uncertainty

I feel a little lost at the moment.  We are in a state of transition.  Things are a little uncertain, so I have trouble concentrating long enough to put together a blog post.  

I'm still here.

If you are the praying sort please send out a quick prayer for me and my family as we try and figure out where these transitions will lead us.  

We are selling our house, packing, trying to figure out where we will live, hopefully not be homeless in 45 days, and I quit my job.  

Lots of changes.

I'm trying to stay positive and not freak out about all the uncertainty.  I'm the plan it all out sort of girl, so this is a test for me.  It helps to know that God knows and has everything planned out for us, but it's easy to forget.  

On a side note, I'm slightly obsessed with this new app called a beautiful mess.  I'm pretty sure my facebook and instagram friends are tired of me filling up their news feed.

As you can tell from the pictures, our summer is starting off really nice.  The kids are being really good and it's not super hot outside ye,t so we've been playing outside and barbecuing a lot.  

I heart summer!

(even uncertain ones)

a lot has happened in 10 days

I just realized I've been absent from blog-land for 10 days.  So much has happened since I last posted, so here goes my attempt to get you caught up.

-Jackson started running fever last weekend.  Then diarrhea hit and then total and utter grumpiness stuck around until Friday.  It was not a fun week for him or us.  One reason for my absence this week.

-My sister, Kelsie and her husband graduated from College.

-I've been a little obsessed with this new app called A Beautiful Mess.  It has all sorts of fun ways to edit your phone pictures.  Below are some that I took while waiting for Kelsie's graduation to begin.

-Abigail and Austin had their awards days this week.

Austin got the Einstein Award for academic achievement.  

Abigail got awards for Banner Roll(straight A's) all year, she read 75 books, and had the most growth in reading Success Maker (computer program).  She grew from a 2.4 reading level to a 4.5 reading level.  

So proud of my smart babies.

Abigail and her teacher Mrs. Reed

Last day of 2nd Grade

-I am officially unemployed.  I walked out of school yesterday for the last time as a teacher.  It was scary, but exciting to think about what God has in store for my family.  I don't think it will feel really real until August, when everyone goes back to school but me.

-Softball and t-ball are over, thank goodness.  I love watching them play, but it's so time consuming.  We had games three or four nights a week.

Jack was not super easy during the evenings at the ball field, but we survived.

-Our house went under contract on Thursday.  We have 45 days to find a place to live before we are homeless.  This is another scary, yet exciting life change we are heading into.  A lot of praying for peace and faith happening in this house right now.  I know God's got this, but it's a little scary not being able to plan things out exactly how I think they ought to be.

-I started Insanity today.  My plan is to get up every morning at 6:30 to workout before the kids wake up.  I guess Jack knew my plan because he decided to wake up at 5:30 and get in bed with us, which he never does.  He went back to sleep though, but I couldn't, so I got up at 6:00 instead.  I've been running using my couch to 5k app and I'm almost finished.  I can run 28 minutes straight without stopping, which is about 2.5 miles for me.  I don't run super fast, but I'm proud of my progress.  I want to keep running a couple days a week even while doing Insanity.

Summer has officially begun and I hope yours is filled with fun and relaxation.  

I'm not sure ours will be, because of a certain little boys heading into his terrible twos, but I'm looking forward to it anyway.  

insanity again!!

No, I'm not going insane!  I just ordered the workout DVD's called Insanity by Shaun T.  

Although, some people would think it's insane I guess!!  

This will not be my first experience with Insanity.  My parents bought this two summers ago, when I was pregnant with Jackson so I had to wait a while before I could try it out.  I did the first 30 days in January 2012, but between work, a newborn, and my kids, I just couldn't keep up with it.  

Some how the DVD's have gone missing, so I just ordered some from Amazon.

Insanity is pretty insane.  It has sort of a boot camp feel to it, which I really like.  

I should be getting it sometime next week.  I will update you on how things progress!!

I'm so ready to be in really good shape!!!!!!

Mom's Day!

Happy late Mother's Day to all my bloggy mom friends!  

We had a very nice Sunday!  I actually got up before everyone else and went for a run.  I know, I know I broke the breakfast in bed Mother's Day Tradition!  Well this mother wants to lose weight and she aint gonna do it, eating pancakes in bed!! LOL

After church we ate at Popeyes, which is nothing fancy but it was still good!

We spent the afternoon with the kiddos.  I love my three reasons for getting to celebrate Mother's Day!  It's crazy sometimes, but I couldn't imagine my life without them.

That evening, we went to my parents for supper.  Of course, we hardly took any pictures.  My camera is collecting dust on my dresser!

We snapped one with my Mom and the three reasons she has for celebrating mothers day.  She's gained three more kids she calls hers too through marriages, but we are the three that started it all!  

