Friday Favorites - Fall Style

It's been about a hundred years since I did a Friday Favorites, and this time I'm doing it a little different.  With the mornings getting cooler here in Virginia (although it's gonna be hot again in a couple of days, it's sure to cool down for good sooner or later), I'm getting super jazzed about Fall. Gator Football starts September 5, which means it's officially time to start shopping for the season! 

Spending the majority of my days at home chasing around a toddler, I'm all about comfort. These girlfriend jeans are a little slimmer and more flattering than boyfriends, which means I'll probably be living in them! 

Nothing says Fall like plaid, and this shirt seems like the perfect addition to my collection, especially with a cute puffer vest for the cooler days and nights. And these booties? So cute! I think it's about time I cute-ed up my shoe collection.

I love a nice slouchy sweatshirt and I've been eyeing this one for a while now. It comes in a bunch of colors, but this blue is perfect for watching Gator games. Those green sneaks? Just what's needed for tossing the football or playing a little corn hole in the backyard. 

Finish everything off with a cute simple necklace (those chunky statement necklaces aren't really my jam) and a comfy lightweight jacket...I'm so ready for temps to cool down and for the leaves to start changing! 

It's also been brought to my attention (thanks Sara!) that PSLs arrive in ten days! I've been kind of over them for a bit, just counting down the days till red cups and peppermint everything arrive. But now that I'll be enjoying a proper Fall, I'm really looking forward to a little pumpkin spice. 

What are you guys looking forward to this Fall? 

Weekend Snapshots

Happy Tuesday!! For those who don't know, thanks to the Hubs' work schedule, our weekends run from Sunday to Monday, although this weekend, he had an early day on Saturday, which almost made it feel like a three-day-weekend.

Like most weekends, we were pretty slammed, trying to fit it all in. To be productive and have fun at the same time. The kiddo has really been teaching us a lot about parenthood (and patience)...which is the nice way of saying that she's been testing and trying us as much as she can...with plenty of cute and wonderful mixed in. 2 ½ is the best and the worst age! 

We started the weekend with Z's half birthday celebration. Unbrushed post-nap hair, half a cake (chocolate with marshmallow frosting filling and chocolate buttercream), and this year, because her real b-day was a little pathetic,  Z got some presents...none of which were wrapped because we are total bums. But, I don't think she minded. 

bristle block set | basket of play food | basket of veggies 

Iggy Peck, Architect | Rosie Revere, Engineer

My brother is away for work, so my sweet sister-in-law came to dinner with their puppy. He's tripled in size since we last saw him, and Z is every bit as smitten. 

And since I can't have a pic of Ares without adding one of Scout...

The rest of the weekend was pretty typical...Sunday pancakes (with sprinkles for Z's half b-day, of course!), signed up for swim lessons, Home Depot, grocery, and plenty of project work and playtime. 

Checking out the rec center pool

This is what you get when you say "Make a silly face!"

Watching the neighbors' dog run off the zoomies

Hope you all had a great weekend! We've got lots going on around here, starting with some great end of summer weather! Perfect for working on some projects for Z's big girl room...but more on that later! 

Half-Way to Three

Yesterday, Z hit the big 2.5. I mean, wow. Let's just slow things down a hot minute, shall we?!

When Z was 6 months old, we started a half-birthday tradition: half a cake, a candle to blow out, and a yummy meal...just the three of us. This year will be no exception, but the Hubs is on a work trip, so the half-celebration will wait till the weekend. Yesterday before lunch, the bug and I dashed to Starbucks for a little momma/daughter celebration: chocolate milk ("mak") & cake pops ("bay bots" - not sure why she says it like this. She can say both cake and pops separately, but together, it just doesn't quite work.). It was the perfect pre-lunch appetizer!

Let's get the stats out of the way. We met with a new pediatrician a few weeks ago, so the kid was weighed and measured. (The sweet doctor couldn't do much else, though, cuz Z threw a holy screaming fit the entire time.) Z is still a petite miss: 27 lbs (35%) and 34.6 in (31%), though I'm certain she's grown since that appointment.

These days, Z is really showing off every bit of her 2 and a half-ness. The tantrums are inexplicable and amazing. We're talking Linda-Blair-call-an-exorsist level freak-outs...for no obvious reason. Thankfully, fits on that level only happen once or twice a week (though some seem to last all day), but the smaller ones show themselves much more often, like most kids her age. It's crazy how a normally easy-going kiddo can flip a switch into psycho land so quickly. And then the switch flips again and it's like it never happened. Meanwhile, her parents are left totally drained and she's running around all silly pants. Toddlers, man!

Freak outs aside, the kid amazes me every day with the things she says and does. She can count to 15 (sometimes 20) and sing the ABCs, if you are a little relaxed with pronunciation and consider half of the letters to be either B or E. She can "retell" half the books on her shelf, and knows the words to more songs than her daddy does. The kid loves stuffed animals and mommy's old CPKs, but Kiki the meerkat is still #1 in her book. And apparently Kiki is a heck of a joke teller, cuz we hear lots of giggling and "Oh Kiki. So silly." 

At two and a half, Z is sassy and smart and silly and chatty. She's loves music and dance and books and puzzles and art. She "cooks" elaborate meals in her little kitchen and carries on hilarious and dramatic convos on her play phone.

Retro Kitchen

She's also stubborn as hell, and it drives me nuts when she sasses a short and strong, "no!" And although I now see why many SAHMs are guzzling wine by the gallon (I hate wine, btw...in case you're wondering if I've reached that level of frustration), I wouldn't want it any other way. Cuz for every emphatic "no!" or "mine!", there's a super sweet "I lah yoooo!" with a fish kiss on the side. And it kills me every time!

Scout, Our Three-Legged Wonder Pup - Part Two

What an emotional roller coaster the last three weeks have been around here! First, I want to thank all of you for the kind words, love, and support for Scout. It's always nice to know there are folks out there saying a prayer. 

It's been 3 weeks since Scout's surgery. And, whoa. It's been strange. She spent two nights in the hospital post-op, but I really feel like she should have stayed another two. Those were tough days...and nights. I mean hard. The Hubs and I felt so uncertain about how this was all gonna go. For two weeks, the alarm on my cell was going off constantly to give meds. When they tell you that you'll be staying home with your pup, they mean it. The Hubs took the week off work, since it was really a two man job - taking care of a two-year-old and a post-amputation pup. I'm not sure who needed more attention.

We have steep steps to the back yard, so the Hubs had to lift her in and out every time (I'm nursing a shoulder injury and can't manage 60lbs of dead weight on those steps). She actually had two surgical sites: the amputation of her rear right leg, and another tumor removal on her front right leg. That made maneuvering her around kind of tricky. We were so nervous she was going to blow out her sutures, so we were extra careful.

We set up camp in our bedroom since it has carpet and a door to the backyard. One of us was constantly with her in the days before we finally got a big ol' crate. Wish they had told us before the surgery that we would need one-it saved our lives! Except at night, when that stupid "cone of shame" around her head would drag across the metal crate every. time. she. moved. Every. Time. (Picture an old-timey prisoner dragging the metal mug across the cell bars. Awful.) After about ten days, she was hopping around a little better, so we let her out of the crate to sleep at night. We all slept well after that!

Don't worry...the door isn't locked! The crate is one of Z's favorite places to play! 

The Hubs had to go back to work, so my parents graciously drove up from Florida. We were so relieved to have them here, but felt like total asses because Scout made a complete 180 moments after their arrival. She was headed back to being her old self. And two days later, when the sutures came out, she rocketed her butt into the backseat of my car before my step-dad had a chance to even pick her up.  Since then, she's figured out how to maneuver up and down the back steps, how to hop around the backyard, and is even starting to show interest in playing with her bff, the neighbors' shepherd mix, Rory. We got the go ahead to start walking her on a leash, for short trips as she builds up her strength and stamina, and took our first walk yesterday. She was so happy to be back out in the world!

Z has been amazing. She's curious about the scars, and I've caught her staring at the peg-leg (I refuse to call it a stump.) and trying to figure it all out. She has said many times, "Cow's boo-boo gone." so I feel like she's put a few things together. Z helps me feed Scout and helped me give her a bath. Everything is slowly getting back to normal. A new normal. 

So now for the shitty news..Scout does have cancer. This is information that I've decided to pack up and send away, and I think the Hubs has done the same thing. She just seems so...healthy. Not 100% who she was before, but not sick either. We decided not to pursue testing or treatment, partly because of finances (who can spend that much on their pet?!), but mostly because it isn't a cure and will only add months...not years. We don't know how bad the cancer is, or where in her body it has spread. We don't know how long we have. The veterinary internist told us that this type of cancer is especially nasty and moves quickly, which is why chemo isn't that effective. He gave us 3-18months. Kind of a vague timeline, but short no matter how you look at it. The vet gave us signs to look for when things start getting bad, and right now we haven't seen any of them. So until we do, we consider Scout a healthy, happy tripod!

Sorry to bring y'all down with this post. I had hoped it would come out a bit lighter, but it's been a heavy few weeks around here. We're coming out of it now, as things get back to normal. And if I can just get Scout to eat on her own, without being hand fed (spoiled!!), I'll be so happy!!



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