Thanks EIU, you will be missed!

Our time at EIU is coming to a close. When we moved here in 2012, I was so scared of living in a tiny town. Where there was no good places to eat and the closest Target was an hour away. I couldn't imagine raising my children in such a small community. But now... I'm looking back and I can't imagine the future without this small town. 

It's hard to imagine not wearing blue on gamedays and helping my guard girls get ready in a classroom of Doudna. Fighting over hair bumps and straight or curly hair. Glitter or no glitter. Exploding hair spray bottles. 

Me and my Guard (and Twirler!) girls! 

It's going to be hard to not listen to the fight song echo through the campus as the Marching Band makes its way towards OBrien Stadium from Booth Library. 

It's going to be tough to not have the university president excited to see the band and eagerly try his hand at conducting. It will be equally hard not seeing the smiles on the students faces knowing that the leader of their university cares so much about the school that he would wear a big blue wig and sit in the middle of the student section. 

I'm not sure how to handle the idea of my children losing some of the freedoms that come with a close-knit community. Playing with all of the band kids and enjoying running over to bounce during the long second quarter.  How the EIU Cheerleaders and Pink Panthers always took my girls in as one of their own. 

I'm not going to have explain - for the hundredth time - that the words the band is singing is "You don't want to go to war, with the Panthers- don't start no stuff, there'll be no stuff" to people. 

But the future and the past, at least for right now are very different. There are so many changes going on at EIU. The years we have been at Eastern can never be duplicated. It wouldn't be fair to hold the next director of EIU up to what we have done- because it's not fair for us to hold the students of Vanderbilt to the the students here at EIU. All we can take forward is the beauty of our memories and remember the good times. 

While I know that there were some that didn't like the way things were handled at times, I feel like Corey, the girls and I always handled everything as well as we could. You can never make all of the people happy. I'm sure there are a select few that will believe that our departure will make things better- and perhaps they are right. Perhaps they misunderstood out goals and dreams for this band and these students that we have so loved. We will never change their minds. But that's okay. I'm not taking that baggage with me. 

The moments we have had at EIU will always be so precious to me and that will ALWAYS hold near to my heart. While I still may not know every student by name, they called me Mama Francis, and that fills my heart with such joy and love. I wish each of you nothing but the best. There will never be another group of students that I love like the students I have met here in the last few years. Thank you. Thank you for becoming our family. Thank you for embracing our dreams. Thank you. 

Wine & Paint

I have wanted to a wine and paint party for SUCH a long time. When my friend Sarah shared a photo on Facebook from The Art Party Studio I knew I had to sign up!

I was super excited to get to the studio and make my ballerina! When we came in, each place had a canvas with the top penciled in, a plate with the paint, 2 brushes, a large cup of water and one paper towel. I'm a bit of a perfectionist and I don't like my food to touch on a plate- so you can imagine my surprise and sadness when they literally refused to give a second plate to mix colors. I thought it was a really odd thing to be a stickler about- but if I go back to this studio, I'm seriously bringing in my own paper plate. I'm sure others will think that this isn't a big deal, but it really bothered me. 

We painted  background. My color turned out a bit more purple than the instructor's, but that's okay, I liked the color. 

But then she had us cover with a blue. This is where I started kinda going on my own. I decided I did NOT want to cover up all my pretty purple and in fact, I think I wanted more pink at the bottom.

 She had us add a green color to the top and that made me pout some more. I instantly didn't like the green. What can I say, I'm an individualist. Haha. I blended it in as well as I could and moved on... 

We got to the FUN part! We started the skirt. I had SO much fun with this! I made my skirt VERY full and created lots of layers! We also, went in and painted the top part white- this took several layers to cover up where I had crossed my pencil lines- the instructor had said that wasn't a problem... but I felt like I had to do quite a bit of painting to really cover those lines.

We then added in some blue to the skirt and made swirlies around the waist and were the flowers would eventually go with the icy blue that we created. As I put in the blue, I realized... I didn't like that too much, so I added some pink to my skirt. With this hanging in my daughters' bedroom, I knew they would want it to be more pink than blue! 

 After the blue swirlies we made small swirls with a light green. 

After the green, we did a brown in the middle of the green. I trusted the instructor this time, but I didn't like it. I knew we were layering, so it worked out well in the end. 

On top of the brown, we placed the white, yay we covered that yucky brown. It did add the dimension needed, so I guess it wasn't a bad thing. 

At this point, we mixed just a little pink in with my white and going back over the white. We also added some random white lines in around the flowers coming up off of the skirt. I added a few more last minute pink spots to my skirt and I was done! 

We had SUCH a good time. Even if I'm a rebel and totally changed up some of the things the instructor wanted us to do just made my painting better in my opinion! I'm super glad I finally got to go and this painting is hanging in my daughters' play room. They LOVE how it turned out! 

Stitch Fix #3!

Have I mentioned that I'm totally loving my StitchFix? I'm loving that more of my friends are getting fixes and we can share our experiences! I was in retail for years- so I know how important it is for someone to suggest something for you to wear that is outside of the typical choices for yourself. Sometimes that out-side-the-box thinking is just what you need! 

This box... well, I know it's not a 5/5, but I'm not 100% sure yet what pieces I will be keeping. Maybe by the end of writing this post I will know? We will see. I don't want to lose my credit that I have since a friend signed up- that's $25 FREE towards a purchase. Happy birthday to ME! 

I do know for a fact that my stylist, Melinda (If you read this- HI!) is looking at my pinterest board, and that's awesome! However, I think I need to be more careful about what I pin. How do I know that? Because I have pinned two maxi skirts- but more because I liked the tops in the pictures and not the actual skirts themselves... but I'm never quite sure how I feel about Maxi dresses/skirts. 

Melinda suggested these two items to go together. I think if I was taller, this look would work- but I feel a little frumpy in this. I like the top okay.. 

Manna Tie Front Knit Top and Marilyn Mix Striped Maxi Skirt 

I love this top. It's totally my style and I love the colors. Funny because someone on a Facebook Group mentioned that they were disappointed with getting this shirt in their fix. I think the print is fun and it's so soft! 

Edmond Chevron Print Henley Shirt 

The jeans... oh these jeans. I actually really like them. But I'm NOT paying $178 for a pair of denim capri's. I just can't. They are very soft and comfortable. The fit was pretty good- I could probably go up one size and feel a little better. But $178? Nope. I can't even justify the cost... 

Kent Cuffed Carpi Jean

THIS top is probably my favorite. I'm pretty sure this is my birthday present to myself! (Seriously, it was my birthday this week!) It's a great summer color, the chevron print is fun and it's going to be great layering piece. 

Papermoon Cordelia Chevron Tank 

So... maybe a 2/5? No firm answer from me yet. I'll update and let you know! :) 

Why I love Disney... Or why I don't care if you don't want to visit Walt Disney World.

Growing up, my family life was less than ideal. Of course, everyone wants to imagine their childhood has a blissful time where life was easy and perfect, but even with a pair of rose colored glasses firmly in place, that's just not the case for myself.

Recently, I was asked to share my life history. I shared growing up without knowing my biological father, moving around a lot, emotional and physical abuse I suffered from my mother and how I have worked hard to get to where I currently am in my life. At the end of my spiel, someone asked "Wait- you love Disney and that NEVER came up. How does that fit into your history?" Great question.

As I stopped to think, it felt very easy for me to answer. The Walt Disney World Resort provides amazing experiences that I know my kids will never forget. And even if they forget, then I can remind them with the thousands of photographs that I have from our four family trips. I want happy memories for my kids. Memories that I didn't have from my immediate family. I want my girls to be happy and secure knowing that even when things are tough, that we can still stop and have fun and enjoy each other.

Selfie in front of Spaceship Earth! 

Not only do we have our family vacations to Walt Disney World, but a few years ago, I applied for the Disney Parks Mom Panel. To my surprise, I was accepted into the second round of the process- which according to my vast research (hours spent chatting online with other applicants) isn't very normal. While I did not make the panel, it actually helped inspire me to look at my life and think about other dreams that I had set aside.

I LOVE making client's wishes come true! 

At 32 years old, I decided to go back to school for MY dream. Cosmetology. My mother had never liked the idea and squashed the chance I had to attend Cosmetology school right after I graduated high school. Would I have decided to do this without the Walt Disney Company? Perhaps? But I really do believe that getting that close to working for Disney inspired me to reach out to ALL dreams that I have in my life. Now, I'm working in my field and a small business owner. Had you asked me even 3 years ago, I would NOT have believed you.

