Electronic Hoarding VS Life Enhancing

The other day as I was perusing the very dangerous time-suck that is Pinterest, I saw an e-card that talked about it just being another form of "electronic hoarding." 

After I laughed for a good ten seconds I pondered the thought and it really rang true for me.  How many things have I pinned with good intentions and then just completely forgotten about? Right then and there the decision came, no longer would I let time or a busy schedule be an excuse for me.  It's summer and those things were pinned for a reason, now to make them a reality!

My goal is to try and take some of the fun, creative and, unique ideas that have been pinned on my boards and turn them into realities.  Once I've done that I can move them from their board as a type of "spring cleaning" if you will.  They'll no longer be lurking in the dark, dusty corners of the internet but will become true, wonderful memories for myself and family... I'm sure some won't turn out as glamorous or wonderful as the thoughtfully crafted pictures have made them, but it's worth a shot!  

Sunday night after our daughter was sound asleep in her crib, I made my way outside to turn this dream into a reality.  We recently bought a pool from Walmart for Callie's first birthday party and filled it with balls for a make-shift ball pit.  The pool was a huge success at the party and I wanted to make sure it wasn't a one-time-use kind of expense.  About a year ago I came across a photo of a pool filled with down comforters and pillows that read, "Night under the stars..." I grabbed the pillows from our guest bedroom along with a blanket (no way I was gonna get a down comforter to lay in outside, in June, in Texas...) and threw them in the pool (by-the-way, in case you didn't figure it out by now, there is no water in the pool at this time... It really is common sense, but sometimes you have to just come out and say it).

I then walked inside and grabbed Josh along with two ice cold beverages and returned to the pool.  I told him what I was doing and he jumped right on in, excited for something new.  When you've been married for nearly 4 years you have to become a little more creative for date ideas.  We laid in the pool bed for a good hour just looking at the clouds, talking about our weeks and enjoyed the peace and quiet (minus the thoughtful neighbor who decided 8:00 was a good time to edge their yard).

Overall it was a positive experience.  Super easy to clean up and definitely something we will do again.  I could even see myself doing this as a "go-to" place for devotions or quiet time.  I felt isolated even though we are in the middle of a busy neighborhood with five feet between each house.  My hope is that not only will our lives become more enhanced because of these great ideas, but that all of those hours spent on Pinterest won't be wasted time!  That's what it is there for, right?  So get up off of the couch, find that ONE thing you've been dying to try and then (as Nike put it so eloquently) JUST DO IT!  Oh and let me know how it goes! 

If you would like, you can follow my Pinterest boards here.

And Off We Go...

The day that I never thought would come has finally arrived;  Summer.  No word sounds sweeter to me today.  It seems just as the battery in my soul flashes a warning sign for empty, God comes around and offers reprieve.  Welcome, Summer.  I've been waiting for you! 

Yesterday was the conclusion to my first, complete, year of teaching.  I actually saw the first and the last days of school (which cannot be said for last year).  My kiddos did an incredible job at their graduation and made this very attached teacher proud.  Room 115 is now packed and bare, ready to sit in the stagnant, unconditioned air for two months.  I will not miss it.  Although I love teaching very much, and am confident that this is where God wants me to be, Summer is a much needed break to rejuvenate my heart, mind and soul.  If it weren't for summers, there would be no teachers.  I guarantee it.    

As a first time mommy my heart is bubbling with excitement about getting to spend every day, all day with my little girl.  I've been planning activities, schedules and setting goals for myself as well as our family.  It will be interesting to see these ideas come into fruition as the weeks pass.  I hope you'll walk along side me as I set forth on this exciting part of my Summer life! 

Today has been incredible and it is only 9:37 am.  Already I have gone on a morning run, enjoyed a lovely cup of coffee on the back patio with my love while reading a new devotional book (Crazy Love: Overwhelmed By a Relentless God), played with and fed Callie, vacuumed, washed dishes, made the bed, took a shower and started laundry!  This is by far the best I've felt in months. 

My heart's desire is to spend this time the Lord has given me by diving deeper into His word, learning to love and worship Him more and growing as a wife, mother, daughter, and friend.  I'll end this with an excerpt from my new book that spoke so profoundly to me today... '"Rejoice in the Lord always.  I will say it again: Rejoice!" Phil. 4:4.  You'll notice it doesn't end with "... Unless you're doing something extremely important." No, it's a command for all of us, and it follows with the charge, "Do not be anxious about anything."  ... Your part is to bring Him glory -- whether eating a sandwich on a lunch break, drinking coffee at 12:04 am so you can stay awake to study, or watching your four-month-old take a nap."  I hope that when He calls me home I will have brought Him glory and honor through the way I lived my life; the life that He has given to me. 

Monthly Updates

 

I can clearly remember sitting on the couch, swollen feet propped up, with my growing girl kicking the right side of my ribcage relentlessly as I passed time on Pinterest looking for ideas and fun things to try once she was here.  One of my favorite things I found was the chalkboard monthly update pictures.  Looking back, I cannot believe that an entire year has passed!  This is a post for all of you who are thinking about attempting the same with your little one.

There are a lot of pros when it comes to chalkboard updates, and with every pro there are definitely some cons. 

Pros:

1. A place to write down fun things that happened during the month that you may later forget! We kept a baby book as well but this was a fun way to document it in pictures!


2. Seeing size comparison.  Watching Callie go from being swallowed up by the size of the chalkboard to completely dwarfing it with her height was incredible. 

3. It's an artistic outlet for all of you doodlers.   C'mon, every time you see a chalkboard on Pinterest you stop and look, no?  I'm an artsy fartsy type and love to doodle.  Seriously, you should see my sermon notes from church on Sundays... There isn't a blank spot on the page; and it isn't that I'm not listening, I most definitely am, just blame it on my learning style.  I am most definitely a tactile learner!  Anyway, this provided me an artistic outlet which was definitely needed to break up the monotony of the newborn schedule.

4. What I like to call the "cuteness factor."  A baby + a chalkboard = adorable.  (That is until they start rubbing their drooly little chub fingers all over the fresh chalk... more on that in the cons section).

Cons: 

1. Finding a cheap chalkboard isn't all that easy, and let's face it, I'm beyond cheap frugal when it comes to shopping. We lucked out and found a wooden American flag picture in the 70% off section at Hobby Lobby (Good Lord I love that place) and used spray chalkboard paint to cover it.  Hopefully that isn't unamarican of me ;-/ .  That leads me to con #2...

2. What kind of chalkboard paint do I get?  Ugh, this was the hard part.  I chose spraypaint over the actual paint because, well, it was cheaper and seemed easier.  It was incredibly easy to do, but when I went to remove the chalk from the first month it left a stain of what was written behind.  Easy fix, I just took it outside and spray-painted it again.  Just keep in mind that if you choose that route, you need to plan ahead so that you can allow for drying time. 

3. Soon baby will stop being a tiny blob that doesn't do anything but lay there looking cute.  Once Callie figured out that she could move taking pictures became more of a chore.  All of my distraction techniques became useless and keeping her in that spot next to the silly board was next to impossible (as can be seen in her 7th month picture...).  At this point, getting the child to stay where you put them, let alone keep them from destroying the artwork you spent half an hour drawing out, becomes increasingly difficult. 

4. Being redundant.   After about the third month I kind of ran out of things to write down.  Let's face it, she really didn't do much but eat, sleep, cry (very rarely) and poop.  Other than the obvious milestones it was difficult to try and come up with something new to put each month.  May not seem like a big deal, but when I came home from a long stressful day at work and actually had to use my brain it was all I could do to keep from chunking the chalkboard out the window.   Okay, it wasn't that bad but I'm feeling slightly dramatic today as it's the last week of school. :)

With all of that being said, I am VERY happy that we chose to take chalkboard pictures but I am also VERY relieved that I no longer have to go through the ritual every single month.  The fun, overachiever mommy in me hopes to continue to use her chalkboard throughout her childhood to document milestone moments; first day of school, losing a tooth, etc... I guess we'll just have to wait and see how that one turns out.  Here are all of her pictures from month 1 to a year!  And for those of you who decide to give it a go, best of luck to you! 

 

Memorial Day Weekend

 This past Memorial Day Weekend was much enjoyed with family and friends.  We really enjoyed relaxing at home, lots of (much needed) naps and time with our families.  Here is our weekend in pictures...

Kinsley enjoying a ride in the car

 My beautiful niece

 Love him.

 Callie's buddy, Daphne, enjoying the weather

 Don't even think about messing with these girls' vanilla wafers... They'll cut you.

 

Oh.... And I decided a hair cut was long overdue!  Back to short and LOVING it.

Spent an afternoon at my cousin's birthday party at a fire station.  So cool!

I had way too much fun with new swimsuits and playing with Callie's headbands... I'll miss my long locks but the only time I actually liked my hair was when it was curled and that was only once a week, so short it is!  Welcome Summer.. I am ready for you.  6 days left of school! 

Callie turns ONE!

Callie  Bug's birthday has come and gone, my angel is now officially a year old.  I wanted to write down a few things, including all about her big party, before the details slipped my memory!

Her birthday party was Saturday, May 11, 2013.  That morning, around 3:30 am, Josh woke up with a righteous stomach ache.  At 6:00 I couldn't sleep any longer.  There was too much on my to do list and not enough time "to do" it in.  When I got up I realized that Josh still wasn't feeling well.  I told him to stay in bed while I got some things done and went into full on mommy mode. 

Luckily my two incredible friends had planned on coming in early to get some extra Callie time and help set up for the party.  Looking back, I wouldn't have been able to pull it all together if it hadn't been for them.  I finished prepping the decorations and laid out all of the stuff for food and then quickly scurried off to take a shower.  Lucky for me, Callie is a great napper and was busy snoozing away in her swing while I got everything done.  I realized after my shower that Josh was going to be completely out of commission.  The poor guy couldn't even move from the bed to the bathroom to throw up and was getting no relief from said throwing up.  I've never seen him like this, he was literally green in the face.  At this point I called for backup... my lovely momma.  She was able to leave a little early and run by the store for some last minute items, and once again, saved the day. 

The rest of the morning is a complete blur. I think I had two panic attacks realizing that there was a lot that wasn't going to be finished before guests arrived, but my lovely friends, Jami and Angie, reassured me and reminded me that no one would know, and this was all about Callie anyway!  I seriously count my lucky stars for the incredible friendships God has blessed me with.  Looking back, the party was a great success.  Josh was able to muster the strength to come out for about 30 minutes before he had to retreat back into hiding, it was so hard to see the pain in his eyes knowing he was missing his daughter's first birthday party... my heart broke for him. 

We had about 30 or so guests over to our house for food (caprese burger bites, grilled cheese, pigs in a blanket) and dessert (cupcakes, animal cookie truffles, chocolate covered pretzels).  We blew up a kiddie pool and loaded it with balls for a makeshift ball pit which was a HUGE success with all of the kids.  The canopy was thrown up in the back along with some seating and a picnic table.  It turned out to be a beautiful, sunny day, we couldn't have asked for better weather! 


Callie had so much fun watching all of the people talk and play and enjoyed her first taste of Miss D-Berry's punch!  After a while we let her go crazy opening presents, which she actually loved!  She'd open it up, pull out the treasure and then look at me to give her the next one.  Typical woman.  :)  Once presents were opened we made our way outside for the cake smash. 


Now, I had this great moment planned out in my head; I thought we'd put the cake down in front of Callie and she'd go bananas trying to shove the delicious, sugary treat into her mouth... That so didn't happen.  The bad thing about plans is that they usually don't go the way you want them to. She loved everyone standing around her singing happy birthday, but when we let her go to get into her cake she wanted nothing to do with it.  My little princess dipped her pointer finger into the icing and then promptly tried to shake it off.  Little miss doesn't like to get dirty (just like Momma).  We attempted to put the icing in her mouth, which just resulted in a lot of drool and a sour face.... Eventually we gave up and called it quits.  Maybe next year she'll be more into the sweets. 


On her actual birthday we met up with family for dinner and celebrated, just the three of us, at home before bed.  The year completely flew by and I can't imagine life without her in our lives.  She has made our marriage stronger and given me the one thing I've dreamed of since I was a little girl-the chance to be a mommy.  No words will ever be powerful enough to describe my joy, thankfulness, and pride in my daughter. 

 Callie on her actual birthday May 14, 2013

 Right before this picture (below) was taken, Callie looked up and saw her very first bird!  She watched it and then threw her hands up over her head when it flew over her... It was hilarious!!!

 Callie and Mommy at her birthday party

 My beautiful grandmother

 Two of the best friends anyone could have ever asked for

 Loving all of her birthday gifts!  Yes... this was all from her party!!!!

 Callie on her actual birthday (morning)

 Birthday pancakes mommy made!