How do you handle it when you are in a store and your child is acting a-fool and you want to hand him to the closest stranger and run out of there as quick as possible?
And that is a real question. It isn't an intro to a post that will become deep and meaningful and come full circle with a poetic ending leaving people thinking I'm a perfect mom with words of wisdom.
In fact it will probably do just the opposite.
I mean REALLY, HOW do you handle that moment?
Eli is growing daily, and I love every minute, it is so much fun to play with him. He now understands the concept of throwing and catching, he likes to wrestle, he can sit and play with his cars, trains and buses and make vroooom noises for hours. It is so fun watching him grow.
However, he isn't just growing in "fun" ways, he is also growing in "naughty" ways.
Oh joy.
You know before you're a mom you have all these thoughts on how you will handle temper tantrums, you will look sternly in the child's eye, use your sweetest but firmest voice and explain to them that this behavior is not good. Then the child will stop the behavior ashamed of their actions yet still remaining a confident human being. Yes that is how it will be.
And then next thing you know you are standing in the middle of TJ Maxx with a 20 month old standing in the cart SCREAMING in your face while throwing items out of the cart along with your phone which got thrown a pretty impressive distance (dad would have been proud if it was a football).
Everything you ever thought you would do goes out the window as you feel the eyes of strangers trying not to look at you but like a train wreck they can't turn away. While some are looks of pity, most are of annoyance wondering why you would bring a 20 month old who only napped 30 minutes into TJ Maxx just so you could get some more FLIPPING CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS.
In that moment I felt like I was on a stage, with people critiquing how I was going to handle this situation. As if it was the American Idol of parenting and they were going to judge my skills, except in this situation the judging would happen internally, which was probably for the best.
I'm almost two years into this whole mom thing and I'm still learning something new every single day.
In this particular instance I learned something about not caring what others think - which is not easy for me. But in this situation I know I did what was best for me and Eli - and as he gets older and my disciplining grows and adapts to him and that situation I know that I have to do what is best for us and not what others think - as their staring eyes bore into me.
And I need to remember this, even when I want to throw sweet, screaming child at them and say "here you wanna stare, then you FIGURE IT OUT".
That would probably not be good.
11/28/12
11/27/12
Weathered Ways Giveaway
I am so excited to be hosting yet another giveaway for Weathered Ways.
They are an awesome husband and wife team who work hard to create some beautiful signs for the home.
We have a sign they made in our living room and I love it and we get compliments on it all the time!
And now one of you can have the same sign - well with your name on it not our name!
I will select one commenter to receive this sign for their home!!
All you have to do is visit the Weathered Ways Etsy shop and comment back here with which sign you like the most.
Who knows you might find be able to take care of some people on your Christmas list when you visit their site! (please note, December 1st is the last day to order custom signs to ensure delivery before Christmas)
Good luck! I will draw the winner on Friday
They are an awesome husband and wife team who work hard to create some beautiful signs for the home.
We have a sign they made in our living room and I love it and we get compliments on it all the time!
And now one of you can have the same sign - well with your name on it not our name!
I will select one commenter to receive this sign for their home!!
All you have to do is visit the Weathered Ways Etsy shop and comment back here with which sign you like the most.
Who knows you might find be able to take care of some people on your Christmas list when you visit their site! (please note, December 1st is the last day to order custom signs to ensure delivery before Christmas)
Good luck! I will draw the winner on Friday
11/26/12
Bigfoot?
Luke and I have a nightly routine consisting of him watching random shows on TV and me browsing random areas of the internet.
Sometimes he complains about the amount of time I spend on my computer, and sometimes I complain about the dumb things he watches, but for the most part this routine is perfection.
Sunday night we were partaking in our routine, I was looking through soon to be Cyber Monday deals and Luke was watching a show on the History Channel about Bigfoot.
Ok wait, what? BIGFOOT? This was one of those nights when I complained that Luke needed to turn the channel. Sure I don't actually watch the TV when I'm on the computer but BIGFOOT? Let's watch something of substance, like The Real Housewives of anything.
Luke assured me that the Bigfoot show was worth watching because the team was in Oklahoma where a large amount of people believe Bigfoot and his family of sasqutches live.
I'm not sure what the plural form of sasquatch is, not sure I ever thought I would need to know.
So Luke continued to watch the show and I continued to surf the web, while occasionally glancing at the TV. I have to admit it was pretty gripping television. People camping in tents thinking they saw the sasquatch in the wood of Oklahoma when really it was a RACCOON. Ok not gripping at all - really just annoying.
Where is this story going?
Well later that night I was the only person in the house awake. I enjoy my nights alone, I get so much done when the house is quiet. And like clockwork when I start drifting to sleep I close up my ipad, and go check on Eli one last time before the morning.
I was checking on Eli around midnight when I decided to look out his window into the backyard, I'm not sure why I decided to do this but I was half awake and it made sense at the time.
