1. Okay, tonight is Oscar night. Kind of a big deal to me. I love movies, if you haven’t figured that out yet. And, really, I thought everyone loved movies, but apparently my good friend Crist doesn’t like movies at all. I don’t even understand it.

But over the past few months, I have tried to see as many Best Picture Oscar nominees as possible. We saw Les Miserables, Lincoln, Zero Dark Thirty, Argo, Silver Linings Playbook, Life of Pi and Beasts of the Southern Wild. I didn’t get to see Amour and didn’t really want to see Django Unchained.

I’m also pretty pumped about the red carpet and going to a friend’s house to watch the red carpet.

2. Todd and I had a quick little getaway to Charleston on Thursday and Friday. He had to speak at the law school in Charleston on Friday morning, and I got to tag along for a couple of days. We really needed a night out of town. We rolled into Charleston on Thursday afternoon (about an hour and a half from where we live) and went to a reception. Then Todd and I went to eat at Magnolia’s.

We saw a couple get engaged and enjoyed meeting the pedi-cab drivers we had that night. (We always take a pedi-cab and love chatting with the drivers.)

Friday, Todd had to go speak on a panel. It was raining really hard, but I hung out in the room and slept later than I usually do. And then I watched Argo in the room. It was pretty much the perfect morning.

I piddled around a little bit after that, but the rain stifled the day’s plans of shopping a little bit. Todd and I headed back to Columbia around 4:00 in time to have dinner with his parents and Hudson and Hayes.

Hudson and Hayes had a fun 24 hours with their RC and PC while we were gone. And of course, I didn’t take pictures while we were gone.

3. We went to Jack’s fun football themed part yesterday morning, and the boys had the best time playing with so many friends. They all had eye black on to look like little football players.

4. Todd and Hudson left after church to go to the baseball game today. I’m so hoping that Hudson will love baseball as much as his daddy and I do!

5. I was a server with a couple of friends last night at the Sweetheart Banquet at church. It is such a great event that our church puts on every February. Todd and I weren’t able to attend on Friday night because we were in Charleston, but I was able to be a server for the Saturday night dinner. It is so well-organized and so much fun to meet all the couples.

I did slip down on a piece of melting ice on the gym floor. It was definitely embarrassing, but if you know me at all, it shouldn’t surprise you that this happened. If there is an opportunity for me to fall down, I’m going to take it. (I like to say I come by it honest from my mom!)

Are you excited about the Oscars tonight? Did y’all have a fun weekend?

We had a really fun, long weekend. I completely forgot that Monday was President’s Day until I glanced at the calendar on Sunday night and realized that the boys wouldn’t have school on Monday.

On Saturday morning, we went to breakfast with Todd’s parents. After breakfast, we took the boys to get haircuts. Hayes needed a serious haircut. His hair has been growing in the back and on the sides, but not in the front. So it was time to get him cleaned up a bit.

He was such a wiggle worm, as you can tell by the blurry picture. I don’t know how the girl managed to do such a great job with him moving around so much, but he ended up with a cute little haircut.

That day it rained and rained all day long. And we were supposed to get some kind of wintery mix. That was the day that I put the outfits together for yesterday’s guest post and on the way to my in-law’s house, it started hailing. I’ve never seen hail in such cold conditions. Then it turned to freezing rain and some areas of town got snow. It was a wild weather day.

That night, we took the boys to Target and then we went to Smashburger for the first time. We really liked it, and the boys actually ate their food. Do you have a Smashburger where you live?

On Sunday after church, we hosted some friends and their kids at the Gamecock baseball game. All of our friends have kids the same ages as our kids. Hudson was so excited and kept saying, “We’re going to the base-ketball game!”

We had Todd’s firm’s suite for the game, so the kids were able to run around in the suite and go outside to watch the game. The adults could supervise and watch the game. It was a really fun time for all of us!

I wanted to get a picture of all seven kids together, but that didn’t happen.

Hayes giving a hug to his best buddy, Jack

Hudson and his best buddy, John

After the baseball game on Sunday, a few of my girl friends and I got together to see Safe Haven. I had read the book back when I was pregnant with Hayes and loved the book. I loved that it was a great blend of romance, suspense, and a good Southern story. It isn’t the typical Nicholas Sparks book. (My favorite Nicholas Sparks books are The Guardian, The Lucky One, and Safe Haven, by the way, because of the suspense.)

