no really, tell me how you really feel...

have I ever mentioned how much I LOVEEEEEEE...LOVE?!?! I swear I love love...even while not buzzed up at a wedding reception;)

the kiddos and I survived an entire Catholic Wedding Ceremony on our own - I'm the only one who cried:'). Homer was quite curious as to who the people were on the hymn books. I was familiar with one: Jesus. Who I explained was sleeping. So the entire ceremony he kept saying "Jesus sleeping. SHHHHHHHH." Homer was pretty concerned about who the dude was next to Jesus and unfortunately, I'm not Catholic or familiar at all with that situation...so I deemed that guy: Dave. Homer got a few chuckles from those around us when he kept talking about 'Jesus and Dave';)

jacob joined us around 10PM...after the entire dinner and most of the dance. By then we'd managed to get through food and diaper AND outfit changes. As well as one breakdown and time out...spilled orange juice and my first time nursing at a bar while sipping a beer. Stay classy, Smith's;)

but through it all...these kids of ours were SO great and I was ready for it. I took it all in stride and we ended up having such a fantastic time! By the end of the night, Jacob was chit chatting with friends. I was sitting with Homer sleeping on my chest while sipping a drink and Theo was beside us in the car seat watching the lights. We were watching everyone dancing and having a great time, while music played and it had a smile on my face:)

i was lucky to have my BFF and her kiddos at the wedding with us. They were helpful in distracting Homer when needed and she to hold Theo when I needed to use the restroom or get feeling back in my arm;) THANKS GERD!!!:)

i was super excited to take Homer to the reception because at previous dances, he's really busted a move. I think because he missed his nap...he was a bit of a zombie. He wanted to dance...but only if you were holding him and even then...he showed NO emotion;) 

by 1030PM he was only worried about the 2 golf balls he had found...and then he did some planking;)

around midnight Jacob and I looked around and realized we might be those people...the only assholes still there with kids! OOPS!!;) We started wondering if it looked kinda silly that we were still there but the kids didn't seem to mind and we were enjoying ourselves:) So of course we took the photo below to represent our white trash selves;)

and then as we were packing the kids up and getting ready to leave, a woman came up and wanted to hold Theo and since we were both too shitty to care - I KID!!!;) - we obliged:) She seemed nice enough;)

but she went on to compliment me on how well behaved the kids were and how great I was with them and patient. It made Jacob and I's night (MONTH!!!). That comment made us feel like maybe we can do this! Just mayyyybeee we aren't so bad at this!? But the point isn't what fabulous parents we are (obviously...that's obvious to those around us;) BUT that if you have something nice to say: you like someone's shoes/top/dress/tie, they give you good customer service, have a nice smile/pretty eyes, you witness them being kind to someone else, you watch them have a great day with their kids. 

TELL THEM! Walk over there and tell them they're doing a great job. That they look amazing. That you appreciated what they just did. 

i know it's made a difference in my day. Turned it around, actually. Next time...don't just think it to yourself. Tell them and maybe they'll have a great day when they otherwise wouldn't have:)

boogie nights:)

a few Saturday's ago we prepped our bod's and faces to leave the house!!! Here are some seriously scary before shots of us;) I wish we took after Homer in these instances cause he does scary pretty damn adorably!!!

homer and I attended the wedding of Jacob's cousin and his new wife! It was gorgeous. They were gorgeous. It was a very enjoyable night!!! - especially since I'd hit that point in my pregnancy where I'm not completely exhausted...whoooo hooo!

after the ceremony we did some bar hopping! Bar hopping used to be my favorite part about a wedding but now...not so much - the meal has secured that position;) - but we still had a great time! Even all gussied up in a dress, tights and heels (say whattttt??!?! - I actually had to 'dust' my heels when I dug them out of the back of my closet. Sad...sadddd day;) andddd drinking water while pregnant and chasing a toddler...it went incredibly smoothly! I gave Homer lots of hugs for being such a great little boy that whole day and night! 

i have to add that Jacob did not join us until the reception at about 1045PM because he was cooking all day for the wedding, serving the wedding reception dinner and then had to return all the food to the shop before coming back to really enjoy the party! It was kind of a huge bummer not having him there to help with Homer...and for hand holding;) but Homer really stepped up and was the best behaved little boy for this 1/2 day single mama:)

homer had a BLAST at the reception! He's dances at home but nothing like this! I couldn't stop laughing - and almost crying:') - while watching him listen to the music and just do his own thing! I promise you, he did NOT learn all those amazing moves from me!!;)

in case you're not familiar with Homer by now...he's the handsome little boy in the black vest. The one dancing his heart out:)

jacob was able to step away from serving food at the reception so we could take a quick family photo!:) 

note to self: practice not looking like shit in photos!!!:/ - the shot above is my favorite because of how happy Homer and Jacob look...me...not so much! Blah...our own worst critics, right?!;)

and the classic...sister pics:) Not gonna lie - and I think they'd all agree with me on this one - they all suck in one way or the other! ARRRRRGGG!!!;)

 my favorite...obviously;)

this one actually turned out pretty well...besides Pigg's inability to keep.her.damn.eyes.open!!! But the full photo is actually below...hilarious and best photo-bomb to date;)

homer danced and ran wild and took some photo-booth photos with us until he just couldn't hang with the big dogs anymore! He didn't pass out till about 11PM...with NO nap!! He's a party animal:)

and then I ate too many skittles and entertained myself by taking awful selfies;)

many more memories to share if you're on Instagram!! Check-out hashtag #aprettyneatsmithwedding :)

florida or BUST.

florida map

today...in about 10 hours...we're headed to FLORIDA!!!:) We're soooo excited!! - see below for excitement;)

because we grew-up road trippin', it seemed logical to consider that for this trip as well! AND with ticket prices currently at about $300 a pop, this just ended up being cheaper for everyone.

we'll be traveling with 6 adults: myself, my younger sister Pigg, my older sister Courts and her husband Dave and our parents:) Unfortunately, Jacob isn't able to go because of work but wipe that sad face off...the guy has been wired at the thought of 6 days alone...quiet;) I can't wait to see how rested he looks when we return;)

the 2 vans that we're borrowing from our aunt and mother-in-law (THANK YOU LADIES!!!!:) will be packed full...besides the adults...there are a total of 8 children, ranging from the ages of  9 months to 13 years joining us. Eeeeekkkk. We must enjoy inflicting pain on ourselves;)

i do believe these kids are gonna rock a road trip. Check back with me in a few days;)

the plan is to leave Colby, WI around 5PM tonight (Wed., 7/17). We'll drive through the night and arrive in Cumming, GA around noon tomorrow (Thurs., 7/18) to spend the night with some good friends - cook out, get our drink on and get some rest:) We're so glad it's working out to see our GA friends, even though it's only for a few hours, we're beyond excited!! Early Friday morning, we're hitting the road for our destination: St. Petersburg, FL. We're hoping to arrive there around 4PM (Fri., 7/19).

why might you ask are we doing this?!?!? Believe me, we didn't just wake up one day and think it'd be a heap of fun to shove 8 kids and 6 adults into 2 vans and drive somewhere 24 hours away;)

We're headed to our cousin's wedding (Sun., 7/21) and we're so happy that we're able to make the trip to be there to help them celebrate their big day!!!

*have I mentioned at all that the wedding is in FLORIDAY??!?!?! Yes?!?! Of course;)*

i do plan on taking my computer with me on the trip but not sure that means any blog posts will go up...so this could be goodbye for a week...or not...or more. I'll leave you guessing:):)

xoxo

PS. if you'd like to follow along on our trip, the best place to do that would be INSTAGRAM! If you're not on...download that shit. Now.

Here's a list of IG's that will be on this road trip!:

ME

COURTS

PIGG

MOM

fl love:)

have I mentioned that we'll be heading to FLORIDA soon?!?!?!? 

101 days till SUNNY Florida...not that I'm counting or anything. Nope. Wait. Yes. Yes, I am. I actually have it saved on the Countdown app. on my iPhone;)
We're going to celebrate my cousin's wedding and I couldn't be more excited that we're gonna be there!!!!!:)

with any vacation comes the hope that I'll look flawlessly and, more importantly, effortlessly put together for each event we have while there:) Those events include:

- a plane ride (my baby, Homer - who will be 14mths by then -  is coming with me...my husband, however, will not - eeek.)

- BEACH

- strolling small shops/streets

- wedding:)

so...basically this is what I'd love for our suitcase to be filled with:)

i have been on a few road trips with Homer and he's prettyyyyyy inconsistent...sometimes good...sometimes a hellion. SO I'm not sure how flying will be either. But it will be faster and he can sit with me...and I think it'll be all about timing! Call me crazy, but I can't wait:)

1

this is a tshirt that I'm actually hoping to purchase veryyyyy soon. Maybe tonight. After a glass of wine...or 4;)

Best part about these tshirts: a percentage of profits are donated to multiple sclerosis research

2

liking the idea of something looser for a plane ride but still stepping off the plane wearing something other than jogging pants...I AM a grown-up now;)

3

anotherrrrr of my recent needs wants!!!:) So cute and will keep my hair in line and off my mind during travel.

4

adorableeeee tote. Loving the pop of neon.

5

and the ever loyal converses:)

lets also keep in mind that I actually already own a few of these items! SO my dream list is somewhat a reality...just very altered:) I currently have (variations of) #'s 2, 4 and 5. And like I said above, hoping to have that headband and tshirt by then:)

i know Homer won't realize we're at a beach...or Florida for that matter. But I'm still excited to take him anywhere. I can't wait for him to look back at photos someday and see that we took him to so many amazing places, even before he could remember:)

beach mom

1

a beach blanket for Homer and I...although, we'll actually be sporting the white hotel towels;)

2

i actually got this swimming suit recently and love it!!! Very excited for warm weather here in WI...hopefully by July;)

3

flops are essential.

4

sunglasses are always a good idea:)

5

cute hat but I know I won't invest in anything like this....SO...top knot for the hair and lots of SPF for the face:)

beach baby

6

loving these adorable shorts for Homer! And so excited that he'll be walking (runningggggg) around and really enjoying the water by then:)

7

completely unnecessary but cute;)

8

i reallyyyyy wish that there was a chance in hell he'd keep these on!:)

9

homer would also love this cute striped beach towel but I'll wait till we're IN Florida to break it to him that he gets a white hotel towel too;)

oh. MMMMMMMM. Geeeeeeee. Have I mentioned that I'm pretttttyyyy much excited about this trip?!?!?:):) I've never been to Florida before and am so excited to cross it off the list:)

here are some ideas for walking around the area surrounding our hotel on the beach and there's a possibility we'll be getting to a zoo or aquarium too:)

mom style

1

i may have a slight addiction to maxi skirts! They were so comfy while on our honeymoon and fabulous during my pregnancy with Homer! All around great addition to the wardrobe:)

2

colorful sandals are totally FL:)

3

this was a more recent purchase and I just got it the other day! This is a great hat and I'm determined to give it some use this summer!

4

sunglasses. boom.

5

for my birthday, I bought a similar Vintage Coach Purse through an Instagram store. I'm obsessed with this purse:):)

baby style

6

i'm hoping to get these for Homer's 1st birthday. He's gonna love them;)

7

baby sunglasses. boom.

8

homer has a cute little 'homegrown in WI' tshirt but this one is insanely cute...or is it the baby in the tshirt that I want?;)

9

homer got a little fedora for Easter...he will not keep it on his head!:/ Hoping by the FL trip he'll be more willing:)

10

i loveeeee these little shorts for Homer! I've found a lot of 2nd hand shorts for Homer over the last couple weeks, so we're lucky to be pretty set for warmer weather:)

and then there will be the wedding:):) I'm so happy for my cousin and am beyond happy to be able to be in FL to help them celebrate this amazing occasion! I love love weddings...especially a wedding outside of the 4 places we attend weddings at in our hometown;)

1

simple. Loving the color and for some reason I need want some gold heels now and this dress would give me the perfect excuse to do that;)

2

i doubt that this shape would look very good on me but maybe with a heavy/long necklace?? And I could still pull off the gold heels with this...and comfy for chasing that child around cause you knowwwww he's gonna be everywhere but by my side;)

3

this may not be ideal for baby chasin' but it's been a favorite of mine for quite some time. And I'm a sucker for the yellow right now:)

4

simple. Liking the long necklace...just loving cause it's long and easy.

5

the color - BLUE - got me:) And, again, I think gold heels could work!!

so right now I'm feeling exhausted and overwhelmed by my own wants;) Rest assured that I will go to bed and wake up not having purchased anything and go on about my day, relatively, debt free;) Some people dream about fancy cars and expensive electronics. I tend to lean towards fashion and travel:)

florida...here Homer and I COMEEEEEE!:)

a sweet, sweet thing:) Pt.1

saturday we had a weddingggggg!! Our little cousin, Jess, got HITCHED!!!!:) Her and her...HUSBAND!!:!:!:!:??...Isaac, are the sweetest couple and we had so much fun sharing the day with them!!!:)

i had to work early that morning for a few hours and then after some coffee and visiting with family...off we went:)

 our ride - P rode with us and Homer:) My god, those faces. Faces only a mother could love;)

homer...a bit freaky here...and those toes!!!!!!:):) Can I please leave work now and go home and cuddle with him:(

i think Jacob and I got a bit cocky about our ability to just...raise a child...no big thang';)

We got to the church a bit early...we didn't time it quite right so we were in the 'Cry Room' feeding Homer for part of the Ceremony...but for the rest he sat with us just perfectly:)

Soon after getting to the church, Homer took a huge dump...4th of the day!!!!!...and we realize we left the house (which is now 45min. away) with NO diaper bag! Shiat. 

A Walmart stop and $50 later, we had enough to get Homer through the night...as well as some cookies for ourselves;)

the happy couple!!:)

jess looked gorgeous! Skinny little thing that she is, she could have pulled anything off but her dress was perfect:):)

 a little spin around in the just married-mobile;)

after the ceremony, some visiting and Walmart:/...we stopped for a cocktail before the dinner:)

I had a wonderful margarita...and then switched to coffee and milk at the reception. This lady was tireddddddd. We are not as spunky as we used to be;)

and now to get a good sister photo...

not bad:)

the reception was so cute and the flowers were beautiful. Real sunflowers:)

 trying to get a cute photo of Pigg and Luke!!

 us old folk and our coffee;)

always takes at leasttttt 2 tries;)

we forgot to get a family pic:( I hate when that happens. 

Homer was such a hit with family that we didn't really have him to ourselves much of the night. Which is why I feel like I'm missing him a lot right now!!

But it was nice to get a slow dance in, some hand holding and couple photos:)

I pretty much love this kid. A lot:)

 DADDYYYYYY!!!!:)

our crew:)

There were so many of us from out of town. Aunt and Uncles from IL. Cousin's from DC, FL and OR. It was so fantastic to be able to catch-up with everyone...more of that to come:)

 my 2 loves:)

mal and Christopher...impossible to get this kid to not be an ass in front of the camera;). Took a while but I think we may have got one decent one!!!:)

 pigg and Nasher-man. These kids and our iPhones. Inseparable;)

 this kid KILLS me! Those eyes. That smile!!!!!:)

as we walked out of the reception at TEN O' Freaking CLOCK, Mal and I laughed at how big of losers we were for being tired and done SO early! Lord. I feel like I should have been more upset about the fact that we weren't upset about leaving;) We are SO old (but not as old as Courts. PHEW;).