twenty questions: 3 year old ruby..

well, this is about two 1/2 months later than i planned, but it's done! i've wanted to ask ruby these twenty questions that i found on pinterest, and finally got 'er done tonight during a little balcony sitting. 

we were killing time while this was in the oven. confession: i used mango salsa and we weren't in love with how things turned out because of that. daniel kept saying, "there's just something about it that makes me want to gag with every bite." awesome. but i'm 100% confident that we would love this recipe using a not sweet salsa. another confession: i have turned into stalky stalkerson when it comes to jami nato's blog (that's where the recipe is from, so this second confession isn't as random as it may seem). like i'm honestly kind of at scary status when it comes to reading it and laughing and/or crying at every single post.

example: i started to pee my pants (well, dress actually) the other night from laughing at this post so hard. d was just sitting across the room starring at me while i laughed/cried/peed my way to the bathroom. when it was all over he asked, "is this a pregnancy thing?" i just said yes because there really wasn't any other way to explain what had just gone down. if that isn't a plug for the hilarity that her posts can bring then i'm not sure what is. ok.. moving on.

i found her while i was looking over who the speakers are going to be at the upcoming influence conference, and i haven't been able to stop. it's kind of like crack. crack in blog form. she's funny, honest, open, and points to Christ at every turn.. for reasons beyond her blog, i feel like i've had a renewed appreciation for the "blogging community" (that sounds kind of like a neighborhood full of bloggers only- wouldn't that be an interesting place) lately. i think "mommy blogs" can often get a bad wrap, but i've seen so many points of connection and encouragement lately through what bloggers are putting out there that i can't help but acknowledge that there is power here. power to build and to destroy, if i'm honest, and that thought has brought me to mull over what i'm putting out there in my little corner of the interweb.. more on that to come.

but for now.. this little tootsie roll in all of her random, three-year-old glory.

answers to a few question this little diddy might have brought up for you:

she has never before said that "orange" is her favorite color or that "oranges" are her favorite fruit. she literally never eats oranges and only loves pink and purple on the regular.

never saw "mexican" coming as her favorite thing to eat for lunch. who even knows if she knows what "mexican" food consists of. 

no, i have no clue what game "popping the alligators down" is.

her rendition of the "princess song" was made up on the spot. that high-pitched singing voice is how she always sounds when creating lyrics.

i'm not at all surprised by how much she referenced the general idea of "princesses". little lady can't get enough.

she loves cereal, so i was surprised that she couldn't think of a favorite kind. just the other day she informed me at target that cocoa puffs is "cereal made from birds". one of her and daddy's favorite things to do is share sugary cereals that i would never let past her lips on mornings that i don't get up and make them breakfast.

i too appreciate how matter-of-factly she said that "just holla" is her favorite holiday. gotta appreciate that kind of confidence.

no, i don't feed her mac n cheese for breakfast.

i also never thought "get your hand out of your underwear" would need to be uttered during this taping.

i have no idea how i'm going to find "christmas cookies" at the end of may next year. hopefully she'll forget about this random request. pretty sure she will since it was most likely senseless jabbering.

yes, i will fully support her if she actually does want to become a "great princess painter" someday. i'm sure there's a market for that somewhere.

oh three-year-old ruby girl.. you crack me up. you are both a joy and a challenge to us dailly, and we honestly are so thankful for that. i can't wait to see you as a big sister, and to see what madness your four-year-old self comes up with for these same questions next year. love, mama.

showered..

an extra special part of our recent time in north carolina was being able to have two showers for equally exciting things. the first was a laid back little shindig at my favorite mexican restaurant to celebrate sweet sadie coming. janelle, mandy, and vally pulled it all together, and i was so so thankful for that time. i felt super loved, the fact that we're having another sweet girl before long started to sink in just a bit more, and i even exposed people to the laughing/weeping craziness that happens to me from time to time. sad you had to miss that part.. it made quite a few people feel uncomfortable. but hey, at least i didn't pee my pants.

riding to the festivities with my girl. she was all decked out in her "big sister" shirt, and i'm a little miffed at myself for not getting a better picture of that cuteness.

mi madre. thankful that she makes the trek to raleigh whenever i'm in town to save me from making long car rides.

rubes being sure to document her shoe choice for the evening. p.s. she has her father's feet.. do not even think that those crazy looking things got passed on from me. third toe that's longer than the second.. what the what?

getting all artsy with her foot placement.

cute tine the co-pilot.

ruby made sure to get a shot of me making my most asian looking smiling face.

move over brangelina.. there's a new power couple in town. knox and ruby being as sweet as ever.

friends whom i love. knox, have some class and put that gut away.

 my cute cousin faye was very diligent about getting some shots of me opening gifts.

blurry gift goodnes. we don't need a lot since it's another girl, but sadie is a winter baby and ruby was a summer girl, so getting some sweet little hats, long-sleeve onesies, and super warm swaddle blankets was great. we also now have an amazing stash of target gift cards; which we all know will go to diaper and wipes, and probably a snickers or two for mama.

aunt susie sent a gift with mom.. so thoughtful and loving.

see that little sister onesie? i am so in love with those things. little sister. big sister. melt my heart.

see? warms hats and baby wrappers. so good.

a crazily tiny and cute outfit from grams and tine.. most likely what sadie girl will wear home from the hospital. remind me again how it is that she's going to be so. small.

me and the two best moms i could have asked for.

the greatest journey group that ever happened. i moved away from nc almost a year ago, but i'm still claiming that title for us.. don't hate.

who even knows what's happening here? all i know for sure is that jill is checking out a booty, and janelle and i can't keep our eyes open from sheer happiness.

"better", i guess, but not nearly as much fun.

i guess i'll share about the other shower experience in a separate post because this one is already crazy long. i didn't get pictures with everyone who was there, but i hope i did a good job of getting out just how special and loved i felt that they were all present to love on me and sadie. i know it's the cynical part of myself, but it's easy to think that you'll slowly slip out of people's hearts when you make a big move and don't do day to day (or even month to month) life with them anymore. times like this are a reminder that i'm so thankful for of how much we are loved and missed.. and the feeling is uber mutual!

p.s. sadie, you are already one cherished little lady. hurry up and get here. (but seriously though, you can wait.)

thrift a gift..

i heard read about something so super fun yesterday that i had to share with any of your lovelies who might be interested. i follow along with danielle over at take heart, and she posted yesterday about the thrifty love gift exchange. now, i love giving love and gifts of all kinds, but something about a thrifty-themed gift exchange just pushes all of the right buttons for me. on top of that, you buy and send a $10 thrifted gift to a total blogging stranger; which makes it even more fun and mysterious. now to find something that i don't want to keep for myself. :)

the details of the exchange are on danielle's (and all of the other lady host's) blog, but i'll give you a rundown here as well.

the deets:

if you would like to join in on the fun, email carina at punkpumpkinpeanut{at}gmail{dot}com by july 5th. make sure you include your blog and a mailing address (it will only be shared with whomever you're matched with).

you'll get your match by july 10th, and then you can go thrift your heart out for whatever you can find in your $10 budget.

mail your thrifted love by july 25th, and join in on the link up on august 6th with a post all about your thrifty gift finding adventures. 

doesn't that sound like fun?! ok, i'll work on containing my excitement and give you a minute to go send your email to carina.

sashes..

there's a lady in my life who's my friend, but i kind of feel like a weirdo whenever i talk about her being one because we've never actually met. sounds stalkerish, right? really though, i think she'd say the same about me.. we're blogosphere friends, but hopefully we can take it to the next level someday and actually meet. what a concept. :) 

she's jessi, from naptime diaries, who i've actually mentioned here before because she's in the line-up to do a guest post here in the near-ish future.. but i'm bringing her up again because she and a friend of hers in columbia, south carolina have a project together called sashes to the merchants. it's all about connecting, promoting, and encouraging women who have businesses, blogs, shops, and the like in their endeavors to create and offer their wares to uplift others and provide for their families. sounds pretty awesome, right? 

head on over and take a look at what they've got going on there, and while you're at it, enter their "getting to know you" giveaways happening daily this week. it's a win-win, folks!

happy wednesday to you.