A letter to our daycare on Pre-K graduation

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Dear Daycare,

Sometimes the days can seem like a blurry mess.

I realize sometimes I'm the mess that walks through the doors, rushing to get rid of my kids and on to work. I walk in with 4 day old hair, and an outfit choice that has seen better days. With one kid on my hip screaming he wants to push the intercom button and the other one running to push it before him, just to piss the little one off.

Some days my eyes are blurry from tears of doubt. Are we even doing this right? A constant question that runs through my head.

Then there are days I'm full of life all because we had a good ride in. A successful morning of getting dressed with no arguing and lunches made the night before.

So here is to you, a big, never said enough, thank you.

Thank you for watching over both my boys. For making hand made gifts on holidays and making them feel special on days they don't.

For stopping me and asking if I'm doing okay, even though you can see through the tears in my eyes that some days I'm not. 

Thank you for welcoming us with open arms. For taking your Christian beliefs and values and not seeing us as some unwed couple but as a loving and caring family.

Tracen is timid but brave at the same time and can long board better than any five year old I know. He strives to win at games and sports but loves helping others win and feel that same excitement. Thank you for helping teach him that.

He helps Skylor during drop off and shows him how to be brave and that parents always come back. Sometimes getting his waffle and fruit set up for him and telling him he hopes he sees him on the playground. No matter how rushed I am in the morning these times are worth being late for. 
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Tracen has made friends at school and has gone to birthday parties. Laughing at fart jokes and pretending to be Spiderman with his buddies. Thank you for bringing these kids into his life.
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Thank you for teaching him Spanish, Italian and German, for teaching him songs accompanied by sign language. For teaching him the pledge of allegiance, to pray before he eats and why we really celebrate holidays.

Thank you for giving endless bags of ice and big bear hugs when he's fallen off jungle gyms and insists the scrapes are worse than they are.

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Thank you for always saying hi in the morning even if I don't always answer back.


The forms have been signed and dropped off and just like that Kindergarten is here. While there are days we get excited that it's one less bill out of our pocket I become sad knowing we are leaving you.

You've done us well these last 5 years daycare! Your teachers hearts are in the right place, coming to work every day and caring for kids as if they were there own. I will forever be grateful for the teachers that have helped mold Tracen into the little human that he is and prepare him for this next stage.

And who knows, maybe we'll be back with another one later down the road!

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Capsule Wardrobe: Spring Additions

If you're new to the capsule wardrobe you might want to watch this video 

and then this one


and then this one


Now that you're all caught up I wanted to share a few new pieces I've added to my Spring capsule wardrobe. A full video will be up next week but I wanted to share some of the new items in the mean time so you can snag them before they sell out!

I've been shopping a lot online lately, one thing I love is coming home to packages in the mail! I literally enjoy this more than heading to a store and purchasing things in person. I'm not sure what it is but it's so exhilarating! Okay, enough with my dramatics lets get on to the good stuff, the clothing!

For a capsule wardrobe you need to find pieces that fit into your wardrobe that you can mix and match easily. This usually means solid colors or easy patterns to work with. Tobi has been my go to for solid colors lately. I got a couple different dresses and rompers to spice up my spring wardrobe, now if only this damn weather in Michigan would corporate so I could actually wear them! You'll probably notice that olive or army green is a go to color for me lately, along with black and gray, I basically don't wear anything else.

Here are some recent pieces I've picked up to add to my Spring Capsule wardrobe (video coming this week showing you everything I'm wearing this spring.)



Since I stick to neutral colors when I want to add a pop or color or fun pattern I try and make sure I can work it into as many outfits as possible. Having a shirtcardigan or patterned dress that you can wear only once or twice because they are so loud is pointless. I'm the kinda girl that wants to be able to re-wear items over and over and not have people take much notice!

With the weather getting much warmer in the months to come I'm hoping I can squeeze my butt into a new cocktail dress, or maybe even a body suit with some shorts for a night out with Jer. I mean, that is asking a lot but hell I'm about to be 30, I need to rock this body!

Just a reminder, new customers of Tobi get 50% off their first order! Yeah FIFTY FREAKING PERCENT off your entire shopping cart for your first order! Check back later this week for a complete video of my closet! Happy Tuesday!

To the parents the night before you have your first baby

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Today one of my best friends from college is bringing her son into this world! She's jumped through numerous hurdles and surgeries to get to this point, one she's dreamed about. Every time I talk to her she's so positive and strong after these long and tiring years, I'm so incredibly proud and happy for her!

Last night I went to send Meg a text since I knew he'd be here today, something funny about how today would go but I had to pause mid thumb type. Tracen was crying because he was soooooo bored and Skylor was pulling on my hand yelling let me show youuuuu which really means, come with me to the fridge so I can tell you what I want to eat...again. I was frustrated because I just wanted a minute to send her a message but I couldn't because they needed me.

