Sunday afternoon, Mother’s Day, I found out news that made my heart sink, and then just hurt. On what should be a day full of love and happiness for all mothers; my best friend from high school was having the furthest thing from a good Mother’s Day. At just 10 months old her son went to be with God. Her 1st and only child died on Mother’s Day 2012.

All I know is that at 4am Sunday morning he was in the hospital and not doing well. I was in total shock when I found this out. I can only imagine the pain she is going through right now. I know there is nothing I or anyone can say or do to lighten this pain, but I really wish there were. She now lives in Chicago and I live in Memphis so we aren’t as close as we once were, but I still love and adore her as much as I did when we spending our days gossiping about cute boys and going to friday night football games.

For all those parents, soon-to-be parents, and one day parents remember that everyday with your child(ren) is a blessing. Even the days when you  are at your whit’s end and are ready to give up….that day is a blessing too. The next time you are ready to pull chunks of your hair out because little Johnny just put foil in the microwave just to see the pretty “fireworks” remember, it’s just a microwave. People have lived thousands of years without them and still do to this day. But I bet you can’t find a single mother that’s lost a child and doesn’t grieve everyday, and would gladly live without that silly microwave, over the loss of her precious angel.

This news has changed the way I look at my little boy. I already loved him to the ends of the earth, but having something like this hit so close to home has really opened my eyes to the possibility that everyday could be the last day I spend with Grayson. So, go hug your babies, big and small, and smother them with slobbery kisses. And don’t forget to just sit and soak up all the sweetness and love they have to offer.

P.S. – I know I didn’t give my friend’s name or her son’s name, but would you please keep them in your prayers. Pray that her and her husband’s hearts receive some relief from this pain and sorrow soon, and that they find the strength each day to keep moving forward.

For Mother’s Day I mentioned that Grayson and I made my mom a succulent terrarium, and I’m back with a little How-To on that bad maam ma-jamma.

For me, this project was decently inexpensive because I had most of the supplies on hand. Here’s what you’ll need…

• glass jar (I picked mine up at Target for $5.99)
• rubbing alcohol (if you decide to add a chalkboard label)
• chalkboard paint
• chalk
• small paint brush

• small rocks for drainage
• carbon
• potting soil
• succulent plant

Start by having your handsome assistant add a layer of small rocks that cover the bottom of your container. (a 1/2 inch should be fine for a small scale project like this)

Next add your layer of carbon. (1/4 of an inch)

Then you will need to begin adding your soil. Don’t add too much before adding your plant because the roots will need to go somewhere and you don’t want your plant sticking out the top of your container. In terrariums, the plants are typically planted below the brim of your container. They are not ment to fully crest the top like a typical potted plant.

I didn’t take photos while planting my succulent, because it was just too darn messy, and honestly….I forgot.

If you want to add a little chalkboard sign to the outside you will need to wipe down the surface you plan to paint with rubbing alcohol, and let it dry. I wanted my sign to be imperfect so I just slapped on a few layers of paint (according to the instructions, of course), and let it dry overnight.

I let Gray draw his Oma a little picture instead of writing anything on it.

It turned out super cute, and my Mom loved it. Anyone else make or get any spectacular Mother’s Day presents this year?

My Mother’s Day was started off by my boys waking me up and smothering me with kisses and a present. Grayson and Derek made me a super cute little card.

“Grayson” signed his name. My almost 21 month old is a total genius! I’m sure he had absolutely NO help from his daddy. Looks like he inherited my poor penmanship though.

(Anyone else notice the “a” is written backwards? Hehe!)

For my gift, my boys actually got me two things. One of them I got a few weeks early, because Derek someone couldn’t wait. This the gift he couldn’t wait to give me…

Now do you see why he was so impatient? Yep, because he wanted to play with it himself. It’s the New iPad, and I love it. So does Grayson…under supervision, of course. Wanna know the best think about this puppy? All we paid for it was $87. That’s right. Your eyes aren’t playing tricks on you. You didn’t forget how to read. I said we paid $87 for a new iPad.

We are constantly trying to save, especially if we ever want to move out of this house, so spending $500+ on a “unneeded” piece of technology just wasn’t in our budget. However, we do have a credit card that you earn points on and redeem for gift cards or other items. (I don’t think it’s the wisest thing to share with the whole world what kind of CC we own/use. I use to work with CC fraud back when I was working and it’s nothing to mess around with.)  Sorry, back to the card. We earn points, sometimes double or triple points, every time we use our CC. And since we only use our CC and never a debit/check card we rack up some serious pointage. We’ve been saving our points for quite a while now and were able to cash them out for Best Buy gift cards that just about paid for this new toy of mine. Woop! Woop!

My second gift was this adorable mug Derek (and Grayson) made for me on Shutterfly. I made one for Derek a few months back, just because, and he felt that I needed one too. Good thinking, sweetie!  I like surprising him with random little gifts from time-to-time just to let him know that I’m thinking about him.

Yes, my child thinks he’s British, and calls me “Muma or Mum.” It’s the strangest thing.

This is a photo of me holding Grayson for the first time. Love.

After church, Derek cooked us an amazing lunch, Gray and I napped, then we headed over to my parents house for dinner with my Mom. My little sister is quite the cook and treated my Mom to a day of meals cooked from scratch, and we got to join in on the yumminess. Score!

Here’s my little dude chillin’ on the couch, and messing with the remote. Playing with my parents’ TV remote and car keys are two of his favorite activities when he goes over there.

He looks so old here. He’s really growing up fast these days. He’s loosing every ounce of that babyish look he had and turning into a little boy. I can’t take it! I’m constantly telling him to “be a tiny baby again, pleeeease!”

For Mother’s Day Gray and I made my mom (Oma…that’s what Gray calls her) a terrarium for her office at work. She has a big window that brings in lots of light, so I thought this would be perfect.

I used some chalkboard paint to make a small area on the front that you can write something. I decided to let Grayson draw his Oma a little something instead.

Derek’s parents were out of town visiting his grandmother, so we wished her a happy Mother’s Day via phone. I hope everyone enjoyed their Mother’s Day. Wether you are a mom or not. I know I did. Although, I did have a nasty sinus headache pretty much the whole day.

P.S. – I’ll be back later this week with a how-to on the easy little terrarium Gray and I whipped up for Mother’s Day.

Remember last week when I told you about the gender reveal party I threw from my friends? Well, I’m back to tell you about how it all went down. For those of you who saw the post last week and were left hanging; have you figured it out yet? Did you scroll down and cheat? Cheater-Cheater Pumpkin Eater. For Shame! Ahhh….just kiddidng. I totally would have.

Megan and Justin brought their adorable daughter Lyla. You met her the other day. The party started and everyone played with the baby. People gathered outside since it was such a beautiful afternoon, and Derek got to cooking the burgers and hotdogs.

And here are the proud parents-to-be keeping it nothing but classy.

After we ate it was time for some team photos. Here’s the two teams…

It’s kinda funny, Team Girl was composed mainly of men, and Team Boy was made mostly of the ladies.

And here we go…

We Skyped in Rachel’s sister and nephew for the big reveal.

IT’S A BOY!!!!!

Here they are trying to show the world the gender of that tiny little baby and Rachel can’t balance the mustache on her upper lip if her life depended on it. Jeremy though, he’s a pro.

And just in case you wanted to see, here is Rachel in all her Mommy-to-Be glory.

Please pay no attention to the chipping paint on the storm door or the fading, peeling, groody paint on the steps. We are in the process of getting them painted. Right now, we are trying to decide on a color for the steps and the base of the house. The hunter green has to go.

I am beyond late posting this little girl’s newborn session. Guess how old she is already. Eight stinkin’ months. It’s a good thing I don’t edit (timeline-wise) like I blog. I make sure I stay within my promised edit timelines, but the blog…that’s just for giggles so post sometimes sit waiting for months. Oops! Anyway, I would like to introduce you to little Miss Lyla.

Go ahead and say it….C-U-T-E! Derek and I have known Lyla’s Mommy & Daddy for years, and they are so much fun. As a matter of fact, Justin (her Daddy) and Derek use to be roommates. Megan has great style and it shows in everything; all the way down to Lyla’s beautiful nursery. Don’t worry, you’ll get a peek of it later on in the post, but for now just enjoy some photos of a way too cute baby.

Do you see this? She reached up and touched her Daddy’s face. Heart. Officially. Melted.

