And so it begins...Kindergarten chronicles

In my last post, I mentioned that we begun the countdown to JOE starting school in August. Truth be told, I mentally began the countdown earlier this year. I just couldn't believe that my baby girl will be starting kindergarten. Many of you have followed me from my first post, through my pregnancy and delivery of JOE. Can you believe its been almost FIVE years? Time sure flies when you are having fun. 

Anyways, since I am a DIY mom, I of course had to do a DIY board for my baby girl. This is a custom board that requireed the use of a machine to cut the vinyl so I won't be posting any DIY instructures of how to do it. You can however use it as inspiration to make a board for your little one if you so choose. 

JOE had a big say in the look and colors of this board. I let her browse through Pinterest with me and she told me exactly what she wanted her board to look like. 

I know the words aren't straight. I was doing it in between other activities and honestly, just didn't have the energy or time to start measuring lines. 
The board was completed shortly before we left on vacation in August and JOE couldn't want to take a picture with it so I did some preview shots of her and her sister.

After our vacation, our family adopted a new beta fish. Introducing Sven. Yes, from the movie Frozen.
Sven has been with us for a few weeks and is going strong.

I guess all the stress of my baby starting kindergarten has me growing red hairs. These are precursors to grays. I am so not ready!

On our way to church on Sunday. I often take Sunday car selfies and I love the different faces JAE makes in the pictures. For the longest time, she wasn't in the pictures because her carseat was still facing backwards so I love capturing her in the pictures. 
JOE loves to remind me to take these whenever we are in the car. 

JOE has been ready to start school for a while. J and I feel so blessed to have her and her sister. They never cease to amaze us. 
To prepare JOE for kindergarten, we started her on the school curriculum last year. She did great and we know that she is fully ready for school. 

I on the other hand am struggling with it. It doesn't help that her first day of school is September 11th. I wanted to keep her home that day but J insisted that she had to go. I agreed. Especially since JOE really really wanted to go. 

A few days before school started, we went to her school for Orientation. JOE picked out her outfit and JAE decided she also wanted to wear a dress as well. 

My babies are growing so fast.

The weekend before JOE started school, J had to work. I figured since it would be a girls Saturday, I would do some fun activities with the girls. 
First up was getting their nails done. JOE requested this before school. Yes, I gave her the side eye but decided to indulge her anyways.

Afterwards, we went to Chick fil-a for lunch. I couldn't eat anything from their menu but it was so funny to watch JAE devour the fries! Afterwards, I let them play in the playground. Unfortunately, JAE tripped on a step in there and fell. No permanent damage was done but my baby bumped her head and was crying so that cut short out afternoon out.

The next day, we headed to church. Yes, both kids had a pouty face. One because she didn't want to be in the picture and the other because we told her she couldn't sit with us in the santuary and had to go to Sunady school because she is always asking for a million and one things during service.

Like I said, my baby was READY for school. She got her nails done, chose a new "big girl" hairstyle and even picked out her clothes for school. 

Ready to go. J and I both got ready and took JOE to school. She LOVES bacon and I made sure to give her lots of bacon before school. She was actually surprised I let her have bacon on a weekday. LOL...

And then it was time to take pictures.

Be still my heart.

Going to kindergarten also means carrying a big girl backpack. Yup...that was from her school list. Wanna guess what type of backpack she chose? No need to guess...check out the next picture.

Yup...Doc McStuffins.

JAE got her backpack as well and wanted to be in the pictures with her sister. Gosh, I love these girls.

The first week was Spirit week. It was supposed to be Patriotic day. But of course, we forgot. Oh well...it wasn't the last one we forgot that week. 
Check out JAE looking like she belonged in the class.

The next day was crazy hair day.

And the day after that was Pajama day. My baby girl is not used to no naps in the middle of the day. I guess that's waht it means to be a big girl in school. 
She was OUT the minute she got in my car.

Thursday was tie-dye day. She made this tie dye shirt the week before school started. Since I got out a little early on Thursday from work, I decided to take her out for frozen yogurt to relax and chat about how school was going. 
My girl LOVES school!

The next day was supposed to be superhero day but we forgot. But I am sure you can guess what she would have wanted to be for Superhero day. 

Anyways, starting kindergarten also marks another major milestone. My baby will be turning FIVE in a few weeks!
Back in April, she requested to have her birthday party at a pottery painting place and requested to have a Trolls themed party. 
And so it begins...

