Martha Metzler.com

This week FLEW by. Seriously, flew by with lightening speeds and I could only keep up by shoving candy corn pumpkins in my mouth BECAUSE THEY ARE BACK IN SEASON BABY!

Here is our week in pictures. Also- did I mention I’m leaving tomorrow for Canada to meet my new niece?!?!?! I’m so excited, I’m so excited, I’m so… SCARED. Jesse Spano, it’s like you were singing to me. I’m so excited about seeing Talia but I’ve never left Bud for this long: 5 days! On another note, this will be the easiest flight I’ve taken in 2 years because I won’t have my tater tots hanging out nursing a child, wrangling a child, trying to entertain a child, and oh yeah… flying with a child. I plan on getting tons of trashy magazines and hot coffee because…. I can.

This was the last day of the women’s retreat and Bud was cracking us up… looks like I’ve found my replacement!

Bud and I have been building different things with his blocks… so this happened this week. I kept singing “We build this city on rock and rollll YEAH!” but Bud gave me the stink eye

The weather has been incredible so we’ve been picnicking a lot. I shall miss you Mr. Sunshine when we head back to WA

Smooches from my boy

Roy decided to join us for the picnic but declined on the smooches

I mean seriously?! The faces! Be careful son, your face might stick like that.

Playtime at our favorite coffeeshop

Yall- I’ve come across the greatest gift to the girl who hates shopping but wants to look stylish (aka, ME) and its called Stitch Fix.

Stitch Fix is a small company that provides a fun and easy way to keep your wardrobe up-to-date. You give them your style (you can even give them Pinterest boards to give them a clear idea of what you love), budget, and size preferences, then they send you a package of stylish goodies to try on at home. I’m not even joking. The box shows up, and it’s like Christmas. You keep what you want, send back what you don’t. They include the envelope and postage so it’s seriously the easiest “shopping” experience in the world.

Here is my play by play:

the box shows up and i do a ninja high kick

It came with a pearl and gold necklace, black blazer, a wool tunic dress, striped shirt, and a floral dress.

I was obsessed with the blazer right away because it had a trendy cut-out in the back but alas, it’s not fitted enough and it makes me look like Condoleezza Rice… not a look I’m going for. I loved the striped shirt, hated the necklace, felt like a frumpy teacher in the floral dress, and loved the wool dress but can’t decide if I want to spend the money on it.

oh hellz yes, i need this

blazer that i LOVED but not on… sorry Condi but you aint my style guru

the wool dress… it fit like a glove and was SUPER comfy. but, do i want to spend $100 on it?

In the end, I kept the shirt and the wool dress. I justified the wool dress because I could wear it in the fall with a cardi AND in the winter with tights and blazer. I don’t have buyer’s remorse yet… yet. And I’ve already worn the shirt twice sooo things are looking good for getting my money’s worth on that.

The stuff I didn’t want I just plopped in the envelope and set it on the porch for the mailman to pick up! Yall have to try it, Stitch Fix…. seriously, it makes me feel like I’m not making the “outfits” board on Pinterest for nothing.

There, I’m done I promise. But I couldn’t help but share my fun with you!

We were sitting on the floor of the sunroom letting the cool, newly autumn air come through the screen door. He was trying his best to balance his new puzzle, his ball, and his sippy cup of milk in his hands. I sat down next to him and started to tell him a little story; our story.

Hey honey, today is a very important day. Today is September 11th. This day is the reason that your Dada is over in Afghanistan.  A long time ago a bunch of bad guys killed a lot of innocent people here in our country. They had hate in their hearts and poured that date out on us. It happened 11 years ago on September 11th and on that day, God planted a seed of passion into your Daddy’s heart. Your daddy wanted to join the Army on that day so that he could protect his country and try his best to make sure that a day like September 11th would never happen again. He started to grow that seed of passion, and like most things your Daddy does, he made sure it happened. Your daddy is fighting the bad guys in Afghanistan not because he wants to be away from us, but because he wants to protect us from those bad guys and he wants to protect the innocent people in Afghanistan from those bad guys too. He does all this because he loves you so much and wants us to live in a world that understands justice. So my sweet son, today is a very important day because we have to remember the innocent people that were killed on that sad day and the people like your Daddy that have also followed that seed of passion that God planted in their hearts, and we have to keep praying for their families, ok? I love you little man and I pray that you follow whatever seed of passion God places in your heart. I pray you always have a heart for justice like your Daddy does and that no matter what, you chase it down not only for yourself, but for every man and woman in this world… just like your Daddy does every single day. 

on the day Sam left for Afghanistan

This past weekend my friend Buffy and I did entertainment at a women’s retreat in the mountains. Translation: my friend Buffy and I make fools of ourselves so women can laugh, feel silly, and break down walls so they can finally let loose! I’ll be posting some stuff from the weekend but here is a little taste of our meal-time entertainment. We have done this retreat before, as you well know. 

