Rubyellen from Cakies: A Real Housewife

I am completely honored to have Rubyellen here with me today from Cakies. I am SUCH a fan of hers and her blog is one of the ones I go to first each day. Great posts on parenting, healthy eating (her husband is a nutritionist!), and crafty lovelies! Enjoy!

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Hi! I am Rubyellen from Cakies and I am honored to be sharing a bit here on

The Real Housewives Project.

I love blogging and reading blogs, but it can also be a terrible thing. Sometimes you can get caught up in reading blogs, idolizing someone's lifestyle, and start to get easily discontented with your own life. You can start to think, "Wow! They have got it perfect! Why am I not like that? " or "Why can't I have that?"

Blogs can look quite dreamy and I know mine may even portray that from time to time, but I personally feel it would be a disservice or dishonest if I don't acknowledge my faults and how un-dreamy things can be for our family too. We are just like any other normal family, so we have messes, I yell, my kids get in trouble, Ben and I fight, we aren't always dressed to the nines are all things that happen in our real life too. What goes on in your house, probably goes on in my house. We are no exception.

I do love to document the pretty things in our life, but I have no problem admitting the bad too. I can look back and see God's work through all of it. He grows me through the happy, pretty moments and also through those nitty-gritty, tough moments. Life is full of ups and downs and I want people to know that and rejoice through it all. It is only by God's grace that I am able to go through each day, even if some days are harder (or better) than others.

If you are afraid to show your messy self in the blog world, don't. We are all messy and I think we can all just get as encouraged from reading about our messes just as much as reading about the pretty parts of life. Life's a mess anyways, so let's just all find joy in God through it!

Wanna be featured for the Real Housewives Project?

email me!

sav{dot}horton{at}gmail{dot}com

A Castle, some wine, and the in-laws

This weekend was a very special one! We got to see Greg's parents, which we don't often get to do since they live in sunny San Diego, and we are up here in wine country.

I did some serious cleaning before they came over...under the cushions and everything!

So they came to visit us to bring me back my wedding ring...

Long story but it involves Greg buying it from a San Diego retailer, it having diamonds fall out like crazy and then me finally ending up getting a whole new one...

Anyway they came and it was so fun to see them! We went to a legit castle winery called 

Castello Di Amaros, bought some picnic supplies from Dean and Deluca deli and they got to come to church with us on Sunday too which was awesome!

Greg's parents in front of the castle

We love us some wine, and castles...so it worked out!

So beautiful!

After leaving the castle we went to Dean and Deluca deli and market to pick up some cheese, italian meats, a hunk of french bread and some balsamic vinegar. so.delicious. My favorite kind of picnic!

They had some amazing gelato too, but we did not go back and get any...next time, next time.

We always wish we lived closer, but then again I love visiting San Diego! 

Love you guys...see you again soon!

Confessions link-up party

Inspired by my Real Housewives Project I have decided to try and have a confessions linky party every Friday.

Called Confessions of a Housewife

 (or mom, or single lady, or cat lover, or whoever you are!)

It will be cathartic, it will be real, it will be genuine, and I want YOU to participate. It won't be a bash on the hubby and kids thing...but a comical look at the things we do in our everyday life that may or may not be shared at church/PTA meetings/with the in-laws, etc.

Grab my button on the side there --->

and link back here so others can party too!

My Confessions:

-I caught a glass tupperware piece with my foot this morning so it wouldn't fall onto the ground and shatter, in the process I broke my foot. (ok that is dramatic, but it is definitely BRUISED!)

- It is 11:34am...I am in yoga pants a a t-shirt, my in-laws are on there way here and my house is a disaster

-On Monday I ate 3 cupcake tops for breakfast

-I had a pervy patient this week who asked me if I would count his testicles. I did not.

-I slacked on dinners this week and packed my husband a jar of nutella and a bag of pretzels one day for lunch. 

Alright ladies...I think we all have funny confessions to share so link up!!

Embrace the Camera!

Probably my favorite picture of us...ever. 

Me, my man, and Disneyland...Love love.

Now you Embrace the Camera and link up!

The Anderson Crew

And be sure to check out Emily's lovely guest post from earlier today...she gets honest about her family, and staying real in this crazy blogging world!

Read it HERE.

Emily from The Anderson Crew: a Real Housewife

Hello lovely readers! 

I am Emily, and I blog over at The Anderson Crew.  I am married to Mr. Anderson and together we have 6 beautiful and well behaved children. 

