Random Question

I know I have already posted twice today but Sophia is napping so I have a little time to get on here for a random post.

Gary and I have been house hunting for a couple weeks now. We found a house we really liked but it was a little out of our price range. We were still going to make an offer on that house until yesterday. Yesterday I saw that there was a house for sale that was a great price so we decided to drive by and check it out.

We drove by the house and the woman saw us and came out. We actually knew her so she said that we could come on in and look at the house. It was perfect. She pretty much re did the whole inside. It was a perfect size for us, clean AND it had an inground pool!!! 

I loved it but there is one thing that concerns me. I noticed there was a huge cell phone tower or electicral tower in the neighbors yard AND I'm pretty sure there is another on one of the neighboring streets. I didn't think anything of it until I came home and talked to my neighbor about finding a home and she mentioned a story she heard about towers like that causing brain tumors in children.

I then freaked out and started telling myself that the house was probably at a lower cost because of that reason and that's why the woman is leaving. I think crazy things. So I decided to just google it. Bad idea. There were a lot of people on there saying that they would never live near a home with those towers and then some were saying they have lived by them forever and nothing has happened.

So now I'm torn. We're meeting with the woman and the realtor again this evening so I'm def. going to ask them if they've experienced anything. I'm also taking my dad with my this evening. He works in power plants and is pretty much the smartest man in the world so he'll be honest with me and tell me what he thinks. {I still ask my daddy first before I do things.}

But I also wanted to get on here and ask all of my blog readers what they thought and if any of you live near one of these towers, if you've noticed anything because of it.

"Outside" Photo Challenge

I know I've posted this picture already but I wanted to enter it into The Paper Mama's Outside Photo Challenge. Playing with sidewalk chalk is one of our favorite things to do outside.

New!

Happy Memorial Day weekend everyone! I just wanted to get on here real quick to share that there is a new look on the blog. I'm still working on it but I was able to get some new looks on here in between my crazy, busy days.

You may also notice that all my sponsor swaps are gone. While I was fixing my blog I somehow deleted them! So I decided just to end my sponsor swaps for May just a little earlier than what I wanted to. I will still be posting the rest of the sponsor highlights before June as well. I am very sorry but this month has just been real busy with vacation and birthdays that I'm ready to just start over/clean.

I am now doing all of my sponsor/swaps through Pasionfruit Ads. It is so easy to use and it's really going to help me because it gets kind of hard doing it all by email. I don't know if it's just me but all my emails get so unorganized and it just stresses me out. So I think this will help keep me a little more organized. As soon as I see that someone has purchased a spot then I will email them and get additional information.

Instead of doing sponsors each month I am going to allow anyone to be added anytime during the month and they will stay for 30 days. So if you start today {5/27} then yours will end on 6/27. And if you want to stay on you can just renew it and stay as long as you want! Also, I am offering three types of ad spots.

FEATURED: will be a feature ad where you spot will be bigger and you will be featured in a solo post about you and your blog along with any other additional links.

The second one is a SMALL AD where you will be below the featured ads and will be featured in a group shout out with any links you'd like to share.

The third one is just a SPONSOR SWAP. If you chose the third one all I ask is for you to put my button on your sidebar. 

All spots are free by using promo codes and I am only doing 10 of each for now. If I notice that they fill quickly then I'll add more. I'm just trying to make things a little easier for this busy mama. 

If you are interested in this please choose which one you want below and follow the directions! You can also visit our SPONSOR US page too.

Oh and I also have a new email address just for the blog so if you have any questions about anything at all please email me at: letterstosoph@gmail.com

Little Bits of Happiness v.13

I've been dead this week and have barely done anything at all so I am using a picture from last week to make up for my laziness this week. 

Looking at this picture brings me happiness because it shows how much Sophia loves playing in water. I loved playing in water as a child too. This weekend is Memorial Day Weekend and Gary and I both get to have a 3 day week so because Sophia loves water so much we are planning on going to the local water park or just going to the pool. Thinking about our three day weekend and knowing Sophia is going to have so much fun has brought me happiness all week! 

What are your plans for Memorial Day Weekend? 

And if you haven't already, enter our giveaway to win $25! 

