Behold, I am With Child!

We're in Disney World!

Having a blast!

Ellie is wearing a new shirt!

Yup. It's for real.

Baby #2 is happening.

Which is another reason this blog has been quiet. 

How do I write about what's going on when I can't really write about what's going on? But now that we're at the end of the first trimester, I can finally share the news. Honestly, I had to share the news because I AM ALREADY LOOKING QUITE PREGNANT. People would've started to be like "Um.... you're obviously pregnant." 

 We found out about 3 days before we moved. We were packing one night and I started thinking, and then I had a hunch, and then I remembered that I had one pregnancy test left in my bathroom cabinet. So I decided to take it to see what would happen, and lo and behold.....

We are overjoyed and excited and pumped and thrilled and thankful. We are due November 11th! (Coincidentally, the day I found out I was pregnant with Ellie was November 11, 2011.) I am feeling pretty good except for the fact that this first trimester has been spent in various stages of narcolepsy.

I. want. to. sleep. all. the. day. long. 

I was in a restaurant one day with a friend and we were sitting in a booth and I started fantasizing about laying down in that booth and taking a nap. SO. TIRED.

But, I've gotten more energy just in time for Disney and we are having a blast.

I'll post more Disney pictures later, but I just wanted to pop in and say that it just got real up in here and it's going to be a hot summer. 

Love y'all!

Um, Hello Again

It's been awhile, y'all. I haven't written here in about two weeks. I wish I could tell you I haven't written anything because I have been on vacation or that I've sworn off social media and blogging so I can focus on my health or something, but that's just not the case.

I haven't written because I haven't felt like writing.

It took me awhile to realize that that was what it was, but it's the truth. A combination of writer's block and some kind of hostility to sitting down and typing made it to where I just kinda dug my heels in and said "NOT RIGHT NOW. WHEN I FEEL LIKE IT."

And today, I feel like it.

Look, there's no rhyme or reason to it. I just didn't want to write anything and now I do.

Hi.

Welcome.

I'm a little rusty so I'm going to talk about some happenings of the last few weeks but I'm going to do it in numbered paragraph form. I can't connect ideas together right now. My segue game is off.

1. A few Saturday's ago I spoke at a conference for parents to give some helpful tips and advice for teaching your kids to use social media in a safe and mature way. Throughout my research I learned that there are approximately 742 apps that I know absolutely nothing about. I felt elderly.

2. SCANDAL WAS A DOOZY THIS LAST WEEK, Y'ALL. I've heard that a few of my people have not yet watched so I'm gonna keep this spoiler free.... but let's just say that I was shocked and it was one of those episodes that you thought was wrapping it up to an end and then the last 30 seconds basically flipped everything upside down and left you screaming "CRAP CRAP CRAP" at your television.

3. I went to Melanie's book signing for Nobody's Cuter than You on Saturday night and it was just a big fun party and Melanie looked stunning as always and I'm thankful for her and her writing.

Here's me and Lindsee with the lady of the hour:

There are a few reasons why you need to read this book, nay, you HAVE to read this book:

You will laugh on every page

You will feel all of the nostalgia 

You will long for your friends, old and new

You will want to be a better friend

It's just so, so good, y'all.

4. This morning we were watching Daniel Tiger. Daniel's mom suggested they all go pick strawberries together. Daniel and his father were both wearing matching pajamas (tops and bottoms) and decided to run off to get dressed to go strawberry picking. They returned to the living room in their clothes, and my "clothes" I mean jackets with no pants. Just jackets. Naked from the waist down. Meanwhile, Mrs. Tiger was wearing a shirt and pants. WHY ARE WOMEN WEARING PANTS AND THE MEN ARE NOT?! I mean if Mrs. Tiger was also pants-less I would not think twice about it. But she feels the need to cover up her areas. This is so confusing to me and I've spent some time googling it and found that other people have the same question.

5. While we're on the subject of children's programming, I think I'd have excluded Pete from going anywhere near the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse or its members years ago. He can. not. be. trusted. 

6. When Ellie wakes up from her nap we will be venturing out to HEB for groceries. Please tell me what to make for dinner this week because I'm scrolling through Pinterest and no food is catching my eye. I'm only pinning things like this:

Alrighty, folks, that's all she wrote for today. I'm glad to be back!

Jesus is Alive and Basketball is Over

Easter has always been one of my favorites. I love it because it's happy and church is always amazing and the weather is a little warmer and Jesus has risen, just as He said. 

This year was pretty low key which is also another perk of Easter. We woke up and Ellie opened her Easter baskets from us and another one her grandparents sent from Louisiana. 

She was pretty happy with all her little things.

Between us and all of her grandparents, Ellie got chocolate, candy, Frozen jewelry, bubbles, some Sofia keys, some coloring books, a Doc McStuffins stethoscope, a Frozen microphone, Elsa PJ's, and some clothes. I'm sure I'm missing a few things. She had a pretty good day.

We headed out to church and little Miss was bringing her Easter Sunday A-game:

I mean. 

I'd like to give a shout out to my sister Jaclyn (who is a Matilda Jane Clothing trunk keeper) (Trunk Keeper #615!) for hooking me up with darling little frocks like this one. I can't handle it. 

She was loving her beautiful dress and she loved all the Easter festivities.

After lunch we drove out to my parents' house to have lunch and let Ellie play with her cousins. My mom made macaroni and cheese and my dad made a ham and there were rolls involved and also cakes. My kind of meal. It was a really sweet, special day and I'm so thankful that we get to celebrate such a meaningful holiday. 

In other less important events, the basketball is finally over. Some of you on the blog Facebook page reminded me that basketball is over just in time for baseball to start. However, I feel like baseball doesn't take over the world like March Madness does and in general baseball doesn't make some of my favorite primetime TV shows to get bumped for weeks at a time. MY PRIMETIME TELEVISION IS WAY MORE IMPORTANT THAN BASKETBALL. THANK YOU. 

In other news, I am PUMPED today and looking out my window every 30 seconds to see if the UPS man has arrived. One of my all time favorite authors, and a New York Times bestselling one at that, has a NEW BOOK coming out today and based on my constant shipment tracking, it should arrive on my doorstep no later than 6pm!

Melanie Shankle's new book is about the power of friendship. Her memoirs about motherhood and marriage were amazing, and I'm so excited for her third novel about girlfriends. She hasn't disappointed me yet and I'm excited to dig into this book today:

Nobody's Cuter Than You by Melanie Shankle:

I can't wait to read it one or seven times. 

Happy Tuesday, ladies and gentlemen.

May your day be free of basketball and full of carbohydrates.

Parenting in a Social Media World

People! I need your help. Next week I'm speaking at a Parenting Conference (because clearly I'm an awesome parent) (Except not at all) on the topic of social media. While I know a lot about social media and used to have a business centered around it and I've read a lot of books on the subject, I don't have real world parenting experience as ELLIE IS TWO.

And while she does have quite the Instagram following, Ellie ain't hashtagging, if you know what I mean. 

While I will be spending a lot of time on safety and boundaries, I'll also be discussing how your kids can be using social media in a positive way. I've got lots of bullet points and practices, but while working on my presentation tonight, I've also realized how much I'd love to hear from parents that have been in the trenches, so to speak. 

So, here's what I am asking of you: if you're a parent that has one or many kids using social media, I'd like to know your highs and lows.

1. What is a negative thing you feel like social media is bringing to your child? What is something they are resistent to? A boundary that is being crossed? A topic you have to bring up again and again?

2. What is something positive your child has learned through social media? A good lesson? A changed perspective? Something helpful? Positive interactions? 

I'll be using some of your stories in my session. Share below in the comments or on the Facebook page. 

Thank you, you lovely, wonderful, awesome parenting people.