Ahem, yah right. 

We're being real today, I forgot.

My children ARE beautiful, and some days I could call them well behaved, but describing them as loud, hilarious, crazy and wild seems a better fit.

Being real in the blog department is not always easy. 

Some days, I open up my google reader and see that so-and-so has posted about how their children are awesome eaters and eat every vegetable and fruit put in front of them and then all I have is this:

My son, crying and whining over being forced to eat one single pea.

Wow, her child must be more awesome than mine.

And then so-and-so posts about how they took a trip to the beach with all their children and it was a glorious time and no sand was stuck in any crevices afterwards, and to top it all off, they got an awesome shot of the whole family together.  And all I have is this:

A totally fabulous shot of my 2 year old screaming because 1. he doesn't like the sand, and 2. he doesn't want his picture taken.

Awesome.

Then, you know who, goes on their yearly Disney trip and comes back with fabulous stories and pictures from their va-cay, including one amazing shot in front of the Princess castle.

And all I have is this:

My son, flashing the peace sign and grabbing his wenis in front of the castle.  Certainly a photo we won't ever forget.

You get where I'm going with this?

So-and-so and You Know Who are always going to have better photos and stories than you, if you choose to believe so.

And that just might be their real life, but I'm not gonna let that get to me.  I want to always remember when Kohen was so afraid of the sand that he screamed.  I want to remember Milo being forced to eat a single pea, and I'll never forget the most amazing photo of him in front of the Princess castle.

I love my real life.

I love that my kitchen sink almost ALWAYS looks like this:

It's not worthy of a magazine cover, but it shows life.  Our life.

And yes, real life for us means movie days:

And wrestling on Mommy and Daddy's bed:

But I wouldn't have it any other way.

We have to stop comparing ourselves to everyone.

Our blogs are a tiny snippet of our life.  Some of us choose to put the not-so-pretty photos and stories on there and others don't.

As long as we continue to blog what's on our hearts, I think we won't have any problem being real.

You never know how the Lord will use you and your story, to touch another persons life.

Be real ladies, be real.

A Tribute to Love

I, Gregory Ryan 

take you Savannah Catherine

To be my one wife

to be my closest friend

and to be the first in my heart

In the presence of our God

and our family and friends

in every season

and with the help of the Holy Spirit

I make this sacred vow

I will be your faithful husband

I will love you without condition

I will weep and laugh with you

I will mourn and dance with you

I will toil and lie with you

I will put you before all others

even myself

I will be forever yours

and even death itself shall suffer to divide us

I, Savannah Catherine

take you Gregory Ryan

To be my one husband

to be my closest friend

and to be the first in my heart

In the presence of our God

and our family and friends

in every season

and with the help of the Holy Spirit

I make this sacred vow

I will be your adoring wife

I will love you without condition

I will weep and laugh with you

I will mourn and dance with you

I will toil and lie with you

I will put you before all others

even myself

I will be forever yours

and even death itself shall suffer to divide us

And even death itself shall suffer to divide us.

Truth.

I love this man, with all of my heart. Best friend does not even begin to cover it. I am grateful.

hehe.

Heather from Life Made Lovely: a Real Housewife

The FABULOUS Heather from Life Made Lovely is here with us today. I was floored when Heather e-mailed me back saying she would contribute to my Real Housewives Project. Her blog is huge and I just admire her so much, it was a true blessing hearing her heart and being able to share it with you all!

She has an amazing family and story so please, please if you haven't heard of her (unlikely) then please go and read her blog! You will be inspired and blessed...I know I always am!

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Hi there!!

My name is Heather and I blog over at Life Made Lovely.

Ya know, I didn't set out to be a Christian blogger.  In the beginning, I wasn't planning about blogging on my faith much at all.

I just wanted to be a mommy blogger and write about my little family, but God just wouldn't let me.

He wanted me to share my story...His story...for my life, and so He pursued me relentlessly until I finally did.

Once I finally started sharing about how Jesus had worked in my life, and continues to work each day in my life, my heart began to feel so much more free.

I began to see that by sharing my faith, it was becoming even stronger.  The closeness with Jesus that I so dearly wanted was starting to become a reality.

Needless to say, that's all it took for me to change my own plans.  Whatever kind of blogger I am, I now share freely about my heart for Christ.

Whether I'm sharing a post about my little family, a craft project, or a home that inspires me, I always write from a place of faith.

