Yearly Archives: 2016

faith, food, mommyhood, random thoughts, siblings

Currently

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Hey, Monday! I can’t believe you’re here again… especially since you started with a bang before 7am – yikes! An early rising baby makes for an early morning workout, so I feel like I’ve had my entire day already and it’s just afternoon.

Anyway, I’m linking up with Becky at Choose Happy like I do every week. Join us! Comment with what you’re up to! I really do want to know. 

As for me, I’m…

Drinking || a fancy new drink that Hubby and I adapted from a old summer favorite. A salty dog, typically grapefruit juice and gin or vodka (I’m a gin gal) and a salted rim, is a wonderfully refreshing summer cocktail. I’ve never much cared about a salted rim, but I dig the gin and grapefruit juice combo. So this summer, to take it to the next level, Hubby and I have been muddling fresh basil (from our garden, so we have an endless supply) into the freshly-squeezed juice, and adding a little sparkling water for a nice bubbly finish. It needs a name; any suggestions?!

Watching || the blossoming friendship between my eldest two babes. They still henpeck each other and fight over toys, but they’re getting kinder and better at playing together. And I’m all over here like, “It’s happening! It’s finally happening! They’re friends!”

They really like making that face right now.

Enjoying || time where EK spent her weekend at the lake with her grandparents, and Hubby and I treated the boys on their own all weekend! EK had a blast with her grandparents and two of her girl cousins, and Hubby and I had a nice, easy time with the boys. An all-around success!

an obvious first stop: GELATO!

Celebrating || another baby boy in our friend group! I attended a sweet shower on Saturday, and also got some snuggles with my baby niece while I was at it!

Mourning || the senseless loss of lives in Orlando. I’ve been pointedly silent about it, because I just don’t have a constructive thing to say yet. But I will say this: love wins. When there is a tragedy like this, more hate is not the response. No, we can’t get back the fallen. But we can love their loved ones, and even harder, love the enemy. We don’t have to place blame or name any enemies to start loving on one and all. 

How do you feel?

What’s your summer shaping up to be?

home, mommyhood, My Big Jesus, random thoughts

7 Things I Only Get Halfway Through

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This post also appeared on My Big Jesus! If you haven’t visited the site, the writing is great and the podcasts are not to be missed!


Parents are busy. I’m always splitting my time between things that need to get done, and spending time with my kids. For instance, at church yesterday, I had to be kid-chasing DURING rehearsal for the service. It was a madhouse up in that sanctuary. But it got me thinking: what else do I never have my full attention on? What do I never have the time to finish? I’ve compiled a list of things I never actually complete because I’m a parent…

Meals. I don’t finish mine because I’m frequently giving it to someone else. Unless my lunch is eating their leftovers.

Showers. Sometimes my showers are cut short by interruptions or cries on the monitor. I’m pretty lucky if I rinse the shampoo out of my hair.

Books. I’m in the middle of approximately 17 books at any given moment. The only thing I can read with half my brain engaged is a young adult novel or a board book by Eric Carle.

Movies. Nine times out of ten, I’m asleep halfway through it. Parenting exhaustion is REAL.

Sleeping. Whether it’s sleeping at night or sneaking a nap while my kids do the same, I’m awoken by my kids every time. I haven’t woken up to the sound of an alarm (or, gasp! birds chirping!) in years, except when I’m on vacation.

Exercising. I rarely have time to go to an exercise class (wannabe yogi, here) so I’m typically working out in my living room, or on a run with the stroller. Either way, I can get faked out by a kid just as I’ve broken a sweat. 

Blog posts. Even as I am writing this one, I have been interrupted a total of five times. And this post isn’t that long. Excuse me while I go put my kids to bed. 

mommyhood, My Big Jesus, random thoughts

Feeling All the Feels 

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This post also appeared on My Big Jesus. 

Sometimes I feel like I do everything. I’ve fed them, bathed them, clothed them, entertained them, and put them to bed. I’ve done all the things, and they are not only entirely oblivious to my efforts, but seemingly ungrateful (read: ignoring and/or defying me). My children are my world, and I spend more time with them than anyone else. 

But enough is enough. 