Linking up with MrsStepanieT

wordless{ish} wednesday v.4

I am so glad it's Wed and getting closer to my three day weekend. I know we were on vacation last week and I got to relax but I have been SO exhausted now that we're home. I come home from work and I'm dead. I'm hoping that this three day weekend gets me feeling normal again.

What I really want to do is go back to this picture. This picture was taken last week on my birthday. I wanted to see the beach on my birthday so Gary took me. We were hoping it'd hot enough to just spend the whole day there but it was freezing by the water! We walked for maybe 10 minutes but I'm just happy to have been able to walk on the beach for my birthday. I only get to see the beach maybe once or twice a year so just being there for 10 minutes made me very happy. Sophia was extra sweet to me on my birthday so that's what made that day even more perfect. Look at her loving on her mommy and freezing in this picture. It's one of my favorites from the trip.

The pictures from the trip will be posted as soon as I get some energy. Hope everyone is having a great week so far!

And don't forget to enter our giveaway to win $25.

Linking up with: and then she {snapped}, Baby Baby Lemon, The Paper Mama, Jenni From the Blog, Live and Love Out Loud, and Project Alicia.

100+ Follower Giveaway!

Hello all my wonderful followers! I wanted to get on here to share with you all that I am hosting a giveaway for all my readers, and also new readers to enter!

While I was on vacation I hit 100 followers and when I got back I had 126! I know those aren't big numbers but they are to me. I have been blogging for a while but I recently decided to get out there and meet other bloggers and share my blog. I have enjoyed it so much. 

So I thought the best way to thank all of you was a giveaway! It was kind of hard trying to think of what I could giveaway. I'm not crafty at all so I really couldn't make anything. I mean I could have, but I would have felt bad for whoever won. I thought about ad space but I already do free swaps. I then remembered that I did win a $25 in a giveaway not too long ago and was SO excited.  I'm always ordering stuff online so it worked perfect and who doesn't love money? 

So I am giving away $25 to one lucky follower via paypal! 

This is also great because I decided to make a twitter account just for my blog. I was using my personal one with my name and nothing without my blog in it. I figured it was kind of confusing seeing my random name with nothing about my blog so I decided to add an account. I added that as an option in the giveaway just so I can get some followers on there.  It'd also make it easier for me to follow other people. It's kind of lonely right now. So follow us, we'll follow right back!

Twitter name is: LettersToSoph

But to enter just fill out the form below!

Thanks again everyone!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Oh, and I'm using this as an excuse to keep my blog a little entertaining while I get everything back to normal after being away on vacation. I'll be back very soon, I promise! 

Heading Home

Today is our last day in VA Beach. We have had such a relaxing, fun time being able to spend time with Gary's family. I don't want to leave at all but we are leaving late tonight so Soph can sleep the whole way back. We go back to our normal lives tomorrow. I'm already looking forward to coming back for our next vacation & also for this week to go by fast so it can be the weekend again.

And for the blog, I plan on getting things back to normal on here and catching up. I hope to have all the pictures and videos from our trip up this week so keep checking back to see what we were up to while we were here! I also hit 100+ followers while on vacation!!! I plan on doing something for my followers, maybe a giveaway, soon!

 Have a great Sunday! ❤

May Sponsor Swaps Part 2

Time to introduce the second part of my sponsor swaps. So glad to have them a part of my blog!

Please check out the first part here.
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Tiffany from BLABBERING THOUGHTS

1. I am a mommy of 2.

2. A wifey to be (January 23, 2013).

3. I'm a wanna be blogger & domestic woman.

4. I'm easily side tracked by any social media.

5. I'm a reality tv junkie + a sports (MOST) fanatic. 

BLOG // TWITTER

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Holly from THESE ARE THE MOMENTS

1. Hey Everyone, I'm Holly :)

2. I'm the author over at These are the Moments

3. I'm an almost newlywed, marrying my guy on September 1st!

4. I'm a lifestyle blogger who shares my journey on this crazy/beautiful life.

5. I consider myself an open book, I like to share it all. Come by, say hi, and stay awhile. I'd love to have you!

twitter / pinterest / blog / instagram: hollymarie7406

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Carly from TEXAS LOVEBIRDS

1. I'm a seventh grade teacher who will turn SAHM at the end of this school year.

2. I am a proud firefighter wife of my husband, Cody, who just because a Driver/Engineer earlier this year.

3. I'm currently trying to figure out how to create a prayer ministry through my blog. I'd love to be able to support all the friends that I'm making through prayer.

