January Goals - How'd I Do?

I can't believe the month is already over! WOW! Can't wait to talk about all the little man has done this month, but for now, let's see what Mommy did! :)

Also... HAPPY BIRTHDAY UNCLE SAM!!!

Home
Meal plan and make dinner 4x/week - Maybe 3x some weeks, but I did pretty good on this
Save $25 on groceries/toiletries (on things we would be buying anyway) - Yes! I am a BIG FAN of Publix now!
Make the bed every morning, "shine the sink" every night - Didn't do this every single day, but it was a good goal for me to have! I love an empty sink and a freshly made bed!

Personal

Read 2 books (one fun, one good for me) - Smitten & What Happens When Women Say Yes to God

Play Just Dance 2-3 times a week for 30-45 min - Major fail. This lasted all of 4 days. Story of my exercising life.

Memorize all the Scripture verses on the Seeds of Courage CD (and buy the next one as a reward) - Yes!! Love this CD! And just bought the new one! :)

Wife/Mommy
Get Jack on a more regular schedule - Check! I will talk about this more tomorrow!
Read to Jack for at least 15 minutes and pray with him before bed - Such a sweet sweet time. Again, we will talk about this tomorrow.
Have 2 date nights w/o the kiddo - 1/2 check - we only went on one kid-free date with Aunt Jessica to Tony's! It was so fun! :)

Mr. Crazy Hyper Pants

If I ever wait a little too long to put Jack to bed, he starts to 

get a little too hyper, as most moms can attest to. 

He wasn't too "over the top hyper" this night, but this gives 

you an idea of how vocal and screechy he can be! 

(Oh, and for the record, he wasn't going to fall off the changing table. 

And for the record, I won't step one step away from him anymore :) )

I started thinking, when did I take another crazy video of him on the changing table? 

Oh yeah, when he was making crazy faces! He was only TWO MONTHS OLD 

in this video (compared to almost 7 months  now).

This makes me laugh because he's in just a yellow diaper (like in the video above), 

on the blue changing table cover, and is just as hyper, but not able to vocalize it yet!

Wow, how time has already flown!

Scripture Memory - 1 Peter

I'm all about taking videos of the little man, however, I tend to shy away from taking videos of myself. But as part of my January goals, I wanted to memorize more scripture, and what better way to keep myself accountable than taking a video where I recite what I've memorized!? I have learned almost all the songs on the Seeds of Courage CD, but I also started memorizing 1 Peter, and that's what is in the video below.

Please forgive the fact that I look away from the camera more than I look at it, it's a definite downside to webcams where you have to stare at yourself. And forgive my looooong pauses while I try to remember what verse I'm on. :)

(Okay, when I watch this now, the audio and video are totally off. I don't know about you, but that bugs me to NO END! So feel free to skip this video because I wouldn't be able to stand watching when it's off like that. You have my permission. :)

Scripture memory is pretty awesome, by the way. I have loved reminding myself that "In His great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil, or fade." Good stuff. Absolute truth from the pages of the Living Word. 

It is not easy to memorize, but it is so good for me. I've decided that if I can still remember all the words to all the dumb rap songs I learned in high school, then I can probably learn a few chapters of scripture. And if you're looking to begin memorizing, DEFINITELY check out the Seeds of Worship CDs! It's so much easier to remember the words when they're set to catchy music. 

And I can always use another reason to serenade my munchkin. 

Full-Time Mommy, Full-Time Mommy

I have been putting off telling you this, but I can keep it from you no more. 

I'm not working anymore.

Unfortunately, it wasn't my choice. My perfect part-time situation kinda fell apart, and the job was not "renewed" in 2012. 

Bummer. Biiiig bummer. 

But also a biiiig blessing. 

The part-time job was only approved through the end of the year originally. That way, if I didn't want to stay, or if the company didn't want me to stay, we both had an out. BUT things were working out great and I wanted to stay, and my team wanted me to stay too. Here's where things get wonky. 

My team and I filled out what we thought was the necessary paperwork so that my job would be kept in 2012, but somehow it didn't make its way to the top, so my spot didn't get held. There are more details than that, obviously, but they are all confusing. It didn't make sense why this good thing wasn't going to continue, but the only answer is that God has different plans for me right now.

I get to be home with my sweet sweet baby. What a complete joy!

And there is still a potential open door at work to come back once they are able to get my job approved, so hopefully I'm not done forever...

...but for now, I am a 24/7 Stay at Home Mama!

When I thought about this the other day, tears filled my eyes. God has given me the opportunity to spend every day with Jackson; playing, laughing, crying, talking, singing, rolling, scooting, crawling - everything. I will get to be a part of every new milestone, and for that, I am blessed and humbled. God is too good to me. 

Thank you, Lord, for knowing what's best for 

our family, even if it's not what we thought it would be.

Spittin' and High Fives

This first video is from last night. Jack just decided that spitting - not exactly blowing bubbles, just spitting, is super fun. Sooooo stinkin' funny and as usual, he makes me laugh to the point where when I watch this again, I feel goofy, but so what? This kid makes my day EVERY DAY! :)

The other video is from last week (pre-haircut for Dash), and it's of little mister happily playing in his exersaucer, and me making kissing noises to make him laugh. My favorite part is his legs. And the fact that he performed under pressure.

Evening Playtime

Already in my jammies.

Making silly faces.

(seriously, this face is new in the last 2 days - and it ABSOLUTELY cracks us up!)

Studying tags.

Eating tags.

Hewwo puppy. 

Sweet sweet puppy.

Scooting.

Licking the floor. 

Good thing Mommy swept...

(not a face-plant, just so you know)

Mommy, I think it's time for Llama Llama and then bed!

URGENT Prayer Request

Friends, I know of a girl who became a Believer last Monday, then took a positive pregnancy test on Saturaday. She has made a decision to have an abortion at 2pm (Eastern time) today. PLEASE PLEASE pray that the Lord would change her heart!! He has placed my friend in her path to speak the truth to her in love! 

This is not "matter to be gotten rid of" but sweet sweet life the Lord has given her. 

Please pray.

Making Baby Food

Even though store bought baby food isn't that expensive (and it sure is convenient!), I thought I would try my hand at making some of Jack's food! It was also the perfect excuse to buy the Magic Bullet I'd been eyeing... (Hellooooo smoothies!)

I had gotten some squash and zucchini for Jason and I to sauté or grill for dinner, and got extra to puree for baby boy. I washed and cut up each veggie, then steamed them for about 20-25 minutes (fork tender). Then tossed it in the Magic Bullet (with no water - these are watery vegetables as it is) for like 15 seconds... well a little longer for the zucchini to get the skins good and pureed. 

Then the question was, "Is he going to like it?"

Ummm... yes, he totally does. He ate almost all the squash I put in this container! 

I wanted to save some for later, so I poured them into ice cube trays to freeze; each cube is about 1oz of food. 

This was 3 small yellow squash and 2 medium zucchini, and I saved out a good portion of each to feed him right away/for the next day.

Did he like the zucchini too? 

I'm tellin' ya - the kid likes food. Period. 

Thank goodness he's not picky like Mommy!

We Are THOSE People

Last week, my boys and I went out to McKays bookstore to take a bunch of stuff (post to follow), but it was waaaay too crowded so we decided to go out to dinner instead. We hadn't been to Bonefish Grille before, so we decided to use a gift card and give it a try. Well, we had been seated, gotten our drinks, and were looking over the menu when... baby boy started to fuss. 

Okay, okay, no big deal. Let me just find the pacifier... Where's the paci? 

Hey babe, do you know where the paci is? 

No, I didn't put it in there, I thought you did. 

Alright, let's see, I know I have a "backup paci" in my purse. 

No? We've already used that and now it's probably at home too? Fabulous. 

Fussing gets louder... Mommy gets panicky. Heaven forbid that we are THOSE people with the crying kid in the restaurant. Quick... think think think. Give me your keys, I'll be right back. 

Yes, I drove across the street to the Walmart to buy a new pacifier 

so that we (and the rest of the place) could enjoy our meal in peace. 

Now we're not those people with the crying kid, 

we are THOSE people who would actually go BUY a pacifier to stop the fussing!! :)

Luckily, Jason said that while I was gone, Jack was an angel. He played 

in Daddy's lap, and just talked, looked around, and smiled at everyone.

What is the craziest thing you thought you'd never do for your fussy baby?

Scooty McScooter

He's been teasing us with little tiny scoots here and there, but tonight, with the little firetruck just out of his reach, Jack really started scooting like crazy! 

This little boy gives me something new to be excited about every single day!!

Tweaking a Blog Header

I recently re-vamped my blog! If you're currently in Reader, come check it out! 

I love creating new blog headers and having it match my current style/mood! Sometimes I find inspiration from around the web, and sometimes I just tweak what I have until it looks just right! As a matter of fact, I had one header up on the blog for a couple days... I wasn't CRAZY about it, but I couldn't figure out why.

This was the first draft of the header, and I just wasn't IN LOVE with it.

before

After a few days of living with it, I decided to go into tweak mode. :) I changed the background from being a full opacity gray, to being black and white at 30% opacity. I changed the main words to be white instead of dark gray, and I changed two of the pictures. 

after

Just a few tweaks here and there, but now I LOOOOOVE it! It makes me smile every time I open up the blog! And that is the goal! If you don't love your header, who else will??

So a question for my sweet readers is this: would you be interested in a personalized blog header? What would be a reasonable price for one? This is something I love to do, and I'd love to make them for my friends.

I can't wait to hear your thoughts!

Grocery Savings Again

I know you are just dying to hear more about my grocery shopping antics... am I right? No? Well, then I'll be quick. No breakdown, no telling every single item I bought, just the cold hard facts.

All this.

Paid: $56.06

Saved: $20.65

Groceries purchased this month: $99.14

Total saved this month: $45.30

Boo. Yah.

Jack Sits by Himself!! (sorta...)

I realized that Jack has been spending most of his time either standing up in his exersaucer, laying on his activity mat (read: rolling all over my living room), or in mommy's arms. :) All great things, but I didn't think about the fact that I wasn't giving him much opportunity to sit by himself. 

So when we were at Jason's parents' house (Grammie & Papa) on Sunday, we made sure to give him plenty of opportunities. And AS USUAL, he totally surprised me with his abilities! 

This first shot doesn't show him sitting, of course, but isn't he a doll?

He's like "Ma - I got this, don't worry."

Sitting with Grammie.

A quick video I got of him sitting, but he does do the lean lean lean a few times...

I love this sweet baby!! 

I am so thankful that God allowed ME to be his mommy!

Jack and Leighton's First Date

Last week, Jack and I met Leighton and Alex for lunch! We coined it "Jack & Leighton's first date". It was so fun spending time with them! Leighton is a DOLL and was so precious the entire time. Whenever I said "You are SO SWEET!" to her, she smiled so big! :)

Foggy

I had to snap this picture the other day. 

The fog was so thick down low, but gone at the top of our (nonexistent) tree line. 

Closet Cleanup

A few weeks ago, Cara came over and offered to help me go through some of my clothes. And when I say "some of my clothes" I mean, she made me try on all my clothes. All of them! It was the best thing she could have made me do! 

There were so many things that I didn't like any more, didn't fit well (I got rid of about 3 bags of clothes), and just as many things that I thought didn't fit, that were actually cute! She helped me put together a bunch of outfits, so now when I open my closet, I don't say "I don't have anything to wear!"

the after photo

(we worked too furiously for me to remember to take a before picture)

Grill Flippin'

Yesterday the wind was SO UNBELIEVABLY strong. For serious. 

It was so strong, in fact, that it flipped our grill upside down!!  I couldn't get it back up on my own, so I waited until Jason got home to get it right side up. He put it in a different spot so that it wouldn't blow over again, but within 15 minutes it started to move across the patio again, so...

Soapy Situation

After I give Jack a bath, I always leave the little bathtub full of water in the big bathtub while I dry him off, put his jammies on, and put him to sleep. Then I inevitably forget about the tub altogether. Then the next morning when Jason goes to take a shower, he has to deal with it. (Sorry hun!)

Yesterday, all of the previous statements occurred and when he moved it to the bathroom floor so he could shower, he didn't realize that I had (stupidly) left the lid to the FULL baby wash open. So into the tub it went, upside down.

Fast forward many hours to when I finally got around to putting the little tub back in the closet where it belongs. MUCH to my dismay... I found the contents of the entire bottle of soapy gel filling not only the tub, but since the plug was open at the bottom, it was all over the bathroom floor.

The floor needed to be mopped anyway, right? :)

Anyway, I put baby wash on my list of things to get at the store, and would you believe that before I even got to tell my silly story to her, Alex said she had a bag of Johnson's baby products in her car that I could have if I wanted!

"How neat is that? That's pretty neat!!" It is so cool that our God orchestrates tiny details like that! That was no coincidence, my friends!

Time for a Kitchen Update

Alright ladies and gents. It's time for a kitchen update! 

Three years ago when Jason bought our home, the kitchen looked like this:

Wheeeeeee doggies - what a beautiful space!

In June 2010, we did a major overhaul on this space, but (as with many things in our house) there were lots of things left unfinished (or at least, un-blogged).

So can you see the differences between these two photos? I'll help you out. 

No more wagon wheel lights, drawer pulls added, glass cabinet doors/china cabinet finished, and now, finally, beadboard backsplash added. 

Similarities? Yeah, same lovely floor. We'll get there. :)

I really love the bright punch the backsplash gives the space. Much better than the old paneling that was unearthed behind the old laminate... muuuuch better.

And ahhh... my beautiful china cabinet. I loved looking at kitchens that had glass cabinets, but knew we couldn't do it for all of them. I'm so glad we decided to make this section special.

I still haven't used my china though. But having it RIGHT THERE means that I'm sure I will. Someday. Like really soon. I'm sure. Or at least one of the tea cups. Yeah. Definitely.

Anyway, she's come a long way, no? :)