Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Sort of deep-ish thoughts


                                                                                                                   Source: theflourishingabode.com 



I feel like my brain rarely has time to think anything deeper than, "I should switch that laundry over to the dryer that is now, probably definitely soured already" or "why is there a random plastic cup, filled with water and a spongebob toy sitting right in the middle of our front porch" or "seriously, what are we having for dinner tonight?" (for real, am I the only one that hates the thought of dinner?!?!?).  Those are my deep thoughts lately, aren't they intriguing?

Today, however, it's raining, my baby and my big boy are sleeping, and I actually made the time to read out of Proverbs this morning because goodness knows I can always use some reputable, concrete wisdom and I have really been trying to make a better effort to spend some time with God everyday...He only created me and gave me everything I have, after all.  The sad part of that sentence is that I have to TRY to spend time with Him, something that in a perfect world should just come naturally, like brushing my teeth.  But alas, I am human, and I struggle with many things, this being one of them.  Thankfully, God is much more forgiving and gracious than any of his created "being" opposites.  All of that to say, my brain is actually working a little more effectively than usual today, so I am going to take advantage of it and blog.

I was telling Seth on Sunday that I just can't stop being so emotional about my babies growing up.  The beginning of August really hit me like a ton of bricks.  Somehow the summer is flying by.  I remember all 9 pregnancy months, being anxious for Spring, for the birth of my little baby.  Now spring has come and gone and summer has come and almost gone and I am getting excited about fall and football and pumpkins and halloween, but I can't shake the sick feeling in the pit of my stomach that each day, my babies are getting bigger!
Lorelei is jibber jabbering and moving up a size in diapers and laughing.  Caleb has grown almost an inch since May and he has started using big words like "actually" and "supposed to".  I even looked into putting him in 3 year old preschool because, unlike when I was little and all we did was kindergarten, now days 4 year old preschool is apparently sooo last year.  Now it's 3 year old preschool, as in an actual curriculum.  Pretty soon they will be handing us color flashcards in the delivery room.  Of course, all the "good" preschools are already full and have been since May.  I had one girl sarcastically tell me, "We have a 26 person waiting list if you really want to be put on it."  Pretty positive that would just be as a courtesy seeing as I'm not sure how they can weed out a 26 person waiting list to get to my child, and quite honestly, I can't believe the top preschool in town has someone so rude who answers their phone.
I sent Seth a half joking text telling him I'm afraid our son will be very far behind all the other kids since he won't be able to go to 3 year old preschool...and as expected, he didn't respond because he really doesn't get his boxer briefs in a wad over that stuff.
Luckily, Caleb is a great learner.  He knows his colors, how to count to 11 (and sometimes higher when he isn't thinking about it too hard!), all the shapes including "semi-circle" and "hexagon", and the first 5 presidents. Call me a crazy fool, but I feel like that's pretty ding dang dong good for 3 years old. Yes, I would love the break two days a week BUT then I remember that all too soon, my only option will be to send him to a 5 day a week school (because I am not homeschooling mom material!), so I will enjoy my time with my babies before my time is gone.

That being said, I'm hoping to find something fun for him to do because he really does love being around kids.  Last year we were a part of a great Bible study that had a program for the kids, but alas, that too is full!  Everything fills up around this town.
So now I am thinking gymnastics class might be fun, or karate if I can find one for his age group.
We will figure it out.
Please someone tell me I'm not the only one who isn't sending my 3 year old to preschool...please?

It's something about this weather that just has my head spinning.  I'm an emotional mess in my head and that's probably due to post pregnancy hormones.
Lorelei will be 4 months tomorrow and I already can't wait for the next baby.  Don't tell Seth, he'd literally have a cow.
I definitely am not having another baby again for a while, but if I had my way, I'd have 6!!!
Then, I started thinking about the 2 babies I get to meet in heaven one day.  I wonder if they are boy's or girl's?
Then I started thinking about how cute Caleb was when he was Lorelei's age and how we made the very best of the 9 months we had together, just the two of us, while Seth was deployed.
I keep thinking about when I was pregnant with Caleb.  I think because the last time the Olympics were on, I was pregnant and sick as all get out with him.  I laid in bed all day, watching the Olympics and 4 year later, all those emotions come running back as I sit here with my 3 year old Caleb and newborn watching the Olympics! How crazy to think of everything that happens in a 4 year time span.

I'm just trying to figure out where time is going.
The older I get and the more kids I have, time just seems like it goes faster and faster.

I read about 2 young boys who were hit by cars this week.  One is still in critical condition and the other didn't make it.
Then I think about my friend in Georgia who has a little boy Caleb's age that has to have chemo treatments on a regular basis.

Bad things that happen in our lives here on this earth are blessings and struggles.
Seth and I have started texting or telling each other 2 things we are thankful for each day.  It really has put our lives in perspective and made us appreciate the smallest things around us that we wouldn't normally take note of...like our health and the fact that God has watched over our families and kept us safe and He has always provided way more than what we need.

Today, I'm thankful for sweet babies...all of them.  I'm thankful for good parents who take care of their children and for sweet souls who fill in the gaps for other children who have parents who have abandoned them.

I'm thankful for laughter too.  I can't think of anything that makes me happier than hearing Caleb and Lorelei laugh.  You know that deep belly, eyes closed kind of laugh.

Today, Caleb and I played "Memory" while Lorelei napped.  There's one card that is a picture of a green bunny which Caleb so giggly named "Bunny Poop".  He thinks the word "poop" in any form is hilarious.  But apparently what's more funny than him saying "Bunny Poop" is me saying "Bunny Poop".  He heard me say it and the kid rolled over on the bed laughing so hard.  That totally made my day, even though we were using the forbidden potty words.  I've never been a great rule follower ;-)

Then I started thinking about spontaneity and some thoughts popped into my head.
Life's too short to worry about all the little details. (Luckily, being detail oriented is not my strong point!)
Be spontaneous.  Throw away the planner sometimes.  Do something that goes against your typical behavior.  Put more time into your family, relationships with those around you that actually care instead of ones who just want something out of you, reaching out to people who need you.

                                                                                                             Source: southernthomas.blogspot.com  

Some things I need to remember:

There won't be a trailer hitched to the back of my hearse.
At the end of my life, money and things won't matter, even though the Tory Burch shoes and Diane Von Furstenberg wrap dresses are very appealing.
There is really no better day than today to just do it or change it or quit it or start it or fix it or be it!
Stop being selfish.  Life isn't all about me.  Look for ways to serve those around me.  Take the time to stop at the nursing home down the street and love on all those sweet people who could just eat my babies up!
Kiss my husband more, love on my kids, hide the phone and the computer and soak every moment in with them while I can.
                                                                                                          

Time passes too quickly to worry about all the things that really don't matter and I love Jesus way too much to waste this time He is giving me here on earth.

                                                                                                                   Source: cocokelley.blogspot.com





And that's it folks.
There was all the deep thinking I could muster.
Now my brain hurts...I guess I should go do something mindless for a while to re-coop and that would not include playing memory with my 3 year old because, quite frankly, he's awesome at remembering and I stink ;)

Monday, August 6, 2012

Better late than never!

My Memorial Day and July 4th Summer Wreath!
Late is better than never, right???
I used this my tutorial that you can find here.
I found some burlap wire ribbon at Hobby Lobby and added two other types of ribbons and some fun, felt flowers!  This would be really cute with a monogram in the middle!
I love that I can leave it up all summer long too.





It's been a great summer wreath and photo prop :)
Speaking of summer...WHERE DID IT GO???
We are already getting ready for the schools to start around here.
I feel like we are going straight from Spring into Fall.
Our pools close in a couple of weeks too :(
I need summer to last longer!
Especially since that means my babies are getting older too...and don't even get me started with that.
I'll tune up and cry right here!


Let me take my emotional self somewhere else.
You know something that will make me cry, but not emotional tears?
Cleaning out my closet!
Wish me luck...it's outta control!!!
Have a HAPPY MONDAY EVERYONE!!!

OH!
And what kind of person would I be if I didn't share my awesome facebook giveaway with you???
Over on my Rodan+Fields Facebook page, I'm having a giveaway of a regimen of your choice...that's up to a $190 value!
So get over there, like my page and share the photo for your chance to win the most amazing skin you've ever had!





Wednesday, August 1, 2012

3 years 3 months

Caleb is 3 years and Lorelei is 3 months so that called for a photo shoot!











Friday, July 27, 2012

DIY: Olympic T-Shirts!

We are SOOOOOO excited about the Olympics starting tonight!
We've been looking forward to this night for MONTHS and I'm sure many of you are just as excited as we are.

To show our team spirit, we made tshirts for Caleb and Lorelei to wear.
We had fun making them and they are very simple!
We bought a plain white tshirt for Caleb and I grabbed a white onesie for Lorelei.


For Caleb, we used a styrofoam cup and for Lorelei (since I needed a much smaller circle) I used a small measuring cup that I had.
We loaded the rim of the cups with our paint.

Next we pushed the rims down onto the shirt.

Until we had all 5 circles!
I wanted Caleb to have a part in making the shirts, so the circles aren't perfect, but I like them even more because I know that we made them together :)





If you look carefully at Caleb's shirt, you'll notice an extra green circle below the yellow one.
I was cleaning up and turned around to find him putting his on touch on his shirt!
 It was pretty funny.



Happy Olympics!!!
GO TEAM USA!!!!!

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

My new excitement!

As many of you know, I started upon a new and exciting adventure about a month ago.
I hit the ground running and I haven't regretted it one time since.


What am I doing, you ask?
Well, I partnered with Dr. Katie Rodan and Dr.Kathy Fields, the creators of Proactiv, to sell their new and simply amazing line of skin care products.


Our products address almost every skin care issue from acne, to rosacea, to sun damage and malasma, to anti aging!  
You have an issue with your skin and one of our products is sure to help.


This opportunity has brought so much more excitement into my life. 
It has challenged me to grow and has increased my faith.  
In just one month, I exceeded the goals I set for myself AND already celebrated my first promotion.


Just before I joined Rodan + Fields, I had been praying that God would open a door for me to be able to help my family without having to go back to work.
Partnering with Rodan + Fields is making that possible for me, and the best part is that I love it!


The business opportunity isn't your typical direct selling business opportunity.
It would be as though you had the chance to sell Mary Kay three years after they started into Direct Sales...can you imagine where you would be now???


Rodan+Fields Anti-Age skin care line is on track to become number one and I am so excited to be on board to help them get there!


This week our doctors are meeting with the top beauty editors from InStyle, Marie Claire, Redbook, Brides, Prevention Magazine and lots more.  
They are giving them a sneak peak of our new product line!


How fun does this look???




Our amazing Rodan+Fields doctors aka " The Skin Care Dream Team". 
They are so smart and dedicated to this company! 
Beyond excited that I said "YES" to being a part of all of it!



Here is my facebook page for anyone interested in keeping up with the latest products and news from Rodan and Fields...I do "Freebie Fabulous Friday" every Friday where I offer some great, free items!


Thanks for listening to me babble about how excited I am about this...I thought the excitement would die down, but it's only growing...I'll try to contain it on my blog though ;)
Happy Wednesday!

(For those of you whose interest is really piqued, here's 10 reasons you should join me!)

Okay....Rodan+Fields rant is over...for now! Muahahahahahaha
(Can yall tell how much of a dork I truly am??? I can't hide it any longer because I'm pretttttttty sure I never did a good job of hiding it to begin with!)

Monday, July 23, 2012

Name Paintings

A few weeks ago, I made my children their own name paintings.
I just love them.
They are great for pictures and they really add a nice personalized look to their rooms!
Caleb was so excited about his...I'm sure, deep down, Lorelei was too ;-)










Wednesday, July 18, 2012

These are a few of my favorite things...

Seth always asks me, "How is it that you love so many things???"
My answer to him, "There are so many beautiful things or just great inventions out there!  I don't need all of them, but I love looking at them!"

With that being said, here is a few of MY current favorite things :)


Lilly Pulitzer barstools



Gorge West Elm mugs

Source: westelm.com via Paula on Pinterest



Dani Notes iPhone cases





These gorgeous flats



Rodan+Fields Anti Age Regimen

This jaw dropping rug



Whale smocked SWIM SUIT?!!



This marvelous maxi

Source: rstyle.me via Paula on Pinterest



Silhouette Plates from my sweet friend Aedriel on Etsy

Source: etsy.com via Aedriel on Pinterest



Some cute, kid sized, travel chalkboards



Can you blame for looking????

*Interested in having YOUR item on "A few of my favorite things" on The Patriotic Peacock?
 Email me for details: KathlynWade@hotmail.com