September Goals - How'd I Do?

I started September with a fury! I got a lot of stuff done right at the beginning, then lost my steam a bit as the month went on (story of my life). BUT progress is progress, am I right?! :)

*Enjoy all kinds of fun fall activities
     -Bible study - We are studying The Beloved Disciple by Beth Moore on the life of the apostle John. We are starting on week 5 of homework and God has been so faithful to allow me time most every day to really focus on it. I've only missed a few days of the work. And I LOVE the women in the study - so insightful and encouraging - it's a wonderful way to spend my Tuesday mornings! (And Jack loves playing with the sweet workers and his buddies!)
     -MOPS - Whoo hoo!! We've had 2 already - I love MOPS!
     -Women of Faith Event with Rachel - I, unfortunately, had the headache of a lifetime, along with Jason having a flu-like virus when he was supposed to watch Jack for me. I HATE that I missed the conference and know that Rachel and Alexis were really blessed by it! NEXT TIME, RACH!!
     -Tennessee Football - We've really enjoyed football season so far, but we've been lazy and haven't had friends over yet! That will definitely be an October goal - to have buddies over for a small football party!
     -We also had a quick trip to North Carolina with my dad to see his sister Ginny, and had lots of lunches with friends, like the McKennas!

*Reorganize my closet
     -Get rid of clothes I don't wear - YES! Check out my closet clean-out post here.
     -Try on all my "maybe" clothes - YES! Check out my (somewhat embarassing) try-on post here.
     -Create better outfits with the pieces I already own - Sorta! I think I did a better job of this since I knew what was in my closet, but I wasn't as intentional as I wanted to be about it.
     -Make a wishlist of pieces I want - Not yet!

*Take weekly belly photos - MAJOR FAIL!!! This is something that is really important to me, and somehow it keeps taking a back seat. It's going to the top of my October goals!

*Read two books - actually I read 3! GO ME!!
     -Finish Grace for the Good Girl
     -Read Take One AND Take Two

Car Seat Change Up

Jack's infant car seat goes up to 22 lbs, so since Little Man is still a LITTLE man, I thought we had a few more weeks/months before he would outgrow it. Turns out, there's a height restriction (duh, Sarah!) and he hit that at 10 months! 

So, 4 months past when he should have been out of this one, we finally moved up to the next big boy size.

Last day in the infant car seat! 

Next time this is used, it will be with Baby #2!!

Now he's all grown up in the Britax Boulevard!! We really like it so far! 

Jack doesn't complain at all about being rear-facing - he's never known anything else! I will keep him this way as long as possible, and then this car seat will turn around to be front facing. I have to say, it will be more fun in the car when I can see him more easily, but I know it is safer for him to be this way for now.

My big 'ol boy!

Quick Visit to NC

Last Thursday (9/13), my dad (Poppy), Jack and I went to Franklin, NC to visit Ginny and Jane! We had a yummy lunch and then went to an agricultural festival! There were all kinds of animals for Jack to see! 

Our friend the sheep! HAHA!!

Looking at a goat with Poppy.

Walking through the booths with Aunt Ginny.

Meeting the doggies with Poppy and Jane (Taz wasn't particularly thrilled with having a little person at her house). 

I didn't have enough memory on my goofy phone to get this whole video, which totally stinks because it was hilarious! Jack wanted to touch the big doggie, but then he would chicken out and pull his hand back. Then he would try again, and finally he barely touched him and squealed with delight! 

Bangin' on a pie pan!

Endless entertainment!

Jack was really REALLY good in the car! It was about a 3 hour drive there, so 6 hours total and he really only fussed a few times. On the way back, I needed a pick-me-up, so we stopped at the gas station and I got a Code Red, Hershey bar, and some Doritos! Total junk, but great car food!! 

We loved seeing Ginny and Jane, and had a great time with Poppy!!

Lunch with the McKenna Clan

Last week Little Man and I got to have lunch with my friend Katie and her two PRECIOUS boys, Owen and Brecken. The boys were so sweet to Jack and so sweet to each other!! If baby #2 ends up being a boy, I pray that he and Jack are best buddies like Owen and Breck!

Yay Typhoon!!! :)

Oh Toodles!

This morning while watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Mickey asks everyone to say "Oh Toodles!" and Jack said it! It was so funny and completely unexpected, that I didn't even think he had really said it! Then he said it for my mom on the phone, and I decided I better get it on video. 

