Friday, November 8

Five on Friday {Link-up #10}

Happy Friday, blogland!
Here's another fun Friday Five link-up- be sure to check out Joy at The Sowell Life to see her list as well as others!

One. There's An App For That
Those of you that know me in real life know that due to recent happenings we are now on a semi-gluten free diet. As hard as it is now, I'm dreading having to go completely gluten free in a a week. Here's a challenge and a way to walk in my shoes, next time you are grocery shopping, try to find as many things as you can that are gluten free, then report back to me :) Gluten= wheat, barley, rye. After a couple of meltdowns in the grocery store, someone mentioned an app to me. I heart my new ShopWell app- you enter your diet/allergies, then if you aren't sure about a product, scan the barcode and it will tell you if its a go or not. Plus, if it's something you can't have {like Goldfish crackers} it will give you several alternative substitues {usually brands that ARE gluten free}. There's also an app for GlutenFreeFastFood and is very handy for those quick, on the go visits.

Two. Coconut Oil
The whole brown-to-blonde-and-back-to-semi-natural thing has taken a toll on my hair. It's super dry and driving me crazy. Making things worse is the fact that since we are running {and sweating} almost everyday, I'm having to wash it daily. My hairstylist recommended putting Extra Virgin Coconut Oil on it overnight once a week. While I haven't tried it yet, I plan to this weekend. Pinterest even agrees that it's a good way to add moisture back to dry locks. :)

Three. Mommy Time.
While I hate getting up so early to run, I love having that time when I get back home. I usually have about an hour and a half to shower, dress for the day, actually fix my hair, read the morning part of my Bible study, spend time in prayer, blog, sip coffee, catch up on the news. Heaven. My days usually go so much better when I start them out with just a smidge of me time. I should do it everyday, but on morning that we don't run I'm oh so lazy and sleep until the baby wakes.


Four. A Cozy Fire.
I love having breakfast by the fire on these chilly mornings and reading a book in front of the coziness in the evenings. It's one of the few things I love about cold weather.

Five. Birthday Milestones.
My sweet friend, Missouri Momma, turns the big 3-0 today. Yes, I'm calling her out, and yes, I understand she'll do the same for me when it's my turn. I loved chatting with her during our run this morning, and MG and I are heading to her house for some girl time and celebration this evening. Fun! It's a little scary when your friends start hitting the thirty mark- because it means your walking that fine line, too. I am so thankful for sweet, caring, Christian friends like her that are always there and help encourage me in the faith.



There you have it- I blogged everyday this week. Granted, yesterday's post wasn't up until the evening, but it wasn't my fault. I'm passing blame to Blogger for taking way to long to upload photos ;)

Happy Friday, Lovelies!

 


Thursday, November 7

Sweet Mary Grace {18 months}

Someone pinch me please, because I must be dreaming. There is no way we are already halfway to Mary Grace's 2nd birthday. Heart, be still.
Here are all the fun things happening in Miss MG's world these days {let's face it, it's really her universe anyway}.

I love dressing her in outfits I made for her!

 You're Such A Big Girl.
These last three months have brought with them so many, many changes my dear. You no longer walk, but run everywhere. You've even been know to run from Mommy and Daddy, especially when we are in a hurry you insist on playing chase ;)  You are now home with Mommy everyday and I am enjoying this time more than you will ever know. You love being around other kids so we try and get you out during the week: church on Sunday morning/night and Wednesdays, Bible study with the Karr family on Tuesdays, and I still let you see our precious Nanny J every week or so. Since walking, you have bloomed into a little social butterfly and will wave, smile, and talk to everyone {as long as they don't try and touch you since you like your own space}.



 
Potty Time. We officially started potty training you towards the end of August and you have been doing great! When asked if you need to potty and you will answer either no or run to the potty as a sign that you are about to burst. You have started telling us when you feel you need to 'tee-tee' and you hate it when you wet yourself {you insist on a diaper change immediately}. I was a bit worried about how well you would take to the potty, but with the help of suckers for bribery, you took right to it. There are days when you will only have a couple of accidents. Go Mary Grace! I'm hoping to be completely diaper free by your second birthday. You are currently wearing size 4 Huggies Little Movers Pull Up Diapers and they make potty time oh so much easier than wearing a regular diaper.