I am allowed to be overwhelmed. To be full. And I don’t mean in the sweet “my heart is full” sort of way. I mean in the “my plate is so full I can’t figure out how to survive” sort of way. Fullness is a blessing, and I do not discount the ease with which we had our children, or the privilege it is to call them my own. But there’s not a mother out there who can tell you that there aren’t moments, days, or even weeks where things are just so full that they’re hard. 

A couple of weeks ago, I happened to be on vacation. I was in another state, literally and figuratively. I was down there in big ol’, wide-open Texas, and all I did was wonder what my kids were doing at the moment. 

The truth is, those kiddos frustrate me. And they thrill me. And they drive me up the wall. And they are the most joyous three people I know. My world revolves around them. I’m constantly learning how to be the best when I’m with them, and when I’m not. It’s a test of balance to see how I can be myself in both situations. If I’m wearing nice clothes, carrying only a small purse, and driving a car with no child seats, I must be missing something… right? Sometimes, I realize what I’m missing is my grumpiness. I’m missing the exhaustion and stress that sometimes follows me when I’m lugging the kids (and their stuff) around. 

But the biggest thing I’ve learned is that grumpy is okay. Exhausted is okay. Angry, even, is okay. Joyous is okay! Delirious is okay! Whatever stage you’re in, moment you’re in, and feelings you’re having- it’s okay! It doesn’t mean those feelings define you, or that you’re stuck in that rut. But you’re allowed to have big feelings just like your little ones are. So embrace them. Use them as an excuse for a break. Use them as a teachable moment. But don’t shun them; let your feelings show, because that’s how you move on to the next moment. 

mommyhood, things toddlers say

Things Toddlers Say

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Good morning, and happy Tuesday!

I’m realizing that what I write for y’all on these posts is more and more conversational each week. It’s crazy to think that I have two, mostly-communicative children, and another who babbles away to us in his own language. It’s so fun for me to look back through old posts (like this hilarious one) about what EK said a year ago. But here are this week’s funnies for you to enjoy!


J: I wanna be Spider-Man!
Me: That’s new. (Batman has historically been his favorite.)
EK: I wish there was a girl.
Me: Spider-Man had a girlfriend named Mary Jane…?
EK: Yeah. She has red hair. I could be her! I just need to have red hair and gloves!
Me: Um, okay. I think we can make some gloves happen.
About 15 minutes later, the kids were wearing their superhero garb I got them last week, J in the Spider-Man and EK in the Captain America.
EK: Look, Mom! J is Spider-Man and I am Mary Jane! To J: I’m your husband!
Me: *dying*

EK starts singing the blessing, and J joins in.
EK: No, I want to do it myself!
J: *sigh* Okay, fine. You can do it by myself. *sigh*

EK, pointing at a slice of mozzarella: Is that Cinderella cheese?

J hurt his toe playing outside, and Hubby tried to distract him.
Hubby: Say blood!
J: I don’t want to!
Hubby: Say hemoglobin!
J, crying: I don’t want to say hemobucket!

J: I put the bagel in time out, Mom.

We hear a crash from downstairs and a cry from J…
Hubby: What happened, buddy?
J: I fell off the watermelon!
The ottoman. He meant the ottoman.

J: Mommy!
Me: Yes?
J: Mommy, my toe hurts!
Me: Oh no! Why does it hurt?
J: Tocause.
Me: Because why?
J: Tocause I miss you.
Mom=slayed.

I hand J a magnolia blossom.
J: Can I smell it?
Me: Sure! What does it smell like?
J: Chocolate!

Going to Coldstone…
EK: I want rainbow ice cream! In a cone!
J: I want dinosaur ice cream! With dinosaurs in it!

J, on his trike: Here I’s come! I’m coming to you!

What are your toddlers talking about?!

food, home, mommyhood, random thoughts

Currently

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Happy Monday! It might be late afternoon, but here’s a Currently update to let you know what’s going on in my world. I’m linking up with Becky at Choose Happy, so drop by her site and see what she’s up to, also! Now, here are a few things I’ve been up to…

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Cooking || spaghetti! It’s been a long time since I just made a big ol’ pot of my mom’s spaghetti sauce, and I was just craving it. We haven’t gotten any tomatoes from our garden just yet, but I used our basil and oregano fresh, and had a few fresh tomatoes in the house that needed to be used. The house smells so good right now that I know it’s only 4pm, but I want dinner!

Drinking || salty dogs, with fresh basil! Salty dogs are vodka or gin (I drink them with gin) and grapefruit juice. Hubby got a wild hair and asked for basil in his yesterday, so I muddled it in the juice, and WOW it was good. Definitely my new summer cocktail.

Enjoying || our pool membership! For our first summer with a membership, are pretty excited about it. The hours are limited right now since school is still in session, but we’ve still been twice already in the last week. Once it’s open weekday mornings, I have a feeling it’ll be a three or four day a week enjoyment!

Smelling || magnolia blossoms. The tree in our yard has a lot of blossoms on it, and they’re beautiful. When we took an after dinner stroll last night, I picked one for EK, and it was incredibly fragrant! I’d forgotten how potent they are, and how much I associate that smell with summer.

 Well, there’s a little about me. What are you up to currently?!

food, random thoughts, travel

Everything’s Bigger in Texas (or Dallas, At Least)

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A couple of weeks ago, Hubby and I took a trip to Texas. It’s the second time we’ve gone there together, and the second time in less than 6 months! Hubby’s god-brother was getting married in Dallas, and we went to his wedding. After the weekend of celebrations and exploring Dallas, we went to Austin for a few days to spend time with his aunt and uncle. (I’ll soon write a separate post about Austin.)

Our trip started a little bit rocky, as we BARELY missed our flight out of Charlotte. It just so happened that early Friday morning was a popular time to fly, and security was PACKED and quite slow. As we watched our boarding time come, we stood there waiting and waiting. Finally, we got through security and RAN (not kidding) to our gate, we were about 90 seconds too late. We begged and bribed the attendant to let us on, but – we later found out – there were TSA agents standing close by, and she didn’t want to reopen the door in front of them. I guess I don’t blame her; safety and stuff. Anyway, she happily put us on the next flight, about 80 minutes later, and sent us off to breakfast. Obviously, this happened:


We still arrived in Dallas around 11, local time. And you can tell, right when you get off the plane and look around, that everything is bigger in Texas. It must be the way things are spread out, and how much extra space they have. Anyway… We took an Uber (thank goodness for Uber while you’re traveling!) to our hotel, the Hyatt House in Lincoln Park. Most of the wedding people stayed there, so it was full of friends and very affordable, and pretty nice to boot. Our first objective was lunch, so we went with a Mexican place that was walking distance from the hotel. Blue Mesa Grill was a higher-end southwestern place, and we were very pleased. To top it off, they had delicious margaritas and the service was great!


After lunch, we did some shopping at the Northpark Mall, also within walking distance of our hotel. We hit up a few stores, but really nailed it in Lucky Brand – we both needed new jeans! After our shopping excursion, it was definitely time for a nap. Our 4:30am wake up time was a looooooong time ago.

The rehearsal dinner that evening was at the Dallas Arboretum. It was gorgeous, outdoors at sunset, overlooking a lake.


We loved the location so much that we came back the next day to spend some more time looking around. After the dinner, we followed the younguns (aka the wedding party) to The Rustic, the biggest bar I’ve seen to date. Clearly a kitchen and music venue, but mostly a bar, it had a huge inside and an even huger (yep, I said it) outside. We got there to hear the band’s last song, but the night was far from over. There were inside and outside bars, tables, chairs, and lawn to hang out on. SO MUCH SPACE! So obviously that was where we closed out the night.

Back to the arboretum in the morning: it’s just $15 to get in, and there are 60+ acres of gardens, fountains, trails and places to sit and chat or read. There’s also a children’s area, with a splash pad and several other things specifically for kids (we didn’t get to check it out since we’d left the kids in NC).

When we left the arboretum, we walked to White Rock Lake Park to get some exercise (it wasn’t far from there – it’s the same lake the rehearsal dinner overlooked) and ran until we were famished for lunch. We picked up an Uber (right there in the park!) and checked out a local taco joint: Tacos La Banqueta. We just looked up “best tacos in Dallas” and that place came up. When we got there, it was literally attached to a gas station. A little off-putting, but I’m glad we stayed, because the tacos were delicious and cheap. It was clearly a local, hole-in-the-wall type place, perfect for a (sweaty) quick lunch.

Back to the hotel for a little pool time, and getting ready for the wedding, an amazingly intimate and beautiful ceremony. After that it was drinks, dinner, and dancing all night long! We had a great time celebrating the couple, and seeing them off to their honeymoon!


Sunday morning, we got up, packed up, and went with Hubby’s parents to Austin! They rented a car and drove, just about three hours. I’ll write a separate post about Austin for ya next week!

Have you ever been to Dallas? What do you like best? Are you FROM Dallas?! What do the locals love?

mommyhood

Currently Is Back!

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Hey y’all! Hubby and I had an amazing, semi-unplugged, responsibility-free five days in the great state of Texas! Here’s to a Currently full of trip snippets, to be followed up by a Dallas and an Austin play-by-play – that will really look like a “What I Ate” post, since most of what we did was EAT ALL THE THINGS.

Since tomorrow is JUNE (WHAT?!) I’m  linking up with Jenna at Gold and Bloom, and Anne In Residence. Join us!


Planning || a fun first couple of weeks of summer! We will spend some time outdoors (pool, anyone?!), eating good, local food and listening to music, also outside! AND we are attending a fantastic fundraising event for a family we love here in town. They’re holding an arts festival on their farm to benefit NOMAD Infant Rescue & Care. PLEASE check it out here and see how awesome it is. The event itself is going to be awesome; local food trucks, arts and craft vendors, live music, what else could you want on an already beautiful farm that’s filled with fun people?!


Enjoying || the last couple of days of preschool. I know we will have a fun summer, and we will find fun things to do while the kids are out, but I’m enjoying total silence right now, and I’m not sorry about it. Keeping them busy (read: exhausting them) will be my #1 daily goal. If you’re local, call me for play dates!

Buying || a couple of treats that the kids enjoyed while we were gone! Hubby and I had the idea to get on Amazon Prime for a couple of small things for the kids that would arrive after we left. We chose a couple of books, and a four-pack of superhero capes and masks! When I landed on that $20 dress-up kit I knew we’d nailed it, especially because Batman and Superman were included, and they are J and EK’s favorite, respectively.


Craving || Breakfast tacos. I fell in love with them in Austin, and now it’s the only thing I want for breakfast. Luckily, you can make them fairly healthy (leave out the greasy meat, or add some avocado) if you want, and still delicious!

Pinning || Not much these days. I never really got a good hold on how Pinterest is supposed to work, but I have been searching for some summer recipes I can make with the kids. I’m not much for “cute” food (you know, food made to look like animals and junk) but I do like delicious and healthy food! Right now, I’m still big on muffins that are gluten free and have a veggie in them (think zucchini bread on steroids).

Well, that’s about it for what I’m up to. More Texas trip details will come, so be on the lookout! What are your summer plans so far?

mommyhood, things toddlers say

Things Toddlers Say

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Happy Tuesday! Glad to bring back the weekly funnies! This one is long since it’s got a few from the previous week as well… Enjoy!

J, with coins in his hand: I got da monies!

J: Mom! EK’s drawing on she’s leg! (She’s is a substitute for her.)

Sitting at a nice restaurant for lunch…
EK: I want nuggets and fries and a taco for lunch, please.

Out on the porch…
J: I saw an ant, Mom! So I flicked it, right into the garden!
EK: Yeah! I gave my ant a spanking and put it in the crash can!

Leaving preschool…
J: Look, mom! There’s a bird! I wanna give it a kiss.

Hubby takes off J’s shirt, and he points at his tummy…
J: That’s my tummy aches daddy!
Hubby: What?
J: My tummy aches! (He pulls up Hubby’s shirt) Can I see your tummy aches?

J, coming out of his room after nap: Good morning, D! Good morning, EK! I had a nice nap.

EK, complimenting Hubby: You’re like Prince Charlie! (It took us several minutes to realize she meant Prince Charming.)

Hubby: How’s your taco?
J: Yummy! It’s like a chip!

EK had been pestering me to pay attention to her (I was working) and I had been telling her to wait a few minutes for, well, a few minutes. Finally, I said, “Yes?” She responded, “I was just wondering if we could have a tea party one day this week, Thursday or Wednesday maybe? Just whatever day I don’t have church or school. I could look at my calendar and see what’s going on?” And obviously, I responded, “…..Um, yes. I’d like that. Any day you want…”

Every time I change J’s diaper: Can I see da poopy, Mommy?

