a smart and driven little girl and I never, ever want to be the one to make her think she can't achieve anything! We will 100% back her passions and let her follow her dreams. Today MD is wearing her "work" outfit as she called it. These mini black slacks are THE most adorable thing I've seen! She topped it off with an Elsa(fishtail) braid and one of BD's new headbands from Claire's! OH, and the shoes! Of course with a work outfit you have to wear heels! 

(Sorry it's a bit blurry...My iPhone hadn't had it's coffee yet!)

Then, this afternoon I got another sweet message from a friend! The universe must have known I'd been feeling down and needed a little love. Hilary is the mom of one of the girls on MD's cheer team(They even share the same name, how cute!)  and we met at the gym. I absolutely adore her! They have the sweetest family(they are the ones that bought our pizza the night before our competition!). She just started her own blog and she text me to let me know she loves our blog and it inspired her. <3 AWWW <3 check her blog out! http://inhillville.blogspot.com/2015/02/when-baby-turns-one.html

Thanks again for catching up with us! Much love!