Joy

we live in a consumerist world where more is merrier and big is better...

we believe happiness is all about the glimmer and the glamour, the excitement and the thrills...

people seem to jump from one sensation to the next in search of joy...happiness...

from shopping to clubbing, parties and vacations, we seem to never get enough of them...

but are we R E A L L Y happy with what we have?

have our activities brought us joy.....or is all they brought to us fatigue and maybe even a plate of regret?

there is a problem in looking for joy in our possessions or frivolous activities....

you must ask yourself...when you wake up the next morning are the feelings of joy still there or do you have to go out and spend more money, take another vacation or hit up the next club???

i think it is a known fact that worldly things can never give us lasting happiness...but it's a matter of proving that ourselves......

so take a moment today.....look at everything you have in life...and out of ALL of those things...what brings you the most joy?

is it your car...your expensive jewelry.....your fancy house???

or is it something else???

the giggle of your children....

the sticky and sometimes wet kisses placed upon your cheek from those children.....

hearing your husbands voice on the phone or the missing of the touch of his hand on your hand....

your true friends and your family who have been there through all of your trials and tribulations....

what brings joy to your life????


at the end of the day....when the too expensive car is parked and the make-up is wiped away and the jewelry is taken off and the clothes that cost WAY more than they were worth are all put away.....what brings you joy.....


for me...it's my family....you can take away all of my world possessions and leave me with the clothes on my back...but my children are forever mine....

at the end of the day....they are what bring my joy that is nothing but pure

they are what i live and breath for....they are my everything.....and this is what I must remember each and every day.....

that joy comes from them...and my husband...and my family....not from the possessions that are in my life....


sure the other "stuff" is nice...but maybe we should spend a little less time in indulgence and a little more time in remembering where real honest to God joy comes from!!

Have a Beautiful Monday

~R~

oh.....and I must announce the winner of the impromptu giveaway yesterday.....Amy Hanson Lane....you got it girly!!! Congrats to you!!! Email me at rebecca_murray2006@yahoo.com so we can get the specifics worked out!

thank you to all who participated! make sure to stay tuned and check back daily to see what else I have up my sleeve!!!

Pay It Forward

recently I have read a few different blog posts which cause my heart and my soul such sadness...you know, the sadness that just hits you so deep that it really makes you look at just how lucky you really are?

we do not have millions of dollars in the bank....can't afford to buy Prada or Gucci...

we do not drive fancy cars or live in a huge house......

we do not have the latest technological gadgets....I still do not have Internet access on my phone....

we can not afford to take extravagant vacations or go traipsing across the country...

my husband is thousands of miles away from us and i am raising our children alone....

BUT.......

we have enough money to put food on the table, clothes on our backs and stick a little money away for a rainy day.....

we have two vehicles that run and get us to where we need to go and we have a roof over our heads and a place that we find comfort and safety....

we have many modern conveniences such as computers, cell phones, a home phone, cable and even a GPS which is a blessing for me as I am the most directionally challenged person you will EVER meet.....

we have been blessed enough to take many mini vacations over the past few years and we were even able to take the girls to Disney this past summer.....

i am fortunate to have a wonderful husband who is an amazing father to our two girls and even though he is what seems like light years away, he is present in our hearts and our minds.....

we have our health...even though i found out i had skin cancer this past May it was removed and I am in remission....Avery had her tonsils out due to chronic strep throat, enlarged tonsils and horrible sore throats....Colby has had a few issues with his back....but we are alive and we have the means to seek medical attention when it is needed......

we are blessed.....we are alive and well and what may seem like some of our very worst days could be considered to be anothers best day....

i was recently reading somewhere that a small business owner is "paying it forward" by donating her time and her product to children that are suffering....children who most likely will not see their adult years.....children who will suffer more than most adults will ever or can ever fathom....

i am blessed to have to beautiful, healthy girls...to have my health...for my husband to have his health....for my parents and siblings to be strong and healthy and thriving.....

i can not begin to conceptualize what it would be like to have a sick child, one who is in perpetual pain and suffering....

so after reflecting over the past 24 hours I have decided that I too am going to "pay it forward"!

i may not be able to give to everyone but I will do my best to give as much as humanly possible....

i would love to put a little delight in a child's life....i ask for nothing in return....

so if you know a little Hot Tot that needs a little special something special that might brighten their day or put a little smile on their faces please email me their story at rebecca_murray2006@yahoo.com.... i will do my best to do as much as i can....it's time for me to "pay it forward"

(please note...I am donating to a specific child...it will be one of my many items...I am not donating cash or items for craft fairs, etc.....I want to send something to a specific child that is going through a hard time...i have been contacted by several people asking me to donate money or clothing items for craft shows...that is not what this is about...this is about putting a smile on a specific childs face....giving an individual something special..something for them to open up and to hold and have and know it was made especially for them...if this offends, I apolgize but this is how I am going to pay it forward)

Happy Friday Beautiful Friends

~R~

12 Things.....

to give up for just ONE day......

1. The headphones I see so many people walking around with.....wow...is that really what a bird sounds like????

2. Those wobbly heels....the full-body Spanx....the bag big enough to hold a small child....and anything else that you wear that hurts!!!

3. Being so sumperwoman-y that you forget to even taste the lunch you are supposed to be eating but doing 10 million other things at the exact same time so you don't even remember that you ate the lunch that you didn't even get the chance to taste!!

4. Saying "yes" when you are really feeling "no"....

5. Slouching.....also wallowing in your own goings on....there are so many more people out there that have it worse than you do....

6. Texting.....isn't it really nice to hear a voice on the other side of a conversation as opposed to that little ring tone you have set up especially for texts????

7. Your fear..be it flying, sailing, driving, public speaking, worms (that's my own personal phobia..worms..Y U C K)....just take a deep breath and do something amazing!

8. Processed foods....just to prove that you can...because really...who doesn't love a lil' something greasy from time to time???

9. Procrastinating....and no, you may not put that off until next month!!! :)

10. Rolling your eyes...difficult for many, myself included, but EXTREMELY effective!!!

11. Emailing....send a letter...an honest to God, old fashioned, hand written letter to your parents, your hubby, whom ever.....it's an amazing feeling to get an actual letter in the mail these days....actually quite euphoric!

12. Negativity....for one day try to remain positive and upbeat and optimistic about anything and everything that happens....you will be amazed at how you feel at the end of the day!

Not that these pictures have anything at all to do with this post...but I just wanted to share my little Divas at the hair salon yesterday after school.....

Adilyn was a R I O T....seriously....

she ALWAYS makes her Big Sister go first at anything and everything that could be perceived as scary.....you know...it's the fear of the unknown.....

yesterday...that lil' girl made it a point to go first...my beautiful mess of a girl is starting to come out of her shell!!!

And of course Avery was in heaven getting pampered...this was not their first hair cut but it was their first time getting a shampoo...

you should have heard the giggles that emanated from my girls....

the room was full of happiness that most of the time can only come from innocence....
my heart melts when i hear my babies giggling....

Have a Beautiful Thursday My Dear Friends

~R~

I also realized that I did not post the winner of the Ruffle Bum skirt....so the winner is Lauren Gibbs....you have 24 hours to email me to discuss the details of your Ruffle Bum skirt! Congrats to you!!!!

Did I hear......G I V E A W A Y?!?!?!?!?!

Obviously Jack Frost DID NOT get my message from the other day.....

he continues to haunt me with his bleak days.....

his never ending cycle of snowing, icing, sleeting mess...

his bone chilling cold that I just can't shake.....

his love for watching me scrape my windsheild EVERY morning for the past few months....

oh Jack Frost....it's time for you to hang it up....so I've got something to help him out!!!

