31 Things To Do Before 32

This time last year I was preparing for my 30th birthday and a trip to Vegas. I'll be 31 on Saturday and I cannot help but think about where I was last year. I remember being so excited about entering my 30s. Now that I'm entering the 31st chapter of my personal book I can say that everything I was told about 30 was true.

I feel more confident and inspired. I'm more open to the idea of new things. During my Flirty30 I accepted a lot of things that I resisted in my 20s. I decided to be more fearless and positive. Last year I experienced a freedom of peace knowing that I cannot always control everything. I spent my entire 20s trying to be in control and I plan to spend all of my 30s letting go.

In the blog world I saw many people doing the 30 Before 30 challenge. I thought it would be fun to give myself a list of things to experience this year. I'll call it my 31 Before 32. My goal here was to keep my list realistic and fun. You won't see any international trips for my family of four but you will see some little things that would make all the difference to me.

I love Birthdays because they are like your own personal New Year. (that's kind of exactly what they are actually...) I'm looking forward to completing the things on this list. Who knows, if I finish this with time to spare I might make another list. I have always wanted to become fluent in another language and I forgot to add my personal training certification to this list too. 

What do you think of this list? Have you tried one of these challenges? What would be on your list?

Happy Birthday Savannah...

Woot! Woot! It's time for a little family turn-up!

My baby girl turns four today!

I can not believe how fast time has passed. I feel like it was literally just five minutes ago that I was bringing her home from the hospital. Now she's a big girl.

This morning before school I made her the ever so popular "birthday pancakes". She loved them. We put a four candle in them and sang happy birthday before she went to school. She got to open one of her gifts from us - tickets to see the Fresh Beat Band. Her squeals were out of control.

I took Frozen themed cupcakes to her class. After school she'll try a gymnastics class before our evening family party. I can't wait! Saturday is her birthday party with friends. I'll share all the details on that after the celebration. She's having an "artsy" party.

These days my four year old is all about Disney princesses, bouncing and twirling and telling me the news of the day. She likes to pretend that she's on the news, it's funny. I should tape one of her stories for my YouTube channel….

I am so proud of the big girl that she's become. Just as sweet as can be...

BabyM Turns One (Photo Heavy)

On Father's Day weekend we celebrated BabyM's first birthday. We decided to make it a family affair by having a small low key party with just the four of us. I can not believe he is one already. Time truly does fly. I feel like I just had him yesterday.

I kept all of the decorations simple and easy. When Savannah turned one we were living near family and she had a huge party that hit our pockets deep. Call it second baby syndrome but I was more than happy to have this low cost family only party.

To add a special touch to his birthday I took his photos myself. This was my first time ever trying my hand at a real photo shoot. I think his pics turned out great. I was really happy with them. I now understand why you only get about 6-10 shots from a photographer, LOL! I edited the pics using picMonkey. Oh. And taking his pics made me want a DSLR even more. Maybe for Christmas?

During his one year well baby appointment the doctor was pretty pleased with how he's grown. Remember BabyM was born five weeks early?! Look at him now. So big and strong! He talks a lot and is standing up but hasn't decided to walk yet. If he's anything like his sister he'll wait until he's good and ready to walk which could be a couple months from now. (Savannah was 14 months when she decided to walk.)

Speaking of Savannah, here she is serving (and enjoying a lollipop). She has been such a great big sister this past year. She plays so well with her baby brother. Every now and then I do have to remind her to share but other than that I am so happy that she didn't put me through any of the nightmares I hear about toddlers reverting when a new baby comes home. Shout out to Sav for being such a big girl!

How do you think my pics turned out? Any photographers have tips for me?

30th Birthday Countdown: What I'm Wearing in Vegas

I have finally narrowed down my options for my trip to Vegas. I didn't want to spend a lot of money shopping before our trip. Mama wants to make sure she has money to spend in Vegas you know what I mean?

Just when I thought I was going to have buy one of the dresses I showed you before Jesus smiled down on me with a 50% off sale at Express. While checking out the sale I saw that they had restocked my initial birthday outfit that was previously sold out. So happy that I'll get to wear sequins on my birthday and it cost less than dinner for two at a Vegas buffet. Win.

Party Looks by thechicsahm featuring a blue dress

Now y'all know I love black. I have said that many many many times here on the blog. So it's no wonder that almost all of my night looks are black. I can't help it. To switch things up a bit I am taking this blue dress with me. It's cute, comfortable and it has an exposed back zipper which I love. I'll be pairing the leather skirt with a sheer black top. So cute and sexy. 

I have this whole strategy for packing and doing a carry-on bag. It can be done. (i hope) What do you think about these looks?

30th Birthday Countdown

While I was mopping the floor just now I realized that in about 93 days I will be thirty years old. I'm excited. Not even mad or dreading it. What I am struggling with though, is how to celebrate. My husband has thrown around a lot of different ideas about me possibly doing a girls weekend or a four day getaway with just the two of us.

I am so undecided. I can't even think of where I want to go. He seems to think that Vegas would be perfect. We could get direct flights and apparently Vegas has something to offer everyone. I have never been but from what I've seen it's gambling and a lot of partying. Which I'm cool with. Just not for four days. I want to leave this little getaway feeling refreshed and rested. If I'm in the club every night for four days I'll need a vacation from my vacation.

I want my Flirty 30 to be memorable, fun and exciting. Not exhausting.

So. Who's been to Vegas? What did you do other than club that you found to be very entertaining? I'm open to just about anything. 

The Beach vs. An Amusement Park

So here's the thing. My baby girl asked for a trip to the beach for her birthday. Of course the weekend that we're suppose to be frolicking in the sand and sun mother nature decides to call for a little rain. Now I'm stuck with trying to figure out a quick plan B. My husband has already taken off from work so there's a part of me that feels like we should just go and make the best of it.

I considered taking her to a local amusement park as a plan B. After calling and speaking to someone about their water park admission I learned that it would be $75 for our little family. Our general admission is free since active duty military get one free trip to the park this year. However, I just can't see spending $75 to go swimming.  Maybe I'm being cheap but I see that $75 as gas money to the beach. Round trip.

So in true Mommy fashion I have spent the day researching other activities for us just in case we get rained out. Hopefully the rain will provide cooler weather for the baby. One can only hope. Anyway, I will be doing laundry and packing for this getaway for the rest of the evening. I can't believe my baby girl will be three next week. Time flies. What is she going to want for her birthday when she's 16 if she's already asking for beach trips at three?

Hello September...

I can not believe it is already September. This is a very fun month for our family. I spent the majority of Labor Day weekend laying in bed fighting sinus pressure and shopping online. I got some great deals! Very excited about getting all those shipments this week. 

All of Savannah's activities start back up this month and I could not be more excited. It is going to feel so good to have a scheduled activity every day. We'll be out and about Tuesday thru Thursday. On Mondays and Fridays we'll do more "Preschool at Home" activities, run errands, clean and do whatever else the house needs. Savannah will also be turning three in a couple weeks. This year she wanted a trip to the beach for her birthday so we'll be having a family party/getaway. I'm not even mad or sad about her not wanting a party. That's one less thing for me to plan...

We'll probably at least have cake and ice cream with her girlfriends though, but that's it.

I've been trying to gather things for our beach trip and plan my outfits. I found a cute outfit on Pinterest that seemed really easy and comfy. Since it was repinned over 200 times I decided to recreate the look. Cute, right? Can't wait to share my finished look!

I also want to try something different with my hair. I'm not sure if I want to put in some marley twists or if I should invest in a good flat iron and wear my hair straight or blown out. I would really love to do the twists but from the reviews I've read they don't really last that long. We'll see.

I'm so ready for this much needed break. My husband's birthday is at the end of the month so we'll be celebrating all month long. As I've said before Fall is my favorite season. I'm looking forward to this season and all the changes that will come with it!