My Mom

Today is my mom's birthday, and I couldn't be more grateful to have her in my life and the lives of Hannah, Grant and Brian too.  Growing up my dad traveled for his job and was only home on weekends, I never realized the challenge that probably was to go it alone all week long until Hannah arrived.

I never remember her complaining or really even yelling as I was growing up. I remember her hauling my sister and I to dance class in another town three times a week, lots of trips to my grandparent's house to go to plays, movie, shopping, and lunch with my grandma. In high school I remember countless trips to The Buckle (dating myself here) to buy "much needed" clothes, but never her shopping for herself.

I also remember her doing a paper route when I was in college to earn extra money, yes, she did! And her loving me even when I was at my very worst- age 15 and age 20 to 23ish, when I did a lot of things that definitely didn't make me someone worth loving.

As a grandma she is so devoted to Grant and Hannah and over the years has given Grant so many memories too, of trips to plays, movies, the zoo, etc. She also shows patience with him in a way only a Grandma can. Now she also comes to see Hannah and gave me quite a few breaks while I was on maternity to leave to get out of the house for an hour or so.

Now as a mom myself, I really hope to do things just half as good as she has, and to show the same kind of love and support to my kids as she did for me. Love you mom!

I really couldn't wait to pull my white jeans out. I wore this outfit to church a few weeks back, but definitely plan to wear it again. I got these jeans at Loft last year in my normal size, but they have them again this year. I tried on a whole bunch and landed on these because the skinny leg in white looked awful on me. Ironically, they fit me a little bit bigger now than last year...not usually a post pregnancy problem. I think I'll try to shrink them in the dryer a bit, they aren't big enough for me to replace.

I really liked adding this sweater I scored last year for like $7 at Old Navy, blush is so big this year. I adore this blush sweater from Loft, the ruffle is perfect! I also added my chambray underneath to add a little structure and interest. Confession, I ended up wearing flats instead of heels because carrying Hannah in her carrier, plus my purse, diaper bag, etc. was a bit more than I wanted to try. #notawinningcombination However, when I wear this to work, heels will be great.

Embroidered Love

I've really been loving the embroidered trend and love this dress from Shein. It's super comfy and although I plan to wear it as a dress, it would be great as a cover-up at the beach or pool too. It's also less than $20!

Decorating for Easter

I am definitely not a decorator, but I do enjoy putting out some holiday decor, so today I thought I'd share a peak at how I decorated for this Easter.  I few of the things I've collected over the past few years and a few I just recently picked up at Gordmans, one of my go-to places for home decor at great prices. You can shop all of their Easter decor here, or pop by your local store too.

First off, we have had our furniture since Brian bought his first house nearly a decade ago. He was gracious enough to let me help, even though we weren't even engaged yet. I do not love it anymore and we've been in talks about replacing it, but it's simply exhausting looking for furniture. Can I get an Amen?! Hopefully we'll find something we love that is also a nice light tan in the next year or so.

Blessed

Today is my third day back to work, and the first few days were great. Thursday morning started with numerous texts and Facebook comments from my dear friends wishing me luck, which really meant the world to me. Brian was out of town, so I had to get Grant, Hannah, and myself to three separate places. Grant's best friend lives right up the street and his mom, who is now aa good friend of mine, was sweet enough to let Grant hang out there, then take him to school. I got Hannah dropped off and made it to school on time.

Once again my heart was full as I had so any people say they were glad to have be back. My long-term sub was great, however, I'd heard there had been some management issues, which is to be expected. Thankfully, the kids did great, and I was able teach as if I'd never been gone. Insert huge sigh of relief!

I'm quickly reminded of  how fast the days fly by, but I'm ready to jet out of school at 3:40 to go get Hannah. She has been doing really well and they said she's a great baby, which I didn't doubt ;) . I do get to spend such limited time with her though, since she's usually asleep by 7:00, that's the hardest part. I miss her face. School going well makes this transition much easier, but I'm definitely going to soak up our family time and countdown the time until summer break.

Last week these floral lace up shoes arrived from Norstom and I couldn't wait to wear them.  I splurged and bought these lace up shoes in black a few weeks before, and it's safe to say the style is my new favorite trend.  I wore this last Friday to work these boyfriend jeans, which I got last spring and love because they aren't super loose, which is not flattering on me at all, and my Merona tee. They are my favorite go-to for basics and this cardigan  I scored from thredUP (Use this link to get $10 off your first purchase).

Back to Work

Today is the day! I had back to school and Hannah starts daycare. Being a mom the second time around has me a bit more relaxed about the reality of the situation. We really like the lady in the infant room at daycare and overall Hannah is a great baby. I don't have on such rose colored glasses as to think that things will be perfect, but this is reality, and it will be fine. 

I'm a bit anxious about returning to my classroom though. I'm hoping I can just pick up where I left off with the kids. I think my long-term sub did a great job, but I know the kids will have a bit of an adjustment period. I also know it's possible that there are kids that like her more than they like me, and I'm ok with that. I have the next couple of weeks planned out and my goal is to just keep my head above water.

I just keep thinking, this is only a season in my life. It will get easier the older Hannah gets. I'm so thankful for my husband who really has been so helpful. Last week Brian was out of town for the night and I was alone with the kids. As generally easy as Hannah is, she had one of those days where her naps were no more than 45 minutes long. It made for a long day and I was thankful for french fries and corn dogs with Grant as an easy dinner. As we sat down to watch a show once Hannah was asleep I thought to myself, I don't know how single parents do it???? Seriously. Being married isn't always easy, but I'm so thankful to have Brian and not to have to go it alone!

I'll keep you all updated on the whole back to work situation, as for my clothes, I'm excited to wear my dress clothes again! Target put their basic tee shirts on sale for 2 for $10 again recently and I scooped up two more. Cotton basics were something that was missing from my closet and I thought this striped shirt would be so fun with my floral skirt. Perfect for spring!

Faith

In our Bible Study over The Armor of God we talked about faith last week. Now faith is something I feel like I've had a pretty good grasp on, at least in theory. I would say I had faith in God and really thought of it in the context of believing in what you don't see. However, I've learned it is so much more than that. 

Hebrews 11:1 says "Faith is the confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see." The first part is something I never really considered. It's believing that God will come through for us. It's putting yourself in a situation to have God come through, not waiting for everything to necessarily fall into place before you actually move forward.  

As someone who is a planner, I have a tendency to want all the answers before I take action, but that's not what faith is about. Sometimes we'll hear a little voice in our ear telling us to do something and we either step out in faith to do it, or we talk ourselves out of it. Whether it's something small like introducing yourself to a new person at work or church or something big like a job change, increase in tithing, etc. Both situations, big and small require us to act, not just believe. Our action shows we have faith in what God is telling us to do, and puts him in a position to come through for us.  

James 2: 14-17 says: "What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, 'Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,' but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead."

This verse hits me hard. It's those times when I hear that little voice that I need to step forward and act, not plan and question and doubt.  I want to trust that God will come though. Maybe there is something in your life you're feeling God wants you to do. Well, now is the time to do it. Trust that he has your back and I guarantee you will be blessed beyond measure.

I've had this sweater now for a few weeks and I've worn it a bunch of times. It's one of those I wish I had gotten back in the fall, and not at the beginning of Februay, because with temperatures warming up,  I won't be able to wear it much longer.  I first saw it on Kendi in cream and really liked it, but was not a fan of the price tag.  It went on sale and  I scored it for $40, which is definitely more my speed. I am definitely not hurting for clothes, so it has be to special for me to buy it, and for me this sweater fits the bill!

Ask Me Anything

Thanks so much to everyone who sent me questions, this was a fun post to put together. I don't even think there was a duplicate question from the last time I did a post like this, which was cool. Here's my take on your questions:

About Me-

Question: You have a beautiful, natural look. Not overly made up. What's your daily make up routine?

Answer: First off, thank you!  I was a manager for a makeup counter in college, so I had the opportunity to play around with a lot of different products before narrowing it down to what I really like and what works for me. I used to use all department store products, now I use a mix of that and drug store options I love.  I also spend about five minutes on make up each day, so I like to keep it pretty simple.

First off, I avoid touching my face. One thing I was told years ago when I started doing makeup was that by touching your face you're taking the germs from your hands and potentially adding them to your face to cause acne. I've never had a huge issue with acne, but I can count on one hand how many pimples I've had in the last fifteen years. 

I invested in brushes, which fifteen years ago were really only found in departments stores and pretty expensive. Now there are lots of inexpensive options. I can't speak to their quality, but my department store ones are still going strong. I simply use hand soap to wash my foundation one and concealer brushes daily and clean the others the same way as needed. I linked all the MAC ones I use, a few other don't seem to be available anymore, so I linked ones that looked similar. One reason to use brushes is that you use last product too and have a smoother finish. Sponges soak up extra product, so I don't use them either.

As for the BB cream I use, I've tried a few different ones, and like them all the same. I like the light coverage, the SPF, and moisturizer that are included. I also like that they don't feel like I'm wearing makeup.  I have also yet to find a concealer that is anywhere as good as my MAC concealer, being I just use it under my eyes, it lasts for a good year, so it's worth the ticket price.

I've tried more expensive powders, blushes, eyeshadows, and mascaras, but honestly didn't see a big difference between the $5 and the $35 product. I've been very happy with my powder, which lasts forever and this eyeshadow is my favorite. It comes in a number of different color palettes too!

The one thing you might think is weird is that fact that after using my eyebrow pencil I use clear mascara to keep my eyebrows in place. Years back I spent $20 on a Lacome' version, but when I saw a $4 clear mascara I decided to give it a try and have used it since then. I also just use a basic mascara. I don't have long eyelashes and I've tried a ton of different ones, all with the same result. Whomp, whomp.

Here's a graphic putting it all together for you all: