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My name is Missy, and I am the painter behind Missy's Portraits. I specialize in painting portraits of babies, children, families and even pets. I was first inspired to start my portrait business soon after I gave birth to my baby daughter, Elizabeth. I was dreading the thought of my maternity leave ending and having to go back to work full time. I really wanted to be able to stay home to be with baby Elizabeth. Since I have a bachelor's degree in Art and I've always loved painting people, children especially, I knew it was the perfect time to begin my quest as a MOMepeneur!

If you would like your very own custom portrait of your special someone (or someones), all you need to do is send over your favourite photo to me via email, tell me the size that you would like, and I can get started. You can find my online portfolio and contact info at www.melissaturner.com . Thank you!

Hey there! I'm Mandy! I live in the fabulous southern town of Nashville, TN.

I am wife to Jake and mom to the most precious, prettiest babies you will ever meet: 20 month old boy/girl twins, Josh and Jules.

Although it took them a while to get here (2.5 years to be exact), they were definitely worth the wait.

I fully admit to being an addict to blogs, photos and coffee. Please come join us over at my blog for some fun, fashion, some cuteness, a lot of fabulous.

Hi all! My name is Lily, and I am a mom to my adorable girl I refer to as little Z. Her real name is Zariya, but I love calling her by nicknames.

I live in sunny California but have a soft spot for the east coast. I am a full time, working mom, but my real passion is in what I call Mommy Consulting.

In a world of beauty gurus, I like to refer to myself as a mommy guru. This has resulted in my blog, Mrs. Mommy Talk, which is my other little baby. It's a plac where I can share my ideas, stories, reviews and photos with women all over the world. Green parenting, mommy beauty & fashion, baby outfits of the day and seasonal themed articles are some of my favorite topics.

From cupcake recipes to my Momspiration posts, I love sharing all that I learn that can be related back to mommies and those that are someday planning on becoming a mother.

Stop by for a visit, and let me know what you think. I am sure you will find something that you like, and if not, I am always open to suggestions. Hope to see you soon!

today

Matt took Carter to his two year checkup this morning. He hasn't met Carter's new doctor since we moved. I wanted them to go without me because, let's face it, there's a different dynamic when you're alone with your child. I don't know why or how, but it's there, and that's what I wanted for Matt and Carter at the pediatrician today.

The summary I got back? Carter's very short, skinny and smart. We need to eliminate all junk food and feed him vegetables with every meal, even if we're just throwing them away. He got a flu vaccine via nasal spray (which I had no idea was possible) and cried when he had to stand on the scale.

My guys brought me home a salted caramel mocha from Starbucks, and we watched Toy Story 3 until naptime. Carter has a cold, so he slept extra long this afternoon.

Tonight we headed to the mall area with our neighbor and got Matt a Halloween costume. Carter, Matt and I won't match whatsoever come Monday, but for now I'm just focused on getting Carter to actually wear his costume. Next year we'll match. I got some heavy duty conditioner for my impossible hair, and my neighbor picked up a couple things at Pottery Barn.

Lately I've been really into snuggling up late at night with my Hunger Games books and putting together outfits to go with my new gray Converse shoes. They both make me feel ten years younger.

halloween dress rehearsal

The night Carter wore his wolf suit and made mischief of one kind.

And another.

His mother called him Wild Thing, and then whipped out her computer to upload pictures.

I thought kids were supposed to be EXCITED about their Halloween costumes?! As in, dressing up should be regarded right up there with Disney World and having your own pony. Carter's scared of his Max costume, even though we've read Where the Wild Things Are multiple times a night for the past month. He loves Max.

Or loved.

I don't get it. My tactic was to have him try it on and wear it until he got used to it, seeing it wasn't scary anymore. Once I wiggled it on him, I tricked him into focusing on a lollypop and walking outside to look at trucks so he'd forget about it. Which worked for a minute here and there.

We wandered around the house with my visions of my favorite holiday going down in shambles and his tear-filled blames of No way! mixed with prying pulls at different ends of the costume.

I explained to him that if he's dressed like Max, we'll get to go around to lots of houses and get Yellows (what he calls M&Ms) and more lollypops. Does that sound good? I ask.

Oh. A long pause. Yeah! he beams.

We'll see if he understood me.

Wish us luck this Halloween. I mean, at least it fits.

lately

a two year old's dream

Our town is digging up the water retention area right behind our house. One lucky little duck gets to watch the awesome digging machinery from his living room window.

gone shoppin'

After some furniture store trips with Matt and a few solid hours clocked with my next door neighbor at Pottery Barn, I'd say we finally got enough stuff to compose a living room.

