Life Lately

 We've been keeping busy at our house! Here's a look at our last week or so. : )

We got our Christmas cards back and I love them! I'm beginning to wonder if sending cards is a dying trend. We still send them, obviously, but we are not getting nearly as many as we used to.

If I'm Being Honest....

This picture might look nice and peaceful, but it was taken last week at the end of a realllllyyyy long day. For real.

If I'm being honest, the hour or so after we get home from school is not my favorite time of day. In between trying to unload and reload the dishwasher, make dinner, and take care of the kids and the dog I about go insane.

Until it got cold things were much more simple. Grant would play across the street with friends and Gracie would be outside, doing what dogs do. That left Hannah and I and it was so much simpler. I could give her a snack and do my thing pretty well.

Now, it's a different. Hannah really is a tiny tornado, making a mess everywhere she goes and she has a huge fascination with the dog's food and water. She is also really vocal and wants my full attention and I can't give it to her. She's also ready to eat at 5:00 and now we don't eat dinner until 6:00 because of my husband's work schedule. I can't simply feed her early or give her a snack though. Our dog has food issues and doesn't understand boundaries. When it's nice, I stuck her outside, but now she goes behind the baby gate and whines. Super annoying.

Grant obviously isn't playing outside because it's so cold, so he wants me to be his buddy to play with and I obviously can't and get dinner done, so I feel like a ping pong ball- take a minute to work on Grant with his advent activity, move Hannah away from the dog's food, clean up a new mess she's made, listen to the dog whine, try to unload the dishwasher, try to make dinner, Brian calls, Chelsea, calls, and then repeat.

Grant does try to help and he acknowledges how hard I work as a mom, but just the other day he commented on how mad I got around this time of day, obviously I'm not hiding my emotions like I think I am. He wasn't being rude, he was simply making a very actuate but disappointing observation.

After dinner things so much smoother and I think we all have a nice time in the evening, but something has to give during that hour. My attitude has to change and although my husband has told me I can quit making dinner, he's ok with us just "fending for ourselves," I'm not ok with that.

In the midst of my anxiety I haven't been thinking about God, at all. I get so overwhelmed with the tasks I let them consume me. After some thought, yesterday I started listening to Christian radio during this time of day, I think that's a good place to start and as for the dog. I'm pretty sure she'll survive in the basement where I can't hear her whine and can give Hannah a snack freely. Things went much better too, and the only difference was my attitude.

I get to see the kids so little during the day, I want to use that time well to make them feel loved.

Baby Essentials with The Baby Cubby

With both Hannah's birthday and Christmas coming up, I've been on the look out for some unique things to get her, so I was excited when The Baby Cubby contacted me. They gave me a gift card and let me shop for some great things for Hannah!

I loved how unique all the things were! First off I chose this Unicorn stuffed animal. It is so cute and just perfect for snuggling! Grant has given Hannah a few of his old stuffed animals, but this one will be all hers!

I also love these puzzle blocks! I think Grant and Hannah will have fun playing with them together, as well as using them to build.

This crinkle book had me at hello! It is so cute and girly! Hannah really enjoys books and I think she'll really like this one!

I've heard about magnetic blocks, but Grant never had any. I love this set and the case for them. Once again, I think Grant and Hannah will fun with these!

Lastly, I'll admit meal times have been anything but enjoyable at our house. Hannah gets antsy, throws her plate, and thinks she can handle a spoon. It's exhausting! I heard about these mini mats and have been wanting to try them and when I stumbled on these utensils I knew they would be perfect! I'm hoping this helps out with meal times at our house.

Honestly, I could have chosen anything from The Baby Cubby and I would have loved it. Right now you can also get 20% off with code SANTASHELPER20, which is perfect this time of year!

I can't wait for Hannah's birthday and for Christmas, and I know both she and Grant will love these toys!

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

It will probably come to no surprise, but Christmas is one of my favorite times of the year! I seems extra special now that we celebrate Hannah's birthday so close to it! I love getting the tree decorated!

Life Lately

Here's a look at some of the things going on in my life right now:

We had some more family pictures taken as a group! I love them!

Grant's favorite person is his Aunt Chelsea. This picture makes my heart melt!

We got our first snow, and I'm not very happy about it. I admit it's pretty, but I really do not enjoy the cold, coats, and driving in the nonsense. I guess I should be happy we made it to December before the first one hit!

Return to Him

I was recently reading my daily devotion on She Reads Truth and was reminded of what God requires of those who follow him. "To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God." Micah 6:8. The reality is, often times I can look just like this: a hot mess, completely unaware, with a smile on my face.

Family Pictures

Hi everyone! I thought I'd check in with you all. We just got back out family pictures and I love them! They were taken at my parent's house and I definitely took for granted how beautiful it was growing up!

Hannah is almost a year old and is starting to take a few steps. She's so excited about it and we are so proud of her!

Grant is almost half way through first grade now and it's hard for us to believe! He switched teachers for his reading group and has gone up two levels in the last month. We are so proud of him too!

Brian also got a promotion at work, which is super exciting!

I am starting to feel more in a grove at school. The kids have learned so much this year and I'm really enjoying them!

It's basically been a month since I've posted anything and I have totally enjoyed the extra free time and one less thing on my plate to do. However, I do miss this as an outlet for me. I miss the writing and with life being so busy, I rarely get time to myself outside of the house. I didn't realize how much writing posts helped me get a sense of "me time." 

That being said, I am not at all interested in taking outfit pictures at this point, but I might start sharing more life, kids, and faith posts instead. I don't want to commit to a certain number a week, but I really like this space I created, and would like to share when I feel like it. I'm not saying that outfit posts are out all together, but I like not feeling like I have to over think my closet. I'm pretty happy just grabbing clothes in the morning and leaving it at that.

So, here's a look at our pictures, and until next time....