Our Life in West Virginia

Our Summer

2013-07-31T14:10:00.003-04:00

To say we've been busy this summer would be an understatement.

We've traveled out of town to attend two weddings and a bridal shower. We took a mini-vacation to Gatlinburg, Tennessee mid-June where I had a work conference and my boys played in the pool all week. We traveled to visit my parents for a long 4th of July weekend. We applied for our passports for a trip this coming January. Connor took a Kindermusik class. We've attended a few birthday parties and helped West Virginia celebrate it's 150th year of statehood. We saw Kenny Chesney and Aerosmith in concert. Between Shawn and I we played approximately 50 church league softball games. While we played ball, Connor consumed approximately 300 Frosty's from the nearby Wendy's. We've taken countless bike rides and walks around our neighborhood. And we just returned from our 9-day beach vacation in South Carolina this past Sunday.

Y'all. I'm tired.

I am so very happy to say that the busiest part of summer is behind us. Everything we did was fun, but we truly enjoy having lazy evenings and weekends every now and then. We feel like we've finally reached a place in our schedule this summer to allow for that.

We returned home from the beach Sunday evening and immediately dove in to get us back on schedule. Five loads of laundry that evening, combined with a huge trip to the grocery store, and getting our sweet boy put to bed at a decent hour were a great start to our week. Monday evening I cleaned my kitchen from top to bottom (okay, not quite, I didn't vacuum or clean my floors, but I plan to do that tonight) and filed away the plethora of papers and other 'stuff' that had accumulated on our countertops and table. Last night I gutted our guest bedroom - tucked all of our luggage back into the closet, washed the linens, dusted, organized, sorted drawers, etc. We also did a quick sweep of our garage - breaking down boxes for our firepit from several shipments we received before our trip and organizing all of the outdoor/beach toys. Shawn even volunteered to clean our master bathroom on Monday evening, if that gives you any indication of how desperately we needed to get back into our routine!

Although August will bring a slower pace to our daily life, it is not lacking in events. We travel out of town for Shawn's company's 40th anniversary celebration this Saturday, I work at a conference most of next week, my birthday is the 9th, I have a baby shower to attend on the 10th, we are taking Connor to see Disney Junior Live on the 17th, my step-grandmother's 94th birthday is the 19th, I have an overnight trip out of town for work the following week, Connor's birthday is the 23rd, his party AND my MIL's birthday are on the 24th, Connor moves to the 3-year old classroom at school on the 26th, and he will start his fall sports class on the 31st. It sounds like a lot for one month, and it admittedly is, but it's so much less than what we had going on May-July that I am really looking forward to it!

Five on Friday

2013-05-31T09:55:00.000-04:00

Today I'm linking up for Five on Friday!

One. Bungee Cord Belts

Two. Chocolate Ice Cream Faces

Three. Shirtless Boys Stealing Drinks of Mommy's Sweet Tea

Four. Patriotic Flowers

Five. New "Mommy Backpack" to use on our upcoming travels! I am SO OVER trying to carry a heavy bag that kills my shoulder. So I bit the bullet and switched to a Backpack. Cannot wait to recieve it!

Happy Friday!

Far from Perfect

2013-05-28T06:00:00.000-04:00

In most areas of my life I have no patience. I never have. It's something that I realize and admit often. One of my biggest fears when I learned I was pregnant was (and sometimes still is) that I will lose my patience too quickly.

I quickly learned, even when suffering from relatively severe post-partum anxiety, that it's hard to lose your patience with a newborn. My newborn rarely slept and cried for the first five weeks of his life, but thankfully he was really, incredibly cute. Newborns don't really 'do' much to press your buttons.

Toddlerhood is a different story. Connor is a great child. Ninety percent of the time he follows the rules and does exactly what he's asked. He's a good listener and he uses please, thank you, and you're welcome often.

But, of course, there is that other ten percent of the time when he is a bit disobedient. For him, we've found that ignoring the behavior is generally the best way to get him to stop. If he's causing harm to himself or someone else, we always step in. But those instances are VERY few and far between. If he throws a fit at home, he just throws a fit. If I react and respond to it, it only amplifies the behavior. If I walk away, it's over in about ten seconds, I go right back to him, explain why he's not supposed to act like that, and make him complete the task I originally asked him to do.

He doesn't sleep real well at night (never has) and he is relatively hard to get up in the mornings. One day a couple of weeks ago, I got him up and moving. He went to potty and put on his clean undies and shorts like he always does. Then all HECK broke loose. The next step is to sit on our bed, get his shirt changed, and get his hair fixed. We do this every single morning. But this morning, he was having none of it.

He yelled, he kicked me, he hit me, and to top it off - he spit at me.

Yes, you read that right, he SPIT AT ME.

He went through a spitting phase a few months ago, but it was never spitting at someone. It was spitting outside, on the ground, like he was a baseball player or something. We discouraged that behavior, but he only did it in our backyard (I made sure he wasn't doing it at school), so we ignored it and he stopped after about a week.

I immediately saw RED when he spit at me. Thankfully, I'm a morning person and had my wits about me. I didn't have good thoughts - which has never really happened before with him. I was very, very hard on him. Maybe a bit too hard, if I'm being completely honest. But I will not tolerate that kind of behavior. After I punished him it seemed to really sink in. Later that morning he apologized to me and told me that he would be a better listener. Three times on the way to school he asked if he was being a good listener now. So, I think he got it.

I felt guilty all day about being hard on him. But, I know it's the best - for him, for us as parents, and for society in general. Discipline is a huge part of parenting, but it is definitely my least favorite. I always heard parents say that it hurt them to discipline more than it hurt the child - I now have a full understanding of that statement.

Sandstone Falls 2013

2013-05-24T06:00:00.000-04:00

Sandstone Falls is a few miles from my parent's farmland. We've always enjoyed visiting and walking out across the falls.

The falls.

Um, don't mind my hair. It was slightly windy!

Throwing rocks and sticks into the river. A little boy's dream!

Connor and Daddy climbed up a big rock. Immediately after this picture Connor said "Daddy, I have to pee...NOW!" With no other options (other than the facilities about 3/4 mile back at the beginning of the trail), he got to pee off of the rock. Again, every boy's dream!

For the last several years, there has been two bald eagles and a huge nest near the falls. The National Park Service controls this piece of land and they have a camera on the nest at all times (I believe the camera is on the overlook across the river from where we were standing). A few weeks prior to our trip the male eagle was hit by a passenger train. At the time there were three eggs in the nest. However, the male didn't return to the nest for several days and as a result, the eggs didn't make it.

We love trying to catch a glimpse of the eagles on our trips. Since Connor visited the zoo last summer, the eagle has been his favorite animal. On this trip we got to see BOTH eagles. The nest is a bit far from the road so I'm not sure how well Connor could see them, but he was excited either way!

I'm not sure if you can see them in this picture...but they are WAY out on the branch in the center of the picture. It's relatively easy to see one of them, the other one is down a branch lower and kind of blends in. Such a fun experience!

A Visit with Thomas

2013-05-22T06:00:00.000-04:00

Back in early March a Thomas the Tank Engine traveling exhibit visited our local mall. We knew Connor would love this event - he is totally obsessed with Thomas! We had to wait in line for almost an hour (with a 2.5 year old, mind you!), but it was totally worth it.

Waiting in line, easy to pass the time with technology!

Sometimes Connor can be very shy in this type of situation. When waiting in line, we noticed that one of the people working the event were taking the children up to Thomas and the parents were waiting behind the camera. I wasn't so sure how that would go with Connor. Surprising both of us, he marched right up there like he'd been doing it for years.

We have no CLUE where this funny stance/face came from. He got right up there and decided to put on a show! Everyone watching was cracking up at him. He's always this funny at home, but he rarely shows this side in public.

A close-up of that sweet, scrunched up little face!

Swim Class

2013-05-20T06:00:00.000-04:00

Over the past few months Connor has been taking a introduction to swim class. It has been such a fun experience and has shown us that he has no fear of the water. We didn't expect him to learn to swim during this time, but he is so close. He's learned to paddle, kick his legs, and he can even hold his breath and submerge his face. He's not gone completely under yet (not on purpose, anyway) but he knows how to do it. Our goal was for him to get acquainted with the water, understanding that the water can be dangerous, and of course - have TONS of fun.

We wrapped up our series of classes yesterday. As I'm sure you can tell from the pictures, he just hated every minute of it. Ha!

He's so rotten!

His smile can turn my day around!

Sweetness

Using the noodle!

Four

2013-05-16T06:00:00.000-04:00

Four years.

Four wonderful years.

Four wonderful years full of love and laughter.

Happy Fourth Anniversary to my husband!

Mother's Day 2013

2013-05-15T06:00:00.000-04:00

We like to celebrate holidays with our family, friends, a big meal (or five), and good conversation. We rarely exchange gifts and we like it that way.

All I asked for was a cupcake from a local bakery. I know it sounds simple, but it's truly what I wanted. I also wanted to do it alone so I didn't have to share. Yes, I was being a bit selfish. I browsed their website and realized that one of the flavors of the month was a Chocolate Cupcake with Peanut Butter Buttercream icing. Um, yes please, where do I sign up? I practiced a bit of self control and only ordered one. I seriously could have eaten all they had in stock. I picked up my cupcake on my lunch break Friday and enjoyed it as my afternoon snack. It was the best cupcake I've ever eaten!

For Mother's Day, my mom and stepdad were on vacation so I knew I wouldn't get to see them. My dad and step-mom spent the weekend at my brother's house, which is about 45 minutes from our house (and in the town/area where we plan to end up within a few years). We spent Friday night and all day Saturday with them. We came home late Saturday evening. Sunday morning we got up early and headed to Shawn's parents house for the day, it's about 90 minutes from our house.

Not having any of your family close is really hard. There is this pull from inside, not to mention a lot of expectations on the outside, to always spend holidays with our families (which is basically impossible for us since we have three sets of parents - none of which live in the same town as each other). But at the same time you want to be selfish and just stay home and relax. There really isn't a great solution, but we try to make it work.

I'm not complaining at all because I truly enjoyed getting to see everyone, but I will admit that I'm overly excited to stay home next weekend!

Connor also made me the sweetest painting and necklace at school. He was so proud to give it to me. Shawn also put him to bed all weekend for me and even let me sleep in until 8 Sunday (yes, that is big-time sleeping in for me!). It was a very nice weekend.

I hope each of you had a fantastic Mother's Day, too!

Cherry Cheesecake

2013-05-13T06:00:00.000-04:00

For years, my Mother in Law has made this recipe for almost every holiday event I've attended with her. I absolutely love it and always make a beeline to the dessert table to make sure I get a slice. I finally asked her for the recipe a few months back. It is simple and delicious.