Here is a quick preview of one of the items for her party. 

The wonderful thing about her starting school is that her relationship with her sister is so much better. While JAE has had a bit of a hard time adjusting to her sister leaving early in the morning, she is also doing great with when her sister gets home. They are sharing more and playing together better.

Another church bound car selfie.

JAE and JOE requested their hairstyles and honestly, I couldn't be more proud of time. 

Not sure of where JOE saw this style but she described exactly what she wanted and I made it happen.

Birthday invitation cards arrived. Oh and they came without envelopes. Not cool...

Last week Thursday was picture day at school. My big girl chose her outfit for school and I must say, she did a GREAT job!

Of course, her sister wanted to be in the picture as well. Check them out sporting matching butterfly tattoos.

Later that day, we surprised the kids by taking them to see PJ Masks live. They had A BLAST! We won't be doing that again on a week day. EVERYONE was TIRED by the time we got home.

One happy girl...

It has been a bit of an emotional couple of weeks but one that reminds me of just how blessed we truly are. 

Have a fabulously blessed week and be sure to be kind to strangers!

Countdown to Kindergarten

So I haven't done a blog in a while and that is because life has just been too busy.

Since I have quite a few pictures to get through, I'll just put quick updates of what it is you are looking at.

My little JOE started Kindergarten in September. She and I worked together for her school sign. She even told me the colors she wanted and what/where she wanted things.
I'll be posting more about her starting kindergarten soon. In the meantime, here is a preview of her board for school.

In early August, I introduced our Poppy African Print collection. I made this lovely maxi skirt for a client. I'll be sharing pictures of me in the midi skirt in a future post.
In the meantime, both the skirt and tee can be found on our site.

We FINALLY finished the basement ceiling. I am SOOOO glad this is done and we can all enjoy the basement together. The kids LOVE the extra playing space and we look forward to hosting our family this Christmas.
Check out J and JAE playing the Wii.

Basement selfies with my babies while watching Trolls for quite possibly the millionth time :-).

Talk about walking. I KILT it on this day! But since this post is over a month old, I can't even remember what I did that day. LOL!

For the first time, I looked in the mirror and actually noticed my weight loss!

Church bound car selfie :-D

My baby girl was NOT sleeping. She just is not a fan of taking pictures. Or would rather make goofy faces :-).

One of the new wristlet/purses introduced to AyoBE Boutique in August. There are several options. Go check them out here!

Loving my Capella African Print Chiclet earrings from AyoBE Boutique. I love when I can pair items from the store with everyday wear.

If you are not already doing so, please go check out this lady's site. She has so many tips and tricks for caring for you and your little one's hair. They styles are absolutely beautiful. In addition to that, she has a family site that just speaks to me. I know there are a lot of YouTubers out there. But this lady and her family definitely stand out. Go visit her site. I promise you, you'll want to click the "subscribe" button.

I am hoping to get through some of my draft blog posts in the next few days. I know. I am playing major blog catch up here. What can I say? Live happens :-).

Have a fabulously blessed new week and remember to be kind to strangers.

Photo Dump Friday: Hair, Teeth, Clay, Mushrooms and Poppy!

Teeth, Hair, Clay, Mushrooms and Poppy! What do they all have in common? Well, they are just some of the things that filled the end of our month of July. 

I have been busy with work, business, life and chillaxing so blogging sometimes takes a back seat. Also, we've been doing some vlogging. Editing it leaves me with less time to blog. 

But no worries. I am not abandoning my blog. Not yet anyways. I kinda like the idea of JOE and JAE one day reading these and getting to know what they were like as kids. 

So on to this blog post. This was one of the dresses I got a while back from Zulily. Incase you can't tell, I tend to buy a lot of items from there. Granted, I have had some misses but for the most part, I have had quite a few hits as well. 

I felt beautiful and professional in this dress. I am not someone who often wears pink but this dress has me changing my mind about the color.

Family...I love when everyone is together and smiling. It is rare that we can get JAE to smile in a family picture :-). She loves to goof around.

As JOE gets older, she is getting pickier about her hair style. A couple of weeks ago, she was going to go get her hair washed at the hair salon. The last time she went, she said the lady wasn't as gentle with her hair. I mean, she does have A LOT of hair so I decided to help her out with that by detangling it a bit before they left. 

