mani/pedi time

my mom, addison, and i got mani/pedis before we went on our trip to the beach {2 months ago).

it was addison's first time to get a professional mani/pedi {i know it might be shocking that i'm not a professional. i just have skills}.

addison did great! her favorite part was having her feet in the water. and the sparkly nail polish she picked out.

lately

addison went to the beach with her dad last week. she was gone the entire week. so i had a whole week of no work or addison. i missed her a bunch {but it was kind of nice having me time}. while she was gone, i went to the pool and studied for the next part of the CPA exam i take. relaxing time with a side of being a grown up. oh well. at least i'm not a ghost anymore!

also while she was gone, my mom and i did something we had been talking about doing for a while. we got tattoos! it was the first for both of us. my mom got the symbol for hakuna matata above her right ankle. i wanted to get something for addison but that i could add to if i ever have more kids. so i got her birthday in roman numerals on my right side. i kind of love it. a lot. whenever i see it i have to do a double take because i can't believe i did it. and i kinda like looking at it.

remember when i got hooded? and finished grad school? i finally went by school and picked up my diploma. it feels so official now! NO MORE SCHOOL! i think it will really hit me when summer school starts, and especially when school starts back this fall.

my friends and i are newly obsessed with the game ellen degeneres created called "heads up". i love ellen and pretty much anything she does, so it should've been a given that i would love her game. my friends and i played it this weekend and had so much fun. we even played it at a bar. we may have gotten weird looks but we didn't notice because we were having so much fun.

addison came back late saturday night and i picked her up sunday morning. after i stopped to get her some welcome home donuts. we played at home and ran some errands. and got one of my favorite summer treats - icees! i always get coke and cherry mixed. and i make sure to put cherry on top. i have a feeling we'll be getting a lot of those this summer.

well if that wasn't random, i don't know what is. but that's what's been going on lately. addison has swim lessons this week and has been a rock star. she's so different that the first year she went. i'll update on that at the end of the week :)

train ride with santa

saturday morning we got up bright and early to go on a train ride with santa.

my mom heard about it and thought it would be fun for all of us to go. i thought it sounded fun too, so we got tickets and went!

it was definitely worth it. i don't really know what i expected, but addison had a blast on her first train ride. and she got to see santa too!


we were on the last car, which meant that we got to see santa first as he worked his way up to the front of the train.


the ride was about 2 hours long. addison brought some money because she wanted to buy a snack. she decided on oreos. she did get a little antsy towards the end and wanted to get up and move around some. but even so, she was great! and it was a lot of fun.

they have an easter train ride in the spring that has an easter egg hunt. i think we're going to have to do that one too!

first titans game

last night i took addison to her first titans game.

my dad has had season tickets since they came to nashville, and i've been going with him ever since. i remember the first game we went to, and it was kind of traumatic for me. i won't bore you with the whole story, but a drunk lady was sitting beside me and threw up everywhere. so ya.

i don't go to every game {and i haven't gone to many in the past years}, but i want to go to more games this year. so every time i'm given the opportunity, i'm going to try my best to go!

i really wanted to take addison to a game this year. i figured she was old enough. we had taken her to a sounds game this summer and she did pretty well, so i thought she would do fine at a titan's game.

my dad was out of town, so he gave me his tickets. it was a preseason game, so it wasn't as "serious" as regular season games {he would probably argue with me on that}. i figured it would be a good one to take addison to since we weren't obligated to stay there the whole time {mainly because we weren't with my dad. he likes to stay the entire time. no matter the score}

i'm kind of a last minute person, so i waited until yesterday to look for addison a shirt to wear to the game. and i had no such luck. luckily, she had an old jersey {size 2T, mind you} in her closet. and luckily again, it fit. barely.

i'm going to get her a cuter t-shirt/jersey/dress for her next game. i'll definitely plan that a little better.

if you're a titans fan {or really into football at all}, you can probably tell that my jersey is a little outdated. i've had it for probably 10 years. i think i may get a new jersey this year. but at least i'm supporting the titans by wearing a jersey :)

addison did great! my dad has 3 tickets, so i took my friend maegen to the game, too. addison loves maegen and was all about her the whole night. she really didn't want to have anything to do with me.

she danced and played most of the time. she didn't really watch any of the game. although it was pointed out to me that i didn't really watch any of the games when i would go when i was younger, and even then i was much older than addison.

when she did watch, she'd get so excited when everyone clapped. she would clap right along with everyone. she had no clue what was going on, but she figured it was good since they were clapping!

we left around the middle/end of the 3rd quarter. the titans were up by 10 {and they ended up winning}. even though we left early, it was still about 9:30 when we left. we had to take maegen home, which resulted in spending a few minutes there so addison could say hi. then we headed home.

addison didn't get in bed until around 11. i decided to go to bed at the same time. i was going to do a few things on my computer though, so i left my light on. no less than 2 minutes after i put addison to bed, she came walking into my room, asking what i was doing. she promptly climbed in bed with me and said she wanted to sleep with me.

i didn't feel like forcing her to go back to her bed, so i just let her sleep with me. we were both so tired that i don't think either one of us woke up at all in the night. titans games are tiring!

i'm really excited for this football season. i can't believe it's already here! i'm excited to go to more titans games, and hopefully i'll take addison to some more this season, too!

fun times at the fair

monday night we ventured out to the wilson county fair.

i can't remember the last time i went to a fair.

i was supposed to have class that night, but it was cancelled. so we took that opportunity to go!

i don't really know what i expected.

and let me tell you -- i seriously had more fun than i ever could have imagined.

the rides at the fair are kind of pricey. it cost 3 tickets for the rides that addison could ride, and even more for adult rides. and each ticket was $1. so ya, a little steep. my mom thought it would be best if we just got addison's hand stamped, which cost $20, and it let her ride all the rides as many times as she wanted. and it was definitely worth it!


the fair had 4 of the same sort of ride, just different vehicles. they all went around in circles. there was a car, boat, motorcycle, and 4-wheeler. addison rode those at least 2 times each.

addison was so excited because there would be horses at the fair. she kept asking if she could ride one. she didn't get to ride any {although there were ponies at a different part of the fair, but she didn't ride those either because she had ridden ponies twice!! the day before}.

there was also a cow that addison kept trying to make moo. some man walked up beside her to see the cow and she asked him if he could make the cow moo. he, too, was unsuccessful.

when we got addison's hand stamped, the man asked why my mom and i weren't getting out hands stamped. we said that we didn't really plan on riding any rides, and that unless it was free, we weren't going to get it. and then he tried to be all sneaky and stamped my hand for free. score!

i'm not really a fair ride person. i'd prefer the rides that stay in one place and aren't capable of being packed up and moved. it just feels a little safer that way, ya know? so the stamp may have been a slight waste on me, but it did allow me to ride a couple rides with addison for free.

and i got to ride pretty much the only adult fair ride i'll ride. how many times can i say ride in a sentence? apparently at least 3. oh well. it's the swing ride. i love swinging. not the adult creepy swinging {gross!}, but the kid swinging like at the park. the swing ride was right by where addison's rides were. and i rode it!! fo free.

i rode with addison on the guerrilla spinny ride. such fun. there were 2 other little boys in there with us. their dad just dropped them off in there and left. they were cute and nice, though, so it was all good. and i spun us around a bunch. i may have gotten a little dizzy. maybe.

we also rode the elephant flying ride. this ride was probably as close to real fair rides as i'll get. if i hadn't been in there with addison, i'm pretty sure she would've fallen out. good thing i was there! she had fun though, so it was worth it.

can you tell it's a fake smile? oh well. i still like it :)

we also rode the carousel a few times. i felt like i was going to fall down while standing next to addison. but i didn't {go me!}.

gigi mainly wanted to go to the fair to get a funnel cake. she may say that she wanted to take addison, but i'm convinced it was mainly for the funnel cake :) she did share with addison, which was very kind of her.

and i indulged in the fair food and got a fried snickers. yes, fried snickers. and it was delicious. i kind of wish i had gotten a fried twinkie. but that will be on the menu at the next fair. addison didn't want any of mine, so i got it all to myself. and i ate every bite!

things we did at the fair that aren't pictured:

watched little piggies race. funny and entertaining. and the pigs got a treat after. win win.

the petting zoo. all of the animals were caged it, so it wasn't like a walk around and pet the animals. but you could stick your hand in and pet them. they had llamas {or emus. i don't really know the difference}, cows, camels {!!!}, goats, and turtles {they were very unexciting. but really, a turtle in a petting zoo?}. a goat bit addison's finger. but she was offering it like food, so what are ya gonna do? she was fine. i laughed.

the fair was a blast. it's a fabulous place to people watch and eat terribly unhealthy food. and there are tons of things for kids {and adults!} to do.

if you live in the area, you should definitely go. i think saturday is the last day, so get going!!

has anyone gone to the wilson county fair this year? or a fair around where you live?

really? it's time for soccer already??

my little girl started soccer last week while i was at the beach.

i missed her first practice, which made me sad.

but i did get to shop for all her cute soccer gear! which was a ton of fun. she is so stylin.

i'm not going to be able to go to any of her practices because i have class.

i will be going to all of the games though! and i'm sure there will be lots of pictures and videos from those.

i seriously can't believe this is happening. my baby is playing soccer. and will be 4 in a few months. where has time gone?

guess i'm now officially a soccer mom.

ticket for one

yesterday, i had a first.

i saw a movie.

all by myself.



i'm not going to lie. i was kind of looking forward to it.

i took some grapes and cheese for a snack. and some water. i thought about taking wine, but then i thought that it may be a little early in the day to drink {but really, is it ever too early to drink??}.

it was a matinee movie {on a monday, no less}, so i knew there was a possibility that i'd be the only one in there. and that would have been pretty cool. i could've done anything i wanted!! not that there was anything excited i wanted to do in a movie theater by myself.

but, there were 2 other girls in the theater when i got there. and 2 older ladies came in later and sat behind me.

the movie didn't look all that great. but i had finished the book the night before and really wanted to see it.

it wasn't really that bad. it had cheesy moments. i found myself rolling my eyes every time there was a romantic scene. but that's just me, i think.

sitting right in front of the old ladies was entertaining. they were about my granny's age. and they had clearly read the books, because they were chatting throughout the movie. just little things. it was especially funny during the steamy scenes. it felt awkward sitting close to them during those. but funny at the same time, because they had read the books.

this was the first nicholas sparks book/movie that i didn't cry reading/watching. i'm seriously a softy when it comes to books and movies. but this one didn't make me cry. i kind of felt that it was an accomplishment. go me!!

i definitely don't think it will be the last time i go to the movie by myself. it was really relaxing. i do prefer to have friends with me, but something it's nice to just be all by yourself.

now off to find some other books to read!

addison's first haircut

yesterday, we took addison to get her first haircut.

yes. she's 3 and hasn't had a haircut. but her hair is just so pretty and curly! i was scared that cutting it would mean the curls would disappear.

but her hair was getting a little out of control. it was so tangly. she would scream every time we had to brush it. even when we used detangler, it was still a mess.

so i admitted defeat and we went to great clips.

my mom and i get our hair cut there from a super sweet girl, so that's who cut addison's hair!

and addison loved it!








she cut off about 3 inches, but it's barely noticeable. and her hair still looks curly! score!

next time we get her hair cut, we may try some layers or something fun. you know, girly stuff.

addison's first movie

addison went to her first movie a few weekends ago.

we went with my mom and 2 of my friends {maegen and haley}.

what did we see, you ask?

lion king, of course!!

in 3D, of course!!


that is the only picture i took. and it was before i realized that they gave us kid 3D glasses, so she was wearing adult ones.

we got popcorn {what's a movie without some good, buttery popcorn??} and we were set. although addison did get some lovely buttery fingerprints on her glasses, so we had to wipe them off a few times. it was hard to see through the butter.

addison was SO good. there were a lot of other kids there, so i wasn't really worried about her talking a little. she would say "he's in trouble" and "he's sad" and "he's happy" throughout the movie whenever something would happen to simba. but that was about it. she just sat there and ate a TON of popcorn and watched the movie!