Megan’s mom is an amazing Baketress, and we decided to take this photo with one of her cupcakes on Lyla’s tushy just for her.

Do you not just love this nursery?

Megan’s best friend came in town to help out with the baby. Lyla seems to enjoy hanging out with her momma’s BFF too.

So that’s it for this cute little cupcake. And there are still more shoots that are from months ago still to come. So, stay tuned.

Speaking of chickens. One of my random nicknames for Grayson is Chicken. I have no clue why. It just showed up one day like baby Moses floating down a river in a basket.

How are you only 4 months away from turning 2? I’ve honestly been trying not to thing about it, because I forse and nervous breakdown in my future if I dwell on it to long. Not because you will be in the “terrible two” stage, because buddy you’ve already made it miles down that path, but because these past 2 years have flown by. Ugh! I remind myself everyday to soak up what little baby you have left to offer, because pretty soon my baby will be a big boy. Sob.

• As much as I loved and to this day severely miss you being a tiny infant I love the stage you are in right now. You are so much fun. You not only interact with me when we do things together, but you full on play. You actually want me to play with you. I feel like such a cool kid. The cutest boy in class actually wants me to play with him?! So awesome! What if he wants me to sit at his lunch table too? I….would….die!!!!!!

• I love how you are always checking on me. If I’m out of your line of sight you will call out “momma!?!” The inflection in your voice alway has this “i’m just checking to make sure you didn’t get eaten by a dinosaur on the way to the bathroom” sound to it. And on one particularly cute day you stood at the bottom of the stairs and called up to me “Momma?! You okay?” I just about melted into a big ole puddle of mommy goo.
• You love my hairdryer. You carry it around the house. Sometimes you drag it by it’s chord like you are walking a dog.
• You also love my hairbrush. It’s a good thing I kept my old one around, because I often find you’ve relocated the newer one. You love brushing mine, your’s, and daddy’s hair. You just need to work on your gentleness.
• You still drool like a fool. I wish all those dang teeth would just cut through already. I’m tired of the whole bib thing. Plus, I don’t think our electronics can handle the amount of water you drip on them.
• Your dad now has you saying “all right, okay!” all the time. It’s super cute.
• I now have you saying “awww, maaaaan!” all the time. It’s even cuter.
• When someone asks you to sing them a song the only song you sing is Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. You know and sing other songs, but when asked to sing a song, I guess this is the first one that pops in your mind.
• You love having conversations with Siri on my iPhone. It’s quite hilarious some of the things she translates your gibberish into.
• Lots of kids have a song that mommy can sing to them to calm them down when they are scared or hurt….yours is Wheels on the Bus. I have no clue why
• Shrek is currently your favorite movie.
• You figured out how to cross your fingers (your pointer and middle fingers) you can do it on both hands. You are in awe of this magnificent trick you’ve discovered and stare at your fingers constantly when they are crossed. You do it so much now that it has become habit, and from time to time I find you watching tv with your fingers crossed. I don’t even think you notice you are doing it.
• D and T are your favorite letters. It’s possible that you know all the letters, but I’ve never gotten you to sit long enough to test this theory out.
• I showed you how to play hopscotch, and you love it. If you see a square on the ground you immediately start hopping, and saying “opp!”.
• Dude, sometimes your poop stanks so much it burns the nose hairs. Seriously, knock this off. Especially on the days that mommy has a sinus headache.

• We started music class this past month (Music for Aardvarks) and you at first loved it, but the past two classes you have not wanted to go in the room and started whining and running to and out of the door. What’s up with that? I have a feeling it’s because you actually have to sit and be orderly and pay attention. This has shown me that we need to work on your willingness to obey and be patient. Don’t get me wrong you enjoy the class once you get settled it’s just that you think you should be the one directing the flow of the class.

• You love sliding in your socks on the wood floors. It’s like you are a tiny Tom Cruise. You know, the Tom Cruise before he started standing on Oprah’s couch and being all weird and stuff.

This is such a fun, but insane phase that you are in. You are finally playing with me and not around me. We interact, we have fun. I love you little man. You keep us constantly laughing, but you keep us constantly worn out. You are a handful, but we wouldn’t have it any other way. Love you more than life.

- Momma