10 Confessions

Let's chat!  I haven't done a confessions post in ages.  If we were to meet up for coffee today, I'd have all kinds of random things to tell you and confess. I'd order something iced.  Probably an iced mocha drink. What would you order?

1 // I keep thinking we need a trampoline.  Kevin's not convinced.  Talk me into it or talk me out of it.  Also send me links if you have one you love.

2 // Everyone should have regular garage sales.  Or move and declutter often.  We had one in the Fall.  Just did one in the Spring and are planning to participate again in the Fall.  It's a ton of work, but it's good work that will give your house room to breath.  Closets and cabinets weren't meant to be bursting at the seams.  We still have plenty to purge (I'm talking to you craft closet and our bonus room) and it feels so good to make some extra cash and clear the clutter.  When is the last time you purged your house?

3 // Leo is a climbing crazy man.  He's tall enough now to climb onto the couches, get himself onto the kitchen table and he can't be trusted alone with this new level of mobility.  Isn't it funny that you kind of block out the hard phases of raising tiny humans?  Send bubble wrap asap.  Or a helmet.  Or both.

4 // Olive loved Spring basketball so much that she's wanting to sign up for Summer basketball.

Olive and Fletcher could do Summer tennis together, but they aren't convinced that's a good idea.  The only hesitation for me is the early morning start time.

5 // I love shopping at the Dollar Tree.  They've got great holiday items, candy selection, party supplies and you never know what you'll find there.  I picked up this darling cactus ring holder this week.  The quality is great.  I love having a spot to hang my rings.

6 // I burned my arm while I was baking bread for JBB orders over the weekend.  Leo moved quick and I went to block him.  I was successful at blocking him and my arm shows the proof.  Ouch!

7 // When we were at Wisconsin Dells, we were trying to find a table to claim to lay all of our stuff on.  There were stairs and separate seating areas that didn't mix well our stroller.  Kevin took the big kids and I went to find another way to get there that didn't involve stairs.  Kevin claimed a table and was getting settled.  I walked all the way around and was shocked to see Fletcher crying at the lifeguard station.  I ran over to see him fearing that he'd gotten hurt.  He was crying hard.  Wellllll it turns out he was lost and looking for US.  I felt terrible.  I assured the lifeguard I was his mom.  He vouched for me.  I hugged him and asked what happened.  He stayed with Kevin for a bit and then he followed someone who he thought was me to another area.  He then realized it wasn't me and that he was lost.  I was super proud of him for asking for help and I'm just thankful we were reunited quickly.  We all felt bad about the confusion and talked at length about sticking together, family meeting spots and how to ask an adult for help.

8 // We need to order a big load of mulch for our entire yard.  We should have done it last year, but new baby + COVID.  It needs to happen.  We planned 11 new perennial plants, need to plant all my pots and then the mulch will be the icing on the gardening cake.

9 // Olive just asked me.. "Mom, What does A$$ mean?  I heard it at school today and someone said it was a bad word."  oh gosh.  Big kids are a whole new ball game.

10 // I bought two cans of chalk paint, wax and brushes right before Leo was born.  I've got several things I want to paint, but I keep putting off all the projects.  I want to do them.  I just can't seem to get the ball rolling.

What's new with you??

Kindergarten Makes Me Cry

Well, we have reached the parenting milestone that seemed so far in the distance back in 2013 when they handed me a tiny bundle of a baby girl.  Olive is heading to Kindergarten in August.  She claims to have 600 butterflies in her stomach about it, but at last count it was down to 300.  We have about two weeks to clear out the last 300 butterflies.  Wish me luck!

She is ready.

She's smart.

She's feisty.

She's eager to learn and super curious about learning to read.

She hopes her teacher is much like Miss Honey.

I know she's going to love it and I'm so proud of her.

But, Kindergarten makes me cry.

Let me explain. 

We are 100% pumped over kindergarten and really selling it hard at home.

But, I am nervous about her making nice friends and her teacher really getting to know her with a class full of other kids.  New things make me anxious so I'm trying hard to figure out all the things before school starts.  She's starting a new school and I'm hoping I've prepared her well enough.

I'm reading kindergarten picture books with a lump in my throat.  I'm tearing up reading over the giant parent handbook for elementary school. I'm crying happy tears over supply lists and the idea of going shopping with her.  I promise her through teary eyes that I'll take her to and from school to avoid the scary school bus.  I teared up with pride during the school tour when she was so excited to see all of the cool spots she'd be learning.

I am really excited about her starting elementary school so there have been plenty of tears of JOY.  I taught elementary school for 9 years before Olive was born.  I taught 2nd and 3rd grade and know that these young elementary years are so much fun!  I can't wait to see all of the things she learns and does in her school.  I'm also hoping to be a really fun parent volunteer :)

I tear up when I think about just how fast these little years have gone by.  People kept saying they will fly by, but it was hard to notice the warp speed with all of the new things happening in our lives these past five years.  If you're home with little babies right now, go and snuggle them a little extra because they'll be heading off to school in the blink of an eye.

I know it'll be an adjustment for us - new routines, new bedtimes, new schedules and new independence.  I am excited to figure out a new routine with Fletcher.  It'll be fun to have some alone time with him.  I know he's going to miss his BFF, but I'm determined to fill our days with learning opportunities and fun while Olive is doing the same thing.  

So on the first day of school, You can bet that I'll be the mom sporting oversized sunnies with tears in my eyes waving goodbye at drop off. 

Am I alone?? 

Will you be teary eyed with me or eager to get your kids back into the school routine??

Does anyone else have an incoming kindergartner??
Let me know and I'll be praying for you, too!   

Coffee Date Confessions

I wish I could get together with all of you for coffee some morning.  If we were meeting for coffee, this would be the list of things to talk to you about.  Lots of random things, some questions and some confessions.  I'd meet you at my favorite local coffee spot.  I would probably order a skinny vanilla latte and a blueberry muffin. Let's chat.

