Five on Friday

Good Morning!  So five things that are on my mind today....(in no particular order)

1.  New TV favorites
So before the TV shows came back for the fall, the hubs and I were searching for something to watch after we finished catching up on "Parks and Rec" (that show is HA-Larious).  We had heard a lot of good things about the show "The League" but I was hesitant because I am not a big sports fan, and especially football.  But boy was I mistaken (you were right Colleen)!!!

Source

It is so wrong on so many levels, but we crack up at every episode.  So if you are looking for a show to enjoy with your hubby, try this one out.  You won't be sorry!!

2.and old TV favorites keeping it fresh....
This is the last season for one of our all time favorite shows, "How I Met your Mother".  We jumped on the bandwagon of this show about four years ago and we LOVE it.

Source

I was a little unsure that the show would be able to sustain the comedy in their last season, but if the first episode is any indication, this show still has it!  I can't wait to see how it all unfolds.

3. Christmas
Yep, that's right.  Christmas preparations are underway at our house.  Over the past couple of years, we have found that if we start sooner than it is easier on us financially.  But free is always best, so I lucked out when I logged into my Pampers Rewards program and was rewarded with free address labels from Shutterfly!  Score!  I'm almost out of our everyday labels and I thought it would cute to have some for the holidays.  I haven't picked out our cards yet, so I just went with a simple scheme for the labels.

Shutterfly

4. My second happy place
So some of you may know that Walt Disney World with my family is MY HAPPY PLACE, but my second happy place would have to be the beach.  Normally I am not a huge fan of the beach in the off season, because everything cold and closed seems depressing to me.  But with our house in Brigantine, that isn't the case.  The town is more year round than tourist, so we can enjoy it all year long.  And we plan on it!  Over the next couple of months our plan is to head down  for our anniversary, my birthday and New Years!  WOOOHOOO!!!!

5.  Fashion Challenge(d)
I am admittedly fashion challenged for myself.  I have ideas, but I don't know how to implement it.  So I like to funnel my fashion side into Maggie.  But sometimes I'm not sure what to dress her in on any given day.  Enter the #fallministyle on IG hosted by Aliya Rinaldi and AP.

I don't know if I'll be a super stickler about this, but it will be helpful to have some suggestions as to what to put Mags in. 

Hope you're having a great day!!!

I like to plan and I cannot lie....

Hola!  Hope you're having a terrific Thurday!!

So I am a planner.  I am a far in advance planner.  Much to my husband's chagrin.  Sometimes I am aware that my over-planning can get annoying.  Basically, I want to be in control of as much as humanly possible and try to foresee any and all problems.  You know, cause that's possible....

But my planning makes me feel less chaotic, and that my friends helps me sleep at night.  And I am working on being a lot less neurotic about it....For everyone's sanity....LOL

So what have I been planning lately??
We've had Mag's Halloween costume since June....(they had a sale and we gave it to her for her birthday)

Yep, Mags is going to be Aurora for Halloween!  She chose it herself and I am so excited because Sleeping Beauty is my fave (I swear I did not sway her decision!!!).

So now that Halloween is taken care of, what do we plan next?  Christmas of course!  And since I got burned Maggie's first Christmas and waited too long to get the dress I loved for her, I have already picked out (will purchase VERY soon) her official Christmas dress.

Yep, Carter's does it again!  I love plaid, especially for Christmas and I think Mags will look adorable in this!!

So see, my planning can be a good thing!  LOL

Do you like to plan?  Anyone as much as me??
Hope you're having a great day!! 
   

Monday Monday

Hey guys! Hope everyone is having a great Monday!

Things are going pretty good over here.  We had a pretty fun weekend.  Saturday was pretty relaxed.  We didn't have dance because the school was closed.  What's that you say?  What dance am I referring to?  Oh nothing big, we just have a prima ballerina in training over here.....LOL

  

So the story of this pic.  We left for dance and I had Mags dressed in her "street" clothes, because I thought she should change at the dance studio.  But unfortunately, we got lost and we were late for the class, so I was only able to put on her ballet slippers before the class.  So I got the one pic of her in the class, and when we got home I had to put her in the outfit and get a good pic!  Oh my, what a mess!  But Mags loves the class and we are happy to have this opportunity.  

