What's Cookin' with the Johnstons

Coffee Date Friday

2013-05-24T19:29:00.000-05:00

I wasn't able to get a vlog for this morning, so I'm going to write to you as if we were having coffee today!

If we were having coffee today:

I would tell you that I've had a very busy week of travel. One that I'm excited to share with you in June!
I would probably show you our front hall closet in our new house - it is home to 3-4 winter coats, my BOB stroller, and an awesome Dyson. The BOB and the Dyson are two of my favorite things that we own. I love the BOB because it makes taking Wesley for walks possible. And I love the Dyson because my sweet Aunt and Uncle bought it for us when they were visiting. My uncle said, "Hey! I'm taking you to Costco and you can get whatever vacuum you want!" And off to Costco we went. I absolutely adore my new Dyson. It's beautiful and makes vacuuming fantastic!
I would tell you about this delicious meal I made a few nights ago. We had 3 chicken breasts, 1/2 an onion chopped, one sweet potato, mushrooms, and about 6 small yukon golds. I decided to cook the chicken breasts in a dutch oven with a little bit of olive oil. Once they were cooked, I pulled them out and shredded them in the kitchenaid. (toss them in and run it on low with the paddle attachment until the chicken is shredded) While the chicken was shredding, I cooked the onions while chopping the potatoes into small pieces. Then I tossed in the potatoes and sliced mushrooms and salted everything. I let the potatoes cook for about 30 minutes or until they were tender. Then I noticed that we had some ranch seasoning...We normally don't use packaged seasoning, but I bought the ranch to make salad dressing once and thought it would be good on the potatoes. I sprinkled that on the potatoes, stirred it up, and added the chicken. I let that cook for a little longer until everything had time to get friendly in the dutch oven. Bam. It was delicious.
I'd tell you about how hard it is to travel because it means time away from my boy. I hate missing so many moments with him and cannot wait for things to settle down a little bit! There's still more traveling this summer, but he will go with me for most of my trips. Yay!
We tried to teach Wesley baby sign when he turned 6 months old. We started with more and moved to all done. He didn't pick it up quickly and it didn't help with communication. We still use more and all done, but opted not to introduce more signs because they weren't helpful for him. He's become much more vocal recently and has mastered many words, including more. I decided the other day that it was time for him to learn please. I went to hand him his pancake and said, "Say please, Wesley." and he signed please. Seriously? Way to go, new school. You rock at teaching my kid things I can't.

What are you up to today? What would you share with me if we had coffee? Have any awesome plans for Memorial Day?

Poop, pee, and what it means to be a mom.

2013-05-22T04:30:00.000-05:00

Every parent has dealt with poop in the bathtub. It's inevitable. Someday your kid will poop in the bath. I wish there was a way to avoid it, but I haven't been able to find one. It's just a risk of washing your kids...and washing is essential. I don't know what normal people do when their kid poops in the tub, but this is what I did.

The other night I was bathing Wesley and Jarrod was making dinner. Wesley grunted and bam. Poop in the tub. Wesley had soap in his hair and I wasn't really sure what to do. I screamed for Jarrod, grabbed Wesley, and walked to the hallway.

"You take the tub and I'll take Wes," I bark at my husband as I run to the other bathroom. I went into our bathroom and ran the shower. I can count on one hand the number of times Wesley has been in the shower, but I wasn't really sure what else to do. I stripped myself down, all while holding a naked and wet toddler covered in soap. We got in the shower and cleaned off. I got the soap off of him while he screamed and clung to me. He was terrified.

Because Jarrod was cleaning the tub, I had to navigate Wesley and I getting out of the shower. I grabbed a towel and wrapped us both up, drying all his hair while I went. We were singing a song and having a great time. Then I felt warm...

That's right. Pee. Wesley peed on me. Right after we got out of the shower. Right after he pooped in the bath.

This is what it means to be a mom, right? And I didn't even mind. I was kind of impressed!

