Well...Naturally.

Let's just get use to it.... There are a few "annual" posts here....

- Georgia's First Day of School
- Georgia's Last Day of School
- Birthday Month

Here we go....

Dear Georgia,
Welcome to 2nd Grade. I have to say- it's strange. Last year, honestly, was tough. I said I was
"ready" to be "The MOM" from birth to age 5 then I was lost....boy was I. At least I felt that way. First Grade was  a total transition for us (me) from baby to "child". I wasn't sure how to adjust. (I will tell you a little secret that I am still winging it.....just a tiny bit.) We closed out first grade and we had a fantastic summer filled with trips, friends & fun. It was the perfect "reset" button for you and I....and it brought us to the monumental FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL. Which is clearly celebrated every year with signs, an amazing breakfast and a fun walk into school (that you despise). Let's recap...shall we??

I woke you up Monday morning (ummm since when did school start on a Monday by the way...??) and you were tired. Of course. I was as well. BUT we were EXCITED about the FIRST day! Right?!?! OMG- SO MUCH TO DO!!! We had been shopping the weeks prior to school beginning- each and every trip left me with an armful of ugly clothing thinking "I'm just buying this to buy something..." and asking you, "Georgia, see anything you like?" "Uhhhh. This shirt?". yeah. no. So I relegated myself to online shopping and paid for rush delivery for your fall wardrobe. Funny trick they played was NOT DELIVERING UNTIL TUESDAY. Which is clearly your SECOND DAY OF SCHOOL. I didn't get the shipping update until the Friday prior...which meant, my dear, that we were in a rush. I found a couple throw down dresses for day one and day two but I will tell you right now- they WERE NOT "First Day Appropriate"...but they worked. (Thanks Janie & Jack for still having adorable and appropriate clothing even though she is seven)

Regardless...I woke you up, dressed you in a cute dress and we went to the vanity for hair. Ha! You decided not only was today the first day of second grade but also the day to break your mother's heart. "Not a bow today Mom." Huh?? Wait, What? "No, Mom, No Bows." Geeze were you adamant. Fine, G, no bows, whatever. It's YOUR day after all.

Look- I will tell you now (because you don't read this and hopefully by the time you do you understand) BUT you are a little girl and my daughter.....please don't ever give me the double whammy again. Georgia, I'm going to be honest- First day of school (at least from 7am until 8am) is not your day...it's mine. I hope you realize what I gave you that day. ;)

(to clear up anything- I'm totally kidding with my last statement above...)

You have grown. Your friend way back from preschool is in your class this year which takes me back to when to when you were that little. It makes me sad we are at the point of really not keeping in touch with those friends anymore simply because we have all grown in separate ways.

You are really insistent these days to me- for instance...for the longest time I have impressed upon you "pink" and "girly" items. You are absolutely amendment you like blue now. I let you pick out your own back pack & lunch kit this year and did not sway you in any way. (it's BLUE by the way). Certain things though (being called "Princess" for example...) you pretend you hate but I know you adore it deep down.

Regardless, my Georgia, I love you. I pride myself in recalling every important moment of your life.  Much a reason why I keep track of your life (our life) together. Lucky me that no one else has these moments with you. Is that selfish? Maybe... but sometimes as your Mom I get to be selfish.

We packed up that morning and headed to school. You are at a temporary campus this year since they are re-building your elementary this year so things are different. The school wants all the kids to ride the bus (uhhhh negative.) I will still drive you every morning and pick you up every afternoon. I walked you in and you were slightly mortified I was standing there still taking pictures while you found your desk and settled in. Not sure why you aren't use to this by now. I kissed you goodbye and was off. As I left your classroom it hit me this was the third year in a row I had dropped you off at elementary school. The tears I thought would not come this year began to fill my eyes as I felt so sad about you growing up so much. Don't get me wrong- I do love to see you grow and mature...it is truly amazing. I think I will just always miss the little girl that you once were at every moment of your life.

I made it to the car- Then I cried.
Maybe next year.
Maybe not.
Maybe it's just part of being your Mom and I'm absolutely okay with that.

I have a feeling this is going to be your best year yet and I can't wait to see what second grade holds!
Love you more,
Mommy

PS- Your clothes finally came in and naturally they nailed it. I'll make sure to get it together next year ;)

The Lust List

Thus far Summer 2014 has been filled with "Georgia"- Now Mommy's vacation is quickly approaching...wheels up on Friday and I cannot wait to get a break from Houston. What happened to my "Once a Month" rule of leaving this place?

In preparation of any vacation I always begin slowly as I did with this one:
"Hmmm, I think I have almost everything I need. Maybe one new dress for Friday night..."

Sure enough a manic need takes over and an entire new wardrobe and then some has appeared in my (*cough, *cough) new luggage that was also deemed appropriate to purchase for this particular get-away. It was time to replace the old stuff anyway- Don't judge.
In my haste of ordering, shipping, shopping, etc. I've put together a new "Lust List" of items (old and new) that I want, need or recently purchased for said get- away....

1. Luli Fama Bikini- I've had a few of their cover-ups (the romper style) for a few years now and always receive tons of compliments on it anywhere I go. I just purchased a couple bikinis for this weekend and I'm drooling over them. Can't spoil my picks but peruse the website here and choose for yourself:
www.lulifama.com
I will say- I have looked at these online and was not impressed. It is definitely worth it to go into the store to try them on- the fit, etc. is amazing. I'm sold (x2)!

2. Sephora- "Gimme Brow"- This stuff is amazing. A friend of mine did a write up on her blog about Benefit's "Gimme Brow" at the perfect time for me to stumble upon and read up. She raved so I ran out as fast as I could and picked up a tube. LOVE at first swipe.

3. Lululemon Speed Shorts- The most comfortable running shorts EVER. I think I picked up my first pair last summer in the midst of marathon training and I pretty much made the decision then to not wear anything else. They don't move. No riding up, no falling down. You can actually just run and not worry about your shorts riding up into places you don't want them to go. What a novel idea!

4. NARS Blush/ Bronzer Duo @ Sephora- Speaking of things I can't live without (like shorts that don't ride up) NARS's Blush/ Bronzer duo in Sin/ Casino is on that list. Just another one to share :)

5. Ruthie Davis Emilie Studded Sandals- Every so often one accidentally wears out a pair of her favorite gold shoes and then must hunt down a similar pair to replace. This can be a grueling process because most of the time the particular shoe you were so in love with had something to it that just *went* with everything. I think I've found my gold shoe replacement.
To be put on the "Lust List" for now and added to the collection post vacation ;)

6. YSL Tribute Two Pumps- Another to add to the list. Clearly I need an entire new shoe upgrade across the board.

7. Chanel Shopping Bag- Do I really need to give an explanation on this?

8. Gucci Shades- Time to be an adult and trust myself again with sunglasses that don't come from Target. Georgia isn't into smashing them anymore so the only person I have to worry about is myself...These are so pretty I think I can manage to keep them intact.

9.  Cartier Love Bracelet- A repeat offender on the "list". One day....

10. Watch Mania- So many to choose from:
Cartier Ballon
Michael Kors Bailey
Burberry
Michael Kors Darcy

Now off to the mall again to make sure I have everything I need. Next up Georgia's fall clothing spree...I almost look forward to this every year more than mine ;) Can't wait for her to come back from her vacation and she and I to get down to business!

xoxo

Summa Summa Summertime!

It's one of my favorite times of the year...Summer!

The schedule changes, life doesn't feel so hectic anymore and although it's still tough to break away from the office I can sometimes do just that. In reality Summer doesn't really slow us down (much)... We still are going along at our fast pace and I'm still wondering why there are not more hours in the day to accomplish everything.

I wish I had time to do a run down of everything that has been going on... Here's a list of the highlights that I have yet to catch up on:

- Georgia's Dance Recital
- Georgia's 7th Birthday Party & Festivities Galore
- Birthday Trip to the Lake House
- Summer 2014 thus far

I'll come back and re-cap the other events later on- for now I'm skipping right into summer (naturally). This will actually encompass two of the above events! School ended and one of Georgia's gifts from Mommy was a trip:

"Anywhere you want to go Georgia! What about a trip to Chicago? The Original American Girl Doll store is there!!! SO much fun!"
"Anywhere?!?"
"Yes- anywhere!"
"LET'S GO TO ARKANSAS!!!!!"
"huh?"

And there you have it. There was no changing her mind- we were set on a birthday trip to Grandaddy's Lake House in Arkansas. Okay. Actually- not such a bad idea Georgia. School let out on a Wednesday and we popped in the car for our 9 hour trek to the lake. We ate, swam, explored, went out on the boat, saw some of the neighboring towns and dined on the river. Then we packed up and headed on back to Texas that Sunday.

Pretty much as soon as we arrived back home it was time for Georgia to begin her summer rotation between her Dad and I. While this isn't my favorite time of year in any way I suppose it is nice to be able to plan for more extended trips, etc. during our two week periods. We both normally schedule a barrage of summer camps for Georgia to attend to assist our work schedules. This year kicked off with a theater camp at Wildfish Theater. She attended for 2 weeks total (Monday - Friday) from 9 until 12pm. At the end of the two weeks (Thursday and Friday) the kids performed their production for family and friends to come see. If you break it down these kids only had 9 practices together prior to putting on a a fabulous production. I can't say enough about this theater. Georgia auditioned and scored a fairly big speaking role. When she took the stage and said her lines I was BLOWN away. I've always said she's a little dramatic, but really, this is the first activity she has participated in that just comes natural to her. It was amazing. Check out the video!

She had three performances total and right after her last performance Friday night we headed out to Galveston for a mini- getaway....Stay tuned for more :)

So Adorable....

Cutest Thing Ever

Click the above link to watch one of the cutest things you will ever see. ;)

Michael

USS George H.W. Bush Arrives in Persian Gulf

Just heard this morning that my little brother's air craft carrier has been sent to the Persian Gulf.

Please keep him and the situation in your thoughts and prayers.

First Grade is OVER

Honestly. That's all I have to say about this year.
It's over. Thank God.




Kidding- Did you really think there wasn't another "Dear Georgia" coming?!

Dear Georgia,
My dear. Here we are at the end of your 1st Grade year of school. "Wow" is all I have to say. I think I say this all the time but my goodness have you changed this year. I continually look back on my own life and try to compare at times- I recall certain things from Kindergarten, but I know, without a doubt, I recall most everything from my life from 1st grade on. This year I have really thought about that with you as your Mom. You have the potential to remember every move I make from here on out. Not saying that's a bad thing but it really put things in perspective for me.

Things that happened this year:

1. Your teeth fell out like no other. Seriously. I couldn't stand it (as you know) luckily all but one came out at school. The one that fell out at home- well, sorry about that. I think you knew me "loosing it" was coming.
2. You are completely self sufficient (you know what I mean...) It's official- you bathe yourself, yes you could do this last year but I wasn't ready to let go... you basically have everything covered. I've said it before and I'll say it again- I was NOT prepared for this. I was prepped and ready to go age 1-5. Now that you are SEVEN (really?!!?!?!?!?) I just feel a little lost. You sure don't. :) That's what I love about this age- it's all coming together and I love watching you as a person.
3. I'm going to spill that into #3- you are YOUR OWN person. You have such an amazing personality I cannot stand it. ((again)) I've said this before- YOU are and are going to be an unstoppable force. The one thing that I hope for you in all of life is that you never doubt yourself. You should always know you are amazing and a force to be reckoned with. You, my dear, are going places and no one can stop you,
4. Half way through this year I had to start working full time. I couldn't pick you up at 3pm anymore and I miss that. We've constructed a fairly good schedule but I still miss hanging with you for the afternoon. I know I get super busy with work (especially this past year) But I hope you know- in my mind it's a crazy trade off of providing you (us) with an amazing life vs. the other. Don't ever doubt that I don't look at the clock every day about 3pm and wonder what you are doing. I miss you every moment. We've made it though- and I think it will just be better from here on out.
5. Guilt- I'm going to be honest here (realistically because you aren't going to ever read this until you are waaaaaaaay older. ;) I have felt so guilty about "leaving" you this year- well half of this year. I cannot tell you how much I miss our afternoons together and how I have felt as though you have missed out on a LOT because I had to work. While you adored 1st Grade....honestly I kinda hated it because the way the year went seemed to take you away from me even more.
6. You love: Horses, Winston, Skiing (which we did for the 1st time in February- you were awesome by the way.....) Frozen (you sing "Let it Go" every single chance you get). Playing hand slap games, Mind Craft (really....?) You want to live on a LOT of land like Aunt Laura when you grow up AND have a mini-van, just like Aunt Laura, when you can drive. uhhhh are you SURE you are MY child? You have even blatantly said while car shopping recently..."Mom, PLEASE just buy a mini-van" sorry doll- not happening....
7. You decided to call yourself a "tomboy" this year. I think it was a little fad going on with the girls in first grade. Boy you are serious about it too. Although....there really isn't anything "tomboy" about you. It's kinda cute how you insist on saying that occasionally. You have made it clear you do not like pink anymore (hahaha- good luck with that) and you say blue is your favorite color.
8. Reading- WOW! I am shocked at how well you are reading now- it still blows my mind when you do this. It might be one of the most amazing things I've witnessed as your mom. I love it. :)

I still look at you and feel like the luckiest mommy in the world.

Love you more,
Mommy

Lucky Lady

I found these on my desk when I returned today from my meeting... Nothing like a fresh flower delivery on Monday to start my week off perfectly. ;)