Author: Big Mama

Well unless this is your first visit to my blog, I think you probably already know that I faced some disappointment on Saturday afternoon. And I guess I take a little bit of solace in the fact that so did a lot of other fans of what were formerly known as Top 10 ranked college football teams.

So here’s a top ten list of all the reasons I was able to look on the bright side in spite of the Aggies getting flat whipped by Mississippi State.

1. My friend Sophie loves Mississippi State like I love the Aggies and her birthday was Friday and so the win worked out as a nice gift for her. Not that I would have chosen it necessarily, but BRIGHT SIDE. Next year I’d prefer to get her a nice pair of earrings instead.

2. It wasn’t a close game. I don’t know why this makes it easier for me, but I would have been far more devastated had we had a shot of winning. We didn’t. Rumor has it you have to catch the ball to score points in the game of American football.

3. P, Caroline and I watched the game over at Gulley’s house and Gulley and I did indeed get our brunch on. Truth be told, our brunch was the real winner on Saturday.

4. Now that Aggies have lost their first game, I’ll be able to watch the rest of the season with my blood pressure slightly lower. It’s like a healthy reset of my great expectations.

5. After the game, Caroline had a soccer game and two of her favorite fans came to cheer her on.

6. She scored the game-winning goal at the game and I was happy that at least one of my teams won that day.

7. Her team had another game on Sunday afternoon and they won that one as well. And she scored another goal.

8. Gulley and I are headed to College Station on Friday afternoon to watch the Aggies play Ole Miss on Saturday. And they’ve moved the cannon back into Kyle Field where it belongs.

9. ESPN announced an 8:00 p.m. kickoff time for the game and we do love a night game at Kyle Field. However, Mamaw here will probably need an afternoon nap and some caffeine to ensure I cheer to my maximum ability.

10. It’s only October, there are still plenty of good football times to be had and this past weekend proved anything can happen.

11. I know I said it was a top ten list, but it’s mine and I can add an eleventh thing. Today is P’s birthday. And I’m so thankful for him because he never fails to make life brighter and definitely more fun.

Hope y’all had a good weekend.

This is going to be quick today but here are a few things I found this week.

1. ruffleback anorak

This has the best ruffle detail on the back and would be a perfect lightweight jacket to transition into fall. It’s on sale for $99.95. I like it because it’s like a military jacket but with a feminine flair.

2. wellyprint rain boots

Speaking of feminine, how much would you wish for a rainy day if you could wear these?

3. kaitlyn maternity wrap dress

Several people have asked me about maternity clothing and I can honestly say that’s a clothing type I never think about it anymore. But then I saw this dress on the Nordstrom website and thought it would be perfect if you happen to be pregnant. It also comes in green, but I love the magenta.

4. free people lace trapeze slip dress

I love these slip dresses because they’re great layered over and under things. They happen to be 20% off right now in black, white and sequoia which is a fancy word for tan.

5. ecote mixed textured striped maxi cardigan

This is the kind of thing that’s my weakness. Love the colors.

6. airport greeting cardigan

This would be such a great thing to dress up or down during the winter. It would look equally cute with jeans and boots or with yoga pants and tennis shoes. It comes in several different colors.

7. hue ultra wide waistband leggings

These are my favorite leggings ever because they really hold their shape and don’t fade. Plus the wide waistband kind of holds things together. They’re on sale for $27 and worth every penny.

8. cocoon cardigan

I nearly posted this last week and then didn’t, but I kept thinking about it and so here it is. Black skinny jeans are really in right now and I think this would look great with them.

9. at your beck and cowl top

I’d live in this from pretty much the first real cold front until springtime and wear it with everything from jeans to pajama pants.

10. see ya layered top

I always love the look of a top layered under a sweater but not so much the actual feel of a top under a sweater. It just always feels too bulky to me. But this? Might actually make my dreams come true.

That’s it for today.

Have a good Friday.

I’m so excited about today’s post because it’s written by a man I respect so much, Dr. Tony Evans. He’s a respected pastor, leader and father. He not only talks the talk, but he lives out what he preaches in his life and in his community. And today I have the chance to give away a copy of his new book, Raising Kingdom Kids.

Here are some thoughts from Dr. Evans:

“Raising Kingdom Kids requires time and effort. But there is one thing you can be certain of, the end results are well worth it.

