A Huge Thanks To You

My husband joined the Army in late 2013. When we became a military family we had to face a great deal of adjustment and sacrifices. When I wasn't able to accept a transfer with work due to his intense schedule we faced our biggest struggle. This was a huge loss to our family financially and we've been playing catch up ever since.

This year, despite our best efforts, we knew Christmas was going to be VERY limited on our part. We have amazing family that did more than their part in spoiling our children and we appreciate it so much. But, I was so ashamed and disappointed we couldn't do more for our kids.

My husband was able to sign us up for the Christmas House program and what a blessing it was. The volunteers were great while we chose gifts and stocking stuffers for all three littles. We were even able to get a bone and toy for both of our dogs. And these were VERY nice gifts. Before leaving we also put in for different drawings on bigger gifts. Since MD's bike is...I think...3 years old and missing the rubber from the handlebars and covered in rust we chose to put all 3 entries into a bike for her...AND won it!

I cannot express how much this all meant to my family. Someday when they are old enough I cannot wait to tell them about our Christmas and the wonderful people who made donations and volunteered, making it more than perfect for them. The look on their faces when seeing our tree made me melt. It was amazing and I will forever be grateful.

Much Love. Heather.

...And he's back!!!

We are so happy to have MD's daddy back! He's only home for a short time before he leaves on his

next adventure but we are sure going to enjoy it! We went to a little restaurant on post for dinner since it was later in the evening and I didn't feel like cooking and it was chaos...we can always count on MD's little brother to make a scene wherever we go, ha!

MD's daddy brought us back some really cool souvenirs. Some sea glass and sea shells plus a shirt and a nice cup for my tea! They were working 24/hrs so it was super nice of him to go out of his way to get us gifts on the few hours he did get to get away! Our family loved going and hunting down cool sea shells when we lived in florida and making crafts with them so I can't wait to make something with these!



I worked on framing some of his certificates and awards while he was away. I still have a lot to go but oh my gosh do frames get expensive when you are buying more than one at a time! I still have to try and figure out a unique way to display his coins. I know they make cases but I was hoping to find a cool DIY idea to try out! Let me know if you have any good ideas on displaying awards, certificates and coins!

And of course what would a Diva Blog be without a little outfit inspiration! For a wee one MD wears a lot of black, but in the most appropriate way. How cute is this black and gold polka dot tutu skirt we snagged for $3 at target on clearance! The tights, also from Target and super adorable and sparkly! And a fun fishtail braid that MD often refers to as an Elsa Braid when she requests it. 

Next week I have a lot of exciting things happening. I've got a few businesses sending products for MD and her baby sister to test out and us write up reviews for! I'm very excited to take our blog to the next level with product reviews and hopefully MD landing some brand rep gigs! We also have a HUGE announcement to make regarding MD but want to hold out until all the paperwork is finished! Stay tuned, share, comment and engage my friends. I'm signing off early so I can go spend some time with the Hubby! Much Love!

Final Countdown

Well, we've found out that MD's daddy will be home SOON and we've got our countdown made! MD

loves when we make her little countdowns to cross off or pull down days so she can keep track of how many days until an event takes place. We have done this other times her daddy has been away, when family comes to visit and when her baby sister was due. She feels like a big girl coming and telling us ONLY 5 DAYS UNTIL (EXCITING EVENT), rather than repeatedly asking how many days left! Don't judge our artistic abilities based off this countdown, ha! I was VERY pregnant, very sick and had bells palsy so I was not up to parr :) Do you have any traditions/crafts you love doing with your little ones? We're always looking for new fun projects to take on(because we aren't busy enough, hehe)!

Last night I got an email from Molly Van Kley. She is the amazingly talented photographer who we shot MD's portfolio photos with and I've been so anxious for her to send her shots! I was definitely not disappointed! It was the first time sweet Molly had ever shot a mini-model-to-be but you would think it's what she's spent her whole career doing! I am in love with the images and so excited to reach out to agencies! By the way, if you are aware of any great children's modeling agencies I would LOVE a heads up! Here are the images we received. You can also see more of Molly Van Kley's work at www.mvkphoto.com or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/MVKPhotography

 

MD had to miss cheer this Wednesday as I have a stomach bug. I felt horrible since they were going over their competition score cards, making routine changes and having a little party! I can't wait to see what routine improvements they make! This is MD and her good friend on the day of cheer tryouts almost a year ago and then at MD's 1st competition. Her friend is a little bit older and on a youth 2 team while MD is on the mini team! Here is a cute pic of MD and their trophy!  It cracks me up that the other girls look annoyed waiting for their turn to take a photo ;) She has been blessed with a great team of the most adorable and sweet teammates!

                                  

 

Better Late Than Never (My life motto)

You know, I'm late for just about everything and this post is no exception!

Haha, we had an extremely busy week and weekend! MD had her very first cheerleading competition this weekend. We headed down the night before since they had to be to the competition by 6:30am! We had a fun time grabbing some pizza with a few of the other families from MD's cheer team. The girls had so much fun together and it was adorable seeing my MD enjoying time with her friends. It made me more aware of just how grown up she is becoming. It is just amazing to see what a beautiful little person she is.

MD rode to the competition with a friend and the team mom! I stayed behind to pack the room and get the little ones ready to go! I was nervous letting little MD venture to her first big event without me but there is no way her little brother would have been up, ready and behaving by then! My best friend who I cheered with as a little girl made it here for MD's first competition and it just so happens we had our babies on the very same day! So we used our Ergo and Tula to wear the babies to the competition!  Just as I suspected nerves set in for my diva girl and she started getting upset. She was nervous and so sad her daddy was missing her first competition. My sweet friend and her husband were nice enough to give MD a little extra attention and some hugs to cheer her up. Sometimes it's the littlest things that make you realize you have such kind people around you but the fact they shared their attention with MD means the world to me!

THE GIRLS NAILED THEIR ROUTINE!!! No dropped stunts, no one fell and everyone remembered the routine! I'm so proud of these crazy munchkins! The other teams looked a bit older than our team and after watching all the teams in their category perform I knew we weren't getting first but that they did very well! Especially since the other teams were bigger in size!

We were so pumped for the award ceremony! The girls went on at 8:28 and awards were at 10:45! We got to watch a lot of teams in that time frame including some specials teams. How amazing and adorable! I never even knew these existed! Much love to those teams and those who work with them! Finally, awards time came and MD's team placed SECOND! WOOHOO!!! 2nd at their very first competition, YAY! MD is so proud of her 2nd place medal she begged me to wear it to school, ha! The team moms put together some awesome goodie bags for the girls with monogrammed blankets, sleep masks, pillows with bows sewn on and lots of goodies! It came in a super cute bag with their gym logo on it!! So nice of them to put the effort in! Here is MD enjoying her goodies on the drive home from the competition, haha! She will hate me some day for sharing but it's way too adorable and funny! 

We should be getting MD's daddy back this weekend and we are so so excited! I plan on super cleaning the house (not that he notices I scrubbed the baseboards lol) and maybe getting a new bed set and a couple new frames for our bedroom! 

Don't forget to check out a few of MD's looks from the past week on Diva's Daily Garb!