mom blog – stay at home drama

deck the halls on a budget!

I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE this time of year. Even thought I don’t want to talk about it ’til after turkey day, I truly can’t wait to BREAK OUT all of my red and green. From the tree to the candles, I’ll show you OVER 10 ways to hack your Christmas decorating for easy, cheap festivity! Really, when you have flowers, mason jars, garland and ribbon–the possibilities are endless. (Until a kid comes along to destroy something-duh.)

Jazz up your flower vase or old wine jug this season. Let’s start with wrapping paper! I’m sure you have some leftover from last year (like me)–but if not, grab a roll that’ll match your other décor and some scissors. This year, I’m using old wine jugs I have to hold my centerpiece flowers. This is SO easy. I cut enough wrapping paper to wrap around the bottle and cover the label. I scalloped the edges and added one piece of tape (hidden) to secure it.

Are you kidding me? So cute. Also–get your flowers at Trader Joe’s! I did 6 vases full of greenery and red/white flowers for only $18!

Do you have pretty pillows that are just NOT as festive as you’d like? PROBLEM SOLVED PEEPS. The trick is RIBBON!

Tie a bow of holiday ribbon around your decorative pillow for a simple, easy way to kick it up for the holidays. Don’t worry, your kids will notice the bow and try chewing/ripping it off! (Sigh). GET YOUR RIBBON ON SALE! I grabbed all of my ribbon at Michael’s for 70% off a week ago!! Totally worth it to download the Michael’s and Joann app, because between their 50% off a regular item coupons, and weekly ads– you save a ton. So this way, when you buy a REDONCULOUS amount of red and green sparkly items you don’t get in trouble. Ha.

Easy and adorable. Plop a small decorative tree into a mason jar and top with a ribbon bow. Done! If you put them on a window sill, the natural light goes right through the glass jar, and at night move them over to a table or counter top!

Use what you already have to jazz up a window. Everyone has mason jars–right?? (And if you listened to me and downloaded the apps-you’ll have the trees and ribbon too, super cheap–off a coupon) My trees are a few years old, but I’ve seen them on their shelves this year again! You can do SO much with ribbon. Besides top off your wrapped boxes, of course.

The mason jar strikes again! Use what you have, and add ribbon! We had mason jars and pillars-add a ribbon bow and a votive to instantly bring the look into the season!

Check end of season sales. I bought this GORGEOUS velvet paisley holiday pillow last year at Homegoods marked from $39.99 to $18! I brought it out to add a pop of red to my living room this year.

Use LED lights ONLY outside to save some dough on the good old DECEMBER electric bill. I bought these colored LED’s after Christmas last year and the white LED’s at Home Depot on Black Friday this year! Both were $15-18 a box and were purchased $2.50-5.88 a box. Thumbs upppppp. I’m not a huge colored light fan, but mixed with the white- I’m lovin’ it. See those pumpkins of the step? They’re getting spray painted white and turned into a snowman. Wait for it.
$3 believe banner at target is adorable hanging right over where Santa shows up! Even the grinch has an extra 3 bucks. Cheaper to buy this one, than to make it! Right at the front of the store with the other $1, and $5 treasures.

Sending Christmas Cards? GROUPON! We have done Staples these last 3 years. This year, we paid $24 for 75 cards! Huge savings, and they come out great. Loads of design choices, too. Outside the fact that the website was glitchy last night, we’ll be sending ours soon!

Ollie’s silly festive shirt was $3 at old navy! They had loads of their holiday looking clothing on sale for 50% off. Penels shirt was $5!

Switch out the items on an accent wall. I threw some lights and ribbon on this artificial tree we’ve had, stuck it in a basket and it looks great plopped on my hope chest. Replaced a turkey picture, with a snowman picture, and added some berry twigs to my wreath. (Berry twigs were $0.59 at Michael’s, too!) Filled the basket with the kids Christmas books, and we’re good!

Check TJ MAXX for matching sibling JAMMIES! Got these there for $7.99 and 9.99 regular price, and they are almost EXACTLY one of this years “Hanna” styles!

Make your antique crates shine this season!

No corner left behind. I needed something for this area of the dining room, so I added a string of lights to the inside of my vintage crates. Now they glow. Friggan cuteness. Simple and elegant!

Take your own pictures of your kids for the Christmas card. They’ll come out perfect and everyone will be looking and smiling. 🙄

Have toddlers who are nosing around the gifts under the tree? Fake them! Put giftbags out with white tissue under the tree and put the real gifts for people in the back, so if they open one of the pretend gifts–or pull the tissue out, it’s no biggy!

