Recipe: Best Margaritas

Anyone have a recipe from an ex-boyfriend that you still love despite the relationship ending over 10 years ago?!  This one is from his step mom and it's a good one!

I think there are two keys to a good margarita - Cointreau and a honey rim!  Recipe is below.    

Annie's Margaritas (makes a pitcher)
12 ounces tequila
6 ounces Cointreau
48 ounces margarita mix

Mix the above.  Rim glass with honey, dip in salt.  Squeeze in lime slice and pour yourself a margarita!

I used a low calorie margarita mix (see above) and it was just as delicious.  I also like using stemless wine glasses instead of a margarita glass.  And I usually half the above recipe.  Cheers!

Molly Anne - isms

It's been awhile since I've done a Molly Anne -isms post and I love remembering funny things she says or does!

1.  The other day I was getting ready for work and she comes in my getting ready area and says, "oh mama you look SO cute!"

2.  She likes to dance in her car seat to certain songs.  My car has a little screen that has the album cover of the artist that is playing and she loves to know who is who on "da picture!"  She has most of them memorized.  Oh dat's Jason Al-dean.  Oh dat's Kenny Ches-ney.  That's how she pronounces things.

3.  We recently got a roundabout nearby and she kept calling it a merry-go-bout until I finally told her it's a roundabout.  So now she says when we go around it - "Mama, it's not a merry-go-bout, it's a roundabout!"

4.  She is a child that is set in her little ways so if we do something out of the ordinary, then we have to talk all about it.  And then repeat the fact that we are stopping by the grocery store on the way to get Grady.  "And den we are goin' home."

5.  We used to count to 60 each night because there are 60 seconds in oooooone minute as she says but now she wants to count to 100 every time!  The other night she finally figured out how to say THIR-ty instead of FOUR-ty.  We've worked on that tongue placement for a long time haha but now she gets it!

6.  She knows where all kinds of places are around town.  She'll point out her doctor's office, her school, she knows when we're on the way to Ms. Becky's.  She likes to point out all of the construction sites around town.  She likes to spot Daddy's car in his office parking lot.  She's an observant young lady!

7.  She's never met a stranger.  Ever.  And she'll remember your name weeks or months later.  Wild.  

8.  She is big into our fam-i-ly and that's how she says it!  When we are all walking down the stairs together, she says, "Mama, Daddy - look!  It's our fam-i-ly!"  She always wants to draw our family in chalk or with crayons!  All about our family!

9.  She loves to put make up on every morning.  And sometimes she raids my drawer instead of using her pretend stuff.  On Monday morning I let her put eye shadow on me and she said, "oh mama you look beautiful" after she put it on.  

10.  Favorite color - pink.  Favorite number - 8.  Favorite food - chicken nuggets.  Favorite outfit - a dress.  Favorite dress up - her ballerina leotard.  Favorite thing to do - play outside or color.  Favorite toy - all of her My Little Pony's.  Favorite drink - milk or juice.  Favorite craft - making necklaces.  Favorite activity - pool.  

She is so fun!  Not that I'm biased or anything!

Emme's Party and Out

Friday night we got into pajamas early and ate leftovers for dinner!  We never are so boring on a Friday but it was necessary!  How cute are these new Lila and Hayes pajamas I got for Molly Anne at Fancy Pants?  They are soooo soft and sweet!

We had a big day on Saturday.  First up, soccer!

Then Molly Anne and I went to get her hair done because we had family pictures later that day!  She loves getting it blown dry there and they can do it so much better than me!  

This boy didn't get to do much on Saturday because it was too hot for him to be outside in his band so Daddy stayed with him most of the day in the air conditioning!

I took these two girlies to Emme's 3rd birthday party!  

Of course Margot went above and beyond and had the cutest Mermaids and Unicorns party ever!  Molly Anne loved making a treasure chest! 

Adorable right?!

All of the children!

Birthday girl on the right...with Nora Beth and Molly Anne!

After the party we had family pictures taken by Lindsay Hart.  I can't wait to get them and I will definitely share.  How adorable is sweet Grady in his outfit?!!

The boys!

We got a babysitter last minute and headed to our club for a late dinner and some drinks.  We ended up making friends with people in the bar and had too much fun.  Then we hopped over to a nearby bar and hung there for a beverage before we ubered home!  

I wore my favorite dress - such a classic.

Sunday was a low key day for everyone including Millsy!  Molly Anne was pretty spent after such a big day on Saturday so we just played around the house!

Mills wouldn't even move so I could feed Grady where I usually do every day!  Poor Grady had to lay on his tail!  

Monday morning and Molly Anne picked out our outfits for work!  Purple day evidently haha!  She even took our picture!

She had Fun and Fitness at school today so she had to wear her "Soccer shoes" as she calls them!  

Hope everyone had a nice weekend!  I'm looking forward to the week and playing catch up on sleep!  Grady has had a time with his helmet.  We were there on Friday and have to go again tomorrow which is unusual but we are trying to get it right on his head!  

Chat soon!

Five on Friday - Notepads, PJs, Tank, Pics and Apps

ONE:
How adorable are these notepads for Molly Anne's teachers and Ms. Becky?  I had her teachers fill out a favorite things list at the beginning of the school year and used those to get these made.  Olive Juice and Dandelions is the name of the shop and she couldn't have been sweeter sending me proofs of these and I just think they're perfect!

TWO:
Cutest pajamas ever - rainbows and unicorns - every little girl's favorite!  I got these for Molly Anne this week for the winter!  Instagram account - @smockingbird_clothing

THREE:
I recently got this Corinna Tank and yall.  It is good.  I wish they had it in every color.  Easily my favorite workout and hang around tank.  It's thin and cool for running but cute for being out and about.  I'll likely get this one too because if this is how their athletic line is, I need more.  

FOUR:
We have a busy weekend with soccer, a birthday party and pictures that we're having done by Lindsay Hart.  I'm really looking forward to having family pictures taken and I am going to post them ALL over our house and on here.  Get ready.  Now I need to lose 10 pounds between now and tomorrow!  

FIVE:
I made this Baked Brie Bites appetizer and Christina's Pumpkin Dip for the mom's night out I hosted last night.  Both are always a hit!

Happy Friday!

Fall is in the Air

Two things I LOVE about Fall - this candle and this soap!  

In case you're living under a rock haha, the Nest candles are simply amazing and this Fall one is definitely the best Fall candle to smell.  It is a little pricey but lasts a long time and your whole house will smell delightful!  I pulled mine out the other day and found I still had half left woohoo!  It'll be burning every day!

I do believe Williams Sonoma hand soaps are the best - they get grease and gook off your hands without having to pour Dawn all over yourself.  We keep one bottle at our kitchen sink and one bottle in our powder room.  We have the Pumpkin Spice and Spiced Chestnut and I love them equally!  They both smell so good and leave your hands smelling like Fall!

Random Wednesday

1.  I still am not getting emails when you all comment on a blog post so I'm incredibly sorry I can't reply to you!  I hope Blogger fixes this soon.  Thank you for all of your sweet comments!

2.  I got some of our Fall decorations out and put them around the house. I honestly don’t have much Fall decor but maybe I’ll find some cute things on sale at the end of the season for next year.  I’m not a huge fan of Fall (I know, I know) so I’ve never rushed out to buy all the things!

3.  I reallllllly need to start for real exercising. I’ve been taking Mills a few times a week to run/walk but that isn’t going to cut it.   

4.  I can’t believe October is in two weeks. How did that happen?  

5.  Tomorrow all of our landscaping that didn’t make it (since being planted in 10 degree weather) will be replaced. We’ve been waiting for the weather to start turning from 1,000 degree days to a bit cooler.   Anyway, I’m so excited about this.  It’s going to make our yard look so much better.  And our grass will be overseeded in a couple of weeks.  

6.  We got all of our furniture put back on our porch but before we did this, Kevin scrubbed the slate down. It feels so much cleaner out there even though it’s open to the elements! 

7.  I’m hosting a mom’s night out for the other moms in Molly Anne’s class at school. It will be nice to meet them!

8.  We’ve been playing ‘clean out the freezer’ since last week and it’s been good to get rid of some of that stuff.  Plus I haven’t really had to cook and since I’ve been back to work, this has been so nice!  

Yep, that’s some random for y’all!  

C Section versus Regular Delivery

I've been meaning to write this post for ummm about 4 months!  I know some of you were interested in hearing my thoughts on a regular delivery versus a c-section since I've had one of each.  Here it goes:

Regular Delivery

Pros -
1.  You really feel what it feels like to have a baby, even if you have an epidural.
2.  You get to labor and experience all of the parts of having a baby somewhat naturally.  
3.  The surprise of getting to tell your family and friends that your baby is here is so fun!

Cons -
1.  You don't know how you'll feel afterwards 'down there' and may have to take lots of sitz baths among other things.  You don't know how long it'll take to feel better.  
2.  You may never sneeze or jump on a trampoline again without a little dribble ha. 
3.  You don't know when you're going into labor so keep your bag packed!


C-Section

Pros -
1.  You get to plan exactly when it is going to happen, assuming you have to have one for medical reasons.  If you have other children, you can make sure you have them covered for when you'll be at the hospital. 
2.  You won't know exactly what to expect for recovery but the two weeks estimate to be back to normal is pretty accurate (it was for me at least).  At least you know it's 'only' two weeks.  

Cons -
1.  It's surgery and you might not know how your body reacts to that.  You cannot use those ab muscles very well afterwards.  Getting up from sitting is hard work.  
2.  You still have some of same after-effects like if you had a regular delivery.  Blah.  


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In general, I would say the first two weeks of a c-section recovery are harder than the first two weeks of a regular delivery recovery.  But that totally depends on how your regular delivery goes!  This was just my experience.  I also had an almost 3 year old that I was chasing around and couldn't lounge around all day like I did when Molly Anne was born!

I think however your baby comes out, it will be amazing and likely the best moment of your life.  The one thing that drove me crazy when I was pregnant was not knowing when and how my child was going to decide to come.  Well, it always works out so try not to stress something you can't change!  Easier said than done, I know!

So if I had to do it again, what would I prefer?  Probably a c-section but that's because of three big things - 1.  I have other children and I'd love to be able to plan childcare and 2. because I've gotten to experience a regular delivery and 3. because I already (sorta) forgot how awful I felt in the OR and recovery rooms!