I lifted up one white shade from his window blinds and took a scan of the backyard, and there before me was the largest black object I have ever seen.
In what seems like a scene ripped straight from a movie I quickly blinked my eyes, rubbed them, and then re-examined the backyard, was I truly seeing a large black object in my backyard?
IS BIGFOOT REALLY REAL?!?!?!?!
As I stood staring into the backyard SCARED OUT OF MY MIND, but trying not to make a sound I saw another black object step onto the scene.
It was time to act.
I ran into our room like a crazy woman and told Luke to wake up that there were things in our backyard, possibly Bigfoot.
He looked at me with a mix of confusion and annoyance on his face. And also like he thought I was insane? Maybe I was? I didn't care I said, "THIS ISN'T A DREAM GET UP AND COME LOOK!" "Oh and shhhh don't wake up Eli or you have to stay up with him the rest of the night".
We tiptoed into Eli's room stepping over trains and wooden blocks on the floor and once again lifted up the shades looking into the backyard. All the while I was secretly afraid that the black objects would be gone and Luke would think I was once again walking and talking in my sleep. Yes, it has happened.
But sure enough there they were; the two large objects. I asked Luke if he saw them, and did he think they were Bigfoot and his mistress?
To which he replied, yes I see the two large DEER in our backyard.
At once I felt a rush of disappointment and relief. How cool would it have been if we saw Bigfoot the very night we watched the show about him? Like he reveals himself to those who are willing?
But clearly that is not the case. And clearly my imagination runs a bit too far when I see what is an ordinary deer in our yard.
How cool would it have been if it was Christmas Eve and we could have told Eli they were reindeer?
Almost as cool as if it had been Bigfoot.
Sometimes he complains about the amount of time I spend on my computer, and sometimes I complain about the dumb things he watches, but for the most part this routine is perfection.
Sunday night we were partaking in our routine, I was looking through soon to be Cyber Monday deals and Luke was watching a show on the History Channel about Bigfoot.
Ok wait, what? BIGFOOT? This was one of those nights when I complained that Luke needed to turn the channel. Sure I don't actually watch the TV when I'm on the computer but BIGFOOT? Let's watch something of substance, like The Real Housewives of anything.
Luke assured me that the Bigfoot show was worth watching because the team was in Oklahoma where a large amount of people believe Bigfoot and his family of sasqutches live.
I'm not sure what the plural form of sasquatch is, not sure I ever thought I would need to know.
So Luke continued to watch the show and I continued to surf the web, while occasionally glancing at the TV. I have to admit it was pretty gripping television. People camping in tents thinking they saw the sasquatch in the wood of Oklahoma when really it was a RACCOON. Ok not gripping at all - really just annoying.
Where is this story going?
Well later that night I was the only person in the house awake. I enjoy my nights alone, I get so much done when the house is quiet. And like clockwork when I start drifting to sleep I close up my ipad, and go check on Eli one last time before the morning.
I was checking on Eli around midnight when I decided to look out his window into the backyard, I'm not sure why I decided to do this but I was half awake and it made sense at the time.
I lifted up one white shade from his window blinds and took a scan of the backyard, and there before me was the largest black object I have ever seen.
In what seems like a scene ripped straight from a movie I quickly blinked my eyes, rubbed them, and then re-examined the backyard, was I truly seeing a large black object in my backyard?
IS BIGFOOT REALLY REAL?!?!?!?!
As I stood staring into the backyard SCARED OUT OF MY MIND, but trying not to make a sound I saw another black object step onto the scene.
It was time to act.
I ran into our room like a crazy woman and told Luke to wake up that there were things in our backyard, possibly Bigfoot.
He looked at me with a mix of confusion and annoyance on his face. And also like he thought I was insane? Maybe I was? I didn't care I said, "THIS ISN'T A DREAM GET UP AND COME LOOK!" "Oh and shhhh don't wake up Eli or you have to stay up with him the rest of the night".
We tiptoed into Eli's room stepping over trains and wooden blocks on the floor and once again lifted up the shades looking into the backyard. All the while I was secretly afraid that the black objects would be gone and Luke would think I was once again walking and talking in my sleep. Yes, it has happened.
But sure enough there they were; the two large objects. I asked Luke if he saw them, and did he think they were Bigfoot and his mistress?
To which he replied, yes I see the two large DEER in our backyard.
At once I felt a rush of disappointment and relief. How cool would it have been if we saw Bigfoot the very night we watched the show about him? Like he reveals himself to those who are willing?
But clearly that is not the case. And clearly my imagination runs a bit too far when I see what is an ordinary deer in our yard.
How cool would it have been if it was Christmas Eve and we could have told Eli they were reindeer?
Almost as cool as if it had been Bigfoot.
11/24/12
Shop Away!
Hi Friends! I hope you are having an amazing Thanksgiving week!!
I haven't posted in a couple of days - I was busy trying to get all our Christmas decorations up before heading out of town.
Since then I've been soaking up time with family, eating and of course taking advantage of some amazing Black Friday Deals!!!
Be sure and head over to Riffraff and check out their amazing selection of clothing, shoes and accessories. I have my eye on a couple of sweaters that I can't wait to grab!
Happy shopping!!
11/18/12
A Pretty Black Plastic Hanger
Almost two years ago at the beginning of the year I listed out my New Year's Resolutions for the year 2011.
I had some pretty lofty goals on that list considering I was 7 months pregnant and about to pop out my first baby, but that's pretty much how I live my life; go big or go home.
Actually not really, I pretty much live in fear of most things, but clearly I'm not afraid to type out resolutions for all to see, knowing I have a 2% rate of following through with them.
But I am proud to say in October 2012 almost two years after typing out those resolutions I have finally achieved one of them.
I am happy to say my closet is now made up completely of black plastic hangers, there is not a nasty, dingy, wire hanger in site.
Please, do not try and aspire to match my ability to set such high goals and stick to them. You will probably just disappoint yourself.
Whenever I set the goal of getting rid of wire hangers it was really just because I hated them and thought plastic hangers would make everything look all nice and neat.
But then I soon turned it into a way to get rid of clothes. At that time almost all of our clothes were on wire hangers so I bought some black hangers, and every time we would wear something we would hang it back up using a black hanger - that way at the end of the year we could take inventory and get rid of anything on a wire hanger knowing that it hadn't been worn in a year.
Well a year passed and my not-quite-a-hoarder-but-almost-maybe personality kicked in and I couldn't make myself get rid of the clothes on wire hangers, knowing, thinking, hoping that maybe I would wear them again, sometime soon.
And here we are another year later and I decided it was time to purge the clothes.
So after church Luke and I conquered the closet, we filled 4 trash bags full of clothes on wire hangers, creating a beautiful, wonderful closet full of black plastic hangers.
Every girl's dream.
And my side of the closet completed. Ahh isn't it just beautiful?
I made Luke come in to observe the beauty of the black hangers (he had already "finished" his side and had gone to watch a football game" and he stood, looked at it and said "cool" and then walked out.
Maybe that is a normal reaction to clothes hanging on a rod, but to me it is a goal that I finally achieved!
Two years later.
I had some pretty lofty goals on that list considering I was 7 months pregnant and about to pop out my first baby, but that's pretty much how I live my life; go big or go home.
Actually not really, I pretty much live in fear of most things, but clearly I'm not afraid to type out resolutions for all to see, knowing I have a 2% rate of following through with them.
But I am proud to say in October 2012 almost two years after typing out those resolutions I have finally achieved one of them.
I am happy to say my closet is now made up completely of black plastic hangers, there is not a nasty, dingy, wire hanger in site.
Please, do not try and aspire to match my ability to set such high goals and stick to them. You will probably just disappoint yourself.
Whenever I set the goal of getting rid of wire hangers it was really just because I hated them and thought plastic hangers would make everything look all nice and neat.
But then I soon turned it into a way to get rid of clothes. At that time almost all of our clothes were on wire hangers so I bought some black hangers, and every time we would wear something we would hang it back up using a black hanger - that way at the end of the year we could take inventory and get rid of anything on a wire hanger knowing that it hadn't been worn in a year.
Well a year passed and my not-quite-a-hoarder-but-almost-maybe personality kicked in and I couldn't make myself get rid of the clothes on wire hangers, knowing, thinking, hoping that maybe I would wear them again, sometime soon.
And here we are another year later and I decided it was time to purge the clothes.
So after church Luke and I conquered the closet, we filled 4 trash bags full of clothes on wire hangers, creating a beautiful, wonderful closet full of black plastic hangers.
Every girl's dream.
Here is Luke multi-tasking during the great closet purge. He was both taking down clothes and saying "stop I don't want to be on your blog!!!"
That blurry thing is his hand trying to block my camera. C'mon Luke I've been blogging five years now, get over it.
And my side of the closet completed. Ahh isn't it just beautiful?
I made Luke come in to observe the beauty of the black hangers (he had already "finished" his side and had gone to watch a football game" and he stood, looked at it and said "cool" and then walked out.
Maybe that is a normal reaction to clothes hanging on a rod, but to me it is a goal that I finally achieved!
Two years later.
11/17/12
Procrastination
I've always been a procrastinator.
I was the girl in college who stayed up all night to finish that 12 page paper that she had a month to work on.
I'm the girl who rolls into the gas station on fumes praying that the red line below that E letter is just a warning and doesn't in fact mean I'm empty.
And I'm the girl who will put off cleaning until my house is practically begging me to clean it.
Procrastination is not a good thing, I have learned this time and time again. But for everytime I've learned that procrastination is bad there are at least three instances where my procrastination wasn't so bad.
Like earning an A on the paper I put off until the last minute. Or making it to the gas station on empty every single time and never needing to call for help.
But this time, my procrastination has caught up with me.
You see, this summer while eating a roll part of one of my molars chipped off. CHIPPED OFF. I thought this was weird and was very concerned for about a day.
I was mostly concerned with the fact that i couldn't find the chipped tooth and realized I had eaten my tooth. Which freaked me out. After that I was concerned that my tooth just chipped for no reason.
And then I forgot about it. I didn't think it was that big of a deal and I seemed to be doing fine.
Then one day out of the blue I decided to go to the dentist. At this point it had been five months since my tooth chipped so I guess in my mind I figured it was time to go.
I really don't know how or why my mind works the way it does. It is one of the great mysteries of life.
I called the dental office and told them I needed a filling. Apparently I think it's ok to tell the dentist what needs to be done with my mouth.
So I arrived at the dentist, the sweet hygienist looked in my mouth, saw the chipped molar and then numbed the entire left side of my mouth.
There are few things in life worse than a numb mouth. A collapsed lung, and contractions for 24 hours. Other than that NOTHING compares to how awful a numbed mouth feels.
I sat there all laid back in my chair, kicking my feet merrily away waiting for the dentist to come fill my tooth and get this over with. I had told the hygienist I was cold so she gave me a warmed blanket so I was quite comfy and cozy despite the annoying feeling of a numbed mouth. I was planning what I would eat for lunch once the numbness went away when the dentist came to me with x-rays in hand.
This was the moment he decided to tell me that he could not fill my tooth because I needed a root canal and crown. There was nothing he could do that day.
Ok great, whatever, NOW PLEASE UN-NUMB MY MOUTH.
He referred me to a root canal person.
I then waited another 2 weeks to call the root canal person. WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME?
I made an appointment with the root canal man and then that's when it happened. My tooth began throbbing. THROBBING.
Tis the week of Thanksgiving and my tooth is causing me so much pain I can't even chew on that side of my mouth.
And I can blame it all on procrastination.
I'm ok with procrastination causing me to get a bad grade, or causing me to run out of gas calling my husband during a meeting for help but I am NOT ok with my procrastination causing me to not fully enjoy the beauty that is turkey, dressing, cheese potatoes and pumpkin rolls. NOT ok.
I may have learned my lesson about procrastinating.
Just ask me later.
I was the girl in college who stayed up all night to finish that 12 page paper that she had a month to work on.
I'm the girl who rolls into the gas station on fumes praying that the red line below that E letter is just a warning and doesn't in fact mean I'm empty.
And I'm the girl who will put off cleaning until my house is practically begging me to clean it.
Procrastination is not a good thing, I have learned this time and time again. But for everytime I've learned that procrastination is bad there are at least three instances where my procrastination wasn't so bad.
Like earning an A on the paper I put off until the last minute. Or making it to the gas station on empty every single time and never needing to call for help.
But this time, my procrastination has caught up with me.
You see, this summer while eating a roll part of one of my molars chipped off. CHIPPED OFF. I thought this was weird and was very concerned for about a day.
I was mostly concerned with the fact that i couldn't find the chipped tooth and realized I had eaten my tooth. Which freaked me out. After that I was concerned that my tooth just chipped for no reason.
And then I forgot about it. I didn't think it was that big of a deal and I seemed to be doing fine.
Then one day out of the blue I decided to go to the dentist. At this point it had been five months since my tooth chipped so I guess in my mind I figured it was time to go.
I really don't know how or why my mind works the way it does. It is one of the great mysteries of life.
I called the dental office and told them I needed a filling. Apparently I think it's ok to tell the dentist what needs to be done with my mouth.
So I arrived at the dentist, the sweet hygienist looked in my mouth, saw the chipped molar and then numbed the entire left side of my mouth.
There are few things in life worse than a numb mouth. A collapsed lung, and contractions for 24 hours. Other than that NOTHING compares to how awful a numbed mouth feels.
I sat there all laid back in my chair, kicking my feet merrily away waiting for the dentist to come fill my tooth and get this over with. I had told the hygienist I was cold so she gave me a warmed blanket so I was quite comfy and cozy despite the annoying feeling of a numbed mouth. I was planning what I would eat for lunch once the numbness went away when the dentist came to me with x-rays in hand.
This was the moment he decided to tell me that he could not fill my tooth because I needed a root canal and crown. There was nothing he could do that day.
Ok great, whatever, NOW PLEASE UN-NUMB MY MOUTH.
He referred me to a root canal person.
I then waited another 2 weeks to call the root canal person. WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME?
I made an appointment with the root canal man and then that's when it happened. My tooth began throbbing. THROBBING.
Tis the week of Thanksgiving and my tooth is causing me so much pain I can't even chew on that side of my mouth.
And I can blame it all on procrastination.
I'm ok with procrastination causing me to get a bad grade, or causing me to run out of gas calling my husband during a meeting for help but I am NOT ok with my procrastination causing me to not fully enjoy the beauty that is turkey, dressing, cheese potatoes and pumpkin rolls. NOT ok.
I may have learned my lesson about procrastinating.
Just ask me later.
11/14/12
Open Party
Have you had a chance to look at the cute purses and accessories from Grace Adele?
If you haven't you should check it out!
Grace Adele offers stylish purses, clutches and coordinating accessory pieces. I love this outfit put together below with the Grace Adele scarf, purse and clutch and jewelry. I NEED that purse in red!
If you have any questions you can email me, or if you are interested in placing an order you can visit Amber's Grace Adele site.
Happy Shopping!
I've been a bit MIA on my blog lately. I hope to get back into the groove of blogging soon. It usually just comes second nature to me, but this week I'm having trouble fitting it in!
11/8/12
Random Musings.
It's been a while since I've written a random post, so here we go.
1. I've realized, that now that I stay home, I don't get dressed anymore. Well I mean I wear clothes but I wear lounge clothes. Even if we are running errands lounge it is. I'm all about comfort now (poor Luke). And I'm realizing just how tiny my lounge clothes collection is. Where can I get good nice looking lounge clothes? And I should probably sell all my work clothes.
2. I made it my mission to finish all Christmas shopping by Thanksgiving and I'm almost done! Woo hoo!
3. Since I started staying home I've become a reading machine again - which I'm so glad! I will do a post over the books I've read soon.
4. In my Scentsy post the other day I forgot to mention a very important thing. All Scentsy Buddy's are still Buy One Get One FREE!!
5. I always put my Christmas stuff up the week BEFORE Thanksgiving. I'm itching to get all my decoration boxes out of the attic. Well for Luke to get all the boxes out of the attic.
6. I just bought my 4th (or 5th?) planner of the year. I need to do a review over all my planners - maybe it will help someone save money from buying FOUR (or five?) planners!
7. Eli has entered that phase of toddler-hood where he refuses to eat. But then acts starving later but won't eat. It's fun.
8. I'm sick of these 70 degree days. I'm ready for some real cold weather!
9. As much as I hate pedicures I need to suck it up and go get one. It is time.
10. I have no more random thoughts but couldn't stand to leave just nine things.
1. I've realized, that now that I stay home, I don't get dressed anymore. Well I mean I wear clothes but I wear lounge clothes. Even if we are running errands lounge it is. I'm all about comfort now (poor Luke). And I'm realizing just how tiny my lounge clothes collection is. Where can I get good nice looking lounge clothes? And I should probably sell all my work clothes.
2. I made it my mission to finish all Christmas shopping by Thanksgiving and I'm almost done! Woo hoo!
3. Since I started staying home I've become a reading machine again - which I'm so glad! I will do a post over the books I've read soon.
4. In my Scentsy post the other day I forgot to mention a very important thing. All Scentsy Buddy's are still Buy One Get One FREE!!
5. I always put my Christmas stuff up the week BEFORE Thanksgiving. I'm itching to get all my decoration boxes out of the attic. Well for Luke to get all the boxes out of the attic.
6. I just bought my 4th (or 5th?) planner of the year. I need to do a review over all my planners - maybe it will help someone save money from buying FOUR (or five?) planners!
7. Eli has entered that phase of toddler-hood where he refuses to eat. But then acts starving later but won't eat. It's fun.
8. I'm sick of these 70 degree days. I'm ready for some real cold weather!
9. As much as I hate pedicures I need to suck it up and go get one. It is time.
10. I have no more random thoughts but couldn't stand to leave just nine things.
11/7/12
A Season of Thankfulness
It's amazing to me that my God knows everything about me.
The bible says that God knew me before he formed me, that while I was in the womb he knit every part of me together. He knows my thoughts and knows what I'm going to say before I say it (which is sometimes scary). He knows me.
As a follower of Christ this is all crazy for even me to think about, so I can only imagine how bizarre it may sound if you are not a follower of Christ, or perhaps a bit skeptical of it all. But it is true. Our God knows me, He knows you.
And try as I might to take control and do my own thing because I "know" what is best for me, I can't and eventually I am reminded that He really does know what is best for me.
Right now I'm in a season where I recognize that handing my life over to God and humbly following His lead is what is best for me. I am in a season of thankfulness.
I know that it's the "right thing" to always say how thankful we are, but sometimes it just becomes "going through the motions" instead of true thankfulness.
I am so thankful that I am able to stay home. It is something that I always thought I would do. I thought it would be the natural cycle of my life. Grow up, get married, have a kiddo, stay home and take care of baby, house and husband.
But as we know, our picture of life is rarely how it turns out. And I am learning that is for the best.
God knows me, he knows what makes me tick, he knows how I'm wired, and He knows what I need, even if I disagree completely.
The bible says that God knew me before he formed me, that while I was in the womb he knit every part of me together. He knows my thoughts and knows what I'm going to say before I say it (which is sometimes scary). He knows me.
As a follower of Christ this is all crazy for even me to think about, so I can only imagine how bizarre it may sound if you are not a follower of Christ, or perhaps a bit skeptical of it all. But it is true. Our God knows me, He knows you.
And try as I might to take control and do my own thing because I "know" what is best for me, I can't and eventually I am reminded that He really does know what is best for me.
Right now I'm in a season where I recognize that handing my life over to God and humbly following His lead is what is best for me. I am in a season of thankfulness.
I know that it's the "right thing" to always say how thankful we are, but sometimes it just becomes "going through the motions" instead of true thankfulness.
I am so thankful that I am able to stay home. It is something that I always thought I would do. I thought it would be the natural cycle of my life. Grow up, get married, have a kiddo, stay home and take care of baby, house and husband.
But as we know, our picture of life is rarely how it turns out. And I am learning that is for the best.
God knows me, he knows what makes me tick, he knows how I'm wired, and He knows what I need, even if I disagree completely.
I never thought I would work after having a baby, and I'm thankful
that I was able to work part time. I got a taste of both worlds during
that time. Both as a working mom and a stay at home mom. Before having
Eli I think I was a bit prideful in my thoughts about staying home. I
thought there was no way I would go back to work after having my baby.
No way, no how.
I always felt torn because with one side of my heart I was praying to God to provide a way for me to be home full time and on the other hand I was thankful for a great job and wonderful office atmosphere and thankful that I got to be home part time. But there were still days I longed to be home full time.
After being torn for over a year between praying for something and being thankful for something that contradicted that prayer request we found ourselves in a situation where our prayers answered. God provided a way that I could stay home full time.
And since that time I have had a heart full of thankfulness. Not just because my prayers were answered but because I serve a God who knows what I need. He knew I needed time to work. During that year I grew as a person, I grew as a mom, Luke and I grew as a copule, and I grew in my faith, knowing that God would provide in His perfect timing. And He did.
I understand it is easy for me to say all this now that I'm on the other side of having my prayer request answered, but it has strengthened my faith through other prayer requests. I have been reminded that my timing, my ways and my reasonings are not God's and I must look to Him.
Everyday I wake up so thankful for the opportunity to have to stay home with Eli, and thankful that I had an opportunity (though it didn't seem like that at the time) to work, because with that season I now know for sure this is exactly where I want to be. And I give all the glory to God.
11/6/12
New Month!
A new month means a new warmer and scent of the month from Scentsy!!
This month the warmer of the month is Holiday Lights. I think it is so pretty!!
The scent of the month is Peppermint Dreams and is very pepperminty like it sounds (I just made up that pepperminty word). It kind of smells like an Andes Mint, except you can't eat it!
Scentsy products make perfect gifts - if you have someone on your Christmas list who is impossible to buy for considering giving them the gift of Scentsy! They even make great gifts for men!
You can purchase your products here.
And because I'm so proud of my team and my own experience with Scentsy I wanted to share this...I had several people join my team in the past couple of months who told me it was their goal to pay for all their Christmas with their Scentsy paycheck. I have talked to a couple of my team members this week who told me they are going to be able to do that! It makes me so happy for them. Scentsy has been such a blessing in my life, I love watching others be blessed by this business.
If you ever have any questions about anything Scentsy related please email me (or comment) and let me know!
This month the warmer of the month is Holiday Lights. I think it is so pretty!!
The scent of the month is Peppermint Dreams and is very pepperminty like it sounds (I just made up that pepperminty word). It kind of smells like an Andes Mint, except you can't eat it!
Both the scent and warmer of the month are 10% during November.
Scentsy products make perfect gifts - if you have someone on your Christmas list who is impossible to buy for considering giving them the gift of Scentsy! They even make great gifts for men!
You can purchase your products here.
And because I'm so proud of my team and my own experience with Scentsy I wanted to share this...I had several people join my team in the past couple of months who told me it was their goal to pay for all their Christmas with their Scentsy paycheck. I have talked to a couple of my team members this week who told me they are going to be able to do that! It makes me so happy for them. Scentsy has been such a blessing in my life, I love watching others be blessed by this business.
If you ever have any questions about anything Scentsy related please email me (or comment) and let me know!
11/5/12
Jury Duty
Today I did something I have never done before. I reported a court house for jury duty.
It all started three weeks ago when I ran to the mailbox, my favorite part of the day is to retrieve the mail. I LOVE getting the mail, you never know what special treats are in there waiting for you! My least favorite special treats are bills my most favorite special treats are letters or cards. Except I don't think I've gotten a letter in the mail since 1991.
Anyways, that particular day when I went to get my special treats I was stunned to see I had gotten a letter from the court. I immediately started going through my brain trying to think of what I had done to break the law. Which is hilarious considering the closest I've come to breaking the law is speeding - which I guess technically IS breaking the law, but not anything to get called to court over.
I opened the envelope to find that I was not being sent to court, but instead I was summoned to jury duty. I have always had a deep fear of being summoned to jury duty and it had finally happened. I do not do well in public situations and become very awkward, plus the courthouse is downtown and I HATE driving downtown. Like my #2 biggest fear behind being summoned to jury duty. Public awkwardness combined with driving downtown makes for a dreaded day.
So today was the fateful day in which I had to conquer a fear of driving downtown and a fear of participating in a public situation. I had butterflies all Sunday night just thinking about it all. Luke even offered to drive me downtown the night before and show me exactly where to go and where to park. Which was sweet and as much as I wanted to scream YES PLEASE, I decided to put my big girl pants on and figure it out myself.
I made my way through morning traffic, found the parking garage, and parked, all the while praying that I would make it on time. Nothing seemed more embarrassing than walking into a jury summons room late.
As I was making my way to the courthouse I noticed a man who looked a little like Emmitt Smith walking next to me. I am a big fan of Emmitt Smith so I decided to stick close to this man, it was soon after, that I noticed not only was he also holding his jury summons ticket he was holding a book that was a bible study.
I decided this man was my new best friend. He could have had 50 Shades of Grey in that "bible study" book for all I knew, but from the outside I decided we would be connected at the hip that day.
I'm sure the man wondered why I followed closely behind him, going everywhere he went, and getting in line behind him to go through the metal detector and then following him into the elevator. All the while never uttering a word to him.
We made our way to the jury room and somewhere, somehow I lost my Emmitt. I was in a room of 398 other people and yet I was all alone.
I checked in, and then started to wander aimlessly through the room looking for a seat I felt like every eye was poring into me with echos of "ya can't sit here" filling my mind. It was probably a lot less dramatic than that but that is what it felt like in the moment.
I finally found a seat in the last ROW sat between two people who looked seemingly normal. The seats were church pew styled so when you say next to someone you were REALLy sitting next to them. Elbows touching and all. I soon realized I had sat next to the chattiest person in the room.
Looking back I realize I always find myself next to the chattiest person in the room. Which means the person sitting next to me could be wondering how they landed next to the chattiest person in the room while I'm going on about the super cute boots I found and how they were a great deal. And had they ever found a great deal like that and also where are they from, how long have they lived here, what is their favorite restaurant and what is their life mission? All in a days conversation.
I sat in the room for over an hour listening to many people explain to us how this was our civic duty and we would be rewarded $20 for all of our effort. Just as I was contemplating how I was going to spend that $20 without Luke finding out I heard heard ten beautiful words "if you don't live in this county you cannot serve".
And just like that my day as a juror was complete. I said goodbye to my two new friends who groaned with jealously as I practically skipped out that door.
I'm all about doing my civic duty, but not today. Especially in the wrong county.
It all started three weeks ago when I ran to the mailbox, my favorite part of the day is to retrieve the mail. I LOVE getting the mail, you never know what special treats are in there waiting for you! My least favorite special treats are bills my most favorite special treats are letters or cards. Except I don't think I've gotten a letter in the mail since 1991.
Anyways, that particular day when I went to get my special treats I was stunned to see I had gotten a letter from the court. I immediately started going through my brain trying to think of what I had done to break the law. Which is hilarious considering the closest I've come to breaking the law is speeding - which I guess technically IS breaking the law, but not anything to get called to court over.
I opened the envelope to find that I was not being sent to court, but instead I was summoned to jury duty. I have always had a deep fear of being summoned to jury duty and it had finally happened. I do not do well in public situations and become very awkward, plus the courthouse is downtown and I HATE driving downtown. Like my #2 biggest fear behind being summoned to jury duty. Public awkwardness combined with driving downtown makes for a dreaded day.
So today was the fateful day in which I had to conquer a fear of driving downtown and a fear of participating in a public situation. I had butterflies all Sunday night just thinking about it all. Luke even offered to drive me downtown the night before and show me exactly where to go and where to park. Which was sweet and as much as I wanted to scream YES PLEASE, I decided to put my big girl pants on and figure it out myself.
I made my way through morning traffic, found the parking garage, and parked, all the while praying that I would make it on time. Nothing seemed more embarrassing than walking into a jury summons room late.
As I was making my way to the courthouse I noticed a man who looked a little like Emmitt Smith walking next to me. I am a big fan of Emmitt Smith so I decided to stick close to this man, it was soon after, that I noticed not only was he also holding his jury summons ticket he was holding a book that was a bible study.