A couple hours passed and I was sitting down in my favorite part of the couch (the corner!) waiting for Jerek to come join me so we could stay up far too late and watch The Game of Thrones. I started to type out things like "get some rest, tomorrow is going to be amazing but exhausting!" and then I stopped. She didn't need to hear that. The past couple years of surgeries have been exhausting. The hours and days spent in doctor offices have been exhausting. The countless shots, medications and procedures have been exhausting. This, this was the exciting part! Being exhausted because you were up all night with a baby is nothing compared to how tired she's been in the past. She didn't need to hear me telling her things like that, so I deleted the text and started over.

Your lives have already changed forever as you've been growing this little guy for months now! Tomorrow everything is just set into play; things get more real and even more fun! You're going to be exhausted, you'll cry over literally nothing and everything at the same time! But if I can give you any advice it would be to smile every day you wake up. 

There will be really hard days, days you don't think you'll get through. And days where you don't want to put him to bed because he's just so much fun! Days where you want to kick Jason out of house and days where YOU just want to leave and sneak away from it all. But mostly there will be days of laughter and smiles, barfing and poop explosions! 

There will be days of firsts and lasts. Days you feel fat and days you think no one understands what you're feeling. Remember, you can always ask for help, whether it's someone close that can physically help or someone far away that is needed as a sounding board! Always ask for help, never feel bad about doing so. If you want Jason to do something, TELL HIM, he's no mind reader. I love you guys so incredibly much. I can't wait for you to feel the emotions we've been feeling over these last 5 years, they are incredible! It beats any other feeling in the entire world!

Our conversation went on as we talked about how we both were so excited and I couldn't wait to meet him this summer. After we said bye I thought about how long and hard the day was. The boys were exhausting; they literally were a whiny hot mess ALL.DAY.LONG. I was happy to finally sit on the couch and watch a show I wanted to watch and snuggle up with Jer. To not have to get anyone but myself a damn drink, that's the stuff you sometimes day dream about!

But as I've said before the days, months and years go by fast. Tracen starts kindergarten soon and Sky will be three in a few months. Life before them was fun and amazing but no one told me the night before I gave birth how truly wonderful it all would be. So remember to be kind in what you say to the expecting. They know they will be tired, they know it will be hard and they also know how exciting this journey will be!

Congrats Megan and Jason, this ride is a fun one <3 



The First Month of Marriage


|Taking pictures after the wedding-photographer- Monroe Fox Photography |

Happy Cinco de Mayo and happy 1 month of wedded bliss! 

While I update you with what has been going on this last month I'm adding in photos from my camera from our trip. What is a blog post without photos right? (not a real blog post I say!)

I'm here to tell you nothing has changed. Not even my last name. I haven't even changed my name on Facebook, never mind going to the secretary of state and starting that whole headache!

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|Swimming with Dolphins Cove|
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This last month has been busy! We started demo-ing our back family room and Jerek is currently driving around with a ton of bricks in the back of his truck that need to go to the dump (no really it weighs probably a ton!) We got flooring quotes and started talking about paint colors, fireplace layouts and new furniture. Trying to keep kids and a dog out of that space is tiring.
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| Groomsmen lookin like babes|
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|Skylor puked this up about 30 minutes later on the bus|
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|Now Jade Resort|

I started taking more lash extension clients, working on videos for myself and for others and getting ready for wedding season as my schedule is booking up with shoots! I snuck away for a girls weekend in Traverse City a couple weekends ago for a bachlorette party. Tracen started soccer and we have been running around like crazy people trying to get home from work on time, get everyone changed, fed and off to practices and games; it's been exhausting but I'm excited for warm weather soccer!
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| My ride or dies- Allie, Valentijn, Elyse & Blake|
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|The boat Jerek lost his wedding ring on...two days after the wedding|

I paid off two credit cards, have managed not to use them, and am working on the other two! Slowly but surely, right! I've amped up my t-shirt production time in my Etsy shop and have been having orders come in left and right. I also started designing a couple new ones to add to the summer lineup.
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| Allie & Valentijn| 

I have a surprise trip booked out of the state for a belated birthday and wedding gift for Jerek at the beginning of June and it's taking everything in me to not tell him where we're going and what we're doing; I'm not very good at holding in surprises! We got rid of cable and are saving almost $130/month by just having internet and Netflix, I'm excited to see that savings start! We also started watching a new show; Game of Thrones and I'm loving it surprisingly!
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|Jerek tearing up during the best man speech|
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|My babe of babes|

Over all this last month has been a little hectic post wedding! As we try to figure out this next house project we're doing, how to manage our schedules with the kids and to remember to make time for each other. We are still the same parents, I still yell when no one listens to me. I still wear my retainers and sweats to bed. I don't shower any more than I did before and I don't try to impress Jerek with any 'wife like super powers' you gain after saying I do!