It's Friday!

I am linking up with Karli, Erika, and Natasha for many different Friday celebrations! I don't know why, but this week has been extra exhausting! I am so ready for a rainy weekend at home catching up on laundry and playing with my girls! 

[O N E]

This past weekend we went to St. Louis for a family wedding. Ashley is my second cousin, and it is always good to see extended family. They are full of life and fun! Never a dull moment around these folks. It was a nice little dinner away from the girls with my sister (and Mark), and my parent's as well! 

The lighting was seriously the worst and a few people were missing, but here is a picture of the whole gang! 

And my oh so handsome date! 

The girls stayed back at the hotel with one of very best friends who the girls absolutely ADORE. Oh how I wish she still lived in my town. Wahh.

Just look at those sweet faces. Man, I am blessed.

[T W O]

Zetta and her little BFF, Mila, started gymnastics for the first time a few weeks ago. They are loving it and are listening so well! There was another little girl in her class, but she moved to an earlier time, so now it is just the two of them. They like dancing to their own beat anyway. ;) 

[T H R E E]

One of my very best friends is expecting her first little girl in August. We celebrated her this past weekend as well! We are so excited for baby Quinn to get here and add another girl to our club! 

My best friend, Megan, and her little girl came into town for the shower! So thankful to have such a close group of friends! It is so weird that I am the "old" mom in my group. So sweet to snuggle all of these little babies, though! Ekk. 

[F O U R]

I am wanting to make a list of Summer fun activities to do with the girls. I saw this list while browsing Pinterest. My girls aren't old enough for a lot of them (and we simply don't have that much extra time on our hands), but I want do a few new activities that are not something we would normally do this summer! 




[F I V E]

Again, I could not be more excited that is FRI-YAY! I am so ready for a lazy weekend. I am hoping to finally hang my mirror in the master bath, hang a few more frames in the living room, and catch up on the dreaded chore of laundry! 

link

Zoo trips

This post was going to be a combination of last year's zoo trip and this year's, because we went this past weekend. I am sad to say I did not take a single picture this year. I am blaming it on the fact that the majority of the time we were there it was raining. At one point we had to run for coverage and wait it out because it was coming down so hard. So all of the picture's in this post are from last year, clearly. Last fall we decided that we wanted to take the girls to the zoo. We knew Zetta would enjoy it. We went to my brother in law's surprise 30th birthday party in St. Louis, and spent the night and headed to the Zoo Sunday morning. Pete's sister, Emily, and her family joined in on the fun also! It was a great day. Way more sucessful than this year, thats for sure. I have decided that I am not going to go back to the Zoo unless it is spring or fall. Summer is just too  hot when you are constantly pushing a stroller, holding a baby, or wearing a baby. Wore this mama out! The girls were very well behaved for circumstances, though. I am thankful for that!

Get to know me better!

Name/Occupation/Age/Stats
Erin! Easy..you can't get it wrong! I turned 26 this year and still can't believe I have two babies and have almost been married 5 years! 5'7", brown eyes, and brown hair. I haven't colored my hair in at least 3 years, but now that I am going to take a little break from being pregnant, my hair needs a change! I am the office manager at Cultural Exchange Network, a non-profit that is a J-1 visa sponsor along with many other things by day, and a mama by night. It's always a challenge being a working mom. Shuffling the mom guilt and such, but my girls LOVE their daycare, so that always makes dropping them off a lot easier.

Family Info.
Husband, life partner, my rock, Pete (32), Daughters Zetta (2.5 years), and Nora (15 months). My blog is named a Beautiful Mess for a reason. How can you have two girls 16 months apart and things not be a mess!? I would not have it any other way, though. Pete always keeps me on my toes. He is a sucker for a good deal and I never know what he is going to come home with. It could be 12 BBQ grills, 30 door knobs, or cute clothes for the girls. He is my rock and brings me up when I am at my lowest and has a better outlook on life than anyone I have ever met. Zetta is shy at first, but once she knows you, you are her best friend. She doesn't stop talking from the moment she wakes to the moment she goes to sleep. She is a busy body and the perfect mix between a girly girl and a little adventurer! Nora is always smiling, but let's you know if things aren't going her way!! Her little face can make anyone's day better! These three individuals mean EVERYTHING to me. I thank my lucky stars God has been so good to our family.

Favorite Hobbies
Blogging, running, watch football (say whatttt?..I actually do not know much about the sport, but love how much my husband loves it), quality family time, quiet mornings spent with coffee, volunteering, decorating, being outside, reading, and girl's nights.

Favorite Family Fun Activities
Anything outdoors, visits to the Farmer's Market, walking the girls to the park- slides/ swings/ feeding the ducks, Orange Monkey(of course), swimming at Eesie and Poppies, playing in the garden at PaPa and GaGa's house, camping at Sam A. Baker. The memories I have from growing up and doing so many things as a family are absolutely priceless to me. I hope to give my kids the same experience and memories that I had as a child.

Mommy Uniform/Go-To Outfit.
My work has a very casual dress code. We can pretty much wear anything we want with the exception of blue jeans (except on Friday's). Most of the time I wear colored jeans with a V-neck cotton shirt, TOMS or sandals, and my same few bracelets and watch with my Stella and Dot stud earrings. In the summer I do wear more sun dresses and such, but probably not more than once or twice a week. I tried to venture out, but that is always what I catch myself falling back to. If I am not at work I wear something very similar, or I will be in workout attire. It is easy and these days girls can pull it off even if they don't work out! ha!

Biggest Pet Peeves.
Dishes left in the sink, going to bed with a messy house, people who leave tables absolutely trashed when they leave a restaurant.

Typical Day.
We are typically late risers and wake between 7-8 am (or later!). I usually get up early enough to get myself ready before the girls wake up (between 6-7 am unless I go to the gym, then I get up about 5-5:30am). On weekdays, I go get the girls when I hear them both awake and talking, change diapers and get them dressed. I pack their bags for school, and get them a small to go container of cereal because they eat breakfast once they get to daycare. If it is the weekend, we hangout in our pj's until we have somewhere to be, and I cook pancakes, eggs, bacon, etc. We head out the door for school between 7:50-8 am and Pete is usually leaving for work around that time also.  I drop the girls off and head back home. I pack my lunch, tidy the house, and get to work by 9am. I get off work at 5pm and head to get the girls and head home. Pete is usually pulling in right behind us. I cook dinner with the girls help, and Pete hops on the computer to finish a few things as we talk about our day (the office is right off the kitchen). After dinner we do some type of family activity (bike ride, walk around the neighborhood, inside play, etc.) and then head in and take a bath and settle down with an evening snack. I put Nora to bed between 8-9 pm and Zetta goes to bed between 9-10 pm. They are generally in really good moods in the evening, so we don't press bedtime until they act tired. I would rather play longer than get frustrated with them not going to sleep and laying down in their bed shushing them for an hour. Pete and I will watch one of our shows, and then I typically fall asleep on the couch. I wake and transfer to bed around midnight and Pete will be to bed around 1 am. I am really trying to go to bed instead of falling asleep on the couch, but I haven't mastered it quite yet! ha!

Favorite Go-To Beauty Products 
I am pretty simple, but I use the same things everyday. Naked Eye Palette 3, Dr. Jart BB cream, Cover girl concealer, any cheap powder, Naked Flushed 3in1 palette, and this mascara. If I use any lip color, it is usually a tinted gloss or baby lips chap stick. I don't really wear any perfumes or lotions on a regular basis.

Favorite Baby Gadgets
NoseFrieda (best thing ever), anything Aden+Anais, swaddlers blankets with velco when they are really small, TommieTippee sippy cups, and all things Britax. I haven't found one Britax item I didn't like!

Favorite Music/Band/Singers
I really don't have a favorite. If I am in the car alone, I will choose country, or a CD that I have that is a mix of Jack Johnson, Philip Phillips, Dave Matthews, The Fray, etc. But I like it all. I'm always down for Beyonce, Rihanna, Justin Timberlake, The Beatles, etc. The only thing I prefer not to listen to is hardcore rap or screamo. Although, my very best guy friend in high school was really into screamo, so I listened to more of it then than I ever wanted to in my whole life!

Top 10 Movies
If you know me, I really do not know actors or movies, really. Let me give you a little story to tell you how little I am interested in movies/actors, instead. I can't even remember what movie it was, but Pete and I watched the whole movie and I was watching the credits and it has Ben Affleck and George Clooney in it. I looked at him and was like oh, which one was which again? Pete just looked at me, stunned that I watched a whole movie and didn't know which character was Ben Affleck and which one was George Clooney. Oops. 

Favorite Food to make
White Chicken Chili, Taco Ring, Sweet potato fries, Turkey burgers, my mom's pumpkin bread, any breakfast casserole.

Top Reads
Anything Emily Griffin (the Something Borrowed series in particular), any Jodi Picoult ( I have read Plain Truth, The Pact, My Sister's Keeper, House Rules, and Nineteen Minutes), Unglued by Lysa Terkeurst, The Help.

Other Q&A
What did you want to be when you grew up: a mom and a designer/event planner
Beauty secret: Clarisonic
Secret Talent: I don't know if it is a talent, but I have an eye for catching mistakes in movies and TV shows. Different shirts in the same scene, back drop changes, etc. 

This was fun! I hope you learned something new about me! Have a great day!

Cousin Zoey turns ONE!

Back in December, Pete's sisters little girl, Zoey, turned one! They moved back closer to "home" last summer, and we are so thankful to have them closer than a 20 hour drive! :) The theme was WinterONEderland. Adorable. They were in the process of buying their house, so she had the party at my mother-in-law's! So sweet! 




















Happy birthday, Zoey! We can't wait for all the fun memories ahead!

Halloween Koala style

Halloween in pictures. 2014

My grandmother!

Gaga and Papa

Eesie and Poppie (sorry, tilt your noggin)

Zetta, 23 months old

Nora, 8 months old

Zetta turns TWO!

Hang with me over the next few months as I get caught back up on life! Back in November our sweet baby, Zetta turned 2 years old! She woke up to cinnamon rolls and streamers! We went to visit my parents that evening at their little part time job and enjoyed some delicious frozen yogurt. They even had balloons for the birthday girl! Zetta's best buddy, Mila, also came and played for a bit. Who would have guessed balloons would be so much fun ;) 

Over the weekend we had a simple bonfire, chili, and s'mores party for our winter baby. The weather held out until she was opening her last gift, and then it started sleeting so we moved the party inside! There are a lot of pictures, but I couldn't pick just one! I loved this party! It was simple and so much room for all the little kiddos to run around. This just might be Zetta's party theme for the rest of her life! ;) The pictures are not in any particular order. I had a whole s'mores bar with different chocolates for the middle and you could pick from cookies or gram crackers, for your "bun". We had the party at my parent's house, and my dad will never disappoint with the size of the fire! 

(Sorry, I cannot get this to flip! grr.)

Happy 2nd birthday, Zetta Mae! We love you so, so much!