Week in the Life: Friday

7:45  Matt woke me up because I was still passed out after last night's stupid coffee decision. I don't even remember when I went to bed, but I do remember that Avery woke me up super early, which means that I took her back to her bed and apparently fell asleep in it also. That thing is not comfortable. It's a wonder the girl can sleep at all.

8:45  We made it out of the house on time again! So what if we had to eat breakfast in the car? Landon woke up at 8:30 this morning, so we barely had enough time to get everybody dressed and ready for the day.

9:00  Somehow Fridays become crazy errand days. Avery has gymnastics from 9-10, and then we went to the bank (yay pay day!), Dollar Tree (packing supplies and a knight costume for next year's VBS), the post office (yay Etsy sales!), Hope Mansion (dropping off some donations from our preschoolers), and Costco.

We were missing Lily today! Avery's the youngest in the preschool class. She actually did really well today! She did a handstand (and got her head up!!) and a "cartwheel" without the assistance of a mat.

I know this picture is super blurry, but they got to do the "Peter Pan" during free time after class, and Avery wasn't scared this time. Progress. :)

12:30  I got lunch on the table (leftovers from this week's dinners) in record time, and both kids were down for naps by 1:30.

1:30  Quiet bliss. I paid ALL of our bills and balanced our budget. I even had time leftover to catch up on my Google Reader.

3:30  Naptime over. We played outside for a LONG time. The weather's becoming halfway bearable.

4:45  Matt got home and we tag-teamed in the kitchen. I requested his famous breakfast taquitos (that aren't really famous but totally should be) for dinner, so he cooked while I took care of dishes and general clean up.

6:30  We ate super late (for us), so afterward we wore the kids out chasing them around the house. They were in super silly moods, which was a nice reprieve from the pre-dinner grouchiness.

7:30  Let the bedtime routine begin... PJs, teeth brushing, cups of milk, books, rocking for Landon and snuggling for Avery.

8:15  I baked up a storm in the kitchen tonight, and our a/c officially hates us. Good thing a cool front is blowing through! Kitchen windows open...check.

Matt has to work all day tomorrow (BOOOOOO), so I need to figure out something fun to do with the kids. Am I crazy to be contemplating the zoo on a Saturday?

I am determined to be in bed before midnight tonight, and I am NOT drinking coffee this time.

Week in the Life: Thursday

7:15  I dragged myself out of bed only because I hadn't prepped stuff for Mother's Day Out the night before and knew I had to get going if we were going to be close to on time today. Somehow I managed to get myself and Avery both dressed, lunches packed, and dinner in the crockpot. Oh, and Avery ate breakfast at the table instead of in the car, so that was a small victory.

8:15  I had to wake Landon up AGAIN, so he got to eat a banana in the car. Smart move on my part. His shirt looked awful by the time we got to school. It was bike day today, so I also had to unload Avery's bike after I dropped them both off. And after all the work Matt put into finishing her bike makeover, she decided that she wanted to take her small trike thing instead. Go figure. She's not exactly proficient at the real bike yet, so we didn't even fight that battle.

9:15  After a stop by the post office (yay for Etsy sales!), I made it to church to work on budget planning pretty much all day long. Talk about draining. And this is coming from someone who loves planning and crunching numbers. But I'm done and finished it before my deadline! Yay!

2:00  I picked up both kids and was determined to have a better afternoon than the past two days. And you know what? It's amazing how much of a difference it makes to get rid of a selfish, I-have-to-complete-my-to-do-list attitude. We played inside, we played outside, we had fun, and I was a lot less stressed. Gosh, why don't I do that every day?

4:45  Matt came home and mowed the backyard! Yippee! The kids and I played outside while he mowed. Have I mentioned how much I love crock pot meals? (By the way, this cilantro lime chicken recipe will knock your socks off. It makes fantastic leftovers, too.)

Geckos have taken over our yard.

6:15  We ate dinner, Matt bathed the kids while I cleaned up, and both kids were in bed by 7:30. Success.

7:45  I left to meet up with my good friend Kendra and some cool college kids for a Bible study (that started tonight actually), and I'm guessing that Matt fell asleep right after I left. The poor guy has been exhausted this week!

11:00  My coffee kicked in right as I pulled in the driveway. So I'm wide awake at 11:45, and I wonder why I'm so tired every morning.

Week in the Life: Wednesday

Happy hump day! I actually hate the term hump day. But I wrote it anyway, so I must not hate it that much. Gosh, I'm a rambler!

7:10  Matt didn't get home from helping my brother set up the refrigerator in his new house until 2:20 AM. I was fast asleep by then, but he still managed to wake up before I did! His job's not quite as flexible as mine. :)

8:00  Avery was up by 7:15, but Landon has just been a sleepin' fool lately! I'm not complaining. I got both of them up and dressed and eating breakfast (cereal and bananas, go figure) by 8:30, and I even had time to empty the dishwasher and straighten the kitchen while they ate. (I have to have an empty dishwasher in the morning so I can load it throughout the day. Dirty dishes by the sink drive me crazy.)

9:00  Every other Wednesday we go to MOPS, but this was an off week, so I took Avery and Landon to my friend Kari's house (thanks again, Kari!) so I could help paint at Nick and Brittany's new house. They're trying to move in this weekend, and there's a whole house to paint! It was looking so awesome when I left though. I'm excited to see it all finished!

12:00  I picked up the kids at Kari's, and she let me go through her daughter's outgrown clothes for Avery. I love clothes-sharing with friends. :)

1:30  The kids went down for their naps, but not without a fight.

2:30  Landon woke up early. Again. Let the silent entertainment begin.

3:30  Avery woke up, so we made it outside to ride bikes. "Ride bikes" is a relative term because Avery only has the perseverance to pedal for about 30 seconds before she gives up and wants to play with bubbles. Landon just likes to ride the PowerWheels until he smashes into a wall. Or rolls into the street while I chase him. 

4:30  I've been pretty impatient with the kids this week, so I was completely relieved when Matt came home. It gave me a chance to shower and get the kids' stuff ready to go to Grandma and Grandaddy's because...

5:30  ...Matt and I got to go to the Ranger game just the two of us! That hasn't happened in probably over two years. It was fun but probably would've been even better had the Rangers not played miserably. We left in the 8th inning. Mostly because it was already 10:00 and we were tired, but also because we were down 8-3 and were on our 7th or 8th pitcher of the night. It was ugly.

11:30  I need to go to bed. Later.

Week in the Life: Tuesday

{Today I'm continuing the series I began yesterday with this post. We'll see if I make it to Sunday because I feel like I'm just airing all sorts of laundry, dirty or not. It's kinda weird.}

6:45  I actually woke up before both kids! Okay, it was because I made Matt promise to wake me up at 6:45, against his better judgment (have I mentioned that I'm NOT a morning person?) And don't tell me that I should set an alarm. I just turn it off and go about the business of sleeping (very serious business indeed).

7:15  Avery woke up and helped me by getting dressed and eating breakfast while I prepped lunches/backpacks and got our stuff for the day loaded in the car.

8:10  I had to wake Landon up (what's up with his sleeping in lately?) and get his little booty dressed so we could make it out the door on time.

8:15  And we did! I got the kids to school by 8:30, swung by the post office, and made it to church by 9. I got so much done today (including creating this printable), but time seriously flies when I'm working sans kids.

1:40  I have to tell myself to leave at 1:30 so I can be driving by 1:45 to make it to pick up the kids on time. Mind games work wonders with me.

2:30  We got home and since Avery didn't stay on her napmat during rest time and Landon sucked his thumb from the time we left school until we got home, I made the executive decision to attempt naps for both. Avery just had to read in bed for an hour (usually she falls asleep 30 minutes in, but not today), and Landon slept off and on for that same hour. And while they were fighting sleep, I was fighting AT&T because they are stupid.

3:45  Time to win back some mom points that I lost yesterday. We made play sand with flour and vegetable oil, and the kids got to play with it in a big bowl. Avery loved manipulating it with cars and play doh cutters. Landon loved grabbing the mixture and throwing it on the kitchen floor. That was fun to clean up. This is why I don't do fun things. Maybe I just need more practice, haha.

