Connor & Ellie’s Backyard Circus 4th Birthday Party

March 31, 2014

Yesterday we had a circus birthday for Connor and his cousin Ellie. They both turned 4 within a day of each other and they’ve always shared a special bond. The kids wanted to do a backyard circus party so that’s what we did! Big shout out to my sister-in-law Rebecca & mother-in-law Sherry for making all the costumes! Everything turned out so good and I think all the kids had fun participating in the circus. We had perfect weather yesterday too….I was actually sweating! I can’t believe these two are already 4 years old. My baby is growing up too fast!

Most of this post is going to be pictures of the party. Hope you enjoy Connor & Ellie’s backyard circus 🙂

We rarely get a family picture together so I was happy to get one

Yummy popcorn cookies my friend Addyson made

Welcome to the circus!

The lions and tigers have SHARP teeth and claws

They do tricks like rolling and jumping

For the final act…jumping through the RING OF FIRE!!!

Connor was “The Strong Man”

He lifted a MILLION pounds!

Butterfly ballerinas were a site to see! They dance and jump all over the stage 🙂

Ellie climbing high above the crowd to walk the tightrope

Nell & Granddaddy

Thank you to all our friends and family who came to celebrate!

We love you all & happy birthday to the cutest 4 year olds I know!

CONNOR + ELLIE

Five on Friday

March 28, 2014

Happy Friday everyone! It’s about time!!! I am so excited for the weekend. We are going to have sunny skies and the circus birthday party is HAPPENING. I’m also shooting a wedding on Saturday evening & I’m so excited about it 🙂

1. I shared this on Instagram. When my sister was in town visiting she told me about Teez w/Eez. She got hers from a salon and I got mine from Amazon. It works amazing!!!

2. Here is what it looks like….Give it a try and let me know what you think.

3. My BFF Ellen is in Dallas for vacation this week. We’ve been friends since middle school and I love her to pieces. I’m on a mission to get her to move here. She loves DFW, now all we have to do is find her a job! Anyone hiring for someone with management experience and a degree in fashion merchandising??? Let me know! We went to California Pizza Kitchen, did a little shopping, and then ended the night at Sprinkles for ice cream sundaes. They are to die for….SO GOOD!

4. My friend Heather sent me some Jamberry nails to try. I’ve heard of them, but I’ve never tried them before. They come in so many cool colors and designs.

5. Here is how I styled my Jamberry nails. LOVE. They were super easy to apply and I can tell they’ll last for a while. For more info on how to order these beauties contact Heather for more information.

HAPPY WEEKEND!!!

Weekend Wrap Up & Twinkie Time!

March 24, 2014

Well, this weekend went a little different than planned. Connor and Ellie’s 4th birthday party was supposed to happen, but due to forcasted rain (that never happened) and my sister in law’s impending labor (which also never happened) we rescheduled for next Sunday. My sister and her fiancé Vinny came to visit with cousin Jarrett. Connor and Jarrett just adore each other. We had a nice visit and got to catch up. Bonnie’s getting married in June and I had the pleasure of taking some engagement photos of them too 🙂

We did some retail therapy at the mall and went to QT for iced coffees and scratch offs. That’s just something we always do when she comes to town. QT is a gas station that has a heavenly beverage bar. We didn’t win on our scratch offs…poo poo 🙁 But we did have a good time! Ate good Mexican food, watched movies, and just caught up on life. It’s hard living away from home, but that just means you cherish the time you have with family a whole lot more.

Our boys adore each other. They love, then they fight, tattle, and whine….but at the end of the day they are BFF. They are 2 months apart and my Mom sent them matching shirts for spring so we dressed them alike.

Lunch at Red Robin

I promise to post pictures of the circus birthday party coming up next weekend!

Connor had his 4-year check up today and he’s 90% in height and 80% in weight! I can’t wait until he’s a teenager…ha ha! I can just imagine our grocery bill 🙂

Look at these AMAZING cookies my friend Addyson made for the party? I’m hoping they are still good next weekend. They sure are delicious. If you live in DFW and need a cake or cookies for anything I highly recommend Addyson. If you need her contact email please email me at beckylbranch@gmail.com

Here are some photos from Bonnie & Vinney’s engagement session. You can see more on my PHOTOGRAPHY SITE.

Happy St. Patty’s Day 2014

March 17, 2014

Hope everyone is wearing their green today or I’m going to jump through this screen and PINCH you!!! If you’re looking for a fun place to hang tonight check out the new Bar Louie at North East Mall! We went on Friday night and it was excellent.

I cherish our pictures before school. Connor turned and kiss me on the cheek this morning & I didn’t ask him to. He’s such a precious boy!

Today at work we had green bagels from Einstein’s and they were so good!

And of course…..YOU KNOW WHERE I’M GOING….Starbucks is GREEN! So I had to visit the mermaid lady today and get some crack. Gulp.

HAPPY ST. PATTY’S DAY

MAY THE ODDS BE EVER IN YOUR FAVOR…

#CelebrateFirstFlush #Sponsored #MC

March 13, 2014

I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central Consulting (#MC) for Pull-Ups. I received product samples to facilitate my review and a promotional item as a thank you for participating.

So, I’ve talked about potty training before and I wanted to update on our progress. We’ve always used Pull-Ups® and I can’t say enough about how much I love them. They are great at stopping leaks and not to mention the fun designs are an incentive for Connor. He can easily pull them up and down, plus he’s officially moved into “big boy” status.

Connor can easily tell the front from the back because of the design. One side is the front of a car and the other is the back. This visual definitely helps him he’s so proud when he puts it on by himself! I mentioned before we are 80% of the way there. The only issue we have is bed wetting at nap time or at night. Other than that he does pretty well during the day. We are working on ways to help him get through the night without accidents and always praise him if he wakes up dry in the morning. He loves that feeling!

Pull-Ups® training pants are designed to look and fit more like underwear and work with your child’s potty training learning style. He definitely enjoys wearing his pull up and the feeling of independence it gives him. I like not having to wash pee soaked sheets and clothes every day. It’s a win/win for everyone!

I love seeing my child happy and independent and I know all Moms out there feel the same way. Keep encouraging your kids. There is no “one way” to potty train. It’s different for every family. I’ve never seen a kid go off to high school wearing diapers! You will be fine and eventually it will just click. On a happy note….we’ve had a lot less accidents at naptime!!! Yay!!!

The Pull-Ups® website offers a lot of different tools and resources, available on the Big Kid Academy via the Pull-Ups website, Facebook page, and Twitter page, that make it easy to start potty training and celebrate milestones. There is also a Big Kid App available on Apple and Android smart phones. The app offer videos and songs and a Big Kid checklist to help your little one in his or her nighttime routine. Go check it out HERE!

I’D LOVE TO HEAR ABOUT YOUR POTTY TRAINING JOURNEY.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO SHARE OR ASK QUESTIONS FEEL FREE TO LEAVE A COMMENT!

Finish This Link Up: Week 10

March 12, 2014

Week 10!!!! Whaaaat???? More power to new Mom Nicole for keeping this party going….I don’t know how she’s managing it all! But I sure am enjoying finding out more about each one of you.

1. My boobs are
Tether balls. Just knock em back and forth a few times. Yes, there was a time when I had voluptuous boulders. But, after 14 months of pumping and breastfeeding…..they are not quite the gals they used to be. Totally worth it! I wish I was still breastfeeding….it was the best diet ever. Just sit there and pump out calories.

2. My heart is
Full. I am so happy with my life and all that God has blessed me with. There is always a little room in there for more and God grows my heart 🙂 But overall I’d say I’m full of happiness!

3. One thing every woman should know
Carry a pair of tweezers in your purse. You won’t be wearing cute undies forever. Yes, someday you will look like your mother. Don’t be catty….be nice folks. The world is never fair. Deal with it. That was more than one wasn’t it?

4. My breakfast typically consists of
Coffee and a banana. I prefer an iced non-fat caramel macchiato. Or I just make a coffee when I get to work. Contrary to popular believe I don’t JUST drink Starbucks!

5. I’m so glad I learned the secret to
I don’t do secrets. I am an open book. I pretty much share everything with everyone. But I’m glad I learned the secret to my husband’s heart. I’m glad we get to journey through life together.

Happy MARCH…..and more ninja power to ya!

What am I going to do with him???
D7K_5781 D7K_5784 D7K_5785 D7K_5794

Weekend Wrap Up

March 10, 2014

This post is going to be full of randomness….just warning you!
I finally found a “fine point” metallic pen set. It works pretty good too. I wish Sharpie would come out with the markers in metallic fine point pens.

These scissors are amazing. They are Martha Stewart brand and great for shredding things like bows, tassels, and ribbons.

My good friend Kristin came to Texas to visit this weekend. It’s always so nice seeing her and catching up on old times. I get homesick a lot, so it’s always nice to see a friendly face!

I took her to one of my favorite stores, The Brownstone in Arlington. It has a little bit of everything. While there I spotted this letter “C” in a circus theme. It would be so cute for Connor circus party coming up! People are so darn crafty these days!

I also found the secret to Betty White’s happiness. The dammit doll. I thought these were hilarious!

This LOVE sign made out of old wood was super cute too…

I also discovered these ChewBeads. They would have been great when Connor was teething. You almost have to feel them to believe me, but this is a genius idea.

We took Connor to the lake, fed the ducks, and did some grocery shopping. Fun fun weekend things you have to do but don’t want to like laundry and such.

And last, but not least…Kristin and I in our masquerade masks. I’ve always wanted to go to a ball. We saw these in the shop and had to take a picture 🙂