4. I wish I was one of those stylish mommas, but I'm totally a jeans and tshirt kind of girl.

5. I'm obsessed with reality television -- Real Housewives, 16 and Pregnant, Bethenny, The Bachelor...I love it all.

BLOG // TWITTER // FACEBOOK // PINTEREST // INSTAGRAM: texaslovebirds

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Sadie from SADIE DEAR

1. My gorgeous hubby has Asperger's Syndrome: a form of high-functioning autism that affects social interactions, but does not impair intellectual reasoning. I blog about our beautiful life together, because life and love are what you make of them sometimes!

2. We have an exceptionally gifted two-year-old son, and we call him Buckaroo. Buck is more than a handful, and there's never a dull moment in our house!
3. My Nikon D90 is named Oscar. He is my best friend, and he goes everywhere I go. He helps me remember all the little details that make each day special.
4. I am a (temporary?) stay-at-home mom. My ideal career would be as a freelance writer/photographer/interior designer/personal shopper/librarian/childbirth educator. So, yeah...
5. My favorite things are: coffee, free range chicken eggs, local & organic produce, thrift stores, old houses, the smell of marigolds, antique book pages, sock monkeys and dinosaur toys, building things with wooden blocks, and open windows on sunny days.

BLOG // TWITTER // PINTEREST // INSTAGRAM

GUEST POST: Traveling With Children

Hey everyone! Hope you all are still having a good week! Like I mentioned yesterday I am having some of my lovely swaps take over my blog while we are on vacation. Kristy shared with us yesterday some toddler packing tips. So today Kristina is going to share some tips on traveling long distances with her children.


Please stop by and say hello!
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Hi there! I'm honored to be sharing over here today. I'm Kristina, wife to an amazing hubby and mama to three kiddos, 6, 3, and 1. You can find me blogging over at From City Corporate to Suburb Mama. Josie asked me to share about my experiences traveling with small children. So here are a couple guidelines we use when we travel long distances with the kiddos.

 source

My husband's family is from Peru, so we try to visit at least once a year. Back when we just had one kiddo, we actually managed to get back there 2x a year and we quickly developed a plan of action and strategy for traveling with little kids.

The first thing I would recommend is getting to the airport early enough to make sure you can be one of the first to check in. This ensures that you can ask for the front row seats and not get stuck all the way in the back or as sometimes can happen, get split up. We've done both, We've gotten there early and gotten great seats and we've also gotten there late, and been split up. The latter is no fun! And thankfully, as was our case, people on the airplane are happy to move if it means you can sit together as a family and also that they don't have to sit right next to a child the entire trip! :) 

Don't be afraid to ask for special accommodations. You are traveling with a child(ren) and they will usually do their best to make your flight as comfortable as possible. 

Make friends on the plane. I've always found that if you board the plane with a smile on your face and lots of "please" and "thank yous" coming out of your mouth, you'll have a much easier time of it if/when your child decides to "lose" it later on in the trip. Let's face it, happy babies are so adorable and irresistible. If you can "charm" the people around you with your kiddos before the flight takes off and get on friendly terms with those sitting around you and the flight attendants  before the missed nap causes a meltdown, they will be much more understanding and helpful if/when that happens.  

Bring lots of fun new treasures! If your child doesn't have a fun backpack that fits nicely on their back that they love to wear, I highly recommend getting one before your trip! You can then stock this little backpack with some new treasures they can discover on the trip! (Just don't make it too heavy or you'll end up carrying it!) I usually raid the $1 section at Target from some new fun things they can play with or try. It's cheap and they usually have some great things in that section. Put a couple new things in that backpack for them. They will love carrying it around and opening it up and discovering all those new little trinkets. Then, stock your carry-on with a few more so that there is always something else to surprise them with. If you make traveling fun, the experience will be so much more positive for everyone! 