So here's little silly man saying bowl, Oh Toodles, and bye bye! :)

Teeth Teeth Teeth

Little Man has been getting some teeth lately! In his 12 month update, I said that he had 4 teeth and 3 more coming. Well, it's taken 2-2.5 months, but he now has 7 teeth! 3 on the bottom and 4 on the top. 

It is so funny how they came in though, because the last one of the 7 is his right front tooth! It was too cute that he didn't have any teeth on that side for the longest, then the tooth on the other side of the front tooth came in before the front tooth did!

So I tried to capture some "teeth pictures" today... You can never see all 7, but he is far from the practically toothless grin he's been sporting for a while. :)

Jack @ 9 months - two teeth

Jack @ 14.5 months - 7 teeth

Promise he's not angry, he just looks like he's about to tell me off. :)

He's been standing on his own so well lately... even amongst all the toys in his pack 'n play!

I love you, my sweet baby!!

Yummy Morning Smoooovie

Smoooovie = Smoothie

Many mornings I turn to a smoothie as my breakfast of choice (or as part of it, depending on how hungry I am...) I know everyone probably knows how to make a smoothie, and if you don't, a quick google search could help you out, but I thought I'd share how I make mine. 

Cast of Characters: frozen fruit (I use a variety mix from WM and frozen blueberries also from WM), vanilla almond milk, orange juice, and my trusty Magic Bullet.

First I fill my cup about halfway with the frozen fruit 

(strawberries, peaches, mango, and pineapple)...

Then I add in some blueberries, not because I like them (because I'm not a big fan) but because I know they are good for me!

Then I add almond milk almost up to the top of the fruit...

...and then orange juice to cover the fruit. 

You could definitely just use one or the other, but I really like the way it tastes with both.

Then I put it on the amazing Magic Bullet and watch it do all the work for me.

Action shot.

And the cool thing about the MB is that cup you blend it in is the cup you drink it out of, 

so no additional clean up, which I'm a big fan of. 

(It was $50 at BB&B and I used a 20% off coupon - definitely worth $40 to me!)

Then it's time for me and Jack to share our yummy morning smoooovie. I should have taken his picture this morning (duh!) with his smoothie all over his face. Next time. :)

I pretty much stick with this recipe and only change it up by what fruit I put in the cup (more strawberries or less, etc.). One time I added spinach and it was super nasty, so Becca suggested that I may have had a bad piece in there. I will have to try that again because I know I need more good stuff in there. 

Do you guys eat/drink smoothies? What's your favorite recipes?

The Many Words of Jack

Little Man can say about 25 words! And even more than that, really, but these are words that he can say AND he knows what they mean/represent. Well, except for poop - I just think it's funny when he says it. :)

I love being able to communicate with him more and more every day. Jason and I just look at each other all the time and say "Can you believe he's ours?" This is THE BEST JOB EVER.

Jack's words at 14 months:

all done

ball

bath

bite

book

bowl

bye bye

cat

clouds

cool

cow

cup

Dada/Daddy

dog

down

duck

hi

kitty

light

pat poop

touchdown

truck uh-oh

wow

Closet Clean-out Pt. 2

So I got through the first major part of my closet re-org - going through everything! But I still had a whole pile of clothes I needed to try on and see if I wanted to keep. I always dread the trying on, BUT it's so good to just make the decision and move on! 

Sorry the pictures are pretty lame, it's just much easier to take self-portraits with the 'ol phone than lugging around the big guns.

Here are some of the things I tried on. A light pink tank top was fairly cute by itself (top left pic), but when I put my fun scarf with it (2nd), I could see myself wearing it under a sweater or something this fall. Then a patterned sleeveless top (3rd on top) is another one I would put under a button up sweater, and one I didn't think I would like once it was on. The blue/purple/magenta top (top right pic) was one I really wanted to like, but it just didn't look great on, and I couldn't find a top to put over it. So it's out. 

The short sleeve red turtleneck (bottom left) got a checkmark, because I have a burgundy one that's very similar, but it is SUPER tight and the neck feels like I'm choking, so this was a good trade - one out, one in. The last top was this really cute black, pink, and gray circles pattern. I like tops to be long, but this is SUCH an awkward length to me. It's like, is this supposed to be a seriously short dress? Or is it a top? Anyway, adding a belt made me feel like I might actually wear it. Plus it might give me the push to get some leggings to wear underneath it (since it does cover my booty). Either that or with skinny jeans and boots to balance out the long-ness of the top.

Then it was on to dresses!

While I liked the red and black dress... it's pretty tight (without a lot of give) and I don't see myself wearing it until wintertime... and I'll be more and more pregnant. Anyway, it got nixed. Then the middle black dress I really liked, and didn't expect to! Can't have too many of those. The red dress on the right, also one I really wanted to like, but just don't see myself wearing.

You can't tell from the picture, but the green skirt is a very light minty color with a thin dark blue stripe pattern. I paired it with a navy sweater I already own and definitely like the contrast. (Now I just need a minty green statement necklace!) The last dress is one I already owned (everything else was stuff from my friend), but figured didn't fit me anymore. It still fits pretty well and actually has a good bit of "give" for my growing pooch.

And just for fun - showing off my bitty belly at 12 weeks! :) 

(I didn't "pop" until about 19-20 weeks last time, so who knows when it will happen this time!)

So I made it through phase 1 and now phase 2! I still don't really know how I'm going to follow through on my final phase (making complete outfits), so I'm up for suggestions. Are these kinds of pictures fun? What about "moodboards" al la Polyvore? Would you rather see inspirations or actual outfits? What about inspiration to fruition? 

I'd love to hear your ideas! :)

Closet Clean-Out Pt. 1

Back in January, Cara came over and helped me get my closet in order. It was VERY needed!! Since then, I had been doing a really good job of keeping up the organization Cara helped me with, BUT in the last month or so, whenever I've put my laundry up, I just haven't taken the extra time to organize. Usually because I've got a hollerin' kiddo at my feet. :)

Plus a friend from work gave me several bags of clothes (whoo hoo!) and I hadn't put those in yet. I pulled out a lot of things (from her) that I liked, but hadn't tried them on to see if they fit/look good. 

So it was definitely time for another closet clean-out! Here's the before picture:

Not terrible but definitely not as functional as it could/should be.

Plus a lot that hadn't been hung yet.

First I went through each section (dresses, pants, skirts, sleeveless, short-sleeved, long-sleeved) and determined if I wore it enough/liked it enough to keep it. This first edit was pretty minimal - I only decided to toss out 3 pieces of clothes so far (I got rid of 3 garbage bags last time!). 

I also made a pile of things I need to try on (stuff from my friend, stuff I haven't worn in a while). My "try-on pile" is HUGE, but I decided to keep on organizing and wait until another nap-time to try on all the maybes. 

Snooker likes to help.

The biggest revelation of the day was that I had about a foot of linear space in my closet devoted to t-shirts. I'm not a huge t-shirt person (I wear them 3-4x a month, probably), so making the decision to take them out of the closet and put them in one of the (previously empty) dressers in the office was a no-brainer!

Then I was able to space out my other, more frequently-worn clothes and not feel so cramped. The other great thing about not hanging my t-shirts anymore is that I freed up a ton of my "fancy hangers". This was the before, not that you can tell too much, but I had a bunch of wire hangers and a few plastics.

Ooooh, ahhhh. Color-coded by sleeve length PLUS matching hangers? I'm all over this.

I cataloged my clothes as I went (total nerd, I know) and I realized that I have a TON of tops. I mean, visually, I know that my closet is mostly made up of tops, but I have 15 sleeveless tops (not including plain tank tops that I layer with), 27 short-sleeved tops, and 31 long-sleeved tops/sweaters. I mean, seriously people - I have no reason to say "I have nothing to wear." 

So here's the Pt. 1 "after". I still have a ton to try on (and maybe snap a few pictures? :) and then the FINAL goal of all of this is to help me make more stylish outfits (or "capsules" a la YouLookFab). 

Next time, the try-on pile and continuing to re-vamp my overall wardrobe! 

September Goals

Goodbye sweet summertime! I love love love you, with your free and easy schedule, short shorts and tank tops, fantastic family vacations, and lazy poolside sunbathing (who am I kidding, I'm chasing a little one now!).

You aren't so good, however, at helping me keep up with my goals. So here's to you, September! May you give me the boost I need to GET SOMETHING DONE AROUND THIS PLACE!!

*Enjoy all kinds of fun fall activities
     -Bible study
     -MOPS
     -Women of Faith event w/Rachel
     -...and of course - Tennessee Football!!
*Reorganize my closet
     -Get rid of clothes I don't wear
     -Try on all my "maybe" clothes
     -Create better outfits with the pieces I already own
     -Make a wishlist of pieces I want
*Take weekly belly photos :)
*Read two books
     -Finish Grace for the Good Girl (very good, just so "heavy" & full of good things that I haven't been able to read it quickly)
     -Read Take One