6 Girls at a Corner Table.

Myself and my best friend Mandy.

I haven't seen my best friend since, I believe, October for Harper's first birthday! She decided to move to California for a change of scenery in January. Which sucked big time because I was pregnant and so she didn't get to come see Emerson when I had her in the hospital. But, if she was in Florida, I know she would've been there.

Speaking of Emerson:

Holy precious Sweet Face!! #hearteyes

By the way, that's my nick name for her, besides Sissy and about 47 other things we call her, is Sweet Face! Because, well.. I mean look at her!

So anyway, let me give you a bit of background/detail on Mandy and I's relationship.

We met in 2008 at the gym and became kind of inseparable. We would go at LEAST 2 times a week to this country bar in Tampa called The Dallas Bull to line dance and mack on some fellas. We were looking good, then, too (actually, that was just me, Mandy basically looks the same, only she straightens her hair more than she did, haha) and we've been best friends since then.

#throwback circa 2008.

 Being a stay at home mommy and wife, its hard to make new friends, so keeping the ones you have is really important; but still hard because a lot of people who don't have kids don't quite grasp the mom struggle just yet and so they loose patience with it. I can't blame them, it's hard! Friendship always requires maintenance; attention, and conversation, something that becomes less easy to do when you're taking care of children, a husband, and a household. (because let's be honest, we 100% take care of our husbands, they can't do crud without us!)

Moving to a new city, a place where my husband is from, is hard to make new friends, and I hate relying on my sister in law to be my friend and hang out with me, when she has her own friends. So I really cherish the times I get to unwind with my best gal pal (doesn't that make you feel like your grandma or something? Pretty sure that's a grandma saying - "gal pal".) And that's just what we did yesterday; we got to hang out and just gab our faces off! While eating at our favorite Mexican restaurant.

Our moms came along too, because over the years they've become friends, too! 6 girls at a table in the corner of the restaurant.

I don't have a very big family. My mom is an only child, and my dad has one sister with no kids. So, I'm the only person I even know of that doesn't have any real cousins! There are 4 of us kids and we're very close. But beyond that, there's not much else. So, if I've learned anything over the years, it's definitely that you can choose your family. I'd say you should choose people who are trustworthy, loyal, honest, and happy. And I choose her and her family to be apart of mine. They're good picks!

Well, there's supposed to be a tropical storm coming better get off the computer!

Follow me on Instagram & Snapchat for more fun, silly stuff with super cute babies!

What Did You Want To Be When You Were Young?

Ever look back and think how differently your life has turned out than you were expecting it to be when you were 8, 9, or 10? How far have you come, what did you want to be?

Do you guys every sit back and think about all the things you said you wanted to be or do while you were growing up? Teacher, doctor, lawyer, police officer, fire fighter, veterinarian..
My nephew even told me one time he wanted to be a "poop sucker", which is the guys who pump your septic tank.. Hey, someone has to do it! More power to ya, kiddo.

Well, my future profession changed with the wind when I was little.

I wanted to be a cheerleader, an astronaut (haha!), teacher, a pop star with absolutely NO singing abilities, pretty sure I wanted to be a Barbie at one point. But, to be fair, who doesn't want to be Barbie? amiright? That chick has it all! And does it all. Go girl!

But, from the time I was a kid to the time I was a young person, I never really had a true calling. I just thought "hey my hairdresser does my hair really well, this looks like fun, I like hair and trendy stuff.. I guess I'll go to cosmetology school.." And if I actually voiced what I truly wanted to be when I was in high school, I probably would've been laughed at, and probably would've scared some people off.

Wife. Mommy.

Boom! That's what I wanted to be! With all my heart. I wanted to be married with kids. Honestly, I didn't want to be anything else. I love doing hair and makeup, don't get me wrong. But it wasn't one of those things I've wanted my whole life.

Being a mother, being a wife, taking care of a home, watching my kids grow up.. THAT is what I wanted. I've always had, what I call, an "old soul". I was the so-called "mom" of the group. I wasn't very into partying or any of that typical teenager stuff.

My mom was a great example of what a mom should be. Took us to every practice, game, and competition, involved with our lives, leading by example, pushing us to do better, never letting us quit, making sure we were friendly to everyone, loved by all our friends, teaching us love, faith, compassion, and to be happy.. Maybe that's where I get it, but that's exactly what I want to be and do for my kids. Soccer mom status hard core!

Call me old school, but having your husband come home from working, your kids running towards him yelling "Daddy's home!", while he's greeted with an ambush of hugs and kisses, and seeing that joy on his face because he knew what he was doing all day was to give these little mini humans everything they want and deserve in life.. That's the coolest feeling. Yes, I'm sure he would rather be at home with them but the fact that he gets up and goes to work, while I get to stay home and raise our children, he's the real MVP. Some may think that it's crazy or weird, and that's fine. Everyone's different, that's the beauty in it all, right? You can be or do whatever you want!

Growing up I hated how tall I was and that I was bigger than most girls my age. It never stopped me from having a lot of friends or being social with other people, but it was something I've always had an issue with, since I was 8! And through nobody's fault but mine, I was just one of those kids who was bigger and taller than everyone and it bothered me. I'm not sure other kids even realized it then or not, it was all in my head, and has been since then. But my mom always told me that I was beautiful, and funny, and smart, and kind, and courageous.

And THAT is what I want to be when I grow up.

To be my kids "person".
To raise my babies to be great people!

And to also build my husband up to make sure he knows how great he is, too.

My 19-month old daughter loves to play with her dolls and absolutely adores "taking care" of her little sister, which makes me so so happy. I love the fact that she knows what to do at such a young age. Just means I'm doing my job right. And if she comes to me and says that she wants to be a mommy when she grows up, well, I'm pretty sure I'll cry. Because, to be honest, I cry over everything that little sweetie does.

 

Check back in a few days for another post. Thanks for reading my words, it means a lot!

Open Letter to Girl Dads; My Husband

We've all heard the saying "Any Man Can Father A Child, But It Takes A Man To Raise One", and that saying is entirely too true; and in our society where it is so easy and acceptable to walk away from a baby, unfortunately it isn't uncommon.

But, also, in a society where people seem to think that being a mother, and especially a father, to a girl or girls is a punishment of some kind, or for something you've done earlier in life. It's almost a stigma if you have more girls than boys in your family.

"What did your husband do to deserve that?"

 

"Do you know what you're in for?"

"You're in trouble.."

"I'm so glad I never had girls."

Are all things I (and I know other girl moms) have heard multiple times, and since finding out that our second baby, coming along in February, is another girl, has just multiplied. And to those people who think it's okay to say those kind of things to another mother should be ashamed of yourself, especially about something my husband and I prayed hard for. No, we didn't care if it was a girl or a boy, we were just so happy to be able to bring another life into our family and love him or her unconditionally. Is there anything wrong with having boys? Of course not! I would love a son just as much as my daughter.

So to all dads to girls, I'll say this.

Keep. It. Up.

Raise those girls to be the best version of yourself that you can possibly imagine. From playing the sport they love with their entire heart, to getting the best possible GPA, volunteering to read to senior citizens on the weekends, being the best friend they can be, and never giving up. They always need to know that since they were little girls playing with their favorite Fisher Price toy until you're very last breath that you are going to be there for her. There to push her to her limit, to be her very best friend, but to also never let her get away with breaking the rules. Teach her all the things she needs to learn about life, and love her mother. Even if you aren't together, show her how to respect other people without having to agree with them on every subject. Lead by example. Be the dad who will tie her bow for her cheerleading practice, and also teach her how to change the oil in her car. And, of course, be the person she looks for in her future husband or wife.

And to my husband,

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you for coming home everyday, going straight to our daughter and making her smile, clap, wave, and yell "dada!" Thank you for working whatever weekends you can to keep all of our needs met. Thank you for being so excited about having another girl, even though I know you wanted a boy. Thank you for giving me these precious gifts. You are my best friend, my other half, and my happiness. I wouldn't want to share my life with anyone besides you. I cannot wait to see where this life leads us. As long as I have you to fuss at, to laugh with, to plan life with, I know I'll be the happiest wife, mother, and partner you'll ever meet, and I cannot wait to see what our girls (and other future children) are going to do with their life.

Here's to you, Dads!

xoxo, Caitie B

How To Wash Your Dingy Yellowing Pillows

 Well, to say it's been a while is an understatement. I will be blogging way more often for you guys, I have been crazy here at home. So in the mean time, here's a post I've been working on bits at a time for about a month, now. haha. SO SORRY. xoxo.

So, the other day my nephew didn't come over so I got a wild hair to deep clean everything I could! I washed all sheets, mattress covers and everything. And I could not take looking at my disgusting yellowy pillows anymore so I said "to heck with it" and decided to try my hand at it.

Now I attempted it in two different ways.

Did four pillows, two different ways.

I found the first way here. And I followed the directions as it said in the washing machine and it did a pretty decent job.

But, I have one of those new, confangled HE washing machines, where it doesn't fill up but a couple inches of water in the bottom, so once I soaked the pillows for a while then opened it to put the detergent in I noticed most of the pillow was not soaking, but once I put it on wash and dried it, it did look much better than when I started.

I apologize for the poor picture quality

This is what we started with. YIKES!

As you can see I've never washed these before and we do not have the same pillows.

Pillows are stupidly expensive.

So I tried a different way with the second two pillows. Same ingredients as the previously shown link, I just decided to fill the bathtub full of the hottest water I could get in there, then poured in the ingredients to let it soak.

I filled the tub up enough to cover the pillows.

(Dumbly, I forgot that they would absorb the water.. Oh well)

Added one cup hydrogen peroxide.

Half a cup of white vinegar.

Then it soaked for about 30 minutes. Half way through, flipping them so they were submerged in the mixture completely.

Check out the water! SO GROSS.

So, once that was done I drained the tub, and squished as much water out of the pillows that I could, then transferred them to the washing machine where I used Tide to wash them in the washing machine. Then once the washer was done, on to the dryer, where it actually had to go through two dry cycles because they were still pretty wet.

And the end result is beautifully clean pillows.

Apparently you're supposed to wash your pillows every 6 months or so, and I will definitely be doing so from now on. I can't believe all the sweat and yuck that came out of these pillows. It feels a little embarrassing showing you guys, haha. Oh well, I have no shame.

I sure hope this helped some.

If you do this often please share your tips with me, so I can try the next time I wash my pillows!

Until next time,

xoxo, Caitie B

Hi Friends.

Hey there friends!

It's been a while. Sorry to leave everyone hanging. I have a bad habit of letting time slip away from me. Over the summer I am babysitting my nephew, too. So, that's interesting!

Here's what we've been up to in the Bowden household;

Harper is 8 months old, now. WHAT?! Sad mommy.

Still prepping, pinning, preparing both mentally and physically for Harper's first birthday party. I have all the dates, times, some decorations, food ideas, gift ideas and DIY projects organized or all prepared in my head! So excited to do this. Just have to figure out a few different things and I will be needing help and opinions from everyone. Please find and follow me on Instagram so you can have input and we can chat more about the party and other mommy things! I'm so excited.

It's been "summer" here in Florida for a long time, count 6-8 weeks now. But it is OFFICIALLY summer with as stinking hot it is. All. The. Time.

My poor hubby and I'm sure a bunch of other people work outside in the heat all day.
Make sure if your loved one is one of the ones who are outside to remind them to stay hydrated!!

So, I kind of rediscovered etsy the other day.
And.. I'm obsessed. I ordered an iron on decal from this adorable shop called Sweet Signature.
It is so beautiful!

I'm so ridiculously obsessed with this it's silly! I cannot wait to put it on a tshirt for Harper to wear.
(I ordered the iron on over the onesie/tshirt already done because I don't know what size Harper will be in when that time comes. Her size varies so much!)
Best part; it was $5.75!! With shipping it was like $7. And can I add that I ordered it and received it in 2 days!? Amazing. I highly HIGHLY recommend this shop. Can't wait to see what else I can get from this sweet place.

So, that's all for now.

I promise to blog more!
I'm getting into a more set schedule with Harper and my nephew, Tripp. So blogging should be a bit easier now. Hopefully.

XOXO

I Am Woman..

Hear Me Roar!

WATCH ME

KICK BUTT!

The other day I posted on my Facebook a picture of me and my little darling and this is what I said:

" Today I've had an epiphany. Finally.
I am the epitome of my own worst enemy!! Family and friends close to me would be able to attest to the fact that I have struggled with how I look for as long as I can remember. But today I woke up happy with myself. No I haven't lost weight, no I'm not dieting, no I didn't change anything about myself. I just realized that there are things much greater than what I look like. Like my daughters health and well being. I woke up this morning to a husband who loves the crap out of me, a perfectly healthy and extremely happy baby girl, a family who would kill for me, and friends who truly care about my family and I. So who gives a crap that my legs wiggle when I walk, that my hair isn't straightened, I have a slight muffin top in my shorts that show my wiggly legs.. If you don't like looking at it, look the other way. As for me, I'll live happy from now on. Because my legs giggle a bit, I still have legs to walk, I have more hair than I know what to do with, and I have clothes to cover the important parts of my body lol. So, no, I'm not going to change the way I look to make other people happy. I'm a pretty fantastic person (lol, but seriously) and so far I'm rocking this motherhood thing! If you don't like it, kiss my dimply, rather large, pale bottom! "

And I posted this for many reasons;

One of them being that I really did wake up pleasantly pleased with myself.

I haven't, for a long time, honestly cared about what people think of me. Seriously, I don't. But, when I say I'm my own worst critic, I really do mean it. I'm horrible to myself, worse than anybody could've been. Or I used to be. So I woke up and told myself, "you know, this is the only life you get, and for the past 20 some years (I wish I was joking about that) you've been so worried about your weight and how you look while life is passing you by! It ends today!" And it did. I just decided to live my life happy for my daughter. I always said I didn't want to be "the fat mom" for my kids, but right now, she doesn't care! She's 8 months old. And, not to sound awful because she's seriously my best friend in the world, my mom is over weight and was the entire time I was in high school, BUT everyone LOVES her. And they should, because she's awesome. We all, even me, called her "Momma Schwab" and she loved it just as much as I did. All my friends are her friends on Facebook. I even said people that didn't like me in high school liked her. Haha, and it was probably true! So obviously it's not about whats on the outside or what you look like, it's about how beautiful your heart is! And my mom has the most gorgeous heart. Just don't mess with her kids otherwise her heart turns to stone and she'll get ya!

Another reason I posted this picture with this story is because I want other people to be happy, too. I really want people to realize how they can be happy with their body and be proud to be who they are. It really is so important if you want to be a happier person to be happy with yourself. I never really felt 100% happy until the other day when I just let all the negativity go. I'm done being in that dark place, and now I choose happy!

As women we have a tendency to jump into negative or judge others way too quickly. And I really want that to stop. We need to empower each other and bring each other up instead of tear each other down.. I have encountered people that want to, and actually seem to enjoy, humiliating or jump to a conclusion about someone just because of a noticeable characteristic. That's not okay. Who cares if a person has fuzzy hair, or are acting a fool, or have a certain color eyeshadow on? I guarantee you the person humiliating would be very upset or mad if someone was doing the same thing to them.. But, seriously, how is that person effecting your life at all? Most likely, they aren't in the slightest. So, get over it! If it isn't hurting or effecting you and your family, then think about something else.. Or even harder, and better, try to see a positive thing in that person. Ever tried that? See a person who has a crazy outfit on, and try to make a positive thought out of it? It's hard at first, but then your heart will come to enjoy it. It will be lighter and you'll be happier within yourself because negativity is gone. In that case I would say that I admired their courage and confidence to go out in a crazy outfit and feel good about it!

So here's a challenge for you;

Start thinking more on the positive side of things for one whole day. Find something nice to say about people you encounter, look at yourself in the mirror and realize how beautiful you really are and how much you have to be thankful for, be a role model for someone else. Just for a day. And if you don't feel happier throughout the day and the next morning, then try one more day. If it still doesn't effect you then go ahead with your life as normal. But, for me, I've noticed HUGE changes in my life since I decided I would live to be a happy person instead of how I was before.

After you think positively for a day, please let me know how it went! Comment on this blog post or find me on Instagram and let me know. I want to see if it's the same for everyone!

XOXO

My Name is Caitie & I'm a Target-aholic.

"Hi Caitie.."

Anybody else in that same boat? Show of hands.

I just love Target. I have no idea why. I shop at all stores, don't get me wrong. But if I'm just bored at the house (like I was today - Hubs has to work all weekend) and want to get out I just go there, wander around, see what I can see, buy things that we need, and leave. I like the carts better there, too. They're nice and tall, lighter, and easier to maneuver. 

I should do a shopping cart comparison haha!

"Places with the best shopping carts" - oh man, I may do that!

Stay tuned..

But, easily, my favorite part in the entire store

Boom!

We all know this little area of the store and we can never go in or leave without checking it out. Or at least I can't. And I don't want to. Ever. I love that little place. I love it even more when things are on sale in the Dollar Spot and/or the Cartwheel app has a discount on items in there! Yeaaaa. You always feel like you won the jackpot.

Well, I'm going to be going back and forth to the Dollar Spot and a couple other places, because I have to start thinking about little precious' 1st birthday party!! I can't believe it! I'm so so so excited. I feel like if I can throw her a party and her not turn 1 it would be even better. 

I'm not ready for her to grow up.. At all.

 So, what I want to do is document everything I purchase from there and from other places for really cheap and do everything for her first birthday party! Of course, there will be a few things I cannot do myself, yet (like invitations and stuff), but for all the decorations and possibly even the food I'm going to try to make! I'm so excited. And as always I would love some input on things. I have her theme picked out, since this will probably be one of the only birthdays I can pick things out for her party before she gets to put her input into it, it's going to be so girly and fun!

Also, I'm in the process of redoing our back room/play room/office - a multipurpose room, if you will - and will be posting everything about that, as well.

Lots of exciting things coming up! Can't wait to share with you guys.

If you have any ideas, favorites, couldashouldawoulda's for your kids birthday parties PLEASE let me know. It's my first first birthday and I want it to go well.. Even though it's not until October! Haha.

XOXO