Our 4th Anniversary + Datevitation Giveaway

Hello friends! It's been such a busy week over here. We had a bridal consultation tonight, we have five prom girls tomorrow and two more on Saturday! I'm so excited about all this makeup though. Do you know what the best part is about my makeup artist venture? I get to buy tons of makeup without feeling bad about it! It's literally a dream come true. I went to Ulta last night, went a little nuts, and Tom had nothing but good things to say about my spending. That feels good.

You know what else he has good things to say about? Datevitation. Datevitation makes love coupon books that you can personalize for friends, siblings, or spouses; so of course I had to make Tom one seeing as our 4th anniversary is NEXT WEEK! Do you know what else is next week? A little someone's SECOND BIRTHDAY. AH! But back to Datevitation. You can customize the coupons  (type of date, text, etc) and there are over 350 dates to choose from.

(obviously I had to include one about cooking since home cooked meals aren't something I freely give away).

The books don't have to be romantically themed. There are tons of options to choose form, and I think it would make a great Father's Day gift! You know those hikes your dad always wants to go on, but you politely refuse? Coupon it! I think a hike is a pretty freaking good Father's Day gift. It's a whole experience. If you want to order by Father's Day, just make sure to get your order in by June 6th. Also, use code POSITIVELYAMY to get $10 off of your book in May or June (which means it will only cost $10. Boo yeah!)

Oh, what's that? You'd rather just have a free one? Well, okay then. Enter below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I'm off to get some beauty sleep so that I can be ready to beautify (others) in the morning. And after that I'll probably start stressing about Carter's party and the stuff that still needs to be done. I gotta say though, this girl did not go Pinterest crazy. It's too much work and sucks the fun (and the life) out of me. 

Datevitation sent this coupon book for me to review. All opinions are honest and are my own. 

More Mommy Confessions (my favorite kinda post)

So Sunday was Mother's Day. A day where everyone with offspring posts adorable photos of themselves with said offspring. Every profile picture is changed to include moms. There are 7,000 more statuses on your news feed as usual. It's exactly the reason that I refuse to check Facebook during any holidays or sporting events. Repetition. It gets to me. It crawls under my skin and eats away at every fiber of my being. I have zero patience for reading the same thing over and over and over and over and...

So Sunday. We went to the Mystic Aquarium. It was ridiculously fun (even including my minor brain lapse). You see, the Mystic Aquarium was kind enough to invite family bloggers for a day of fun on Saturday, the 11th (the day before Mother's Day). I knew this...and yet for some reason I just got the words "Mother's Day Event" stuck in my mind and so we showed up on Sunday instead of Saturday. How's that for a #bloggerproblem? (#mombrain). And yes, I just hashtagged in my post. I know how annoying that is, but who cares? I kind of like it. So the point is the people at the aquarium were super nice and gave us all the perks we would have experienced the previous day--free admission, meal tickets, and tickets to Sponge Bob in 4D (we made it through the part where you walk in the door and put on the glasses and play around with the chair for a little--and then Carter was ready to leave right around the time the movie started. But hey, you gotta learn to be flexible with an almost two year old, am I right?)

bear shirt from Zulily

Me, Carter and a Beluga, along with two random people.

With the exception of a few meltdowns (including one where Carter threw his Super Man hat into the water--not a tank with animals, don't worry--it was just a little pond by a walkway...but...Super Man hat = no more) the day was a success. I expected Carter to be fussier because of his unfortunate doses of prednisone (curse you, poison ivy!!), but the Beluga whales really held his attention and made him forget about all his woes.

And there it is ^^ so long, super man hat. You will be missed. 

So I have two HUGE confessions and one minor one.

Confession #1: I am a pro at booger-flicking now. Gross, I know, but it's true. What else am I to do when Carter hands them to me from the back seat and I don't have a tissue nearby? It goes like this: Carter yells "Mama! Mama! Mama!" from the back seat. He grunts to let me know he's straining to hand me something. It's a gut reaction. I instinctively reach back and I'm greeted with a booger. Great. Now I have two choices. I can either roll down the window and flick the sucker out, or I try to hold the wheel steady while I reach waaayyy over to the glove compartment to try to grab a tissue, all while endangering our lives. Flicking it is! Are you ever posed with this dilemma? Or are you just super prepared and have a huge box of tissues right in the center console like some super hero or something?

Confession #2: This one starts off good. We're in the midst of potty training. We're 4 days in and we've gone three days straight with consistent potty use (it's been extremely exciting). We've got #2 down. It's the other I'm worried about. There's been pee on the floor, on our screen door, on the bath mat, towels; you name it and it's been peed on. But yesterday....the fridge. He opened the fridge, looked around for a snack, and then apparently thought it was a good time to let it all out. Do you know the disinfecting that is needed after such an occurrence? My goodness, child. Could you have done it anywhere else? Fortunately, he's my favorite child, so I just looked at him and said "Good job! Except we really need to do it just in the potty, okay???????? oookkkkkkkkaaayyy??????????? please???).

And now for a random confession that has nothing to do with anything. I don't understand hipsters. I (kind of) get other cliques, but what are hipsters, really? A bunch of people with wool socks and grandpa glasses? And what about those hipsters from college? Hipsters write weird things in creative writing classes. The following is exactly what a hipster's hipster would write in creative writing. Maybe I'm just not ironic (or genius) enough to get it:

Red, yellow, blue. Sitting in a corner; a dark corner. Green. Stop. Red, yellow, blue. One. Two. Three. Four. Walls are closing. Footsteps. A small girl with a butterfly. Red. Go. One, two, three, four; blue, yellow. Stop.

Oh, you don't get that either? Okay then.

linking up with heather and megan

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+go enter the Amazon/PayPal Cash giveaway
+go enter the ChicNova.com giveaway

$60 to Amazon or PayPal: Your Choice!

Hi friends! Happy belated Mother's Day to all you women with kidlings out there. I was too busy spending time with my child and husband so I didn't get around to Twitter and whatnot.

But today there is something I DID get around to, and that, my friends, is a fantastic giveaway. Why? Because they're fun. And I disregard all negative opinions (who even has those?) on the matter.

Oh, P.S. I'm really excited for you to read my confessions posts for tomorrow (those are my favorite). There are some good ones in there--along with a little creative writing "piece." Come back...you'll be sorry if you miss it.

But I'm babbling. On to the giveaway!

Take some time to visit these awesome participants (I've highlighted their best qualities so you can navigate them with ease. You're welcome).

Positively Amy (host)
Lemon and Line (cutest nautical bracelets I've ever seen)

Reagan's Toy Chest (fantastic, high quality, children's toys)

Marine Wife, Mommy and Life (her blog title says it all)

The Serena Saga (girl's got fabulous style)

Life and Everything Else in Between (a lifestyle blog with a focus on giving back and helping others)

Super Mommy (awesome kid focused crafts and recipes!)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thanks for participating! This is one little way that I like to promote my sponsors and friends!

I Don't Have "IT" Together

I don't know what "it" is, exactly, but I do know that whatever it is, it isn't under control over here. Our lives (and home) have looked a lot like this lately (notice the TV on in the background. Non-perfect mom over here...hi!)

I've felt so off recently. So much to do, so little time. I feel so busy that I can't even appreciate crossing something off my list. There are just a million more things to get to. I don't like it when life gets like that. It makes it hard to remember to appreciate the small things. Like tiny toddler toes and specks of leftover pink nail polish (he wanted to be like me).

I don't know if it's the over-tiredness that's getting to me, but I cried last week because we sold our car. Loser! I know you're thinking it. (ha) It was the car we drove Carter home from the hospital in. 

The first one he pretended to "drive" in. When did I get so sentimental? I'm tearing up just looking at this picture! We were done with it though and it's over-sizedness. 

We're going to be moving at the end of July and I cringe when I think of how I'll feel. If I cried over a silly SUV what am I going to do when we leave our home? Where Carter was a teeny baby! Where he did his first everything. It's not going to be good. I'm excited for the changes (I truly love change...good change, anyway). And I always knew we'd move, but I don't feel ready. 

I'm terrified to leave his sweet nursery (where he never spent a single night) behind. I don't think it helps that I'm writing this post from his room. His shark is staring at me from behind and his name hangs on the wall above my head. 

For the next few months, despite the ridiculous business that is our lives, I'm going to try to appreciate everything here. Especially the little things that seem to float by without recognition. Like the way Carter drives his truck back and forth from the kitchen to the living room and the way that he stands on his tip toes to turn on the TV when he knows he shouldn't. I know he'll do these things later, but it won't be the same; it won't be here.

leggings c/o Jennifer Ann

Some Confessions + a Giveaway!

Sounds like a good combo, am I right? First with the confessions.

Two year molar teething is hard work--for me too. While it's understandable, Carter was a big ball of mood today. The day started out good with a visit to the cousins, but it all went downhill from there. It was basically typical toddler behavior so I won't run down the list for you, but then in culminated with a traffic-y drive home and an annoying man in a stupid white truck.

Picture this. Over-tired Carter sleeping peacefully in his car seat, suddenly wakes up when he yawns and accidentally yanks his pacifier out of his mouth. In his half asleep stupor he starts wailing like the world is ending. I don't think a distraction more dangerous than a crying baby or melting down toddler exists when it comes to driving. I was trying to balance ignoring the crying in order to concentrate with searching for a replacement pacifier. That's a tough act.

The cacophony included a coffee in the center console somehow running down the front of my shirt despite that fact that it was in the cup holder--which means it was magic coffee and it flew out the spout, through the air, and onto my shirt supernaturally. Amid the chaos, I hear a car to my left honk their horn at me. In a nano second of panic I think I am surely drifting into the other lane. I look up, only to see a mid 40s bald man waving and smirking. In that millisecond I wished that my car had the ability to sprout missile launchers, but apparently Volvo overlooked that feature. Looking back, I realize that's a bit harsh and maybe I could have compromised for a slingshot instead.

Moving on...

So the nice people at ChicNova.com allowed me to increase my wardrobe recently and they're doing the same for you. How's a $30 coupon code sound? The shirt and bag that I'm wearing cost $30 total. Na-hiz-ice (nice).

 And I thought it was only fair to show you the picture with my hair blowing in my face. Outfit post issues.

 hat: TJMaxx | shirt + bag c/o Chic Nova | pants: Kiki La 'Rue | shoes: TOMS  (desert print)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

linking up with:  Heather and Megan, my thrifty chic

Toddler Logic + Style

We finally have outside weather here (and by outside weather I mean warm enough to hang out outside without sweatshirts!) so we've been taking full advantage. 

Last week we hung out by a mulch pile. I guess this is what little boys like to do. 

hat + tee : Old Navy | leggings c/o Jennifer Ann | shoes: TOMS 

So Carter finally allows me to put his TOMS on him. It took a few weeks, but he's finally into them because I explained that they have the same name as Dada. Duh. Toddler logic. I don't know why it took me that long to think of that strategy.

I've learned that if you want your child to wear things other than pajamas and crocs, you have to think like a toddler. Luckily, these leggings took absolutely no convincing. I'm sure you guys have seen the Jennifer Ann leggings before (this girl is the sweetest. do you read her blog?) I want to own every print. 

So remember when I told you about the mulch pile?

And when the mulch got boring, we threw rocks in the drain.

Look at that baby butt!! Boys are the best. I could watch Carter throw rocks down the drain all day. I think I did the same until I was  like 13. (I'm completely serious).

Carter also rocked some skinny jeans this weekend that I got from ThredUp.com. Do you guys do this?? I am all for second hand clothes, especially for name brands. I can't help it. I have a thing for brands and there's nothing I can do about it. I have some True Religion jeans coming that I got for only $36 including shipping. Whaatt? Do you know how exciting that is?

This weekend we RELAXED (after a way too busy previous week). Tom played 48 holes of disc golf with my dad and Carter and I hung out at the park with Grammy on Saturday. On Sunday Carter got to see his two best buds. We tried to get a cousin picture, but they weren't having it. 

I'm not so patiently awaiting my MAC Pro Membership card. If it doesn't get here pronto, I'm going to start having seizures or something equally horrifying. 

Be sure to come back tomorrow for a Chic Nova giveaway and a few outfit pictures!

Makeup Looks + A Hair Tutorial

This weekend (before I became deathly ill) I had some fun playing around with makeup. Here are some photos from all of the fun that ensued:

And then we got a little dramatic:

You know what pairs famously with makeup looks like these? CURLS--duh!

Below is a little tutorial on getting gorgeous curls (in a pretty quick + easy way, if I might add). Also, if you watch to the end you can enter a sweepstakes by submitting your email address. 

What do you think of the makeup? Yay? (please don't say nay...) We've been booking weddings steadily at Beauty Mavens and I could NOT BE MORE EXCITED!!!

Sweeps rules:

http://www.blogher.com/hair-sweepstakes-official-rules-week-7

Prizes & Promotions page on Blogher.com:

https://www.blogher.com/blogher-tv-weekly-hair-style-sweepstakes