What do you do when your kid poops in the tub?

TV Watching Made Easier

2013-05-21T04:30:00.000-05:00

I wrote this post and scheduled it for today. However, this past weekend something bad happened. We were watching TV on Thursday evening. You know, the night of The Office finale, Scandal, and Grey's Anatomy. And our modem and cable box went out at 8:15pm. Jarrod went crazy for a little while and called AT&T. They were incredibly NOT helpful and told us that someone would be by with a new modem the next day between 8am-12pm. Thankfully, Fridays are Jarrod's days off and we had planend to stay around the house the following morning. The AT&T guy came, fixed the modem, and informed us that it was a refurbished model...which is why it broke after just 13 days of use. I called AT&T back and told them I was furious with the service we received and they took $10 off our bill ($5/day without service). Evidently $5/day is their rate for service. Not sure why then I pay $80/month... But anyway, they made it right within 24 hours, which is a good day for me. On with the original glowing review.

Jarrod and I moved last week and one of the best parts of the move for me was switching cable providers. I know that's crazy, but I was so frustrated with various issues for nearly 2 years in our last place. We chose Time Warner when we moved to Dallas because it was easy. We had a few steps up from basic cable, one DVR box, and internet.

Let me note here that this is a ridiculous post. Children are dying, elderly are starving, and the world is a scary place. And yet I'm complaining about cable. I know. I also know that we live frugally and cable doesn't normally fit into a frugal lifestyle.

The issues began almost immediately. When our cable was hooked up, they didn't hook up our second TV. Problem. They had to come out again and hook it up. Inconvenient, but definitely not the end of the world. When the problem is on the company, I selfishly expect some kind of compensation or apology. That didn't happen and I began to get a sinking suspicion that I'd regret choosing Time Warner.

Over the course of 23 months our cable box went out not once, but twice. Completely died for absolutely no reason. Which meant we lost all of our DVRed shows and settings. Note: I like to set the favorite channels so I don't need to scroll through 84,008,279 channels anytime I want to watch anything. Do you do that too? We also always have several hours worth of shows saved on the DVR at any given time. All lost at a moments notice. Again, inconvenient. When your box breaks you have two choices: waiting 5-6 days for a repair person to come out and fix it (what we did the first time) or return our box and pick up a new one. The nearest location is about 20 minutes away, but that's what we did the second time.

The service was spotty, internet incredibly slow, and customer service was a joke. I mentioned switching or cancelling to Jarrod many times. He felt that this was our only option and didn't want to sacrifice without cable.

We could live without cable and the internet. We have chosen to fit this luxury into our budget because it makes life a little easier. We can work from home and need internet to do so.
We have researched Netflix/Hulu/internet watching vs. having cable. Between Jarrod's love of the UFC and our mutual love of the Food Network, this isn't a good option for us. If it is for you, that's awesome!

I think cable companies make you think that they are the only option. You pay a ton of money each month for bad service. If Time Warner were a restaurant I'd stop eating there and I'd tell all my friends to stop eating there too. But since it's cable, we continue to blindly pay each month. It's insane. You are all my friends and now I'm telling you that it's insane.

When we moved we knew we wouldn't continue with Time Warner. We'd heard great things about AT&T's Uverse. I checked it out and could order it online. Done and done. We bundled the cable option and internet option and saved some money. In fact, we're saving about $40/month for the exact same package. Except with Uverse, it's better. And here's why:

More channels. We now get some fancy UFC channel that makes Jarrod really happy. We also get the Cooking Channel. It makes me really happy.
Better interface. The remote is smaller and the interface on the TV is much more intuitive.
Easy fast forward. You know when you're watching a show on the DVR and you go to fast forward through the commercials but you go to far forward and have to rewind again? Making you wish you would have just watched the commercial because of the hassle fast forwarding and rewinding? Our new remote will fast forward and then when you hit play again it jumps back 2 seconds. It's magical.
WAY more space on the DVR. Jarrod says our new DVR will hold 400 hours of shows. (or something like that.) He said our old DVR only held 30 hours. I don't know if this is true, but I do know that our old DVR made us delete stuff all the time and we never had that many shows on it.
We can record up to 4 shows at the same time! I don't know why we'd ever need to do that because we really don't watch that much TV, but how cool is that?
It's cheaper. We're saving at least $40/month. That's great!
The wireless router is included in the cost of the internet. This was not the case with Time Warner - we used our own wireless router. This could be the reason it was so slow before...

