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Tired. As. A. Mother.

Ashton Pruitt Christmas Christmas tree tired

What a BUSY past two weeks we've had here at the store. It has been the biggest blessing. Now, inventory is the lowest it has been. It looks like an Arkansas tornado went though kicking butt and takin' names. What a great problem to have. On the flip side, today I can count on my hand how many customers we have had. Its truly crazy how you can stand on your feet helping customers from 9-6 and then the next day praying someone walks in. That is the beauty of owning your own business. While yes, it sucks being open on Christmas Eve; you have to. You have to make hay while the sun in shining and if you own a small business you depend on the holiday rush... it is your livelihood! Thank you to all of our customers once again for shopping with us this holiday season. We appreciate you so much. Thank you to everyone who shops with us year round and constantly makes it a priority to continue to shop local. 

In our personal lives; Christmas was pretty special this year. It was the first that Myleigh Pearl could actually open presents on her own. The moment she walked in the living room her face lit up like a cedar shrub with lights. Speaking of.. that is exactly what our tree was this year. If anyone has ever "mom shamed" me it was my own husband this year because I was so tired I didn't even want to put up a tree.

"Are you not going to put up a tree this year Ashton?!" Smugly, I stare at Lane as if I am plotting his death..."No." He then says, "Poor Myleigh Pearl won't have a Christmas tree for her to open up her presents under."

I didn't give two craps.

Don't get me wrong, I am definitely not a Grinch... far from it. I love Christmas. Although, yes it probably is my 3rd favorite holiday, it does wear me out. I do love it so. Heck, Ms. Linda and I put up the Christmas decorations the day after Halloween at the store and I don't plan on taking them down until at least January 4th. Our tree at the store is LEGIT. Looks like it came straight from Pottery Barn with the whole trendy "woodsy gold/silver/white" palette. When you ask MP where her Christmas tree was she would say, "At the sto." See that is good enough right? I mean we are here 12 hours out of the 24 so that counts for something? I didn't see Lane going out of his way to put one up so why do I have that responsibility? I'm not trying to impress anyone at my house. 

I am just exhausted from the hooplah of putting up the lights turning around and taking them down. Tired from the agonizing and over-analyzing customers that can't decide what shade of gray shirt they should get -when really it doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things. Its exhausting going from one house to the next to the next and rushing around to make sure my crappy Christmas toffee cooked correctly when only 3 people are going to try it because their are 5 million pies and desserts in front of them.  So... No. I didn't want to put up a tree this year. Cry me a river.

Apparently Lane felt the overwhelming urge to get a tree (which is actually out of his character) two days before Christmas. He along with Myleigh Pearl (asleep in her car seat) went and found a cedar in the fence line and cut the top off. He then proceeded to make a homemade stand; again out of his character to build something. So when I came home Saturday (the busiest day at my store of the year BTW) to my surprise it was lit with one strand of lights in the corner of our living room. There it stood in all its glory with two extremely heavy Paw Patrol ornaments that he allowed Myleigh Pearl to pick out at Dollar General.

It was the prettiest ever. Maybe not to others, but to me it was. Partially because I didn't have to put it up. The prettiest because he actually cared enough to put one up when I had absolutely no desire to do so. 

charlie brown christmas tree cedar shrub

  Cute huh? I think it's great.

I say all of this, extremely tired... as I reflect over the past couple of weeks while starring at my awesome tree... our family had a great Christmas. We saw Myleigh Pearl oooooohhhh and awe like never before. We were able to bless other families in special ways as well. I actually contributed to both family Christmas meals for the first time in my adult life. *This is a really big thing because I do not cook. LOL. I totally rocked the Christmas gifts this year not only with Myleigh Pearl but with Lane too. While we have had Christmases in the past that were extremely hard this one was truly one to remember.

Not only thinking about our personal lives... but I really just get giddy with excitement over the fact that without a doubt our customers that shopped with us had a great Christmas too. l had numerous little girls tell me what they received in their DaBomb bath fizzers; so excited. Numerous teens tell us that they adored the great Sherpa pullover they opened on Christmas from Mom and Dad. Girls that slept in their personalized Charles River rain jackets because they didn't want to take them off. Numerous moms love the new outfit they bought themselves that they wore to the office Christmas party. Dads that loved the deer decal that they are sporting on their new Yeti tumbler... and the tons and tons of custom t-shirts we were able to spit out up until CHRISTMAS EVE for customers, YES... CHRISTMAS EVE. It really does make me excited. Tired, but yes very excited.

I hope you had a great Christmas because I know we sure did. Tree or no tree at my house, Christmas is so much more than the decor and even presents you opened. As we celebrate of  course the biblical aspect of Christmas it is also about the time you invest with each other. It is the love you have between your family and friends. From our family to yours... Cheers to 2018! We hope this new year brings you much joy and happiness as we celebrate new beginnings and a fresh start. I am just going to use these next couple days to regroup and rest up for an exciting 2018. 

To all of my tired mommas out there... You do you girl. Take a time out. WE DESERVE IT. We just made it through Christmas AND 2017!

I'm going to be calling Luxury Nails here in the next few days if I can get away and seeing my girl Lena for a pedicure fo' sho. I might even have her paint them green to match my awesome cedar shrub. 



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Ashton Pruitt

Ashton Snowden Pruitt, native of Greenbrier graduated from Arkansas State University in 2009, with her Radio Television Broadcast Journalism degree. She is the former host of "The Mouth of the South Morning Show" on 101.7 KVOM in Morrilton. She is married to auctioneer Lane Pruitt, and also owns Pruitt's Mid State Stockyards in Damascus. Ashton owns Southern Savvy, a women and children's boutique in Greenbrier and Southern Belle Media specializing in wedding and commercial videography, and voice overs. On top of all of these duties, her favorite job is being a mommy to her one and only sweet girl Myleigh-Pearl! In her spare time she loves traveling, blogging, watching Hoda and Kathie Lee, eating "Joes Pizza," driving with the top down in the Jeep, going to the lake, pageants, karaoke, and drinking lots of coffee. Ashton is currently the Miss Greenbrier Pageant Director, Brierfest Youth Talent Show Director and volunteer for the Faulkner County Youth Talent Show and Pageants. She is a big supporter of folks shopping local (wherever you shop) and empowering women!


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