I still want curtains, pictures on walls and maybe an ottoman and plants, but the framework for this room is done. I love it.

Ever have those weeks when you can't really think straight? When just knowing you have to do everything overwhelms you, so instead you do nothing? That's kinda where I was with my blog. ish. I've hardly opened my laptop.

And then this happened.

Last week at our Kindermusik class, a little boy named Owen (who happens to be Carter's age and is the only being on the planet I've deemed to be equally as cute as my own bug) stood up and sang a song ON HIS OWN and WITH WORDS. and NOTES. All seven mommies literally had our mouths hanging open and tears streaking our cheeks. I've never seen anything that adorable happen in person. You had to be there.

No, I should not compare Carter to his little classmate. But when it comes to stuff like this, you really can't help it. I doubt Carter even noticed we'd ever sung that song every week, and in the meantime, his friend had it memorized. When I drove home that day, I made a small mental vow to work harder with Carter. With his language, his songs, his conversations, everything. I don't have a plan for this, exactly, but I'm trying. So far my strategy has been to just drop everything and talk to him nonstop.

Owen's mommy doesn't wear a stitch of makeup and comes to music class in her pajamas. But you know what? She's one of the nicest women I've ever met. Everyone likes her because she wears her beauty in her friendly, happy eyes. She's obviously used every ounce of her time up on her son. When he stood up and sang for us without being prompted, the makeupless, pj look she'd been sporting suddenly made perfect sense.

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

It's late. I want to hopefully go to the state fair tomorrow night ... Carter's not easily impressed, but maybe we'll run into a cool petting zoo there or something. I'll leave you with a Lately List for now. Yeah, I just made up the term Lately List 3.2 seconds ago.

Lately I'm loving

♥ burlap. anything burlap.

♥ having cul-de-sac yard sales with our neighbors

♥ hearing Carter say No, thix (no thanks) instead of No way

♥ taking a bath every night

♥ selling our old stuff on Craigslist

♥ watching Carter color

♥ salted caramel mochas at Starbucks

♥ navy nail polish

♥ maddi jane's singing voice

♥ finally being able to fit one of our cars into the garage

Not loving

*trying to locate the matches for tiny toddler socks

*the length of my hair. most days I just leave it as a giant tangle tied on my head.

*blue's clues

*deciding on a Halloween costume for Carter

*not being able to drive since someone stole my license. But I do steal secret Starbucks drives down the street now and then. shh.

what we wore: carter's party

Carter
Handmade jeep shirt - Etsy
Jeans - Children's Place

Meghann
Dress - Free People
Necklace - Silpada
Tank & leggings - Body Shop
Shoes - Belk (the brand is called Big Buddha)

party

I wanted to avoid generic characters like Elmo and Thomas decorating the house for Carter's second birthday, so the party was themed with trucks and jeeps because, well, that's all he talks about. Ever.  

Here's what I threw together.

Oreo cupcakes (Pinterest inspired!) I made these from scratch, icing and all. They were delicious. (Store bought icing is delicious, too. And way less work.)

I found these cupcake toppers on Etsy.

Oreo stuffed chocolate chip cookies. Pinterest inspired, too.

Seven kids crammed into Carter's playroom and gave those outdated, plastic baby toys a run for their money. I've never seen Carter so happy.

When anyone escaped the playroom, we kept them busy making canvas monster puppets, beading bracelets and eating sugar.

So far, I've found Two to be kinda refreshing. I've waited for a long time to be able to conversate with this fragrant little being, and now that he's understanding me and giving me answers and opinions, we really have graduated from infant and come into this entirely untouched way of getting to know each other. Communication. I love it. As it turns out, he's naturally just a really cool, simple person. Who knew?

giveaway. tales of a young housewife.

Hi everyone!  It's Lisa from Tales of a Young Housewife again.  

I wanted to let you all know about a giveaway on my blog that you DON'T want to miss!  London Raquel is giving away one item from her shop to a lucky reader.  She sells shabby chic accessories for girls of all ages!  Here are some of my favorite items :)

 Lace ruffle legwarmers!!  How darling are they?!

Such gorgeous headbands!

One lucky reader will get an item from her shop!

To enter this giveaway you must:

- Be a follower of my blog, Tales of a Young Housewife.

-Go to London Raquel's etsy shop & let us know what your favorite item is that you'd like to win in the comment section.

You can also get extra entries if you:

- Follow London Raquel's partner company blog, Fabu Weddings & Events.

-Follow Kaysi's (owner of London Raquel & Fabu Weddings & Events) family blog (her little son Kruz is BEYOND adorbs.)

-Post on your Facebook or Blog about this giveaway with a link to this blog post!

Good luck everyone!!