Finding my stride...

I've been pretty busy lately. Not like "stay-at-home-mom" busy. Those days are always pretty full as they are...I'm just assuming you know that's a given at this point. Teaching. Disciplining. Directing. Encouraging. Repenting. Loving the sweet kids God has entrusted to us. Tiring days...but full of blessings too.

I have grown to love and appreciate my present life of being a mother and a wife. I have learned to trek through the week without seeing my husband a whole lot, while maintaining a fairly positive attitude. I often send him texts of what's for dinner and then save leftovers for him night after night b/c he is unable to eat dinner with us. Don't get me wrong, everyone has a breaking point, and I can definitely break. But in general, my goal is to make the most of the family time we DO get together, and to be diligent about not complaining when Greg is just not able to be home as much as I'd like. But there has been a gentle whisper to start using some of my non-mom abilities to bless those around me. It's easy to just focus on what's happening right here at home without looking beyond the walls of our little house. Not saying it's bad to focus on your family. We all need to be less busy in this world. I love being a stay-at-home mom, but I also have found that it's okay to not feel bad when I just want to get away from my kids for a while. And by "getting away", I mean finding time to do what I love outside of just being a mom. Finding time to use my creative outlets in a positive way. Know what I mean?


Nevertheless, decorating and party planning have always been passions of mine. And lately I've been feeling called to start blessing others with this ability. It took some time of experimenting at home and building my self-confidence before I thought, "Wow, okay, people kinda like what I do...maybe I should start sharing this gift, if it's something that can be used for God's glory".

So, last week I helped decorate for a Ladies Spring Conference we had at our church. (I'll do another post on that tomorrow). It was a little crazy leading up to the event. Okay, it was a LOT of crazy. Taking numerous trips to Hobby Lobby and Michael's with my kids, spending nearly every morning at church preparing the decorations and cutting out hundreds of tiny paper birds while my kids ran around like wild bandits getting into all kinds of trouble. I don't know the last time I put my heart and soul into something like that (maybe my wedding day?). I was so exhausted by the end of the week. But it's been so cool to see how God can give us a passion and run ourselves into the ground, only to do it all over again! I was so blessed to see so many of the other women who helped with the event come together with their different talents. Truly an example of what the church is designed for. God uses MANY different hands to get his work done.

Then last night, I hosted a "Wannabe Beach Party" at my house for some women in my life who I really respect and appreciate. All of them are women of faith who I admire for different reasons. Mostly they are just such "givers", constantly serving their families and those around them. I wanted to simply provide an evening where they didn't have do anything but relax and laugh and enjoy an evening of NOT serving someone or something for once in their lives. Again, I ran myself into the ground all week trying to get preparations done. But totally worth it. (I'll do a separate post on that too).

So yeah, I feel like I'm finally finding my stride. This is a wonderful season in my life right now, and I'm so incredibly thankful for it.

Birthday "twins"

I've always dreamed of having boy/ girl twins. I know it would be a TON of work. I would most likely complain every single day for the first 2 years, and you would not see me very often. And if you did, I would look like a hot mess. I'm not naive to the fact that twins are no easy feat. After watching a friend of mine have boy/girl twins around the same time Kensie was born, I was in total awe as she nursed them, bathed them, changed their diapers, and got them in and out of the car. They sucked every minute of her day.

But I kinda like challenges, and I just think it would be SO much fun down the road! 

You can call me crazy now. It's okay.

Anyway, Mason has a birthday buddy. They were born on the same day, in the same hospital, just a few rooms apart from each other.

Since then, we've been able to get together the past couple years to celebrate with a picture.

The funny part is they have always been off-the-charts when it comes to size, so they really DO look like twins. Gracie's mommy and I laugh about it all the time...

If these little guys stay friends down the road, it will be so fun to pull out these pics for them!!

***

Anyone else out there dream of having twins someday? 

The dude is two.

Our little man turned two today. 

He may be turning 2 but those jeans are size 4T people!

He's a pretty typical boy: 

While I'm rocking him before bed and singing, "You are my Sunshine..." he loves to ask if he can pick my nose.

When I ask him what he's doing (as he starts rolling around on the ground for no reason) he simply but LOUDLY states, "I WILD!"

As if he's never eaten a meal in his entire life, he desperately asks for more food before he's even cleaned the plate right in front of him.

When given the opportunity, he will take down his sister in either a strategic wrestling move, or a below-the-waist football tackle. Neither of which I taught. 

When asked what he's going to dream about as I tuck him into bed, his response is, "Pizza. Waffles. Grapes. Meijer!"

(Meijer is our local supermarket where we do ALL our grocery shopping)

You can usually find him holding either a truck or a tool in each hand while simultaneously watching Bob the Builder.

But he also has such a sweet and tender heart. He's quick to say sorry, eager to help, asks to pray at random times, and loves to snuggle.

We aren't doing a party this year. I just pulled out a few re-used party decorations and planning to have pizza for dinner with our little family of four. We're taking the kids to Crazy Bounce (basically an indoor warehouse full of bounce houses and slides) tomorrow morning. Pretty sure it will be the best boy birthday idea ever--considering the naps that will hopefully follow!

***

Oh, and let's not forget Kensie also turned three and a half on Wednesday! So basically she thinks she gets a party twice a year, seeing as it's only 2 days away from Mason's birthday. Kinda fun!

She did it!

 

It's crazy to think it's only been a week since we started officially potty training.

 

The first three days were super hard. But after that, Kensie took full ownership and responsibility of being a "big girl". I rarely ask if she needs to go anymore, and she has stayed dry almost every night so far. (Maybe the benefit of potty training a nearly three and a half year old?)

 

 

 

 

 

She quickly filled up her chart with stickers over the course of a week and yesterday she received her potty prize dress!

 

 

 

I like Tinker Bell now Mama!!

 



 

 

 

I'm so very proud of her.

 

 

Aside from being a big girl now, she's also really excited that we are able to sign up for gymnastics. We will be looking into classes this week!

 

***

 

 

Small touches to finish a room {blue/gray makeover}

Our blue/ gray dining room makeover is finally complete!
 

 

 

 

 

It feels so good to have a space that has completely come together. It takes time and patience to find all the right touches. But I love to decorate this way.

 

 

I end up really appreciating a room when I've taken time to think and brainstorm as I go, instead of trying to get it all done in a short amount of time.

 

 

 

Here's some of my more recent additions to the space...

 

 

 

I found some accent pillows for cheap at our local supermarket (can you believe it!) for the wicker chairs (from HERE).

 

 

 

Our family photographer (who also captured those beach pics) found the adorable sign for me on sale at TJ Maxx. The perfect finishing touch for the wall collage.

Greg put on the new screen cover for the fireplace last weekend (from Menards), so the fireplace is also complete! I was excited to find a cover with a dark gray finish to match the rest of our blue/gray theme.

 

The whitewash makeover tutorial is HERE.

 

 

 

 

 



 

 

I've learned that small touches make all the difference when it comes to putting a room together.

 

 

 

 

BEFORE

(Christmas 2011)

 

AFTER



 

 

 

And I'm so happy to call this place home.

 

 

***

 



The potty story {for real!}

It's time to record what has taken place over the past four days. If you follow me on FB, then you know we have been knee-deep in potty training over here!

 

Kensie's potty journey began HERE. (It's important that you read that post first)

 

 

 

Since then, it's been four months of pretty much no potty progress. She went back to crying at the first mention of the potty, refused to sit if I suggested, and just did not want anything to do with it. So I took some advice and backed off. And by "backing off" I mean, I stopped asking her to actually sit on the potty. But I didn't stop talking about the potty...ie: "When you are ready to use the potty all the time, we can sign up for gymnastics Kensie! You could tell your friends what a BIG girl you are! When you want to start you just tell mommy, okay?" I wasn't always super positive though. There were definitely times when I was very negative. When I was at my peak of changing diapers all day, I would sometimes complain about having to change her diaper, and she could totally sense my frustration.  My negative attitude coupled with my refusal to pray about it either was all in all--not helpful. That's not something I am proud to share but it's true.

 

 

But anyway, four months later and she finally said OKAY! Let's do this thing! (Not exactly her words, just my interpretation)

 

 

 

Last Friday night I was cleaning out Kensie's closet and somehow we got to talking about the diapers in her basket on the bookshelf. She wanted to start cleaning them up and the next thing I knew, she was so excited to bag them up and give ALL her diapers to Mason! We had repeatedly discussed this scenario over the last month. I got the idea from THIS BLOG. I knew there was no point in pushing it unless she really wanted to do it. But while we were bagging them up together that night, she kept exclaiming, "I so excited to start potty training tomorrow Mama! I gonna be a BIG GIIIIRL!!"  I kept asking her if she was absolutely sure she wanted to commit to this. There's NO GOING BACK, know what I mean? She said yes over and over....

 

So we made Mason a quick card, stapled it to the trash bag full of diapers, and put it in his room.

 

 

Thus began our journey...

 

 

Before bed that night, we filled her basket with undies (the same basket that held her diapers). She was so excited as she climbed into bed.

Then we prayed. We prayed out loud together, taking turns. We prayed passionately and excitedly. Thanking God for the desire he put in Kensie, and asking Jesus to help us be strong and patient for the journey ahead of us. (That last part was mostly for me).

DAY 1:

I had a whole container of dollar store potty prizes all ready to go from about three months ago. Just sitting and waiting for the right time. So we dusted it off and placed it right on the counter in the bathroom (where she could easily see them). We took her last diaper off and put a fresh new pair of undies on and I let her pick out a dress--making it much easier for potty training to get those undies off and on quickly.


Then reality set in. Kensie's excitement soon wore off the moment I asked her to sit for the first time. The whole morning was mostly spent in the bathroom with her crying and whimpering, and me reasoning and persuading. Thankfully Greg had the day off from work, so he came to rescue me in the bathroom when I couldn't reason with her anymore. He patiently sat with her and calmed her down until she finally peed for the first time!

The crying and resistance continued throughout the day, even though she was slowly racking up some pretty awesome potty prizes! It was clear that she still didn't really want to follow through when I asked her to sit. She literally cried every time. But the moment she would finally pee, she'd exclaim "I did it! I'm a big girl!" Her whole persona changed immediately after.

During these moments of resistance, I was able to lovingly and calmly remind Kensie that she made the decision to do this. Not me. I think that was the biggest part of the whole process. I kept having to remind her that she wanted to give Mason all her diapers, and she wanted to be a big girl, and she wanted to potty train. Once I kept repeating that I'm here to help her and to love her and to be patient with her, and that Jesus could make her strong and brave just like we had prayed the night before, she very slowly started to warm up to the idea that there was no going back.

I could see that it was starting to sink in: This was not something mom decided for me...this was my choice and mom is here to help me follow through with my decision.


She took an extra early nap that day (I put her in a pull-up). We were both exhausted!



DAY 2:

Greg took Mason to church so I could stay home and have some one-on-one training in the morning (SO HELPFUL). We made a potty chart for some extra motivation. I had a dress hiding in her closet that I was saving for a rainy day. She had received quite a few potty prizes for going pee, but there was still a fight leading up to it. So she needed motivation to do it with a cheerful heart.

I explained that if she sat on the potty the first time I asked her to, and didn't cry about it, she could get a sticker. Didn't matter if anything came out or not. She simply could get a sticker for having a good attitude about it. If she fills the whole chart with stickers, she gets the dress. Pretty sweet deal, eh?

She accepted the potty chart plan and slowly racked up three stickers throughout the rest of Day 2. There was still crying, but a little less. Then she went #2 right before naptime, which gave her a huge boost of confidence! (And me!)


Put her to bed that night in a pull-up again.



DAY 3:


She knew the drill for the day but wasn't really excited about the whole potty thing until just before bedtime that night. We had our first "outside" visitor drop by to say hi quick. Our visitor knew we were potty training and they brought a little gift for Kensie. As soon as we started chatting, Kensie piped up interrupting us, "Mommy! I have to go potty!" (Up to this point she had taken zero initiative to tell me. It was always ME asking her to try). This was the first time she excitedly ran into the bathroom, did her thing, and happily asked if she could put a sticker on her chart to show our visitor.

I

 

was

 

blown

 

away.



This is me at the end of Day 3. Finally showered with make-up and some fun new jewelry. Potty training is stressful! I was a serious wreck for three days. I owed it to my husband to look nice for one night.

 DAY 4:

 

(Re-posting my FB status from today...b/c it sums it up pretty well)

 

Kensie has taken complete ownership. I had a friend over to visit just during naptime (okay more like my MK consultant who gave me a make-over...me time well spent in my opinion!). Anyway, while she was applying my make-up I heard Kensie go in the bathroom, use the potty, and flush the toilet....and then went back to bed. All by herself.

Are you kidding me?? Totally different child from the past 3 days. This is the first day she has not shed a single tear and is getting stickers like it's her job. She may be getting that dress sooner than we thought!

Can I get a Amen?!

 

 

And THAT my friends is potty training from the trenches.

 

For now, we are just focusing on day-time training. Pull-ups at naptime and bedtime. We'll see how the next several weeks go.

 

God gets all the glory for helping us get through this. It was such a beautiful way to introduce Kensie to our living God. We all know life only gets harder the older you get. But for that sweet little girl, that was the hardest time in her life thus far! And we were both able to cling to Jesus during it. That makes it totally worth it, right there.

 

 

 

*** 



Does he like it??

 

 

 

 

Since my hair make-over I've had several people ask me different versions of the following questions: 

 

 

"So, what did Greg say?"

 

or

 

"Yeah, but does Greg like it?"

 

 

Marriage is funny sometimes. You think you know a person after seven and a half years of marriage and then all of a sudden you learn something new. Ever had that happen?

 

 

 

I predicted Greg's response somewhat accurately. He didn't NOT like it. But he said something like,

 

"Wow it's definitely different, and it might take me a while to get used to it...but yeah, I like it"

And because I'm a girl, that wasn't enough for me so I kept pestering him with more questions."So would you freak out more if I chopped my hair super short? Or if I colored my hair something totally crazy? I know you say I look good in whatever but what do you really REALLY like?? Like if you could pick ANY color and length of hair, what would you pick??? Come on babe, just tell me what kind of hair you like the best....


Geeeeeez, right? Such a girl thing to do.


So we talked for a few minutes and when we finally got to the bottom of it, here's what I found out....


He's not a hair guy. As in, when it comes to what he finds most attractive about me, hair is not number one. It never has been. And I always thought it was. I just always assumed he preferred long, blond hair.


So there ya go.


It's good to learn new things from the one you love.


***