I'm also signing off for the week!  We're heading out on a St Patrick's Day road trip for the next couple days to enjoy Kevin's spring break.   I'll be back here on Monday!  You can follow our adventures over on instagram @polkadottyplace

Coffee Questions:
1. Have you ever ordered shutters?  I'm in the market for some for our house and am in totally unfamiliar territory!!

2. Do you have any motion sickness remedies for kids??  BOTH of my kids have been getting carsick so easily lately.  Our car is stocked with a barf bucket, cleaning supplies and I think I should probably add in extra clothes.  Yuck.

3. All things Easter: What the thing you're most excited to put in your kid's Easter baskets?  What do you put inside the Easter eggs you hide for your kids?


Coffee Confessions:
1. I have never been tempted to buy any of the Rae Dunn stuff, until I saw her Easter line.  It's still not really my style, but the Easter stuff is pretty cute.  Are you a fan?

2. I always laugh when people say... let me be real or announce something they post is real life.  Does this mean their other stuff is fake??  I get what they're saying, but it just makes me laugh to hear this distinction.

3. I was checking out at the grocery store a couple weeks ago and this woman did a total double take when she walked by me.  She fumbled over her words, grabbed my arm and said, "Honey!  I thought you were Heather Tom from The Young and The Restless.  You look just like her."  She was bummed to know I didn't watch the show and encouraged me to go home investigate.  Made me laugh.

4. My kids turn into wild animals when we facetime.  They'll be quiet and calm before I make a call.  Then once a family member shows up on the screen they go nuts.  Someone usually ends up getting head butted, someone usually cries and everyone is LOUD.  Drives me crazy.

5. I've been looking for rocking chairs.  I'd love to have a pair for our deck.  I've also seen rocking chair benches.  Does this make me an old grandma??

6. My husband surprised me with an air fryer for Valentine's Day.  He was super excited about it, but I'm at a loss of what to do with it.  He thought it would be a fun kitchen appliance and I'm not convinced we needed it.  I kind of hurt his feelings with my lack of enthusiasm.  I apologized and we've kind of moved on.  We have made french fries and green beans that were all good.  Do you have any air fryer recipes to recommend??


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Confessions

I have lots of random things to share with you today.  Enjoy!

1. You will not find me wearing any of the following trends this Fall/Winter: open toed booties, torn hem jeans or purple lipstick.  They just aren't for me.  I don't find open toed shoes comfortable at all, I don't mind distressed denim, but the uneven hem bugs me and true purple lipstick just isn't a color I want to try to pull off.

2. Having sick kids is the most isolating thing.  You have to cancel all plans, skip school and barely leave the house for daysssss.  It really wears on you and then by the time your kids are finally recovering you end up with a version of whatever they had.  Thanks a lot, kids.

3. I just realized that neither of my kids really have jackets or winter coats this year.  Whoops.  Guess I need to do some shopping.

4. It feels so good to clean out your closets.  I've been purging all of my clothes, shoes and kid clothes.  It's fun to make a little money in the process, too.  I'm starting with selling my kids clothes to Once Upon a Child and my clothes to Style Encore.  I know they won't buy everything so now I'm trying to decide what to do with the leftovers.  Have you had any luck with any sites like Poshmark?

5. I've pulled more gray hairs this month than I care to count.  I made the mistake of telling Olive I found some white hairs.  Now she glances at my hair from time to time to point out some "whiteness".  She sure knows how to make a girl feel good.

6. I'm rarely the fun one in our family so it's nice to say YES to things like splashing in the puddles in our pjs.  I think I was a little stir crazy after several days of cabin fever.  The kids loved it.

7. I got a good haircut from Great Clips.  It was under $20.  I've had my share of terrible hair cuts over the years so my secret is to have the manager cut your hair when you go to places like Great Clips.  I've always been happy with the cuts they give.

8. Did you see that the Coach brand is changing their name to Tapestry?  I kind of hate it.  I haven't actually purchased a Coach item in years, but I loved their vintage stage coach emblem tags on several of my leather bags.

9. My secret to eating less sweets during the holidays:  Try to mostly bake and buy things you don't really care for.  My husband loves apple crisp, Snickerdoodles and anything cinnamony.  I'll eat all of that, but I don't crave it.  My kids love Dum Dums and Smarties.  I don't care for either.  So when I pick their favorite sweet treats for them I'm not that tempted to eat them.

10. Olive's current favorite song is Andy Grammer's Honey I'm Good.  It's a catchy song, but probably not the best 4 year old anthem.

11. Fletcher hasn't had a bottle in a couple of weeks and he's basically given up drinking milk.  He takes one sip from his sippy cups and shouts YUCK.  He'll drink water, but zero milk.  What should I do?  We've tried to give him milk in every sippy cup we have and even bought a new one for his milk.  He'll take a few sips, but not drink much.

12.I love decorating with pretty candles and have pretty logs in my fireplace, but I never burn either.  They're just for looks.  The only candles that I burn are the ones on birthday cakes.

Could you relate to any of my confessions??  Tell me a good confession in the comments.

Guilty Pleasures & Confessions

I have some random things to share with you today.  Favorites, confessions and silly stories.

Enjoy!

1. I confess that my current, favorite guilty pleasures are...
Shopping on Amazon
Mocha light iced coffee
Reading blogs
Getting ready all by myself in the morning
A quiet house at night after everyone goes to bed
DVRing shows like Southern Charm, Counting On and chick flicks
TJ Maxx
Anything Kate Spade
Thrifting
What do you love?

2. I can't handle when people insta story while DRIVING!!!  What in the world!?!  These sweet ladies are cruising down the road with kids in the car oftentimes and they're chatting away to their phone.  Not safe.  And it's not okay to say, Oh I'm going slow don't worry. or I'm just driving through a neighborhood, it's fine.  It's not.  Please don't drive and be on your phone.

3. I returned three dead plants to Wal-Mart this week and they acted like I was a weirdo.  They have a one year return policy so you better believe I'm returning those dead daisies.  I think something was wrong with them because everything else grew really well in that flower bed.  Do you ever return dead plants?

