Target + Neiman's: A Match Made in Heaven

My son is currently pulling his stuffed puppy around on our real dog's leash. This is probably because I won't play Batman with him.

I just got an email from Target with a little sneak peek of their collaboration with Neiman Marcus, which launches on December 1. I'm usually lukewarm about the Target designer collections, but I do think this one could be great since there are so many designers involved.

Since you asked, here are my must-haves from the collection:

I think this Tracey Reese blouse would be perfect for Christmas parties:

The DVF jewelry box is cool, and would make a holiday gift:

If your daughter is attending a formal soiree, why not dress her in Marchesa? Ava would be all about this. 

I'm obsessed with both Tory Burch AND coffee, so this is a must-have for me:

And, I'll leave you with this little bit of political humor today:

When Winning is Actually Losing

Yesterday my friend Jill and I took our kids to the North Carolina State Fair. This is one of those things I say I don't like, but then really kind of do. I'll tell you - parking is a pain, the crowd leaves a lot to be desired (putting in mildly). And really, it costs a lot of money to go there and have any fun.

But, there are also things I do like about it. For one, it brings back lots of memories for me. My dad used to always take me to the fair in Greensboro when I was little. (I need to talk to my mom about how she finagled her way out of that event most years). But really, it was tons of fun. I got to eat lots of bad food and ride tons of rides. So, I kind of want my kids to have those same memories.

Anyway. We headed out there yesterday and got parked. What luck we had, because just as we were about to trek from the lot to the fairgrounds, a rickshaw came along! We decided it was worth the $5 to ride the six of us over there. How that poor boy on the bike pulled two grown women and 4 kids is beyond me. Great quad workout, though.

So, here are the kids enjoying the sugar high that can only come from cotton candy. The younger two were more cooperative than the older two.

They also loved the rides. What a long way Davis has come. In February, when we went to Disney World, he didn't want to go on many rides. He was too scared. Plus, he was too short for a lot of them. Now, 6 months later, he was willing to go on everything and everything. And, it seems that at the Fair, they don't really care if you don't actually meet the posted "height requirement."

And, the highlight of the evening? The kids played one of the midway games. This one involved trying to throw a ping pong ball into a small fish bowl. Neither of my kids won, but the game lady took pity on them and "awarded" them a goldfish anyway.

Friends, allow me to introduce our newest family member, Sydney Bruce:

Not only did we "win" the fish, but Mommy got to to out and purchase $30 worth of fish supplies today. Winner!! And we'll win again when Sydney Bruce goes belly up one day and Mommy gets to explain all about meeting Jesus. 

The silver lining of the night came in the form of deep fried Reeses Cups. The kids aren't even aware that we had them - Jill and I ate them all by ourselves. I'll be honest, though. They were super tasty, but maybe not quite as good as the deep fried Oreos I had last year. 

Seems that the carnie life suits me just fine, doesn't it?

The Single Mom Chronicles

Last week Morgan was out of town, so I was a single mom all week. I don't mean from Monday til Friday. I mean from Monday til Sunday. Sunday night. It was a looonnnnngggg week. Actually, I'll rephrase that. I was a long second half of the week. The first half was fine. The kids were being good, I was enjoying not really cooking, and all was fine. But then I sort of hit my limit around Thursday and was just ready to be done. My hat goes off to all the single parents out there - it's a lot of work. And it's funny, because Morgan isn't usually home before 7, so it's not like he's able to do tons during the week. But there's something about knowing someone else is around to help if you need it that's really comforting. All I can say is, thank God for wine. Seriously.

I did end up getting a sitter on Thursday night for no other reason except to have a night off. I spent a couple of quiet hours shopping, which was super fun. There may or may not have been a boot purchase which I wrote off as a 10th anniversary gift.

Speaking of anniversary, ours was Friday. Number 10. That's a long time, right? If  we were in Hollywood, we would be in the running for Most Successful Marriage. The decade has seriously flown by. Flown. But then I look back at how young we looked, and I realize it really has been 10 years:

We were just babies back then. Ten years and two kids later, I think I'll keep him. Especially since he didn't outwardly balk at my new boot purchase. AND he sent flowers. Keeping the wife happy is the name of the game.

Davis is out of school today and is begging me to play Batcave with him. Trust me, this is not as fun as it sounds. 

Ta-ta for now, my friends.

Making Hard Choices

I'm taking a break from being outside on this gorgeous fall day. My car was looking like something Oscar the Grouch might live in, so Davis and I have spent the last hour cleaning it out. He was helpful, except for the climbing in and out of it with his dirty shoes. Typical.

This week we got a little taste of winter. Temps were in the 50s - brrrr. I just chose to ignore the fact that I don't really have any new clothes and just wore my workout clothes all day. Doing it again today, in fact. Of course, today, I had planned on running, but then got a lunch invitation, so running didn't happen.