New mamas will appreciate this little parody we wrote:

Sweet Bud, I have been trying to keep a running list in my head of things that you love so that I could write them down and seal them into my memory. Here’s what I have so far.

1. You are this little hurricane of energy. You LOVE to walk around holding someone’s hand. You just want to explore everything. You CAN walk on your own, but you’d much rather have someone’s hand to hold or scale around on furniture or the walls. This inevitably leads to trouble…BUSTED.

2. You love to read your books. We snuggle before each nap and each bedtime and just read what book you pick out. It’s also the only time I can get you to really snuggle with me so we’ll curl up on the couch and read different books. You love pointing out the different animals.

3. You love animals! Any kind, it doesn’t matter. You’re learning animal noises and I love quizzing you throughout the day. Your favorite ones to mimic are bunny (you curl up your nose and twitch it back and forth), doggy (of course), fish (you try so hard to pucker those lips!), cow, duck, and owl.

4. Your wagon! Oh, you love riding around in your wagon.

5. Your doggy. Or any doggy for that matter but we won’t tell Roy that. We’ll let him think your heart belongs to him alone. Any time we see a dog you start yelling “DOG DOG DOG!”

seriously, best dog ever to let bud play “pillow” on him

6. Your Doopop’s mustang! That sucker can entertain you for hours! Your suspicions are correct, I absolutely sit there having a cocktail while you play and pretend to drive.

I mean… dying

I adore you little man and you’re growing up so quickly that I don’t want to forget these little things. Keep rockin’ it Bud and I’ll keep soaking it all in.

Bud loves playing horsie with his DooDooPops. This is from a few months ago but I came across it on my computer and my heart melted all over again.

Just had to share for your Labor Day!

Bathtime has become a special time in our house. Bud is old enough to independently play in the tub and I can just sit on the bathroom floor and drink wine watch the show instead of hovering over him like a mama-hawk making sure he doesn’t slip on the deathfloor of the tub.

Seriously, I never get tired of this kid. Even spending the entire day playing, feeding, disciplining, and smooching him… I never tire of him. Ever.

Sam- when you read this, how fun is it going to be when you can join in on bathtimes!?!

oh haiiii girl haiii

you wanna wash me where?!

sneaky boy

PARTY TIME!

Did you see that dance move!? I nailed it!

this smile belongs to his father. 100%, his daddy’s smirk.

Life is good people, soak it up.

Last weekend was so fun. We had some fun little adventures.

Uno:  Winston-Salem Open… hello front row seats! I loved watching John Isner win and it was an incredibly close match. TENNIS! (Nerd Fist Pump here) I love that our city hosts this, it’s an amazing event.

Dos:  Slumber Party at my sweet little cousins house in Greensboro. My aunt and uncle were out of town so they wanted a chaperone so that the cray crays wouldn’t throw a party 😉 I brought Bud and it was so hilarious. It was like a vacation because their house is wonderful, Bud was taken care of so well by little Meggers who Bud ADORES, they had 2 dogs that shocking, Bud was obsessed with (this is the kid who has said “doggy” before “Mama”), and he slept like a champ. It was very strange because I remember when they were Bud’s age and now they are high-schoolers and little adults who sleep until 10:30 and fix their own cereal. Is that going to happen as fast with Bud?!?! NOOO!!!!!!

I mean seriously, Meggers was amazing with Bud

Bud loved that there was actually a dog that sit still long enough for him to cuddle.

Peek a boo!

Craziness runs in the family, what can I say?

Tres:  Sunday night fun supper with my folks. There was a giant bull involved.

da bull

Such a fun weekend, I always love when there are different things going on. It spices things up a bit.

Did yall do anything fun or interesting?

The folks over at Hullabalu sent Bud an adorable stuffed animal, Miko Monkey. Feast your eyes on the adorableness… is that a word?

What are you lookin’ at Mama. This is Miko and me time.

Look at that squirrel Miko, dinner?

See? So unique and so cute! And yall- so soft!

They have great stuffed animals that all look totally handmade. They are unique and not at all cheesy, which is a must in this household. They also have great storylines that your kiddos can participate in.

Bud LOVES his miko monkey and its a staple during diaper changes when I try and get Bud to stay on the bed and not plummet to his demise towards the floor.

They launch their site on October 1st, so check it out!

Hullabalu sent me this product to review. The opinions are my own. Word to your Momz. 

Yall- first off, where have yall been all my life? I love all the comments!

Secondly, I wish I could send each one of you a care package because I think you are super hottie mchottiepants.

But alas, my budget says, “Pick one person and quit staring at Old Gringo boots because it’s never gonna happen!” 

So drumroll please, the winner is LESLIE RUTH PETREE! Congrats Leslie! I’ll hit you with my best shot this week! And don’t worry, peanut butter M&Ms will be included 🙂

And because most kids started school today,  please tell me this isn’t the best school picture you’ve ever seen!?