5 things i'm loving right now (march)

how in the world is it march already?!  cray.  i get my hopes all up because in georgia- march means spring is coming (and from the sound of it- it's already been spring all winter back home).  here in illinois, that's just not the case- today it was 60 degrees- how delightful, right?  by that evening it was 35 and sleeting.  boo.  all i know is that warmer weather is definitely around some corner & spring begins in march + daylight savings time begins!

here's what i'm loving this month...

modcloth!  i love modcloth every month, but there's extra love for them right now.  i'm anxiously awaiting the arrival of my stylish surprise.  omg- what am i getting?!?  i guess we'll find out this weekend.  i can't wait to see.  i love that modcloth does surprising little treats + they have top notch customer service.  i'm so excited to be apart of their modsquad again this year!!

this book!  i've just started reading it and i'm really excited to see what's in store.  i'm sure i'm in for a rude awakening.  we're always making small changes to make our diet better.  for lent i've decided to give up coke.  so far i'm 1 week in and i really haven't had any cravings for it yet.  we'll see how the next 5 weeks go!

the hunger games movie!!!  i just finished reading the trilogy earlier this week.  i loved it.  i'm really excited to see the movie.  dave wants to read the series too, so i'm hoping i can at least get him to finish the first book in time to see the movie opening weekend.  anyone else a fan?

hair tutorials (not my own- but from other people).  they are the source of my greatest joy and my greatest frustration.  there are a few that i've mastered quite easily and some that i just can't get no matter how long i try.  seriously, i need someone to teach me the secret to back combing (just can't seem to get it right) and how to pull the top part of my hair up (just can't ever get that right either).  and i hated my long hair so much- but  now it's too short...  

i am obsessed with iced coffee (and coffee in general right now).  i go through stages with coffee- i drink it for weeks and then i quit drinking it for months.   right now i'm drinking hot coffee and iced coffee.  i have to say how much i love mcdonald's iced coffee.  we don't go there very often- rarely, but lately i've been making a stop there for some delish iced coffee.  i usually get a small with cream only & vanilla sugar-free syrup.  only 60 calories in that.  yesssss.  

what are you loving this month?  

linking up.

oh, and for crying out loud, have you entered my totally awesome giveaway?  i guess at least 2 people read my blog!!

getting into the christmas spirit

we've been hustling and bustling at the mchousehold with all of the christmas to dos!  we finished shopping in early december and now our gifts just await wrapping paper so they can go under our tree that just went up on sunday!  in the meantime we are ready for dave's office party and breakfast with santa this weekend!  i will have pictures of our decorated house (and our new house in general very soon), but first: christmas cards & a visit with santa!!

last year it took us about 100 shots to get this family gem:

look at that sweet boy.

the years before that were pretty easy...

2007. 2008. 2009.

taking christmas card photos with an almost 2 year old who can't sit still even for a millisecond... impossible.  this year there weren't nearly as many takes b\c there was nothing to take a picture of... but we got a really cute candid photo of dave & myself...  too bad we couldn't photoshop baby in...

aren't we sweet?

almost every photo we took that ended up having ian in it captured him either screaming, trying to get away, or moving so much that he's just a little blur...

but we did come up with these 2 gems...  

so

so, i sent these pictures to my friend mel for her opinion on what i should choose...  and she turned it into this magic...

i really need to learn photoshop....

on the santa front- things were also different this year with an almost 2 year old...  walk with me down memory lane?

we weren't sure how ian would react to santa- we knew with him there would probably be no in between- it would be either love or hate.  saturday night we had dinner at chick fil a and the santa cow made an appearance- ian was in love- he was waving at him, giving high fives, mooing...  so we thought the santa thing might go okay...

 

giant cow costume santa = cool.  real guy as santa = not so cool

not so much...  poor ian.  dave & i were in hysterics...  the things we do to our kids.  oh well, better luck next year.  of course, he does nothing now but walk around the house saying "ho ho ho."

do you do christmas cards?

do you take your little one to see santa?  was their reaction as you expected?

linking up here:

and..

harper's happenings santa photo link-up