These are last years bag, and lacking tissue because I just bought it last night!

If you have extra ornaments throw them into a few wide cylinder VaseS to add some color around the room!

More hacks?! If you had your tree cut down this year, or ever tagged one-have them chop a little more off of the bottom when you pick it up and now you’ve got REAL material for homemade wreaths and garlands!

Layer your tablecloths! Red under, lace over!

Christmas Cards by the dozens? Buy an old shutter at a yard sale or consignment shop and flip it upside down, hang it and stick all of your cards in the slits! (No picture yet because I’m still on the hunt for a shutter!)

This mirror swag is brought to you buy 60% off garland at Jo-Ann’s AND 60% of Berry twigs! Instant elegance!

Use a festive coffee mug to hold your window plants!! Easy stuff guys! Let me know what ideas you like best! 🎄🎅🏼👍🏼

December 8, 2016December 8, 2016 by StayAtHomeDrama Categories: Cheap Crafts, christmas, Decorating on a budget, DIY, DIY décor, Holiday fun, Kid Friendly, mom blog, UncategorizedTags: ball canning, blogger, christmas time, DIY, diy christmas, DIY décor, flowers, holiday decor, holidays, homegoods, mason jars, mom blog, Target, tj maxx, trader joe's 1 Comment

Halloween Recap.

So far today, I’ve eaten 2 “fun size” milky ways and a Halloween cupcake. #winning. I see why they call them fun size– you can shove the whole thing in your mouth in one shot, and continue to do so every time you pass the bowl. My kids got so much candy, it’s crazy. I wanted to re-cap Halloween for everyone, because we had a blast. It was Ollie’s first attempt at trick-or-treating and he learned the words “tan-choo” {thank you} just in time to receive free candy…and act grateful of course!

We dressed the little goon up as a celtics player {although he’s wearing Rondo’s jersey, he’s more of a Larry Bird} because he’s obsessed with basketballs. “Backetbaw” as he says. We figured it’d be a perfect costume for the sports fan–and WARM for his little bod. He loved strolling around the neighborhood in the wagon, with his POP!

You can just hear the ‘jingle’ with this one coming at ya! After talking her out of being the JOKER for Halloween, she chose the WWOW. Wicked Witch of the West. Next best thing, I’m guessing?! Nothing “princess” for this peach. She actually saw a 50-something year old guy dressed as the joker while trick-or-treating and went right up to him, saying “did you know DAT I was GUNNA be duh JOKA raw Halloween n’ my mom said no!” {we were shocked that she, A. Wasn’t afraid of this man, and B. Still not over the fact that we didn’t want her being a serial killer for Halloween. She stayed in character all night as the witch though, with her tricycle–and evil brows of course, and she really enjoyed herself. The legs got tired after pedaling to 4 houses so she ditched the wheels for daddy’s hand about 20 minutes into trick or treating, and returned the tricycle to the truck. My sister/brother in law have the best trick-or-treat neighborhood for the little ones, and decorated their house and yard for all of the trick-or-treaters they’d be getting. Lights, creepy sounds, a video projector showing ghosts dancing, skeletons, and fog–totally into it–and festive.

I was asked to bring my guacamole to my sister in laws for our trick or treat night, so OF COURSE I had to give it a face. My aunt taught me a little trick about adding some crumbled feta into my guacamole and I must confess, I do it every time now! Yum. It’s the perfect amount of that salty goodness to the dip.

Want to make it? Simple and DELISH! 2 large ripe Florida avocados chopped into small squares {they’re about double the size of hass avocados and are also a little cheaper these days}, one small red onion chopped small, about ten-fifteen cherry tomatoes –chopped, 3/4 cup or so of crumbled feta, juice of one lime, salt/pepper/garlic powder/parsley to taste. I save the pit to stick in the center of my dip to keep the guac green. Mix it all up and use multigrain scoops to “dunk”. YUM.

I asked Penelope what she thought I was being for halloween with my face paint on– and she said “a cow and a bee togetha ” so there ya have it. MOOOO-BZZZZ

The Sunday before Halloween we went to the walk-about in Bristol where the kids trick or treated at all the local shops! Couldn’t make it to Bristol and not stop into Auntie Andi’s salon, where Penel ‘took one for the team’ and helped pass the candy out!

Auntie Andi was in full spirit with her “teddy bear” gear and Ashley was a lion! very cute. Penelope was the hired help, clearly!

It was a huge hit and there were TONS of kids. A lot of parents dressed up too. I’m thinking it’ll be a tradition for us! We also did the East Greenwich costume parade and all of their Halloween festivities Saturday. Penelope was the wicked witch, Ollie was Cookie Monster, and I was hungry and thirsty, per usual.

this was their get-up for the East Greenwich downtown trick-or-treat event!

Even though it was a crazy busy weekend, we really enjoyed it! Saturday-East Greenwich Halloween day, Sunday–Bristol walkabout and Monday–HALLOWEEN night! Lots of fun for the kiddies and great time spent with friends and cousins! Penelope really enjoyed Halloween this year, and Ollie got shoved in a wagon with a tootsie pop to keep him still. HA! Fun times. Just realized I recapped that BACKWARDS for you. Figure that one out! See ya soon🎃

GUESS WHAT SONG WE SANG WHEN SHE FELL ASLEEP?!? 😂

Just a bee staring across the water. Loved this shot. Couldn’t resist it, although a little nervous with her laying so close to the edge–the sunset, combined with her position of the legs, was perfect. Bristol Bay. So pretty!

November 3, 2016November 3, 2016 by StayAtHomeDrama Categories: food, Halloween, Kid Friendly, mom blog, sahm, toddler, UncategorizedTags: bristol, bumble bee, candy, cookie monster, cranston, east greenwich, family fun, Halloween, halloween weekend, mom blog, recap, ri mom, trick or treat, wicked witch of the west 1 Comment

Want want want.

It’s funny how “wants” and “needs” change from your early KIDLESS twenties, to your last year in them when you’re married with two toddlers. I can remember wanting/”NEEDING” Coach bags, phone covers, high heels, etc. for my birthdays as a teenager and an early twenty something, and to go to fun bars in Providence with our friends and family to celebrate {while of course wearing all GREEN, since I’m a St. Pattys day baby}. After two kids, and a marriage of almost 4 years, my list is totally different, and so are my “wants”. I mean now, as a Mom, I just NEED to drink coffee AND wine daily to be kind to the other humans living in my home, and I WANT to have good-listening-little-soldier-robot-children who clean up after themselves, cook me dinner, and get along.

Above is a sign from our good friends wedding. It perfectly describes the things I’ve always done on my birthday–at least from ages 2-29. That.. I hope, will never change! Let me rewind a second. I used to shake my Bon-Bon to JA RULE and Puff Daddy & the family {whoever they are} and now I’m just boppin’ around to the theme song for Peppa Pig! #bringbackthegangstaRAP

Seriously though, I’ll be hittin’ the BIG 3-0 in March, and I have to say-I’m excited. I’m not one of those people who’s feeling “old”like folks say happens when you hit 30–unless it rains, then my back and knees ache, and I put on an extra layer. Not feeling tired at all lately–unless you count 5/7 days where I could 100% sleep from 7P-10A if “they” let me. Definitely NOT a grumpy person either–legit act like I’m PMS’ing every other day. –AND, I’m tttooootttttaaalllyyy calm now. “WHERE THE F%@$ ARE MY KEYS, WE’RE LATE!!!” Sigh, still young. Thank god. Don’t know what these people are talking about when they refer to this “old” Bologna.

My husband asked me a few weeks ago if I would rather have a party for my thirtieth birthday or go away somewhere. After some thought, I had a few questions. Because I am who I am, I said–“well, who’s coming with us on vacation?! We will bore each other after a few days.” He smiled, annnnd told me I was rude. Next, I wanted to know where we were going… because I’ll either need new bikinis OR thick socks for the Swiss alps. Lastly, darling dearest… HOW LONG WE TALKIN’? Cause I run this ship–and need to get babysitters booked. Long story short –my chances of Hawaii alone don’t look too good after my sarcastic remarks. Shucks.

What do women want when they turn thirty? Material things, of course! You know, like earplugs, wine, and sneakers! Maybe I’m kidding about the earplugs–the kids would find me no matter what requests I ignore. HOWEVER, I’ve come to love sneakers, considering chasing a child in heels ain’t happenin’ these days, and I’ve become a gym rat, too. Besides, with so many cute styles of sneakers and booties to chose from, who needs heels? AND Kim Crawford…who doesn’t love that broad? She’s a little more expensive than her friend Oyster Bay–but she’s a sure fire hit on the weekends. Much like myself.