Don't forget snacks! When traveling internationally these days, most of the time, you are are provided with  a meal and beverages and sometimes even snacks, but when traveling nationally, most of the airlines are now charging you for your meals. Let's face it, airline food isn't always the most amazing food and even if it is free, most of the time, kids aren't going to want to eat it. Make sure you bring things that are easy to carry. I always have a good supply of granola bars (pick their favorite ones!), and fruit snacks and other easy-to-carry food items. My kiddos always seem to be starving on trips, so having a good supply of food with you with help avoid hunger meltdowns! 

Traveling with younger children can feel scary. I know we've done it a dozen times and yet I still feel nervous about what could happen, each time we gear up for another trip. Making sure you're prepared already gets your trip off to a good start. Don't be afraid to ask for help! Most people are more than happy to lend a hand when they see your hands full with bags and kids! And most of all, cover your bases. Prepare for the worst so that you're ready if it does happen and then sit back and enjoy your trip, because kids are much more resilient and flexible than we sometimes give them credit for and you might just find that they pass out for a nice long nap the entire flight! 

Happy travels! :)

Little Bits of Happiness v. 12

This little bits of happiness is going to have lots of pictures. We are on vacation so pretty much everything is bringing me happiness. Rain and leaving in 3 days may be the only two things that have not brought me happiness this week BUT other than that this momma has been real happy! 

Here are all my instagram pictures so far from the trip. 

I have tons from my actual camera that I will post when we get back.

Sophia sleeping the whole way to VA Beach // Fun at the beach on one of the only pretty days here.

Smiles from being allowed to have a sucker // Hanging out with her cousin // On our way to enjoy Mother's Day at the Botanical Gardens // Having fun playing in water.

Hugs on Mother's Day // My beautiful painting that Gary's mother painted for me // Mommy and baby on my birthday // Sushi for lunch on my birthday.

Hanging out at the beach on Mommy's Birthday. It was SO cold!

Dinner with Gary's fam on my birthday at PF Changs // Sophia happy to be at dinner with all of us // Kisses from daddy // Me and Gary's Aunt, we have the same name :)

Birthday dessert and blowing out my candle at dinner {the quality of this pic is horrible}

Ok, so that was a lot of picture but I had no where to share them. My little bits of happiness posts have turned into an instagram photo dump. But usually through out the week I only use my phone for pics so I guess it works perfectly. My phone easily captures everything that brings me happiness through out the week. Follow us along on instagram: josephineking.

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Linking up with Stephanie at MrsStephanieT. You should too!

GUEST POST: Packing With A Toddler

Hey everyone! Today I'm happy to share with you our first guest post for the week! I asked some of my swaps if they'd like to guest post while I was on vacation and because I have awesome swaps, they wanted to :)

So today Kristy is going to share some tips she's learned on packing with a toddler! 

{Not gonna lie, I read this before we left and used some of her tips. Thanks Kristy}

Be sure to stop by and say hello to her!

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hi everyone! i'm kristy. mama to L, one adorable tot and wife to M, one amazing husband. i blog over at a little something and it's all about the things that make my heart happy.

when josephine asked me to write up a guest post for her while she is on vacation, i was SO excited. we have been on quite a few trips with L, including 2 big moves in one year, with our share of mishaps. i thought maybe i can share some lessons learned!

first off, grab a pen and a notebook. it helps if it's pretty! write down everything you think you may need. i can't tell you how many times having a list saved me from forgetting something important! once i flew to hawaii to visit my sister and i forgot my bathing suit. genius, i tell ya. so, a list is really important!

when traveling, i try to pack light to keep myself sane but kiddos come with a lot of stuff. i'm learning to live with it. i always pack enough clothes for the amount of days we'll be gone plus a few extras. i also keep lots of travel-sized items stored away from these occasions! i have two baskets full of mini shampoos, shower gels, cheap loofahs, small first-aid kits, and baby lotion. 

as for L, i pack her plenty of fun & easy toys for the trip. along with her portable DVD player and a few DVDS. right now, her favorites are pen/paper, a travel-sized magna doodle, her vtech bugsby with a couple of her favorite books and her babies.lately, she goes nowhere without her babies. i say always bring their favorite things too! special nightlights, blankets they won't sleep without, beloved stuffed animals. anything that keeps me comforted and reminded of home. be sure to pack batteries for electronics!

i pack a seperate bag of snacks, drinks & medicines and a change of clothes for the little one. i bring benadryl and tylenol/cough medicine. just in case! as for snacks, pack everything in ready-to-go bags or bowls. so when L is hungry, i can just pass back a snack without trying to open a bag, pour some out and get it to her without a mess.

and one more tip, bring an extra towel and/or some paper towels to keep in the car! on a 9-hour trip to new york once, i decided L could handle a juicebox. i was wrong. she squeezed the whole thing all over herself and her carseat. i had nothing but a few baby wipes to clean her with and no extra clothes in easy reach. my poor babe had to ride the last few hours in her diaper sitting on a plastic changing pad on her wet & sticky car seat.

we've learned quite a few things on all the car trips we have taken with a toddler & a dog. they weren't always fun but they get easier as i learn how to pack & plan more!

i hope you are having an awesome time on vacation, josephine!

i am so glad i could guest post! i hope these tips can help you on your next family adventure! i'd love to meet you all so stop by my blog and say hello sometime.

wordless{ish} wednesday v.3

Hey everyone! Everyone is still asleep so I had some time to get on here. We are having a great time in VA Beach! We have done so much and still have a few more days left here. I'm going to be so sad when we have to leave. I  had a great Mother's Day & Birthday! I have also been able to do a lot of relaxing and just hanging out with everyone. We def. needed this vacation. I am sharing two pictures from when we went to the beach on Saturday. I have a lot more to share when we get back.

 Hope everyone is having a great week!

Linking up with: and then she {snapped}, Baby Baby Lemon, The Paper Mama, Jenni From the Blog, Live and Love Out Loud, and Project Alicia.

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I also entering the second picture in The Paper Mama's Pink Photo Challenge.

One Year Later

A year ago today I graduated from West Virginia University with a Bachelor's Degree in Television Journalism and a Minor in Communications.... a year ago!!! 

I CAN NOT believe it's been a year. I was looking through the pictures and couldn't believe its been that long. I feel like I was just moving out of my college apartment. 

As much as I love being done with school and finally together with Gary and Sophia, I do miss it all. I made some great friends and really enjoyed my college years.

Yes it was hard. Especially when I became pregnant a few months before my senior year but I did it. I proved to myself that I am a strong person. I wanted to give up so bad. I was working, going to school, AND pregnant... talk about exhausted. But I never gave up and the main reason I didn't was Sophia. I knew that getting my degree and education wasn't just for me, but would be for her too. And also because of my family, Gary, friends and teachers. 

Just thinking about how much they helped me and pushed me through makes me tear up. They were there for me always! And I wish I can thank them each day for it. They are the ones who helped me get through and to get me to where I am today. 

And I hope that one day Sophia will be proud of her mommy. I may not be using my degree right now BUT I have a full time job that I do enjoy and I'm glad I had the experience to go to college and to be able to say I am a college graduate. 

Some pictures from graduation last year. Having Sophia there with me meant the world to me! 

This is Professor Dhalia. She was one of my favorite teachers at WVU. She taught WVU News that I was a part of. She loved Sophia! I couldn't find a babysitter one day for class and I HAD to be there and I texted her and told her about my situation and she said "Just bring her to class" So I did and Professor D held her during the whole class. So Ms. Sophia got to attend some college classes when she was a baby. I was very thankful to have such an understanding teacher.

These girls right here did SO much for me. They would sit and watch Soph when I needed to run to campus or need to finish an assignment. Or stay in the edit labs with me until 4 am. They would send me test and homework reminders because they new that I was a busy/exhausted momma who more than likely forgot. They were ALWAYS asking if I needed anything at all and just always checking on me. These girls were the best and I miss them SO much. Lauren on the left will be getting married in June and I will be seeing her finally and Ms. Brittany in the middle is now working for a newstation in town. I am so proud and happy for them. 

And finally these two are the only reason I am lucky to be able to say I have my degree. Growing up I was very lucky to have parents who always said that I was going to college. I never even had an option after I graduated HS and a lot of people can't say that. They paid out of their pocket for me to go to school and I can't thank them enough. They had faith in me the whole time, even my first semester when I kind of had a little too much fun and when I decided to transfer schools out of no where, and when I became pregnant. They stayed right behind me and never changed their belief in me. I have my degree because of them and I'm so blessed to have them as my parents. Thanks mommy and daddy!