One of the most important things you can do as a parent is to help your child along the path to discovering his or her spiritual gifts, passions, and vision. God has a divinely ordained destiny for your child that merges these things together to enable him or her to live out all they were created to be.

In Psalm 33:11 the Bible tells us, “The counsel of the LORD stands forever, the plans of His heart from generation to generation.”

Not only that but He has a plan that is specific to your child. Jeremiah 29:11 it says, “For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.”

God is a God of both purpose and plans and He has both a purpose and a plan for your child. They are here for a reason. The tragedy is if they never discover what that purpose is.

As a child my oldest son Anthony was fascinated with animals and wanted to be a veterinarian. Even when he reached the age of college, he had plans to go to school to study to be a vet. As Anthony was growing up, it was our job as his parents to help him along this path of exploration so that he could discover if this was truly God’s call on his life. I’ll never forget the time that Anthony announced to us that he wanted to buy a donkey! Now, we don’t have a huge backyard – and we live in the city. But, regardless, we took the effort to go to different animal farms with Anthony to explore this concept of bringing home a donkey. I even went so far as knocking on our neighbor’s doors to ask if they would mind if we had a donkey in our yard.

Needless to say, we didn’t end up getting the donkey! But my point is that sometimes you may need to go to great lengths to give your child the option of discovering their gifts. We didn’t get the donkey, but we did get a number of different animals over the years – as well as provided Anthony with the availability to ride horses and be with animals at family camps or elsewhere – so that he could learn whether or not this was his area of gifting and interests.

As you continue on your parenting journey, remember that God’s plan for your child’s life is a good plan filled with both a purpose and with hope. At times you may feel that you have a better plan for your child, or you have different dreams for them – perhaps to be successful as a doctor, lawyer or accountant and so you steer them in those directions rather than truly humbling yourself before the Lord to discover His plan for them. Yet trying to improve on God’s plan for your child is like trying to improve on a Picasso with a sharpie. You’re going to mess up a masterpiece!

God wants you to view your child through His eyes. He wants you to view their futures through His plans because He is all-wise, and He knows the best way for them to live fulfilled and abundant lives.”

You can find out more about his book, watch the book trailer, and even read the first chapter on the Raising Kingdom Kids website.

For a chance to win a copy here’s what you need to do:

1. Leave a comment on this post. One comment per person please. Duplicates will be deleted.

2. I’ll leave comments open until this Friday, October 3 at noon and then choose a winner at random using Random.org.

3. I’ll email the winner to get your shipping address and we’ll get your book in the mail.

That’s it.

Good luck!

Seriously.

I wasn’t even going to post today because I may have mentioned I have a book that is technically due on Wednesday of this week and that means I’m a tad stressed. But even book deadline stress doesn’t compare to the stress I felt during the Aggie game on Saturday.

We went over to watch it at Gulley’s house because that’s my favorite game-watching destination since no one there judges me for my over enthusiasm and, in fact, embraces it. And I had a pit in my stomach because I just knew this wasn’t going to be an easy game. Truth be told, I felt like there was a good chance we were going to lose and Kirk Herbstreit didn’t help matters when he picked the Hogs on Gameday. I like to always believe in Herbstreit and this left me feeling torn between my love for him and his football acumen and wanting to declare that he had no idea what he was talking about.

On a side note, Gameday did a feature this week on SEC coaches’ wives and it may be one of my favorite things ever. If this was a weekly show, I’d watch it.

Anyway, the game got off to a great start. The Aggies scored quickly and easily. Perfect. But then the Razorbacks did the same and it all just seemed to fall apart. I mean when the opposing team’s punter scores a touchdown you’ve pretty much hit the bottom of the proverbial football barrel.

When we went down by two scores I felt like it was a lost cause. This is because I lived (barely) through both the Mike Sherman and Dennis Franchione coaching eras at Texas A&M. Comeback and grit weren’t really hallmarks of those teams. I even texted Sophie and said, “We’re going to lose.” This is nothing new for me. I tend to go through the seven stages of grief during at least three or four different games every football season.

But then we scored and were only down by one touchdown. At that point I stood up behind Gulley’s couch and begin to pace and occasionally even did a little prancing shuffle step because NERVOUS ENERGY. And then our defense held and then we tied it up and, clearly, I wasn’t going to be able to sit down again or even move from my position behind the couch until the game was over because I had singlehandedly changed the Aggies mojo with my prancing shuffle step.