Cherry Cheesecake

Ingredients:

1 Graham Cracker Pie Crust
1 Container Cool Whip
1 Pack Cream Cheese
1 tsp Sugar
1 tsp Vanilla
1 Can of Cherry Pie Filling

Directions:

Mix cool whip, cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla with electric mixer until creamy. Spread mixture evenly across the graham cracker pie crust. Pour cherry pie filling on top. Refrigerate. Serve cold.

See? Super easy. And so tasty! Enjoy!

Circus 2013

2013-05-10T06:00:00.000-04:00

At the end of April, the Ringling Brother's Circus came to our city. We took Connor last year and he loved it so we knew we'd be taking him again this year.

He had a blast! We didn't think the show this year was quite as good as last year, but it was still lots of fun. Connor wanted to see more animals, but I think the motorcycle performances made up for the lack of animals a bit.

We let him choose a snack and a drink upon arriving to the circus. He shyly asked if he could order a pop. Normally our answer is no, but special events call for special rules. I know some people will fall out of their chair over letting a two-and-a-half year old have a soda, but that is not us. Does he have it on an every day basis? Of course not. But having it as a special treat is not a big deal in our family. He thoroughly enjoyed every sip of that pop. And as usual, he loved his popcorn too.

He absolutely loved the 'big dinosaur' (which was actually a big dragon). Here is a video of him yelling for the big dinosaur to come back out during intermission. He narrated the entire show to us and to those around us. We ended up making him change seats so he would quit talking to the lady next to him - little chatterbox!

We are already excited to go back next year!

Hi, Again!

2013-05-08T10:31:00.004-04:00

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So it's May. It's been like three months since I blogged. And I'm okay with that.

May is my second-favorite month of the year, coming in a close second to August. The days are longer and the temperatures are warmer which are sure signs summer is just around the corner.

We will celebrate our fourth wedding anniversary next week which is the main reason I love May. I can honestly say that our marriage is the best it's ever been. It's never been bad, but we're just in a really great place right now. We talk about everything, rarely argue, support each other at all times, and share common goals for the future of our family.

Connor is the best child we could have ever asked for. He is funny, smart, and incredibly energetic. There is nothing he loves more than being outside and we are so thankful for that. He is completely potty trained and has been for several months. He sleeps in a full-size bed in his big boy room. It's like he went from newborn to almost-three in ten seconds. I have loved each and every stage, but now that we have clear and concise communication life with him is nothing short of wonderful. He is very observant and remembers details about everything. He still reminds us of specific things he saw at the Columbus Zoo last July - he was 23 months when we visited. Honestly, his memory is far better than mine! I am knee-deep in planning his 3rd Birthday Party at the end of August. I know, I know, it's early, but he picked out the theme several months ago and has talked about it every so often since then. Our summer is already jam-packed with get-togethers, vacations, and other birthdays so I wanted to have as much as possible complete before it gets too busy.

Hopefully I'll stick to blogging this go-round. I get turned off every now and then by the mom-competition and other nasty words I sometimes see written. But, I'm sure we've all read enough about that kind of drama. I just plan to ignore and remove myself from those situations and focus on all of the good things I see going on.

I hope I still have a few readers out there and I'd love to hear from you in the comments if you're still around!

Independence

2013-02-12T07:00:00.000-05:00

Over the course of the past few weeks Connor has become very independent about pottying. Of course I'm a bit overbearing so I have continued to accompany him to the bathroom each and every time to make sure he had my help if needed. I mean, of course he needs my help, right?

Starting about two weeks ago, after he would get situated all by himself on the potty, he would say "you not bother me." I took that as my not-so-subtle hint to leave. In a few seconds or minutes, depending on what exactly he needed to do, he would yell for me to come back. I was approximately two centimeters outside the bathroom door so I'd immediately go back in. He was typically already off the potty and in the process of pulling everything back up.

Our only potty trouble happens in the mornings. I still put a diaper on him at night, but he consistently wakes up dry. He is completely aware of the feeling of 'needing to go' and if he doesn't have that feeling, then he thinks he doesn't need to go and absolutely refuses. Which I get. It makes sense and I'm proud that he is so great about knowing whether or not he needs to go.

What he doesn't understand is that he hasn't gone in nearly 11 hours and there isn't a gas station on every corner between our house and his school. It's a 25 minute drive. On the interstate. With only a handful of exits that may or may not have sketchy gas stations and mama does not do sketchy gas stations.

One morning last week he refused to go. I gave up the good fight and said fine, don't go. About ten minutes before we reached the school he announced he had to go. I asked if he could hold it and he replied, "I fink so, mommy." I took my chances and finished the drive to school, checking on the status of the situation every couple of minutes. He made it to school.

When we got to school he jumped out of the car and raced to the door with an urgency. I knew we needed to hurry. We get upstairs and he went straight to the bathroom that is right off his classroom. Everything in that bathroom is toddler-sized. The potty, sink, and paper towels are very low to the ground.

He went in the bathroom, took off his jacket and handed it to me to hold, pulled down his pants and big boy undies, went to the bathroom (standing up, mind you!), pulled everything back up, put the lid down, flushed the toilet, walked up to the sink, turned on the water, got a squirt of soap, washed his hands, turned off the water, got two paper towels, dried his hands, threw them in the trash can and said "alright, let's go!"

While this was happening all I could do was stand back in awe and laugh. He was so efficient and independent and worst of all - he didn't need my help. At all.