When it was out, she decided she wanted to take pictures and play around with her hair loose. She LOVES it!

#Hairmodel!

Anyways, she made me promise to let her straighten it after she turns 6. I said OK. I WON'T be the one straightening it. She starts kindergarten this Fall. I wonder if she'll like to keep it this long or want it cut after she starts school. 

While J & JOE went to get their hair done, JAE and I ran some errands. As you can see, JAE wanted to carry her own backpack. She LOVES this backpack and wears it whenever she can.

Car selfies!!! Heading out to a friend's daughter's birthday party. 

I am wearing the Capella earrings from AyoBE Boutique. The top was self drafted for me. I love this top because it doubles as a skirt! Keep scrolling for more pictures.

It was a bit of a drive so the minute we got in the car, JAE promptly went to sleep holding her bottle of milk. You know she was TIRED because she LOVES her milk!

This is an example of the "top skirt". I am wearing the same top but in the form of a skirt. I love the mini length too. 
Hey there -27lbs :-). Yes, I am still on my "health is wealth" plan.

The next day, we headed to Church. As usual, JAE is being goofy. Love this child of mine.

Still pretending to be asleep. SMH!

And with the installation of the accordion doors, our basement is DONE DONE DONE DONE DONE!!! Lordy lordy!
That took a while. We made mistakes on the installation/cutting of the first door (furthest on the right) but it isnt' too too noticeable unless you try to open it.

Our #model JOE. She was showcasing our hardwork. Time to take and post pictures of the entire basement. 
If you're not already doing so, be sure to subscribe to our site so you can see the video when I post it.

Last Monday, all the ladies of house had a dental appointment. It was not the best visit but hey, we all have to go. 
First, JOE had her first cavity :'(. The dentist had to fill it in. JOE was very brave and did great!
Then it was my turn. Turns out one of my posts is loose. Not fun. Those are NOT cheap! $$$
Then JAE didn't want to have her teeth checked but when the dentist finally got to look at her, she found out JAE's overbite is bad and she will most likely need braces. We will continue to watch it. 
So yeah...not the best visit but hey, we do our best.

Little sister helping out.

A couple of weeks ago, I had to present to my agency's Directors and Deputy Directors. This was a BIG HUGE GINORMOUS deal! These are the folks who run the agency I work for. 
The presentation went well. Oh and check out my earrings. They are the Skye African Print earrings from AyoBE Boutique. Hey, I have to represent me too :-). The pattern worked really well with my dress.

Later that day...me and my girls.

Last weekend, I decided to do a clay clarifying wash since I hadn't washed my hair in almost a month. What can I say? Life happens! Anyways, as always, I had some leftover so I did a face clarifying mask AND used the leftover mask it on my knees. For the longest time, my knees have been really dark. I don't know if it made much of a difference but it felt softer afterwards. #claywash for the win!

I continue to exercise and try to eat right. Thankfully, I have been able to stay encouraged with the results from the scale.
During my walk last week, I walked by these huge mushrooms! They looked like something right out of a Dean Koontz book. You know, from the Odd Thomas series. 

Last Sunday, I decided to make one of those 1-minute healthy low carb cakes. Complete #fail!

The texture was good. That was the ONLY good thing about this recipe. Other than that, it was BITTER and YUCKY! No one wanted it.

Yeah. It ended up in the trash. I refused to even try.

J has been wicked busy with work. Earlier this week, he had to leave extra early for work. I had to snap this picture of the kids watching their dad leave for work. Too too cute!

POPPY! #Trolls is JOE's new "favorite movie of all time". She LOVES the movie trolls. And since she is often the one who names the fabrics from AyoBE Boutique, guess the name she picked for this fabric?
You got it. #Poppy 
Introducing our Poppy African Print Collection! I love love love this fabric. Here it is as a Midi Skirt. I am currently making a Maxi custom skirt and look forward to the customer wearing it. 

And to round up this long post, here is a picture from earlier this week. I leave early for work and often, when JAE wakes up around 6am for milk, J brings her into our bed. I was getting ready, turned around and saw this beautiful sight. 
Sisters day is August 6th this year. I love having sisters and love watching my daughters as they grow together. #happysisterday

Last week at work was a bit of a trying week for me. This song right here got me through the week. I am learning to "let go and let God".

Have a fabulous weekend and remember to be kind to strangers.