Category: personal

weekend plans
It’s technically been a short week but it’s also felt long. We’ve had a lot of rain and even flooding. One day they couldn’t keep the water out of the infant room at my kids’ daycare, so I had to take Liam to another facility. That was a crazy morning.

Meredith has been in one of her difficult phases. I don’t even know how to describe it and I don’t really want to try, but I have felt sorely lacking in patience this week. However, she has also had a couple days of being extremely sweet and cute, so I never know which version of her I’m going to come home to. It’s exhausting.

Tonight we have our weekly dinner with my parents, and Saturday we have no plans so far. Sunday is church and small group in the evening. That leaves plenty of time to do other things, and this is what’s on my list:
- weekly chores
- plus one deep cleaning item (I’m thinking I want to clean the water deposit buildup on our fridge dispenser)
- meal plan + grocery trip
- take some specific photos for future blog posts
- baste together my quilt sandwich (still haven’t decided whether to machine or hand quilt it)
- at least start working on a runner I’m making for our dresser
- work on Liam’s stocking
- try to get a workout in
- something fun with the kids – I’d say the pool but it’s supposed to keep raining
What’s on your weekend to-do list?
May 30, 2014
day in the life // may 2014

Last week I decided it was time for another day in the life. I recorded everything on Instagram, but here it is again all together.

5:37 am : the day begins with coffee. Liam has been awake for half an hour already so I just brought him out with me.

5:45 am : Meredith woke up crying asking to hold me. Now I have both of them on my lap. It’s going to be a sub-par Bible study this morning.

6:04 am : working on a God-centered mindset in the midst of distraction.

6:24 am : morning routine includes bottle prep. I have a helper for everything.

7:10 am : conquered the getting dressed meltdown and are headed out the door. (Five minutes later, that is, since someone had to dirty his diaper right as we were leaving.) (Make that ten minutes later, since someone didn’t want to leave her coloring and then insisted on having crackers.)

7:29 am : daycare dropoff. Preschool room was crazy, baby room was calm. In and out.

7:58 am : settling in at work. I’m actually alone in the clinic today. I got my rooms set up and now I’m checking charts waiting for the first patient.

8:04 am : I have time to eat a little breakfast, which is blueberry maple refrigerated oatmeal.

8:49 am : first patient is here and set up. this is what we’ve got going on.

10:35 am : things got really crazy at work being alone and having three patients come at once. Finally sitting down again; quick twitter break.

11:39am : ran away to spend some time with my buddy the breast pump. this is very late to be pumping but it was so hard to get away.

12:26 pm : having a pre-lunch snack (dark chocolate covered almonds) and logging my calories so far. things have settled down in the clinic.

1:34pm : lunch. there was a birthday potluck today so obviously I had to have cake. I also ate enchilada casserole and salad.

2:09pm : I am pretty worn out after that super busy morning. another cup of coffee while I prep charts for tomorrow.

3:51pm : time to get down to the business of documenting what I’ve done today. still have one patient here but I have all my charting left to do.

4:47pm : pumped once more then I’m out of here. Running a bit late.

5:03pm : this is my exercise time. I planned to run but because I’m running late and feeling stressed we’re just going to have a little yoga situation instead.

5:37pm : daycare pickup time. Liam is my responsibility and David gets Meredith. we both end up there around the same time and it’s just better when we split them this way.

6:22pm : we’re all in the car headed for a spontaneous dinner at my in-laws’ house. little lady is singing nursery rhymes as usual. she yelled at us when we tried to sing too.

6:37pm : the great thing about dinner at the in-laws’ house is I get to rest a bit. starting a frivolous pleasure read tonight while the food cooks.

7:04pm : breakfast for dinner.

7:19pm : puzzles with papa and cousin Lily.

8:29pm : home and we immediately divide and conquer for bedtime routine. Meredith scraped her knees tonight and has two tiny cuts but I can hear her from the other room claiming she can’t walk.

8:45pm : everyone is ready for bed. dramatics over Meredith’s two boo-boos are still happening and Liam spit out half his antibiotic which makes me irrationally angry but we’ve almost made it.

9:07pm : lights out. one day soon we need to get these kids out of our bed but for now they are cuddled up against me and I sure don’t hate it.

May 29, 2014
around here // memorial day

Around here, I ran my first 5k in several years.

Previous to this I had only run about 29 minutes straight (and right now I’m running approx 12 minutes per mile). A group of us from church were running and I’m happy my friend Joanna and I kept a similar pace and we were able to finish without walking (other than one short water break) in 36 minutes. I felt good! Races are so fun and I’m motivated to find the next one to sign up for.

Around here, summer has begun even if not technically. It’s hot and we kicked off the season by swimming in a friend’s pool. Meredith was super scared at first but eventually allowed me to lead her around the water and kicked her feet. I guess it’s time to think about swimming lessons for her.

Around here, we’ve also begun prepping our backyard flower beds by removing some rocks.

All of this activity really wore Meredith out. I set her on the counter and she straight up fell asleep like this.

Unfortunately the napping hasn’t been going so well and we have some extreme whining going on. I’m having to dig deep for extra patience and I seem to be lacking. Liam is just going with the flow though, only crying when he gets especially hungry.

Around here we had a family lunch but other than that we’re just hanging out. Reading, coloring, working on projects, taking walks to the park. Just look at that tired face.

As for me, I’m back at work on the quilt. Turns out the fabric I bought for the backing isn’t big enough so I’m going to patch together some strips to widen it.

I hope to not leave the house today except to maybe drive through Starbucks. I might not even change out of my pajamas. Happy Memorial Day. :)

May 26, 2014
why i want to blog more, not less

You may have noticed that for the past six weeks or so, I’ve been blogging every week day instead of my previous 2-3 times per week. I’ve always wanted to try a more frequent blogging schedule, and now that I have a little extra time in my days I thought I would give it a shot.

I’ve been second guessing my decision though. Every time I read a post about why someone is deciding to step back from blogging as often, or as personally, or at all, I think, “Should I be doing this? Am I wasting my time?” I also question whether or not I’ll be able to keep up with this; not that it matters to anyone if I don’t, but I’d like to be consistent.

So I’ve thought about it. And even though things might change and I might not be able to keep up with this, I’ve decided that I want to keep blogging more, not less. These are my reasons why:

1. Blogging is a constant creative outlet for me. I stay very busy, and I don’t have the right kind of dedicated time to work on most of the creative projects that I enjoy doing with my hands. But my life would be much poorer if I could only be creative every couple of weeks. Blogging is a creative process for me, and I am constantly composing posts in my head before I actually get to the writing part. So I find the whole thing very enriching in that way.

2. Blogging is an excellent form of memory keeping. This is so important to me. Even though I do Project Life and keep a small journal, they don’t capture everything. There are so many times that I’ve gone back to read old blog posts and it’s just fascinating to remember the things I wrote about.

3. My blogging friends are real friends. I know I could make online friends just as easily (or better) through Twitter and Instagram – and I have. But for me it all started with my blog because it offers a deeper insight than 140 characters allows. And personally, I still read the blogs of my friends even when I don’t have time to keep up with Twitter.

4. I just love blogging. I don’t know what it is about it exactly, but it’s so fun for me. I’ve thought about what life would be like if I gave it up, and that makes me sad. It’s a gut thing. So as long as it stays enjoyable and isn’t detracting from the important areas of my life, I’m going to keep doing it.

I’m NOT blogging more to grow my readership, make money, or eventually try to make a career of it. For now I really believe that blogging will (and should) always be a hobby for me. I enjoy being able to do a sponsored post here and there, but if I were to have to do it as a job it would instantly lose its appeal. I blog because I like it, and that’s it.

May 22, 2014
a little q & a

1. What has been your most favorite vacation to date?

Our honeymoon to Kauai was just amazing and a true vacation.

2. Do you prefer big city life, suburban life, or a life in the country?

I am most acquainted with suburban life, which I am a fan of in general because you have the conveniences of a city nearby but it’s more affordable, the schools are better (usually), and there is more space. I’ve never truly lived in the heart of a big city but I can imagine that it would have some perks like things being within walking distance and having more character. I also haven’t technically experienced country life, but I did go to college in a town of 3,000 people surrounded by farmland, and I really liked small town life. I guess I can adapt anywhere. :)

3. What is your favorite type/genre of food?

Italian food is so good but so rich! And Tex-Mex…mmm. I also love a good sandwich.

4. How would you typically dress yourself for a weekend night out?

We are not fancy, so probably something like skinny jeans, sandals, and a flowy top.

5. Do you like to wear accessories? If yes, what are your go-to accessories?

Not really. I wear stud earrings every day though, and I love delicate necklaces.

6. How do you typically fix your hair? (Blow dry and straighten/curl? Air dry? Wash and go?)

I wash it every few days at night and let it air dry. For work I just put it in a ponytail or bun. Otherwise I’ll just leave it down (I have very straight hair that doesn’t do well with styling so I just make sure to get a cut that flatters it without much work). Sometimes I’ll straighten it if there are weird kinks.

7. What make up do you wear on a daily basis? Do you have a preferred brand of cosmetics?

I wear mineral foundation, blush, and mascara. That’s it. I love Bare Minerals.

8. What is your preferred workout? (Gym? Outdoor running? Yoga? Group classes? None? Etc…?)

I’m still figuring out what is going to work for me on a long-term basis, but right now running feels good. I loooove in-person yoga classes but can’t afford them. I’m excited about the versatility of a gym though. Haven’t tried many group classes.

9. Where is your favorite place to shop online?

Amazon.

10. Do you enjoy entertaining guests in your home or would you prefer to be a guest and leave the hostessing to someone else?

I like having people over, but I’m not super confident in my hostessing skills yet so I usually prefer to be a guest. :)

11. What quality do you really value in your significant other?

There are too many awesome things about David to list here, but I want to mention that I really appreciate how smart, funny, and communicative he is. That means I am never bored with him around, and I always know what he’s feeling!

***

Thank you, Melissa, for tagging me! I tag: Kerri / Stephany / Sarah / Nora /Kara

Here are my questions:

1. What is the first thing you do when you wake up in the morning?

2. What do you eat for breakfast?

3. What’s your go-to weeknight meal?

4. Do you do any kind of journaling or memory keeping?

5. How do you fix your coffee, or do you prefer tea (or neither)?

6. What’s the last good book you read?

7. If you had a day all to yourself with no schedule, how would you spend it?

8. What are three things on your life list?

9. When you really need to relax or de-stress, where do you go and what do you do?

10. What’s on your nightstand?

11. What’s the last thing you do before you go to sleep?

May 21, 2014