So back to this weekend.  We did some errands on Saturday and Maggie looked too cool for school...

Then on Sunday we went apple picking.  We never got around to doing this in the past, so we were excited to try it.  We got about 6lbs of apples and fun was had by all!

 

I have a little slideshow of all the pics from the day on Instagram, but I have no idea how to upload that here.  So just follow me on Instagram (@sbetteridge)! 

Hope you had a great weekend!

Hi

So this time, I have a legitimate excuse for my absence. July 6th, I got a late night call that my grandfather had had a massive heart attack.  An hour later, we found out that he had passed away.

I've mentioned my Grandaddy a few times on the blog and talked about how much fun we had celebrating his 80th party last year, here.

Grandaddy saying the dinner blessing at our wedding, and making me cry with his sweet words (and the fact that he was choked up)

Grandaddy and I at the beach, a place that we both really loved

Grandaddy meeting Mags for the first time*

*I just found out from my Grandmommy that Grandaddy was really upset that he wasn't there to meet Mags in the hospital.  He had been golfing and Grandmommy wasn't sure that he wanted to be interrupted, but he told her he had  He made sure that they came up the next week, because he couldn't wait to meet Maggie.  This is her sucking her thumb for the first time and after that she settled in for a nice long nap on Grandaddy.

My Grandaddy was so much more to me than the traditional grandfather and I am still really upset at his passing. So, that's all I'm going to say about that for now.  Still pretty raw....

On that note, I'm going to sign off for tonight.  But I hope to be back soon to talk about some lighter things....
Hope you're having a great day!    

Top 5 books of 2013, so far....

Hello there!  Hope you're having a great day!
Since we're about halfway through the year, and I have already read 30 books (cray, I know), I thought I would list my top 5 books so far.  That way at the end of the year I can see if I still feel that way.  Genius, I know....LOL
Just to clarify, these are just books that I read this year.  They may have actually come out this year or a few years ago. 

5.  Out of My Mind   Sharon Draper

This is the story of a young girl who is limited by her physical disabilities and is written off as unable to learn, until she is given a speech device that proves that she is not mentally disabled at all.  This book is so heart wrenching because you are pulling for Melody to show everyone how intelligent she is and you want her to be heard.  Quite an eye opening book about people with disabilities.

4.  The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes   Diane Chamberlain

 

This book is about a woman who gets swept up into a crazy situation that leaves her raising a child that is not her own.  The woman changes her identity in an attempt to run from the truth of what happened to the child's mother and her part in it.

3.  Thirteen Reasons Why    Jay Asher

This book has a really interesting format, because it tells the story of why a young girl committed suicide, but it is told mostly in flashbacks, which are prompted by cassette tapes the girl made before she killed herself.  She sends the tapes to the people that she believes were involved in the situation leading up to her suicide, but the boy who is relating them to us doesn't understand his role.  It was interesting to see how unfold.

2.  The 5th Wave   Rick Yancey


This book was first "alien encounter" book.  I've never really been into the Sci-fi genre, but I heard such great things about this book, I decided to give it a go.  And I was not disappointed.  This book is about an alien invasion that takes out the majority of humanity.  We follow Cassie as she tries to survive and save her younger brother.  

And my number one book...

1.  Amy and Roger's Epic Detour     Morgan Matson

This book is amazing!  It is a great road trip story with a dash of past tragedy and romance.  Since it's a road trip, the character Roger creates a playlist of songs for each leg of the drive.  I thought this was so cool and then I checked Spotify just to see, and someone had actually recreated it.  It was so cool to read the book and listen to the music as I read along.

So that's it!  My top 5 so far this year.  What are you reading? And what have been your faves so far this year?

Birthday/Disney

Hello!  Happy Friday!
So I hate to sound like a broken record, but with our return trip to Disney this year, this summer is once again, (just about) all about getting ready for the trip and getting excited.  And also, every summer is special for us now, since we have a very special lady to celebrate!