Connor has always been independent and he asserts that more each day. As a very independent person myself I couldn't be more proud of that. But him completing a task that just a few short months ago seemed so grown up - totally stopped me in my tracks.

Who is this little boy? He's certainly not a baby anymore and I'm not even sure I would classify him as a toddler. I mean age-wise he's a toddler. And although I'd like to think he's incredibly gifted since I'm his mommy, I try not to put him up on a better-than-anyone pedestal. I'm sure other children in his class are moving on to bigger things each day, too.

But he's mine. And I've watched him grow from a 7 pound, 3 ounce, 20 inch long peanut who couldn't do anything for himself to this little boy who can potty all by himself at his very own preschool. I'm not one to cry over every new thing or about him not being a baby anymore. Sure, time flies and I totally agree that it sometimes sucks a little, but this is life. We are supposed to get older and grow up and learn new things and become our own person. It's just what happens.

But something about that day when he didn't need me to help him reach a new 'milestone' of sorts, really stopped me in my tracks and made me think about his precious little life. I got back in my car and called my husband to tell him what I had witnessed. He laughed and said "he's really something else, isn't he?"

And you know what, he is. Most of all, I am so proud of the little boy he has become. He is fiercely independent, a bit sarcastic, incredibly funny, and he makes Shawn and I better people every single day. He is what makes our world go 'round.

15 Before 30

2013-02-09T07:00:00.000-05:00

Today is my 28 1/2 birthday. In light of the fact that I'll be turning 30 in a year and a half (eek!), I've decided to write down a few goals to achieve by my 30th birthday on August 9, 2014. I thought about doing a 30 Before 30 list, but I want to enjoy this list and not cram it full of things that aren't a big deal to me. So, I came up with a 15 Before 30 list. Some goals are small, some are large, some can happen at the drop of a hat, some take planning and training. Here goes:

Get a manicure
Get a pedicure
Take Connor back to the Columbus Zoo
Take Connor to see the Bald Eagle Exhibit at Dollywood
Run a 5K
Run a 10K
Run a half-marathon
Run the Dirty Girl Mud Run
Eat at the Melting Pot
Take a cruise with my parents
Take a weekend trip to Asheville, NC to visit The Biltmore
Celebrate our 5th Wedding Anniversary in the Florida Keys at Hawks Cay Resort (where we honeymooned) - I can't share the details at this point, but this might have to be rescheduled...it remains on the list for now :)
Travel to New York City and see a musical on Broadway
Pay off Shawn's new truck
Finalize our will, complete Shawn's life insurance process.

Well, there you have it. I have exactly one and a half years from today to complete this list. A few of these goals are already scheduled or in-the-works. I'll be sure to keep you all updated as I mark things off! Do you have goals before turning a certain age? I'd love to read them!

Scentsy in February

2013-02-07T08:34:00.003-05:00

February is a great month for Scentsy. I thought I'd take a few minutes to tell you all of the great deals you don't want to miss!

First, all products are 10% off (with a few exceptions such as licensed products and some of the combine and save products). That 10% off makes Scent Bars just $4.50 and of course, you cannot beat a 10% discount on warmers.

Second, the February Warmer of the Month is Easter Egg - it is seriously one of the cutest warmers I've seen from Scentsy. It is the perfect little addition to your Easter and/or Spring Decor. Easter Egg is available for $31.50 this month!

Third, the February Scent of the Month is Posy Peach. I tend to prefer the cinnamon-y scents, but this is my absolute favorite fruity scent from Scentsy! A Scent Bar of Posy Peach is just $4.50.

Fourth, several warmers and scents are being discontinued at the end of this month. Clove & Cinnamon, Vanilla Cream, Hazelnut Latte are just a few of the most popular ones that will no longer be available after February 28. Now is the time to scoop up a 6-pack of your favorite scent bar before it's too late. And, don't forget - they are 10% off!

If you'd like to see a better picture of these, let me know and I can email you the PDF or you can look online here!

Fifth, the Darling Double Deal Scentsy is running. The deal is - you buy one solid perfume, you get one free! Doesn't get much better than that!

Fifth, my February special. It involves Layers products. Did you even know Scentsy has an entire line of body care products called Layers? You can choose from shower gel, body cream, hand soap, body lotion, perfume, dryer disks, washer whiffs...the list goes on! If you'd like more information on my special, leave me a comment and I'll e-mail the details to you!

Some of the discontinued items are already selling out, so I encourage you to get your orders in while you can. Place your order today - and don't forget to ask me about my special!

Our Weekend

2013-02-04T13:47:00.003-05:00

Our weekend got off to a rough start on Thursday afternoon, but ended up being relaxing and low key.

I got the dreaded call from daycare while I was on my lunch break Thursday. Connor had a 101.6 temperature. I've sorta been waiting for it all winter. I knew we couldn't escape the 3 zillion viruses going around for very long.

After picking Connor up and assessing him, I decided a trip to the pediatrician was necessary. He'd had a runny nose for a week and hadn't been able to breath easily at night because of the drainage. I assumed he had another sinus infection and we'd need an antibiotic to nip it in the bud. I made an appointment for later that afternoon.

The good news is that Motrin was keeping his temperature under control, which is a good sign. Upon examination by the pediatrician, she determined he had strep throat. He had 'very' swollen glands and white spots covering his tonsils. She did a quick test in the office, but much to her surprise it came back negative. She ordered another culture to be sent off for testing because she was surprised at the results. That culture would take 48 hours to hear back from. In the meantime, we were instructed to make sure he got a lot of rest, to continue with Motrin/Tylenol to keep the fever at bay, and to push liquids.

