Slice of Life – January 3rd, 2017

Hello hello! First, I just want to say a big thank you for the great response to my new “Saturday Sit-Down” series yesterday. I was a little hesitant that anyone would sign up, but you guys proved I had nothing to worry about. 🙂 Thank you for helping me make this successful. I’m so excited to introduce all of you to so many fabulous women! If you’re a blogger and interested in learning more and signing up, you can do so by visiting yesterday’s “Slice of Life” post.

Moving right along to part two of our Christmas break “Slice of Life”. 🙂

Having this guy around was such a treat for our whole family, but the last half of our break felt a little hectic at times because, you know, having a three year old and eight month old is a lot of work at times. I’m not going to lie – I went through a couple days where I felt like my cup was bone dry from such a busy season of doing and giving on top of little sleep and still constantly breastfeeding. Not complaining, just explaining where I was at. During these moments, Jamie did his best to take as much off my plate as he could so that I could attempt to shut my brain off and simply rest. I love my girls more than anything in the entire world, but motherhood is a pretty selfless gig. (I say that, but I’m the incredibly lucky one who God entrusted with and gifted them to, so maybe it’s not entirely selfless.)

Our MOPS theme last year focused a lot on embracing rest, and I really took that message to heart. I love to serve and do and plan and go go go 90% of the time, but it’s only human that we all need time to embrace some downtime to rest and recharge, whether that be an hour, an entire day, or maybe all-out legitimate time away. I’ve also learned that people recharge in a million different ways. Simply resting on the couch with Netflix might refresh one while spending time with extended family away from the home refreshes another.

If you’re in a season where your batteries could use some recharging, I hope you’re able to gift yourself some self-care and recharge in a way that best fills your cup right back up. After all, nobody can pour from an empty one.

After Christmas, we typically got Hadley out of the house at least once a day to do some kind of activity. One afternoon Jamie suggested we try our local ice skating rink that’s only open for about six weeks out of the year. We both audibly gasped when they handed us her tiny skates; so cute! She had the best time, but it was a little tough keeping her upright, so we gave it our best 20 minute effort and then bee-lined it for the nearby local playground instead. 🙂

MAJOR highlight of the last two weeks: Jamie’s two very best friends from high school flew up from Atlanta and Birmingham to visit for a few days! Making a long story short, this was actually supposed to be a birthday surprise for Jamie. I arranged this with the guys months and months ago and was able to keep it a secret until recently when the logistics of pulling off the surprise part got really complicated. Though it would have been so fun to pull off the surprise, Jamie was nonetheless ecstatic to kick back with his buddies and have three days of guy time. Chris and Nelson are two of the genuinely nicest guys I know, and I’m so thankful for their friendship to Jamie. Fun side note: Chris (on the right) is married to Jamie’s cousin; they met at our wedding six years ago. 🙂

I did a couple projects around the house, and painting our living room end tables was one of them. Super easy. Did a quick hand sand, painted three coats (lightly sanding between each), did a touch of light distressing, applied a clear wax, and had them back next to the couch in six hours flat. We’ve had these tables for two years, and I have no clue why it took me so long to paint them. I painted them with a spare can of Annie Sloan’s “Old White”.

Our only plan on New Year’s Eve was to go on a lunch date, but Sadie came down with a cringe-worthy case of croup (that croupy cough is the worst.) We obviously didn’t want her spreading her germs to our neighbor’s kids (who had offered to watch them for us), so we got Chick-fil-a to-go and called it a day. We rang in the new year around 7 p.m. as a family with a few countdowns on Netflix. Jamie and I of course enjoyed champagne and Hadley got her own “sparkly juice” in a champagne flute as well. 🙂

Little fact about me: My friends used to call me the “new years girl” in high school and college because I used to get so into making sure we had something fun to do and then leading the big countdown. I even rang in NYE in Times Square with three friends in 2007! I’d be lying if I said I didn’t miss those days a tad because they were so innocent and fun, but I highly doubt I’d be able to keep my eyes open until midnight (or even 11 p.m.) anyway. 🙂

Just a couple cute pics of Sadie. 🙂 It’ll be time to lower the crib soon! She’s pulling up on her own and doing a much better job of entertaining herself in her crib and putting herself to sleep (something we’ve been working so hard on).

Throughout the last month or so, I was confident we were on a fast track to giving up Hadley’s nap, but she had a couple incidents that let us know that she definitely still needs that afternoon snooze, even if she doesn’t fall asleep until 3 p.m. (arg).

And finally, we rang in New Year’s Day with a sunset hike at our nearby Konza Prairie. Local friends, it’s 3/4 of a mile uphill to catch the most beautiful view of the sunrise or set. I was intoxicated by the sweet, happy look on Sadie’s face as she enjoyed the cool air while attached to my chest, and Hadley loved running with her buddy Jack and riding on Jamie’s shoulders. I swear I live for good, clean family fun like this.

Thanks for the link-up, Biana. 🙂

Let’s chat!

1. What are your personal favorite ways to recharge and/or practice self-care?
2. What are your favorite wintertime activities to do with your kids?
3. Do you prefer going out on NYE or staying in?