Why am I telling you this? Perhaps you have a cable service that you hate and are looking for alternatives. Uverse is awesome. Time Warner is not. Perhaps you have a service provider that you hate - one that each time you write the check or pay online you get angry. STOP! You have options! Unless there's a monopoly (some states have monopolies on energy and some towns do for water, etc) you can switch!

Have you ever felt trapped by a service provider? What do you do when you receive bad service?

Why I Stopped Starting...

2013-05-20T04:30:00.000-05:00

Some of you may be wondering why I stopped writing my weekly posts about Jon Acuff's Start. I'm still making my way through the amazing book, but I lost my motivation. I wrote here about how I was trying to drive as much traffic to his book site in competition with other Blissdom bloggers in hopes to win a trip to Nashville to have dinner with Jon Acuff and Dave Ramsey. I'm still convinced that no one wanted the trip as badly as I did, but I didn't win.

In fact, I didn't even make the top five. I'm confident I was #6, though.

I got an e-mail in my inbox several weeks before the end of the competition encouraging me (and everyone else!) to keep up the good work. The e-mail also included the top 5 bloggers. The email was positive and said that there were only a few points between the top bloggers and to keep working hard until May 1st. But my name wasn't on the list. At. All.

I was so bummed. I tried hard not to be bummed. I considered keeping up the good work and still writing, reading, and pretending I was #1. But the other 5 bloggers were all big name bloggers and I figured one of them would win. I was bitter, frustrated, and upset. I really wanted to win.

So I completely stopped reading. I still carried Start in my purse, but I wasn't reading it at all. I was mad. I don't know who I was mad at, but I was mad. I tried my hardest and didn't win. I was proud of my effort, but I wasn't going to win. These things happen. I'm so thankful I started, pushed myself, and shared my thoughts. I am disappointed I stopped.

The bottom line is that I didn't do it to win. Of course I wanted to win, but I did it for the same reason I write just about anything - to help others. I hope that some of you read my posts about Start and were inspired to start. I hope that some of you were inspired to read Jon Acuff's book because you needed a good kick in the pants. But when I didn't win, I forgot what my motivation was. I gave up. And that's not cool.

So it'll be back. I'll write more of my thoughts and what I got from the book. Honestly, I'm still processing it. I'm figuring out what I want to start. I'm figuring out what I've mastered and how I can guide others.

Anyway, I've been feeling guilty that I just stopped starting for y'all. I wanted to come clean. I had a temper tantrum. But I'm back now. :-)

Coffee Date #3

2013-05-17T04:30:00.000-05:00

Look at this! I'm vlogging for the 3rd time in a row! I'm linking up with Alissa from Rags to Stitches again this week for Coffee Date.

A couple of disclaimers:

My dryer was going and you can hear clinking in the background. So sorry about that!
Yes, I talk about bras. Here's your warning.
I got a text message about halfway through and there's a weird vibrating sound. That's what that was.

If we were having coffee, what would you want to share?

Stubborn Little Boy

2013-05-15T04:30:00.000-05:00

On Monday I wrote about Wesley's new school. We love it and love the sweet little boy he is growing into. However, over the past few weeks of incredible transition, we've also discovered how strong-willed and stubborn our little man is. He's just 16 months old and doesn't communicate well at all. He prefers to point even when we insist on baby sign. The lack of communication is frustrating to him, I know. But he's also learning the meaning of no.