One last shot of my three little ducks!  I wish I would have gotten a picture of myself with the three of them.  I think next year I will start a new tradition of taking a picture with myself and all my kids every year on Mother's day.  Then in 20 years I'll have lots of pictures to compare and laugh at!! 

I can't even imagine taking a picture with my three adult children, but I know it will be here in a blink.  That's what my mom keeps telling me anyway!  

my last time to feel appreciated...

as a teacher that is!

This past week was my last teacher appreciation week.  My favorite week of the year.  The parents have brought in so much delicious food every day for lunch.  I'm telling you I will be lucky if i didn't gain ten pounds this week, but I just don't care because it's my last one.  I figure I should enjoy it.

Here are a few pics of the food and gifts I've been enjoying this week.

I'm feeling the love!  

I will definitely miss teacher appreciation week, but my waist line will not!  I think I gained about 3 pounds.  Hopefully I can get that off quickly and start losing consistently again.  I need to lose another 10 pounds to meet my weight loss goal for this year.

ways I wish real life was like a tv show

If you've been reading my blog lately then you know I'm a little overly obsessed with certain TV series.  I will refer you back to this post if you are new here.

Anyway, I've been watching an episode or two of Castle every night for the past week and I noticed how they always answer the phone by saying their last name.  For example the the phone rings they pick it up and say "Beckett" or "Castle".  I've noticed this in other shows to like X-Files and cop dramas.  This got me thinking about why we don't do this.  It would be much cooler than just saying "hello" or "hi".

This got my mind gears going, thinking about all the ways that life would be cooler if they were like a TV show.  So here is my list of ways I wish life was like a TV show.

1.  we could answer our phones by saying our last names

2.  the good guys always win, at least by the end of the season

3.  my life would have a soundtrack and cool background music

4.  I would always look beautiful and ready to go, right out bed

5.  bad morning breath would not exist

6.  the babies and kids conveniently stay in the other room almost all the time and don't interrupt their parents lives much at all

7.  I could eat pizza and french fries and drink cups and cups of coffee, and it wouldn't effect my weight

8.  my home or apartment would be beautifully decorated

9.  I could run really fast in high heels and it would never hurt my feet

10.  I would have really clever and witty conversations with my group of really cool friends

I'm sure I could think of a few other things, but 10 is enough for now.

In what way would you like your life to be like a TV show??

a few things I would tell my 20 year old self

2004

                                                                            2013

Someone found this old picture of me and Brent at our church this past weekend.  I just couldn't stop staring at it.

When did we become grown ups??

Our lives are so different from 9 years ago.  Nine years doesn't seem like a long time, but sheesh!! So much has changed.  We are almost completely different people.  My 20 year old self wouldn't even recognize my 29 year old self.  

I wish I could go back and tell my 20 year old self a few things.  Nothing major, but a few small things about life.  

I would tell her to CHILL OUT AND ENJOY HER LIFE!  I was such a control freak!  I panicked over the stupidest stuff.  I know I drove Brent crazy back them.  Now I can look back and realize how easy my life was without kids or a stressful job.  I thought it was hard, but I didn't know what hard was.  

I've mellowed some, but I still struggle with worrying and panicking a lot.  I'm sort of a cup half empty sort of person always looking at the bad side of things, but I've been getting better.  

I would also tell her to SPEND MORE TIME WITH HER HUSBAND.  I neglected Brent a lot in those first couple of years of marriage.  I was always at my Mom's house or going places with Mom and Kelsie.  I didn't really plan my days around spending some time with Brent.  

Now what I wouldn't give for one date night a month.  

I would also tell her that she is NOT FAT!   Oh my goodness, I thought I was a fat cow back then.  If only she could see me now, maybe she would appreciate her young fit body a little more.  

Lastly I would tell her to LEAN ON GOD MORE.   I've always struggle with an up and down, roller coaster type or relationship with God.  There are times in my life where I wish I had trusted in Him more and had more faith in Him, that he would take care of things.  I'm still telling myself this today.  It's a constant work in progress, which I suppose is how it should be.  

I'm very happy with where my life is right now.  I've got a great husband, with a good job.  I've got three awesome kiddos.  We own a house, that we are trying to sell, but I know God is in control of that situation.  I'm quitting my job to follow God's will or being a stay at home mom (yay)!!  We are all healthy and happy!  These are the important things in life and it's taken me probably 9 years to get to a point where I understand this. 

Money, a house, a nice car, possessions, jobs, and keeping up with the Joneses will not bring you happiness!! 

I think I'm finally starting to really, fully understand this.  Not that I don't want a nice home, or the newest iPhone, but my happiness is not dependent on it.  It's a good feeling and great place to be!

If you could go back in time, what would you tell your 20 year old self???

Chore Charts

I've had the urge to instill some more responsibility in my children lately, so here is my plan.

I bought these super cute chore charts from Etsy.  There is a link to the Etsy shop at the bottom of this post. They are download able and editable.  

