I'd give all I have honey, if you could stay like this.

  In roughly 10 minutes the first real love of my life is going to turn 5. I'm sitting here fighting tears and just thinking to myself about how fast the past half a decade has slipped away from me. In the midst of moving from one country to the next, getting married, having another baby and starting a few new business ventures... my little Lily has turned into my BIG 5 year old kindergarten Lily. She's been anxiously, but PATIENTLY counting down the days until her big day (with the help of a chalk board countdown of course) and I'm so excited to see her come out of that room tomorrow with that precious little grin on her face, because she knows that it is THE day, it's HER day and let me tell you know, it's going to be one hell of a day too. 

  I honest to god cannot imagine where my life would have lead me had Lily not graced my uterus with her ALWAYS active presence. I remember her tiny (and not so tiny) kicks like it was yesterday. I remember when she was awake and I wanted her to sleep, I'd play her music through headphones and she'd always calm down immediately. I remember it dawning on me that her name was Lily as I finished reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and how I just KNEW she was a Lily. I remember the extra week and a half that she decided to stay in my belly, because lord knows that if she came out on time, that just wouldn't be her style. I remember shaking in the hospital bed and thinking, "Holy shit... am I ready for this?" and then quickly telling myself that it didn't matter any more, she was coming. I remember looking into that sweet face and just knowing that my heart could never be as full as it was the first time I saw her. I remember her first shots and how my mom had to go in with her, because I just couldn't handle it. I remember all of it and I'm not longer fighting tears, because there are so many moments I wish I could get back with her. 

  This crazy world is moving so fast and before I know it she's going to be off to college and in the blink of an eye she'll be married with babies of her own. The only thing that I can really hope for her is that when she decides to have children, they show her the meaning of life the same way she did with me. Every day I try and be a better person, but not for me. Every thing I do is for those tiny little humans that I call my daughters. I do everything in my power to make sure they know that before everything else in my life, they will ALWAYS be number 1. They make me a better person and a sobbing mess without even meaning to or knowing it. 

  Sorry this was so short, I just needed to share that Lily is growing up and I'm not handling it so well. Time to go put streamers all over her door and fill her room with balloons....

g'night, y'all!! 

-Amanda

I remember I thought you looked like an angel wrapped in pink so soft and warm.
You've had me wrapped around your finger since the day you were born.

Oh, don't you ever grow up.

Just a first day of school picture dump. 

She did amazing, she looked like a super model.

She's more perfect than words will ever let me describe.

She said THIS was her very best pose.

Monster, Monster High!

She's obviously my child

And she's over it.

No really, Mom. STAAAHHPPP

Just catching her excitement <3

Be still heart, she's going to show the world who Lily Addison is 

and that's something they're never going to forget.

Have an excellent day, y'all! 

<3,

Amanda

'Twas the night before Kindergarten

  And mommy was a hot ass mess. No, but really. If ever there were a definition of an overly emotional mother, it's me tonight. Tomorrow Lily starts her education career. This is the start of what will be the biggest chapter in Lily's life, for over a decade. I know it seems dramatic when you put it like that, but it's crazy to see your kids moving through the motions, the same way you did. Sometimes, you want those motions to slow down. Lily came to me today and said, "Mom, we need to pick something F A N C Y for school tomorrow." that hurt my wallet and warmed my heart at the same time. I know school will be nothing but a thing for Lily, she's the smartest 4 year old that I have EVER met (I know... I'm biased), but for me, it's scary. This is when you send your precious little soul out into the world and hope to god that nothing taints it too much. That her feels will be spared for the most part and that when the time comes to help somebody else out, she knows to do the same. A lot of people think that sending your kid to private school protects them from the outside world, but let's be real, kids are kids no matter what school they attend. I was often bullied in elementary school and middle school, to the extreme that, I failed 5th grade simply because facing the girls that called me names and consistently picked on me and would leave me in tears (this sometimes included teachers) just because we didn't have very much money, was more than I could bare. I would hang out in my neighborhood all day long until I saw the buses come and then I would come home and erase the school messages saying that I was absent.

I can't wait to capture this outfit with my actual camera tomorrow!

  I know Lily has a lot more as a child than I ever did and I know that no matter what, I refuse to let her fall victim to the same things I did, but her actually starting school tomorrow really puts it in perspective that I can't always protect her from the world. I think sometimes my head can't wrap itself around the fact that she's almost 5.... okay really I just refuse to accept that fact. Tomorrow, it's going to be real though. I let her help pick out the colors for our 2nd annual first day of school chalk board and she was more than thrilled. We also made a special trip to target to pick her out some really awesome clothes for school. Thankfully, we don't have to buy a single school supply! Seriously... none. By thankfully I obviously mean that I'm super bummed. I L O V E school supply shopping as much as I love football and fall. I kind of wanted to force Lisa Frank folders and pencils on her, because...Is there a school supply better than Lisa Frank!? No. That unicorn and yellow puppy take the school supply cake.  So there's that... tomorrow is the start of a new chapter for her, as sad as I am, I know she's ready.

  Aside from school starting, a whole lotta nothing has been happening. I had my highest selling Premier show on sunday and that made me feel really good and confidant in what I'm doing. I will say that I need to find a way to branch out my business. It's hard having a direct sales business when you're living in a pretty tight knit military community. There are only so many of us that can have the same kind of party, before we all know the entire routine of the show forwards, backwards and side ways. I think starting school in a career primarily dominated by women, is really going to help, but I still have two months before that happens. Patience is a virtue that I am lacking currently, but I guess i'm gonna have to work on that one.
  Alright y'all, it's time for me to head to bed and get ready to cry my eyes out tomorrow, BUT before I go, I wanted to link you fine people to my friends new blog and youtube channel. She just got it up and running and I know a lot of you are curious as to what in the hell you do with make up/hair and let me tell you, she's a guru. I do a lot of my techniques the same way she does and while I don't have time to document them, this bad ass momma does. So take the time to check her out and soak up the beauty knowledge bombs that she's gonna drop on you often. Trust me, you're not gonna be disappointed.  ALSO! I know a few of us have been discussing the differences between Ipsy and Birchbox, she does an unboxing every month, so that is going to be helpful as well for those of you without either.

This is her brand new blog!

And this is her amazeballs YouTube channel!

  Have a spectacular night, morning and day... until next time. 

<3.

Amanda

p.s.

It's never too early to get ready for fall right? Like... back to school FOR SURE means fall, so decorating is legit. 

This southern piece of perfection makes my heart happy.

Fall fall is on it's way!

  Oh hey, y'all! You're probably getting sick of my month long blogging breaks by now, for that I'd like to say, "SORRY NOT SORRY!" I've been actively trying to soak up every fun filled minute of life with my family and friends that I possibly can this summer, before things get banana sandwiches come fall. So what's the haps in Amanda land? Let me fill y'all in. Probably the biggest thing is... LILY IS STARTING KINDERGARTEN NEXT WEEK! We had her tested by the school district here and they informed us that Lily has the IQ equivalent of a 2nd grader (I acted surprised, but we all knew that already.) after she passed the academic portion of the test they had to test her in a classroom setting, where unfortunately (and by mistake I swear) they claimed Lily was "nervous" and "anxious", if you know this little diva at all, those are two words you would never use to describe her. She basically walks into a room and commands it completely, but there's not much I can do. Honestly, I had a mini break down when they told me that she couldn't start. I cried... for hours. H O U R S Y' A L L! How on earth are these people going to recommend that she goes BACK to pre k when they JUST told me last week she was beyond advanced smarts wise? yeah, no happening. Lily's been attending the local Goddard school in our area for her Pre-K education. She goes 3 times a week all day and currently we're paying $300 (I know... i roll my eyes at people throwing money into blogs too, but hold tight) To some people that seems like a lot of money, but if you break it down, it comes out to roughly $75 a week and let me assure you that was after the owner discounting us $300 already. I'll tell you the same thing I tell everyone else, there is no better place that I can justify investing money than into the future and education of my girls. ANYWAYS, I got off track, I immediately called Goddard and talked to the owner about our situation and to say that she was just as upset and confused by the backwards ass school district that we're in, is an under statement. We set up a time to meet with all three of us present and hoped for the best. To be 100% honest, both Bryce and I went into the meeting thinking that there was no way we'd ever be able to afford full day Kindergarten there, it's a rather pricey private Kindergarten, but we figured we had nothing to lose.

her first day of pre-k

  When we met with Kim, she didn't waste time explaining the program to us. It is an accredited kindergarten and it truly sounds like an AMAZING program, but we still hadn't talked price. I was flipping through the program folder she gave us and stumbled across the price and in that moment, my heart either sank or dissipated all together. To attend the private kindergarten there it costs $968 A MONTH PLUS a one time testing/supplies fee. I wanted to cry and panic all over again. I just looked up at Bryce and he looked at me and then Lily's angel of a director spoke the sweetest words I had heard in two VERY LONG days. She was going to let Lily attend their program for less than HALF of the normal cost. We're going to be paying $400 a month for her to have the best education she can possibly have AND she gets to stay with the friends that she's made over the past year of being there. It took every single ounce of energy in me to not break down in that office. The only words I could manage were thank you. Being a military family is rewarding, we're all so proud of what Bryce does every day for us and I couldn't be more thankful of our lifestyle, but financially sometimes... it's no picnic. I know it seems like I was being dramatic over something small, but there will be nothing more important to me in life, than shaping the future of Emory and Lily and making sure that they have EVERY SINGLE opportunity possible, within their grasp and that starts early now days. I needed this good to happen to me, I prayed for it. Which is a weird thing for me and the big guy pulled through. 

  So! The big girl starts school on Tuesday and our new price wont even kick in until September. The overwhelming sense of relief that I'm filling, is indescribable. Tomorrow we have Goddard's annual family jam (last years was australia and this year it's Jamaica.) and I can't wait to see what that has in store. Last year they had a wallaby, dunk tank and so much more.... I truly love this school and I'm glad we took the steps to have her in private school from the get go. Aside from Lily's school stuff our other little diva turned 2!!!! AHHHH!!!! We didn't go all out for her birthday party this year and I'm not gonna lie, I'm sad about it. If there is one thing I love more than most things in this life, it's party planning. The girls ALWAYS have spectacular birthday parties and it's something that I know I picked up from my mom. I can't remember ever being disappointed with a party that my mom threw for me. She always made a point of going above and beyond and I can honestly say that was one of my favorite things about my childhood. I try and do the same with the girls, but this year, Bryce made a valid point that made me tone it down. I was full blown party planning and asked him, "Do you think this is too much?" what does my man reply with? "Amanda, can you think back to your 2nd birthday and remember anything about it?" Touche'. We invited a few family friends and celebrate and guess what, She loved it the same as if it were the biggest party in the world. I seriously still cannot grasp that it's been two years since I've had her. It seems like just yesterday she finally made her way into this world and I fell in love with those sweet cheeks and that smile. From the get go Emory has made sure to keep us on our toes, but that's what being the youngest child is all about right? Right. She did have another cardiology appointment last week and it went about as well as it could have gone.

how bad ass is the cake Ashley handmade!?!

  When we got there she had her usual EKG (can I just say that EVERY TIME we go she is always so still and such a perfect little patient that the nurses cannot get over it?) and then her amazing cardiologist listens to her heart and does an echo. We found out once again that the hole is still there and the left side of her heart is still enlarged and working harder than it should be. As of right now we don't have to see the cardiologist again until she's 3 and if the hole is still there, we're giving it one more year before we discuss our surgery options. That's a scary thought to me, but lately, I've been thinking that I'd rather it go ahead and be repaired than to have to constantly worry about it. My mom told me the other day when I called her crying that God would never give me more than I can handle and let me tell you, his faith in me is mighty high these days. I've never been one to back down from a life challenge though, so I'm going to show life who's boss. 

  I swear I've written a novela already and I still have more to say!! My best friend from NC came to visit (2nd time this year!) and for the 4 days that she was here, I was the happiest person on the planet!! Some times it gets kind of lonely here, then my friends announce that they're once again driving 7 hours just to hang out, because they miss me and suddenly I'm so filled with love and happiness that I forget what lonely even feels like. I hope that everyone gets to experience a friendship like mine and Ashley's at least once in a life time. In the 8 years that we've been friends, we've been through so much and even though we can go months or YEARS without seeing each other, when we do, it's like it was yesterday. Now if only B. could wind up stationed in NC and we could live 2 hours away, my life would be perfect and I'd literally cry from pure happiness for days on end. She always reminds me that I'm stronger than I think I am and all while doing my make up and making me feel like a super model (Oh hey having a make up artist for a BFFLZZZZZ is kind of handy... did I mention she also does all of my website graphics as well? well she does. My best friend is better than yours.) Just being around her really makes me a better person. Beyond blessed, doesn't even cover it. Not to mention while she was here ALL THREE of my besties were under one roof.... Ohio wasn't even ready for the ninja rolling action that happened there. To make a long story short, this has been one hell of a week for me.

  Alright, y'all. I'm done here for now. Time to go call Creative Images and do some school talk and clean these carpets that my children decide to mess up on a daily basis. I hope your day is wonderful and I'll try and write again soon. 

Bye now!

-Amanda

Wordless Wednesday (Picture OVERLOAD!)

Our 4th of July babies <3 (could they be any more photogenic?! lol)

I guess it's safe to say she loves her brother and he might have grown an inch or 12.

Who doesn't turn their boring pens into washi tape pens!?! You're doing it wrong if you don't.

Ohio has the most perfect summers ever and really makes having a bitchin' backyard, that much more enjoyable <3

Sometimes being a jewelry lady can be fun... I get to play dress up every time I do a show!! 

Sometimes hitting the gym (check that planet fitness t-shirt!) after an amazing time with friends
is the only way to end the night... until you drink your prework out at 9 pm and you're still awake at 1 am.

And so it begins...

  Oh hey y'all! You know how when things slow down in life and you're finally like, "Oh yeah, relax time!" something A L W A Y S comes along to go, "I got you sucker!", well I basically just did that to myself. Last week I made the informed and very excited decision to make not one, but TWO big life changes regarding a very exciting career path. First! I finally requested information from the local cosmetology schools in the area and I have my first walkthrough/interview on Friday at Creative Images! AAAAHHHH!! I'm very nervous about it. Before Bryce and I were married I was in line to attend the Paul Mitchel school in Charlotte, but alas, marriage and love came first... then a house... then a major surgery for Bryce and then our sweet princess Emory and mommy's school got put on the back burner. I wish I could say I'm sad about that, but I'm not. Not every one is fortunate enough to be able to spend these precious moments with their little ones the way that I am and I know how lucky I am for that. That being said, I'M SO FREAKING EXCITED I CAN'T EVEN STAND IT!!! I'm 99% sure this isn't going to help my recent make up obsession, but hey, you win some... Bryce loses some.

Can we take a second to appreciate how cute Emory's
kissy face is... and that sweet bow necklace!?

  My second life endeavor is that I joined the fabulous and fierce Premier Designs jewelry team! That's right y'all, I'm officially a jewelry lady and I couldn't be more excited/happy/ready to make some money if I tried. If you know me at all, this is hilarious to you. You're probably even laughing at the idea of ME, the yoga pants and tank top queen, being a jewelry kind of person. I too laughed that the idea at first and then I purchased my first Premier piece. It's a bracelet that they make called, "It's a wrap!" It's a super simple wrap bracelet, but my goodness I could NOT get enough. Once I had that bracelet, I wanted more to match it and then Bryce's ALS graduation rolled around and something in me said, "Uhhh... ACCESSORIZE!" and it was down hill from there. I bought my kit and have lots of training in my near future, but with the prospect of me going into a business that deals primarily with women, I think I'll do just fine.
  It's so weird to think that I'm going to get to do something that is 100% for me for once. I'm so used to being MOMMY and WIFE all the time, that I'm almost uncomfortable stepping out of that zone for more than a minute or two during the day. I really needed this though, I needed something to challenge myself and to really push me. At first I had my reservations, I was very nervous and almost talked myself out of it (like I do with everything), but this A M A Z I N G man that I married came along and said, "Amanda, you're going to be amazing at whatever you do. If this is what is going to make you happy, then just do it." It's moments like that one that make me so thankful that I was smart enough to marry my man meat. He's been so encouraging and so supportive through all of this, it really makes life a lot easier knowing that he's Team Amanda no matter what happens in life. I truly am one blessed lady.
  So that's ME right now. Lily is FINALLY home from her daddy's house and back in full swing. She came home her usual outgoing and sassy self, but I swear to you in those two weeks, she aged 2 years. When she got home she did something (lord help me, but I can't remember what it was) that just made me automatically tear up and want to cry. I looked at bryce and he just busted out laughing. I'm such a sap when I comes to these little princesses and sometimes it's borderline embarrassing. She started summer camp at Goddard the Monday after she got home and to our surprise they had a field trip planned for that day to the Dayton Dragons field. She was so excited to tell us all about it when she got home. Naturally, she made Bryce promise to take her to a baseball game and the requested to watch baseball (it wasnt' on) so she said, "Football?".... not on. Okay, cheerleading? nope. Hockey!? no ma'am. She finally settled on soccer, which she watched for a total of about 5 minutes and ran away to do Lily things with her hoodrat sister. Gotta love em.

  Alright y'all, I have more premier studying to do so I can be ready for my debut show on the 31st!! (which also happens to be Harry Potter's birthday... NO BIG DEAL OR ANYTHING!) and about 5 seasons of Doctor Who to catch up on. I'm mildly obsessed, it's becoming a problem. I hope your Independence day is amazing (i know mine will be) and that you take time to really appreciate every one that has sacrificed something in their lives to make sure that we can continue to celebrate the land of the free and every amazing opportunity that comes with it. Now in closing, LET'S GET STAR SPANGLED HAMMERED Y'ALL! OW OW! .... no but really, 'MERIKA!

G'night, Y'all.

-Amanda

Vacation, All I've Ever Wanted!

  So here I am, back from vacation/sleeping after vacation/cleaning due to unpacking from vacation and I'm ready to tell y'all, ALL about it!! First let me start by saying, the next time I say it's totally fine for my mom to steal my kids for two weeks and then for Lily to go to her dad's moms house for summer camp for two weeks.... somebody hit me really hard in the head and say, "No, bitch." 'cause that was an awful idea on my part. Yeah, me and the man meat had A LOT of alone time and more date nights/hang out sessions than we ever thought possible (and I loved every second of it!), but man did I miss those tiny little feet pitter pattering around my house and their grimy little finger prints on everything. All is well now though. Emory is back with me and Lily is enjoying her swim/gymnastics/dance/play camp at her daddy's house. You ready for the adventures in Mande Land? Of course you are, you were BORN ready!

this is the best shot that I have for now; I'll have to take a new
one soon!

