Leave All Your Blues In your Shoes...

Work week attire...

Dress-Old Navy/Shoes-Nine West/Jewelry-Target, Bauble Bar, F21

Skirt-Old Navy/Top-The Limited/Jewelry-Nordstroms, Black Sheep, Marc, Aldo/Shoes-Nine West

So, I found a new place to shop...my car!  I admit, I keep multiple changes of clothes and shoes in my car.  You never know when you are going to need a denim jacket or a cardigan to keep warm...a pair of flats to sooth sore feet...a complete outfit change for when I get to work and realize I hate my outfit, or that it looked much better in the mirror at home than it does in the light of the day.  Since I spend at least two hours per day in my car, it is the perfect place for a second small closet!  The point of my declaration of love for keeping things in my car is the sandals I wore in both outfits.  While cleaning changing my car clothes for the new season, I found these sandals from last summer.  If I remember correctly they were a pretty good bargain...nothing like a muted gold pair of wedges.  

From the mouths of little men...

"Mom, this summer I want to go on a picnic.  You bring the food...pancakes with butter, and don't forget the syrup.  I will bring a blanket so we don't have to sit on the ground.  Nana can come too and she can bring broccoli for you to eat...since you like that.  Jack can come after camp, but he has to bring his own lunch...ok, can we do that?"

Alex, age 3 on what he wants to do when I am home this summer...

Lazy Days...

Happy Memorial Day!!  Thank you to everyone has fought for our country's freedom and all who have lost their lives...their family and friends who miss them every day...thank you for all your hard work!

This holiday weekend has been pretty relaxing around these parts...multiple naps, grocery shopping, too many family parties.  The best part of the weekend was Sunday night...for our 7 year wedding anniversary, my in-laws watched the kids overnight. So the hubby and I went to go see Avengers in 3D and got to spend a lazy Sunday morning together...a very rare occurrence!  Avengers was amazing... Joss Weddon did an amazing job teaming up all the major superheroes in a special effects extravaganza!


On the fashion front, I actually had a meeting last week, so casual corporate was the dress for the day.

Sandals, Skirt, top-Target/Jewelry-DIY, H&M, Mom's closet

My name is Randi and I am a Target-a-holic... "hi Randi"...

The whole outfit is from Target.  I picked up this coral pencil skirt on sale last week during a "retail therapy" session.  On had been on the hunt for this color for a while, so I knew it was meant to be when I saw it on the sale rack.  I wasn't sure what color to pair with it, so I went with a black and white top...Missoni for Target.  I am thinking next time I am going to pair this skirt with another bright solid...purple, turquoise or maybe a green.  These sandals were on sale too...I needed a dress black sandal with a small wedge...done!

All Things To All People...

Mom...chauffeur...chef...mediator...wife...friend...account executive...the usual jobs I have on a daily basis....
Add babysitter and chauffeur x2 for the next two weeks...so tired already!  My mom  and dad are on vacation in Italy (i am so jealous), so that means I am sans babysitter which also means sans sanity...

Since I have been doing a TON of running around, I have been wearing comfortable pants and t-shirts and trying to dress them up with loads of accessories!

Pants-Gap/Top-LOFT/Shoes-Jeffrey Campbell/Jewelry-Blacksheep, F21, House of Harlow

Pants-Zara/Top-Target/Shoes-Toms/Jewelry-LOFT, F21, Madewell

I swear, I spend more time in my car, driving around a munchkin or two and packing lunches and backpacks and shopping for birthday gifts (4 kids b-day parties this weekend!!) than I spend sleeping or eating!! 

Done ranting...back to work (did I mention I also have to work full time these two weeks...impossible!!)

Blue, Bleu, Azul...

Sky blue, cobalt, turquoise, periwinkle, teal, navy...
Whatever you call it...I was wearing it!

 Cardigan, Tank-Old Navy/Skirt-Anthropologie/Shoes-Target/Jewelry-Black Sheep, H&M

I spied these fabulous blue Target flats sitting on the floor of my closet begging to be worn...they inspired my outfit!  The denim skirt...so comfy...turquoise cardigan, since it is always cold in my office...navy and white striped tank top...even my splatter painted necklace has turquoise in it!!  I thought this outfit might end up looking like a mess since I did not really put too much thought into it and just grabbed items in shades of blue, but I love the way it turned it!