We left the pediatricians office around 6:00 that evening and he fell asleep on the way home. I thought for sure he'd wake up when I took him out of his car seat, but he surprised me. I put him on the couch so I could closely monitor him. His fever began to rise again so I woke him up at 8:00 for another dose of Motrin and Claritin to help with his drainage. He went right back to sleep and slept until 7:30 the next morning with only one wake-up (by me) to give him Tyelnol because his fever had gone back up. I hated to mess up his newly-acquired habit of ya know, actually sleeping all night in his own bed - but there was no way I wasn't sleeping right next to him - so he slept with us all night.

His fever was still low Friday morning, but did rise a few times throughout the day. I kept the Motrin and Tylenol flowing and made him drink about 15 sippy cups of water! He had very little interest in eating, but I wasn't too worried about that. I gave him his last dose of medicine on Friday night and his fever was gone after that. I called the on-call pediatrician Saturday evening and his strep culture came back negative, too. Although super-thankful for that, it's still odd that he had a fever and no other symptoms. Either way, he is back to feeling like his old self!

He skipped soccer on Saturday so he could rest some more and he had to miss the Monster Jam show we were supposed to see on Friday evening. However, mom and dad are suckers so we repurchased tickets for the Sunday afternoon show. He really enjoyed it and even though Monster Jam ended up costing us a month's salary (not really) - it was worth it!

I'm pretty sure the popcorn was his favorite part!

Connor's Big Boy Room

2013-01-30T10:10:00.000-05:00

I've been itching to update Connor's room to a Big Boy Room for a couple of months. I wasn't sure what theme or color scheme I wanted to go with until I came across a few products online.

First, I found this inspiration on Pinterest and knew I wanted the navy and green color scheme and I HAD to find that striped bedding. Had to.

source

I couldn't locate the exact bedding pictured, but I did find this at Target.

Very similar and a GREAT price point, I also purchased two pillow shams in this same Rugby print. We all know how quickly toddler 'things' can get ruined, so I didn't want to invest too much money. One thing about this room design, is that I can easily switch to a solid white down comforter at some point in the future. However, crushed strawberries and blueberries, orange popsicles, and potty training do NOT mix with white down comforters! :)

I went with a basic white sheet set in the same brand/style we use on our bed. Found here.

Again, doesn't break the bank and can easily be washed/bleached.

I also purchased a matching bedskirt, a mattress pad (waterproof, of course), and three additional pillows - all from Target.

Next decision was the decor. Connor is all boy. Construction equipment and trucks are his jam. I immediately turned to Etsy to find artwork to match his room.

I found a door sign and four adorable prints from seller Toad and Lily.

Door sign.

I wanted the room to be navy and lime green, with orange and yellow accents.

Four construction prints that my boy is in LOVE with. Seriously. Loves them. These signs are 8x10 and I purchased standard frames at WalMart to display them.

Next on the list was new curtains. I new I wanted custom made curtains and I knew exactly where to get a fantastic product. I previously used this Etsy shop to furnish the curtains and decorative pillows in our Master Bedroom. The quality of the products from SewPanache is unbeatable!

I went with these Lime Green and White Ikat print curtains. I LOVE them, they turned out absolutely perfect for Connor's room.

The last thing I needed were a couple of small things to finish off the room. Namely, a new throw for the back of the rocker (and eventually can be used on the bed), a new lamp, and a new hamper.

I found this yellow and white chevron print throw at TJMaxx for $19.99.

Pictured here with the bedding before it was all assembled.

I also found this super cute green lamp base that matches just perfect. I used a white shade I already had!

The final item I needed was a new hamper. I scoured TJ Maxx but couldn't find one. I just wanted a standard, nice looking hamper since it sits out in his room (for now...I hope to move it into the closet once we clear a few things out of there). Finally I looked at WalMart and found one that will work and at a decent price. Connor totally thinks he picked it out himself (he was with me) and is SO proud of it.

Note: yes, I cut the tag off - I was just making sure I loved it before taking that step!

I've also ordered a bright orange monogrammed pillow for his bed!

I would love to show you pictures of the final room, but we ran into an issue. You see, my sweet, precious 2.5 year old has never slept through the night. Until, wait for it...2 weeks ago. We had planned to purchase the full size mattress/box springs last weekend. After this sudden change in sleeping habits, we decided we would be absolutely insane to mess it up! So for now - he is still using his toddler bed which means we can't use any of the new bedding at this point.

I honestly don't know when we'll move him to a full size bed. I want to make sure this sleeping through the night is around to stay for a long while, so I'm not going to change anything. In fact, my husband suggested removing that eye sore of a trash can the other day and I told him if he moved it even a centimeter I would cut him. Okay, just kidding about that part. But we are leaving things alone for now!

Scentsy Mystery Hostess Contest

2013-01-28T12:54:00.002-05:00

This is a little late notice, but I wanted to make sure my blog readers had a chance to participate in a fantastic Scentsy contest I'm running this month - the Mystery Hostess Contest.

Anyone who places an order by Tuesday, January 29, 2013 at midnight will be entered to win. The winner will get to take advantage of the normal hostess rewards. This month, Scentsy is DOUBLING the number of half-price items a host receives. As of where the party stands right now, the winner will get to choose FOUR half-price items and will have about $27 in product credit. Of course, the more orders that are placed, the more those numbers will go up!

