How To Entertain Your Kids at Restaurants

My kids behave great at restaurants. Well....they're great once the food comes. Usually, the waiting at the table seems to take forever, even if it is only a short wait. This week, we stopped by one of our favorite breakfast places, Sin Of Cortez. The kids shared a "monster" pancake, Mark had the "Papas Locos", potatoes with black beans, jalapenos, avocado, and all sorts of stuff. I wasn't hungry, but I loved my Vietnamese coffee.

To get to this blissful family moment, we had to wait about 15 minutes for our food, as expected.

So, I did what I usually do, and used the materials at hand to tell a story. Maggie grabbed about six coffee stirrers when we first sat down and broke them (ugh), so I used them to tell her the story of the Three Little Pigs, which she is obsessed with. She was seriously enthralled and waited patiently. Liam had a cute little girl seated next to him that was about his age, so they just babbled to each other the whole time. You can sugar packets, jam packets, whatever is at the table to tell stories, put on "shows", and run mock races. Most of the time, nothing gets opened or used, and we put it all back at the end. Since the sticks were already broken, I figured I might as well use them!



What (My sister and) I Wore Wednesday

Easter provided the perfect opportunity for my sister to join in on the WIWW fun!  She is one hot mama, and I love the (faux) attitude she is giving off in these pictures.  I love my beautiful sister and I cherish the time we get to spend together!

Sarah's top is from Old Navy.

Her leggings are from TJ Maxx.

Her Boots are from DSW.

I think she made a great choice by showing off her super slim legs with the leggings and knee high boots.  She recently lost the last of her baby weight and I can definitely tell.

I was just going to take pictures this day, so I was way dressed down.  Here's a pic of my ultra casual wear for hanging out with the family.

On Easter, I pulled myself together and dressed up a bit.

My sweater is Lauren Hansen.

Everything else is from Target at one point or another.

This was so much fun!  I can't wait to have more guests on for WIWW! One of my BFF's (from all the way back to Jr. High), Allie, is coming into town this upcoming weekend and we are having a girls' night.  It's my plan to capture all of my girls in their Saturday night best!  So excited!

I am linking up with The Pleated Poppy

Easter Looked A Lot Like..

This!

My sister taught me all about Oprah's recipe for Moscow Mules.  So tangy and refreshing!  The ginger beer is non-alcoholic so you could easily make an alcohol -free version, too!  And the syrup is just simple syrup; sugar water.  So 1 lime squeezed, 1 tablespoon simple syrup, 1-2 ounces vodka, fill with ginger beer, add mint spring and stir.  Delicious!

The Saturday before Easter.  Mark is trying to figure out these new-fangled egg dying kits my mom got.

Fun with cousin Nate.

Maggie loves the bat girl costume her grandma keeps at her house.

Liam and Nate hanging out.  I love Liam's take charge attitude that I captured here!

I actually forgot my camera on Easter, so these are all of family time the day before.  But, Sunday looked the same, just fancier clothes!

Trying

I am having so much trouble juggling everything in my life right now.  Things are really tough for us.  We're having major financial issues, which makes every single day so much harder and really pretty depressing. Raising a family on a student's budget is just tough. I'm going through personal issues right now (struggling with my anxiety and depression) and wow...life is a struggle right now.

It's hard to blog about a shiny, happy life when you don't have one.  I had a wonderful Easter weekend filled with family, fun and food.  It was a nice distraction from the real world, but today was quite a crash for me.  I'm just so sad.  I feel like every bad decision I ever made is coming back to haunt me in a huge way.  School is such a struggle right now, and I'm finding it so hard to think about going tomorrow.  All I want to do is sleep.  And cry.

I really have no idea what the future holds for me and my family.  I'm scared, I'll admit it.  Mark and I are arguing more than we ever have, and I just can't pretend I'm not angry.  I am angry.  I'm hurt, I'm disappointed, and a little bitter.

I know I just go on pretending that I love my life.  I love my family, but I'm not loving my life right now. I just feel sick to my stomach all day long.  I have a month left of school and I'm just trying to finish. Every day, I just try to wake up, be a loving and attentive mom, and get. through. it. It's tough.

I don't know what my plans are with this blog.  I'm so overwhelmed, it has been impossible for me to put together posts. I'll definitely be doing a WIWW, though!  My gorgeous sister posed for some pictures that I took of her outfit, so I'll be sharing those.  Seeing her and my nephew this weekend was definitely a great distraction.  I miss them already.

1 Month of WIWW!

I've been doing WIWW for about three months. I started off with a single picture, and it took a while for me to get the nerve to really get into it and fulfill all my 'Top Model' fantasies.  I couldn't imagine not doing it now.  I have started seeing my clothes, and my appearance as a offshoot of my art.  My art features a lot of bright pops of color, clean lines and whimsy.  I think a lot of the outfits I wore in the past thirty days fit that bill!

Here's my favorites from the past thirty days (and BTW, I didn't set out to do a 30 for 30, but I kinda did one unintentionally):

Did you have any favorite looks?  Tell me, I would love to know what I should wear again!

This upcoming week, my goal is to come up with totally new ways to wear all these clothes!  It's getting warmer, too...so expect lots more dresses and shorts.  And, I've been putting together my braiding/hairstyle post and it's not quite finished, so I'm going to include it with next week's WIWW.  Oh, and since it is Easter this Sunday, my sister will be here and there's a "What I (and my sister) Wore Wednesday" in store for next week.  So excited to take some outfit pics with my best friend!

And I just want to say a HUGE thank you to all of you who have left comments over the last month.  It has been such a incredible gift to read such thoughtful, kind words from so many beautiful women.

I am linking up with The Pleated Poppy



Studying, Studying, Studying!

My day has been spent studying notes like these:

                                                            And making note cards like this:

In case you didn't figure it out, I have a HUGE ar.t histor.y test tomorrow!  And yes, I typed it like that on purpose.  I really don't need any other students, or worse, my professor, finding this.  Yikes!

FYI- It is pretty much impossible to really study when an adorable toddler is playing peek-a-boo with you.  So, it was awesome when Mark took the kids to the park to expend some energy and give me an hour of quiet studying.  Except, it wasn't really quiet because I always listen to music when I do homework.  Today, I listened to the Jewel and Garth Brooks stations on Pandora, which are two of my favorites!



This Week...

• We moved Liam out of our bedroom and he is now sharing a room with Magdalena.  The transition has been really smooth, actually.  It has definitely been an adjustment but the kids seem to love the idea of sharing a room.  The only problem has been that Maggie sometimes struggles to go to sleep, and she'll wake up her brother in the process.  But, overall, it has been a huge success and I am so happy to only be sharing my room with one man now.

• A winner was announced for the giveaway I helped sponsor over at 5 Minutes for Mom.  I donated a $25 gift card to Target, and at the time, it was honestly a big sacrifice for us.  I regretted participating, and I felt guilty for spending money that we needed for other things.  And then, I got an e-mail from the winner, telling me what an amazing blessing it was.  She said that her mother in law had died very recently and unexpectedly in a car accident, and she and her husband had to pay for all the funeral expenses themselves.  I, in turn, felt so blessed by being able to bless her. All the regret totally disappeared, and I sat at my computer and cried.  I was so grateful to help a random stranger. I remembered that it's never a mistake to give.

• I have been so stressed and overwhelmed this week!  School is really getting intense, as there is only like six weeks left.  Between my family life, school, blogging and planning an upcoming 10 year reunion for my high school class, I am pretty much stressed beyond my limit.  I'm trying to get super organized, and balance things out a little more.  I am allowing myself to go a day or two without blogging if I need to.  After all, I don't want to spend all my free time blogging about my family instead of actually being with my family, right?

• I got to go out with my friend, Tara, last Saturday night and it was awesome.  We met when I was 21 and living in Humboldt County (I miss it!) and she was one of our friends who accompanied us on our trip to Reno in January.  Basically, she is one of the nicest, wisest and most accepting people I know. And a seriously good time! She lives a few hours away, but I do get the opportunity to see her pretty often.  I'm so excited, though, because she's moving to our town really soon.

• I was thisclose to finally having time to have a phone call with one of my lifelong friends, Kelly from Beyond Bons Bons, but alas, mommyhood got in the way.  It's gonna happen soon, though! Especially since we have a little blog project together that's in the works.  So excited.

Small Style- Boy Edition

I am so glad I was able to get some pictures of Liam's adorable outfit!  I love dressing Maggie, but it is also so fun to have a cute baby boy to dress.  His hat, shirt and shorts are from Old Navy and his shoes are from Target.

Liam was playing with his uncle, Ed, who is Mark's brother. He was here for a quick visit. Liam has only spent a handful of hours with him (he lives across the country in Boston because he is a crazy smartypants and is finishing his PHD at MIT).  But, Mark and his brother look so much alike, that Liam just totally relaxed in his arms and even laid his head on his chest.  It was a great moment!  And then they played for a long time in the back yard.

And Liam looked pretty darn hip while doing it, too.

I swear he's not pooping.  He loves to just relax in this pose.

Another day, he sported the same awesome hat, a cute tee from Old Navy, and khakis from Target.

I love this picture I snapped as we were leaving.  I just wish it was better quality.  It's my goal to get a great, clear one of them holding hands soon.  They are starting to really play together (and annoy each other) and it's really rewarding.  Maggie will comfort him when he's crying (in her way; by making funny faces and grabbing his hands).  It is so sweet to watch.  Sigh.  I love them.

I am linking up with Morgan at Mama Loves Papa

What I Wore Wednesday

Yay!  It's Wednesday!  I love doing What I Wore Wednesday, and this week I had a lot of fun with my clothes.  I've been loving my hair lately, and I have been doing lots of intricate braids.  I think that next week I'll post a little more about my hair and exactly how I braid it and pin it!  I've been timidly thinking about posting a vlog about cutting my own hair, but...eek!  I don't know if I'm quite ready for that.

School Outfit- I stand out in a sea of hoodies and pajama pants.

Anchor dress with belt- Forever 21

Red cardigan- Target

Leggings- Target

Wedges- Old Navy

Okay, I got really self-conscious after seeing this picture, so I did throw on a black cardigan before I left the house. Boo on me and my issues with my arms. I almost didn't post this picture, but that would be against everything I'm doing here.

Ribbed Tank-Old Navy

Jeggings- Target

Wedges-Old navy

Scarf-I honestly have no idea, and there's no tag.  Found it in my closet this week!

Booties- From my mom

Belt- Forever 21

Everything else is from Target (but purchased years apart!)

And I'm just going to admit that everything in the next two outfits is also from Target. Have you heard my explanation?!  There are very few stores in my smallish town that sell clothing that I like, that I can afford, and that actually fit me.  Target is one of the best places for me to find classic and trendy pieces in my size.

 I made this necklace using just a length of leather that I had kicking around in my crafting box and one of the little fabric flowers that I love so much.  I just pinned it on and there you go.

I'm going to refer to the following picture as your bonus picture.  I didn't have time to take a picture before we left the house, but I was playing a game with Maggie and Mark snapped this "monster" picture of me.

As always, I am linking up with Lindsey at The Pleated Poppy.

Rural Schooling

I love my community college.  I really do.  It used to be so ugly and uninspiring, but it's looking so much better lately. There is a lot of construction going on, but that means there is a new building or a re-done area every couple of months.  They are also installing solar powers EVERYWHERE and they have a goal of being energy positive by next year (is that what's it called?  Energy positive?)

It's about 15 minutes out of town, but I actually love the drive.  The only thing I don't like is the horrible parking situation.  The parking lots all around the campus, but they are way overfull, and most days I have to walk about 15 or 20 minutes to and from my car.  I'm just tired after a whole day of walking around the huge campus and I always dread the walk back.

Mark is always nice enough to carry my backpack after a long day...even though it has pink and purple birds on it.  He will also carry my purse without batting an eye. He's cool like that.

Our Weekend

We are blessed to have lots of family in town.  Mark has always been really close to his extended family, and we spend quite a bit of time with them.  Mark's cousin lives here, and she has two kids.  Ellie is the younger sibling, and is now five.  Her and Maggie get to spend at least one day a week together, and they play whenever the family gets together.

My mother in law told me that they were in the car together, and Ellie was trying to explain something to Maggie.  Ellie got frustrated because Maggie wasn't following her and said, "Well, Maggie, I guess that's something you'll just have to learn as you grow up."  They crack me up!

My mother in law took these pictures yesterday during lunch.  Mark's brother was in town for the weekend (he lives across the country and we rarely  get to see him), but he was busy with a friend's wedding.  We did manage to squeeze in a few visits (including Mark surprising him at a bar at 11:30 at night) so that was awesome.

I love that spring is here and all the bulbs are coming up!  It's so pretty around here!

Sweets From My Sweet

Last night, I was watching some documentaries on Netflix (have you seen Banksy's Exit Through The Gift Shop?  If you haven't do it NOW.  It ignited an hour long dialogue between Mark and I about what we think art is, the value of it, and the kind of art I want to make) and I asked Mark if he would get me some ice cream.  He's nice like that, and I knew he would do it :)

But then, more time passed as he was in the kitchen, and I heard chopping noises and whip cream noises and then....

he brought me this monstrosity of a sundae that was this amazing mix between strawberry shortcake and a chocolate sundae.  It was huge, and we shared it.  It was so sweet, and unuexpected.  I love those little moments where you can just tangibly feel the love and affection in your relationship. Such a sweet end to a really nice and really long day.

Second Chances

No Small Style today!  Liam and I had the flu over the weekend and I was swamped with school work.  So, I gave myself a much needed pass and didn't worry about taking pictures of the kids.  All you would have seen were pajamas and play clothes, anyway.

So, instead, I have the joy of sharing some awesome news for our family.  No, I'm not pregnant. We'll just get that out of the way right now.

Mark and I started dating almost eight years ago, right before he transferred to a state college.  We dated long distance for a semester, and then I moved there and I went to the junior college.  We basically did anything and everything but go to class. We were young (oh so young) and seriously didn't think about our actions.  We were just so happy to have found each other, we basically just lived off the love and hormones.

Not surprisingly, we did horrible in school, and Mark was nicely asked not to return the next year.  So, we packed up and moved back home.  We just figured we would work for a while, and then go back to school the year after.  One year turned into two, and then we were getting married.  And then we had Maggie.  And then we had Liam.

When he was ready to go back to school a few years ago, he was focused and excited to go to the state college here in our hometown.  BUT, he wasn't accepted.  And thus began years of figuring out how to get his Bachelor's degree.  He was told no over and over again. Basically, you can't attend a school if you're not in good academic standing at your last school.  His old school told him "if you move here, take all the classes over again and basically get a 4.0, your GPA will be high enough to put you in good standing".  Not going to happen for a variety of reasons.

So, he enrolled in a year long program at our community college for IT cert.ifications and did awesome.  He has tons of Mic.ro.soft certifications...and no job.  So, he has spent this year taking the classes he would need to get two associates degrees, one in mathematics and one in computer science.  I was so proud of him, even if they are only two year degrees.  We both kind of made peace with the fact that he was not going to have an advanced degree, ever.

And then this week happened.  He was finally able to sit down with someone and work it out.  Because of his awesome performance at community college, HE CAN GO BACK TO A STATE COLLEGE!  It is so huge for us!!  He will have his BS in computer science after two years and will have his Masters in three. 

I feel like God has given us a second chance.  I feel like weeping.  I will graduate with my BFA either the exact same semester or one after.  I am so thankful for the opportunity for my husband to achieve a goal he has had for so long.  He so wants to provide our family with the things we need and desire.  I am just grateful that he has a chance to show just how awesome he is.  It's just such good, good news.

What I Wore Wednesday: Hello, Legs!

Welcome to another What I Wore Wednesday here at That Kind Of Mom.  Like other moms, I started doing WIWW to get myself out of lounge wear.  Now, a few months later, I love planning my outfits, hairstyles and accessories. It is seriously one of the highlights of my day when I put together a cute outfit and can take a picture of it. I'm not always confident, but I feel like clothing is another way to express myself visually. Now that I have been taking pictures every week I have realized that:

1. I like color. A lot.

2. I wear tight clothes.  Why add more bulk to bulk?

3.I kind of dress like a floozy from the fifties. And act like one, too.  Booyah!

4. In other words, I like vintage qualities and silhouettes.

5. I really like my hair up.

6. I like my profile better than straight on.

7. Sometimes I look better when I'm not smiling.  Sometimes I look mad.

8. I loves me a belt!  They help to make my non-existent waist suddenly appear.

9.  I like anything playful or quirky.

I actually kinda like rocking shorts.  If I had to go bare with one portion of my body, it would definitely be my legs.  I'm enjoying the warmer weather around here, and decided to celebrate it with a spring-y nautical outfit.

Striped Tee- Target

Red Belt- Forever 21

Cardigan- Target

Shorts- Old Navy

Wedges- Old Navy

Hat- Forever 21

Flower- Target

I like to think of these pictures titled as "I'm not a mean girl but I play one on my blog."

Meep!  I love my hair in this one.  Gonna be sporting this more often.

Tank, Belt, Skirt, Shoes and Glasses-Target

Cardigan- Ross

Ruffled Tank- Old Navy

Shirt- Target

Belt- Target

Jeggings- Target

Cuff- Forever 21

Wedges-Old Navy

                                                                      Tank- Old Navy

                                                                     Cardigan- Target

                                                                      Jeggings- Target

                                                                        Flats- Target

Necklace- Forever 21

Check out some of my other outfit posts here.

I am linking up with Lindsey at The Pleated Poppy