THE WEDDING!

Ok, let me see...where did we leave off?  Space Cadet? No, no...before that...right!

So...MY SISTER GOT MARRIED, GUYS! It was awesome! For the first time in a waytoolongamountoftime I totally approve. I am proud to call him my Brother-In-Law, and my sister is happier than I have ever seen her. It's just really awesome.

OG wore:
-A dress from Macy's (clearance!)
-White lace shoes hand-colored by moi to match the theme color
-Minnie Mouse
-A flower ball

So, photographic evidence, you say? Not enough cuteness in the first snippet from early October, you say? Allllriiiiightttt...

OG practicing her side-eye while walking down the aisle wearing her "princess shoes" and dress.

My beautiful Nugget saying "hello" to an adoring fan (hehe)

But, let us rewind to BEFORE the big show:

Ms. OG and her gorgeous cousins in their wedding best

GIRL POWER!

OG, her new Uncle, and Cousins-In-Law (?) pose for a quick picture

What a fancy family! I think this is about as cleaned up as we get.

YIKES! And My Apologies for being MIA...

What can I say...A LOT has happened since October 12th (the last time I blogged). A. LOT.

And...a lot of those things can cause someone with a history of anxiety and depression, such as myself, to go off the rails a bit.  You have (probably) seen the news and heard the stories of why 2016 was not a great year, but here's a short list:
-The Way-Too-Long-And-Money-Grubbing Campaign "Season" (and skewed news/hateful rhetoric/divisive politics/openly rigged results)
-The Election.  And Post-Election. The rise of public acts of hate/racism/sexism in the fallout after the election.  Too much to go into here. Just....sigh. BUT - there was this, so I know all hope is not lost. <3
-The Continued Injustice following Police Violence on Black Americans (and of course, the fact that it is STILL HAPPENING)
-Dakota Access Pipeline and the horrendous treatment of the Native Americans and peaceful protesters
-The Mass Genocide in Aleppo (not new news, unfortunately, but finally came into the public view with the use of social media)
-Syrian Refuge Crisis (ditto)
-A Potpourri of Personal Family Issues (but, I'm used to those for the most part)
-The deaths of some of the most influential artists of my childhood (and most were lost unexpectedly and way too soon): Prince, David Bowie, George Michael, Muhammad Ali, Alan Rickman, Harper Lee, and most recently Carrie Fisher and her mother, Debbie Reynolds. And this isn't even the full list. It's been a bad year for "Hollywood" deaths.

It's been very hard to focus on the good with so much bad floating around, but luckily I have found it in my family, friends, and most surprisingly, the Christmas holiday!  Historically I am NOT a "Christmas Person", but this year I needed to focus on love, joy and giving so the timing was perfect.  Also, seeing Christmas through the eyes of my sweet OG is enough to make any Scrooge smile! I love her so much.

So, in short, I will begin posting the several GOOD MEMORIES (that far outweigh the bad) from the past couple of months in following posts to play catch-up, but I wanted to apologize and also explain why I have been absent (aside from the regular life business).
And...since I try to be proactive and educated about the injustices in our world, I wanted to touch on/document the yuckiness that has been transpiring in 2016.

Also, as a side note: depression and anxiety are very real, can be set off by even the smallest things, and are nothing to be ashamed of - just saying. :)  Stay strong, everyone! We will get through this TOGETHER.

Love, peace, and laughter on the planet Earth.

xoxox

My Cool Little Space Cadet

On Monday the weather was a bit cool, so OG decided to sport one of her new offerings from Target's Cat & Jack collection.  Yes, yes, I realize I am slightly obsessed with Target for their toddler fashions, but it has only gotten worse with this new C&J stuff.  It is like I have designed it myself.  You'll see...

So yes, OG wore this on Monday:
-Long-sleeved SPACE SHIRT from the GIRLS DEPARTMENT!  It's happening - finally!
-With a printed FUN FACT on the back! Being knowledgeable is COOL!
-And the main color is NOT PINK!
-It's awesome.
-Oh, and shorts and stuff.

We were also about to leave for Dedi's house, so the jacket covers part of it, but you can get the gist.

Need to know the origin of the word Planet?  No worries, it's on my back.

I am sure I'll have more pictures of this shirt as the months go on, so expect to see it a lot. Now they just need to make one in my size!

September in a Nutshell

Hello stranger(s)! I hope no one put out an APB or opened a missing persons case - we're still here! Promise!

I really hope to get back to writing 2-3 posts a week after all the madness that is Sept/Oct, but then come all the birthdays and holidays, so I cannot guarantee it won't be sporadic.  Luckily I don't think I have a very demanding audience. All 1-3 of you, thank you for your patience.

However, enough about that, we have A LOT of catching up to do...

Since last we "spoke"...

OG is now counting to SIX (it used to be just "one, two...one, two...one..." until yesterday)**, sprouted some molar teeth, visited a few new parks, will be turning 2 years old very soon, has been enjoying her end of Summer/beginning of Fall (finally!), and has had a couple of Lady OG & Dada dates on days we don't have babysitters,  Maybe we will start there...
**UPDATE: "Yesterday" was last Wednesday. As of Sunday (10/2) she is now counting to 10!