Another dream of mine has been writing. I have enjoying writing this blog- but lets face it. I've been less than committed to this small little blog. I've always enjoyed social media outlets- BabyCenter and the DisBoards were two places I was able to write and connect. About a year ago, I was asked to join the team at Magical DIStractions- combining my love for Disney and writing. I'm amazed at how our team has come together and how my passion for writing has bubbled to the surface.

I'm so grateful for the path that my life has taken as I have gotten older. It's been a lot of tough work and hard decisions. Nothing in my life has come easily- but honestly, I wouldn't want it to be easy. Perhaps I wouldn't appreciate where I am now if I didn't have to work to get where I am today.

So, don't go to Disney if you don't want to go- that just means less crowds for me. I'll be saving my pennies and looking forward to our next family trip.

Another year, another trip!

I'm so lucky to have a family that enjoys traveling to Disney Parks as much as I do. I never intended for our family to end up at Walt Disney World so often. I thought when we took our first trip in 2010 that we'd go every few years. However, that quickly changed and we have gone again in 2012 and 2014- not to mention a "girls trip" with my best friend this past summer. Now, we are just weeks away from another trip for our family and I'm getting so excited and antsy!

We decided to make this trip a surprise for our daughters and it's been quite an adventure keeping quiet. I'm hoping that we can make it. We've told them that we were going to the "big city" and that we'll be watching the new Cinderella movie at a fancy theater that has a restaurant. Both of those are truthful statements. LOL We will be spending the night at a hotel in the big city... near the airport! LOL  And then we will be heading to the AMC Fork and Screen at Downtown Disney to watch the Cinderella movie one night.

But the hardest part has been keeping quiet. The girls have been on a kick watching as many Disney Park videos as possible. Thank you YouTube for providing literally hours of entertainment! It's going to be amazing to see their smiling faces when we wake them up early to head to the airport!

So excited... over a label?

It's the nature of the beast. Something exciting happens and you aren't sure if anyone else will understand how excited you are... so you worry about even saying it out loud.

But I can't keep it inside! My shipping label for the #DisneySide @ Home Celebration party has been created!!! YAY!

HOW can I be so excited over a label that has been printed?? I don't know, but the excitement is certainly there and I cannot wait! I'm really wanting to have the party soon and if this ships quickly, then I will have my box in my pretty little hands next week! Of course, I'm also mentally preparing myself for the fact that this could simply be printing today and not shipped until Monday. If that is the case, then I may be in for a longer wait. 

I'm planning on hosting the party in the morning and serving brunch style snacks for the kids. I have been pinning away all of my ideas. I can't wait to get my kit so I can get this party started! 

I'm hosting a #DisneySide @Home Celebration!

I'm so excited! 

I have been chosen to host a Princess themed preschool party! My two princesses will be so excited to host a practically perfectly princess party! Thanks to my friends online, I learned about the #DisneySide @ Home Celebration  and decided to join. Since I have this blog and I barely use it, I figured I better start using it a little bit. This party is really the perfect fit for my family's #DisneySide, since my two girls think they belong in princess dresses 100% of the time! I bet the hardest part of the day will be picking out the dress they plan on wearing! I can't wait to start planning.

I promise to start sharing more of my personal life, our life with the band, my #DisneySide and my professional Cosmetology stuff!

I have just finished my cosmetology program at Lake Land College and will be starting my new career very soon! My favorite

For more about my #DisneySide make sure you check out Magical DIStractions

Crazy Summer

Wow. Its been a year! We have survived our first year here in Hattiesburg! We are excited for the future and are on the downhill slope. The chances for Corey getting a great job next year seem pretty good, we already know of several openings in different states for the 2011 school year and we are sure that more will open up. We have a lot to consider as we gear up for finding a job! Of course, our first choice would be to end up back in the North Georgia area, but we are NOT being closed minded! If God opens doors in Texas, Florida or Arizona, that's where we will go!

On Father's day we ended up going to a local lake park. Nothing like Lake Lanier, but it was a blast. Cortlyn enjoyed swimming and playing in the sand and the adults got to go out on some jet ski's! Cortlyn got to go out in a tube for the first time. which was scary and fun at the same time. Of course, Mommy rode with her, but she seemed to have a good time!