4. We were going through the Starbucks drive through the other day and the cashier had a prominent nose ring.  Olive could see it so when we pulled away she said, "I want one of those sparkly things in my nose!"

5.  Olive loves to take silly selfies with my phone.  Most of the time she asks to use my phone, but occasionally she will sneak and take pictures for me to find later.  I was putting her to bed the other night and she told me she had some surprise selfies for me to see.  As I was leaving her room, she said, "Will you please take a selfie of yourself and frame it for me so I can hang it in my room?" haha

6. We were shopping at Kohls and ran in for something quick.  Olive was being sweet and helpful as I looked for something for Fletcher.  She gets my attention and tells me to look at her.  I look over to see her with a PACI IN HER MOUTH!!  I about died and told her to spit it out immediately.  She was confused and I said that was someone else's paci!!  I told her it was germy and was gagging inside.  She shrugged it off and said, "Oh, I just thought it was for sale."  Yuck, yuck, yuck!!

7. I cried at the ending of Moana when she returns home to her parents.  I just love that movie!

8. I had a genius mom moment this week. Fletcher hasn't been sleeping great when we travel.  I don't require a ton of sleep, but his lack of sleep was stressing me.  So I packed one of his alphabet bed sheets that I have on his crib at home for our trip.  I put it on his packnplay when we arrived and he's sleeping like a CHAMPION!!  I'll be packing his sheets anytime we travel.

Tell me something funny that's happened to you lately!

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Confessions

It's been a few month since I did a confessions style post for you.  I figured it was time to tell you all of the random stories.

I went through our local donut shop drive through to pick up donuts the other day and it was a disaster.  I pulled up and ordered our usual - one cake donut with white icing and sprinkles and one cake donut with chocolate icing and sprinkles.  I was super clear and the woman said, "Great, that's exactly what we have left."  She put my donuts in a bag and said "$3.40"  It was double was I was expecting and so I asked if they'd changed their prices for 2 donuts.  She said she thought I asked for four.  So I paid the larger amount and said it was fine.  When I got home I had two strawberry sprinkle donuts and two chocolate sprinkle donuts.  We still ate them, but that's definitely not what we were expecting.  #notwhatiordered

We were grocery shopping at Kroger and Olive asked me, "What does M-O-M spell??"  She spotted a mom sign for Mother's day and I was sweetly surprised that she was spelling to me.  I told her it spelled mom and she was so proud of herself.  Now she tells me she's working on spelling and saying all kinds of random letters to make up words.  #itsadorable


I was cleaning out my diaper bag the other day and found a black BANANA PEEL in the bottom of my bag.  Gross!  So much for trying to eat healthier breakfast options.  Add this to the list of things I never thought would happen to me. #diaperbagdisaster


Southern Charm is still one of my very favorite reality shows.  I just can't get enough of Cam, Shep, Naomi and Patricia.  Are you a fan?

I picked up Fletcher's 1 year photo session cd and was making small talk with the shop owner.  He's always super nice.  He wrapped up our conversation by saying, "So when is your next one?"  I fumbled around and said, "Uhhh two kids keep us pretty busy." Then he realized the awkwardness, apologized and said he was talking about our next photo session.  #misunderstood

I regularly use the microwave door to check my hair or put on lipstick.  The reflection is perfect and it's easier than heading off to the bathroom.  I'm not sure if this makes me lazy or smart. #momhack

We can't be trusted with those giant bags of Skinny pop, Gardettos or Chex mix from Sams.  We devour them in no time and when I asked Olive which one we should buy she says ALL OF THEM!  I really should just stop strolling down the salty snack aisle. #bulksnacks

I'm working on making a great summer play list because I love to have a new one to kick off summer.   Spoiler alert: it'll be heavy on the country music per usual.   I'll likely download all the music and then burn an old fashioned cd for my car.  I know cds are a dying technology, but there's something great about having a stack of cds in the car. #oldschool

I've been working hard to check off all the necessary steps to update my teaching license.  I have a Utah license and am applying for an Indiana one so that I can return to teaching some day.  It's so much work, so many steps, expensive and really so much work.  Why does every step cost at least $40?  I'll be excited to wrap up this process and these phone calls ASAP. #teachlikeachampion


I bribe my kids with candy so I can make phone calls without them screaming in the background.
That being said, I rarely make phone calls unless I HAVE to.  I miss the days of picking up the phone to call a friend and catch up. #textonlyplease

I switched over the kid's closets to their Summer wardrobe.  Olive's been enjoying all the new dress options.  I put her in a cute floral dress and then at the end of the day realized I put it on her backwards.  So the cute buttons down the front were actually supposed to be buttons down the back. #momfail


I've been shopping for some new tops lately and it seems like every single top is cold shoulder or off the shoulder.  The tops are cute prints, but I think they are completely impractical for me.  I have no interested in wearing either while juggling kids to and from things all summer long.  No thanks.  What happened to short sleeves??  Have you found any cute summer shirts with sleeves??  If so, please tell me where. #givemesomesleevesplease

Do you have any good stories to tell me??

I'm all ears :)

Confessions

I always enjoy reading confession posts so I have some good stories for you today... Like the fact that I recently realized I had 13,000 pictures on my phone and it was time to clean house.  Basically I take a lot of pictures, upload them twice a week and never delete them off my phone.  Problem solved and I'm down to 5,000.

Our latest well check where the doctor walked in
and Olive shouted "Fletcher is going first!"
because she thought we were there for shots.
Sweet big sister moment #not

1. Kangaroo Pouches:

Kevin told me the other day:

I finally know why mama kangaroos have pouches.  I bet Fletcher wishes you had a pouch to carry him in all day long.  He'd be so happy to be so close to you all day long.