Of course he's also turning into a toddler - fits are frequent and he's sharing his opinions and preferences. He is a stubborn and strong-willed child. We are working on redirecting, ignoring, and setting boundaries. Rationally, I know it's completely normal, but it hurts my heart each time I have to hold him down to change his diaper or brush his teeth.

Mealtime is especially frustrating. For example, dinner is often more frustrating and aerobic than relaxing and enjoyable. We feed Wesley whatever we are eating - no special means and no "kid food." This went well for a long time but the past few weeks he decides each day what he likes and what he doesn't like. Something he would eat the day before, he won't even put in his mouth just a day later. In fact, he'll SCREAM, throw his arms around, and shut his mouth as tight as he can. If we force food into his mouth, he'll usually realize it's not poison and eat until he decides he's no longer interested. We are interested in making sure that he's not a picky eater, but this might be backfiring on us!

We have tried redirecting his attention to something else, encouraging him when he does well, and ignoring bad behavior. We know that fits and temper tantrums are going to happen, but the frequency of them are starting to stress me out. I'm not entirely sure the best way to deal with this behavior. We LOVED Baby Wise and would love another book like this that might help me navigate the toddler years. I've heard that On Becoming Toddlerwise, Happiest Toddler on the Block, and Love and Logic are excellent resources. I haven't read any of them, but they are all on my reading list. :-)

And do you have any advice for me on books or resources on how to best parent my sweet boy? Any stories of a stubborn or strong-willed kid of your own? Misery loves company, you know. :-)

Some of those links are affiliate links but Amazon.com doesn't know I exist and I've never made more than a few pennies.

Mother's Day 2013

2013-05-14T04:30:00.001-05:00

I had the most beautiful Mother's Day. In spite of my child being a tantrum-throwing toddler, we really enjoyed the day. Jarrod woke up early and went to church. Wesley actually slept in, which would have been delightful had I not gotten up early in hopes to take him for a walk before church. Luckily, I used the time to get things done before he woke up. After he got up we ate breakfast and got ready for church. The sermon at church was from a minister who is battling infertility. It was honest, authentic, and moving. Mother's Day sermons can tend to be fluffy and I was overwhelmed with the depth of emotion brought this year.

After church we went home for a quick and light lunch. Jarrod got to making some sweet potato chips and I went for a walk while Wesley napped. Once Wes woke up, we played, read books, and played music. Around 3:30pm we walked to the park! We have a fabulous park just 1/2 a mile from our house, which is awesome!

Jarrod packed a picnic early dinner. He made grilled chicken salad sandwiches, sweet potato chips, and crackers and brie. It was incredible and relaxing. Wesley was so good and loves playing at the park. There's actually a small jungle gym just for toddlers at our park, which rocks. Wesley can run and play without worrying about him falling or getting scared. The slides are even small enough for him to go down by himself. As long as I'm at the top and Jarrod's at the bottom to catch him!

After the park, we went home and gave our messy kid a bath. After bathtime we read stories and played in Wesley's room. After Wesley went to bed, Jarrod and I enjoyed a glass of wine and ice cream. I am well aware that wine doesn't "go" with ice cream. But that's just silly. Ice cream - good. Wine - good!

What did you do for Mother's Day? Did you get any pictures with your little ones? I obviously didn't do that!

First Day of School!

2013-05-13T04:30:00.000-05:00

Over a month ago when Jarrod began his new job, Wesley started at a new school. His previous daycare was right down the street from Jarrod's church. Because I work all over the place, it makes sense for Wesley's school to be near Jarrod's job. Thankfully, there's a preschool right in Jarrod's new church!

These pictures are already over a month old - Wesley is so much bigger now. He still looks like a baby in these pictures. But this is him and daddy on their way to school for the very first time. It's quite a drive, so I say goodbye before they head one way and I go the other.

Wesley has grown so much because of our new situation. He walks himself down the hall to school each day, even attempting to open the door of his classroom all by himself. A month ago he was walking, but crawling was still quicker. Now he's never crawling and walks everywhere. He was 16 months this past weekend and is definitely more of a kid than a baby.