  Basically the last time I wrote was to brag about my main man being made a main man haha since then we just got A LOT done around the house. We did a total revamp of my dining room and now it's a southern themed paradise. We also discovered Ikea while the girls were away and if you know me at all you know that I'm all about saving money as opposed to spending it, we dont even have credit cards for Christ's sake because I think they're pure evil. Well, Ikea proved to be my one weakness (other than Bowtique goodies, but who can say no to those!?) in the money spending department. Essentially, we used Ikea to update the girls room and make it a little more storage friendly and we also went a head and bought some new stuff for their play room. Lily now has a really cool stuffed animal organizer to help maintain the obnoxious amount of stuffed toys that she has managed to acquire. She also has a magnetic board to hang all of the pretty art work that she makes on. The girls used to have this REALLY old Dora table and stool set that I had moved out of the house and into the garage to be disposed of and then it hit me, why throw it away when I can revamp it and make it functional AND pretty for them. So I, being the crafty cheap queen that I am, bought some simple spray paint and chalk board pain and voilà! they now are the proud owners of a really adorable and totally fun chalk board table. I'm pretty proud of how far our house has come since we moved in. I love nothing more than making each room feel a little more like home every day. Especially since where we are is the black hole of all military bases. Thank God I love it here... my friends help a lot with that though.

bad ass, right!?

  After finishing cleaning the house up and making it prettier than it already was, I packed my things and got ready to say, "See ya later, Ohio!" and "Hello, Florida!". The flight to Pensacola was actually not bad at all. It went really quick and there were no delays. I think more than anything, I was just so excited to see my babies that it seemed to move a lot faster than it did. When I got in the car leaving the airport, I'll never forget the look of pure excitement on Emory and Lily's faces! That made me feel really awesome knowing that they missed their mommy. Once we got back to my moms, pretty much the first thing I did was get into my parents GLORIOUS pool. They have an 8ft. pool in the middle of freaking paradise I tell you. I didn't realize it until I was there that my parents actually get to live, where most people go to vacation. How lucky are they!? Really lucky. Basically I spent the next 10 days eating my mom's home cooked deliciousness, listening to my dad's band play and just spending a lot of time with my sisters and my girls.

beach beauties!

My dad taught Lily how to swim in less than an afternoon and after that, it was pretty much downhill from there. She refused floaties if we were in the pool and wanted to swim all by herself. Uhh... can I have my baby back now? Who is this big girl that has replaced her!? I did manage to night swim quite a bit and if you know me at all, you know that I am absolutely BEYOND horrified of snakes. They scare the living shit (literally) out of me. So I decided that night swimming would be the perfect way to relax, naturally. My dad lit all of the tiki torches for me and turned on the pool lights (ummm their pool light changes colors, it's like swimming in a freaking rainbow) and I headed out. Then as I'm peacefully swimming I remember my mom telling me about how coral snakes, three to be exact, have fell from the trees and into the pool. In that moment, I don't think that I've ever paid more attention to every single splash ever made in a pool. Every time a random splash would happen I just knew that was it. That was the night I was sure my worst fears would come true and my obituary would be written as so, "Long live Amanda, she fell to the might power of the snake. She shit her bathing suit and then she died" I'd say that I'd never live that down, but if I were already dead, it wouldn't really matter. Needless to say I only went night swimming one other time and that was after Bryce got there.

....amazing. I miss it already haha

  Once Bryce was there we finally got to visit the beach and the girls LOVED it. Perdio Key has some amazing beaches and I'd know, I grew up at the beach. It was very nostalgic teaching Lily to jump waves and trying to teach emory that the wet sand makes a better sand castle than the dry sand she was insisting on using. It feels like not that long ago that I remember my mom/aunt/brother/cousins/uncle/dad teaching me the way of the ocean and how much fun sand castle building can be once you know how to do it. Truth be told, I miss everything about southern living. I complained the whole time I was there about how hot it was and how much better the weather is in Ohio, but once I was there I made sure to tell the man meat that Eglin needs to be #1 on his dream sheet, because I could get used to being a bronzed goddess all the time.
  Saying, "Goodbye!" to my family is never easy, but luckily I see my mom at least 4 times a year and that makes it a little easier. Being there really just solidified that my mom is my best friend and that my sisters are brat faces that I love more than life itself. I swear I need to lock them up already, they're too beautiful for words, but then again, they are related to me. (that was a little ego humor for you... i know i know, i'm hilarious.) I hated leaving them, but we had places to be and people to see, so off we went in the direction of the great state of North Carolina. The car ride there really wasn't bad, we had to stop in a hotel at around 1:30 am to sleep, because we left late after spending the day at the beach, but we didn't mind. Lily loves hotels, so all in all, totally worth it. As we were driving it had been predetermined that the SECOND we came across a Bojangles, we were stopping. To say that I have a mild obsession with Bojangles, is really putting it nicely. I don't want to say that eating Bojangles the entire time I was in the south was the highlight of my trip, because that would be really kind of hurtful to everyone I spent time with, but the truth hurts and that's the truth.

  We eventually mad it to Lily's dad's house and as much as I hated that I had to leave her, I love that she's getting to spend 2 weeks of quality time with him. Unfortunately, he was stationed in California for the past 2 years and didn't get to see her much. Now that he's officially out of the Marine Corps, I really hope that he'll get to make up for lost time with her. She was SO excited to see him and her mom-mom (she calls his mom that) it just melted my heart. I love that we can be on such good terms with each other and not just Matthew and me. Bryce and Matt totally bro down when they're around each other and that might confuse some people, but to us, it's not about us. It's about Lily having one unified support group standing behind her and loving her unconditionally as a whole. We see no reason why, just because Matthew and I went separate ways in life and weren't happy together, we should all be miserable. I love that about us. I love that I know Matt backs me in all of my decisions regarding Lily, just like he knows I'd never keep her from him. It's a really good feeling. I hope one day Lily realizes how lucky she is to have so many people that love her so much, to include her two daddies. ANYWAYS, sorry for my sappyness, we left Lily that night and she basically was like, "PEACE OUT HOMIES!" and went on playing with her dad. It was hard and it's never easy being away from her, but she's having one hell of a time.

  After that we stopped in to see my very best friend, Ashley and spent the night/morning at her place. Then woke up and went to see her at work, which proved to be another spending disadvantage of mine. Ashely, in all of her make up loving glory, works at the Benefit counter in the mall. I am not one to buy expensive things, I will always tell you I could by myself this and this and that OR I could buy a billion things for my kids. I just don't buy myself stuff.... BUT when it comes to Benefit makeup and a 20% discount, what's a girl to do? Buy more Benefit product, as if I needed any more. Let me just say that if you're not using their "They're real!" mascara, you're really missing out. Yes, it's a bit pricey ($23), but my god it's worth every. single. penny! Since I started using benefit in January, there is NO face make up, in my opinion of course, that compares to it. My face is naturally pretty flawless, but this stuff just perfects it. HOWEVER, that's for another post another time. We left NC and literally drove to Ohio and STRAIGHT to Chipotlé, because yes, i have a problem.
  We just spent the next two days chillin' and enjoying each others company. On Father's Day, my best friend here and her family had a cookout for Bryce and that was amazing. I'm starting to realize that I really do have some really great friends here. I mean who goes out of their way to have a cookout for their best friends husband to honor what an awesome dad he is!? My friends. That's who and they rock. I'm a very lucky lady.

I'll love you forever, I'll like you for always <3

  Sadly, I must leave you now. I have an hour to inventory the pantry and fridge so we can go shopping when Bryce gets home and try and squeeze a bow or two in for my ready to ship album, it's a good thing I love what I do so much. I know I wrote a novel, so if you read it all... you rock and if you didn't, well I don't blame you. I'm pretty boring, I know.

  Have an awesome day, y'all!!

xoxo,
Amanda.

p.s.
How super gorgeous is my mommy!?! I never realized it before, but I guess we really do look alike and I'm okay with it! :)

Let's hear it for the boy!

  No but really, let's give MY MAN a hand!! After 5 very very long weeks (and almost 6 years of service over all) for Bryce, he finally graduated Airman Leadership School and picked up Ssgt.! Not only did he graduate, but he graduated and won the award for distinguished graduate, which is a pretty big deal. Don't get me wrong when I say this. I am ALWAYS very proud of Bryce and how much he's willingly taken on in his life and how much he's endured and rose above; I was an exceptionally proud wife when I watched him receive his award and diploma though. He really worked his butt off every single day that he was in that class and it really paid off for him. We had a blast at his graduation ceremony with our friends and his colleagues and MAN did he look handsome in those blues. That's one thing about ALS that I'm going to miss, blues Mondays. Maybe I can talk him into just wearing them around the house for me or something. Bryce actually picked up Staff Sergeant on Friday since he was supposed to pick up in January, but couldn't due to him being deployed. Today was his first day back to work since and he came home from work and said how weird it is to have people calling him "Sergeant" and "Sir", which I totally understand. The idea of having Bryce be somebody's boss makes me giggle a lot when I think about it. . . He plays with lightsabers and owns a Golden Tee game.... come on now people. I did tell him he should get used to, especially since it's his dream to go officer after this and he's one step closer. No matter what he does, I'm extremely proud of my man meat and I wanted y'all to share that with me, because you're my people and I figured you're allowed to be proud with me.

I was the luckiest lady in the room, no doubt.

  Aside from Bryce's exciting news, we've just been spending a lot of time with the girls before they left for Florida for 2 weeks. Yesterday we dropped them off and that was NOT an easy task for me. I have no idea how to be without my kids, which is sad and funny at the same time. I woke up this morning to a completely silent house and in that moment I realized that being a mom is the best job I could ever ask for, no matter how hard it is from time to time. I missed the noise, I missed having to make a million pancakes and I even missed our early morning Super Why! cuddles on the couch. Naturally I called my mom as soon as it was an acceptable hour (I deemed 8 am as acceptable) and she reassured me that they are just fine and are having a blast road tripping with Nanny and aunt Kaity. I know Lily is more than anxious to make it to Nanny's house and get in "Nanny's HUGE pool" as she refers to is and spend some time at the beach with her aunts and sissy. I know I can't wait to get down there and spend time with my family and their bar in the back yard.  SPEAKING OF AUNT KAITY! My little sister graduated from high school yesterday!!!! I could not have been more proud if I tried. Unfortunately we missed the graduation, but I got to stop by her graduation party and give her a gift and as many hugs as acceptable. I feel like it was yesterday that she was following me everywhere and tattling on me and now she's all grown up and off in to the big world. It's so crazy to think that not long from now, my other little sisters will be on their way to graduation and all grown up too. I hate even thinking about that. I want them to be little girls that worship the ground their big sister walks on forever. OH MAN then my kids will be graduation and too cool for me too... EVERYONE NEEDS TO JUST STOP GROWING UP OKAY!?! I CAN'T TAKE THIS!!! *cries* *done crying*

the girls in their new elephant pool and adorable matching
suits!

  I know this wasn't very long, I just wanted to share the good news of my favorite graduates and my little loves. I'm off to do some cleaning and maybe napping, because I can do that now that the only things I have to care for are Winston and our NEWST ADDITION CHARLIE!!!! That's right, we got a blue tick coon hound and I love his droopy little face and long ears more than anything else. Not to mention, he's one heck of a smart dog. He already whines at the door to be let out. I'm a pretty blessed fur baby owner. OH! and he loves his sisters, like a lot. Now if only they'd take his puppy playing as him loving them rather than thinking he's trying to eat their souls, all would be well.

Charles Xavier Mande

  Y'all have a good day now! I'm sure I'll be back several times this week with date night stories and complaining about missing my baby girls.

-Amanda

You'll always be my little girl.

  I don't know why it's taken me so long to realize that my oldest baby girl is actually growing up, but the past few days have been a real eye opener to the obvious. Lily is going to be five. Lily is going to start Kindergarten on August 19, 2013. Lily isn't such a little baby any more and she's turning into my little girl. This afternoon I got lily's pre-k graduation pictures (white cap and gown included, thanks Goddard, once again holding it down.... you rock and I don't think I'll ever be able to say it enough!)

Hello senior yearbook embarrassingly cute
picture!

and I think that a combination of that closure to this chapter of her life and the registering her of Kindergarten, which will open a new chapter, just really freaked me out. It dawned on me that I'm contributing to the upbringing of the next generation of women. I am responsible for the outcome of two little girls and what their future paths might hold. I don't know why I never thought of it before or why it's hitting me now when it's always been right in front of me, but it did and I'm not sure I'm processing it in the best ways possible. It really kind of makes me want to cry honestly. It's not just Lily growing up, it's Emory too. Bryce pointed out tonight that soon, we're going to be out of the diaper phase and into the terrible twos stage. I wonder if this is something all moms go through or if this is just me and my over active mind being over active again. Which it most likely is. *le sigh* Slow down Lily, you have your whole life to grow up, stay my sweet and sassy little princess for a while, mommy likes you this way.
  The past few days have been kind of mundane and honestly not a lot has been going on. I hate using this thing as basically a public diary, because if you follow me on Facebook..... you already know all of this stuff and nobody needs to know it twice. I did get to attend a pretty sweet ice cream social that Lily's amazeballs school held today. I thought it was going to be just the teachers dishing out ice cream for us, I was wrong. They legit hired a company to come in a server ice cream, toppings and all, to us... for no other reason than they felt like doing it. Have I mentioned I'm going to miss her school? Not that I'll have to miss it for long, because I'm about 99% sure we're sending Emory there as well. I think she'd like that and I think I'd like it too, hello mommy free time! We have a whole bunch of nothing planned for this weekend actually and I'm really looking forward to it. I might try and squeeze in a massage since my awesome husband came home with a free hour long massage voucher from when he volunteered for the MS walk the other day. Have I mentioned I love that man? because I do. He's the bee's knees y'all.
  Lately I've been doing a lot of blog thinking, like what I can do to improve it, I mean... I've had it for about two years now and haven't changed it up much. I kind of want to reach out on a more personal basis to other milsos (military spouses). I know that we can all use a heap of support from time to time and having new ideas regarding care packages, deployment sign ideas and what not is always a good form of support and can really take a burden off of some of us when we need it most. Let me tell you, I became the care package queen while Bryce was away and if I can do anything to help somebody with ideas, you bet your sweet ass I will, because if you put as much time, effort, love and blood into those things as I did.... it can be exhausting. Worth it, but exhausting. I think I might make a DIY/Crafty section as well, because I get a lot of "HOW IN THE HELL AMANDA!?!" when I make things and well, honestly I like to share my crafty knowledge, because I know how awesome it feels when you finish something and you're like, "Yeah bro, I made that this. COME AT ME POTTERY BARN! AINT NOBODY GOT TIME FOR YOU!" So there's that and I can't wait to revamp this bad boy, i need a change and to stop talking about me so much.... (says the girl that named her blog the Amanda Show...), because I'm kind of boring. NO SHAME IN MY GAME Y'ALL!

I was gonna put one up of the goodies, but I wanted to show
how awesome the spider webs looked! He loved it
and so did the rest of his shop haha

  Alright, it's much later than when I originally started this post, like 5 hours later. Now that dinner time and bed time are accomplished for the littlest Mande ladies, it's time for this Mande lady to wake up her over studied grandpa of a husband and get him into bed. Here's to hoping tomorrow is as relaxing as today was. Sleep well blogger world, I know that for once I will.

Night Y'all!

<3

-Amanda

Weekend warrior!

  It's Monday and let me tell you that after this weekend, I'm totally welcoming this bad boy with opened arms. I think the last time I blogged was Wednesday and since then a whole lot of crazy has happened. By crazy I of course mean a lot of fun (and some not so fun), but mostly crazy awesome fun... naturally. This is my and my crazy life we're talking about here.
  I had the honor of attending my very first Pinterest party last week! It was A LOT of fun to be around the other wives, just enjoying each other's company and getting to know on another on a more personal basis. The awesome crafts and delicious pinterest inspired food/drinks didn't hurt either. I actually wound up making an absolutely ADORABLE twine and felt flower wreath for the front door.

Cute, right!? Right!

Not to mention, three other wives have husband's in ALS with Bryce and we all made plans to go dress shopping for their graduation! Can I get a woot? How about two woots? K thanks. My friends Ayshia also tasked me with making a head band to match her little girls flower girl dress for a wedding that she was in this weekend and it came out SOOOO much better than I thought it was going to, especially since it was my first flower head band. All in all the party was a great start to the week.
  Usually I leave the yard mowing and weeding eating to Bryce, not this week. This week I had an extra surge of energy and decided to help out my man meat and take the yard into my own hands. We have an old school manual lawn mower, no engine on it (Bryce says its better for the grass and I love me some pretty grass... #grownupproblems) Who else just laughed at me calling myself a grown up? Good, you should have. The whole having no engine thing makes it a little difficult to mow, but it also made for one great workout in the sun and to be honest, I'm looking a lot like Casper, so the sun was much needed. Blah blah blah, i mowed the yard, moved the 6 million yard toys that we have, weeded the yard and called it a day. I then hopped in the shower and when I got out, what did I discover? I discovered the Prairies outside mowing my front lawn and running the mower/weed eating my back yard. -_- Bryce forgot to tell them that he's home from deployment so they're still doing my yard work for me. Usually I'd be really pumped about having their awesome services, that day, I just laughed... and really hard. Go figure the one time I trust myself to mow the yard and NOT take any body parts off in the process, somebody else would come do it for me. Oh life, life you are so funny. Thanks life.

It looked so amazing and apparently the Bride loved it!

  My Friday started out bright and early with none other than a... DUN DUN DUN.... puking Emory. She woke up at about 3 am throwing up and it was all mostly down hill from there. I camped out on the floor next to her bed so that when I heard her about to get sick I could catch it in a puke bowl (....oh puke bowls) and all in all it was a miserable 6 hours. After a solid nap and lots of water, she was back to her normal self. You know... trying to ride the dog, bugging her big sister and running from room to room calling for her daddy. Even after almost 5 years of being a mom and 18 of being a big sister, I can't stand when little kids are sick. It makes me feel so helpless, but my girls make it a little easier on me by reassuring me that they're okay even while they're sick.
  Let's see, what else? OH! On Saturday the family and I (after Bryce got back from volunteering at an MS walk that morning... he's kind of awesome) went to my friend Madeline's house for a Bunco/Girls night and let me tell you blog readers, these crazy women that I have the privilege of calling friends are something else! Maddie's awesome husband grandpa Ray played bartender for the night and made us one hell of a drink called a "Sex on the Driveway" and I'm pretty sure it was concocted to make sure that a night of drinking those would wind up in just that way. Quite a few jell-o shots later and A LOT of laughs had, my whole body hurt from laughing. The next day it felt like I had done 6,000 sit ups and my face was sore from smiling. All in all, no Bunco got played, but that's okay. I wouldn't have changed anything about it. Bryce was really awesome that night too, he played babysitter to all of the kids in the basement and everyone was pretty impressed with him, including me. I don't know what I did to deserve somebody as awesome as him, but I'm really glad that I did. NOW, I'm just ready for the next "bunco" night and hopefully Madeline brings the jell-o shots again!

We're an elite bunch, we are. 

  Alright y'all I'm verging on this being a mini novel and there's a treadmill in my garage calling my name. 3 miles won't run itself and June 1st and that Dirty Girl Mud run is right around the corner! Our team is making our shirts now and bless my southern little heart, they're too precious!

  Here's to hoping this week is as eventful and goes as fast and last week did!
  Have an excellent day y'all!!

-Amanda

p.s.
  I'm starting to finally see some results in the working out area and let me say, it feels really good too :)

This just reminded me that I need toilet paper.

Wordless Wednesday

Some kids sleep with stuffed animals, mine sleeps with a book. Oh and Winston and his daddy being cute.

G'night y'all <3

-Amanda

Transformation Tuesday!

Nothing better to blog about :p so look how I evolved into an amandasaurus!

Night y'all!!

-Amanda <33

No rest for the wicked

Today I kicked Monday's ass, sadly I don't have time to really tell you about it. Instead, I'm going to leave you with some pictures of Lily's first dance recital (talk about precious!), of our daily shenanigans that included weeding my flower bed to prep it for flowers *sqqqquuuueeeeeaaaallllll*, some of my new dining room/kitchen decorations and of Emory falling asleep on her daddy YET again (talk about daddy's little girl). You're pumped I'm sure, who wouldn't be?! :p

Before I sign off of here, I'd like to say that Boston, it's residents and any/everyone effected either emotionally or physically are in my thoughts tonight. Remember, bad things happen, make sure you're the good in the world, the light that others may need in their time of dark. Today was awful beyond words and a true tragedy to our country, but we will prevail. We always do.

'Merica!!

God bless and goodnight y'all.

-Amanda

Back to the real world

Tonight is our last night together before B starts his 5 weeks long ALS journey. I'm totally pumped for him to be moving forward in his career, but couldn't he at least keep his super gnarly beard?! Damn you Air Force!

That is all.
G'night y'all.

-Amanda

It's the little things..

.....in life that mean the most. I'm laying here on the air mistress after watching Emory snuggle up to her daddy and fall asleep and I can't help but think about how blessed my life is and how fortunate I am to have so much love for my little family. My heart is so full, I can hardly handle it. . . Until baby Mande #3 comes along, then it'll be just a little more full and that much more perfect <3

Rock me momma like a wagon wheel.

  It's Thursday and while I have no pictures to share (mainly because I'm iPad blogging again) and nothing of real importance to talk about, here I am. I've been missing my mom and dad and bratty little sisters more than ever lately, so we decided to go visit the next best thing this weekend, my moms twin sister and her amazeballs family! Holla at me y'all! I'm so excited, but not excited for the 20 degree weather difference in good ol' Michigan. Besides, this will hold me over until our vacation after our vacation to see my parents/pick up the girls.
  Today was pretty uneventful. It rained most of the day, which always makes for one sleepy momma and two restless little girls. Bryce the great, let me sleep in (mind you sleeping past 8 is a task for me that usually requires me waking up every 15 minutes and making myself go back to sleep until 9) and got up with the ladies. After that it was a pretty relaxed day. Chipotle was acquired by my amazing husband (I love him a lot today) and we went and picked out our flowers for our garden this year and quite a few fruits and vegetables. We're going to go with a raised flower garden this year, because our back yard garden from last year doesn't have the best soil in the world..... And I want an excuse to use pallets in my back yard. Legit, I know. I'm looking forward to getting our back yard back in order, because there are few things in life that I enjoy more than sitting back there around the fire pit with the family, roasting marshmallows and drinking an ice cold.... Water.
  Bryce starts ALS on Monday and I'm dreading it already, but I know he will do just fine. He's seriously one of the smartest people I know, so it should be a breeze. I just know it means long studying hours and not hanging out as much, but that's the price you pay for more responsibility I guess. So we're going to make the most of our family time this weekend and I'm going to see to it that he relaxes a little, since he hasn't been letting me do almost anything since he's been back. Karaoke and beers will be had. Along with lots of laughs and a couple of hangovers, but it'll be totally worth it!

Alright y'all, time to finish up taxes (procrastination at its finest) and do some sewing/packing for our weekend! Here's to one hell of an awesome weekend away from gloomy Ohio!

G'night y'all!

-She who must not be named (see what I did there?! I made it seem like I was voldemort! I'm so funny!)

Wordless Wednesday y'all!

It's been too beautiful outside to not brag about it being shorts season here in Ohio. Also, iPad blogging is weird man... SO WEIRD MAN!

Night y'all.

-Amanda

P.s.
Having a playground in your backyard is perfect.... Unless your daughters are daredevils, then it's a lot like premeditated gray hair.

P.s.s.
So not "wordless" at all. F A I L!

Homecomings, Easter and all the things from there to here.