Therefore, I present more talk about Maggie's 3rd birthday and DISNEY!!!!  LOL

So as I said on Wednesday we are doing a bunch of things for Mag's birthday, but we don't have super definite party plans and no real theme.  And honestly, I would be hard pressed to pick one thing that my girl is crazy about, because honestly, she gets excited about EVERYTHING.  Ever since she saw "Dumbo" she's had quite thing for elephants, and all "zoo" animals.  Then she started watching "Dinosaur Train" and that has turned into a growing interest in all things dinosaur.  She really loves the "How do Dinosaurs....?" series, I really recommend it if you have a dino fan.  And then there are the Disney princesses, who she has really gotten more interested in this year.  We will surely be meeting them this year!

I debated for awhile about what type of outfit I wanted for her birthday.  I decided that even though the birthday parties aren't solidified, I could get her something special to wear for her day.  This is something that I have done every year so far, and this is a tradition that I would like to continue for as long as she lets me....LOL

1st Birthday

2nd birthday

Like I said, I debated what to do this year....She likes the Disney princesses, but she already did the super girly, tutu getup her first year.  Elephants are cute, but she already has a couple elephant shirts.  With those eliminated, Dinosaurs it is!  I found a really cute shop on Etsy, and I love how her birthday shirt turned out!

Shirt from: Bowadacious Baby

To complete the outfit I'm thinking a cute skirt or some ruffle shorts.  I have a few options coming in the mail from Children's Place.  But man, did I struggle to find something that I liked!  I looked in all my normal stores that I love, Carter's, Old Navy, Kohl's and completely struck out.  Children's place actually had a few things, so we shall see.

Soon to the Disney.  Not too much to report on that front.  We have everything booked, including restaurant reservations and stroller rentals. Today, I'm sharing what I'm planning for our countdown. 

Last year I created a calendar to countdown the days.

It was fun to make and exciting to use, but this year I'm trying something different.

This year I'm going to make a chain garland, with black, red and yellow rings. Something like this...

More info here

I think this will be a little easier for Mags to understand than a calendar, and it will be fun to rip the links off everyday.  Since we are leaving on a Thursday, I decided to make it 35 day countdown and start it next Thursday (wow, I can't believe we're going so soon!!!).  I'll post a pic as soon as I put it together!

That's it for now.  Hope you have a great weekend!!

So What Wednesday!

Today I am saying So What....

-to the fact that tomorrow is the 4th of July, and we aren't doing a blessed thing!  Normally we head over to the in-laws for a cookout or head down to the beach.  But this year, we decided to have our beach weekend last weekend, and the in-laws actually head down to the beach tonight, so they won't be in town.  And Brian has to work on Friday, so it will be just a relaxing, low key day.  No parades or fireworks either, we don't want to deal with all the hassle, so family time it is!!

 

-to the fact that Maggie's birthday is 24 days away and there are no definite birthday party plans and therefore no theme.  For the past two years, I have started planning Magster's birthday about six months out, and I was all about the theme.  The 1st birthday was cupcake/princess.  The 2nd birthday was Mickey/Sesame Street.  This year I asked Mags what she wanted her birthday to be (hard to explain what a "theme" is) and she replied:  cake, balloons and birthday hats.  So that's what the girl's getting!!!

Next weekend we're heading down to Grammy and Poppy's for the weekend, and we're probably heading to the Baltimore Zoo, since Little Miss has quite a love for animals, especially elephants, and the Baltimore Zoo is the closest one with elephants.

Then for her actual birthday, which falls on a Saturday this year, we are heading down to Brigantine with Nana & PopPop.  Most that side of the family will be there for the weekend, and we will celebrate down there!

And with MeeMaw and PPaw, our plans are still up in the air, because Uncle Bray has a bunch of lacrosse tournaments and college visits this summer, but we'll do something maybe over labor day.

As for us, we have a few presents for Mags, but we're keeping it simple.  I took her out yesterday to a special kid's salon and she got a fun haircut in a Barbie jeep, with sparkly clips and her nails painted for the first time.

 

Then over the next two weeks, we have swim lessons every morning.  And let's not forget Disney in 43 days.... 

-to the fact that I didn't read my 100 pages for the #30dayread, yesterday, I only read 71 pages and could not stay up to read 29 more.  That's ok, because I am ahead in the challenge, and I am SUPER ahead in my yearly challenge.  I challenged myself to read 30 books this year, and as of Monday, I completed that challenge, so I've upped the challenge to 40 books.  If I keep up my current pace, I'm probably going to have to up that challenge too! 

From this past Saturday at the beach....Oh what I wouldn't give to be sitting on this porch right now.