He talks all the time. Literally nonstop. He reads books to himself, usually upside down, and tells us stories all the time. We rarely know what he's talking about because he doesn't have all the words down yet, but he knows what he means.

His new school is wonderful. He's getting great care and is learning a lot. He's in a room with 6 other children very close in age to him. He has a schedule, naps at school, and is happy. We are incredibly blessed.

How do you commemorate the first day of school with your kids?

Coffee date week 2

2013-05-10T07:32:00.004-05:00

That's right - I'm vlogging two weeks in a row! This video is completely unedited...in fact, I haven't even watched it to be sure I'm not incredibly awkward.

So, here you go! Feel free to leave comments or questions - I'd love to hear from you!

Just like last week, I'm linking up with Alissa from Rags to Stitches!

Happy Mother's Day to me! {Lisa Leonard Review}

2013-05-08T04:30:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago I was checking out some of my favorite blogs and I discovered that I'd won a giveaway from Bits of Splendor! Winning a giveaway is always fun, but this one was special because it was a $50 gift certificate to Lisa Leonard Designs! I'm probably the last person on the planet to discover the amazing Lisa Leonard, but now that I have, I'm obsessed.

I actually met Lisa at Blissdom - her breakout session was absolutely fantastic and has not only introduced me to new blogs, but influenced my writing. If you don't follow her blog, you should. She's absolutely adorable.

If you've never seen her jewelry, get excited. It's custom, handmade, and fair trade.

A few days after winning the giveaway, I received this beautiful envelope in the mail.

Definitely the most beautiful giftcard I've ever received!

Before the giftcard arrived, I had a few days to check out the website and pick out exactly what I wanted. I had been checking out this mama necklace - I even sent a link to Jarrod so that he knew what I wanted for Mother's Day. Once the giftcard arrived, I decided to let Jarrod pick a few things out and we'd pretend this was my official Mother's Day gift.

He initially picked out these gorgeous blue earrings but I opted instead to get two pairs of earrings from the Hope{full} fair trade earrings.

I was so excited when the package arrived!

How gorgeous are these bags? Each piece of jewelry was individually wrapped and so special.

I seriously cannot wait to wear these earrings. I went with these and these. I will be planning my outfits for the rest of the week around these gorgeous earrings.

I'd just come back from a walk with Wesley, but I immediately put the necklace on and do not plan to take it off except for sleeping. It's just so gorgeous!

I wasn't paid or perked at all. I received the gift certificate randomly with no expectation to write a review. I just wanted to share my thoughts and spread the Lisa Leonard Designs magic with you!

Wardrobe Malfunction

2013-05-07T05:00:00.000-05:00

On Sunday mornings we go to church. Jarrod works in the church and I work for lots of churches. We love church. But taking Wesley to church is always an adventure. Because Jarrod works there and has to be out of the house before the sun is up, Wesley and I are on our own on Sunday mornings. I try to wake up before Wesley so that I'm showered and done before he needs me. This particular Sunday morning I got a shower before he woke up, thanks be to God. My hair wasn't dry, makeup was not on, and I'd not decided what to wear, but at least I was clean!

After getting Wesley up, we ate breakfast and he managed to not get any yogurt in his hair. It was a miracle. There isn't much time for playing on Sunday mornings, but I try to occupy him with singing and stories while we get ready. He plays in his pack 'n play while I get ready so that he doesn't play in the toilet when I turn my back for .03 seconds. He isn't a fan of the pack 'n play but it's about the only time we let him watch Dinosaur Train, so he complies mostly.

This particular Sunday was just our second Sunday morning at our new church. We were going to be introduced to the church and I wanted to look the part. Pastor's families wear nice clothes, right? I opted for no pantyhose. I just can't do it. Wesley wore a cute plaid button-up shirt and I wore my Easter dress from several years ago. Check!