Anyway, I really, really enjoyed the movie. There were a few differences between the book and the movie, but it had been so long since I read it, I didn’t notice many of the differences. And, of course, I cried and cried and cried.

Hudson’s “soccer season” starts next month, so we’ve been trying to teach him a little bit about the fundamentals of soccer. Or at least the whole “don’t touch the ball with your hands, only with your feet” part of soccer. We’re excited to see how he does playing with all of his friends.

Hayes has hated getting baths for as long as I can remember. And last night, he actually tolerated it for a while. As in he didn’t scream and cry for thirty minutes. I’m hoping he’ll come around and start enjoying it more as we get closer to the summer. He needs to be loving the swimming pool this summer!

But he was so sweet hanging out in his towel after his bath last night. Sweet little love bug. He looks like he’s 6 months old in this picture.

Another really big part of the weekend was the Downton Abbey season finale. And I’ve love to talk about it, but don’t want to spoil anything for my friends who haven’t seen it yet. But seriously? Just pure devastation!

Are you excited for baseball season?

Did you see Safe Haven?

Are you a Downton Abbey fan, and are you also devastated?

Every year, I have a strong tendency to buy something new and fall in love with it. I want to wear it every single day and find new ways to wear it. This year, it’s this waffle sweater. I absolutely love the color, the texture, and the fit. I’ve put together a few possible different ways to wear this sweater. It’s great for church, for running errands, or for a date night, just depending on the way it’s styled.

Because I have this tendency to love wearing the same thing over and over again, it’s important that I find a detergent that is gentle, gets the job done, and brightens.

The Tide Pods are just the thing for me. The Tide Pods are a detergent, stain remover, and brightener all in one–the only 3-chamber unit dose on the market. I love how easy they are to use! They are completely mess-free, so there’s no spilled detergent or messy cap.

Just one of the Tide Pods removes more stains that 6 caps of regular detergent. (Based on stain removal performance of one pac of Tide Pods vs. 6 doses of the leading liquid bargain brand base variant in a standard top loading machine.) And they protect the outfits I love and wear the most, keeping them bright, spotless, and comfortable. You can pop in a whole new kind of clean with Tide Pods!

Tell me about something in your wardrobe that’s versatile and provides 3-in-1 style. By leaving a comment, you’ll be entered for the chance to win a Visa gift card for $100. Pop In. Stand Out.

Rules

No duplicate comments. You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:

1. Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post.
2. Tweet (public message) about this promotion, including exactly the following unique term in your tweet message: “#SweepstakesEntry”; leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post.
3. Blog about this promotion, including a disclosure that you are receiving a sweepstakes entry in exchange for writing the blog post, and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post.
4. For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry.

This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older. Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected. The Official Rules are available here. This sweepstakes runs from 2/19/13 – 3/19/13. Be sure to visit the Tide Pods brand page on BlogHer.com where you can read other bloggers’ reviews and find more chances to win!

Hey, y’all!

Happy Monday morning to you.

Today I am super excited to be guest posting over at one of my favorite new blogs, Pinterest Told Me To. (Go over there and see what I put together)

Sheaffer is the adorable, creative genius behind Pinterest Told Me To. She pins outfit inspirations and recreates the outfits and blogs about them. And her outfits are ridiculously cute. (Be sure to follow her on Pinterest so you can see where she’s getting her inspiration!)

Aside from her fantastic blog, Sheaffer is just the sweetest person. She’s a boy mom, too, and she has a Golden Retriever, just like I do! She has a huge heart and is hilarious!

And she asked me to be the guest blogger today. I have to say that I was a little intimidated because I’m hardly a fashionista, but I had so much fun doing it!

I’ve spent a good bit of time going through Sheaffer’s blog archives. Some of my favorite posts are her hilarious and honest Bachelor recap posts called A Bachelorette Told Me To. You have to read these posts and follow along each week. These posts are the most hilarious Bachelor recaps I’ve ever seen!

And to see a little bit of Sheaffer’s style, look at this post. She’s so cute!

Okay, so go over there today, check out my post and try not to laugh!

*I ended up taking my pictures in a mirror at my in-laws house after I asked my father-in-law to take the pictures for me. And then I just felt like such a goober smiling and posing and trying to explain to him why I needed this done. Blogging is so weird sometimes. But so fun!

*Don’t forget to follow Sheaffer on Pinterest, and while you’re at it, follow me, too, as I pin new home ideas!