New and improved

Now that the weather is cooler, I decided to darken my hair color. I do this every fall/winter, but this time we went more dramatic. You see, I have this thing about my hair. I call it "Hair ADD." And I'm trying really hard not to cut it short, so that means getting creative with hair color and style.

So last week I went to my stylist for an appointment, and we decided to go edgy -- which means dark and dramatic. I'm pretty sure this is darker than my natural color, though I have no idea what my natural color is since I've been coloring my hair since I was like 15 or something.

Anyway ... here are a couple pictures of it that were taken tonight (after curling it with a curling iron this morning).

A self portrait

A portrait by Allen

I'm not sure you can really get the full impact of how dramatic a change the color is since the background of the pictures are dark, but let me tell you, it's a huge difference. I'm curious to know what ya'll think of it ....

So, now that I have an office, I have modified my morning and evening habits a little bit. Basically, I spend both the morning before the boys wake up and the evening before I go to bed, in the office.

And I'm drinking Sleepytime tea ...

And I listen to Pandora. Which is incredibly soothing and enlightening. I love having the time to myself. I use the time to catch up with friends on Facebook; to write; and to relax.

I feel like I need this time to myself because I've been feeling awfully restless lately ... like I need to expend creative energy. This time alone allows me to explore my writing and to be productive with my work; but in an environment that relaxes me. It's fabulous!

Well, that's all on this topic. Hope ya'll have a fabulous week.

xoxo,

Leggy

Southern Supper -- Fashion Report

Brian's ensemble was slightly modified, since it was ridiculously hot and humid last night, but overall I think we looked cute (except for my chubbiness. Fortunately one of the new trainers at the new gym offered us two free assessments with accompanying fitness plan and one month's gym membership for free because we gave him our pack-n-play).

The evening was fun. However I must state for the record that I'm pretty sure "open bar" means an OPEN BAR, not just beer and wine. So I was disappointed in that. But there were some pretty yummy wines. I stuck with white (which I usually don't drink) because it was cold. And as previously mentioned, it was hot (and there was no circulation under the tent).

The auction was awesome. Our lovely pirate ship was auctioned off for a little over $12,000, and it will stay in the neighborhood. The school house was donated to the new school along with $10,000. Backyard Broadway will be leaving our neighborhood (sadly) and delivered to one generous family in Beaufort, as will Frog Hollow (not the same family, two different families). Unfortunately the WeeStream did not meet its reserve, so it will auctioned off on eBay.

In my opinion, the night was a huge success, with about $30,000 being raised for the school. Way to go Jody!! Here I am at the end of the night ...

Tired, but happy. The fundraiser was a success; Brian and I had a great time out having grown-up fun, and Allen was tucked into bed, sleeping soundly.

Southern Supper Fundraiser -- Brian's Ensemble

After my last post, someone asked me what Brian would be wearing ... I think he's going to wear this:He wore this to Tim and Annie's wedding almost three years ago. Linen pants and a linen shirt. It should be nice and cool, but still a little bit dressy.

So, do you approve? And do you have any thoughts about how I should wear my hair?

xoxo,

Southern Supper Fundraiser

Brian and I are going to the Southern Supper and Live Auction for the Playhouse Palooza playhouses, hosted by Habersham, this week. Since Joli was a sponsor/designer of one of the playhouses, it's pretty much a given that we need to be there. Mom will be up in Pennsylvania packing up the house (yay), so we are the representatives for shop.

Being that it's a fundraiser, it's one of those cost-per-head events. I've never been to an event like this, and I started to panic about what I should wear. It doesn't occur to me that it will be overly fancy, but I don't think it's a jeans and a t-shirt event either.

So Mom and I went to Belk today, and I picked out this dress and these shoes. I think I'm going to wear this necklace that we have in the shop. What do ya'll think? Is it appropriate for a Southern Supper?

xoxo,

Weird eye photos; very grumpy

I've had my eye on this mascara (from Maybelline) for a few weeks now. I'm such a sucker for advertising, and those commercials just got to me. So when I saw it on sale in Walgreens, I thought I'd try it.

What do you think?