I should note here that I was a little hesitant about the dress. It's beautiful, but was made for a much skinnier, pre-Wesley Leanne. It is also slightly fancier than I am used to. I wasn't sure about our new church getting the wrong idea about me. I'm no where close to being put together!

But I was so proud of us. We live quite a ways from our new church and we were actually packed and in the car with plenty of time to get there. Wesley had a snack, water, diapers, and wipes in his bag. I didn't pack a purse because two bags for one mama is one too many. We were a few blocks from the church and I reached around Wesley's carseat at a stoplight to tickle him.

CRAP.

The strap from my dress tore at the seam. I wish I had a picture, but I have since thrown the dress away. This would be a much better blog post with a picture. The malfunction wasn't obscene, but it did make the dress not fit and showed my bra strap. I had a shawl, but that wasn't going to fix anything. Quick - could I make it back home and back in time? Nope. What to do?

I called my husband praying he had a few free seconds.

"Jarrod. It's an emergency. Please meet me in the front of the church with a stapler. That's all. Everything's fine. Love you!"

I didn't give him time to ask questions. When I arrived, carrying Wesley, his bag, and my shawl, Jarrod was standing there is his pastor's robe holding a stapler. I kissed him, he unlocked his office door, and left. Thankfully Jarrod has a hand drum in his office so Wesley was occupied for a few minutes. Jarrod also has a window in his office door...

So, I climbed into Jarrod's office closet, leaving the door cracked just enough for light and to hear Wesley banging the drum. "Good job, little man!" I say as I take off my dress. It doesn't come all the way off, just enough to turn around to staple the seam back in place. Three good staples and we're good to go again! I wrap myself in the shawl, pretending it's for warmth even though my blood pressure is keeping me quiet warm, and off we go!

Wesley's dropped in the nursery and I'm only a few minutes late to Sunday School. It's such a glamorous life!

I'm linking my confession up today with Heather at Cookies for Breakfast.

Choosing a Carseat

2013-05-06T04:30:00.000-05:00

The second most scary thing towards the end of my pregnancy was bringing the baby home. The first, of course, was labor. Jarrod says that the drive home from the hospital was even more tense than the drive to the hospital. And just a reminder that our drive to the hospital was a few short hours before Wesley arrived! Obviously keeping our boy safe in the car is one of our number 1 priorities.

This week alone I had three separate friends ask me about my choice for car seat. My friends know that I do a lot of research before making large and important purchases. Partially because I don't like spending money and partially because I'm thorough. I posted on facebook when Wesley was about 6 weeks old asking for advice on a convertible car seat. I got incredible advice pointing mostly to the Britax Marathon or Boulevard or the Graco My Ride 65. But advice from friends wasn't good enough for me. I took it several steps further!

After getting real life advice from my friends, I hit up Lucie's List to see what Meg had to say about convertible car seats. I love her posts and find them to be generally incredibly helpful. She had several suggestions with the Britax Boulevard topping the charts (at least in terms of investment!). After Lucie's List, I checked out The Bump. I was already leaning towards the Britax Marathon or Boulevard, so I was excited to see the Marathon listed at the safest car seat. From there I checked amazon.com. I love reading reviews and enjoyed seeing that most people liked the Britax Marathon and Boulevard. I wasn't willing to pay to see Consumer Reports lists, but through some blog reading discovered that the Britax seats were rated very high.

We decided to go with the Britax Marathon as our main car seat. We opted for that over the Boulevard because the differences seemed almost exclusively for comfort and the price difference (about $30) didn't seem worth it. For our secondary vehicle, the one Wesley is only in occasionally, we opted for the Graco My Ride 65. It was consistently ranked just below the Britax Marathon so we were comfortable with that option.