Summer time

Hi there! So it's officially summer...

Now don't get me wrong, I'm not a summer hater.  I enjoy the beach (duh), I like the warmer weather (NOT the humidity), I like the party atmosphere that accompanies it and of course, I have a summer girl for a daughter, so I have to embrace it (let's not discuss the fact that her 3rd birthday is less than a month away, I may cry).

So this year, no bucket list, but we have quite a bit on our plate.  There's the beach, community fairs, swim lessons, birthday parties for Mags...one of them AT the beach, a mini-vacay also at the beach and then Disney.

The trend there, if you didn't catch it, is...THE BEACH!  And this time last year I would have slightly cringed at all the beach time.  Not for me, but for the Magster.  This time last year, she was a staunch beach HATER.  She did not enjoy the sand and would not go anywhere near the ocean.  I have to say it broke my heart a little because I have always loved the beach and wanted to be able to share that with my children.  But I understood that some children are just sensitive to some things and basically, your child is an individual and may not like the same things you....shocking, I know.

Two weekends ago, we headed down to the beach at my mom's in OCMD.  Mags talked about walking on the sand and swimming, but I wasn't convinced that she really had any idea what she was talking about.  And then this happened....

 

Oh and then she did this.....

 

THAT my friends is official beach babe status.  We'll see if it was a one time deal as we head down to the beach this weekend.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed that my beach baby is here to stay!!

Hope you have a great weekend!

Oh and another thing.....

WE'RE HEADING BACK TO DISNEY IN 55 DAYS!!!!

Trust me, I am as shocked as you. Right after we got back last year, I have to admit we almost immediately started talking about when/if we would be able to go back.  We weren't sure what would happen, but after the New Year, Brian's grandmother started talking about going back in 2014.  We started looking at schedules and trying to decide which would be the best for us crowd wise and Vacation Club points-wise.  We considered January (but Brian couldn't take anymore time off), March (but the points were really high then) and finally decided that August would be our best bet again.  So it was in motion that we would heading down NEXT August.

 

Well then some family things transpired, that aren't really worth mentioning, Brian's grandmother (MomMom) got a bee in her bonnet, and a couple of Fridays ago I got a call from her at 10 am. 
"I just booked Disney for us this August." 
"Oh that's great, when are you guys going? (thinking she's referring to her and Pop)" 
"When does Brian have off between camp and school?" 
"UUUUUHHHHHHH, let me check".  I check his calendar and they work with the dates she's booked.

So it's official.  We're heading down in mid-August, staying at the Saratoga Springs Resort, and we're going to the parks for 5 days (one more day than last year).  It was all very sudden, but we couldn't be happier!  I feel so lucky and blessed! 

The countdown I started on my phone

Have a great weekend everyone!!
    

June Reading Challenge

Hello all!  Stopping in with some book news.  I've decided to attempt a reading challenge for the next thirty days.  The YouTube 30 day Reading challenge started yesterday, and the parameters are to read a BOOK a day.  Yea, that's not happening here.
Instead, I am going to challenge myself to read 100 pages a day/3,000 pages in 30 days.  I wouldn't say that I have an average page read count per day, normally.  Some days I read whole books, and other days I don't read at all.  But I almost always watch tv everyday (brain rot, I know). So the plan is to encourage me to replace some tube time with reading.

And here are the books I plan to accomplish this challenge with....

Vampire Academy   Richelle Mead (352 pages...300 pages to read)

I started this over the weekend, but I plan on finishing this up with this challenge.  And I'm not sure what page I am on, I can't figure it out on my Nook, but I think I have about 300 pages left....

Me Before You Jojo Moyes (339 pages)

Cinder  Marissa Meyers (280 pages)

Eleanor & Park   Rainbow Rowell (252 pages)

The Ocean at the End of the Lane  Neil Gaiman (143 pages)

The Selection   Kiera Cass (225 pages)

The 5th Wave  Rick Yancey (454 pages)

Catherine   April Lindner (320 pages)

Clockwork Angel  Cassandra Clare (512 pages)

The Edge of Never  J.A. Redmerski (353 pages)

So that's the plan.  It's a little over 3,000 pages, but I think I can do it....we shall see.
Anyone else want to join?  I think this will be fun!