2. Messy Moment:

We were at Jimmy Johns having lunch over Christmas break.  We'd been shopping that morning and were ready to eat.  Fletcher was a little fussy when we sat down so we gave him a bottle.  He wanted out of his car seat so Kevin passed him over to me.  A few seconds later he made a funny face and then fire hose barfed all over me and behind us.  My jacket was covered, my diaper bag had to be wiped out and then my hubby and MIL did some serious mopping behind me.  I felt terrible that Fletcher got sick, terrible that we made such a mess and so we hurried home to take it easy.  Being a parent in public is embarrassing sometimes.  Luckily, the restaurant was pretty empty and we didn't make too big of a scene.

3. Large Heads Run in the Family.
We went to a faculty party for Kevin's department.  It started at our kid's bedtimes so we knew we couldn't stay long.  I was filling our plates and holding Fletcher.  Someone came up to say hello and went on to say that "He has the largest baby head I've ever seen!"  I wasn't sure what to say so I said nothing and smiled.  She followed up that comment with, "Well, You have a very large head, too, so I guess that's where he gets it from."  What do you even say to that??  So I just smiled and walked away.

4. Bible Character Sighting:

We were doing our weekly grocery shopping and we were passing an older couple in the freezer aisle.  They were both bundled up shopping in their hats, scarves and coats.  Olive saw them and said, "Look, Mom!  There's Mary and Joseph!"  I guess she's still got Christmas and the manger on her brain.

5. Attracting Strangers?
I've been putting food out for a random cat that showed up on our patio.  Olive lovingly named her Rainbow.  She shows up every morning and peeks in my kitchen window to say hello.  She's pretty sweet and is warming up.  Well apparently word has gotten out that I'm a sucker for feeding cats.  Kevin came home the other night and there were THREE cats on our patio, then there was a late night cat hissing fight over food and we had a raccoon peeking in our window a different night.  Kevin says I should knock it off, but I'm kind of enjoying the animal visitors.  Minus the opossum that came wandering through our backyard before Christmas.

6. Green Apple Skittles.
Green Skittles are now green apple flavored instead of lime and I LOVE THEM!  Normally red and purple are my favorite, but green is taking the lead.  Have you tried them yet??

7. Coffee Cups Anonymous:

I am almost 100% done unpacking boxes from our move.  I'm trying to find homes for things and reorganize our bonus room.  I ended up with three misc kitchen boxes and was shocked to see that two of them were full of coffee cups!!  My husband collects coffee cups and always picks them up when we travel to new places.  I sorted them into categories, need to find some new storage containers and will just have to rotate them out every so often.  I gently suggested we should maybe purge our collection.  Kevin said he was not interested in throwing out all those memories.  Guess we're keeping them.

8. January Christmas Ornaments:

I never got around to making salt dough ornaments at Christmas.  I really wanted to document Fletcher's little hand and foot print so we just made them last week.  Don't tell him that his special first Christmas ornaments were actually made a month late.  He'll never know - right??

Tell me a good story in the comments :)

10 Confessions

I have a long list of confessions to share with you today.  Let me know if you are in the same boat as me.  Things like... I didn't pull out my Wonder Weeks book with Fletcher until he was about 22 weeks old.  I love the book and think it's spot on most of the time, but I definitely was slow to read the appropriate chapters with baby #2. Sorry Fletcher.  I'll try to do better for the rest of the leap weeks.

1. I am not a fan of the open toed booties for Fall.  I just don't get them.  It's getting cold so why would you want your toes hanging out or your heels hanging out??  I also have never worn any open toed shoes that are comfortable.  They always rub blisters on my toes so I just can't envision them being comfortable.  I love regular booties and will definitely be wearing those, but you won't see me wearing open toed booties. Also, if you love them that's a-okay because obviously tons of people are loving them this season since my insta feed is bombarded with them every day.  They're just not for me :)

2. My birthday is two months away and I've already started a wish list of things I want.  The majority of the things on the list are for the house... Big clock, bench, curtains and a new pair of brown booties for me.

3. I went through my facebook feed this week and unfollowed several people.  I'm tired of certain people posting a million political ads/articles/commentary.  I found myself getting annoyed with all of the bashing, defending, he said, she said, read this and it will definitely change your mind on said candidate, ugliness.  When did it become unacceptable to have a conservative opinion? or an unpopular opinion?  It seems like many people today spend a lot of time hating on Republicans or Democrats instead of just agreeing to disagree.  Do people really think their facebook posts are going to influence voters one way or the other??  Doubtful.  My feed is much more pleasant to scroll through now.

4. I confess that I have never tried a Pumpkin Spice Latte and I don't really plan to unless someone buys me one.  I love caramel and mocha flavored drinks and just have a hard time wrapping my head around a pumpkin drink.  I love pumpkin everything else, but no thanks on the drink.

5. We are starting to do some Halloween costume shopping.  Olive keeps changing her mind... princess, pirate, train track, Batman and drink have been her ideas so far.  So we keep looking at costumes to see if one will strike her fancy and hopefully will be able to come up with a coordinating costume for little brother before October 31st.

6. I officially went up another half shoe size after having Fletcher.  I didn't think it was going to happen, but reality has set in and I've officially sorted through my shoes once again to see which ones still fit.  Hello size 9.5.  Am I alone in the growing shoe size post baby trend??  I hope not.

7. I admit that I have told Olive that grocery stores have a rule that little kids must ride in the cart.  It's crowded with Fletcher's car seat and Olive in the cart, but she's too quick to keep up with so the rule was born.  She rides like a queen with a snack and a drink being paraded through the toy aisle, seeing the fish tanks and helping me toss things into the cart.  So I don't really feel bad about my "rule", but she does see kids walking in the stores and tells me I need to remind them about the store rule.  haha

8. I've decided that I cannot be trusted around candy.  I love it too much. Gummy candies, salt water taffy, etc.  I want to live on a diet of gummy, sweet, candy treats.  So I can no longer buy the candy and lie to myself saying that it's for Olive or we will save it for our next road trip.  I end up eating most of it and I know I could find better things to snack on... carrots, apples or 

9. I loved this article from Apartment Therapy called What Happened to My Home When I Took a Month Off of Social Media  It was really interested what the author found herself doing with all of the free time she used to spend scrolling through her social media feeds.  It was very compelling and made me rethink how I want to spend my days... scrolling through social media feeds of other people's lives or living my own life making memories and enjoying moments with my family.  I'm definitely rethinking boundaries and establishing hours of the day where my phone is off limits for scrolling.  Do you have any rules for yourself and the time you spend on social media??

10.  I recently read Play with Fire by Bianca Juarez Olthoff.

I LOVED the book!  It was such a compelling, quick page turner.  It was nice to see how she related her personal struggles to the struggles of the characters of the Bible.  The parallels were spot on and she really makes the Bible stories come to life.  I found myself wanting to go and reread the Bible stories again.  I really enjoyed Olthoff's writing style and her voice made it feel like you were reading a book authored by your good friend.  She inspires you to want to surround yourself with a community of believers, to pray regularly and honestly and to be involved in ministry with the people at your church.  The book encourages you to evaluate things in your own life and makes you want to implement real changes.  I loved her message of the power of believing God was still mighty and powerful ready to help you through any situation you face.  He desires that we cry out to him and is eager to hear from us.  It was a great reminder of the personal nature of God and I loved her ties to biblical times and characters to reinforce the importance of the things she was saying.  I'd definitely recommend this book to anyone going through hard times, facing difficult circumstances or any friend that desires change.  They'd all really enjoy Play with Fire!!

*I was given the book to share my honest review of it from BookLook Bloggers. 

I also read One Small Donkey by Dandi Daley Mackall.  It was a cute board book telling the Christmas story from a small donkey's perspective.  I loved the idea that little ones can do big things for God, but wish the theme would have been more obvious throughout the book.  The wording of the text was a bit of a tongue twister and I don't think my toddler would have picked up the theme if I didn't continue to talk about it through the book.  The illustrations are darling and the book gives you lots to talk about with your children as Christmas is quickly approaching.
*I was given the book to share my honest review of it from BookLook Bloggers. 

Do you have any funny confessions for me today?  Nodding your head to any that I mentioned?  Or are you going to try to convince me to get on the open toe'd bootie train?!?!?

Confessions

 Lots of random confessions for you today...

Topher is naughty.  He loves to eat all kinds of things that are not food and then get sick.  It's his most annoying trait.  He loves the taste of roses and nibbles on my artificial plants.  I regularly text my sister and say that I'm putting him up for adoption.  I'm only kind of kidding.  How do you train a cat to stop eating things?

I was carrying Fletcher in his car seat through a crowded restaurant.  He's a solid 15lbs + car seat so it's a lot with the diaper bag.  I made my way through the place and headed to the door.  Some college guys were walking in and the last one stopped to hold the door open for me.  I thanked him and he said, "You're welcome M'am."  I instantly felt like an old lady.  Surely it hasn't been that many years since I was a college kid.

Olive is going through an extra bossy phase lately.  She's got strong opinions about everything and forgets to use her manners as she's shouting demands.  She was playing with my mother in law and Olive informed her that "You have to be obedient and do what I say" when she wasn't going along with Olive's plan.  I guess she's listening to what we are saying to her and has quickly learned to apply our rules to benefit her.

We went out to dinner the other night and I'm 99% sure that the only thing Olive ate was ketchup.  She's getting pickier and doesn't seem to eat as well when we are out to eat (unless it's Mexican food then she'll literally lick her plate)

I got caught throwing away Olive's art work recently.  She went to throw something away and saw it laying on top.  She said, "Dis is my art.  How'd that silly art get in there??"  I played dumb and hung it back up on the fridge.  Guess I need to bury that art work in the trash next time.

We moved to Indiana a year ago and I kept meaning to register to vote.  Well it never happened and I couldn't vote in the primary.  Turns out Indiana was important in the presidential race.  Now our governor is the VP candidate with Donald Trump so I got my act together and registered to vote.  Glad that's taken care of so I'll be ready when November rolls around.

I have been meaning to get my hair cut, well really trimmed, for a while now.  It's been too long and I haven't had a cut since last summer.  Over a year.  Yikes!  I have had a string of bad haircuts over the last few years and it's a lot of work to find someone you like to cut your hair when you move to a new city every single year.  So I keep putting it off.  Oh and I am not about to take the kids with me during the day so I need to A. find somewhere to get my hair cut and B. plan to get my hair cut when Kevin can hang out with the kids.  Wish me luck.

I never had any gray hairs before having kids.  The more kids I have the more gray hairs I find.  Bummer.  I've never colored my hair so I'm feeling anxious knowing that the time is coming to figure out the world of hair color because I have no plans of going gray in my 30s.  I also had to buy inserts for my shoes last week because my heels were hurting.  I'm getting old :)

I wish money grew on trees and I could just go to Lowes and pick out new appliances :)  We have a new washer and dryer that we got last year and bought a microwave a few months ago.  I'd love a new dishwasher, stove and fridge, but we'll just have to wait and replace them as needed.  Too many house projects and too little money.

We had big plans to swim often, meet up with friends and do lots of fun things this summer.  I feel like our house and moving has taken up all of our free time for June & July.  So that means we've got to pack a lot of fun stuff into August to make up for super productive months prior to that.

Several times lately Fletcher has been crying in public like at the dinner table when we're out to eat and neighboring tables have leaned over to see what all the fuss is about.  They smile and say just how precious he is.  He's bright red and screaming his head off.  I'm sweating and trying my best to calm him before he ruins someone's dinner.  It's hard to see the situation as precious, but I appreciate their nice comments vs please get your baby under control comments.

I love helping people decorate their homes.  I really enjoy picking out home decor, shopping for rugs, curtains and pulling a room together.  My in laws are working on putting the finishing touches on their condo in Florida so I had fun helping pick out things for their place.  We picked out new place mats, table runners, items to style the shelves with and art for the walls.  Olive photo bombed about half of these pictures.  I'll give you a little tour.  I'm not a huge fan of overly beachy decorated places so I think this once feels vacationy without shoving shells down your throat

 

Do you have any good stories or confessions for me today??