We have had both car seats for over a year now and love both of them. We've had the Britax Marathon checked professionally and were told that it's one of the best on the market. It is one of the only seats that has a tether even when it is rear facing. The tether holds the seat to the frame of the front passenger seat, which makes the seat that much more secure. The Britax Marathon is a beast. It's a huge car seat but fits just fine in our Honda Accord. The Graco My Ride 65 is smaller and has less comforts (it isn't as padded and lacks the tether) but it does have cup holders and is much easier to install.

Overall, we are very pleased with both seats. We purchased both seats on amazon.com with free shipping. I've said this before and I'll say it again, if and when we have another baby, I will skip the infant car seat and go straight to the convertible. I love wearing my baby and found the infant seat to be heavy, cumbersome, and after 6 weeks stopped using it altogether. I know many disagree and prefer the infant carseat. It's just personal preference.

Here are a few other articles that are helpful in making sure that your baby is secure in their car seat:

How did you choose your car seat?

Coffee Date with me!

2013-05-03T04:30:00.000-05:00

For months I've watched bloggers share coffee dates. I love reading Jenna is up to when she shares coffee virtually with me. More recently I've loved listening to Alissa from Rags to Stitches talk to me each week about her kids, husband, and exercise schedule. I got to meet Alissa at Blissdom several weeks ago and have loved getting to know her even better through her blog. I've also enjoyed listening to Heather's New England accent when she shares in the coffee date.

Each week I've thought, "Wouldn't it be fun to join in? I've never done a vlog before!" In fact, I've thought that every Friday morning when I see all these coffee date blog posts popping up!

Aren't you lucky that today is the day! I decided to set aside some time this past week to vlog. Pull up a chair, grab a cup of coffee, and let's chat!

Here are a few notes:

This is the dress I'm wearing in the video. I actually wore it earlier in the day. This is the dress I want - I bought the exact same dress in gray but now can't find the striped one in my size anywhere!
I won the sunglasses from Candy at Slightly Overcaffeinated
Here's the Lisa Leonard necklace I purchased and I got these teal earrings and these green ones.

What's going on in your world?

Desire to Inspire {Our Journey to Parenthood through Miscarriage}

2013-05-02T05:00:00.000-05:00

I got to meet sweet Amanda from A Royal Daughter at Blissdom several weeks ago. She is precious and I always love meeting other curly-haired women who love Jesus. :-) I've just started getting into her blog and I'm struck by her authenticity, honesty, and the incredible community she's created.

Last week Amanda wrote a beautiful series of posts about infertility. I prayed through each one - honoring the women and men who are fighting each day to grow a baby. I gave God thanks for my precious little man who looks just like me when he smiles and has his daddy's hair. I've touched on our own fertility adventure before, but I haven't shared the details. Mostly because of intense shame. But I was inspired by Amanda's honesty and my prayer by sharing our story is to inspire others.

I got pregnant on the first try. In fact, I got pregnant on the first try twice. My first pregnancy was short - I only knew about it for about 7 days - but it forever changed my life. I don't talk about it much because it seems to pale in comparison to other's pain. It's not like the pain of years of infertility It's not like the pain of losing a child. But it's painful and it's my pain.

It's also complicated. I got pregnant the first month I stopped taking the pill. Jarrod and I were not quite officially trying to have a baby, but we were ready. My doctor knew of my intentions and cleared us to begin trying. But no one gets pregnant on their first try, right? We had plenty of time to worry about getting pregnant.

But on February 22, 2011 I saw two lines and knew that my life was forever changed. I immediately felt sick, regret, and fear. The timing wasn't right - we were living far from our families and I couldn't wrap my brain around having a baby by Halloween. It was all happening too fast. Not to mention late October is not a good time to have a baby if you are a 3-day participant. These things all seem very selfish now, but at the time, they were intensely real. I wasn't ready.

Over the next week or so I was a rollercoaster of emotions. I was filled with guilt at wishing I could walk in the 3-day, praying that my desire wasn't making the baby feel unwanted. I was so excited - baby shoes, names, and cravings consumed me. It's a good thing that Pinterest wasn't around then or all my free time would have been spent planning the nursery.