You never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have.

My Birthday!

Today I turn 23. I would have never imagined that at the age of 23 I would be a mother of an 18, almost 19 month old and engaged! It's crazy how much my life has changed at such a young age but I can say that I am truly blessed and happy. 

22 was a great year! It went by too quickly of course but there were a lot of great memories made. 

We are still on vacation so this post will be short but I'm sure there will be lots of pictures and a post when I get back. I'll leave you with some pictures from last year on my birthday!

Look how little Soph was! You can read about my birthday last year here.

Happy Mother's Day

This is going to be a short post but I wanted to get on here and tell everyone, esp all of my blog moms, Happy Mother's Day!! 

We are still on vacation and I am so happy to be able to spend this day in VA Beach with Gary's family. I am away from my mom on this day but she knows how much Soph and I love her! 

I love being a mommy and I am so thankful for Sophia, the one who made me mommy ❤

I hope everyone is having a great day! I'm excited to see what all are plans are for the day but I'll be sure to post a special post for Mother's Day when we get back. Here are some pictures from last year on Mother's Day.

Check out my post from Mother's Day last year. 

LEAVING FOR VACATION!!

As I've mentioned pretty much all week, we are leaving for VA Beach today after work for a much needed trip/vacation to visit with Gary's family.

We will be gone for a whole week relaxing, going to the beach and just spending lots of time with family.

We are very excited!

I will not be blogging but I do have some posts scheduled and some guest bloggers next week! 

I hope everyone has a great week! Be ready for A LOT of pictures when we get back.

I'm sure I'll be posting all kinds of pictures on Instagram  & Twitter while we're there so follow along if you want to see what we're up to! My username is josephineking and my Twitter name is josephineamber.

See you all on May 21st ❤

Little Bits of Happiness v. 11

What brought me happiness this week:

I love Sophia's tiny feet // Finally asleep // Sophia and Riley from this weekend // Sophia wearing the same shoes as I did when I was little.
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I didn't take that many pictures this week. I have been so lazy when I come home this week. I've just been so exhausted so I'm thinking this one week vacation is going to be perfect! All the pictures I take on vacation will make up for this picture-less post/week. I actually still need to pack... blehh! I did buy some cute outfits for Soph and I to pack for the trip. I'm just hoping for some really warm weather.

And head on over to {City Corporate to Suburb Mama} for her 100 Follower Giveaway! 
You could win a prize from me! Have a good night everyone!

Linking up with Stephanie @ MrsStephanieT

wordless{ish} wednesday v.2

This picture is probably one of my favorites now. I know I shared it already but I just had to again because I love it that much. Just that short walk holding hands with my girl will be a memory that I will hold onto forever. 

As Sophia gets older I sometimes feel sad that she may no longer need me like she used to as a baby. But when she grabs onto my finger to walk with her, that feeling goes away and I know deep down that Sophia will always need me. Just like I need her.

Sophia showed that she needed me again yesterday morning. 

Each morning I drop Sophia off at daycare before I go to work. It's always hard saying goodbye to her but like I've mentioned before, my mom owns the daycare so it's a little easier dropping her off knowing that she is there. Sophia loves her grandma so I just hand Soph to my mom and I am able to leave without her screaming and crying like a lot of the other kids.

Well yesterday morning I sat Sophia down with her grandma and said bye and she started crying "Mama, Mama!" with her hands up. She'll only cry for me every once in a while.  How could I leave to that? So I walked back over to her and picked her up and she put her arms around me and laid her head down on my shoulder. It was the sweetest thing. I wanted to just call off work and stay right there in that moment forever and just hold my baby.

After holding her for a few minutes longer I sat her back down and said "Bye baby, mommy has to go, give me a kiss" She gave me a big kiss on the lips with a "Muahh" noise and walked back to her grandma. 

I was an emotional mess after but I needed that. I was reminded again that Sophia does need me still and that she loves her "Mama" so much. 

It's moments like this one that gets me through my work days so I can come right back home to my girl.