For every check mark or sticker they will receive ten cents.  So at the end of the week they have the possibility to earn about 5 dollars.  I feel like my kids, like most kids, are spoiled and just expect to get whatever they want without working for it.  

Don't get me wrong, my kids are usually very well behaved, but we would like to teach them that hard work and positive attitude will help you earn things.  Not everything will just be handed over to you on a silver platter.  

I'm hoping at the same time they will value their money more and become better stewards.  We all know when you work hard for your money, it's much harder to spend it on silly random stuff.  

I'm not saying that I won't just buy them something for no reason every now and then, because I know I will, but I would like for them to learn how to save for things they want.  

I'm going to wait until school gets out to start, because our lives are so full and busy right now. 

I will definitely update y'all on how the chore charts are working. 

 I'm super excited to start.  

I'm thinking I might even do one for Jack.  He can start learning early.  

Kylie Healey Designs

I've watched way too much TV in my lifetime

I started watching the TV show Castle from the beginning last week. It is currently on the air, but its in it's fifth season.  It started me thinking about all the TV shows I've watched and become addicted to over the years.  I literally feel sad and miss the characters when a series ends.

Just for kicks, I thought I would share with you a list of all my favorite TV shows, past and present.  They are in no particular order.

BTW there is no way I could keep up with all the shows currently airing, if it wasn't for Netflix and Hulu.  I do not plan my life around when my TV shows come on.  I watch them usually on Friday and Saturday nights for the entire week.  I'm not quite as pathetic as this post might suggest...or maybe I am.

Little House on the Prairie

This is an oldie, but a goodie.  I've seen every episode.

The Waltons

Another oldie, but goodie from my childhood.

Boy Meets World

I still watch reruns of this when I catch it.  I loved me some Cory and Topanga romance.  Did you know they working on a pilot called Girl Meets World.  It's about Cory and Topanga's daughter.  It's got the real actors coming back.

Friends

Who didn't love this show??

Seinfeld

This is one of those I got sucked into watching with the husband, but did really enjoy!

The Office

So sad that in a few short weeks this show is ending!  This is another good show to watch with the man in your life.

Alias

This show has been off the air for a while now, but I was absolutely addicted to it!  I wanted to be Sydney Bristow.

Smallville

This one is also off the air now.  We love super heros in our family, so this show was a given for us!  Clark Kent (aka Tom Welling) was my first TV boyfriend. LOL

Supernatural 

(currently airing)

I also enjoy the really enjoy the creepy supernatural genre in my TV shows.  It doesn't hurt that he brothers in this show are very easy on the eyes.  This show is still currently on the air, however I've fallen very behind, like two years behind.  I feel like it should have ended about 3 seasons ago, but I still love the Winchester brothers.

Grey's Anatomy 

(currently airing)

So unrealistic that these poor doctors would actually suffer through so many unbelievable things.  Bombs, shootings, plane crashes, near drownings, hit by a bus, stabbed by a falling icicle, and the list goes on and on.  Not to mention how many characters have met tragic ends on the show, but I keep on watching.  There is just something about it that keeps me coming back for more.

Bones 

(currently airing)

I've been a tad bit dissapointed with this season.  Too many fluffy filler episodes, but the finale was on last night and I hear it was a doozy.  I can't wait to watch on Hulu tonight.

Vampire Diaries 

(currently airing)

You could call this one a guilty pleasure.  Not the best acting or story lines, but entertaining. 

The Walking Dead 
(currently airing)

We love zombies.  

Fringe

This is another series that just ended.  I just recently watched all five seasons and really miss seeing these characters.  

Big Bang Theory 

(currently airing)

Another good comedy for me and the husband.  There is some cute romance in it too.

Revolution 

(currently airing)

This was a new show that just started this past fall.  I've enjoy it.  I like the idea of a world where all the power is out, especially considering how much technology is a part of our lives now.

Once Upon a Time

(currently airing)

This show is fun.  It sounds sort of corny when you read about it, but it's not as silly or childish as you might think it would be.  It's only been on two seasons now.

The Following 

(currently airing)

Another new one that I love.  First of all who doesn't love Kevin Bacon.  This show can actually be pretty scary.  I try not to watch it right before bed. 

Castle 

(currently airing)

I'm currently streaming this through Amazon, trying to catch up.  I've always wanted to watch this show, but never had room in my TV schedule for it.  Now thanks to Hulu and Amazon, I can make room.  This show has everything, romance, comedy, action, crime solving.  It's easy to watch. 

So as you can probably tell already, I will watch just about any genre on television.  I like it all!

The one thing that most of these all have in common, is at least a little bit of a romance.  It doesn't have to be centered around romance, but I like a boy meets girl story somewhere in my shows.  I guess that's one of my few girly girl traits.  

Remember I am not currently watching all of these shows.  Some have been off the air for some time.  

Yeah, that is still way too much TV!  I think I need to read more!

Oh well.