{I love those sweet curls}

Size Matters. You are a petite little thing! You wore a dress to church recently that you wore at Christmas last year. Tiny tot! You are wearing sizes 12-18 month clothing. Some of your winter shirts are 24 months and we have to roll up the sleeves. You're in a size 5 shoe {you're little foot is so narrow and skinny}. Speaking of shoes, we went shoe shopping for new Keds and you fell in love with a pair of boots. Looks like you are going to be a little fashionista! You love hairbows, hats are your latest obsession, sunglasses, and purses. You, my dear, are all girl!

At you're 18 month checkup you were 20.9 lbs {4th percentile}, 31.25 inches long {50th percentile} and your head circumference was 46.5 cm. You had actually lost a bit of weight. We've been battling to get some weight on you since your 15 month checkup, so when you registered as losing weight we had to get a bit of lab work done. I almost didn't make it but you were a trooper and did much better than I would have. You have a big appointment coming up and we are hoping to get more details then.
 

Yummy To Your Tummy. While your weight may not show it, you can out eat your Daddy when it comes to pizza {it's your absolute favorite}. You are not a picky eater, thank goodness, and you eat a wide variety of things. Your favorites are as follows:
Breakfast: oatmeal, grits, scrambled eggs with syrup, pancakes, chocolate chip waffles, our traditional morning fruit smoothies, bananas, cheese toast.
Lunch: mac and cheese, pb&j sandwiches, grilled cheese sandwiches, ravioli, any type of chicken, pizza
Dinner: Generally you eat anything we eat for dinner - casseroles, soups, beef stew, veggies, fruits, pizza, pizza roll-ups, pork chops, roast.
Snacks: oreos, mandarin oranges are your fave, goldfish, fruit gummies, strawberries, bananas, grapes, yogart, jello was a recent hit with you, pudding, ice cream sandwiches in the birthday cake flavor.
Drinks: whole milk, you love Mommy's flavored waters, and you just started getting a little juice once a day.
Everyday Details. Daddy and I joke that you will end up giving us 7 grandchildren. You are a little momma, my dear. Rarely are you without a baby, bottle, and blanket. You lug those babies around everywhere we go and take such good care of them. You feed them, rock them, stroll them in the stroller, carry them in their carseat... Oh my, the fun we are having! You love balls {everything round is a 'bawl' as you say it in your sweet southern accent} and will make a great pitcher one day. You are big into blocks, more knocking our towers down than stacking them yourself ;). You love books. Music and dancing is your element. You are starting to try and 'sing' and it is so sweet to hear. You love helping Mommy get ready- make up is so interesting to you :). You dig through my closet daily and will walk out sporting my shoes/shirts. You're latest discovery is my jewelry dresser and you have oh so much fun playing dress up! You're favorite shows are Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Sofia the First, Doc McStuffins, and Henry Hugglemonster {although you may watch 3 minutes of it at the most}. We watch alot of the Disney Classics. Little Mermaid was just released and I think we have broken the record for most views in a single week. You love the outdoors and chasing Louie on the porch. Your fascination with rocks makes me think you would make a great archaeologist. They are like your little treasures and we find where you sneak them inside :) I ran an errand the other day and noticed a 'treasure' {aka rock} on my seat and smiled at the thought of you leaving it there for Mommy. You love our shower and have made it a habit of taking one with Mommy. You play with the shampoo bottles, twirl around under the rainforest head, and cry when it's time to get out. Speaking of twirling, your newest trick involves spinning in circles until you are too dizzy to stand. We get many laughs out of you each day, my dear.

 
Bathtime Shenanigans. You are a mess when it comes to bathtime. You say 'Uh oh' when you see me open the drain. You know the water is going 'bye bye' as you say, so you start swimming like a little fish, splashing, and squealing {you squeal non-stop all day}. You are great at brushing your teeth and love our nightly family Bible time. You've started flipping through the pages and will kiss Jesus each time you see him on the page. Melts our heart! Speaking of Jesus, church is your favorite place to go right now. The other day we were going to run an errand so I told you to get your bag so we could go bye-bye. You waited for me at the door like always, but you were holding my Bible. I asked if you wanted to go to church and you said 'yeeaah'. Too cute :) You are no longer in a baby/toddler tub, but rather in the big tub so you can have plenty of splashing room!

Sleeping Beauty. I won the lottery when it comes to the sleeping department. You are just like you're Mommy- you love your sleep time. You go down after Bible time {usually between 8-8:30}, we turn on sleep sheep, and you put yourself to sleep without a peep or fuss. You sleep 12 hours usually, sometimes more, and wake up between 8:30-9:30 in the morning. You are such a happy thing in the mornings! You take your afternoon nap after lunch, usually you go down at 1:00 {again, we turn on sleep sheep and lay you down, you put yourself to sleep without a fuss}. Your normal naps are 2-3 hours depending. Heaven!

Mommy's Big Helper. The key to getting you going is the phrase, "Can you help Mommy...". You love to help me vacuum using your toy popper pushing thingy ;) and you will take a dust rag and wipe down for me. You are great at helping pick up toys or putting laundry in the washer/dryer.  You will try your best to sweep using our big broom. You know that trash goes in the canister and are really good about throwing leftover snack/wrappers away without me having to ask you. Such a big girl!
From The Mouths of Babes. Everyone said you would start talking our ear off at this age and they were right. You babble constantly and will carry on a 'conversation' for quite a while. Although we can't understand all that you are saying, it is still so much fun. You get frustrated when we can't understand what you want/say, so you will point or pull us to what you want. You know what a dog and cow say and will imitate them when asked- such a cute little bark and moo! You are starting to say short phrases like "Its hot", "I pott-deeee", " I wannn {for I want}. You've even made three word sentences like "I wan jooooos { I want juice}. You're little vocabulary is increasing so fast! I cannot wait to really start hearing how your sweet voice/accent will sound.

Oh, my love, where is the time going? I am trying to soak up all that I can, while I can, because I know I will turn around and you'll be a lady, leaving for her first day of college. I wish you could stay just like this forever, but as bittersweet as it may be, I enjoy watching you grow into the person God has made you to be.

On August 22, 2013 I decided to take pictures to capture a 'day in the life' but never got around to posting them. Better late than never :)
Breakfast time!

Showered, dressed, and ready to take on the day!
Back porch fun!


16 months going on sweet 16 :)


Dimples!

She loves picking the flowers at the mailbox!
Puzzle time!


Lounging while Mommy cooks lunch. Yes, that's one of her precious loveys in her mouth.

Cinderella time :)

Snack time on the porch after napping!


Storytime!

Play time in her room. That was my old toy box my parents made for me- notice my name I painted when in Kindergarten :)

Wednesday, November 6

Our Family Tree

 Saturday was one of those perfect Fall days. It was breezy, warm, bright sunshine, and the leaves were falling everywhere.
Perfect day to spend with Pop enjoying the weather.
We spent the afternoon riding the 4-wheeler with Pop and driving 'down memory lane'. I made one of my favorite memories Saturday- we visited our special tree. This tree has been a special place for my cousins and I. We have all, at some time in our childhood, carved our name on it. It was so neat looking over all the names and dates and remembering when. It was also sad, reading some of the names of those who are no longer here to reminisce. It was almost like a right of passage for us to carve our names into it. And the tradition carried on as we did the same for Mary Grace.

{I think this would be perfect in a frame}




 Here's to fun memories and family trees!

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Tuesday, November 5

All Thing Running

Can you believe it's already November? Craziness. It sort of snuck up on me.  We are less than 2 weeks from race day and the nerves are beginning to get me.

We started training for this half way back in August in the sweltering heat. Yesterday morning I had to wear gloves during our run and today I wore a sweatshirt. Insight into my life: I loathe cold weather. I would much rather run in the heat and sweat to death than have to get up at 4:40 am on a cold morning. Not my cup of tea.

Anyways- we had our last 'long run' on Saturday, which was also our furthest distance to date {11.3 miles}. For the remaining days we are running short 5-6 mile routes to maintain where we are without over doing it.

With running being the topic for today, I thought I'd give a few little ideas that have helped me stick with it and enjoy running a bit more.

1. Two Are Better Than One
It's oh so much easier to stick with any excercise routine when you have a partner to encourage you, motivate you, and most importantly, hold you accountable. I started out tranining with my sweet friend, Missouri Momma, and then in September we picked up a third member, Pastor Brown. Best advice I could give you would be to find people with the same goal as you and push each other to be your best. I am not a morning person, so getting up at 4:40 am is not my favorite thing to do {especially on weekends/cold mornings} but I'm less likely to hit the snooze and go back to sleep if I know I have someone waiting on me. 


2. It's All About The App
Some runners use Garmins, etc... but I have found that I love my Runtastic app. I considered getting a Garmin, but I'd still have to bring my phone for music/safety so I figured I'd stick with what has been working for me. My running partners use Nike and love it, too. Find something that works for you and will help you keep track of your progress. I also like the MyFitnessPal app- it helps keep me in line when it comes to the diet side of training.

 3. Invest In Kicks
A while back I posted this about the importance of good shoes. I have reached my mileage limit on my Ghost 5 kicks and have been eyeing the new Ghost 6 by Brooks. The worst thing you can do is switch before a run, so I'm sticking it out with what I've trained in, then will treat myself to some new lovelies post race day.

4. Outfit Yourself
I revamped my warm weather workout gear and it helped give me a boost in the motivation department.The way I see it, I look my absolute worst when running {sweaty face, nasty hairdo, yuck} so I figure at least my outfit should look decent. I am a bargain hunter and love hitting up Old Navy as well as TJ Maxx, etc. I recently purchased a running pack {sounds better than 'fanny pack' ;) } at TJ Maxx and have loved it much more than the arm band I was sporting.


5. Sign Up Now- Not Later
I cannot just exercise to exercise. I have to set  a goal to work towards. With our half, once I registered I was committed- no turning back. I plan to register for shorter 5K races in December to make sure I don't just quit after running the half. Bottom line- don't just say you are going to run a race/warrior dash/whatever- go ahead and sign up. That way you are less likely to back out :)  

Happy Running!

Monday, November 4

The Small Town Life {change is in the air}

Happy Monday Morning, Lovelies!

So, what do you think of the new & improved blog design? I had planned on changing things up a few weeks- okay, let me be honest- months ago. I've been a tad busy/distracted as of late and blogging took a back seat.

Wait. Let me be honest- I haven't been to busy, just hiding out. Things are changing at warp speed around here and I just haven't known when or how to even begin trying to catch up.

Having said that, there's nothing like sprucing things up a tad to give me that much needed dose of motivation.

Now let's talk about the biggie- the name change.

What's in a name?

It was a very hard decision to change what had been 'mine' and carried 'my' name for so long. My life is in a new season right now {Fall would best describe it} and I just felt I needed something totally different. I wanted a fresh face for my blog- and a name change seemed right. 

I know you're thinking Fall- how can that be a life season. Let's go back to the beginning and do a little recap.
  • God has been pulling at me for months now. After much prayer {the face-down-on-the-floor-snotty-sobbing-mess kind}, my husband and I felt He was calling me to stay home this year. I like to say that I 'got a promotion' ;) I'm spending this time focusing on my walk with Jesus, being a wife and mommy, and seeking God's will and place for me in this world.
  • I took a course and obtained my Real Estate License in late Spring/Summer. I signed up in April before I knew I'd be a SAHM, so it kind of worked out perfectly. There are no words for how much I love the real estate business. I always said teaching was my calling- but I'm wondering if I may have two callings ;)
  • Bob and I have been in a state of almost constant prayer. We spent a couple of months praying 'anything'. We laid everything down on the altar and prayed for Jesus to do something, anything. Let me just tell you, He has showed up in a BIG way. We feel Him leading us in new directions- some are a bit scary- but we have chosen to follow.
So, why Fall? Well, it seems like so many things are just falling away right now- my career, plans we had, friendships, our house, relationships... on and on. I am letting things leave so that I can focus more on the Main thing.

Can I be honest? It's scary. It's hard. I worry. I have moments when I want to turn back, go back to the way things were, to the way I want things to be. I, I, I, I... that's been the problem. What I wanted. It should be what Jesus wants.

I never, ever, ever had SAHM as one of my goals in my day planner. As a SAHM I have good days and bad days- but it would be like that even if I were working. Sometimes I have to stop and remind myself that I prayed for anything- and that this may very well be Jesus' anything for me. I have to remember that this is a blessing- I am not missing out on a thing with Mary Grace. I get to have breakfast and lunch dates with her everyday! I know many moms that only wish they could stay home with their babies. I do plan to go back to work eventually- but not until Jesus leads me to that path. Until then, I am embracing this new, and very different, season in my life. I know one day I will look back and my heart will ache with a longing to have just one day of this back.

It's different, to say the least. So many things have shifted, been rearranged, or just no longer made the cut. Welcome to my new normal. ;)

I didn't intend for this post to ramble on so much. Pretty sure most of you stopped reading by now. For those of you that didn't- thanks for 'listening' ;)

Coming up this week on The Small Town Life {gosh, that feels weird to say} MG's 18 month update, marathon training tidbits, Saturday recap, and the every popular Friday Five. That's a post everyday this week- I hope I'm up for it!

Happy Monday, Blogland!

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Friday, October 25

Friday Five {Link Up 9}

Oh. My. Goodness.
Am I not the most horrible blogger ever? To say I've neglected the old blog would be an understatement.

Alas, I'm finally feeling the blogging itch again, so hopefully I will step up my game, especially since the holidays are fast approaching and I want to document all the festivities.


One. LEO Run to Remember Half Marathon
I officially registered this morning so there is no backing out now. My group and I have decided to do matching purple shirts (purple is the color for Alzheimer/dementia) and have then screen printed. I picked us up purple shirts yesterday and cannot wait to see how they will turn out. We are down to three weeks left and I cannot believe it is almost here. We only have two more 'long run' days- tomorrow we will hit 10 miles again, then next Saturday is our longest run of 11miles. We have been training since August and I am more than ready for the big day to arrive.

Two. Not A Fan
We are attending a small group Bible study with friends/church family. It is oh so good. Tuesday night was our first meeting and I'm counting the days until our next one.


Three. Fall Festivities in Full Swing
With this being the last weekend in October, we are gearing up for some Fall fun. Saturday afternoon is our church festival, complete with Bible character costume contest. I am spending today making MG's costume, so stay tuned for the cuteness!

Four. Baby, It's Cold Outside
I am enjoying the cooler temps these days and have officially broken out my boots, scarves, and leggings. Fun! As a side note- the only downside to this lovely Fall weather is that it is freezing at 5:00 am when we run. I loathe running in cold weather.


Five.  Speaking of running in cold weather...
I updated my warm weather running attire back in June and it looks like I am in need of a makeover in the cold weather department. I love Old Navy's workout lovelies and am hoping some of these find their way into my closet soon.




Happy Friday, Lovelies!





Tuesday, October 1

Au Naturel

Confession: While I have loved my blonde locks, I despise hate having roots.

Even more than roots, I hate forking out so much moolah on highlights every 5-6 weeks.Even more than that, I loathe the dry, damaged hair left behind by the harsh chemicals.

I considered going dark brunette again, but I still had roots since it wasn't my natural.

Oh, what's a girl to do?

I decided to give Amy and the Ombre look a try. I told her I liked the ombre look, but wanted to keep it subtle and get back close to my natural too. I was oh so nervous since I was using someone new to not only cut, but color, my hair.

She did a great job and I love it. It may not be as pretty and shiny as before, but it's healthier, cheaper, and most of all, just the way God made me. I was a bit nervous about going back natural, since it's not the shiny happy blonde, or the dark, warm chocolate. I'm willing to trade in a little shininess in the hair department for less stress, mess, and money. Here's to being au naturel {at least until I have to start covering up grays, anyway}.

Sweet Simplicity.