4:45  Matt came home and got the kids all wound up. I started to get food out to cook dinner and decided that nothing sounded good and I didn't want to even bother.

5:30  So we went to Red Robin instead. And it was $1 kids night, so score. Since we were already out, we went to a gazillion stores looking for new handlebar grips for Avery's bike project. To no avail.

Apples and mac n cheese? She's my little weirdo. :)

8:30  We got home and put an already sleeping Landon in bed while Avery proceeded to throw a major bedtime tantrum. That tends to happen when she falls asleep in the car and we try to put her straight in her bed. You'd think we'd learn. We finally got her to sleep on a happy note, so yay.

And now it's 9:45 and our Netflix movie just got interrupted for Matt to go help Nick move a refrigerator, so it's a Bridezillas night for me. :)

Free Ephesians 4:29 Printable

I have a super big problem with words. More specifically, I don't always think about them before they start flying out of my mouth. Folks, I have what some would call verbal diarrhea.

I don't share this flippantly; it's something that I've struggled with my entire life, and God is working on my heart. Because when it comes down to it, the words that come out of our mouths are a direct outpouring of what's going on in our hearts (Luke 6:45).

So every time I gossip about someone else's business, curse under my breath when someone cuts me off on the road, yell at my children, or berate Matt for not reading my mind, I'm revealing the ugly sin in my heart.

I've had a note card of this verse on my office bulletin board for awhile, but I thought it was time to make it something that I'd look at often. And since I'm (hopefully) not the only one who needs to be reminded of this verse, I'm sharing it with you! It's a 5 x 7 pdf printable, and it's FREE! Just click below the picture to download it from my Google Docs

{click here to download the printable}

Week in the Life: Monday

Why yes, I do realize that this series will bore the vast majority of you. Shoot, even more realistically, I'm guessing that only the grandparents will find it even the slightest bit entertaining.

Nevertheless, since this blog serves as our family scrapbook, I want to be able to look back at this time in our lives with a 3 year old and a 1 year old and remember how things actually were, good and bad.

I can't take the kids to any store without at least one person who reminds me how quickly time flies while reminiscing about their own children, so I'm choosing to believe them.

7:40  Matt left for work while I was still in bed. That happens a lot more often than I'd like to admit. I'm a night owl for sure, but I'm working on becoming a little more disciplined. At least enough to wake up before my kids. Avery was already awake, so I got up and got dressed for the day while she watched cartoons.

8:00  Landon slept in today! When he woke up I got both kids dressed and ready for our morning errands.

8:15  Most mornings we eat cereal and bananas, and today was no exception. The kids are both super happy in the mornings, so the breakfast table is a fun place to be. I even had a chance to work on the Sunday crossword because I am a word nerd.

9:15  We finally got out the door! Our first stop was to pick up some fabric from my super awesome fabric connection. Let's just say that I should not buy fabric for a very long time. Unless business picks up like crazy, but I think it'll take a bit for me to run down my current stash. In my defense, some deals just can't be passed up.

9:45  I may be a glutton for punishment, but we usually go grocery stopping at three stores. Our first stop was Sprouts before hitting up Kroger and Costco. The kids were awesome while we shopped today, and that is just not always the case.

11:15  My heart sank as we returned to our car in the Costco parking lot because I realized about 30 minutes too late that my keys were inside it. I've only done that one other time in my life. Also at Costco. Awesome. After an embarrassed call to Matt, who was fortunately able to leave school to come rescue us, we tried to make the most of our predicament and ate lunch in the Costco food court. Nutritious.

12:00  Back in the car! Landon didn't even make it out of the parking lot before he fell asleep. We made a quick stop by Redbox to return Sunday's rental and made it home by 12:30.

12:50  I got the groceries put up and Avery down for her nap in record time. Naptime is the big sigh of relief before all hell breaks loose around 4:00, so I usually just sit as quietly as I can for 1.5-2 hours. Sometimes I sew, sometimes I blog, sometimes I read, sometimes I aimlessly peruse the interwebs via Pinterest.

1:15  But today I got to do none of those things because Landon woke up way too early. And the worst part about him waking early was trying to keep him quiet so he didn't wake up Avery. The last thing I wanted was two undernapped, cranky kids. So I straight up told him that he wasn't allowed to wake up yet and rocked him for 30 minutes until he went back to sleep. Nap #2 lasted all of 15 minutes, but I was able to get pictures of my new key fobs so I could get them listed.

2:15  I pulled the bad mom card and caged Landon up in the pack 'n play with some books while I finished my Etsy listings and a blog post. Fortunately the kid is in a major book stage, so he was totally entertained.

3:15  Avery woke up from a super long nap, thus releasing Landon from his prison so they could play together. We ate snacks, had car races down the slide, and just played around the house.

4:30  Matt got home from work (hallelujah!!), so I got to work on dinner (before he took over because he's awesome) and emptying the dishwasher. Landon helped!

5:30  We had to make up for our Costco lunch, so we doubled up on veggies with our spaghetti. The good news is that Landon's getting better using utensils! The bad news is that Landon is still working on using utensils!

6:30  Spaghetti dinner with a toddler meant that it was straight to the bathtub, then pajamas and teeth brushing.

6:45  Avery and Matt headed to the garage to start on her bike makeover. They're fixing up my childhood bike, and it's already looking awesome! I'll post the before and after pics when it's all finished.

7:00  Landon was down for the count early tonight, so I worked on laundry, made the kids' lunches for Mother's Day Out, and straightened the house up. You know, before it's demolished again tomorrow.

8:00 After story time, prayers, and snuggles, Avery was in bed at a decent hour. I'm typing this from the garage because I'm keeping Matt company while he gives Avery's Dora PowerWheels a Landon-friendly facelift. We're kind of on a spray paint kick. And I'm guessing that the rest of the evening will call for a much-needed cup of coffee and a shower.

Maybe I'll be in bed before midnight?

Weekend Update: Girls Night and Heritage Day

I'm being a bad mom and blogging while I have Landon occupied with books in his pack 'n play. That's right, I caged my child. In my defense, he barely napped and Avery's still sleeping. Anyway, I'm on borrowed time so this will be quick!

FRIDAY

Matt came home from work and I jetted off for a girls' night with these two lovely ladies.

Chelsea (in the middle) is my sweet sister-in-law, and I'm so glad she and Aaron moved to our town! Amy (on the left) is one of Chelsea's friends, who I met when we were bridesmaids in Chelsea's wedding! We had both just had babies like two weeks before the wedding, so we bonded in all of our postpartum bliss, haha! 

Our evening consisted of Chuy's happy hour, browsing through Charming Charlie, White House Black Market, and the Container Store, and splurging on Pinkberry froyo. It was pretty close to perfect.

SATURDAY

We hit up my hometown for Heritage Day, which is essentially just a bunch of vendors, a couple of bounce houses, and some local talent entertainment stage acts. We had fun on the playground though!

After we left we took the kids to my parents' house to put them down for naps there. Once they were asleep I went to church to prep for Sunday (since I'd spent my time during the week moving my office!), and Matt went with me to finish changing out the door knobs that got quit on halfway through the job on Thursday (long-ish story).

The kids were still asleep, so we hit up a couple of stores before picking them up. 

And Aaron, Chelsea, and Chelsea's mom, brother, and sister-in-law all came over for dinner! I really need to start taking more pictures.

SUNDAY

Church, Whataburger, kid naps, sewing, Awana, and Redbox made up our Sunday. I also learned how to make coffee with our reusable K-cup, so I've been highly caffeinated over the past two days. Good times.

I'm starting my Week in the Life series this week, so I'll be back tonight with a riveting account of our day. And by "riveting" I mean "completely boring" but that's just life sometimes. Later!

Life Lately.

The worst part about waiting so long between posts is that I have NO IDEA where to begin. And lately I feel like I've been saying this a lot, so maybe I should learn from my lament and just start writing more regularly. Actually, I think I'm gonna do a Week in the Life series next week to 1) get back into my blog groove and 2) remember everyday life with two little kids.

So back to the promised update. Since my last post...

...last weekend Matt's parents came for a visit! We all love NeNe and Pop Pop, but Avery and Landon adore them. I took no pictures of them though because I am losing at this Supermom thing. But we had a relaxing little weekend and even made it out to our town's Movie in the Park. We only made it through 30 minutes of Happy Feet 2 before both kids were done and ready for bed. And the Dallas Zoo brought some penguins!

...we had a Back to School swim party for the church kiddos. It was supposed to be two parties (one for the youngers, one for the olders), but because of weather uncertainty and low numbers signed up, I just combined them. And now I know that Saturdays during sports seasons aren't the best days for kids events. I think the kids had a great time though!

...my neighbor friends and I hit up the Rhea Lana consignment sale on the early half-price day. Avery's closet is now set for fall/winter, and I even found a couple of leotards for gymnastics! (Y'all, those things are impossible to find for some reason.)

...Matt had a crazy week with meetings (school and church) every night, and then he went to the men's retreat Friday and Saturday, so I was very glad that last week is over.

...Friday was pretty rough with Avery. She is usually the SWEETEST kid, but she has been testing the limits (and my patience!) a lot more frequently. She's spunky, stubborn, bossy a natural leader, and fiery, and I know God is gonna do amazing things through those traits. But right now's the hard part where I can't see the end results and just have to keep praying that we're not screwing her up. So after I alluded to Avery's bad day on Facebook, my friend Natalie invited us over Friday afternoon so our kids could play and Avery and Crockett could be "terrible" together. It was a much needed reprieve.

...afterward the kids and I went to my sister-in-law Chelsea's house with my mom for dinner on that Friday night, and she made a delicious meal of fajitas and all the fixins. I love that she and Aaron live close now!

(On a much more serious note, I found out when I was leaving Chelsea's that a girl in our church's youth group [who I've known forever] was in a terrible car accident. She was careflighted to the hospital but was okay, but her friend didn't make it. My friend's name is Ashley and she's a senior in high school. Please pray that she'll continue to heal from her injuries but also that she'll be able to heal emotionally and mentally because she's got a long road ahead. Also pray for the family and friends of Heidi, the girl who passed away. I can't even imagine what they're going through.)

...we celebrated our neighbor Heston's first birthday at his party on Sunday! His mom, Whitney, did an AMAZING job putting together his Very Hungry Caterpillar party. Annnnddd I got no pictures. Of course. If she ever blogs again (haha!) I'll post the link so you can see what a fantastic job she did!

...Nutmeg caught three rabbits. She killed two of them. Apparently there's a whole rabbit family living under our deck and Meg has made it her life's purpose to make sure that they no longer live. Period. Much less in her territory.

...I've been sewing again. I had a crazy experience with a custom order, so I had to put aside my current projects to deal with that, but it's over and done, and look at the newest tag blankets! You can find them in my shop by clicking here.

...And I'm REALLY excited about this show!!! It doesn't start until October, but I can't wait. I absolutely love Connie Britton (mostly because I'm still obsessed with Friday Night Lights), but this show looks like a winner all around. Although this is coming from the girl who only watches The Bachelor, so my opinion might not be worth much in the TV department. (To redeem myself, I do watch DVDs of Friends, The Office, Big Bang Theory, The OC, and FNL; I just don't religiously watch current stuff because we don't have DVR. That was way too much explanation of something that doesn't even matter.)

 
...we closed on our refinance last night, so now we get a little break in the mortgage section of our budget. That's pretty awesome.

...the kids went to Mother's Day Out today while my friend Iris and I started moving into our new office! We get to leave our little closet that we share with our super awesome church accountant and move into the former associate pastor's office, which is actually in the kids' hall! I think I'll have everything moved in and organized after Thursday, so I can have a clean slate and fresh workspace to start the school year in children's ministry!

Anyway that about does it. The end.