Elijah the Sneaky Thief {+Saturday Favorites}

i’m feeling a bit overwhelmed this week to say the least.
{maybe that’s a post for another day…}
and to top off this really awesome week [sense:sarcasm]
Elijah had his first shoplifting experience yesterday.

(maybe i should’ve taken a picture for his baby book?
put it right next to “first time-out” and “first coloring on the walls”)

my friend and i took our kids to the mall to help them get their energy out as well as give ourselves a much needed mama break.
we were looking at Claire’s at their 10 for $10 deal [which, if you know me you know how i am a sucker for Claire’s sales. so lame, i know.] and Elijah was trying to grab all the sparkly things.
i was watching him closely and when he would grab something i would tell him no and put it back.
we soon left to go look at some other stores and were a few stores away when my friend looked down at Elijah and saw that he was holding some little pink, sparkly, stud earrings.

i could not believe it!
i swore i was paying attention to him and didn’t see him grab anything.
i realized he must’ve grabbed them as we were walking out since the earrings are at the front of the store.
i was so so SO embarrassed and terrified what they would do.
i literally had just read a sign they had in their store that said,
“WE PROSECUTE SHOP LIFTERS!”
what the heck would they do to me? to my baby??

thankfully my friend was really nice and calm about it, reassuring me that it has happened with her own daughter before and offered to go return the earrings for me since i was a big chicken.
[she didn’t call me a chicken. i just was a total chicken about it.]

i was so grateful i had my friend with me cause i’m pretty sure i would’ve had some sort of emotional breakdown if i was alone and had to face the employee.

so yeah… this week has been interesting.

hopefully the weekend can turn things around!

here’s some fun links to pick up anybody’s week!

i really want to learn how to coupon hardcore! these tips are a good starting point.

this pasta salad looks incredible. not to mention i’m starving right now.

love these tips for a new aunt & uncle and think they are great even for parents to remember!

these are such gorgeous family photos! love Christie’s work. {please take pictures for us :)}

WAY AWESOME Facebook fan appreciation giveaway happening right now!

these secret posts are so liberating. i love this idea.

this girl is inspirational and her mission is absolutely amazing!

i need this in my belly right now.
and this.
pronto!

this nursery has got to be the most gorgeous one i’ve ever seen. holy cuteness!

such a great idea for little girls!!

i wish i was this creative.

WhitSpeaks Giveaway

i’m really excited today to bring you a giveaway from WhitSpeaks!
Whitney is so kind and incredibly talented! 
she is currently going to school AND running her shop which always impresses me cause it’s not easy balancing school life and running a business.
but Whitney is able to find the time to still make beautiful products for others to enjoy!

Whitney has some absolutely gorgeous prints in her shop!
i love her fun style and bright colors in her prints.
they are so fun and would look great in any room of the house.

here are some of my favorite products from her shop:

1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6

it is all so cute!!

today, Whitney is giving away her Light Gray and Seafoam Abstract Flower print

 

enter with the widget below!

AND Whitney is generously giving all Mrs. Robinson readers
15% off all orders with the code ROBINSON!
just enter the code at checkout to get the discount.

you can find out more about Whitney’s shop here
plus check her out on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram

a Rafflecopter giveaway

easing my burden

for the last few weeks {maybe month}, Elijah has turned a whole new leaf.
a whole new crazy/insane leaf!

i don’t know what it is but if i thought the terrible twos stage was bad before it just kicked into overdrive.
i literally cannot take him anywhere without him screaming bloody murder the first 2 minutes we get there.
his tantrums have gotten worse & his endurance is stronger plus all of a sudden he has a new aggressive streak.
so basically i’m losing my mind every day.

[i have a point besides complaining about my two-year-old. i just want to set the stage for my story :)]

so with all this new craziness, and my ever-increasing brain melting-ness, imagine me taking this little boy to the health clinic before we moved so that i could get updated on my vaccinations.
yep. pretty much the worst. 

Adam was in class/working and i had no one to watch Elijah so i had to go by myself with him.
and if you ever been to the county health clinic you know that there’s lots of people & lots of paperwork, which feels utterly impossible to accomplish with a toddler.

at a couple of different points i thought i lost him cause he would run away from me {anxiety},
he made these little girls cry cause he kept stealing their toys,
and i missed my place in line cause i was tending to his tantrum which made the nurses [and other patients] give me the stink-eye and act like i was the worst, irresponsible person in the room.

i was basically at my breaking point.
but i had already invested so much time & energy in that waiting room that i didn’t want to leave,
not to mention i was going to have to come back some time so might as well get it over with.

right when i literally had tears in my eyes and was about to bury my head in my bag and let it out, i saw Elijah playing on the floor with a bunch of older boys.
they were about 7-12 years old and were all playing with those little tech deck skateboards.
i was watching them, waiting for Elijah to push their buttons too and yet it never came.
Elijah would take their toy, run away with it, and they would just go over to him nicely and show him how to play with it.
at one point, Elijah even accidentally broke one of the wheels and the oldest boy {who couldn’t be older than 12} said, “oh that’s okay! it’s not a big deal. besides, it’s my brother’s anyways.”

the older boy sat there for the longest time playing with Elijah.
he talked to him, asked him about his shoes, showed him how to make the skateboard flip, tried to help him count, helped him play with those wire maze toys that every doctor is legally bound to have in the waiting rooms, and even told me that Elijah looks exactly like me {which, if you know me is something i always want to hear!}.

i couldn’t believe how kind he was to this little two-year-old who was all about destroying anything and everything around him.
or how he took the time to help him when Elijah would get upset & start to throw a fit.
or how he was incredibly patient to teach Elijah new things or forgive him when he broke something.

this kid,
this pre-teen, 12-year-old kid who i’m sure is way too cool to hang out with a two-year-old,
took the time to show me and my son so much love that day.
right when i was seriously about to have a breakdown, this boy stepped up and helped ease my burden.
i couldn’t believe it, honestly.
i mean, what cool kid would do that?

while i was sitting there watching them play i again got tears in my eyes but this time out of joy.
i was just so SO grateful for this angel kid in the waiting room.
i was SO grateful to Heavenly Father for sending me someone to help me in a time of need.

motherhood is really hard.
life is really hard!
but i know i receive small blessings every day to help get me through.
whether it be through someone else’s kindness,
a 2-hour nap,
a sweet email from a friend,
or a Friends marathon on TV & Oreos,
i know that there are many things that help me with the hard days.

now if i can just remember all of them the next time i’m dealing with another tantrum…