Nadine

Does anyone else look at the calendar from November through the end of December and think….whoa. How do we cram so much in to two months?? But, it is also my favorite time of year, so I don’t really mind one bit! It is just a little overwhelming at the start of it.

This weekend was a full one, and kicked it off Saturday when we met Laura and her crew at Ferus Ales for lunch. We enjoyed some delicious appetizers of pork belly, cuban egg rolls, fries and wings. For the main course, I had a burger that had beer cheese and onion rings. DELICIOUS!!!! I tried a Key Lime Gose from Westbrook and blueberry sour that was wonderful as well.

Trying to take pictures of the kids is quite hilarious. This is the best we could do. How sweet are they holding hands???

And Laura reminded me that we haven’t taken a picture together in almost three years. That is unacceptable! So that happened too!

Saturday evening we watched Auburn squeak by Old Miss, and I got some stuff done around the house. Zoe and I took a cold walk outside to see our neighbors Christmas display. Their blow up Monster went down the same day the Santa went up. Zoe is obsessed with going down there every night to say hi, not matter how dark or cold it is. I think we are going to have to decorate outside this year to keep her happy!

Sunday morning, I met my sister at Aldi to do some grocery shopping. We also made a trip to Lowe’s, Target and TJ Maxx. I love that all the Christmas stuff is getting put out! It is my favorite section of the store to walk through. I know some people bitch about rushing the holidays, but honestly, Thanksgiving and Christmas are one BIG holiday for me. They both bring so much togetherness and joy…why delay that? If it isn’t your thing, don’t look at it and let the rest of us be happy!

I have been meaning to get my empties posts done, I have had these pictures sitting since August. So you know that empties bag is full again! I grouped them up for a few different posts, and today I wanted to focus on foundations!

IT CC Cream – This one I have a love/hate relationship with. I really want to love it, it does give full coverage for a CC cream. It is more like a foundation to me. But, it never settles into my skin, it rubs off on everything. And I hate the lemon-y smell that it has. I used it all up, but I wont be repurchasing. I like the Lancome Skin Feels Good so much more.

Lancome Tient Idole Ultra Wear – I really love this foundation, have been a fan for a long time. This is great for those who are looking for full coverage and want something that is a little bit of a lighter feeling on the skin. I usually rotate between this and Estee Lauder Double Wear.

Estee Lauder Double Wear – This is my ultimate holy grail foundation. I absolutely love it! This is true full coverage, and it looks best when applied with a beauty blender. (I always use the Real Techniques one.) It holds up to the Alabama heat and humidity all summer long. This is my favorite, with the Lancome one closely behind. When my skin is really dry in the winter, sometimes the Lancome one is a little more forgiving.

Tatcha Eye Serum– I had a deluxe sample of this, and it was alright. Nothing really to write home about. I don’t think it is worth the price and will not purchase.

Elf Lip Scrub – This is $4, and it works like it is $4. I didn’t really care for it, and will not purchase again.

Avene Eye Cream– This stuff was alright, but again, nothing to write home about. This is less than $30, so it isn’t a terrible price for eye cream. I just don’t really think it is worth it, I wont be purchasing it.

Bobby Brown Long Wear Cream Eye Shadow – I really liked this eye cream. I had it in the color stone and repurchased it. I will say, I like the Charlotte Tilbury Cream Shadow in Marie Antoinette more. It has more depth and gives you a whole “look” over a solid color of the Bobby Brown stick.

Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair – I have used this on and off over the years. I really like it, but it is a bit pricey. I tend to really only use it now when I get a sample in a free gift pack when I buy the foundation.

Urban Decay All Nighter Makeup Setting Spray – This is the best setting spray I have used, and have gone through multiple bottles. Love it!

Have you used any of these? What is your holy grail foundation and eye cream??

This month has been in overdrive, flying down the road like it is driving something stolen. Time, time is what was stolen! I seriously cannot believe it is Halloween week! It is insanity!

