Summer List

I saw this idea on Katie Bower's blog- to make a list of all the fun things you will try to do this summer. She took some ideas from other places and now I'm creating my own summer list for Melody and me to do together!

* Try new a new food every Wednesday * Blow Bubbles * Read a book every day * Family Picture Day * Play dates * Shoe lace lids * Dance to music * Watch Ballet * Throw Balls in Baskets * Library * Go swimming * Visit Nana & Papa John * Have Grammy & Papaw come visit * Do a "mommy" activity every week * Eat an ice cream cone *

What fun things are you doing this summer?! I would love to hear from you!

Father's Day

Wow! Father's Day really snuck up on me! In fact, I scheduled a Mary Kay appointment with someone for tomorrow- I don't think either one of us realized what tomorrow was while we were talking! I will have to double check to see if she will still want to get together- haha!

So, last minute father's day ideas- Christian says all he really wants is to get to watch a soccer game at 3pm tomorrow. I think I can swing that. And maybe something else ;-)...



What did you get your Dad for Father's day?

Just in case you need it, I have a couple of items in stock for Father' day, here and here. If you live locally I could get it to you tomorrow! :)

Any of these make great gifts for the men in your life. Christian's birthday is coming up also on Thursday so I have men's gifts on the brain. He already uses MKMen though, so time to come up with some ideas!

Pillows

How much can a pillow affect your sleep?

Apparently a lot.

For months now, I have woken up every morning feeling as if I have been run over by a bus. Whether I get a little sleep or a lot, it doesn't matter. There is a terrible achiness and a feeling of not really being rested that has hovered over me when I wake up. Although I was trying to do some half-hearted hypothesizing (laying in bed asking the hubby, "What do you think it could be? The mattress? Not enough sleep? the pillows?), I finally went to Target to buy some diapers (we always have a stash of disposables as back up even though we use cloth) and picked up a pillow as well.

Nothing fancy, just a new $10 firm pillow.

I fell asleep so easily.

And I woke up feeling even better.

I am not kidding you, my whole body felt less achey. My neck was still a little sore (it has been really tender for months now), but nothing like it has been and even my legs felt better. Apparently, head support while you sleep can really make a difference.

So here's my question for you: What investment do you need to make in yourself that you have been putting off? A pillow? Mascara? New shoes? Something else entirely??

Looking forward to reading your answers!

The Secret Mommy/Baby Language

Today I was noticing how I know Melody so well. Even though she doesn't say much (she'll say "yeah" to everything and grunt, and that's about it), I still tend to know what she's trying to communicate. When she's upset I can tell exactly what's wrong with her in a way no one else can. When I look back at all the times my parents said to me,"I know exactly what you're going to say to me!" I realize now that they probably did.

This sweet connection we have with our children is one of the reasons that we (mothers) are so irreplaceable in a child's life, especially when they are young. It is hard to find such a naturally close relationship as this elsewhere. I'm not saying I have known Melody this well since birth, but the older she gets, the more we understand each other and the closer we become. What a big responsibility it is to fill this role in a Godly and positive way.

My prayer as a mother at this moment is that I will make the most of this relationship. I pray that as she grows and has a mind of her own, I will choose to love and forgive instead of being angry. That I will guide and nurture as well as have fun. I pray for patience, diligence and energy to play, teach and care for my daughter.

This little girl causes me to have a lot of joy. I love you, Melody!

Do you feel like you have a special understanding with your child? Don't you love it? :)

Presto Chango!

And here are the dining room pics. I know most of you have seen the "new" dining room, but here is a before shot! Remember when it used to look like this?


And then while I was 5 or 6 months pregnant, I began major nesting-mode and painted this room "Belgian Waffle" (another olympic paint color I believe) and bought that $100 painting (talked them down from $130 or $160- yay haggling!) from the art store in the Roanoke Mall. Christian and I spent 3 hours of our lives installing that $60 light fixture we bought with a Lowe's gift card. Curtains are from Target, candle sconces are from Pier 1 ($20 ea), Table Cloth from Bed bath and Beyond (also $20) and the vase in the middle of the table was $6 at Ross. Excuse the Christmas cards in the foreground :)


This picture below is probably showing the most true to life color.

Changing the orientation of the table and chairs really increased the flow and allowed room for a high chair to go in the back right corner (not pictured).

And I almost forgot about those little stools I also found at Ross!! ($11.99 each). There is a second one under the other candle sconce and they serve as extra seating around our table when needed. I am proud to say that we once fit seven grown adults around that table at one time for several meals/days in a row (including me while I was pregnant). We can also pull the stools into the living room to use as seating or a place to put food while we watch TV.

Thanks for joining me on my tour of our tiny dining room! :)

Living Room Transformation

2 posts in one day. I know, I am insane :) I got bit by the blogging bug I guess. Feel free to comment on either one.

I think every woman has a little bit of DIY in them. I am responsible for every painted wall in our house. (I heart painting!)

I stumbled across some "before" photos of our living room and dining room in our house, so I thought I would share a big reveal. (Big reveals are my favorite!) I did these rooms quite awhile ago (while I was pregnant with Melody). But I thought it would be fun to share anyway. Here is the living room!

before
it looks nice and clean but, oh the terrible nothing but white, white, white everywhere!


after
the color is Olympic Paint "Blue Persuasion"
btw: not sure why there is a dark red throw on the couch- it definitely
doesn't go with the room and does not live in our living room currently! also the color isn't great because these pictures are taken at night,
during the day it is so bright and nice!




before
White walls, white furniture, white carpet- ack!!!


after
chairs are from TJ Maxx (and the sewing machine
doesn't usually live in the living room either :) ).



here is a close up of the bookshelf



before

To live in this much non-color drained the life out of you!


Here is the much better "after"!!
we don't have a coat closet in our living room,
so I made a functional entry way!
the coat rack and basket are from TJMaxx
The dresser is from my bedroom in my parents house
The art on the wall is from Christian's grandmother
The mirror is from Ross




I love using dressers in entryways!
So functional and beautiful!


Do you love to decorate and paint rooms as much as I do?
Do you have a favorite room you have done or re-done?

No Sugar For You!

Imagine that title in the Seinfeld Soup Nazi voice. This is my current "diet". No sugar.

Let me clarify, I still eat bread, carbs, etc. When I say no sugar I mean no "treats". No ho-ho's, no pop-tarts, no coke, no ice cream, no homemade dark chocolate chip cookies, no candy bars, no sweet treats.

If you know me well, you know that I love me some chocolate! By cutting out sweets, I am basically cutting out one of my food groups! Which is why, of course, I had to do it.

For my birthday Christian gave me a book called Made to Crave by Lysa Terkeurst. The book is about how we often go to food (or other things, but she talks about food) when what we really need is comfort from God, rest or even to celebrate! Food is wrapped totally around how we women deal with our emotions. I don't know about you, but this is totally true for me. Terkeurst says that her book is not about a specific diet necessarily, but that if you are trying to conquer food battles her book is an enocuraging "companion" for you on your journey.

To be honest, I started out wanting to cut out sweet treats, chips and fast food (all of my emotional foods). That worked for about a month, but that was very, very hard. I have regressed to making sure there are no sweet treats in my life for the time being and that is challenging enough. Sweets are my biggest battle.

Some of the things that have happened to me as a result of this "sweets-fast" so to speak are:

* I have lost about 9 pounds!
* My taste buds are changing to prefer less sweet foods.
* I drink way too much diet soda now (which I know is also not good for you).
* I drink my coffee and tea with milk only.
* I have discovered that with the exception of diet coke or diet pepsi, I really don't like sugar substitutes. I would rather it just not be sweet (like tea and coffee).
* I have maintained a steady weight for about a month now (the first time since I've been married that my weight hasn't gone steadily up.)
* I realize now that when I'm tired, my body is craving sleep or protein- NOT sugar.
* I am more aware of my emotions and can work on identifying and fixing whatever is upsetting me instead of "treating myself" to a better mood.

My proudest no sugar moment:

It has definitely been a struggle to say no to sweets while everyone else partakes (Christian has started buying ice cream to eat as a treat for himself for example). And I have had some serious dialogues in my head in moments of temptation, but my hardest one was at a baby shower I threw for a friend a few weeks ago. Someone had made this beautiful, amazing homemade chocolate cake. It looked delicious. I kept telling myself things like "This would be the perfect occasion to just have half a piece and then be really conscious of your choice by eating really well the rest of the week. You'd prove to yourself that you're really able to handle eating some sweet things." But finally my inner strength won and I was able to say "no" to the piece of cake. While everyone else (and I mean every one) enjoyed a piece of the chocolate cake, I ate a plate full of watermelon. And it was good. :)

Do you have a food battle? What things have helped you overcome it?

“Everything is permissible for me”—but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is permissible for me”—but I will not be mastered by anything. 1 Corinthians 6:12