{WINNER} - Grace Adele Giveaway

Congratulations to HOPE IN VIRGINIA! 

You were randomly selected to receive ONE Grace Adele bag and ONE Grace Adele clutch of YOUR CHOICE!
(see exclusions below). 

I just know you are going to LOVE the stylish and organized bags of Grace Adele. 

You can start shopping at https://suzannebanks.graceadele.us.   Just email me with your choices or if you have any questions.  My email is located under the "Contact Me" section on the website. 

P.S. - It's great timing because the NEW Fall/Winter products will be available starting tomorrow, August 1st!  Spring/Summer items are available as supplies last.

Giveaway prize excludes the following items from the Spring/Summer catalog:  Laney and Bella leather bags and clutches.  And, the following items from the Fall/Winter catalog:  Carly and Taylor leather bags and Paige and Quinn leather clutches.  Total prize amount limited to $120. 

I'm Raising Magic Mike

My husband and I like music.  We aren't die hard concert go'ers but we do like a good diddy now and then. 

When the kids were babies and as they moved into toddlerhood, we started having Dance Parties in our living room.  At first, it was songs that my husband and I like because the kids didn't know any better.  As they've gotten older, they suddenly have musical prowess and recognize "good" songs from "bad" songs.

They have inherited my old 3G iPhone and have mastered how to turn on the songs they like.

You know, the "REALLY" good songs like.....

Mambo #5. 

Oh yes.  Mambo #5 is Chris' jam. 

The other night, he turned it on and at first, he started doing the typical toddleresque dance of jumping, waving his hands and generally just being off beat.

And, then something happened.  He became the male version of Elaine Benis. 

You know what I'm talkin' 'bout, right?

Body parts were moving at times they didn't need to be moving and he started throwing his leg out and rolling his fists in circles.

And, then it happened.  He pulled down his pants and started spanking his ass.

I was so torn.  I laughed and then I didn't want to.  It was funny yet completely inappropriate. 

And, then he danced over to me and asked, "Do you like that"?

I went to my wallet and gave him a dollar bill.

Taking Credit Where Credit is Doo {Doo}

I've been meaning to post this story for awhile but I think the comic value far outweighs the timeliness. 

Back in the late winter months, the kids were well on their way to potty training.  They had the "pee pee" part down, at least.  They were at the point of wearing underwear during the day but we still had some work to do in the "poopy" department. 

One evening, Christopher announced he needed to go.  This was a BIG deal because we caught him stealing Pull Ups so he could hide, take OFF his underwear, put a Pull Up on and proceed with his biz-ness.  And, then he would announce that he went potty.  Nice, kid.  Real nice.

Anyway, I stayed nearby in the kitchen and he announced he was done and hopped off the potty.  I quickly walked in, saw he did a little somethin' somethin' and proceeded to reward him with 2 M&M's. 

Kendall then decided she wanted to try and quickly hopped on the potty.

A few minutes later, she emerged from the bathroom and announced that she too had gone poopy.  This was a BIG deal because she had yet to successfully "do the deed".

I proudly walked in and inspected the potty.  Now, I'm no Super Detective but it did not appear to me that any extra kids had been dropped in the pool, if ya know what I mean.

"Kendall, did you go poopy"?
"Yes, mommy".
"So, what you're tellin' me is that this poopy right here is your poopy"?
"Yep.  Can I have my treats"?

Seriously?!  She just took credit for Chris' shit!

Yep, my girl has a bright future in the corporate world.

A Larger Plan

Every once in awhile the past creeps in like the fog on a cool autumn night.  Things are clear and bright and then all of the sudden, it turns gray and blurred.

I think about the What If's on our journey to parenthood.  If you've followed my blog for any period of time, you know I had an ectopic pregnancy in October, 2007.   .

There are still a lot of "What If's" that float around in my head. 

What If that pregnancy had been viable?
Was it a boy or girl?
What would he/she have become?
Would he/she be an only child?

The loss of that pregnancy left a scar from the surgery that healed but the scar on my heart has taken much, much longer. My life would be much different now if that path was the road we stayed on

In the end, it lit a fire that caused me to push the pursuit of IVF.  I sometimes ask my husband if he thinks about the ectopic pregnancy and how different our lives might have been.  He always replies, "Yes, but we wouldn't have the twins if it didn't happen".

And, I guess that's true.  The IVF testing revealed an underactive thyroid, which was partially responsible for our difficulties in getting pregnant to begin with. 

Regulating my TSH levels was required before we could begin IVF.  That 6 months provided time for me to obtain coverage through my health insurance.  We couldn't have afforded it otherwise.

It took 3 tries to get pregnant with the twins.  And, then we were blessed with not only twins but a boy AND a girl. 

And, then just like that, my ability to have more children was taken away during their delivery.  Emergency hysterectomy. 

What If I had a normal delivery?   Would we have tried for more kids?

I remember when we were going through everything, I thought to myself that none of it made sense.  I kept asking why God would bless us with a child only to take it away.

When the underactive thyroid was diagnosed, I wasn't relieved.  It was one more thing that was wrong with me.

When the first 2 IVF cycles failed, it seemed like more torture and the loss of the ectopic stung even more.   Would that be my only experience with pregnancy?  Would that be the closest that I ever get?

And then we were blessed with a pregnancy.  Twins. 

And, suddenly it made sense.  All of it made sense. 

God Has A Great Plan For You.  Trust Him.

Settling into Summer

Now that all of the sickies have gone away, we're settling into summer quite nicely. 

The weather in our area has been up and down.  Rain for several days so we're nice and soggy and then sunny and hot, like summer should be. 

This year, I decided to expand our outdoor living space and we purchased a gazebo for our deck.  The deck gets full sun from morning to night and it's impossible to sit out there without shade.  We had a nice table with an umbrella but it just didn't do the trick. 

We have loved having "picnics" at dinnertime and just enjoying some family time in the evenings. 

We've taken a few trips to our neighborhood pool.  It's within walking distance so it's nice because the kids always get bored after an hour anyway. 

We've stayed cool in our blow up pool.  Sometimes, it's just easier. 

We've planted some flowers and watched them grow.  We have basil and rosemary this year as well. 

We spent a quiet 4th of July at home and relaxed with neighbors and friends. 

We have our beach trip planned for the end of July.  Due to my husband's lack of employment for that period of time, we couldn't splurge on a beach house this year so we're just spending an extended weekend at my mom's.  I'm really looking forward to it because it's the first time my side of the family will be together since my sister moved back in January. 

Looking forward to making many more summertime memories with the kids!