i haven't seen it in forever and i had forgotten how good it is. i was singing along the whole time. and yes, i cried when mufasa died.

it was a great first movie experience, and i can't wait to take her to see more!! it gives me an excuse to see kid movies that i want to see, but feel weird going to see as an adult. i think the next one will be happy feet 2.

addison's first sleepover

monday night, addison had her first sleepover.

my cousin, georgia, called me last week and wanted to know if addison could come spend the night with her or if she could come spend the night here. i thought addison would be better here, so i suggested she come over here! addison loves georgia, so i knew she'd be so excited about the sleepover. georgia is 9, but it think she's always wanted a younger sibling. so when addison came along, georgia loved being around her because it was like she had a little sister! and now that addison is older, she's more fun to play with!


addison's a good cuddlier sometimes...



i hadn't really thought of what all we would do, and when georgia wanted to make a craft, we had to be creative and come up with something. while we were figuring out what to do, addison and georgia colored on my mom's new chalkboard table! my mom got it at a yard sale and painted the top with chalkboard paint. i kind of made fun of her for doing it, but i've been drawing on it a lot. it's fun!


we decided to make flower pot magnets. first it was just going to be flowers, but we decided the flower pots would be really cute! addison helped a little bit, then she had to nap. georgia and i finished them up and addison was excited to see them when she woke up!

i think they turned out super cute! there was 1 for each of us.


we ordered pizza for dinner and watched madagascar {requested by addison}.


then georgia read addison llama llama before bed.


we got donuts for breakfast yesterday and then they watched another movie and played.

when we made the flower pots, we also made little headband things. addison didn't want to wear hers monday night, so i couldn't get a picture then. but she decided she wanted to wear it {for just a second} yesterday morning, so i got a picture!


i think addison had a lot of fun having a sleepover. she talked about it all last night and this morning. hopefully we'll be able to do it again!

chattanooga aquarium

just a warning, this post is a little picture heavy.

last friday, we went to the aquarium in chattanooga. we had to take chris back to get his car fixed, so we figured we would make a day of it. it was addison's first time at the aquarium and she had a blast!

she wanted to watch a movie on the way down. she actually watched parts of the 3 movies we brought. she was watching gnomeo and juliet at this point.





i played with my camera settings for a while {and took a lot of pictures while experimenting}. i thought the water looked pretty cool in this picture. it took about 500 tries.


there were these 2 turtles that were swimming together and it was pretty funny. the one on top kept clawing the bottom one in the face.


the aquarium has 2 different buildings, so you can take a little break in between. we got some snacks and ate outside. it was so pretty. and addison made some pretty funny faces.




the first room in the 2nd building was the butterfly room. addison LOVES butterflies, so i thought she'd be so excited. there weren't as many butterflies flying around, but i think they were hiding in the trees. one landed on someone's hand, and after they were done showing it off and taking pictures, they put it on my hand. addison loved looking at it but she did not want it on her hand.




after i was done with it, i tried to make it fly away. that thing did not want to let go. i finally got it off by getting it to climb onto a leaf.

addison walked over a vent cover and it made her dress blow up. she loved that and played on there for a few minutes. the things that entertain kids...



the penguins were next. they were pretty cool. i never realized how fast they can swim. they were just flying all over the place. it was pretty impressive.






i think these were sharks swimming around, but i really don't remember.


these crabs were massive.


the jellyfish looked really neat. addison wasn't really interested, but i got to play with the camera and take some pictures of them.



and then a shark swimming right at us. these pictures look kind of scary, but i don't really remember the shark looking so mean. i guess i was just concentrating on taking a picture and not on the huge fish swimming toward me.



and then some random fish to end the trip.


we all had a lot of fun. addison got a seahorse stuffed animal and a little shark toy from the gift shop. she's not spoiled at all.

we grabbed a bite to eat after we left the aquarium and then we headed home.



within 10 minutes on being on the road, she was passed out. i wish i could have been too, because i was worn out. but a passed out child equals a successful trip!