OG was hitting the walking trails with dada at our local park while wearing:
-Pink tee with lace details
-KITTY PANTS (which are almost too small now - grr)

Then, a couple of weekends ago, we discovered a park nearby that also has a water play area...and we all collectively lost our minds. It was SO nice! Luckily, we always have OG's bathing suit in her bag. Unfortunately, we didn't have dada's or mine. We managed...

OG playing with her tiny new pals

WEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

During the same weekend we celebrated L&J's birthday!  OG wore her navy halter sundress, but the most fun part was the inflatable jumpy thing! It was OG's first time standing/running/jumping in one and actually enjoying it. No tears! Also, she and L had a wonderful time playing together.

The following was neither a memorable event nor a fashion moment, but I just love this picture of OG from when we went out to dinner earlier this month:

Faces like these let me know she' IS part momma lol

We also had an afternoon of bubble-blowing with Dedi! OG was wearing:
-Popsicle Dress (Target)
-Purple beaded necklaces
-A ponytail! She looks so grown up...

Donald "Duck" the Duck is wearing:
-A diaper, because he pooped. Obviously.

OG and "Duck" learning to blow bubbles themselves 

The weekend before last we (finally) took OG to our favorite nearby breakfast diner.  It's small and always crowded, but she is good at restaurants so we figured it was time!  She LOVED it, and was wearing:
-"Pop Art" Triangle print tank top with purple leggings
-Pink hair bow

This was her response when asked to say "cheese"...but I swear she was having a blast!

"Would she like a toy?" Uhhhh...is she alive?  YES!

AND FINALLY! The grand finale of our month? That would be Auntie C's wedding!  But...I have failed you, dearest reader(s). As a person living in the technology age (with a toddler fashion blog to boot!) I only took 2 pictures of Ms. OG in her "princess" outfit. I'll be sure to annoy you with an abundance of adorable pictures once we get them from the photographer, but for now we have these:

OG and Supergirl are keeping an eye on the situation while momma fixes Auntie C's bustle.

Part biker babe, part pretzel eating princess. Atta girl!

I hope everyone had a fun-filled September as well. Heres to a Happy October!

Tarzan Girl

Here we go, dedicated reader(s)...I'm playing catch-up, so there might be a few of these today!

The Friday before last (y'know, back in August) Ms. OG went to the zoo with Auntie C and her pals Sarah and Owen.  Knowing that this was the plan, OG and I decided it was time to bust out the most.adorable.jumper.ever.  It's so cute, in fact, even dada made her pause for a few pictures before getting in the car!

Which is a good thing, because guess who forgot to take some?  Yep, good ol' momma! I was too tired excited, I guess. :)

Tarzan OG wore:
-Tropical jungle jumper (Target clearance - they are making room for their new brand, so get while the gettin' is good, folks!)
-Floral hair clip
-Flippy-flops
-BFF Minnie

She's excited on the inside...and please don't judge our horrible landscaping. It adds to the "jungle" theme, does it not?

Practicing her flamingo stance

 Unfortunately we didn't get any pictures from the actual zoo outing, but Auntie C did manage to send me one more picture of OG in her outfit.

It even converts to a strapless look - so diverse!

AND, if reading the title of this post put the wonderfully 80's song 'Tarzan Boy' on repeat in your head, you're welcome.  Me too.  If not...

Sorry! hehe

We Now Return to Your Regularly Scheduled Posting

SO. MUCH. CATCHING. UP. TO. DO.

I don't think I've taken this long of a "vacation" from my posts before - my apologies. I don't even really know what's been going on.  I mean, work has been kinda busy and my sister is getting married in less than a month, but...ok, yeah...those might be the reasons.

So...let us get into our time machines and blast back to the far away time of the Wednesday before last...

OG was with Ms. J and ReaRea for Senior Picture Day! Apparently during the shoot Ms. OG decided to pose for a picture of her own - and show off her new summer dress!

Strike-A-Pose-Model-OG was wearing:
-Striped t-shirt tank dress (Walmart clearance rack - woot!)
-A silly smirk

Photo courtesy of Unky A-A-Ron

Also, I  have known ReaRea since she was (...math...) 9ish?!  I cannot believe she is now a Senior in High School. I am not old enough to have friends with children this old. That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

Guest Blogger: For Those About to Rock

Sometimes I see a picture of my friends' kiddo(s) on Facebook or Instagram and I think "Well, shoot...this needs to be on the blog!"
Sometimes I even work up the gull to ask...

Luckily, Mr. Liam and his momma have agreed to let me share pictures of this BA rockstar of an outfit with you. You can tell he was really feeling it.  
He knows he looks good.

Below, our awesome guest blogger Liam is wearing:
-ACDC shirt
-Rocker jeans
-Old school ADIDAS kicks

For those about to rock, Liam salutes you!

Heeeyyy there!

I mean, c'mon now...
And those shoes...

Dude (and his momma) knows what's up.

Thanks for letting me share, Marybeth!