Ri Ri

This is Ari. I call her Ri Ri. She's feeling pretty with her busted pearl necklace.

She is a firecracker, even at the tender age of 14 months. Her fav words are: daddy, pree (pretty), doggy, more, wow, cool, dank do (thank you), owl, and bottle. 

When she's not in the middle of one of her epic meltdowns, she enjoys dragging lovey's around, retaliating against her big brother, putting things around her neck, and booking it up the stairs before getting caught. 

Ari keeps me on my toes (and my feet) all day. Literally. I rarely sit down. But it's okay, I appreciate the cardio and the upper body workout I get from carrying her around 60% of the day.

Yes, this one makes me tremble in fear, at the very thought of her teenage years. 

I love her as much as it's possible to love another human. She has my heart.

Hello. My name is Crystal, and I love a good cupcake.

I'll be honest, I have no idea what I'm doing.

I'm a hot mess, who tries pretty hard to pretend that I have the slightest idea has to what I am doing as a wife, mother, blogger, fashionista and foodie. Actually, I know exactly what I'm doing when it comes to the eating. Gosh, I love food. The steady, gradual increase of inches around my waist and thighs are proof that I have a real love affair with eating. I'm not ready to admit that this is an actual problem, though. Who knows, in a year from now, I'll announce that I am a food addict. 

For now, I'm just claiming that I am a foodie(denial?). 

Obviously, I get a bit distracted when eating is the topic, because this blog of mine is not really a "foodie blog". However, like I mentioned at the beginning of the post, I don't really know what direction I'm heading, here. 

I do know this; this blog is just something that I need/want to do at this point in my life. I have a love and passion for being a stay-at-home mom, and trust me, this has not always been the case, and I will absolutely go into more detail on that on my blog. Other passions, have not been easy for me to pinpoint. Like a lot of mom's, I allowed myself to get lost in my daily responsibilities, and forgot all about who I am.  

I also love running (so much), cooking, finding new places to eat with my fam, baking alone or with my mini sous chef, Jack, and fashion. These are all part of my day to life, and I would love nothing more than to share my journey, photos, and experiences with all who choose to follow and who can relate. 

One more defining thing about me, something that has shaped me as a person, mother, daughter, wife and friend, is that I am an addict in recovery. This path in my life has lead me to a self-discovery that I would have never known, had I not been down the devastating road of addiction. I am happy to be sober today. I am happy to know that God is real, and that I have the opportunity to live each day with a clear mind, and be the person who I always wanted to become. 

Grab a cupcake, and Diet Coke(cause, that's how I roll), sit down and enjoy the moment. 

Welcome to my blog.