Confessions

It's been a while since I wrote out some silly confessions for you.  I keep a running list on my phone and add to it when sometimes silly/embarrassing or funny happens.  Enjoy a few laughs...

1. We were walking into the hospital last week for an appointment.  Fletcher was in his stroller and I was holding Olive's hand.  A man walked in ahead of us and he was wearing a dark suit, tie and had blonde hair.  Olive shouted, "MAMA DATS DONALD TRUMP!"  I started laughing and said that wasn't Mr. Trump, but she could not be deterred.  As we got closer, she kept saying, "DAT REALLY IS DONALD TRUMP!"  The man just smiled at her and she keeps talking about the day we saw Donald at the hospital.  I guess she's paying closer attention to the presidential race than I realized.

2.  I confess that I've hit the full blown awkward phase of my wardrobe.  I need to rotate my clothes out for spring/summer, but none of those clothes fit well.  My maternity clothes are too big and baggy and my regular clothes are uncomfortable.  What's a girl to do??  Head to Old Navy and buy things that fit her right now.  I feel good in them and am excited to get dressed.  I'd call that a win.

3. Kevin told me the other day that I was doing much better with a boy than he expected I might.  I clearly wasn't thrilled with that comment so he tried to fix what he said by saying I dote on Fletcher, am so sweet with him and am a really great boy mom.  I guess he was expecting something different??  He insists he meant this all as a compliment so I think we need to revisit the definition of a compliment.  I continue to tease him about this one.

4. We've had a constant flow of family and friends to our house since Fletcher was born.  Many have come with gifts for Olive as well as something for Fletcher.  I am really appreciative of how generous everyone has been, but Olive has been conditioned to think that guests = presents.  She has started asking guests, "Do you have any presents?" when they walk in the door.  So that's nice and awkward and hard to explain that not everyone is coming over with gifts from now on.  Toddler logic is a funny thing.

5. Olive loved Sheriff Callie for months so I started collecting things for a Sheriff Callie party for her.  She's recently decided Sheriff Callie is out and Princess Sophia is in.  She likes to dress up as Sheriff Callie and lasso horses, but Princess Sophia is her favorite.  Almost three years old is such a cute stage of life (most of the time) where her imagination is running wild.  I just love listening to her play and the story lines that she makes up.  So I've been returning the cute things I found and hurrying to snatch up all the cute purple/princess things I can find.  It's working out well, but she definitely threw her planer mama a curve ball.

6. I was rushing to get out the door the other day and hurrying Olive along.  She was taking her sweet time and running from me when I tried to get her to put on her boots.  I got serious and told her I wasn't joking around.  She paused and said, "Why you so mad Mama?"  I burst out laughing and eased up a bit.  We got out the door and she was a good reminder that I needed to take a chill pill.

7. Our vet was making conversation with me at one of our recent kitty appointments.  She was due to have a boy any day and was asking me about Fletcher.  He was swaddled in his Fletcher blanket so she asked me if his name was Fletcher... I wasn't sure what to say other than ummmm yes.  Wouldn't that be funny to have your kiddo wrapped up in a name blanket that wasn't their name??

8. Olive was eating strawberries and watching cartoons.  She wasn't paying much attention to her berries as she ate.  She ended up eating the entire berry - stem and all.  I hear her spatting out her food saying "Dat tastes like DIRT!"  Dat is not my favorite part!"  Then she got back to eating the berry part of her berries.

9. Olive's beloved last paci broke last week.  She knew it was her last one and took it surprisingly well.  She has been a paci loving girl since she was about six weeks old.  She put it in her drawer and keeps checking on it as if it would magically fix itself.  She knows that my dad fixes things and is really handy so she keeps telling me that we can just ask Papaw to fix it for her or that I can just buy her some new ones for her birthday.  That won't be happening, but I did feel a little sentimental about an end of an era ending.  

10. I confess that my current favorite shows are The Voice, Southern Charm, Chrisley Knows Best, The Profit and Trisha's Southern Charm cooking show.  I get excited to see any of them pop up on my DVR especially when a certain little man insists on being wide awake from 12-2:30am most nights.  Good time to catch up on my shows while I try to convince him sleeping is a good thing.

Linking up for Confessions with Sparkles and Lattes

Please tell me something funny that's happened to you recently :)

Confessions

I've got a pretty random list of confessions and random stories for you today...

1. I snapped this picture of Olive when we were waiting for a church service to start.  They didn't have a childcare program during this service so she came in with us.  I was looking back at it and it totally looks like my bare belly is hanging out in church!!!!  I love this picture of her, but let me assure you that my belly stays covered and this is an awkward angle of my ARM.  #nobellyshirtsinchurch

2. We went to brunch with my MIL at IHOP and she arrived before us.  She requested a booth because she knows it's easier to contain a busy toddler in a booth.  So we all go to sit down and I realize that I don't fit in the booth.  My belly was completely squished!  I figured I'd just move the table or go to the other side.  Turns out I couldn't fit on that side either so we had to ask for a new table.  So embarrassing or funny since I know I'm carrying a big baby boy.  I just laughed it off and waited for a roomier seat. #makewayforthebelly

3. I was offered a sample of those uncrustable sandwiches at Sams last week.  I am not usually a pb&j kind of girl, but I went ahead and took it because it was lunch time.  I ate it and LOVED it!  So much so that I contemplated buying a giant box of them from Sams.  Not sure if that's the pregnant girl cravings talking or if they're really that good.  Ever had one - I've almost picked them up several times in the freezer section?? #weirdcraving

4. I had to sit in the waiting room at my OB's office for 3.5 hours a few weeks ago thanks to a long glucose test and I ended up overhearing the strangest conversations.  It's a small room so you couldn't help but be in the middle of them.  I'm a pretty quiet, reserved person so I was surprised at the things people were announcing to the world.
Girl #1 tells her friend that she's really going to have to quit smoking now that she's pregnant.  It's going to be really hard on her because the longest she's ever stopped smoking was the time she spent in jail.
Girl #2 announces to the whole room that she's starving because it's her period week.
Girl #3 comes out of the restroom and I'm standing there waiting in line.  She loudly says that's all pee she could squeeze out so if they needed more she'd have to come back and add more to it. #TMI

5. I read with Olive every day and I got caught skipping pages.  She loves some books that are a little long or wordy so I was giving her the clif notes version.  She stopped and said, "No Mama!  Where's the night part?" I guess I'd skipped over a few of her favorite pictures!  #busted

6. We were getting groceries the other day and Olive asked for a sucker.  I unwrapped the Dum Dum, handed it to her and she almost immediately dropped it on the concrete floor.  She hadn't licked it yet, so I quickly picked it up, blew it off and handed it to her to eat.  It was my last sucker and I knew it would keep her happy for a while.  Maybe I should restock my sucker stash so we don't have this gross scenario again??  #ewwwww

7. I bought a nice make up brush for my powder foundation.  I usually only buy inexpensive ELF brushes and have never really given much thought to cleaning them.  If they started looking bad, I'd just replace them.  So I don't really want to do that with a $30 brush, but I'm clueless as to how to clean them.  How do you clean your nice make up brushes!?!? #helppppp

8.  Olive is obsessed with her stuffed animals.  She has been requesting that she sleeps with all of them and then she tucks them into the crib bumper.  Sometimes Oliver hides in the middle of the animals hoping he'll be safe from her grabby hands. #smartkitty

9.  We've been furniture shopping for sofas and a coffee table recently and it's a pretty exhausting thing to do with a toddler and me being 37 weeks pregnant.  We sit on lots of sofas trying to find the perfect combo of pretty & comfy.  More like we each take turns sitting on couches and the other one follows Olive around the store.  She took advantage of us being distracted with a sales associate and started rearranging price tag tents that were set up on sofas, tables and everything nearby.  She was pretty proud of her work, and I was less than thrilled to try to sort out her mess.  We haven't bought new sofas in 12 years so I'm excited to pick some out even if the process wears me out a bit! #worthit

10. I've been cursed with fever blisters for almost my whole life.  I remember a picture from kindergarten field trip to the pumpkin patch and I'm sporting fever blisters while holding my pumpkin.  I haven't gotten many lately, but one popped up last week.  Olive kept telling me something was on my face and offering to get me a napkin.  I reassured her hourly that it was an ouchie and not something I could wipe off.  She eventually told me, "Go to the doctor Mama so she can fix your face."  #thanks

I'll end with a little bloggy business item for you:  

I'm going to be taking a little bloggy maternity leave for the month of April.  

We'll be adjusting to life with a new baby and moving so it seemed like the perfect time to step back for a few weeks.  I've lined up some WONDERFUL guest bloggers for the month and hope to check in with a photo dump type of post on Tuesdays.  They'll be sharing all of their favorite things about little boys so I hope you'll enjoy getting some ideas for your sons, nephews, cousins, friend's, or students.  I'll be back to my regularly scheduled blogging routine in May.  You can always keep up with me on instagram @ polkadottyplace.

  

Please tell me you can relate or at least share a confession of your own :)

Linking up with Thoughts on Thursdays & Confessional Thursday

Confessions

I have a few random things to confess to you today.

Let's see if you can relate to any of them.

1. We live ridiculously close to the train tracks in our new city.  Thankfully, we're just renting.  We did know the train tracks were there, but were assured that they weren't frequented and trains came through just a few times a week.  Well, those were big fat lies and trains come through 6-7 times a day - really loud, really fast and at all hours of the day and night.  We've all adjusted, but it's kind of ridiculous.  Olive and I were both enjoying some quiet reading time when a train came through our living room or at least that's what it felt like.  Her face says it all...

2. Someone asked me my due date the other day so I told them it was early April.  They said, "Really?  I'm surprised you've still got that long to go."  AKA She was saying you're looking huuuuuuuge... thanks :(

3. I went in for a routine doctor check up last week.  They did the usual intake - weight, blood pressure & urine sample.  Then I waited for 90 minutes in a packed waiting room.  There was no sign of me ever getting called back in the near future and Kevin was missing work to stay home with Olive.  I usually just wait things out, but that day I went up to the receptionist and told her I'd have to reschedule my appointment because I couldn't wait any more.  We just scheduled my next appointment for two weeks away and said I'd call if I had any issues before then.  It felt super good to stand up for myself and hurry home so Kevin could get to work.

4. I'm terrible about getting to bed before midnight.  It's usually 12:15/12:30 when we finally crawl into bed and my Olive alarm clock goes off way too early.  So I've imposed an 11:00 bedtime that we're trying to stick to.  I'm hoping we'll all feel more well rested and it'll be a change we can stick with.

5. Olive is getting better and better at talking on the phone.  When I call home, she'll get on the phone and say I MISS YOU SO MUCH MAMA.  I LUB YOU.  HURRY HOME.  She'll answer questions and can have a conversation.  She's quickly approaching 3 and it's such a cute age (most of the time).

6. We made plans to get take out for Valentine's Day and have dinner at home.  Then we got lots of snow and my hubby wasn't feeling well so we opted to just eat at home and postpone our dinner plans.  I fixed a frozen pizza and fruit.  Kevin tried to be sweet and put the bouquet of flowers on the table for our dinner.  Olive was not having it and did not want the flowers on the table.  She was throwing a big fit and then knocked the whole vase over as we were setting the table.  She ended up in time out three times during our "romantic" dinner at home.  Parenting isn't so romantic sometimes.  Thankfully we all recovered in time to have some funfetti cupcakes for dessert.

7. We're getting really close to closing a deal on a new house and it's kind of overwhelming to add up the cost of inspections, appraisals, and other misc costs.  Add in the cost of things that you'd like to buy to furnish your new house and I am really wishing money grew on trees.

8. Taking toddlers shopping is always an adventure.  Sometimes I've got a dream baby on my hands and other times I question my sanity.  We were in Meijer last week and stopped in the restroom when we first got there.  I usually try to avoid public restrooms when I've got Olive with me, but this pregnant lady had to make a pit stop.  We walked into a crowded restroom that wasn't very fresh smelling.  Olive shouted, "MAMA, IT MELLS HORRIBLE IN HERE!"  I tried to shush her and hurry into a stall.  Then she was handing me toilet paper and ended up on all fours peeking under the stall saying hello to the lady beside us.  All I could do was finish up as quick as possible and head out to do our shopping.

9. Putting on my pants, shoes and socks has become a chore at 32 weeks pregnant.  I try to coax my toddler into helping me by bringing me my shoes, but it only works about half the time.

10. My hubby saw a commercial for The Bachelor and said, "Is that show still on??"  We don't watch it and are obviously behind the times.  I have been watching American Idol's last season which does feel behind the times and haven't been that impressed.  I like the judges, but the show just seems boring.  Bring on The Voice in February.  

11. I DVR'd the newest Grey's Anatomy, but haven't been able to bring myself to watch it.  I am not really in any hurry to watch Meredith get assaulted.  Anyone else??  Maybe I'll just skip it and watch the aftermath tonight.

12. My favorite candy in the world are Jolly Rancher chews.  They come in 5 flavors, are deliciously chewy and taste just like jolly ranchers.  I'm embarrassed to say how many bags I've consumed over the years and they are our go to road trip candy.  Well it looks as though they've been DISCONTINUED because I can't find them anywhere - nooooooooo!!  I just checked amazon and am seriously considering buying some overpriced bags to hoard.

13. Few things make me feel older than watching the Grammys.  I DVR'd them because I knew I'd likely want to fast forward through large chunks of the show.  I enjoyed the performances by: Taylor Swift, Sam Hunt, Carrie Underwood and was happy to see them win.  I was confused by odd outfits, strange songs and artists I'd never heard of winning awards.  Good thing I didn't try to endure the show in real time otherwise it would have been a long night.

Do you have any good stories to share with me?

Linking up with Party at My Place
Jess @ The Newly today for Confessional Thursday
& Thoughts for Thursday

Random Ramblings

I have a whole lot of random things to share with you today...

// Olive dreams of being a future jockey.  She eagerly jumps on every horse toy she sees.  I get the urge to have an allergy attack when I even think about a future of horse riding for her.  I hate to burst her bubble, but I think she's going to be far too tall for that.

// My husband informed me that the latest college girl uniform is YOGA PANTS and that he thinks none of them actually do yoga in their yoga pants.

// I keep seeing the comment Bye Felicia or other Felicia related statements.  What is this from and what am I missing because I don't get it?

// I'm tired of hearing about the red cups at Starbucks this year.  I thought they were boring and a little too plain for my taste, but I don't base any of my beliefs or life decisions on my coffee container.

// I found Olive "cleaning" the bathroom mirror and Lord knows what else with my TOOTHBRUSH this week!  She was so proud of the watery mess saying, "I cleaning mama!  So pretty!"  I promptly tossed my cookies toothbrush, got out a new one and hid it from her reach.  #howlonghasthisbeenhappening

// My husband is the king of getting bad haircuts.  He hates to pay more than $20 for a cut, jumps on any chance to use a haircut coupon and as a result often comes home hanging his head with a botched haircut.  I used to blame it on the fact that he wore glasses and was nearly blind when he took them off to get his hair cut.  Now that he's had vision surgery, he really has no excuse.  He's got very fine, very straight hair, with several cowlicks and is often baffling stylists.  He'll give them some direction and then they just start cutting away.  He isn't thrilled, but doesn't know how to tell them to fix it.  Then he comes home and asks me to fix it.  I have zero hair cutting skills so this never ends well.  This week he came home with a great haircut and was so proud of himself.  Thank you Jesus for Ashley!  She did a great job, he remembered to ask her name and has plans to return only to her.  Dare I say we've turned a hair cutting corner??  

// We went to lunch with my parents and I excused myself to use the restroom before we left.  Olive announced to the waitress, "Mommy went potty."  No secret is safe with her these days.

// Olive's favorite song to sing along with and dance to is Maroon 5's Sugar - does that make me a bad mom?  Or does the fact that she bust out in full on dance moves to anything Meghan Trainor sings?  We never listen to Ms. Trainor, but Olive likes her style.

// I've started scoping out boy bedding options and why does every boy bedding retailer have 6 boy options and 60 girl options?  I never realized the discrepancy until I started shopping for my little boy.  Hmmm I'm going to have to get creative, but you better believe his nursery will be perfect :)

// A couple times a week Olive and I will stop in to see Kevin at work.  We don't get out of the car, we just call and see if he's available to come down and say hello.  Sometimes we bring a little snack or a treat to spice up his days.  The other day I gave him a kiss goodbye and one of his co-workers shouts out I caught you smooching!  My face turned BRIGHT red and I was so embarrassed.  So much for PDA.

// Olive and I were shopping at Sams picking up our produce for the week (along with a soft pretzel and ice water).  We finished our shopping and were checking out.  Olive insisted on holding our cup of water (no lid) and I got distracted with the whole check out process.  I hear a crash/splash and then Olive says Whoops Accent Mama!  Accent = accident and I look over to see a puddle of watery ice everywhere.  Our cashier starts to clean up.  I have nothing to help out.  The manager comes over to help.  I scold myself for letting her keep the cup.  She tells everyone, "Thanks for cleaning up my accent.  Thanks nice lady."  It was cute, kind of.

// Have you heard Alanis Morissette's updated Ironic lyrics?  They are hilarious 

Tell me a good story or a funny update in the comments :)