❤

Linking up with: and then she {snapped}, Baby Baby Lemon, The Paper Mama, Jenni From the Blog, Live and Love Out Loud, and Project Alicia.

Almost Vacation Time

We'll be leaving for VA Beach Friday night and I wanted to get on here and just ramble about how excited I am for our vacation and what I'm thinking now. I know the next couple days are going to be busy with trying to figure out what to pack and getting the house cleaned {I HATE coming home to a messy house}. So I thought I'd just ramble on today :)

Every time we are about to leave on vacation to where I'll have to pack a few days I go into this weird cleaning spell. I actually hate cleaning but for some reason when I know I'm leaving, I'll clean like a mad woman. I don't know if anyone else does this but I'll literally take everything out of my closet and then put everything back in all organized. I'll even get rid of stuff. It's really weird. Gary actually hates when I do it because the house looks crazy! I'll even do it to Sophia's stuff. 

I went into one of these spells this weekend and I think Soph did too. I was folding laundry in our living room and Soph wanted to help so I brought out one of her plastic drawers of clothes and she started taking everything out and putting it back in, just like her mommy. 

{The picture was off my phone, so it wasn't the greatest quality}

So if you can only guess, when I pack it's the same way and I pack way too much! I get real nervous about packing and always overpack because I never know what we'll be doing and what the weather will be like. So I bring lots of options. And not just for me, I pack a ton for Sophia. Gary's family probably think I'm crazy. I could probably stay for a couple months with how much stuff I usually bring.

I think this time I'm going to just sit down and write a list. One of my lovely sponsor swaps will be guest posting about how she packs for vacation and emailed me the post last night and it was perfect! I'll be using her tips before we leave and I will have it up for everyone while I'm on vacation. Oh, and if you'd like to guest post about a vacation you've taken or how you pack let me know! I'd love to share it while we're on vacation to keep this blog not so boring!

But other than my weirdness with packing, we are all SO excited to be in VA Beach for a lil over a week. We have only been able to go for long weekends so I'm glad we'll be able to spend time with family longer. We hope to do a lot of fun stuff now that Sophia is at the age where she can walk and enjoy everything like us. I don't think she really understood anything when she was a baby. 

Only 2 more days until we leave! I'm going to finish this random post with pictures from previous vacations to VA Beach. Enjoy!

Top Left: One of first trips to VA Beach to visit Gay's family in 2009 

Bottom Left: Engaged August 2011 in VA Beach

Right: a little blurry but a few months pregnant with Sophia

One of my favorite beach pics of Sophia. I miss how little she was!

Bad quality, but 7 months pregnant!

Ok so those pictures were really random. You can read and see more pictures from  two previous trips to VA Beach here and here.

Our Weekend v.9

The first weekend of May was spent with warm weather and birthday parties. 

Friday before I went to work I took these pictures of Soph at daycare. She is always so happy in the morning and especially when she sees her friends and her grandma.

Friday evening after work we went to dinner with some of our friends and Sophia. I was so proud of how well Soph behaved. We always get nervous about going to dinner because we never know how she'll act but she was pretty good when we went. She loves my friend Jesseca so I think that's why. Or because of this Elmo App I purchased for her that let's her facetime with Elmo. Perfect for toddlers.

Gary had to work this weekend so Soph and I headed into town to run some errands with my grandma and aunt. Then my my mom, Soph and I headed to TJ Maxx. We go there almost every weekend! Sophia and I made some silly faces on our way there.

After TJ Maxx we headed to Riley's 1st Birthday Party! Riley's mommy and I have been friends for a few years now. We cheered together in high school and have been friends since. She doesn't live in town anymore but had her daughter's birthday party here. Soph and I were so happy to see the them both and of course her family too. 

Sophia had a great time. After the party we waited for Gary to get home and then spend the evening with him.

Sunday morning we woke up early when Gary left for work. Then we cleaned and cleaned. I haven't put away my winter clothes yet so that's exactly what we did. It always feels good to put away clothes and go through my closet. Soph helped and pretended to fold clothes with me. We then headed into town for another birthday party. The weather was so nice out for the party. We spent all afternoon outside, it was perfect. Sophia took walks holding hands during the party and cooled off inside.