  Hey blog hey! I promised an update and here I am. Things have been what they call crazy in my house lately because.... wait for it.... BRYCE IS FINALLY HOME!!! *Audience Applause!* EEEEeeeeKKKkkk!! I still am waiting for myself to wake up and realize that this is just a dream and I'm really fucking with myself, but thank goodness it is not. I did it y'all! I survived one whirlwind of a deployment. It was long and it was hard sometimes, but my god it was worth it. Just a word to the wise for my readers with deployed spouses and loved ones, there are going to be times when you're going to feel like this is impossible. You're going to feel like if just ONE more thing goes wrong, if even ONE more lightbulb in the house blows out that you can't reach then you'll cut a bitch. Let me tell you, keep on keeping on, because it will be over before you know it. There are no words to describe how much I missed Bryce and his deployment is what most would call a TDY, it was very easy on both of us. That doesn't mean that it wasn't hard or that I didn't lose sleep over not having my best friend with me. Don't ever let anyone make you feel like you're wrong for missing your husband/boyfriend/son/daughter because they aren't deployed for as long as their husband/boyfriend/son/daughter will be or because they're not in harms way. Love is love and missing somebody is hard no matter how long they're gone for or where they're gone too. Don't let ANYONE tell you any differently. You have every right in the world to be sad and to miss them, because that's what love is. I don't care if they're going to be gone 6 minutes or 6 years, you miss them and you miss them openly and if anyone has anything to say about it, you brush your shoulders off. Ya heard!?, because 9 times out of 10, those people are just seeking attention anyways. Okay, sorry for that mini rant y'all. Now on to the good stuff!
  I guess I'll start with homecoming day! Essentially I started my day with a lot of cleaning, because I left pretty much 90% of it for the day of. I'm sure you've all heard the saying, but it goes something like this, "Having kids is a lot like using a blender with the lid off." Well they proved that saying true that day! After cleaning, I helped Emory and Lily make a homecoming sign for their daddy (they didn't expect him home until the next day!)

then a few of my friends came over to help me with the girls and basically to give me moral support while I tornadoed through my house like a mad woman freaking out, because the love of my life was going to be in my face in a few hours! The day went really smoothly and it wasn't until my amazing photographer Ashley (Click here for her beyond AMAZING pictures!!) showed up that I realized what was going on and I started repeating, "This is fine, this is totally fine... I'm okay... it's okay..." while pacing and panicking. Cute right? I know. We arrived at the airport only to find the flight from O'hare wasn't supposed to be in for another hour. Naturally, I started to freak out and get kind of sad, because B told me it would be there at 6:36 pm. So I sat and waited, while Ashley snapped pictures of me impatiently waiting. I was deep in worrisome Amanda thought when Ashely said, "There he is!" I glanced over and at first didn't even recognize a 20 lbs lighter Bryce, but as soon as it clicked I quite literally THREW my homecoming sign, balled up my fists like a giddy child and took off for him!

Everything about it was perfect. I just couldn't stop smiling at him and poking him to make sure he was real. He did inform me that he accidentally left his wedding ring in the norfolk bathroom when washing his face while he changed into his uniform for our pictures. (yeah, he rocks that much.) I just couldn't take my eyes off of him or get the smile that he had when he first saw me out of my mind. That look alone, was well worth the 6 month wait for sure. Then we obviously drove home and surprised Lily and Emory with their favorite person in the world! At first both of them were like..."uuhh... da fuq?" then they warmed up to him. Seeing them together again just absolutely melted my heart into a puddle of OH MY LORD I LOVE THIS FAMILY!, don't worry y'all, it's not melted any more. The next few days after that we just spent together soaking up each other and pretty much just loving being under the same roof again.

it was the best "first" kiss that i'd ever had

The next few days were filled with Easter fun. We did 2 egg hunts for the kids. One the day before easter and one easter morning. Emory was THRILLED to just find the eggs and she's still egg hunting to this day. Lily felt special, because this year SHE'S the big kid and she had the most eggs. She also has been begging me for a pet sheep (we pass a heard of sheep every morning on our way to her school) so, Bryce made sure his baby got what his baby wanted and he bought her a stuffed animal sheep. Cute much? yup. She LOVED it. There is just something about Easter that really lights up a child's face and makes me so happy. It didn't hurt that they were wearing their Easter dresses made by me, that really helped. For Easter dinner I made my own tradition of making Easter tacos for the fam jam and my awesome friend Amanda. Have I ever mentioned that I make the world's BEST freaking tacos!? Well, now I have and now you know and knowledge is power! HOLLA!

  Since then it's been a whole lot of hanging out and gyming out. Bryce one really wanted to eat out once or twice since he's been home, which is weird because most guys when they come home want to eat everything they can, not Bryce. He actually requested just my homemade tacos for his dinner when he got home. That really makes a lady feel pretty special. I love having him home and for a gym partner. It's embarrassing sometimes though, because I just catch myself staring at him like, "That's MY husband." and he usually catches me and says something like, "can i help you creeper?" Uhh... sorry you send my uterus into a frenzy bro, shouldn't have gotten so sexy man. I guess me telling him if he didn't look like Channing Tatum when he came home I'd divorce him helped. I was joking, but he did me one better and came back looking like Bryce Laysitdown Mande. Other than spending copious amounts of time with my best friend, I've been pretty boring. We did manage to zoo it up with Lily's friend Zoey and her wonderful parents Madeline and grandpa Ray. That was a mad house that was 100% worth fighting, because the weather was perfect and the kids adored seeing the animals actually out and about in their habitats.

That night I went dancing with Madeline (she's stalking me because she loves me), Amanda, Ciara and Carla and my good lord moving the next day was not fun. I had the most fun ever swimming in the Yellow Roses sea of plaid and blue jean and hearing Madeline's comments about pretty much everything country. Hilarious doesn't even cover that night.
  I can honestly say that right now, I'm the happiest I have been in a very long time. No stress, no problems... Just life. Just living life here in good ol' Ohio with my family and my amazing friends. The weather is finally turning around and I just can't get enough of it. I know a lot of it is the "honeymoon" phase of Bryce being home (I haven't had to lift a finger since that amazing man of mine has been home.... he's seriously the best husband ever. Sorry other husbands. Take notes.) and I actually opened my mailbox today to find a card he sent me the day he left just to let me know he loves me and I'm awesome. Life is perfect or my definition of perfect and that's close enough for me.

G'night y'all.

-Amanda

p.s.
You should probably be on the lookout for a new blog layout soon... Having a web designing best friend is kind of the best thing ever sometimes. :)

p.s.s.
I officially have a workout clothing buying problem.... is there a support group for that!? You wanna see my newest additions!? okay, you twisted my arm enough.

I WANT TO WEAR THEM ALL AT THE SAME TIME ALL DAY EVERY DAY!