Our Story: The Way Back

When I was little my grandma had a station wagon. When my cousins would come to visit we'd all go over to her house and she'd take us out on the town in that thing. We called the back trunkish space(where we'd beg her to let us sit)the way back. I've always wanted a station wagon since then. I remember my cousin Amber and I sitting back there looking at shopping finds singing along with the beach boys. That story has nothing to do with ANYTHING other than that sometimes it's fun to look back and remember good times. That's what we're doing today. I give you our little journey WAY BACK when...

Me with my first babies. Left is Merritt, right is Allison.

Another one of my first babies.

Manly with the girls(Left Allison, right Merritt). I knew then he was going to make an amazing dad.

My BFF Ashley, and my Man on my 21st birthday. Yet another hairstyle for the books.

Manly directed the dinner theater at school.

 

He casted me as the crazy lady. Wait a minute...

 

Here we are at Village Inn after the show. Remember that place??? Gag!

 

Spending time with my man. 

Moving in to the nasty dorm. Look at Manly's hair. Yikes.

This was at our Fall formal at school. We actually won the "cutest couple" award. I can see why! HAHA! 

 

Professional Formal Pic of the night.

At the formal each girls name is called and they walk down this giant staircase down to their date below. I was nervous about walking in my heels, so manly held my shoes and put them on me at the bottom of the stairs. He used to be a hopeless romantic. WAY BACK when...

We both had parts in the Christmas Madrigal. This time he played a crazy person.

I love this picture. And that shirt Manly is wearing.

The Thanksgiving before we got engaged.

The Christmas before we got engaged.

More nice hair pics. Ha! My mom HATED my blonde hair.

nice.

The year we got engaged we were part of a team that helped move freshmen into the dorm.

 

I mean, he's hot. Ha!

 

Our music theatre group did scenes from the Music Man. Ha!

Our choir. We are the two middle people on the top.

Manly running sound for the band.

I have NO idea...

Again, I have NO idea...

At Spring Fling 2002.

The time Manly got snowed in at my parents house.

 

The night I met Manly's family. As his...girlfriend. Ha! More blonde hair.

 

One of my most favorite pictures of us. I love that sweet happy smile on Manly's face. I do not, however, love the sideburns on his face. Ha!

 

Our anniversary is only two days away! Be on the look out tomorrow for the FINAL chapter of my series!! WOWZAH!

When Pregnancy Dreams Meet Reality

I don't think I've mentioned it here yet, but my BFF recently got engaged to be married in February.

Here she is with her man, Chris.

I'm so excited for her and can't WAIT for her big day. Speaking of BIG, I'll be the 38 week pregnant bridesmaid on stage. YIKES! ANYWAY, she posted to facebook that she'd had her first(of what is sure to be many)scary wedding dream. I laughed and thought how fun it would be to be planning a wedding again. I seriously loved wedding planning. ANYWAY, I went to sleep that evening and had a little nightmare of my own(pregnancy style). It went a little like this:
As the day of the wedding was drawing near Ashley realized she hadn't ordered any bridesmaid dresses yet. Because the wedding was only a few days away she was forced to go to a store that was much like WalMart(it had no name in my dream) and get dresses there for all seven of her attendants. Because she needed so many she had to get several styles and shade of dress. She decided to go with red, but they were all different materials(like silk, velvet, taffita) and styles(short, long, one strap, strapless). I should take a moment and state that Ashley has plans on a wintery themed wedding because of her February date. It's sure to be a sparkling beautiful event...ANYWAY, back to my dream. Once we were all dressed in our dresses(that looked TERRIBLE together) she broke the news to us that she had changed the theme of the wedding. She and Chris had decided to "lighten things up" and go with a CIRCUS theme! As she started to tell us about it all these people started to file in. They were the make-up artists ready to PAINT our FACES like CLOWNS! All us BMs were trying to act supportive, but we were totally freaking out at the thought of looking like clowns in our hideous dresses. Did I mention there were acrobats? That was the pre-wedding entertainment. There was also circus animals and circus music. Wow, Ash. I love you, but I don't think I can be a pregnant clown at your wedding! Ha! Actually, I think I'd do just about anything to be part of your day!

Today, I googled "clown wedding" and found this picture. It is almost identical to the image in my dream.