We've been so busy lately! For the Fourth, we traveled to Birmingham to see our friends Stephanie, Scotlon & Alaina. It was a perfect time to rest and hang out! I would post pictures, but because I aim low, I left my camera! Stephanie is suppose to be mailing it to me... at some point!

Cortlyn is officially big enough to be turned around to forward facing. While the "law" says they can be turned at one year and 20 pounds, research shows that staying rear-facing to the limits of the car-seat is the safest! Cortlyn actually was sort of shocked when we turned her in our car. She is a tall little girl, with short legs (like her momma!) and we have her in the tallest carseat shell we can afford. She's growing up so fast!
Football/Marching season is quickly approaching. Just thinking about the football games and the excitement of the pre-game festivities makes me want to wear my Gold and black!

Cortlyn turns two...

Cortlyn's birthday party was a small affair this year. We figured that at two, she wouldn't remember the party, but wanted to celebrate it with our friends here in Hattiesburg. But apparently, most of the people IN Hattiesburg had plans for May 22nd, but that's okay. We enjoyed the small turn out.
Cortlyn's best friend is Stella. Stella is just a month older than Cort, but she's a little smaller than Cort. Stella's mom & I work together and we are always getting the girls together, and the really love each other. As you can see, they were happy to see each other!

Cortlyn was also joined by Caleb and the kids enjoyed some fruit, Capri sun's & got to decorate their own cupcakes. They had such a fun time with the sprinkles and the cupcakes, I must say tasted SOO good!

Cortlyn enjoyed opening her presents and she got a lot of fun books, puzzles and a special Birthday Barbie from Corey & me.
Cortlyn and Stella had a blast playing with the balloons after the party and one got away... look at how cute they are as they run after the balloon!

Homes of Hope for Children

Shelley and Addy came to visit along with the Belmont Softball team (ok, ok- the girls on the team were here to play softball & Shelley tagged along with them). While they were in town, we went with our friends Michael & Julie Garrett to the Homes of Hope for Children campus. In the picture, you can see the building that is housing the offices and the house parents (And actually, the house parents are almost cut off in our picture there!). This is going to be an AMAZING ministry to the children of southern Mississippi. They are currently trying to win a grant from Pepsi for $250,000. If they win this money, they WILL open DEBTFREE this summer! Please visit the website to see more about their incredible vision and vote daily in the month of March for Homes of Hope for Children. I'd love to be a small part in helping them change the lives of 7 young girls this summer!

Girls Night

Last night was a Girls Night for Cortlyn and I. I had invited a co-worker to come over, with her daughter who is about a month older than Cortlyn. I had no batteries for my camera, and I don't know how to transfer photos to computers- that is Corey's sort of thing!

Megan and Stella arrived and Cortlyn immediately hugged Stella. After about 5 minutes of being here, Cortlyn was saying "Stehlla" and they were having a very good time! They were so excited to play with each other, although, Stella had to figure out what this place was before she really got down to business! We had a cheesy pasta for dinner and then for dessert, Megan brought stuff to make strawberry short cake! YUM! We let the girls help with their whipped cream which was SOOO much fun! Cortlyn first took the tiniest little scoop and wanted to eat it. I grabbed her hand and showed her how to get a scoop of the cream and place it in her half of the little cake. Then, the four of us proceeded to eat the whole package of fresh strawberries! They were really good. We hung out and played with the girls and they even cleaned up some of their mess- of course, they IMMEDIATELY messed it up again, but we're looking at the positives here!

We knew the night was over, when they started arguing over toys when they each had a similar item. We decided that meant it was time for jammies and for Meg & Stel to go home. Cortlyn was very upset to see her new friend leave and screamed for about 2 minutes after I put her in the crib. And then she was OUT for the night. Silly girl!

Today will be spent (Hopefully!) at USM watching the Women's softball tourney! Shelley & Addy are in town, since Addy's daddy is the coach for the Belmont softball team. Julie, Micheal & Caleb will be there as well so it should be a lot of fun! I'm hoping for nice weather, although the forecast said 60% chance of rain. BOO! I'm tired of this crazy weather! We had SNOW FLURRIES again this week. SNOW FLURRIES!!!!!! Is the cold weather following me? I really think it was snowed more here in Mississippi then it did in GA last year! Sigh.