Get your orders in soon to be entered to win! Good luck! Order here!

Fab Friday

2013-01-25T08:27:00.001-05:00

Today I'm linking up with Laura from The Everyday Joys for Fab Friday!

1. I've decided that 2013 is going to be a fantastic year. It just feels good. 2012 was good to us, but I have a feeling 2013 is going to be great. Nothing groundbreaking, just truly enjoying everyday and accomplishing several things on our 'life list!'

2. Connor's Big Boy Room is almost finished. We plan to hang his artwork this weekend and move a couple last-minute things around and it will be finished. We were planning to move him into a full-size bed (from his toddler bed), but he is FINALLY sleeping through the night (yes, after 2.5 years!) so we aren't going to mess with that quite yet. This means I can't use his new bedding yet, but everything else is up and ready to go. I plan to post the Big Boy Room reveal within the next couple of weeks.

3. I am going on a super-fabulous trip with my best friend and my momma in April. Can't wait to share the details. I'll elaborate sometime next month after I post my 15 Things Before 30 List. I know it's annoying to share a little and not the whole thing, sorry about that. I will say that it involves a fabulous big city on the east coast - somewhere I've always dreamed of visiting!

4. It's Friday. Enough said.

5. I'm co-hosting a Favorite Things Party at my house tomorrow evening with six of my very best friends. Cannot wait for some good food, fun gifts, and great conversation!

6. I love listening to Dave Ramsey's podcasts while I run every evening. I know, I know - what a weirdo. I'm not a huge fan of music and if I listen to music, it's country - which isn't the most upbeat stuff for running. So, podcasts it is. Listening allows me to zone out while I run and keeps me financially motivated!

7. I'm dying to read my all-time favorite blogger, Big Mama's, first book - Sparkly Green Earrings. In fact, I think I'll use some of my weekly cash to pre-order it for my Kindle app! I will make time in my life to read this book.

8. Dave Ramsey quoted this the other day and it really hit something inside of me. This is how I try to live my life anyway, but there are a few people around me that worry constantly. I believe if you're worried about something that you should turn it over to the Lord. After that, you should stop worrying. Trust in Him. Anyway, the quote went something like this (paraphrased because I don't remember it exactly:

'99% of the things we worry about never happen, so stop wasting your time worrying about them.'

9. I saw this on Pinterest a few days ago and it SCREAMED at me. Seriously, it was like I couldn't hear anything else because this thought was so loud in my head.

source

By the way, if you'd like to follow me on Pinterest you can do that here.

Happy Friday and have a great weekend, friends!

Connor-isms

2013-01-24T07:00:00.000-05:00

Connor is always saying things that make us laugh so much. Just little random bits throughout the day that really tickle us. I thought I'd share a few so I can look back on them one day!

When I bring him out of his room in the mornings and the lights are on he says, "I CAN'T SEE MY EYES!" Of course, he means that the lights are too bright and he can't see.

When the sun is out on our way home in the evenings he says "sun is BWIGHT mommy, I need my gwasses!"

We recently finished potty training him. After he goes, he says "Go Connor, Go Connor!"

He is always talking to our cat, Lucy, trying to coax her to come play with him. We'll hear him saying "come sit wight here, Lucy" or "want to pway with Thomas, Lucy?"

Any time he gets a gift or someone asks him who go something for him, he replies "it's for my BIRFDAY!"

When I am getting my purse together or throwing a few toys in his bag, he immediately senses that we're leaving the house. He says "where we going to, mommy?"

He has to turn on the TV, turn on the DVD player, eject the DVD, open the case to get a new DVD, and insert the new DVD all by himself. It is bad news if someone tries to help.

Recently he's been saying that certain items are his "favowite."

He has a very good sense of direction. Depending on what road we get on, he names it. For instance, if we turn left out of our subdivision he says "we are on the school road" - meaning the way we get to his school. He knows which road gets us to soccer, which one gets us to WalMart, to Cabelas, etc. I have on clue how he remembers this stuff.

When he eats popsicles (which is 24/7) he says "I got a freeze up here" meaning he has brain freeze - ha! He's also very into telling us when he gets a cold chill. Cracks me up!

He is really in to taking items for a walk - whether it's a string with beads on it or his Melissa and Doug froggy - he says "we going for a walk, mommy" as he drags it behind him.

He is really into puzzles and names everything on them. Whether it's a farm animal, color, number, etc.

He is so funny and he truly can make me laugh at any time. I never know what's coming next, but I wouldn't change his personality and sense of humor for the world!

I meant to post this on Tuesday and totally forgot. Fitness last week:

01/13/13 - 2.366 miles in 30 minutes

01/14/13 - 2.518 miles in 30 minutes

01/15/13 - 1.756 miles in 21 minutes

01/16/13 - rest day

01/17/13 - 2.524 miles in 30 minutes

01/18/13 - rest day

01/19/13 - rest day

My Scentsy Business

2013-01-21T07:00:00.000-05:00

I've mentioned on here a few times that I'm a Scentsy Consultant, but I've been a slacker at keeping everyone up to date with the newest products and of course, my personal specials.

January Warmer of the Month, Be Mine

Be Mine is available for $31.50 during the month of January. Perfect Valentine's Day gift for that special someone in your life!