Things have been busy at work, and around the house, and at school and dance and everything else. When that happens, I have a lot of empty intentions. I mean to get posts done, and then two weeks go by and I have a ton of pictures in email that haven’t gone anywhere. And the house isn’t so clean. The laundry piles up. I am trying to play catch up this week on all the things, before it gets even crazier!

Anyways, about two weeks ago, Chris and I were invited to the soft opening of a new brewery! Ferus officially opened last week, so anyone can go taste the delicious sour beers and have a tasty item off the menu now! They were tapped out of the peach apricot sour, but I enjoyed the blackberry gose! It was so delicious! And so pretty!!!

We ordered off the appetizer menu, because snacks are life. We got fried deviled eggs, cuban egg rolls, cheese curds and wings. (I am not a fan of wings, just the boneless variety, so I left those up to Chris.) Everything was delicious! It was really cool inside too, but I failed to take any pictures of the building. Next time!

That weekend, we also took the front bar off Zoe’s crib to turn it into a toddler “big girl” bed. I cried removing those screws and taking the rail down to the garage. Such a big milestone! Zoe has been potty trained for the past month now, and we need to be able to let her get out of bed at night if needed now. So exciting, but also, makes me so sad how fast time is going!

And we painted our pumpkin that we got from the pumpkin patch! Zoe turned it into a girl monster.

This past weekend, I got my hair done and we went to the fall festival. It was a lot of fun!!! Zoe was so excited to get to wear her Belle costume out. I love that we found a Mrs Potts purse, Beast mirror and Belle shoes to go with it! We had the perfect bow to match the dress too!

This morning, Zoe had a dentist appointment, so we leisurely got ready this morning and strolled around Target after before taking her to school. She did well and has some pretty shiny teeth!

We have one more Halloween party at school on Thursday, and then it will be time to focus on Thanksgiving and Christmas! And Zoe’s birthday!!! She wants to have a princess party this year, so I have been gathering up allllll the princess things. I can’t believe we are planning her third birthday!!!

I follow someone on Instagram, and she posted in her stories about this hateful comment she got on her Youtube channel. She had posted a day in her life video and some troll slammed her saying ” Omg this is so depessing..It is daycare! Not school. I’m sure she will have sweet memories of a frantic mother running around and not being present. “

I know the comment wasn’t about me, obviously. But it sure stung.

Words cannot describe how irate comments like that make me. First of all, when we refer to daycare/preschool in our house, we say school. Because Zoe is learning there. She is learning social skills, potty training, the alphabet, numbers, songs, motor skills, sharing, art….everything. I don’t care if it is “daycare” or “preschool” or whatever you want to refer to it as.

The fact of the matter is, we are a dual income household, and therefore, our daughter attends preschool full time. That doesn’t mean I love her any less than a stay at home mom. She loves her school and gets excited about going. She has amazing teachers who love her and teach her things in different ways than I do. I feel like it only helps her more, as she is learning many different styles of learning and teaching. She has so many friends there, and watching their relationships grow is the sweetest thing.

Also, I instantly felt shamed. Am I a terrible mother??? Because here is a bit of raw, honest truth. Pretty much every morning I am running around like a frantic lunatic trying to get out the door and to work on time. Have you ever tried waking a toddler??? They are like teenagers. Zoe tells me to go away, pulls her blanket over her head and ignores me. Stiffens her body so I cant even pick her up. And have you ever tried to get an opinionated toddler dressed? I swear she takes longer than me to pick out an outfit! And don’t get me started on the shoes. Dear Lord, send help! It takes about 25 minutes just to get Zoe pottied, dressed, and sort of ready to head out the door. And she has to walk down the stairs one step at a time, while asking me important life questions and getting philosophical on me. All the while, I am saying things like, come on…lets keep walking on down.

