This weekend, in addition to the obvious choice of being at an Easter Sunday church service, I was also a part of a good Friday service. Y’all, this is my favorite service of the liturgical year.
As the pastor pointed out while we were chatting after the service, it’s all about doing Good Friday with correct theology. It’s not all about me and woe is me and my burdens that I’m bringing to the table. It’s about Jesus, his suffering and sacrifice, and his enduring the wrath of the Father instead of me. But it’s also about Sunday – the glorious day of His rising up from the grave and becoming not only whole, but holy all over again. His reuniting with us and with the Father, and that in this act, he has forever united the Father with us.
What better news could we have than this? What better reason for me to rise with the sun tomorrow, and worship the One who made my life shame-free? Jesus is risen! The veil is torn! He has made a way, a perfect way, a way for me and for the world!
Happy Monday! I’m linking up again with Becky at Choose Happy and some more awesome bloggers for this week’s Currently. I love having this link-up every week to start my week off with a fun post. Join us! We want to hear what you’re up to!
Watching || Gilmore Girls. I know I’m late to the party, but I’m pretty excited to be catching up with Rory and Lorelei. I’m digging all the scenes with Emily; she’s hilariously infuriating.
Listening to || worship tunes to gear up for Palm Sunday and Easter. I want to make sure they’re topically appropriate but also good ones that people will know and love. Do you have any suggestions for Easter-y worship songs?!
Loving || warmer weather! I’m pretty sure I’ve said this every week, but every week it’s just been a tease. There are a few warm days, and then we go back into the cooler temperatures. I should be glad, because soon I’ll be complaining about how hot I am all the time. Ha! For now, I’ll be loving that I can wear dresses instead of squeezing my belly into pants.
Enjoying || my Jamberry manicure I did earlier this week! It’s springy and fun – a gift from a Mystery Mama! I’m part of a Facebook group (that I found through a blogger I follow) where we all swapped names and are sending sweet notes/small gifts over the next few weeks. I’m really enjoying it, on the receiving end AND the giving end! I’d tell ya what I sent, but I don’t want to ruin my MM’s surprises!
Eating || some gorgeous tie-dye cupcakes! I found them on Pinterest, and told my baker friend Lauren about them, and we gave them a go yesterday! We actually used a Paleo chocolate cupcake recipe we had used before (because chocolate) but the dairy-free buttercream icing was the winner of the day. Especially since the EK-approved tie-dye colors worked out as perfectly as we had hoped! We will do them again in “princess colors” for her birthday in two weeks! I am SO happy with the way they turned out!
Looking forward to || having my whole house back! We are officially at a countdown, folks. Carpet goes in today, stairs go in this week, as well as touch-up paint, and then it’s just cleaning up and moving back in! I can’t wait to be posting pictures of a finished, furnished basement! If you’d like to help us move furniture or play with my kiddos while we move it, or eat pizza and drink beer while it happens, give me a shout!
That’s my life in a little, teeny nutshell, y’all. Thanks for joining me! Now let’s hear what you’ve been doing!
Happy Monday! I’m linking up again this week with Becky at Choose Happy and several other fantastic bloggers, to share a little bit about my life currently.
Enjoying || the gorgeous weather! I spent all afternoon outside yesterday, and we’ve had the windows open and gone on several evening walks the past week or so. What a breath of fresh air it is after a dreary winter! Spring fever has hit me big time!
Reading || Green Mansions by William Henry Hudson. I’m really struggling through it… it’s not difficult to read, or particularly bad, but it’s slow-going. I feel like there are WAY too many details he’s trying to cram in. I dunno – just not my thing. It’s for my reading challenge’s category of “author with the same initials”, so I suppose I’m going to finish it, but I might start something else to keep my mind excited while I go through the second half.
Watching || SNL. We watched the 40th anniversary episode, but otherwise we were way behind. We have had a LOT of laundry to put away today (because we can do it here at our house again! Yay!) so we’ve been watching while doing laundry. I’d say I’m okay with it.
Excited about || All of the fun events we’ve got going on this spring! Egg hunts, EK’s birthday, and just plain being outside! We have a great deck and do almost everything out there. The kids love sidewalk chalk, too, so they like doing that anywhere we are.
Counting down || Not really counting down till my due date, but since I’m officially over halfway there, I figure that it’s close enough to pretend that I am! I’ll be honest – most of the time I’m too busy with the kiddos and the renovations and life in general to even remember how far along I am half the time. But as soon as the basement is finished up, we will move EK and J to their downstairs rooms, and I’ll transition the nursery away from J’s room to be a little home for a new guy until he’s sleeping well enough (aka through the night) to move him downstairs.
It’s always great to read what everyone’s up to… so link up with us at Becky’s blog and let us know what’s going on currently with you!
I found this link-up party through a blogger friend, and decided it sounded fun! Just summing up my week in a list of feats and fails – so naturally I love it. List-making + bragging + making fun of myself = total win. (By the way, I want you to know that when I typed “win” just now, I typed “wine” first. My fingers know what I’d like to be doing right now.) It’s hosted by Ash at More Than Cheese and Beer, and Jeanine at Jsack Mom Blog. You should join us!
Let’s get those fails out of the way first:
– I’ve been eating a lot of ice cream. At first, this sounds like a good thing. I promise you it isn’t.
– Besides ice cream, my main food groups this week have been tacos and pizza. I need to reign it in big time, or else I’m going to be a whale long before the third trimester.
– Because of the work in the basement coming into our hallway and living room, everything is covered in dust. EVERYTHING.
– I have overslept several times this week, which has been lovely until I’m running late for something… like church or preschool. Neat.
– Daylight savings time has thrown off my life by throwing off the lives of my children. Why do we do this, again?
– Let’s be honest…that first feats and fails graphic is pretty bad. I’ll do a better one next time, ha!
And now for some fantastic feats:
+ Dinner out with both kids tonight went PERFECTLY. It was amazing – everyone ate well, there was no whining or tears, and we took a quick trip to the Dollar Store to get some shamrock necklaces to boost our St. Patty’s spirit tomorrow. FOR THE WIN!
+ Painting upstairs looks amazing!
+ The washer and dryer got hooked up this afternoon! Hellooooooo, laundry in my own home again!
+ My parents arrived for the weekend… bearing oatmeal cookies. Yay!
+ The weather this week was glorious. Kids played outside a lot, I/we got to go on several walks, and there’s been limited heat/air running. I call that a total feat!
+ Tomorrow is going to be one of my favorite days of the year! I LOVE St. Patrick’s Day! (I’d love it more if I could drink all the Guinness, but I’ll take it.)
Linking up with Becky and Choose Happy and several other friends for another Currently! Please join us and let us know what you’re currently up to!
Craving || Banana peppers. I like them on sandwiches, salads, and pizza. Why do I need them all the time? No clue. I’m also eating a lot of chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream. 🙂
Enjoying || The gorgeous warmer weather! It’s finished snowing (hopefully) and we are seeing the sun! I even took my kids on a walk AFTER DINNER tonight! I know – totally unheard of!
Excited about || having only three more weeks (ish) in our renovation! That’s only three more weeks of farming out laundry, going around the whole house to get to everything in the back, and having WAY TOO MUCH stuff upstairs. Also, I’m excited to start looking at some new furniture for the downstairs, and get back all the furniture that we kept (because we loved it) that’s in garages all over town.
Loving || My kiddos. EK has made it at least a little bit past her truly ornery stage (she was a pill for a few weeks there) and gotten back closer to her regular disposition – which is good, because I was going nuts. Also, both kids are communicating a lot more (at their own levels) than they used to, so I’m excited to see how this next few weeks goes in the way of talking!
Watching || The Bachelor finale! I’m leaving for a friend’s house in just a few minutes!
For the Reading Challenge I’m doing, there’s a category that was extremely easy to fulfill: A book you can finish in a day. For this category, I had actually already downloaded a short ebook on my Kindle that had been “recommended for me” (you know how they’re always predicting things you might like?) called The Vanishing Game by William Boyd.
The book itself was good but a little oddly laid out. There were pictures (on my Kindle, no less) and the 8 chapters seemed more important, like if the book was longer, they would’ve been big sections.
The book was endorsed by Land Rover (the car that the main character drove the entire time), which I thought was interesting. Seems strange for a car company to commission a book, but they wanted the book to join with Land Rover in celebration of adventure. I get it, I guess 🙂
I also like a nice, clean finish at the end of mysteries, and I didn’t really get one at the end. There was a little resolution, but it still left me with lots of questions. It was a quick, easy and fun read, though, and I’d definitely recommend it if you need one day’s worth of entertainment!
My heart is breaking. I can’t imagine how I would feel, as a 20-or-so year old, finding out that my college, my home, my world, is closing. Sweet Briar College, a women’s institution founded in 1901, is closing its doors, due to “insurmountable financial challenges”.
I know that during my time at Salem College, I lived in that bubble in a serious way. Yes, I was venturing out and about, and learning about my world and how I would contribute to it, but I was also surrounded by some of the most wonderful and inspiring women, living in an architectural (and sometimes cultural – in a good way) time capsule, and my world was revolving around classes and projects and events and meal times. I can’t imagine someone telling me that all of sudden, my education is in jeopardy, I have to find a new home, and I can’t come back to the place I love.
Wow.
Luckily, I know that women’s colleges across the country are not closing their doors. They are preparing for more women to transfer in, and make the most of an experience that’s been forced on them. I know that Salem is probably not alone in preparing to welcome newcomers from Sweet Briar. We’ve had an anonymous alumna volunteer to pay the application fees of any Sweet Briar transfer applying for this coming fall. That’s huge, y’all.
I posted an article on Facebook yesterday about 10 other women’s colleges that are thriving in the midst of this sadness. They listed Sarah Lawrence College (which got a shout out in 10 Things I Hate About You), Salem College (my sweet, fantastic alma mater), Mills College, Simmons College, Bryn Mawr, Spelman College, College of St. Benedict, Mount Holyoke College, and Converse College. However, they didn’t add Hollins, Meredith, Agnes Scott, or Wellesley. And those are just the ones that I know off the top of my head and didn’t have to look up! Women’s colleges and universities are thriving all over the country, making women more and more awesome as we speak. I’m proud, ecstatic, and thrilled to be one of those women.
Now the next thing I say might get some pushback from even Salem graduates. But it needs to be addressed. Are you also sad that Sweet Briar is closing? Or that Randolph-Macon Women’s College became co-ed in 2007? Or that Peace College began admitting men in 2012, and then changed its name a couple of years later? There’s an easy way to help. Donate. Give.
I know, I know… you feel like there was one experience you didn’t feel was a positive one. Or maybe you feel like you were forced to stay there by a parent who told you that transferring wasn’t an option. Or maybe, like me, they don’t even offer your degree anymore, so why give? Those are selfish reasons. If other women are getting a great education, being shaped into incredible women, why not give for those women? Why not donate even a little bit for those women? Or so that your degree won’t be discontinued? Or that those crappy dorms can be updated? Anyone can donate to any college. There are annual funds, capital campaigns, tons of funds to donate to for every school. Your small gift can mean that one more woman can be set up for a successful and happy life. It’s that simple.
Last night, I attended a “women’s supper club” for a group of women from my church. It was FANTASTIC. There was sharing, laughing, crying, hugging, praying, talking, teaching, and loving each other. I met new women, reconnected with some I hadn’t seen recently, and chuckled and snuggled with women I know well. It was a much-needed night of frivolity and fellowship and faith-building. I realized this: I have lots of wonderful women in my life, and I love finding more. You can never have too many women who are peers, women who are mentors, women who are mentees, women who have walked through your trenches, and women who are in them right beside you.
Women were created for relationship. It’s in our nature. God created Adam, and then created him a companion in Eve. I think that we were created for communication, fellowship, compassion, and love. This isn’t just limited to a romantic relationship, or familial relationship. This very nature of women spreads to all relationships – friends, acquaintances, strangers, all.
I’ve had several blog friends recently start up ways for women to connect with and find friends online (in a non-creepy or stalkerish way haha). Women can be lonely without a group, without a tribe. I am lucky in that I have a tribe built in where I live, but I still want to grow it! I want to help women connect with each other, build meaningful relationships, and make lasting impressions on each other. I know how important those types of relationships have been in my life, and how much they still will be for the rest of it.
I’m not sure the way I want to go about this yet. I want to help y’all out, help you get to know each other, help you find gals in your area who are like-minded and need a group of friends as well. I want to make it authentic and not forced. I want to make it realistic and long-lasting. So it’s a tall order, but it’s on my heart. And I’m going to be praying about it. It already makes me excited!
Please comment if you have ideas, ways to connect that are already in place, or anything else you think might be helpful in the process. If you’re a praying person, I invite you to join me in prayer in the first steps of the process, and for the hearts of the women that might get involved!
I don’t often post about style. I’m not the most stylish person I know, nor do I know all that much about it. However, I like to look nice, I like to be fairly fashionable (not too out of style) and I’m a big fan of accessories.
So today, when I realized my belly was getting a little big for half my shirts, knowing that my maternity clothes are packed somewhere in the storage unit (to which Hubby conveniently misplaced the key) I knew I needed to buy a couple of shirts to get me through to the end of next month when we will have unpacked the unit. AND Stella & Dot was having a sale, so naturally I logged myself into my stylist account to see what I could find!
Here’s what I ended up with:
Two maternity shirts from Target, both Liz Lange. One grey hoodie (comfy, versatile) and one black and white striped short sleeve top (versatile, will go through to warmer weather). I’m wearing the hoodie right now and it’s nice and long – easily worn with leggings – without being so bulky that I feel like I’m wearing a moo-moo.
I also got a new S&D necklace – the Fortuna Stone Pendant. It’s a double-stranded beauty, comes in gold and silver (I got the gold) and I’m SUPER excited for it to arrive. I ordered it yesterday and I received the shipping email last night! I love their super-fast and always cheap ($5.95 no matter what) shipping! I also got a new wallet. I LOVE the shape and size of their Chelsea Tech Wallet. It’s usable as a clutch or a wristlet, fits my iPhone, or tosses in every purse I own just fine. The one I’ve had for two years I haven’t given a single day off, and I’m just now starting to notice a few rubbed places. It was a great excuse to get the new hot pink perforated one – the cut-out design line is adorable!
As far as the Stella & Dot goes, I’d love to help you find the perfect accessory, or be your Stylist! If you want to browse online, just make sure you choose me as your stylist (it’ll ask you when you check out) OR go straight to my website first! I’ve really enjoyed wearing their pieces, selling them to friends, and making a few extra dollars with it. If you see a lot that you like, talk to me about doing an online trunk show, and we will set it up!
Anyway, that’s all I will say in self-promotion and I’m done with my fun style pieces for this weekend. Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend, and a safe one, if there’s still some snow where you are!
I’ve had a few friends who are expecting their first baby ask for a little advice on how to prepare for the bundle of joy. So here are a few things that I figured out either with EK or with J or because a wise woman told me so.
This was when a friend and I took our collective three kids on a walk. Only two are mine, but she was saying since we knew we’d have another, it was only a matter of time until it was me without a friend…
1. When placing your nursery furniture, to important to make it look nice. It’s also important to make it convenient for you to use each of the pieces in the room. For instance, when you wake up to the cry of your newborn at 3:00am, walk in the nursery, and immediately smell something… terrible… you know that you’re gonna need to change a diaper, and probably clothes, blankets, and maybe sheets. You pick up your sweetie, move to the changing table, and roll up your sleeves. Within arm’s reach, you want to have that extra change of clothes, as well as diapers and wipes, of course. So when arranging your furniture, it’s good to have your dresser (or wherever clothes are kept) within easy reach of the changing table, so you don’t have to walk off and leave the baby!
2. Speaking of changing the sheets, all moms know that changing crib sheets is a giant pain in the booty. So how do you make yourself have to change them less often, even though your baby will have messy poops, incredibly sized pees, and spit ups that stink to high heaven? One word: layer. My wonderful mother-in-law introduced me to this idea, and it’s saved my sleepy or busy self more times than I can count. So what you do is have 4-6 sheets AND full mattress-sized waterproof pads, and layer them into the mattress. I like to take the mattress completely out of the crib to do this. That way, I just peel off the offending layer whenever there’s a mess, and toss it in the laundry, and there’s already a sheet on there, ready to go! Of course, 1/6 times, I’m screwed. But I’m saved the rest of the time!
3. When someone offers to make a meal calendar for you, take them up on it. When they ask for email addresses, give them every single one you know. If people don’t want to help/are too busy, they just won’t sign up. But everyone else? Let them feed you. Lots of them (like me a lot of times) will just ask what you want from your favorite take-out place. It’s a win-win. And sometimes, it’s a sweet friend, who comes bearing dinner, and does some dishes or some laundry while she’s there, because it’s somehow easier to do someone else’s than your own. ((If you need help with this one or don’t have someone to do it for you, email me and I’ll help you out.))
4. Related to #3, stock your freezer. If you’ve got a meal calendar set up with people doing dinners, stock the freezer with pancakes, waffles, muffins, breakfast sandwiches, sausage, bacon, etc. Another great idea is to pack individual baggies with everything for a smoothie in them. Put in your fruit, kale, spinach, oats, flax, or whatever you like in there, each in an individual Ziploc bag, and then all you have to do for breakfast (or lunch, or a snack) is put it in the blender with the liquid of your choice, and yogurt or peanut butter if that’s how you roll. For lunches and dinners, spaghetti sauce and chili are easy things to make and stock up on, as well.
5. Get the book Happiest Baby on the Block or at least skim it in Babies R Us one day. Cliff notes: When they are fussy, swaddle them, let them suck on something, swing or bounce them, hold them positioned on their side or stomach and make some loud white noise (loud “shh”, vacuum, hair dryer, etc). Y’all are thinking I’m crazy. Try it.
6. Start letting baby put himself to sleep even when he’s a couple of weeks old. When he’s fed and diapered and snuggled (and swaddled, in my opinion), lay him in the crib and leave the room. Learning to go to sleep on his own will make everyone’s lives easier in the long run.
7. Something I didn’t do until recently (mostly because I think they didn’t have it when EK was a newborn) is sign up for one of those Amazon or something diaper subscriptions, where they just send them to you. I’ve got it now that my kids aren’t growing out of diaper sizes too quickly (and they’re both in the same size), but here’s what I did. I took all those coupons for creating registries at Babies R Us and Bed Bath and Beyond, and bought diapers – a couple of cases in every size. I waited till they were on sale (since before you have the baby there’s no rush, right?) and used the coupons. Babies R Us is great at mailing you stuff monthly, and almost every time there are coupons for diapers. I only bought one box of newborn size (they grow out of those the quickest in my experience) and two boxes of the rest (stopping at size 4) just in case. I felt totally prepared, and if I did run out of diapers, I at least had some in the size up they could wear so I was never completely and totally out.
8. Find a good stain remover. This is a total must, because your baby is going to be causing stains on everything. I really love Babyganics, and it really seems to work on everything from poop and spit-up to red wine and coffee (and those are the four most common stains at my house).
9. Use the heck out of those annoying and wonderful Bed, Bath and Beyond 20% off coupons you get all the time. Use them on carseats, strollers, toys, nursery furniture, pillows, swaddles, and anything else you can buy there instead of a baby store. Our BB&B recently got a major baby section upgrade, so I get tons of stuff there with those super coupons.
10. Don’t refuse the help. Yes, there’s a line between letting a thousand people traipse through your house every moment of the day and accepting the help of well-meaning friends and family for a few days, or a few days a week if they’re willing to keep it up for a little while. But if someone offers to snuggle the baby and let you nap, or let you shower, let them. If someone offers to do a load of laundry or pick up some groceries, let them. These things are so nice and helpful, and often it’s a chance for a friend or aunt or someone to meet your little bundle. A win-win for everyone!
All you almost-mamas, I hope this helps! Pass it along to anyone who might need some words of wisdom before their little babe gets here!
Do the veteran mamas have anything to add to the list?!
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