Mother Love

…slowly getting into the fall spirit. Normally, I’m pretty ready for the briskness of fall weather and cozy sweaters and hot drinks all day long…but for whatever reason, this year I’m having a hard time getting “into it.” Don’t leave me yet, summertime!

… trying to decide on a kitchen style. We want to update the kitchen in our new home, both for our own benefit and for resale value down the road. I’m both excited and a little terrified about doing this, because as I’ve said before, decorating and paint colors and flooringandcabinetknobsandcountertops andcoordinatingitallsoitlooksright is not my thing. Ok, sorry…I just got a little overwhelmed there for a second. Anyway, it needs to be done and so we’re trying to work on deciding on all of that. We have a tiny kitchen so I don’t want too many dark colors going on that make it feel even tinier…so I’m thinking white cabinets, medium dark flooring, and no ideas yet on the countertop. #sendhelp

…loving my new things from ThredUp. I haven’t actually found anything for myself, but I’ve gotten quite a few things for Ayla…all for free, thanks to a few people who used my referral link to grab their own free $20 credit (thanks, dears!). You know how most times when something sounds too good to be true that it usually is? Well, a totally free $20 to spend on clothes is pretty fun, and as I’ve found out, actually totally true. Can’t lose with that!

…still drinking smoothies almost every day. It’s turning a little chilly, but I can’t stop making my mid-morning or afternoon smoothies! My current favorite is blending frozen bananas, coffee ice cubes, milk + coffee, a few heaping tablespoons of cocoa powder, maple syrup to sweeten, a good dash of salt, vanilla extract, and a dash of cinnamon. It’s so yum and the perfect little pick-me-up.

…enjoying a week at my parent’s house in South Carolina! Ayla and I drove down on Monday, and it’s been a fun week full of family time and going out with friends. I had lunch out with a friend on Tuesday and a night out with more friends last night while my mom kept Ayla, so I’m feeling pretty spoiled! We sleep in and take extra naps and spend the afternoons sitting in the sunroom…it’s like a vacation, hehe!

…attempting to be more intentional about taking time to just sit and be. I have a hard time just sitting without doing something…I’m either scrolling through my phone or reading a book or magazine. I’m not talking about getting into meditation or anything like that…but just sitting without doing anything else. I especially want to be more intentional about this when I’m holding Ayla. She doesn’t very often like to just sit and snuggle for long, but lately she’s been a lot more snuggly and will sit on my lap longer. I love it! But too often, I get distracted during these special moments with other things (laptop, books, phone, etc.) and so I’m learning to make myself just let it all go for the sake of just being. Just holding her, doing nothing else.

What about you: what are you trying to be intentional about doing and/or changing right now?

I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Woot-woot for another three day weekend!

We had a wedding in Ohio over the weekend, so we headed for there on Friday morning. Ben was in the bridal party so we needed to be there by six o’clock that evening for rehearsal, and we left that morning in time to have over an hour to spare for extra stops, nursing, etc. We managed to eat through that hour really fast with two major diaper blow outs (i knew they were coming but was just hoping it would happen the day before…), construction zones, bad traffic, and the obligatory stop at Panera Bread for lunch. We got to the rehearsal at exactly six o’clock…it was cutting it a little close, yeah. But we made it!

Ben had wedding stuff for most of the day, but we did have the morning to sleep in and grab breakfast together before he headed out. Ayla and I just holed up in our hotel room for the day…napping, playing, watching Food Network. There was an indoor pool available for swimming, and I was really hoping to get into with Ayla for her first little swim adventure…but it was such a cold, rainy day that I couldn’t muster up motivation to do it. I actually had to run to the store to get some warm clothes for Ayla since I hardly had anything warm for her to wear, and it was fifty three degrees outside! Ben came and picked us up for the wedding in the afternoon, and it was a beautiful evening…even though I spent half of it in the nursery or walking the stroller around with my tired, cranky child, hehe. #momlife I still wouldn’t trade it for all the fuss-free weddings in the world though!

We left for home a little after four o’clock in the morning on Sunday, so we could get a good couple of hours in before Ayla woke up. She fussed a little when we took her from the bed to the car seat, but then she went right back to sleep and didn’t wake up again until seven thirty when we stopped for breakfast. The rest of the trip was pretty uneventful…we made it home by noon and spent the rest of the day at home. We’re going to be apart this next week, so it was good to have a quiet evening to spend together before the week beings. It was also the first day that felt like “fall was really in the air” around here, so we had soup for dinner, took a walk around the neighborhood, and crawled in for an early bedtime.

Here are five things I love:

– these darling dresses
– this recipe
– this pretty basket
– this helpful tip
– this song

Have a great week!!