I also want an apron. Is that goofy? I love to cook, so I told him I wanted a new knife set and a apron for my birthday. Never in all my 29 years did I think I’d want either of those items as a gift. My parents brought a knife set over the other day, so I’m all set there. I want wine and snacks, too. Like, honey–dump me off at trader joe’s fabulous CHEESE area, and let me HAVE AT IT. No limits. Let me pick out 8 different kinds, and don’t ask for some when we get home. ‘Cause it’s my birthday. For my thirstieth—that was an honest to goodness typo BUT I’m leaving it–birthday you can stick me in the NEWLY CLEANED garage with a bottle of Kim Crawford and a pile of cheese, in my new apron…with the earplugs in. Done.

ill show you how to make these for the next football game! {balsamic chicken caprese salad}

Hang on. Not done. Next, I’ll take a target credit card with no limit, endless chachskies from homegoods, and a jar of pickled eggs. Raise your hand if you love pickled eggs! –just my family? Ok, nevermind. Honestly–hold off on the eggs. I can make them myself. My entire kitchen will smell like one big fart, everyone will blame me, and I’ll bring those into the garage, too.

Side note: I ran to TJ Maxx this morning with Ollie after dropping Penelope off at school, and snooped around for some early christmas shopping. FRIENDS– it’s really worth it to check Homegoods for brands like Melissa & Doug, Play-Doh, Disney, Marvel, etc., because you can save! Ollie and I didn’t do too much damage, but I did score some matching jammies super cheap for the kids Christmas card this year. Add jammies to my list. Onesie pajamas. No shame here! All about fleece/one-piece items. Sweaters. I’ll take a few oversized droopy ones that I can bury myself in with leggings and scarves. ALL WINTER.

Let me sum that all up for you!

Final list: Wine, cheese, sneakers, ear-plugs, a one way ticket to Hawaii, pickled eggs, big sweaters, onesie pajamas, a credit card, a robot vacuum (just for under Ollie’s high chair at each meal), military style children, an apron, and big boobs.

Happy Monday, y’all!

October 24, 2016 by StayAtHomeDrama Categories: mom blog, Uncategorized 1 Comment

make stew, not war.

The mornings are chilly and the nights are getting cold, this means several things. ONE, the toilet seat is freezing when you wake up to pee, TWO–I’m STILL not switching to hot coffee, and THREE, It’s SOOOO annoying to change a poop diaper on a kid dressed in multiple layers. HA! OKAY, four. It’s time for “fall” food! For football Sunday, we decided to make a ground turkey vegetable stew. By “we” I mean ME. My hubby had the idea. As long as I played my part, as the ‘complaining chef’. Long story short, It was delish and could’ve fed an army! Want to know how I made it? GOOD! Here ya go.

fall flowers, fall soup …almost fall on the floor when you burn your entire mouth trying to be the first one to TRY it.

Go to the store and buy alllllll of this…

2 white or yellow onions, LOAD of garlic, portobello mushrooms, 2 small zucchini, bag of large carrots, 2 cartons of chicken/vegetable stock (whichever), bag of kale (use as much or as little as you’d like), 6-8 green onions, 5-7 celery stalks, 3 large cans of petite diced tomatoes, 1 small can of tomatoe paste, 3lbs of ground turkey, salt, pepper, fresh parsley, garlic powder, onion powder, Worcestershire sauce, olive oil. a spoon. A bowl. Yes. Buy all of that. Brown rice or quinoa too, if you want that for a little carb in your soup! {we did!}

IT’S EASY, guys– just takes lots of chopping. {before you start cooking your meat, chop EVERYTHING up so you can just DUMP it into the pot as you go}…I didn’t do that, which was annoying–so you should! Just “guess-stimate” amounts of veggies. Or if it’s easier, use entire bags of what you bought!

you make me emotional, but i still love you.

We used a Dutch oven for the stew, then switched to a HUGE sauce pan since we overloaded the Dutch oven. Start with olive oil in your pan (if I had to measure–which I never, ever do–unless baking…I would say 4 teaspoons of olive oil.) and get it hot, your burner should be low-low medium and toss in the finely sliced or chopped garlic and 1 diced white onion. {you’re doing this so you can flavor and cook your ground turkey first} Save the other onion to add into the pot with the rest of the veggies. give those onions and garlic a few minutes and then PLOP in all 3 lbs of ground turkey. From the second you drop the meat into the pan, DO.NOT.STOP.CHOPPING/BREAKING UP.THE.MEAT. There’s really nothing more lovely than seeing those little “wormy” meat strings in the soup. Nope, nada, negative. Yuck. I used a metal spatula and just chopped away and kept that meat moving until just about fully done. (meat goes from a pink color to a gray and firms up) You’ll have crumbles, not blobs. PLEASE. I then seasoned the meat with sea salt, cracked black pepper, and a few dashes of worcestshire …like 4 or 5.

must keep chopping, must keep chopping, chopping chopping. gobble.

Looks pretty right? YOURS BETTER BE! 😜 NEXT: Take the entire can of tomatoe paste and incorporate {oooh fancy!} it into the meat and garlic/onion mixture. Add those three large cans of petite diced tomatoes, juice and all, and stir. Next take every single veggie you have so beautifully chopped beforehand–and add them all in! Lastly, add two cartons of whichever broth you chose and give it a good stir. Cover that baby and LET IT GO. Set your burner to low. You want a “SIMMA”. We let ours simmer happily for 3 hours and ate it after the game. If you’re a smart cook, you’ll have it perfectly timed for half-time. I’m not a smart cook.

ready! {this is a picture of the leftovers as you can see we ate about 2.5 inches of it} 😜

Since your meat is basically cooked when you add in those veggies, the stew will be ready to eat once all of your veggies are cooked, too. Season with more salt and pepper as you go! once everything was in the pot, I added onion powder, garlic powder, fresh parsley (15 leaves-ish?!) you don’t have to use fresh if you don’t want to! I made a super quick bag of Trader Joe’s organic instant brown rice for those of us who wanted to add some to the bowls!

we totally made mozzarella/provolone grilled cheese sandwiches in the cast iron, today–and used them as DUNKAROOS!

You can feed ATLEAST 10 friends on a Sunday with this. Or a Wednesday. Even a Tuesday–your friends will WANT to eat at your house. 6 of us ate it twice each and there’s still more left. You could totally freeze this too, in a freezer bag and thaw that sucker out for a few weeks down the road from now! It’s so friggan good the next day with a cast iron grilled cheese to dunk in it! Mmmmmhmmmm. We went there. BUT– it’s equally as yummy with or without the rice, too!

kids love these things. SO do Moms. I ate atleast 8. OINK.

my $3 lipstick matches my $3 trader joes flowers. HOW APPROPRIATE.

October 4, 2016October 4, 2016 by StayAtHomeDrama Categories: DIY, food, mom blog, sahm, Stew, Uncategorized 1 Comment

…and i quote…

WARNING: These are word-for-word conversations with my two year old.

photo 5-25 — hey guysh…have you sheen my shnorkel?

(Penelope –looking out the window at daddy on the tractor.)
“Daddy? …dad?? BRIAN MORSE…Get out of the street, the cars are comin!”
Mommy does a double take … wait… Did she just call her father by his first AND last name?! YUP. She totally did. In between halfway peeing my pants and dying laughing, I reminded her that she calls him “Daddy” and his friends call him Brian. She then reminded me that they also call him “Bri” and that mommy calls him “Bri” too… I caaannnn’t. I mean, really…I just can’t with this broad.

photo 1-44 — shortly after playing in the fish tank, she decided to become one.

The very SECOND I forget to latch the bathroom door in an attempt to keep her out of there, she sneaks in and takes the glade candle off the back of the toilet and asks to blow it out. I tell her to “make a wish” and she blows it out…with more spit than air. She looks at me with her pointer finger in the air and says “jusss one more time mommy–n’ thass it!” so, I re-light it and she blows it out again…
I ask her what she wished for and she looks up at me with a big smile and says “MORE CANDLES…HOORAY!” And commences the ‘happy birthday’ song. It’s ALWAYS daddy’s birthday. God forbid Mommy get some cake/and/or recognition of any kind around here. Also child–when you wish for things…how about a maid? How about a trip for mommy to go to Hawaii…alone..!? How about a trip for mommy to go ANYWHERE alone?! Never mind Dollar Tree birthday candles …just some ideas for next time.

photo 4-30 — cheapest bib ever… $1 bandana!

Mommy: Hey penel…Want to go to the new library soon ?
Penelope: Nope I’m good… I don’t!
Mommy: k…cool…

Mommy: We’re going to eat some kale and corn with your chicken nuggets for lunch today, k?
Penelope: oh OK so popcorn and mushrooms?
Mommy: yup-exactly.

Mommy: (yawn)
Penelope: We go get cawfee mommy?

“Tickle tickle yittle oyyeeeee” as she’s squeezing the very life out of his foot (pinky toe is purple at this point)

photo 3-36 — with toes like these, I’ll be climbin’ trees in no time.

While laying together in her bed for bedtime…“Mommy..ah you a monster?”
No penel… (even though I turn monster-ish when her nap is skipped–as does she)
“Oh…yeah… Just mommy right?!”

“Penelope–did you have fun at the party yesterday?”
Ya.
“What did you do at the party?”
“I hit kids mommy. It’s fun”
“Yes– you did hit kids, and that was very naughty. Hands are not for hitting.
“Oh…ya… It’s ok though, mommy…I be nice”

She’s over biting, which is great because mommy, daddy, and Ollie are no longer chew toys. HOWEVER, she’s moved on to pinching, scratching, hitting, and SQUEEZING. One step forward and 35 back right?? I fully blame my husband for letting her have bites of his whey protein bars and for allowing her to watch UFC. She’s becoming the hulk.

Her hugs are never soft, her squeezes are like a boa constrictor. …It’s really not okay, though–my kids a girl bully (we joke) and was beating boys (and girls) up in the bouncy house at the birthday party we had last weekend. As if I can run in and pull her out while she’s triangle choking her friend in the middle of the inflatable “octagon” … My child was actually pinning boys twice her age to the point of tears, then she would get up and walk away while shrugging her shoulders saying “he cryin’ mommy”.

photo 2-50 — this face almost always follows a naughty act.

Well gee, …I can’t imagine why he’s crying– (even though he was literally 4 years old and twice her size, I wanted to crawl in a hole as every parent is probably wondering what the frig goes on at Penelope’s house to make her wrestle like this) … The worst part is, she finds NOTHING WRONG with her actions, and makes a face like what’s his/her problem while she’s “submitting” them to the ground. As I’m yelling “LET GO OF HIM/HER” or “GET OFF OF HIM/HER” she’s looking around as if I don’t exist and laying horizontal over whatever victim struggles underneath her. She honestly thinks its funny to hug someone until they fall down to the ground and she lands on top of them. I joke now, and “it will pass” they say when I ask my mom/aunts for advice on controlling her rough-neck behavior. Well ladies, (and gentlemen) if it doesn’t “pass” …she’ll be in juvi and we can all go visit her there during the designated hours for doing so! Her random ROUGHNESS and sudden urges to squeeze or attack are much like a shark or venomous snake. Freakin’ great, I just compared my two year old daughter to not one—but TWO deadly animals, humans everywhere would be afraid to encounter. Here’s the thing…If she gets a reaction from a kid (whining, screaming) she treats it like a game where she antagonizes to keep on getting a good scream from the other kiddo…you remember from school…cause and effect! –Honest to God, though–she has a complete smile on her face the whole time she’s doing it. It could be an evil smile (most likely is) because she knows she’s being too rough–but it’s a smile! This usually goes on for a few rounds until, of course, she’s distracted by a jelly bean.

photo 1-46 — …after mauling several 2-4 year olds in the bouncy house, she found peace and tranquility in the arms of Elmo.

I swear it depends on the kids she’s with…funny story–we just had a play date today with 3 other 2 year old toddlers and not ONCE did I have to talk to her about hitting. She played great the entire time! …I don’t get the mind of a toddler. Do you?
As her parents, we are proud of her for the GOOD she does do (on occasion). She’s so smart in so many ways, she was chit chatting in full sentences before she turned two, uses manners, remembers what you tell her, learns to do things on the first or second time they’re done, loves to be outside, sing songs, help cook, etc. It’s just that she hugs SO HARD that she brings you to the ground. Literally. It never seems to be out of anger. It’s like playful squeeeeeezing–but in your FACE… And really hard. Hey she’s 2…she’ll learn… “They say”…

Ronda Rousey Jr. over here. Joking… She doesn’t actually watch UFC. Only commercials, if anything!…However, I AM still wondering how she gets such good form with that triangle choke she was performing in the bouncy house. Who knows… I keep telling her to squeeze her stuffed animals and pillows if she needs to squeeze something. I keep telling her that humans don’t seem to like her squeezing habits. We will see how long it takes for this phase to end…