I decided this man was my new best friend. He could have had 50 Shades of Grey in that "bible study" book for all I knew, but from the outside I decided we would be connected at the hip that day.
I'm sure the man wondered why I followed closely behind him, going everywhere he went, and getting in line behind him to go through the metal detector and then following him into the elevator. All the while never uttering a word to him.
We made our way to the jury room and somewhere, somehow I lost my Emmitt. I was in a room of 398 other people and yet I was all alone.
I checked in, and then started to wander aimlessly through the room looking for a seat I felt like every eye was poring into me with echos of "ya can't sit here" filling my mind. It was probably a lot less dramatic than that but that is what it felt like in the moment.
I finally found a seat in the last ROW sat between two people who looked seemingly normal. The seats were church pew styled so when you say next to someone you were REALLy sitting next to them. Elbows touching and all. I soon realized I had sat next to the chattiest person in the room.
Looking back I realize I always find myself next to the chattiest person in the room. Which means the person sitting next to me could be wondering how they landed next to the chattiest person in the room while I'm going on about the super cute boots I found and how they were a great deal. And had they ever found a great deal like that and also where are they from, how long have they lived here, what is their favorite restaurant and what is their life mission? All in a days conversation.
I sat in the room for over an hour listening to many people explain to us how this was our civic duty and we would be rewarded $20 for all of our effort. Just as I was contemplating how I was going to spend that $20 without Luke finding out I heard heard ten beautiful words "if you don't live in this county you cannot serve".
And just like that my day as a juror was complete. I said goodbye to my two new friends who groaned with jealously as I practically skipped out that door.
I'm all about doing my civic duty, but not today. Especially in the wrong county.
11/4/12
Halloween 2012
We had so much fun on Halloween this year! I love Eli's age right now, he is so much fun and SO wild. It can be exhausting sometimes but I try and enjoy every moment. Even if that includes chasing my child around and around and around. At least I'm burning calories!
I really didn't spend too much time trying to come up with Eli's costume. One day a friend texted me and asked what Eli was going to be for Halloween, Eli was watching Jake and the Neverland Pirates so I replied back "Jake!" I figured it would be a pretty easy outfit for me to put together.
And by "me" I really mean "my mom". I texted her that same day and told her that Eli was going to be Jake and she needed to start working on his costume.
And of course my mom delivered. Eli was the cutest Jake there ever was!
I'm sad cause I didn't get a super great pic of him in his costume, but it is SO HARD to get a child of his age to sit still long enough for a picture, let alone holding a sword to create the perfect Halloween photo opp. It just wasn't happening.
We went to our church's annual Trunk or Treat. We just used the same "throw the ball in the bucket" game that we did last year. Luke was very disappointed in "our" lack of creativity. He can be in charge of this event next year. Trunk or Treat isn't my thing.
Luke and I have never dressed up for Halloween (in our adult years) but I thought it would be fun if we all dressed up this year. I had visions of me as Jake's friend Izzy and Luke as Captain Hook. Luke was ALL ABOUT it until he priced Captain Hook costumes. He then put a firm stop to family costumes. Luckily Izzy's costume of blue pants and a pink shirt was pretty easy to put together. Luke let me splurge on the $1.50 eye patches. Sweetie.
He took his role as a pirate very seriously! He also enjoyed that sword...
I really didn't spend too much time trying to come up with Eli's costume. One day a friend texted me and asked what Eli was going to be for Halloween, Eli was watching Jake and the Neverland Pirates so I replied back "Jake!" I figured it would be a pretty easy outfit for me to put together.
And by "me" I really mean "my mom". I texted her that same day and told her that Eli was going to be Jake and she needed to start working on his costume.
And of course my mom delivered. Eli was the cutest Jake there ever was!
I'm sad cause I didn't get a super great pic of him in his costume, but it is SO HARD to get a child of his age to sit still long enough for a picture, let alone holding a sword to create the perfect Halloween photo opp. It just wasn't happening.
We went to our church's annual Trunk or Treat. We just used the same "throw the ball in the bucket" game that we did last year. Luke was very disappointed in "our" lack of creativity. He can be in charge of this event next year. Trunk or Treat isn't my thing.
Luke and I have never dressed up for Halloween (in our adult years) but I thought it would be fun if we all dressed up this year. I had visions of me as Jake's friend Izzy and Luke as Captain Hook. Luke was ALL ABOUT it until he priced Captain Hook costumes. He then put a firm stop to family costumes. Luckily Izzy's costume of blue pants and a pink shirt was pretty easy to put together. Luke let me splurge on the $1.50 eye patches. Sweetie.
Posing with my sweet Jake who was still going strong at the end of a long night
Let's get a closer look at that pirate:
He took his role as a pirate very seriously! He also enjoyed that sword...
It was a great night!
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