Our Trip to Disney World!

Well, we were officially bitten by that Disney bug. THAT PLACE IS SO MAGICAL. I am already plotting a way to get back, to soak in more of the merriment and glee and charm. There is just nothing quite as wonderful as the silliness of getting dressed up in full-on Mickey gear every day, spending the entire day playing with your kids in the greatest amusement park on Earth, and celebrating in between with treats. Just because, Disney.

My Mickey angels.

That morning monorail commute.

I'd live there.

My baby by the pool on one of our off-days. He did so great at Disney, I was super proud of him!

I have a thing for good landscaping. And the Grand Floridian has GOOD landscaping. #goals

This is what we did when we weren't at the parks. We loved our hotel so much! Details in the next post ;)

He wanted to chase those ducks.

Don't get me wrong - Disney is a trip, not a vacation. But we honestly had so much fun together. We were super tired, but blissfully happy, too. PS while I am typing this Stevie has been out of town for a week and OMG he has to come home. I miss that handsome piece of man.

Everett met Mickey twice and LOVED him. Daxton hated every character he met. Please note both of their faces in the next few photos - they couldn't feel more differently about meeting characters. Pretty priceless.

Meeting Mickey for the first time! Prepare yourself for Daxton's reaction...

This will be shared at his wedding.

Seriously. I should feel bad for him but I'm still dying laughing. Poor second children, they really don't get the same empathy from us.

I asked if she wanted to switch dresses. I don't think she heard me over Everett's compliments of her gown.

Dax tolerated Cinderella. Everett legit fell in love. And don't let Stevie fool you - we was a tiny bit enamored too.

... which made me feel a lot better about asking Prince Charming what he was doing a little later. I might have frightened him. I'm 30 now, apparently that's cougar status ;)

After he met Cinderella he crawled into my lap and played with my hair for a full 5 minutes. Something about meeting the princess made his little love-struck heart so tender! I already know I'm going to be such an insane mother-in-law because HE'S MY BABY FOREVER.

Our hotel lobby! So cool!

So many treats. I'll highlight my favorites in the next post.

I was overwhelmed by how excellent everything is at Disney World. Yes, the rides are a blast and there is something for everyone (our 10-month old loved it just as much as our 3-year old!) But the true magic of Disney is in the immense attention to detail - there is literally no trash on the sidewalk of Main Street. The characters and cast members are phenomenal, treating each person with such importance and care. When we got our Magic Bands on the first day, the man who gave them to us at the Admissions office looked at Everett and said, "Are you Everett?" Everett nodded to him shyly. The he went on, "Oh! You're Prince Everett! Mickey told me to look out for you. Welcome to Disney World, Prince Everett!" The rest of the day, Everett held his head so high and proud. He felt so special at Disney World. It's not just that Disney is charming and fun - it really is a special place that makes each person feel a personal significance. It was so beautiful.

And the shows! Coming from a former actor nerd, I can honestly say that he shows are truly Broadway-esque. Especially "The Lion King" at the Animal Kingdom - it was a stunner. Disney's approach to excellence and follow-through is truly astounding. And the experience of staying at a Disney hotel, using the Disney dining plan (oh my word, the FOOD!!!), and playing in the parks for 3 days was honestly such an experience that I just want everyone to go and laugh their brains out with their own family. It's seriously good for the soul.

But don't get me wrong. You've got to be prepared to go on a trip like Disney. You can't just let Disney happen to you, because it can easily take all your money and leave you with nothing but exhaustion. You gotta play the game smart. Thankfully, we had a dear, dear friend of ours plan our entire Disney vacation, from the hotel to the tickets to the fast passes to the meals and everything in between. Alyson Pitzer is a Disney travel agent and is compensated by Disney to plan trips, so we didn't have to pay her anything, but she took care of every single detail. I am sharing this with you so that you can reach out to her, because believe me, unless you are a Disney insider and you know all the ins and outs of that world, you are going to want some help. This post isn't sponsored in any way (but gosh, Disney, feel free to sponsor me ANY TIME AT ALL), but I really wanted to share her info with you guys so that you can get a leg up and have the most magical trip experience of your life.

I'm going to share a few most posts this week with our itinerary and my personal tips and tricks at Disney, so make sure to check back here for those. There was just no possible way to squeeze all things Disney into one blog post! Also, if you have any specific questions, please leave them in the comments section so I can address everything! I have lots to share but I know for those of you planning a Disney trip, there are a lot of questions you probably have in your mind. This is the week to ask me as I compile everything! xx

Life Lately.

Life feels like it's happening really, really fast lately.

We took these photos the other day because I was photographing this teether toy for another website that I write for. I'll share the link once the post is live, but I wanted to share a few of the photos here, too, because I am just wowed by how BIG my two boys are getting! Like, it's happening so fast, and I kind of can't believe it. Everett feels more grown up than ever (well, most of the time, let's be honest, his favorite word is "poot-ey"), and Daxton is growing up waaaaay faster because he has a big brother that he's looking up to all the time. It's just so crazy how people always say, "Oh, enjoy these years, they go by so fast!", and here I am, living that experience. And it is, indeed, going by so fast! It's hard when you're in the thick of parenting and newborn life - things feel so glacially slow. It feels like they will never grow up and actually feed themselves. Or go to the bathroom on their own. Or let you go to the bathroom on your own! But there are these incremental changes, and if you don't take a moment to take stock in them, suddenly your kids are big and it's like, "WHAT JUST HAPPENED."

Daxton pulled himself up to standing this week. My 9-month old is standing, he is relatively uninterested in anything that doesn't involved Everett and he claps his hands in celebration of things. I am blown away by how fast his growth is - his body is so big and his development just seems so much faster than Everett's was. I have no idea if that's actually true though. He has a big brother that is always running in circles around him - I'm sure that is motivation to get big and strong fast!

I love these little men of mine. We are in Disneyworld this week (I am staying up way too late to type this post - we hit Magic Kingdom for day 2 tomorrow!) But I just wanted to share this little thought with you - take stock in the moment, right now. Take stock in listening to your babies breathe, your spouse's laughter, your parent's quirks. Remind yourself what you love about your life, right now, today. Remember what the sky looks like this morning. Look in the mirror and like what you see. Because these moments are so fleeting, friends. They world is passing us by and I don't want to miss a thing. Okay, now I'm quoting an Aerosmith ballad so it's looking like time to close up this laptop for the night. Hope you're all having a wonderful week! xx

Apple Picking in North Georgia!

He just picked that apple off the tree and started chomping.

We collected this many apples in about 60 seconds.

And we might have contributed to this pile as well. Sorry, Mother Nature.

This dad is winning in my book.

No, I don't know how to juggle.

BFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF

They are a girl family. We are a boy family. We are very, very different families ;)

I wish I could say this was the most epic-ally Fall day ever.

It was not.

It was like 90+ degrees up in the mountains (so much for wearing cute autumn clothes), and my poor little baby had a fever. Believe me, if I had known he wasn't feeling well, I wouldn't have dragged him out into the fields! He's been teething hardcore, so I'm pretty sure that was the reason why he had a temperature. We didn't realize it until we got back into the car because he hides his misery with so much grace (unlike my other child, who was wailing beside him for some mundane non-sick reason).

But this was my 30th birthday and I wanted to celebrate with my people by doing something fun and fall-like, so apple picking we went! My sister was with us (she took most of these photos, and of course, we got none together, #siblingfail), and we met our best buddies and their kiddos at the farm, too! It was one big happy (except for Daxton, but he was most comforted when I was holding him). We picked soooo many apples out at Mercier Orchards. Once we were done with the hayride and the apple picking (it was seriously so hot, we had to get out of the scorching sun), we retreated inside and cooled off with muscadine cider slushies (YES, YOU HEARD ME RIGHT), and lunched on a plethora of farm yard favorites (aka burgers, grilled cheese and turkey melts). But while Stevie was tending to the boys (putting Daxton down for a nap in his carseat and taking Everett potty, etc.), my sister and I managed to squeeze in a hard cider tasting and as a result we managed to laugh a lot after that. Cider isn't really my thing, but when in Rome, right?

A word on my sister. Rachel came in town weeks ago when they voluntarily evacuated Florida because of hurricane Irma. Thankfully, their home wasn't damaged in the storm, but I somehow managed to get her to stay and hang out with us for a few weeks longer than she anticipated. And it was the best! I just love my sister so much and I admire her grace, loyalty and generous spirit. She is a seriously beautiful person inside and out and I feel so lucky to be related to someone that I also call my best friend. My sisters are the reasons that I want to have lots of babies, because I want to be able to give my kids the kind of life-long friendships that I have been so blessed with in my own sisters. Okay, side note over.

I am 30 years old. We picked at least double that in apples. So at this moment I am extremely rich in apple sauce, apple butter and apple pies! You should come over, because I have apple treats galore.

Tell me - what are the "musts" on your fall bucket list? I'd love to hear in the comments! We still have to go to a pumpkin patch, go hiking, do some leaf peeping and drink all the pumpkin things.

Happy Tuesday to you, friends!

P.S. - I'm wearing this top, my jeans are sold out but there are a few similar styles here and here, these boots, these sunglasses and this shade on my cheeks and lips (multisticks for the win!)

Thoughts on Turning 30.

Tomorrow I turn 30.

When I was a little girl, I dreamed of what my life would look like when I turned 30. I would be living in New York City, working as an actor, and when I turned 30 I would meet the right guy and get married sometime around then, with babies coming a few years later. That's what I always thought would be my path, my journey in the world. I wanted to make a difference and have influence. I loved acting and found such a passion in the actor's process. I never ever EVER would have imagined I would be that girl who got engaged super young and got married and became someone's wife at such a tender young age. I was never boy crazy, never very co-dependent, never really dreamed of having a wedding or being a mom or any of those domestic things. I knew I wanted to have those things one day, perhaps, but I never dreamed of them. I dreamed of working hard as a stage actress and then making my way into movies and being famous and accepting my Oscar while wearing a red gown. I practiced my speech a lot. Because in my dreams, I always win at the Oscars :)

Well, this weekend I'm turning 30. I've been married for 10 years and I have two baby boys. My stage in life is my kitchen and the awards that I accept are kisses and compliments from the chorus of boys that surround me. Life isn't anything like I dreamed when I was a little girl, but I'm not being cheesy or lying when I say that it is BETTER than what I dreamed of back then.

I am honestly so amped to turn 30. I feel like I finally match my age. For so many years, I felt a sense of judgement when I shared my story with others - that I got married young, that I went to college "out of order", and that I tried out so many different types of jobs over the years. I never felt on par with my peers. I knew that the choices I was making were the right ones for me, but I didn't feel like I was doing the same things as everyone else my age. But since becoming a mom, I have found such a sense of community and camaraderie in motherhood that I've never had in any other season of my life. I'm certainly not done dreaming or pursuing out-of-the-ordinary ventures. But I feel so myself at this age. And I totally love it.

The other day I was watching the Friends episode where all the characters mourn over turning 30. It's so funny to me how sad people get about leaving their twenties, as if they haven't "done enough" with those years. Well, I feel like I've done a lot with those years! I've learned so much about myself, and I've learned that life just isn't all about me and what a wonderful thing that is! I suppose having kids does that to you. And getting married young taught me that sacrifice is beautiful; it's a surefire way to leave a lasting impression of your love for someone else. In a world where the emphasis is constantly on our achievements and pursuits and accomplishments, I am grateful for my unusual, somewhat unpopular journey of giving so much of my life to my marriage and my family. It seems counter-culture in an age of feminism and women on the rise, but actually, I feel more present in my femininity than ever. I am just getting started, friends. My 30's are going to be SO MUCH FUN.

Thanks for journeying with me. I've been blogging for 5 years now and this space has changed so much during that time. But I love this corner of the Internet (it's my favorite space!) and I hope that when you visit, you feel encouraged and inspired to be your best self. And to have fun. Here's to turning 30 and to getting ever better with time!

Kissing Summer Goodbye.

There is something so kind about summer. It feels like the season where anything goes, where you can be a bit messy and it won't judge you for it. You can mix up your calendar dates, spill a popsicle, forget to pack sunscreen, and Summer just smiles big and tells you to put your feet up. Summer is that friend that spontaneously invites you over to the pool, makes you a cocktail without asking, shares a beach hat and bug spray so you can stay outside longer and have a few more laughs. Summer is that good old friend, the one you don't have to explain your life to, the one who just gets you. The one who says, "Come as you are and stay longer than you planned."

It's hard saying goodbye to summer. But that's the thing that makes summer so deliciously sticky-sweet - we say goodbye so we can always have it to look forward to. Labor Day has come and gone, and even though the warmth will linger here in the south, summer will be kissing us goodbye very soon.

I guess it's time to start making that Fall bucket list, friends. After I have perhaps one more watermelon mint lemonade ;)