January Scent of the Month, Happy Go Lucky

For the month of January I'm running a Mystery Hostess Competition. Anyone who places an order using this link will be entered to win. The winner will be picked at random and will get to take advantage of the normal hostess rewards. January is a great month to win this contest because hostesses receive DOUBLE the half-price rewards this month! How great is that? Be sure to use this link to place your order!

I also have a Scent of the Month (SOTM) Club. The SOTM Club is a program where you pay for a 3, 6, 9, or 12 month subscription and you receive the newest scent each month at a discounted price. If you're interested in my SOTM Club, hosting a party, or even signing up to be a consultant, e-mail me at regray12 (at) gmail (dot) com. I would be happy to help you. Place your order today!

Friday Randoms

2013-01-18T07:00:00.000-05:00

I have nothing of substance for today, so here are a few random thoughts:

-It's still hard for me to believe my child is potty trained. It's almost weird. And since I purchased a huge box of diapers two days before we started, it also means that I've most likely bought my last box of diapers ever. Insane.

-I get a runner's high after every single run. Why did I stop running and why did it take me so long to get back into it? Dumb.

-I'm working on a '15 Before 30' list which I will share next month on my 28.5 birthday. It's basically a list of 15 goals I want to accomplish before I turn the big 3-0 in August 2014.

-I'm not afraid of or sad about turning 30. At all. In fact, I have high hopes for my 30s.

-I have a daily internal debate about whether or not to go ahead and sell all of our baby stuff.

-I'm co-hosting a Favorite Things party at my house next weekend. I'll be sure to share the details after!

-Connor is amazing. I know he's mine and I'm biased, but he's an incredible little boy. Sure he has his moments, but he is fantastic 99% of the time. I'm so thankful for him!

-I'm already thinking about and semi-planning Connor's 3rd Birthday Party. In August. Type-A much? Yes. Do I care? No.

Have a great weekend, friends! :)

Me Time

2013-01-17T07:00:00.000-05:00

Since Connor was born I've had trouble taking time for myself. It's not that I feel guilty about it, I just love when he's with me and always choose that over him not being with me.

Back in October I had a day off work, but his daycare was still open. I decided to send him to school to give myself some time to clean/organize the house, do a bit of Christmas shopping, and just enjoy some quiet time. I got so much done around my house - I can't even explain how productive I was. It was so, so nice. Of course, I missed him - but I'm sure he had more fun at school than he would have with me. Plus I didn't have to deal with that nagging feeling of ignoring him while I was trying to clean and organize things.

On Monday of this week, I got off work a bit early - around 12:15. Connor naps at school from 12:30-2:30 so I knew it was not a good time to pick him up. If I interrupt his nap, then it sometimes makes for a cranky evening! I remembered that I had some Toys R Us Rewards dollars and a gift card to spend. I decided to head to Toys R Us and treat myself to lunch alone at The Olive Garden - one of my favorite spots.

I had such an enjoyable afternoon. It was nice to take 30 entire minutes to eat my lunch. I actually got to eat my meal before it was cold. I also treated myself to a sweet tea, something I rarely drink any more. After my leisurely lunch, I headed to Toys R Us. I browsed for quite some time before checking out. Again, it was so enjoyable!

After my lunch and trip to Toys R Us I still had a little bit of time left. I really didn't know what to do! I went to Staples and purchased a pack of pens I'd been eyeing (anyone else a school supply geek?) and some notebooks I needed. Then I headed to Stride Rite and found a fantastic deal on a pair of boots for Connor. They will be part of his Valentine's Day gift.

It was such a nice few hours to myself and I even got a few things accomplished I'd been wanting to do. By that time I was ready to pick Connor up from school and spend the rest of the afternoon with him. We had a fun afternoon watching Cars, eating snacks, and creating some Valentine's Day art for the grandparents!

Fellow moms, how do you spend 'me time?'

Potty Training a Toddler Boy

2013-01-15T07:00:00.000-05:00

I've known for a few months that Connor was ready to be potty trained. However, he had tubes put in his ears in October and I knew we'd be all over the place in November and December due to the holidays. So we put the actual process off for a bit. We've been reading potty books, talking about using the potty, and practicing sitting on the potty for a couple of months.

Over our Christmas break I decided that I would officially start the process during our four days off over New Years. We were at my brothers house the first two days and ended up having tons of errands to run on Monday. That meant only having one full day to really work on it before sending him back to daycare.

That morning when he got up I let him fully wake up and have a small breakfast. Then I told him it was time to wear his big boy undies. He wasn't thrilled about the idea, but after we got him changed he was fine.

He had a couple of accidents where he didn't even seem to notice that he was 'going' - I was getting nervous that it was too early (although deep down I knew he was ready). On the third accident he immediately came to me to tell me what he did. The fourth accident he was trying to get me to help him get on the potty but we weren't quite fast enough. After that, I had a good feeling we were going to be okay.

As the day progressed, I kind of learned his schedule and would sit him on the potty every 45 minutes or so, asking him if he needed to go around every 15 minutes. Honestly, I think I was aggravating him by asking him too often. The rest of the afternoon was very successful. And I know noone really wants to read about going #2, but let's just say that he did that better than #1. He came to me, told me he needed to, sat on the potty, and did it. We didn't use a sticker chart, but we did reward him with mini-oreos.

At school the next day he did fantastic. I was so nervous about this, but I knew his teacher would be great with him. He didn't have an accident until late in the afternoon during snack time. He had one accident that evening, but it was my fault because I wasn't watching the clock and he didn't get to me in time. By the end of Day 2 I was very confident in his abilities, although I knew he still needed guidance.