After contemplating what I wanted to see happen with Hot Tots Boutique this year I decided on expanding to offer more couture high end items.....

I want to offer an array of different and unique peices that are sure to WOW all of my current clients and hopefully bring in a few new ones.....

So Hot Tots Boutique has a new line for 2011!!!

How exciting is that?!?!?! Pretty darn exciting if I do say so myself!

What's this new line you ask????

Well, I will tell you!!!

I would like to introduce you to the Lillian Grace Collection....

This line will have high end fabrics and unique and creative designs....

Great color combinations and flowing designs....

and always HIGH quality workmanship!!!

So....tonight....I am offering one very lucky reader the chance to win the very first item in the Lillian Grace collection!!!

This skirt is my Lillian Grace Ruffle Bum Skirt.....

How gorgeous is this skirt????

Layers and layers and LAYERS of ruffles....flirty and fun is just what this peice is!

This skirt is not yet listed on my website but will be in the next few weeks....this skirt will be selling for $28.99.

I am so excited to reveal all of what I have in store for HTB this year and I think all of you are going to be pleased.....at least I hope you will!

So....ready to get entered to win this skirt??? Here's how!

1. Become a subscriber to my blog....make sure to enter your email address in the little box to become a subscriber!

2. Become a fan on my face book page if you aren't already!

3. Sign up to get emails on my website!

4. Tell me what you like best about the ruffle bum skirt!!!

Make sure to leave a comment on this post that you have completed the above 4 items to get entered into this giveaway!

Giveaway will close one week from today and the winner will be announced through a blog entry!

Good luck to everyone and you can all tell Jack Frost to go back to where he came from!!!

Happy Hump Day Wonderful Readers!

~R~

I'm Over You!

Oh Winter....I am SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO over YOU!!!

You make my skin so dry it cracks and bleeds....

You make my hair so dull and lifeless that no amount of TLC can bring back it's luster.....

You make such a mess...it's either snow tracks in the house or mud made from the reminence of the melted snow.....

You bring so many gloomy...dreary...drab...bleak...dismal...days....days where it is often a chore to rip myself from the warm comfort of my cozy bed...

You keep us housebound...cooped up in our home like prisoners of the season....

I'm over you....I long for the new life of Spring....

I yearn to smell the crisp cool mornings of a Spring day...

I long to see the new foliage that only Spring can promise....

I ache to feel the warm sun on my face as it pours through my windows......

I crave the days in the park and the exploring in the back yard with my Divas....

Oh Spring...where are you...can you hear me beckoning your arrival?????

So here's to Spring....we know you're around the corner....come out come out and play!!

I thought I would share this picture with you.....ahhhh...makes me long for Spring!

Happy Monday Dear Readers!

~R~

It's O.K......

...to spend that rare beautiful sunny winter day.....in bed. Enjoy the warmth of the sun on your face as it streams through your window!

...not to google your husband or friends.....someone once said, "Cinderella did not google Prince Charming!"

...to love your $4.99 pleather wallet just as much as your $499 designer purse!!!

.....to laugh so hard that you cry (literally having streams of tears running down your cheeks) and to laugh at yourself when you cry!!

...to declare a personal moratorium on movies about pregnancy, babies, people who inherit babies, etc.......seeing it just makes me want one even more which is absolutely impossible at this time...

...not to know the names of your favorite restaurants. "The Mexican place by the road near the thing" works just fine.

...to call your guy "baby" or "boo" but expect that he N E V E R act like one!

.....if your iPod is full of singers who were born in the 1990's. What? No need for age discrimination!!!

....if your hometown accent comes out only when you are sad, angry, excited, or maybe if you had one too many "mommy drinks"

....to not be perfect....to know that as long as you do your best at everything you do IT's OK that it or you are not perfect!!!

And of course I will leave you with a fer pictures of my girls being...well my girls!!! Check out Adilyn....what is up with that face?!?!?!!?

Happy Hump Day My Dear Sweet Readers

~R~