Fighting off Mush

I recently adopted a new parenting strategy - when Kate asks me "why" she can or can't do something, I've started giving her the actual reason versus just saying "because." I'm happy to report that it seems to be working, as she's submitting more easily. A specific example is, when she asks to watch TV and I tell her no, I've explained it's because "if you watch too much TV your brain will turn to mush." Now she nods and moves on to something else. Here is a funny example from today of what this strategy is producing:

Kate: "Mommy, can I have another cookie."
Me: "No"
Kate: "But Mommy, I really want another cookie."
Me: "I understand you want another cookie. I would like another one too. But we can only have one cookie."
Kate: "Because our brain's will turn to mush."
Me: "No, if you eat to many cookies, your belly turns to mush, not your brain."
Kate: "And we don't want a mush brain or a mush belly."
Me: "That's exactly right, Kate."

Our home

Finally, our home looks like it belongs to us! The outside has not matched who we are, and the new red definitely does. Yay!

One of the best things that has happened to me in making improvements to our house - I'm starting to get confidence in my design aesthetic. I've struggled to embrace it at times, and I've learned that's at least partly because, I like things other people don't. I appreciate BOLD, UNIQUE, and DRAMATIC. I like things that are different, in general and in design. So, when I get other people's opinions, it often is not the same as mine, which hurts my confidence. The worst is when I don't go all in - then it's sort of a half-baked version of what I enjoy - lukewarm, blah. Kind of like the old exterior -

I'm so happy with the new colors. I think we've done the best we could with what we had to work with. Our neighbors definitely enjoy it - it fits in our unique and eclectic neighborhood well. Most of all, it reflects our family so much more. It feels like our home.

Gator!

This is probably my favorite wedding pic so far! Bride, Groom, flower girl, maid of honor, friends galor doing the GATOR at the wedding. Awesome! I love that Nikki is down in her dress, I love that Kate caught right on, I love that it's from Animal House, I just think it's awesome! A great event - fun had by all!