Anyway, the cooler temps reminded me that I really need a new pair of boots this year. I exercised an astonishing amount of restraint last weekend when I didn't take advantage of the Tory Burch Friends and Fans sale, where I could have received 25% off my most coveted boots:

 I went to a store and tried on four different TB boot styles. I hemmed. I hawed. I put them in my shopping bag on the website. I entered the promo code. But I couldn't pull the trigger. Yes, the price was part of it, but the bigger problem was that the calf of the TB boots is pretty slender. I could get them on, but they were tight at the top. I didn't think I could wear them with my skinny jeans. (Then again, the boots have me thinking my calves are just fat and maybe I have no business wearing skinny jeans at all.)

Anyway, it wasn't worth the cost for me not to be able to make them my primary boots.

So, moving on. I've got Frye cowboy boots and I love them. I've had them for 4 years now, and they have held up great. Now I'm trying to decide between the Melissa Button boot or the Paige Riding Boot. And, lucky me, I received a 20% off coupon from Belk in the mail yesterday where Frye is actually not one of the exclusions. Yay!

The Melissa - perhaps a bit more casual than what I'm really going for.

And Paige:

Honestly, there really isn't much choice to be made. I'm 99% sure I'll go with the Paige. Just can't decide if I want the brown, like the ones in the photo, or these gray ones:

This sort of hard decision making reminds me of just how difficult my life is sometimes. Oh - but just so you know, it IS our 10 year anniversary on Friday. So shopping is allowed. 

And - one last thing. I need a good new book to read. Who's got suggestions for me? Fiction, please.

Halloween (or my least favorite holiday)

Halloween is fast approaching. I know this because all grocery and garden stores are overrun with mums and pumpkins. Then again, they are also overrun with Christmas decorations, so who knows what season it really is. Also, Ava keeps reminding me that we need to decorate for Halloween. She's right, but I just  don't really like leaving our giant spiders and synthetic webs up much longer than I have to. I'm kind of a Halloween Scrooge that way. However, I do love candy, and anything Reese's in particular. My antidote to the Scroogi-ness is just to stuff my face full of peanut butter and chocolate.

Even I have to admit that this is pretty cute, though:

via here

Ava decided sometime last year that she would be Rapunzel for Halloween. I kind of thought that might pass. Not to say that it's exactly babyish - it's just not really what I would have expected my 7 year old to choose. But when Ava decides on something, her mind does not easily change. So, apparently, Rapunzel it is.

My search for a costume turned up this gem:

image via

Which, believe it or not, is sold out. Damn. There go the plans for matching Mommy/Daughter costumes. 

Davis started out saying he was going to be Kick Buttowski:

Now he says he wants to be a bat. Not sure which I prefer. However, my "children's bat costume" search on Google came up with this beauty:

via Target.com

Is it just me, or is this a little too vixen-like for a child? Maybe her mom is wearing the Rapunzel costume from above. The only cute boys' bat costume is the one from Pottery Barn Kids, and I'm not spending $50 on it. Plus, it appears to be made of fleece, and if this Halloween is like most in NC, it will be about 80 degrees, which will rule out all fuzzy attire. 

via Pottery Barn Kids

Manic Monday

Davis has gotten into a bad habit of waking up too early. Today, after my alarm went off (5:35am), I was in my bathroom getting dressed for boot camp (more on that later). I heard a shrill whine coming from my bedroom, but I hoped that if I stayed quiet long enough, the whine would stop. Instead, the source of the whine busted through the bathroom door commanding that I get back into my bed.

Hmmm. I thought that maybe if I climbed back into bed with Davis (and Morgan), he'd doze off and I could sneak on out to my class. No such luck. Every time I scooted an inch closer to the edge of my bed, Davis moved. He was onto me.

So, I took another approach. Honesty. Yeah, that didn't really go over so well. I was like, "okay, Davis, Mommy has to go work out now. I'll be back in a little while. Byyyeeee!"

And so began the screams. I felt terrible leaving Morgan with sad Davis at such an early hour, but I don't like to miss my workouts. Plus, I think Davis needs to learn that he is just fine with his Daddy. More than fine.

I said my goodbyes, exited barefoot, and headed to my class. It's an outdoor class. When I pulled up, I saw the group gathered in the usual spot. I took a moment to put my shoes on, then got out of the car to catch up to the group, and they had vanished, apparently into thin air. I looked around for a good 15 minutes, but never found them. I got some coffee and went home.

Does a workout count if you fully intended to do it?

Now, about this boot camp. I don't want to offend anyone, but I feel a little like I'm working out with the rejects from The Biggest Loser auditions. And look, I'm impressed with anyone who is out of shape and decides to do something about it. I'll even encourage them along the way if they need me to. But there seems to be a lot of grunting and groaning, and I'm just not a fan of negative energy when I'm getting out of bed way before the sun to work off last night's wine and Magnum ice cream bars.

Anyway, I'm hoping that with Davis' early waking and the rain outside, a nice nap will be in order for both of us this afternoon.

Cross your fingers.