Island Time ~ Part 1

Okay gang, I'm going to spare you details. Mainly because if any of my friends are reading this they may actually explode from having to hear this story ONE MORE TIME. But let me just say, me and the lady at the Nashville Post Office that issues passports can be described very easily in two words: NOT FRIENDS.

This little puppy right her caused me more anxiety in the last two weeks than I even knew I was capable of having. Long story short, the lady forgot to include our money order to pay for the passport, did not select expedite on the form (Even thought we made a HUGE deal of this) and took an underexposed picture of Lainey causing her passport to be delayed. Therefore Andrea and I were scheming an overnight trip to Atlanta in hopes of not having to forfeit the trip. This is the epitome of the saying "YOU HAD ONE JOB!!!"

But, all is well that ends well and the passport finally arrived the day before we were to be leaving - so we got to head to the Bahamas to visit PaPaw and GoGo as originally planned! Wahoo!

We spent last Saturday sorting through the kids clothes and preparing for my solo flight with the littles. We quickly learned Bennett grew a lot more than we realized. Note to self, please get your child a new wardrobe prior to springs arrival.

And I panic texted anyone and everyone with advice of what to do. I pride myself of being a well rounded traveler (minus road trips, they're not really my thing), but yet throwing two kids in the mix + solo + international and customs and for some reason I was all over the place! But I stuffed it all in a bag, added a baby carrier and a stroller, grabbed a coffee and lived to talk about it + share a "way too many posts" snapchat story ... so there's that.

Honestly, the kids were kind to me. They had their moments, but I really can't complain. Bennett snacked mostly + played the iPad.

And Lainey slept almost the entire way.

There were some interesting moments that made me get all sweaty, but we survived.

And by the grace of God, on the last flight both kids magically fell asleep and slept the entire night.

We landed in Marsh Harbour and headed straight to lunch at Snappa's.  Unfortunately the Bahamas have had an unseasonable chilly winter this year, so we made good use of our blankets, towles + sweatshirts.

We went to bed early that night and let the kids try to catch some ZZZ's after all the travel and woke up refreshed and excited for vacay! Bennett clearly needs some sunnies.

Chheeeese!

And then we headed on a walk with GoGo to the end of the docks to throw some rocks.

Bennett led the march.

I'm aware this is the sixth picture I've posted of the same thing. I just love him and this moment was special. 

On our walk back Bennett wanted to stop and take a rest in the various chairs in people's backyards.

We headed to dinner that night at Curly Tails. Lainey had a bottle.

Bennett ate Oreo dessert.

And PaPaw played cars.

Before they watched the sunset together and we called it a day.

Until tomorrow, xoxo ...

What's Up Wednesday: Feelings and Floral

I have no introduction. Nothing clever. Nothing witty.  Nothing worth reading.  I just plain and simple want to tell you: I'm avoiding everything that piled up while I was away last week and instead I'm just wasting time playing on my bloggy blog. That's basically the gist of it. I've locked myself into my office, told my husband he is responsible for the children and I'm having edamame and Pinot Noir for dinner; because there is literally nothing to eat in our house. And that my friends is the glamorous truth that is currently my life.

But it's What's Up Wednesday and I told ya'll I was getting back on the wagon, so let's move on shall we?  Here's the deal ... I link up with these lovely ladies on the last Wednesday of every month, and we check in and cover these topics:

So let's get down to it ...

What we're eating this week ... well based on what I just told you, we haven't eaten much of anything. I should probably make that more of a priority. 

What I'm reminiscing about ... College spring break. It's that time of year and I always get a tiny twitch thinking about how much fun that week was. How I survived four of them I will never know. But man, they were fun. (that's me and hubs in the middle/back)

What I'm loving ... The new look of my bloggy blog. I was really bored with the old gold text and truth be told I never really was 100% in love with the old look anyways. It was meant to be a short placeholder to simply get the "in the bluegrass" updated to "in music city" and I kept telling myself I'd create something later that I loved, but just never got around to doing so. So, naturally while I have 400 things on my plate - this current moment seems like the best time to go ahead and accomplish that.

I don't know if having a little girl has anything to do with it, but for some reason I'm really loving floral accents right now. Especially ones that are in my favorite colors. So, when I saw this background on vector images I thought it should be my new look for a while.

Teal/Blue is my all time favorite color. It was seen at my wedding and is used in nearly every room in my house. It's been my M.O. since I was a tween on aim: BlueDaisy31 was my jam and I think it's so deep rooted inside of me that now every time I see the color mixed with something I currently love I have to have it. So, here it is ...

Again, as a reference here's the BlueDaisy archives of all the looks I've had throughout the years. It's fun to look back and see what in the world I was thinking way back when. But the current look is where I am in life right now. A little bit girly (Lainey), mixed with a lot of crazy (Bennett), trying to pull it all together and make it make sense (Life).

It was also time to update my "hello I'm Katie Marie" badge. I needed to either include Lainey or drop the kiddos names and just bring it more true to what the blog has really come to be about (my kids). The old badge:

The updated badge (I desperately need new professional head shots. This is my Marketing Director shot from forever ago. I'll go ahead and add that to my to-do list, along with updating that website I just sent you to. Lots of changes to be made!): 

What we've been up to ... We've actually been visiting my parents in the Bahamas! I've been working to get those posts together and hope to have the recaps for you ASAP. 

What I'm dreading ...still dreading swim suit season. Which means I constantly dread the work out (or lack there of). Womp.

What I'm working on ... Well, my little brother commented on a recent blog post and made me feel like a complete ignoramus and it's really got me frazzled.  Granted, he is a writer, living in New York, so it's kind of his "thing" to be good with words (and typing that is so cool ... I'm so proud of him). But back to the issue at hand, his comment stated that the first picture in said post could be taken one of two ways.

"could be seen as an adorable photograph of two siblings growing up together or an ominous harbinger of things to come."

Uhm, I'm sorry. Did you just say "ominous harbinger"?! What??  Please tell me my loving readers that you too are stumped by what in the actual h-e-double hockey sticks this means?! I spent most of my morning on Google working on uncovering the meaning and I think I now know what it means, but I can't be too sure. Bottom line, I should probably just have another glass of Pinot and chat about the next topic.

What I'm excited about ... Spring! Target's dollar aisle is an ever prominent reminder that it is so close and I couldn't be more excited!

What I'm watching/reading ... The Bachelor, Duh. I think Lauren B. has it in the bag! I also wrapped  'You' by Caroline Kepnes while I was on vacay. Shew! 

What I'm listening to ... The DVR ... currently screening last week's Scandal. 

What I'm wearing ... Jeans, because they fit again. Sort of. Not really. Womp. 

What I'm doing this weekend ... This weekend we're looking forward to Bennett's soccer class Saturday and catching up after vacay. We've entertained the idea of potty training, but I'm not sure I have the patience for that at the moment. 

What I'm looking forward to next month ... St. Patty's Day! I always love dressing up in ridiculous green colors and playing Irish. 

What else is new ... Not really a whole lot. This month was a fast one and that was way too long winded for the content applied. I blame the Pinot edamame. ;)

Heart Week Recap

The kids and I flew to the Bahamas on Valentine's Day, so we made sure to celebrate "Love Day" the week of so we didn't miss a beat! But like with all things, kids have impeccable timing and this little bit came down with a nasty ear infection right before we were due to celebrate and head out. So it made for a few rough days before we left. I hate when they're sick. It breaks my heart. 

He managed to weasel a new bean bag out of the deal though, so I don't think he was too sad about it. His poor eye was swollen shut because of his infection. 

And he also protested nap time and requested to nap in the guest bed. But a short 20 minutes in he was quickly trying to venture out of the bed and play ...

So he was whisked back to his bed in no time flat. And Lainey thought it was super funny. 

Saturday morning we woke up to surprises!

And Bennett opened his Valentine's from all of his school friends.

The choc-wate was his favorite.

And the balloons, obviously.

And B had one more surprise, a little Valentine gift from mommy and daddy.

Mr. Potato Head!!!!! (aka) HUMPTY DUMPTY!

He loves him ...

And hasn't stopped playing with him since he opened it.

Valentine's Day is a such a silly and fun holiday, but who doesn't love another reason to show our loved ones how much we care?! I know I do! Love you guys too!