Awesome Things: iPhones and deals

I'm posting this from my new (but actually old since I bought my brother's) iPhone! That's right, I caved. So you can go ahead and pray that I learn some self control and quickly. This thing is awesome!

Wanna know something else that's awesome? My sister is offering mini-sessions on November 10! Need a fantastic Christmas card picture but don't want to fork over the money for a whole session? Problem solved.

If you're in the DFW area and interested in a shoot, email her quickly because there are only a few shots left. And check out her work at www.allisonjeanphoto.com if I haven't convinced you already that you NEED her to photograph your life.

In posting this I have realized that there is a gaping hole in my posts, and some blog-worthy things have happened around here. I'll be back with updates!

This blogger app isn't really awesome. They should work on that.

Writing.

I like to think that my writing capabilities extend beyond pictorial recaps of everyday life.

But then I sit down to write some of the many things swirling through the fog in my brain, and I come up with nothing.

Politics? Oh, I have opinions. Trust me, I have OPINIONS. (They also happen to be the right ones!) But I would also like to keep my friends. So I stay relatively silent.

Faith? I'm learning a lot. Trust me, I'm learning a LOT. But parts of the spiritual journey are so personal, that I've been choosing to share them more with people I know for sure I can trust. Not pouring out every emotional thought into the virtual interwebs.

Parenting? Shoot, I know nothing. Trust me, I know NOTHING. At least once a day I feel like I'm completely screwing up my kids. But those feelings are usually fleeting, and a sweet smile or hug from a little munchkin can give me a glimmer of hope.

Fashion and beauty? Forget it. Trust me, my closet is nothing to envy. Do you ever have an ugly day? Of course you do. You know, those days where no amount of makeup could make you feel attractive. Well, I've been having an ugly month. The hair is too long to be cute and too short to be pretty. My skin looks worse at 28 than it ever did in adolescence. Ugh. It's a good thing I have pretty high self-confidence, but it would be nice if I didn't feel like I looked tired and worn down every single day.

Home decor and organization? Do cluttered piles of toys count as decor? Trust me, my Pinterest boards do not reflect the state of my house.  And the fact that I'm a perfectionist neat freak doesn't mean a thing. Except that I don't want to do anything if I can't do it exactly right.  So it doesn't get done at all. Great logic, huh?

So what do I write about instead of these things of substance? The details of my day via cute pictures of my kids. Or I write about all the things I'm not writing about. Because that makes sense.

But this English teacher/soccer coach turne stay-at-home-mom who is starting a business and also serves as a Children's ministry director really misses WRITING.

Week in the Life: Weekend Wrapup

I'm combining Saturday and Sunday to wrap up this Week in the Life series because, well, I'm kinda tired of writing about all the mundane stuff. Maybe this is why I haven't been blogging as much-- there's not a lot of excitement going on around here to blog about!

SATURDAY

Matt had to work all day, so the kids and I played and played and played all morning. It was super rainy, so we were stuck inside.

I got a little stir-crazy, so after nap time I took the kids to Hobby Lobby. I haven't been there just to browse in awhile, and Avery and Landon were so well-behaved. It was actually fun! I got a couple of wall hangings, so heading back to the van in the POURING rain with a huge bag and two kids was quite the adventure.

We drove through Chick-fil-a to get dinner to eat at my parents' because I had to be there at 5:30 to set up for Dad's SURPRISE PARTY! Woohoo! He turns 60 this week, so a bunch of his friends and family came to celebrate his life! And eat dessert. LOTS of dessert. My mom takes parties very seriously. :)

Matt finally made it to the party around 8:15, and we didn't get home until 11 pm. Talk about a long day!

SUNDAY

We had church in the morning; Matt went early for praise team practice, and the rest of us got there at 9. My parents, Nick and Brittany, and Isaac joined us at our place for lunch after church before the boys went to move some more stuff into Nick and Brittany's new place.

The kids took naps while I sewed, and then Matt met us back at church at 5 so I could do childcare for The Gathering (a prayer meeting). Then Awana started at 6.

I got to go to a movie with my mom, so I left at 7 and Matt took the kids home for dinner and bedtime. (p.s. Won't Back Down is really good! I love Viola Davis.)

SO...

...that was our week. I think I'll limit these series to once or twice a year, but since I seem to forget what each stage of life is really like, I'm glad I'll be able to look back at the reality of the varied stages.

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. :)