Snapshots of while we were gone…

Swinging with Uncle Cameron…
J: Push me! (Wait) Stop! (Wait) Okay, push me. Slowly!

EK is screaming at the dinner table…
Cameron: If you’re going to scream, go downstairs. If you want to eat with us, don’t scream.
EK: Necie, Cameron’s being mean to me!

Me: Did you go to school while I was gone?
EK: Yeah. And I stayed for lunch bunch. Necie gave me some money and I gave it to my teacher.

Necie: J just woke up. Do you want to put away the play doh?
EK: No, J loves play doh. I want to share it with him because I love him.

I thought those were all pretty good this week! What are your kids saying? Anyone else’s boy interested in seeing his poop? BLERG.

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You Just Need to Get Away

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Sometimes, you need a vacation.

Most of the time, you can’t have one.

And sometimes, things fall into place quite nicely, and you get the perfect excuse for a getaway.

photo courtesy of the talented Johnny Stevens

Last week, Hubby and I had a family friend who got married in Dallas. That’s a plane ride away for us, so we jumped at the chance to get out of town for a few days. My saint of a mother was willing to keep our kids, so we left them behind and stayed away (several states away!) for five whole days.

Did you read that? Five days. That’s an unheard of vacation for parents of three kids under age five. But we were blessed and thrilled to be almost entirely free of responsibility, eat way too much delicious food – without thinking of whether our kids would eat it – and go anywhere and everywhere we liked, without planning very far in advance.

We delighted in local restaurants, nature walks, and even some shopping. We were privy to an intimate weekend celebrating the couple, including our rousing performance of a Marvin Gaye cover at their rehearsal dinner. We traveled from Dallas to Austin to spend sweet time with family we don’t see very often, and even enjoyed a few naps. Yes! NAPS!

Even though I thought about (worried about, even) our kids, I knew they would be fine without us. We didn’t actually talk to them or FaceTime them as much as I thought we would. We talked about them, yes, and wondered how they were. But it was immensely refreshing to be away, and to rest assured things would be fine when we returned. Everyone was a little tired (my mom especially), and REALLY glad to see us, but they were fine. They survived – thrived, even – having had a break from us, too.

You see, we love each other. Kids and their parents have a bond to which nothing comes close. But it’s good to be apart sometimes. It’s refreshing, it makes us appreciate what we’ve got, and it makes us realize we don’t truly want to be apart from them for that long, even if we fantasize now and then about getting the hell outta dodge. But I have to tell you: going away for five days with my spouse was an incredible honeymoon-like experience. We hadn’t looked in each other’s eyes for as long, or had uninterrupted conversations as often as we did on this trip in years. Yep, I went there. Years. Like, four years, since that’s how old our daughter is. It’s the longest we’ve ever been away from her or the boys. But we needed it. Our marriage needed it. Our hearts, minds, and exhausted bodies needed it. I know how hard it is to imagine getting away, the effort, money, help, and planning it takes. But it was so, so good. And we’re already thinking about the next one.

mommyhood

A Much-Needed Vacation

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You might have noticed a little silence around this corner of the internet. Well, that’s because I took a vacation. It wasn’t a vacation in the tropics, or at a theme park. It was actually in Texas. But I went without my kids. Hubby and I spent five wonderful days and four extremely restful nights in the great, big state of Texas, celebrating the Dallas wedding of a dear friend and discovering Austin with some family. (If you follow me on Instagram, you probably figured all this out on your own.)

I’ll be writing about this a little more, but I just wanted to give you the Cliff’s Notes of why I’d been so quiet. My amazing mom kept our kids while we were traveling, eating, drinking and sight-seeing. She was a little too busy to write down every hilarious thing the kids said, but I’ll be including some of her additions in next week’s Things Toddlers Say. I’ll also fill you in on how horribly they slept while we were away, and how we try to get them back in the groove of “real life”. AND I’ll even do a big write up on Texas and what we did while we were there! (Especially since you might recall I did one on Fort Worth after we were there this past December.)

All that to say, thanks for hanging around and missing me while I was off the grid. Currently, Toddlers, and my weekly My Big Jesus contribution will all be back next week. Till then, here are a few pictures to hold you over: