Feathering the Nest

I haven't had a chance to blog for a while. Our lives have been crazy with many new adventures, but the largest of them all is that we moved to a new home. Growing up I moved numerous times and when I say numerous, what I mean is A LOT.  For anyone who knows me you know that when I say a lot, I really mean a lot. With that in mind one would think that I would be a master of moving. However, in the last few weeks I have come to realize that moving as a child and moving as an adult are two very different things. Mainly because when I was a young dependent I was only responsible for packing/unpacking one small room. Even in my early adult life moving was simple. I still had very few items to my name. However, as I got older and married and became a mother my life quickly piled high with items big and small. Let me just summarize this and make a long story short. I hate moving. I hate packing. I hate hauling stuff. I hate unpacking. I hate washing dishes and putting them away. I hat...

My favorite time of year is quickly approaching. Hard to believe August is almost half over and the crisp air, changing leaves and sounds of football will soon be here. Autumn is the best season ever! At least in my eyes. There is nothing better than the sweet smells of pumpkin candles, the taste of smooth pumpkin pie and the coziness of pumpkin spice lattes. Admittedly, I already have Yankee Candle's Apple Pumpkin scenting up my house. I have about a hundred favorite things about this season, but one of my favorite things is movie traditions. I know a lot of people have Christmas movie traditions but there are fall/Halloween movie traditions too. Growing up I remember watching The Worst Witch with Tim Curry every year and It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. Then along came Hocus Pocus and Corpse Bride. Now that I'm an adult I have to add in Practical Magic and You've Got Mail (not a traditional fall movie, but in my eyes it is). I also love watching ABC's 3...

Two weeks from today my son officially starts daycare.  I'm already a hot mess. He is over a year old, but for the last year his "daycare" has been Grandma. I think it's been the best daycare anyone could ask for. I know he gets good cuddles, kisses, hugs and lots of love with Grandma. I am so happy that he has had this time with her. I know it's built a special bond between the two of them. However, I know the time has come that Ray must experience a new kind of daycare. He needs to be with other kids. He needs new experiences, new challenges and new friends. He is so busy body all the time, I think the interaction with other kids and new toys will be exactly what he needs. However, I also know that the first week or so will be tough on my little guy. For starting out as a sociable bug, he has most recently turned into a spider monkey. He fiercely clings to me when someone tries to hold him. He has cried frantically when left at the YMCA daycare while momm...

Do you think you ever get too old to say you miss the whole back to school thing?  I'm now into my 30's and I still totally miss it. I love this time of year when all the stores put out the school supplies. The aisles are lined in crisp notebooks, the smell of new pencils lingers in the air and bright pops of color surround you with lunch boxes and backpacks.  I loved this time of year as a kid. I loved going shopping for my back to school threads. Picking out new clothes knowing I was getting ready to debut a new me for the year. I loved getting the list from school telling me all the supplies I had to purchase for the year. The best part was leaving the store with all those materials, but also walking out with a new super awesome trapper keeper, a sweet new backpack that clearly reflected my personality and about a thousand new pens. Although the night before the first day of school I could barely sleep because my stomach was full of butt...

I have fallen off the wagon. Yes, the health wagon. I had been doing so well. I was counting calories, tracking on Myfitnesspal, etc. However, with taking some vacation time last week I simply allowed myself too much freedoms. I was all, "Chips? ... Heck ya."  "Twinkies? ... Why not?"  "Alcohol? ... Well, I am on vacation." It was no surprise when I stepped on the scale this week I was up. As of today I am up 3 pounds still. Uggg. As easy and quick as it is to put that 3 pounds on, I will have to work my ass for a good week or two to kiss it goodbye. I'm hoping I find my motivation again and get back on track. 

We celebrated my son's first birthday yesterday. What a day!! If ever one could imagine the perfect party, that's what we had. We had family come to celebrate with us that drove in from Ohio, Missouri and Illinois. We had family and friends from town join in the fun as well.  Thank you to my wonderful sister who made the amazing cakes and cupcakes. I was amazed to watch her as she worked for days preparing these masterpieces. Thank you to amazing niece who took beautiful photos of my son for his one-year-old photos and for documenting his birthday party. Thank you to my younger niece for being my personal assistant. She helped me with anything and everything. Thank you to my awesome sister-in-law and friend who helped clean up when the night came to a close. Thank you to our good friend who brought the best surprise, a bounce house for the kiddos! We feel so blessed to be surrounded by such loving and amazing people!! We love you all!! These photos w...

As I write this my son is 364 days old.  In less than 24 hours he will officially be a one-year-old. So many words come to my mind "wow," "really," "what," "how did this happen so fast?" It doesn't seem like a year ago that I was sitting on this sofa anxiously anticipating our early morning departure from the house to head to the hospital. Sitting here knowing my life was going to change, but not really knowing what that meant. None of the 100 books I read could really have told me what I was going to experience. No relative, friend nor many a stranger could have prepared me for what was going to happen in a mere 24 hours. 364 days ago my husband and I shared the last night as just the two of us. As I sat tonight rocking my little man before bedtime I had flashes of memories rush over me. I found myself getting teary eyed as we rocked listening to the lullabies streaming softly through the room. 364 days ago was a wonderful time in my li...