Hello, hello!
It’s raining heavily here in north Alabama right now, which has made for a pretty cozy, slow day so far. I took the morning off from the gym to sleep (I always try to do this at least one weekday per week to get some extra sleep), and then we were able to spontaneously FaceTime with my mother-in-law for a while.
After I dropped the girls off at preschool, I met my mom for brunch at Beignet Cafe. She works 3-5 days a week as a medical transcriptionist, so she fortunately has a bit of flexibility with her hours and days. I love when she and my girls get to be together, but it’s also nice to have one-on-one time with her too so that we can have an uninterrupted conversation. ๐
I ran to Target afterwards to pick up some last-minute goodies for our trip, and now I’m parked in Panera typing away until I need to head back to get the girls and run to Hadley’s dance class.
We’re busy, but it’s good. We are really finding our groove with a nice weekly routine, and all of us are enjoying it.
Let’s jump right into a “Slice of Life”. ๐
Both girls are enrolled in dance classes this year, and to say they love it is an understatement.
Sadie is totally a second kid because I didn’t even give a second thought to her dance wear until the day prior. Whoops! Hadley’s hand-me-down outfit and tights fit Sadie well, and fortunately I was able to buy Sadie her own ballet shoes at the studio. She is so adorable in her class and really, really likes it! She was a little skeptical on her first day once we got to the studio, so this was the best (fake) smile I could get out of this goofball. ๐
Most of the girls in Hadley’s classes have been dancing at this studio for years, so I was beyond impressed with her that she was able to jump in the way she did. She has caught on so well, and watching her at the end of class makes me beam! She is in one class, which is half ballet and half tap.
Our street is finally almost completely built up! We have a bunch of houses that have recently closed, and most of them have little ones. Between dinner and bath time, this is what a lot of our evenings look like. If we head into the front yard, we’re guaranteed to see somebody outside playing. The girls love it, and so do we. It’s a fun way to wind down at the end of the day, especially when it’s beautiful out.
Our city is getting a minor league baseball team, and one of my good friends from high school is married to the guy who won the name competition. We can’t wait to cheer on the North Alabama Trash Pandas! ๐ We hung out with Matt at the lake a couple of weeks before the winner was announced, and he explained that trash pandas are just another name for raccoons. We have a lot of raccoons in the area, so this was fitting. Minor league teams are also known to traditionally have quirky names, so the Trash Pandas was born!
He and his family won five years worth of box seating, and he’ll get to throw out the first pitch at one of the games. Watching him win and be intensely interviewed was so hilarious. He is the most laid back, funny guy, so seeing him wear “celebrity status” for the night was an absolute hoot!
Hadley is still going strong with her love for Sophia, her stuffed cat. Sophia is such a security item; Lord help us if we ever lose her.
I hadn’t made a trip to our local Aldi since moving to Alabama, so Sadie and I finally made a trip a few weeks ago. I know some people say that their produce is hit or miss, but wow… it was definitely a hit on the day we went! So much variety for a fraction of what I would pay at other stores. We even picked up the most delicious brisket for $12 that fed six people. So good!
Jamie was surprised recently with a promotion at work, and it was just what he needed to solidify that he’s doing a stellar job at his first civilian job. We are so grateful for the Army and the leadership experiences he was given because they definitely helped him secure the kind of work he is doing now. I am just so proud of Jamie, I can’t stand it, and not just because of his promotion. He works so hard at everything, and to see his work being recognized makes me very happy for him. We all need to hear that we’re doing a good job sometimes.
One plus side to living in a neighborhood that’s majorly under construction is getting to tour all of the new houses. It’s one of my mom’s and my favorite things to do. Sadie and Hadley have picked up on this as well, so now they love it too. Sadie heard my mom and I talking recently about running down the street to glance in a few houses, and she pitched a fit to go! Dad and Hadley stayed back to hang, but Sadie had a ball with Mom and Grandma. ๐
Ted is still kickin’ and doing well after his back surgery. He’s lost about 20% of his pre-surgery weight, which the vet suggests is from a loss of muscle mass since he hasn’t been on as many walks the last couple months. It’s nerve-wracking that he could get hurt again any time since his joints are so terrible in general, but his surgery was just the wake-up call we needed to snuggle and love on this boy as much as we can since he’s getting into his senior years.
It feels great (!) to have a church home that all four of us love so much and feel right at home in. We recently finished up a four-week new member course and feel excited about being a part of what God is doing at Building Church. If you’re local to the Huntsville area and don’t have a church home, I’d highly encourage you to come to church with us one Sunday.
Well, I had a handful of other pictures, but this is getting a bit long. ๐ I’ll pop back in with another “Slice of Life” on Friday. See you then!
Let’s chat!
Do you shop at Aldi? If so, what are your favorite items to grab there?
Do your daughters dance? How old were they when they started?
How did you know when you’d found your church home?
Hi! I’m Erica, and I absolutely adore sharing my life on this website with you! I come here almost daily to blab about all of the things related to being a regular wife and mother in today’s ever-evolving society. I share about our new home, what’s on our kitchen table, what we’re hanging in our closets, where we’re traveling to next, my crazy 5 a.m. work outs, how I make time for girlfriends, our faith, and much more. We always have a lot of balls in the air and somewhat thrive on the chaos. I believe in the power of story-telling as a form of inspiration and entertainment, so I’m here to do both! I was born and raised in north Alabama and recently re-planted roots here again after my husband transitioned out of the Army (he is now in the Reserve and it’s going so well!) I’m a super proud mom to three little girls (ages 7, 4, and 1) who seem to be the stars of the show around here (for good reason – they’re pretty great!) I’m so glad you found me and are here reading! I hope we can get to know each other here on the blog as well as Facebook and/or Instagram. xoxo