Allen was in a particularly grumpy mood Sunday afternoon. He had a good nap, and told me that I looked cute with sunglasses on my head (and my hair in a ponytail). But then I left for the drugstore, and got mad. Nothing made him happy. Nothing we did was right. He threw several tantrums. He looked at me at what point and said, "Your hair is not cute anymore," because he wanted me to take it down so he could play with it.

This was about the happiest he was all afternoon.

Turns out he's sick. He's been running a fever since yesterday, but I'm not sure why. He's not acting overly sick; just more subdued than normal. Thoughts, anyone?

That's all for now. Sorry it's such a boring post.

xoxo,

Good mood; gems

Hello my friends. I hope you are all well this evening. Myself? Well, I had a pretty good day. My mood seems to be improving with each night that passes without two-year-old legs in my back and hands in my hair. We're up to three nights in a row now. We're very proud. So proud, in fact, that I bought Allen two little gifts today at Teaching Carolina. Here's one of them:Lovely nesting blocks from Melissa and Doug (which is where I got this lovely photograph).

Plus, I went shopping for some Memorial attire this evening. Brian expressed a desire for a new shirt and tie, and I wanted something new as well. He asked me to try to "be reasonable." And I was. I told him what I wanted to spend (on one shirt, one tie, and an outift for him), and I spent $2 less than my goal and got two shirts, three ties, and a skirt. Yay me! (I'm too lazy to take pictures of the clothes tonight, but perhaps we'll do a family photo on Thursday and post that).

Sorry, I digress. Back to the peanut. Three adorable interchanges stand out in my mind today. One is a little difficult to explain, but I'll share the other two.

Here was out after-nap conversation, as I was refilling his milk:

Allen: Mommy, I'm so happy!

Mommy: Really? I'm so glad you're happy!

Allen: See. Right here (pointing to his eye). In my eye.

Mommy: How come you're happy in your eyes?

Allen: *Blank stare*

Mommy: Is it because they're excited to be looking at your new toys?

Allen: Yes!

I have a (rather long) video to share with you that showcases the other adorable incident. But I'll provide a brief prologue first. After chasing each other around the house, pretending we were "Snapper" T-Rex (another story for another day), and as we were getting ready to sit down to dinner, Allen informed us, "I'm goin' upstairs to change. I'll be right back." After he finally let me follow him upstairs (at one point, he told me. "No Mommy. You stay there on the stairs."), Brian wisely suggested I bring the camera. Here's what I captured:

WARNING: This video is over three minutes long. I promise not to be offended if you don't watch it, or if you stop watching mid-way through.

And some cute stills of Allen changing:

I tell you ... it's never dull in this house! Speaking of which, don't forget to enter my first give-away!!

xoxo

Cabin fever

It was miserable here yesterday. It poured rain from about 11:00 a.m. until well after we went to sleep last night. So poor Allen was cooped up all day. No park, no walk ... nothing. Until we went to meeting last night. Everyone could tell that he had cabin fever because he was a maniac during the entire meeting.

I thought he was going to be good at first. As the meeting started, he took his songbook out, and sang with us (by this I mean he sang random words and phrases ... people's last names, "I love you," etc.). It was all I could do not to laugh out loud. But it was all downhill after this ...

He was all about testing the limits. We threatened, we talked, we disciplined. Twice as we picked him up off the floor, he bumped his head (just a tiny bit). But because he knew that he was going to be disciplined, he yelled "I bumped my head!" in a tearful voice all the way to the back of the hall. He yelled for Mommy. He climbed on chairs and stood on them. He was crazy! It didn't get any better after the meeting either. He pretty much ran around the hall about seven million times.

But, at least he looked cute ...

He was still pretty wired after we got home too ... his tie got "stuck" on his head while I was getting him undressed, and he decided he was a "piyate" (pirate).

He also decided that Mommy and Daddy were "yions" and we were going to get him. The only way to stop us was to sing the song "Bushel and a Peck." See how well it worked?

Some other gems he uttered last night (some of these he's been saying for awhile now, but I keep forgetting) ...

• That's a big rain! (it was pouring outside and he got wet on our way into the house)
• I want funder and yightning to seep with me.
• Get you me (this means get me)
• If he's looking at, say, rubber ducks, he'll say, "And another one duck, and another one duck ..."
• I'm so sweet
• I'm so silly (I tried to type silly the way he says it, but it would be too many Ys)
• What's home? (he says this when Mia starts barking at the door or window, instead of who's home)

Oh, and in other news, look at the awesome tights I was rocking last night. Aren't they fabulous???
xoxo,

I can pull it off

A non-Allen-related post. Well, let's be honest here ... the fact that I'm a mommy probably has something to do with this "fashionista"-type post in an I'm-still-hot-even-though-I'm-a-mom kind of way, but it's not directly related to him so it's a non-Allen post.

I was talking to my lovely friend J today, and she was telling me that she loved my earlier sassy outfit picture. So I told her that I wore those leg warmers out to dinner last week, and she told me that I can do it because I can pull it off. I have that confidence. Well, J, I don't think it's confidence as much as it's me being in denial, but I thank you nonetheless. And on that note, I have another "sassy" post for you :)

Before I show you the pics, I want to provide a little background (aka justification/ rationalization). About a year ago, I went on a whirlwind shopping spree one day before a wedding. We had flown up to Pennsylvania to attend a dear friend's wedding, and I had nothing to wear. Since Beaufort is not exactly a shopping mecca, I decided to pack lightly and shop for my entire outfit at the King of Prussia mall. So I ended up with this adorable Betsey Johnson dress (I tried to find a picture, but was unsuccessful. Sorry). It was blue, with black lace accents. I got a sassy little wrap to go over it. I got ridiculously fabulous earrings to match. Things were going well ....

So off to Nordstrom to get the shoes and the makeup. One thing I was at least semi-sane about was the shoes. I got great Steve Madden black heels. I knew I could wear those frequently (and I have). I got awesome, over-the-top M.A.C. makeup (think silver ... blue ... glitter).

Things were just about perfect, but I stopped at the Bare Escentuals store since I needed my basic makeup. And I found this great mascara in sapphire. I'm a sucker for sparkles and glitter. I rationalized that since my dress was like the exact same color, I needed this mascara. I assured myself I would use it again. And I bought it. I wore it at the wedding ... and I haven't worn it since. Until yesterday.

And I have to say, I love it! When the light hits my eyes in the right way, I see sparkles. Brian sees the sparkles. It's kind of sexy (OK ... I think it's sexy. Brian says it's "cute"). The pictures don't do it justice, but they give you an idea, at least. And remember, you don't have to get the sapphire mascara. There are other color options as well ...

I may be a mommy, but I can still (try to) look hot, right?

xoxo,

Tubby Time

When I arrived home this evening, Allen was happy as could be. He was playing with his cars; he had a move in the DVD player; he was eating a granola bar. Life was sweet. Then about 7:00, Mommy said the dreaded T word ... tubbies. Just the sight of me standing up and clapping my hands, caused him to throw himself back onto the couch and cry.

I gave him some juice treats, promised him that I would take the tubby with him, bribed him with all the sweetness I could think of, and he still screamed bloody murder when we tried to get him upstairs for his bath. He screamed (and I'm not exaggerating) all the way up the stairs and while I got him undressed. He screamed when I put him on the floor to walk into the bathroom. He screamed while I ran the water. He stopped when I told him he could sit on the potty and I'd read him the potty book.

He started up again when we were done on the potty. He screamed while I got his hair wet. He screamed while I washed it. Then he splashed and played with his binky in the water. Then he screamed while I rinsed him off. Now, as you can imagine, with all this screaming, I went as quickly as I could. So, I finally get him rinsed off and he stops screaming, smiles, and says, "All done!" I start draining the water. He plays for a minute, and then starts screaming, "Tubby Tubby" because the water was draining out.

I think you get the idea, right?

Needless to say, Mommy came downstairs after the kid was in bed and poured herself a nice big glass of wine :)

More to come tomorrow, my loves. I still have at least one more post from the Pennsylvania trip to share with you ... In the meantime, like my sassy little outfit today?

XOXO,

P.S. Don't you think legwarmers are awesome? I'm thinking about ordering these for the shop. What do you think??