 

My lovely Ashley.

 

A kind of scary picture of us. See, humor has always been a part of our relationship.

 

 

Rhea Lana's Matchy Matchy

So, I talk a lot about Rhea Lana's, but I wanted to actually SHOW you some of the fun things I've gotten for my kids there. If you know me, you know that I like the kids to either coordinate or match most of the time. I do this for several reasons; it looks CUTE, it makes laundry easier for me, it helps me keep up with all of them when we're out places!! When you buy mostly resale, buying matching or coordinating clothing can be tough, but it's NOT impossible. The key is if you EVER see an outfit that you already have at home ALWAYS buy it. Even if you don't have anyone in that particular size yet. I also will look up the "IN" color for the year before a sale, and buy lots of different things in that color so that it's easy to coordinate through out the year, and layer up with the "in" color. Hey, a momma's got to keep her kids in style!

SO, now for some PROOF that you can buy, save, match, and coordinate all while paying so much less!

Summer 2008

This is the three big girls. My mom found the two older girls shirts at WalMart. I got Addi's at Rhea Lana's.

Easter 2009

I got all three of these ADORABLE boutique dresses at a spring Rhea Lana sale for a FRACTION of the cost they'd be new. I still have all three of these dresses for them now. Such good quality.

Spring 2007

I LOVE these dresses! A friend of mine gave me the one that tiny KK is wearing. I bought the one Lulu has on at Rhea Lana's HALF price sale for $6.00! YES. It's a boutique brand too.

Halloween 2008

I always get all of the kids Holiday wear there. I can't see paying retail for a shirt they may wear three times during the Holiday season that they wouldn't wear the rest of the year.

Halloween 2009

Speaking of Holiday's! Ha! I buy costumes there every year. Sometimes we use them once and I resale them, sometimes they stay in my costume stash for years. BEST place to buy Halloween costumes and princess dresses!!

Easter 2012

This, by far, has been my BEST resale catch to date. Yes, oh YES, I did find ALL of these outfits resale! I paid, for ALL of them, what you would pay for ONE of them in a store. They are all wearing the EXACT same dress in their EXACT sizes. Bubb's little ensemble came together. What a STEAL!!! Seriously, every time I look at this picture I'm proud of myself all over again! Ha!

Christmas 2011

This is a sample of how hard it is to get five kids to smile at the same time. Ha! I got all three MATCHING shirts the big girls have on at different times, but finally had enough for all three of them to match. I got Bubb's sweater and Mia's outfit at this past fall sale.

Winter 2011

I had Addi's outfit from sale season at WalMart and Old Navy. I got Mia's at, you guessed it, Rhea Lana's!

Fall 2011

Another thing I love to buy resale is raincoats(or any coats) and rain boots! Love this sweet picture!

Halloween 2011

I love this because Addi is wearing the shirt that KK is wearing from 2008! Ha! All these tops(and probably bottoms) came from the fall sale.

Fall 2011

My mom got Brubb's these overalls from the fall sale before he was born(I think). LOVE this picture of my dad taking Bubby out to the woods for his first time(just to walk around outside of deer season!).

Mother's Day 2011

Black and white. Some of these were from closeout at Penney's my mom found. KK and Mia and Bubby are all RL finds. LOVE that dress KK has on. It's so so pretty!

Spring 2011

Look familiar? Yup. This is my three littlest girls. So sweet.

Easter 2011

This isn't a very good picture, but I still love the clothes! Ha! Even my dress came from the maternity section. Pregnant with Mia.

Christmas 2011

Yes, EVERYTHING the kids are wearing is resale. Even the tights and shoes. Bows too. Ha! I LOVED these DKNY dresses(the two little girls are wearing). So cute!

July 4th 2012

These are all resale outfits bought throughout the years. So cute!

Fall 2007

This is KK and Liv. They were such little dolls! Loved these sweaters. Got lucky and got them at the same sale. I still have them now for the little girls this fall.

So, I think you "get the picture." I'll stop now. Not because that's all the pics/outfits I've got, but because it's almost the end of naptime and I have things to get done. Remember this, buying resale does NOT mean that you have to sacrifice fashion or style. You can get CUTE affordable stuff for your children of all sizes and styles. Remember that as Rhea Lana season is upon us! Happy Shopping!!