Inevitably, I lose my temper some mornings and raise my voice. And Zoe raises hers right back with “Don’t yell at me, mommy!!! You’re not my best friend anymore!” And I can tell instantly that I have hurt her feelings. And I feel like shit.

I am sharing all of this to say, I see you working mom. Hell, even if you aren’t a mom, but maybe you get frustrated with your spouse in the morning when you are heading out the door and you aren’t as nice to them as you should have been. Or you fuss at your dog because they don’t do their business fast enough out in the back yard. I see you. I am you. We are all human, and life will wear on you.

The thing is, work is still going to be there when you get there. It isn’t going anywhere. Regardless if you screamed at your toddler or you laughed with her and sang a silly song while fixing her hair, you are still going to get there at the same time. Probably faster, because epic meltdowns take way longer than if you would have just let them go at their own pace to get that last shoe on, am I right?!?!

So next time you feel your patience running thin in the morning, instead of completely losing your cool, take a breath. Remember that mornings are hard, and your little one is just doing the best they can to get ready for the day. It is their day too. It is their day too. Let the phrase sink in for a moment. I know I will from now on.

Hey hey Friday! Is it just me, or are we cruising at high speed through the month of October??? I feel like the calendar just turned over, and now we are nearing the end! I still need to watch Hocus Pocus all the way through at least once. I have started it at least twice, but got distracted by adulting and didn’t get all the way through.

It is Tennessee Hate Week for Bama. Our game is at 8:00 pm. Let’s see if I can hang!

Loving: Zoe’s school pictures came in. How sweet are these???

The other night she was asking me if I still had my makeup on, and I told her I had washed it off so we could go to bed. She said, when I am older I want to wear makeup. I said, “You are already so pretty, you don’t need makeup.” She replied with, “But I want to be like you mommy.” OMG! That might have been one of the sweetest moments ever.

Reading: Midnight Clear by Mary Kay Andrews , I love this series!!!

Listening: Chris and I love watching “the best” of the voice auditions on Youtube on a Friday night with a glass of wine. We discovered Sam Perry a week ago, and I cant stop listening. He is incredible! So not your typical audition, a true artist. I want everyone to know about him, because I am going to need him to come to the US to tour! I am too old for most live events, but for this guy, I will make an exception!

Cooking: These sriracha turkey meatballs are on regular rotation at our house. Usually whip up a batch every few weeks. Delicious!!! And taste great as leftovers too! I know I have shared them before, but need to remind you to make them!

Working: I have started tracking my food in MyFitnessPal again. I have a love hate relationship with tracking. I HATE tracking, but it works. I think twice about any snack I have, or the extra cheese I don’t need on my chili, or the empty calories that is a coffee from SB or DD.

I had some success on Weight Watchers last year, and I think it is a great program. However, the month they rolled out that kids plan??? That is the month I cancelled my subscription immediately. I just cant get behind that company anymore.

I am hoping to keep myself on track and motivated with MFP, and am putting it out here for everyone to see to hold myself accountable.

Planning: I have been pouring over paint colors lately. What is your favorite gray for all over? I read a lot of good things about Agreeable Gray from Sherman Williams. Anyone have it? Whats the best? I want it to look gray, not like blue or purple or any weird undertone.

Excited: The holiday season is quickly approaching, and I just know it is going to be so fun this year!!! Zoe is at that age where everything is exciting and magical to her. She absolutely LOVED the pumpkin patch. She is obsessed with the blow up monster our neighbors have in their yard down the street, and she cant wait to wear her Belle dress to her school and dance Halloween parties.

Can you imagine how much more fun Christmas is going to be??? She already talks about Santa, and despite all of my bitching about Elf on a Shelf before I had a kid, and how I swore I wasn’t going to get roped into it….I think I want to do it this year. Even though she doesn’t know anything about it and I could technically get away without it for at least this year. I just think waking up and looking for the Elf each morning would rock her world. I want her to look back on her childhood, and remember how much fun we tried to make each holiday for her.

Laughing: