Category: personal

currently

excited to read the above three books and love on my home in the coming year.

finishing up some really great books recently.

celebrating a full night’s sleep for the first time in ages, and an hour-plus of alone time this morning before the kids woke up!

seriously considering heading to Nordstrom on Black Friday to look for jeans and boots. I simply can’t buy them without trying them on, and I’m thinking if I don’t take the kids and just plan to be there awhile, it might be worth it.

refraining from putting up many Christmas decorations because I’m worried about what the cats (who are really still kittens) will do to them.

looking forward to starting a couple new Advent traditions – an advent wreath, and a Christmas book countdown.

planning what form my December Daily album will take this year.

hosting a bunch of Facebook parties in the future because I’ve found some great direct-sell brands and I love to support other women.

wondering if Meredith has trouble hearing us. She has been asking us to repeat ourselves a lot lately.

hurting from a hard lump on the back of my hand that has been there for years, but recently has been causing pain in my hand and wrist.

hoping to get off work early today so I can start working on the mashed potatoes. (I’m also in charge of green beans, but I’ll do those in the morning.)

Happy Thanksgiving to my American friends! :)

November 25, 2015
what i’m for

Today I’m linking up with my friend Brittany to share some of the things I’m for. This is an attempt at positivity, even though I for sure don’t always feel it! But today I’ve had a decent night’s sleep and a scream-free morning, so I’m feeling pretty good. :)

Coffee. Listen, coffee makes me a better person. I really don’t mind that my body is completely dependent on it at this point.

Doing what works for you. This is my parenting philosophy. Although I have my ideals, life gets in the way and I’m all about surviving however necessary.

Lullabies. Bedtime is hard for us right now, but a sweet song makes it easier. Sometimes a well-chosen lullaby can even calm a horrific tantrum. Here is my current favorite to sing to the kids.

Going to church. Even if I don’t feel like it. Because that’s how communities are built and I know mine has been carrying me in prayer.

Wrestling. I mean this figuratively, but I don’t know a better way to put it. Did you know that Israel means “wrestles with God”? I am always amazed to remember that is what God named his chosen people. He wants us to wrestle with him; He doesn’t expect us to just accept the faith of our parents or our culture. I’ve been doing a lot of this recently, and have had my faith challenged, then strengthened.

These are just some of the things on my mind lately. This will be a recurring series, so share your own post and see the others here! Or, just share in the comments. :)

November 18, 2015
notes from an unplanned day off

I’m home today with a sick boy. If you’ve been reading for awhile, you might remember that Liam was sick constantly for the first year and a half of his life. So today, I am celebrating the fact that this is is first illness in months. He only has a mild fever and congestion, so hopefully it won’t stick around long.

We’ve really been enjoying our special day together. Extra cuddles, nursing, and screen time (his favorite right now is Little Einsteins – he loves to “pat pat pat”). We went for a long walk and I was surprised by how muggy it is outside. Middle of November and it’s 80 degrees and I’m sweating!

Back at home, I got him down for a nap and then was able to finish up this year’s week in the life album. I’ll be sharing the last couple of days soon, and now I can move on to the next craft project! I have a quilt in progress for Meredith, but today I decided to put that aside and work on this softie for her instead. She will be able to use the quilt long past the time when she wants to play with stuffed animals, so this comes first.

Speaking of Meredith, she is still our spirited child. Her tantrums have improved over the past couple of weeks, but they definitely come in phases. Yesterday and this morning weren’t so good. On a personal note, I have noticed myself sinking into depression which is unusual for me. I was having a very hard time with motherhood especially. In the end, I decided to stop taking the birth control pill I had been trying out. I noticed a difference almost immediately – so, PSA for anyone else who may experience something similar! I guess that’s not the method for me. Obviously motherhood is still tough, but I’m enjoying the kids much more again and have a lot more patience.

Well, I better get back to crafting if I want to make the most of this nap! Have a great rest of your week. :)

November 11, 2015
they were here / 1

I don’t have a lot of time these days to work on the house like I want to, but I do like to keep things neat and tidy. For me it is very true that outer order contributes to inner calm.

However, that’s often hard to do when kids are living a full life in the space. We keep their “stuff” to a minimum and I do a daily pick-up of the house which helps, but as long as they are there I will find evidence of them. And actually, I love that. So this photo series is to celebrate the little things around the home that remind me: my kids were here.

Current library book on my bedside table. Meredith likes to “read” it to me and I love her interpretation of the pages.

We’ve been coloring a lot lately.

My sink, with an Olaf cup. She brushes her teeth in the bathroom with me and I also never know when she will ask for water before bed.

I should really move this out of the way since I walk right by it all the time, but it reminds me how the kids were playing “firefighter” all last week leading up to Halloween. (See our costumes here, btw!)

November 5, 2015
what i learned in october

I started strong with writing down what I learned in October, but it got kind of stressful toward the end and I didn’t end up remembering to keep up with it! So here are the few random things I learned over the past month.

Pop culture trivia

Am I the last one to know this? Kirk Cameron and Candace Cameron Bure are siblings. I learned this from the Popcast.

Fairy tales

Also from the Popcast, I learned some of the details about the dark origins of fairy tales. Suuuper creepy stuff.

Random medical stuff

This is probably going to be a recurring category in my life because of my job. From working in the pre-op department this month, I learned that “talus” is an ankle bone and “cicatrix” means a scar.

Dark matter

From an interview on the Happier podcast, I learned that there is such a thing as dark matter which is matter in the universe that doesn’t interact with light. So weird.

Sororities

From my Voxer friends, I learned the history and origins of sororities and how they work. I went to a college that didn’t have them, so I really had no good idea what they are actually like.

Gilmore Girls

Like the rest of the world, I learned that my all-time favorite show Gilmore Girls is coming back with four encore episodes via Netflix! I’m planning to take the day off work and binge-watch it whenever it actually does come out.

Personal Growth

Several things were (are) causing me anxiety recently (still), and I re-learned that I’m a work in progress. I don’t recover from stressful situations well and I definitely take it out on the people around me without intending to. That’s not a fun thing to learn over and over again, but at least now I’m taking steps to better myself.

Stay tuned for the books I read in October, and a new blog series coming soon!

November 3, 2015