His teacher rewarded him with 2 MandMs each time he had a success. On the way home that evening he said, "Mommy, I opposed (supposed) to get MandMs when I pee on the potty, not eeeos (oreos)." I took that as my hint to swing by the store and get some MandMs!

Day 3 went well. He still isn't a fan of putting his undies on in the mornings, but after that it's no big deal. He had one accident at school, but it was only because things weren't pointing in the right direction...if you know what I mean - oh the joys of having a boy!!

Basically, we continued with 1 accident per day. When the weekend rolled around (Day 4 evening through Day 7 morning) he had ZERO accidents, including 2 - 1.5 hour car rides, and 2 naps! I think it's easier at home than it is at school - he gets distracted with playing at school and at home, Shawn and I focus solely on him, there aren't 13 other kids running around.

He did great upon returning to school on Monday and continued throughout that second week. There were a couple of small accidents here and there, but mostly just successes.

We made our first run at being in public and having to use a potty last Thursday. I was not excited. I do not like public restrooms. There is something yucky about them. However, I knew it would eventually have to happen. It actually went really well. No issues at all and he even followed my orders to NOT.TOUCH.ANYTHING!

I'm obviously not an expert, but my best advice is to wait until you know your child is ready. I honestly wasn't in a hurry for him to be potty trained. I had always heard boys tend to be ready later than girls so I wasn't worried about it until around the time he turned 3 (which would be this coming August). But all the things he was doing, his interest in the potty, his ability to understand what the potty is about, etc - all pointed to the fact that he was ready. I actually think we could have done it a bit earlier, but as I said I didn't want to throw too much into the mix at once. Connor was 2 years, 4 months, 8 days old on Day 1. Turns out - our timing was apparently perfect! Again - my best advice is to watch for the signs and wait until your child is ready.

Workouts Last Week:
01/06/13 - 2.301 miles, 30 minutes
01/07/13 - 2.338 miles, 30 minutes
01/08/13 - rest day
01/09/13 - rest day
01/10/13 - 2.327 miles, 30 minutes
01/11/13 - 2.432 miles, 30 minutes
01/2/13 - rest day

I always post for accountability on Instagram after my run, if you'd like to join use the hashtag #getfit13 so we can see each other's runs/workouts! You can follow me on Instagram here: rachgray.

January 2013 Purge

2013-01-11T07:00:00.000-05:00

One of my 2013 goals is to purge toys (and our whole house, really) in January and August. January because of the influx of 'stuff' from Christmas and August because of the influx of 'stuff' from Connor's birthday.

We live in a mid-entry style house. Our living room, dining room, kitchen, 3 bedrooms, and 2 full bathrooms are upstairs. Downstairs is the garage entryway/laundry room, one large 'great room,' and another full bathroom. The great room downstairs is our office/toy room. In reality, that means everything that we can't find a place for upstairs gets put downstairs so we can forget about it. Out of sight, out of mind - right?

One evening this week Connor wanted to jump on his trampoline that currently resides in our downstairs toy room. I hadn't planned on purging that evening, but I decided to make good use of my time down there. I ended up purging two bags of stuffed animals (WHY do people buy these...they were all gifts?!) to donate. I also purged one HUGE tub of toys, three trash bags full of toys, two baby gates, our travel system stroller, and several miscellaneous toys that wouldn't fit into anything to store in my brother's attic.

Toy Purge January 2013

Not pictured - several additional trash bags.

Ignore - iPhone picture with zero natural light.

In all honesty, I struggle with whether or not I should go ahead and sell all of our baby gear and toys, but since I go back and forth I decided it would be best to keep it for now.

We still have a lot to do down there. For starters, I want to get rid of this shelf of CDs we have (seen in picture). It's a huge danger when you have a toddler. All of the music has been loaded into iTunes, but my husband will not part with the CDs (what is this? 1999?). But I've at least convinced him to buy storage boxes/totes to put them in so we can get rid of the shelf and have more wall space and more space in general. Plus, I'd like for that to NOT fall on my child...or me, if I'm being honest.

I also plan to get sell most of my DVDs and VHS tapes. We never use them, they simply take up space. Again, convincing my husband of this will be the biggest challenge. Maybe I can at least convince him to store them in a box or something. If we do that, it will free up an entire bookshelf that we can completely get rid of (or move somewhere else) which will give us even more space down there.

Our downstairs already looks so much better. We are working on painting the trim and replacing the doors throughout our house. Once we finish that project, we plan to paint the great room, purchase a new couch/sectional, and possibly get a new computer desk/work area that better fits our needs.

Yay for 2013 and yay for organization!

iPhone Picture Dump

2013-01-10T07:00:00.000-05:00

I have been horrible about taking pictures with our 'real' camera recently. It's something I need to work on. But with my iPhone 5 in my reach at all times, it's hard to do! I thought I would share several pictures from the past several weeks, including Christmas!

I hope he never figures out the right way to wear them!

Snow at Mawmaw and Pawpaw's

Before his Thanksgiving Luncheon and Program at school

Before the Polar Express Train Ride

Fort!

Enjoying a treat at TCBY

Precious, sleepy boy

Enjoying a milkshake the same day he got tubes put in his ears

Mickey Mouse ears!

LOVING his new train table and new train pieces!

Cookies, anyone?

A rare picture of mommy with Connor

You mean you don't eat cheese puffs like this?