When Malcolm Kennedy scored for the Aggies on the first play of overtime we all jumped up and down and screamed like idiots. Gulley’s husband had to get up and walk out of the room just to burn off some energy. And then when our defense held them and we won the game, we went nuts. Like we might have scared the neighbors and maybe anyone in a three mile radius. Caroline said afterwards, “Mom, it kind of scares me when you and Gulley scream like that.” Which is when Jackson told us that when he and Gulley were at Chick-Fil-A picking up a tray of nuggets before the game, Gulley screamed so loud when the Chick-Fil-A girl knocked on her car window that Jackson was startled to the point that he dropped his phone.

I guess what I’m saying is we get a little keyed up on gamedays. In fact, after the game ended I was only capable of texting in ALL CAPS and P had to tell me even hours later that I wasn’t using my inside voice.

And, listen, I’m a realist. We just barely won this game and we really shouldn’t have based on the first three quarters. And we have a bunch of tough games ahead of us, starting with Mississippi State this Saturday morning at 11:00 a.m. and that means I have plenty of stomach aches and prancing shuffle steps ahead of me. Which is why I called Gulley and told her to get her brunch on because we’ll be at her house at 10:30 Saturday morning to do the whole thing over again.

I don’t know if we’ll win, but I know for sure that college football season is my favorite time of the whole year.

First things first, the winner of The Canvas Boutique giveaway is Commenter #188 named Rachel. I’ve notified her by email.

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But even if you’re not Rachel (and 631 of you aren’t), you can still get 15% off any custom canvas order through October 6 when you use the code BIGMAMA15 at checkout. Here’s their website if you want to check it out. Just click here.

Well we’re not even out of September and Caroline missed her first day of school due to illness yesterday. I blame the pollen. For two weeks I’ve listened as she’s sniffled and coughed and sneezed and declared it to be allergies because, well, it’s allergies. We are all suffering from them around here.

But it’s all fun and games until it becomes a sinus infection. Which is how we ended up at the doctor’s office yesterday and spent most of the day in our pajamas. I don’t feel as bad as she does, but I felt like I needed to stay in my pajamas too as a sign of solidarity.

The good news is I had plenty of time to find some cute things this week. Maybe one day I’ll even have time to go shop in a real live store and try things on like I used to do in the olden days.

1. old navy plaid flannel shirt

How many plaid shirts am I going to show this fall? I don’t know. Somewhere between A LOT and TOO MANY.

2. gap split neck baseball tee

The baseball tees come in several colors and are on sale for $16.99 right now. The reviews say they’re kind of thin, but I can live with that for $16.99. Especially when I think how cute they’d be under a puffer vest when the weather cools off.

3. gamine cable poncho

I’m dealing with a poncho obsession right now. Originally I thought I wanted a camel colored one, but I’m really liking this ivory. It would be so versatile.

4. old navy drop waist dress

I realize a drop waist dress might be too precious for some of you, but I think it has the potential to be really cute with black leggings and tall boots. Maybe with a denim jacket for good measure.

5. campus chill scarf

I love this plaid scarf and it also comes in orange and blue if you’re interested.

6. old navy jersey dress

These jersey dresses have gotten great reviews and I think they could be super versatile. You could wear one with a scarf and a denim jacket. Or on its own with some great accessories. You could opt for boots or flats. The possibilities are endless. It’s available in several solid colors in addition to the stripes.

7. wherever you please hoodie

This is the kind of thing that calls out to me in the fall. Especially when I’ve spent the day in pajamas and think about long winter afternoons and wanting to be cozy.

8. kut from the cloth stretch corduroy skinny pants

These have great reviews and come in a bunch of colors. Perfect for fall and winter with all your favorite sweaters and jackets.

9. reversible faux leather tote

I featured this a few weeks ago, but then I saw it in person at DotMom and it’s even better than pictured. I’m partial to this gold/cognac combo but it comes in several color options and is only $48.

10. hooded cardigan

I was all excited about the new Scandal clothing collection at The Limited until I actually saw it and then I felt sad and underwhelmed. I mean, there are some pretty jackets but they are super pricey and I just don’t know that they’ll work that well for a person who isn’t Olivia Pope. Maybe I’m wrong about this. It’s been known to happen.

But I think the saddest thing was they left out a super soft sweater type garment like the ones Olivia Pope wears when she’s in her apartment drinking an enormous glass of wine after a long day of Scandal-stopping. That would have been the thing I’d be most tempted to buy.

That’s it for today.

Have a great Friday.