It just makes my life more lovely.

Happy Birthday Lily!

So I have talked about her a bajillion times on this blog...because frankly she is adorable and I love her

But this:

Is our God-daughter Lily.

And today is her FIRST birthday. O-mah-gaw! I cannot believe it has been a year!

We have know her since she was 10 minutes old. 

First trip to Target...start them early...

Ahh...too cute

Uncle Greg realllly loves her.

Like...a lot.

He'll make a great daddy one day!

Sink bath.

Lily we love you and we cannot believe you are already ONE!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY big girl!

Good job Ivy and Ryan...you made a good one!!

What's for dinner?

Monday

Chicken & quinoa casserole w/ broccoli (like a macaroni and cheese, except with quinoa instead of pasta w/ chicken & broccoli added in)

Green beans (double helping of veggies...woot woot!)

Tuesday

Grilled Ahi Tuna

Garlic buttered pasta

Salad with lemon vinaigrette

Wednesday

Chicken and cheese enchiladas with red sauce

Mexican rice

Thursday

Breakfast for dinner!!

Poached eggs

Toast

Sausage or bacon (hubby's choice)

Friday

Chinese Goyza

Vegetable "fried" rice

Steamed Kale with a red wine vinaigrette sauce 

Saturday/Sunday

TBD...the weekends always are!! I have a mother daughter tea to co-host this weekend on Saturday so probably won't be too hungry after cupcakes and tea sandwiches, and Sundays are always a mystery/leftover night!

What are you having for dinner this week?!

Ashley from 5oh Wifey: a Real Housewife

The wonderful Ashley from 5oh Wifey: life as mommy and cop's wife is kicking off our series.

I am so blessed by all these encouraging women who will be featured these next couple months.

Enjoy!

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Hey y'all! My name is Ashley and I blog over at 5ohWifey: life as a mommy and cop's wife. I am amazed every day by what God is doing in my life. I am a southern girl now living in California against my will. I am the wife of 5ohHubby who is a police officer and wonderful man and no that's not mutually exclusive. I am a stay at home mom to an amazing little girl I call 5ohBaby and she is my whole world. We have probably the cutest, ugly dog out there (5ohPup).  

I try to blog about what I know. I try to keep it as real as possible. I blog about everything from holding on tight to my little one to the time I accidentally fed her jalapenos. I write about both the joys and the stresses of being in a police marriage. I love to cook and even make my own baby food. Sometimes I get a little crafty and dabble in fashion posts. I always say that I want my blog to be a place where we can laugh together, cry together, and just be real with one another.

But am I being real? Does anyone really know me from reading my blog?

 When you look at my blog, any blog really, it might seem like we lead these perfect whimsical lives. Our children are always well dressed and smiling, our hair is always just so, our husbands make prince charming eat his heart out and the only thing more spotless than our house is our spiritual walk . Or so it seems.

Everyone knows, or should know, that a blog is just a small part of a person's life that they're sharing with the world. But why is it always this part? This pleasantville-picture-perfect-leave-it-to-beaver life?

Because people out here on the internet judge you based on it. I have a blogging friend who has readers literally dedicate hours to leave nasty comments and write negative posts about her on other websites. I have other blogging friends who have their parenting questioned or their love for their children. Another friend who writes about her journey with weight loss and is worried about posting her actual weight on her site because she knows her high school friends read her blog. I know for myself, people at my husband's job scrutinize every single word I write, often in the hopes of finding something to mock 5ohHubby for.

And that's why we only share this tiny sliver.

Because we are afraid.

Afraid of what people might think.

Afraid of what might be said about us.

Afraid of people judging us.

Afraid of people mocking us.

Afraid that if people knew who we really were, what our house and our lives really looked like then they wouldn't accept us.

So we pose our lives, pose our children, and sometimes even convince our hubby's to pose. Everything is clean and bright and perfect.

But that's not how God sees us.

And it's a good thing, too.

Because, no matter what it usually looks like on my blog, I'm not perfect.

I don't have it all together and neither does my family.

 My daughter isn't always smiling.

My husband works long, hard, weird hours so he misses a lot of events.

Sometimes we skip church, even if we don't have a good reason.

Sometimes my house looks like this.

Ok, a lot of the time.

But the cool thing is, God knows me.

And He loves me anyways.

So, that's where I find who I am.

Not in my stats. Not in my comments.

Not in the "me" I choose to share with the internet, but in Him.