Bought my first pair of non gym, non pajama, able to wear as part of an outfit, shorts in about 7 years!!  Navy and white ikat print...Loft... of course! I figure they can be pretty versatile come the warmer temperatures...any color top, even another pattern...flat sandals or wedges... I am actually pretty excited to style them!

A Long And Winding Road...

I am going through some sort of funk...mentally and physically, and I think my frustrations with my body and myself are being played out in what I have been wearing lately.  I have this lump of scar tissue above my scar on my abdomen...it is swollen and sore...the hard lump that pushes against the waist band of my pants making me just plain uncomfortable in my own skin. The more I look down and see the fabric from my shirt straining over the protrusion in my abdomen, the more I just want to curl up in a ball, hide under the covers and feel sorry for myself.  I need to remember it was just 14 months ago that I had the final surgery in a series of five...I need to remember it is just skin...flesh...and I am more then that!!

So, my outfits have been less than inspiring this week...but I share none the less...

 Pants-Zara/Top-Gap/Belt-Target/Jewelry F21, Shopbop, Bauble Bar, JCREW

This shirt, pants, booties combination is usually a go to outfit for me when I want to fell good about the silhouette in the mirror...but today...meh...not a fan!!

Skirt, Belt-Target/Top-BR/Shoes Steve Madden/Jewelry-Lori's, H&M, F21, DIY

I am not looking for pity...this is my corner of the internet, so I am allowed to vent and wallow.  I know I had the surgeries done for the right reasons, but sometime I look at myself and feel such giant sadness with the lack of control I have over my body...

Time to snap out of it...

The Band Played On...

And then I got dressed...

Dress-Target/jacket-Old Navy/Wedges-Urban Outfitters/Jewelry-F21, DIY

Jeans-Level 99 via Hot Mama/Top-Loft/Jewelry-F21, Accent Shop

I am trying...

Mommy Randi...

Being a mother is the hardest and most rewarding job on the planet...I have learned this though first hand experience, but I would never have it any other way. 
Being a mom has made me appreciate all that my mom did, does and will do for me forever. She is not only my mom, but mt best friend.

Every Mother's Day, my mom and I do the Y-Me 3 mile walk for breast cancer... we have been doing this together for about 9 years. 

Mother's Day thanks to Instagram...

 Beautiful view along the lake

 Mom and Mom

 Mommy Randi

 Nana Ricki

 Mother's Day present...Jack DIY...amazing!!

Momma's boys...

After the walk my mom and I went out for breakfast at Stanley's...best breakfast buffet ever!!  I am still stuffed...vege omlette, baked mac and cheese, ceasar salad...yum!  Then, I ran some errands and enjoyed a wonderful mother's day gift...a mid-afternoon nap with no little boys poking their head in every five minutes asking for juice...joyous!! 

Jack made that fabulous necklace at school...it is amazing...he was so excited he gave it to me on Saturday to wear to a party...it is a bottle cap with this photo... Jack was so excited and proud...we were showing it to everyone.  On Sunday, the boys made me cards gave me plants and itunes gift cards for my ipad...Jack told me now I could go buy Angry Birds for him to play!

I know, the name of my blog is Not Just Mom...an outlet for me trying to find myself as a person besides Jack's and Alex's mom. Today, I love the little reminder that I am not Just Randi!

The Technological Age...

Worn to work Wednesday, May 7

Pants-Zara/Sweater-Target/Booties-Steve Madden via Gilt/Jewelry-H&M, Target, DIY

Comfort casual at it's finest, since I knew I would be sitting at my desk in my very cold office most of the day......my favorite Zara pants, comfy sweater and booties.  I wanted to add some color, so I threw on this fun necklace and a stack of homemade bracelets.  I think this lightweight sweater is going to be perfect for the summer...I can style it with shorts or a denim skirt...I also picture layering a bright tank underneath for an added pop!

After work, I was off to the Apple store...

My new toy!!

Thanks to the generosity of my mother...I got an ipad...I was so excited when the tech at the store was explaining everything to me that I was almost shaking!  I had the boys with me and it took a good hour or so to set everything up...brilliant of the Apple store to have a area for kids to play games and watch movies and play with the ipad's.  Alex kept telling me that he was logging on and sending me an email.  Jack kept asking me when he could show me how good he was at Angry Birds on "our" new ipad! 

I have a feeling that I might have to "share" my new toy with the boys...even though they never share their cars with me!!

Now, I am on the hunt for the perfect case!