After the birthday party we drove around and looked at some houses. Gary and I like where we live now but it's too far from town. I also want a neighborhood for Soph to grow up in with more children. I found one that is perfect! The nice family even let my mom, Soph and I walk through it. It's got a perfect backyard and we even know the family that live next door! It's pretty much my dream home now. I'll have to beg Gary now. But we'll see. Soph got to try her first slurpee while we were house hunting and she loved it.

And now it's Sunday night and I'm exhausted. I love having fun busy weekends though especially when the weather is so nice. Soph is passed with her daddy while I catch up on here. This time next week we'll be in VA Beach so I won't be posting an our weekend post. I actually won't be blogging at all. I'm going to relax all week but I'll still be taking lots of pictures, don't worry!

Hope everyone had a great weekend! 

May Sponsors Part 1

Hey everyone! Hope you all are having a great May. Like I said before, May is my favorite month and today I want to share a few of my favorite ladies who are swapping with me this month.

Instead of an intro I thought it'd be fun to share 5 things about each of my sponsor swaps

I'll be sharing all my swaps in groups every Friday for the rest of the month but you can check them all out by clicking on their button on the right side of the page!

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Jennifer @ FOREVER LOVELY

Hi my name is Jennifer, wife to Mike, Mother to Chloe and lover of all things lovely and beautiful. I'm the author of the blog Forever Lovely. I love meeting other Mom's and bloggers so please feel free to stop by my blog and say hi!

1. My husband and I have been together for 7 years this month and married for a little over 2 years! We have been though so much together, he is truly my best friend!

2. I have a 10 1/2 month old daughter named Chloe. Chloe is beautiful, smart, loving, adventures and stubborn just like her Mommy and Daddy. She is such a blessing and treasure to me!

3. I love tattoos and as of right now have 5 of them, I plan on getting a lot more over the years including one for Chloe!

4. I love the quote " Happiness is only real when shared" its from my favorite movie Into The Wild.

5. My favorite flowers are red roses, I even had them at my wedding!

BLOG // PINTEREST // TWITTER // FACEBOOK // BLOGLOVIN // INSTAGRAM

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Lindsay @ LITTLE MUDPIES

1. I'm Lindsay, wife, momma, crafter, jewelry maker and the girl behind Little Mudpies.

2. I have always loved jewelry.

3. I recently opened my Etsy shop and I could not be happier!

4. Creating jewelry has always been a passion of mine.

5. I also have a little blog where I share my adventures as a momma of two little boys, my crafts and creations, an occasional recipe or tutorial. 

Stop by and say Hi sometime!!

BLOG // FACEBOOK // TWITTER // PINTEREST // HELLO COTTON // SHOP

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jacqueline D. @ "MOTHERMOPHER'

1. I have a 9 month old. And even though I think it's super cool, it's also EXTREMELY WEIRD!

2.I'm going to GEN CON this summer, and brining a will be ONE YEAR OLD, and I can not tell you how excited I am about it. 

3. In highschool, I was in the yearbook under 4 different names, because no one could spell my name correctly.--PS my new last name isn't ANY easier to spell either.

4. I made a list of all the places in Indianapolis--where I'm from-- that I have to go to with my family before 2013, but I think I might extend the list into 2014 too.

5. I'm now getting back into the things I used to love before being a big pile of pregnancy hormones. IE: pokemon, photography, painting my nails, fashion and having friends agian! This year has been a weird one...

BLOG // TWITTER // FACEBOOK // PINTEREST // INSTAGRAM

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Kristina @ CITY CORPORATE TO SUBURB MAMA 

1. I love love love coffee! 

2. I'm a lefty

3. I've always wanted to be home with my kiddos and am thankful that a year ago that was made possible

4. Grew up in Peru and am bilingual English/Spanish

5. I'm working on starting to sell my handmade organic lotion and lip balm...hopefully I'll be open for business soon! 

BLOG // FACEBOOK // TWITTER // INSTAGRAM // PINTEREST

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I'm so glad to have these ladies swap with me this month. 

Check back next Friday for the next group of ladies!
& if you'd like to swap with us please fill purchase an ad spot and use the code FREESWAP to get it for free! or just send me an email and I can get it all set up!