And then I started bleeding. I immediately called the doctor. They ordered two rounds of tests. Within 24 hours I knew the pregnancy wasn't viable. The tests confirmed that my progesterone wasn't increasing like it should. I blamed myself - I was too selfish, too scared, and not ready. I was devastated. Jarrod was devastated. The baby we were so scared of became so real and so loved in just 7 short days.

2 months later, we were pregnant again. Much more cautious, we waited, talked to the doctor, and took it easy before getting too excited. We moved, kept the secret, and finally were in the clear at about 12 weeks. We were so excited. The miscarriage proved to us how badly we wanted a baby. We weren't scared of being pregnant anymore but were just ecstatic about loving a little baby.

The day of our original due date came in late October. I was nearly 7 months pregnant - HUGE pregnant, really. I spent the day crying and it wasn't until lunchtime that I realized why. We were supposed to have a baby HERE. I felt like a crazy person. Who cries about a miscarried baby at 6 weeks when you're huge-tastic pregnant with a perfectly healthy baby?

Me. I cried. I mourned. I was so sad.

I talk about that first pregnancy from time to time. Jarrod doesn't understand, but I think about it as the first time I was pregnant with Wesley. The timing wasn't right, so I got to be pregnant with him again. It's the only way I can manage. I cannot think about who that first baby would be. Call it what you will, but I need to think of that first baby as just a baby Wesley that needed a little more time.

From the outside, our journey to a family of three looks effortless. It definitely didn't take any time at all, that's for sure! But there was a lot more pain than at first glance. I understand loss, pain, frustration, and regret because of this part of our journey. I am still incredibly thankful for the ease in which we got pregnant with Wesley. I pray if we choose to add to our family through pregnancy again, it is just as simple. And I pray for peace and babies for those longing in the midst of infertility.

How do you inspire others? Do you have a story to share or a message to give others in the midst of pain? Consider linking up with A Royal Daughter or reading some inspiration and leading your thoughts!

April 2013 Goals Update

2013-05-01T04:00:00.000-05:00

We started this year by planning out our goals on a monthly basis. Each month I bring you our update... After "knocking it out of the park" in March, April was a bust. We stayed on track, but things have changed incredibly in our life since we made these goals. It's a little disappointing to see it in black and white, but I suppose that's accountability.

Here are our April goals:

visit Nashville to scream, "We're debt free!!!"
Jarrod becomes a certified candidate for ordained ministry in the United Methodist Church
Jarrod reads one non-fiction & Leanne reads one book
Do something special for Leanne's birthday
Try a new recipe
Leanne walk 75% of days

I guess it's really #1 that upsets me so much. We still aren't debt free, so there was no trip to Nashville this month. It's okay - we'll be debt free very soon. We've push pause on our debt snowball for a few months. We are in the midst of a big move, job transition, and a lot of travel. In June or July, we will hit play again, put all of our savings on debt, and be debt free, God willing. Once we're debt free, we'll plan our trip to Nashville. It pains me that we're not debt free yet when I was so sure we would be when we started the year. But we're still on target and will be before too long.

1. Nope.

2. Yes! Jarrod was certified on April 17th! If you're not familiar with the ordination process in the United Methodist Church, certification is the first door to walk through in the journey to ordination as an Elder. It's a very exciting opportunity for Jarrod and our family!

3. Done and done. I read Start, which I still recap for you very soon! Jarrod read When Christians Get It Wrong.

4. We did! We went to the zoo for my birthday and it was the best present ever.

5. Jarrod made these corn cakes and avocado salsa. They were decent, but Jarrod realized after the fact that he forgot the eggs. They would probably have been better with egg in the batter.

6. I did. Because of Start I've been waking up at 6am each day to walk at least 2 miles before Wesley wakes up. It's an incredible way to start my day. It also ensures that even if I don't walk in the evening after work, I have done 2 miles. On the weekends I've pushed myself to do 4-6 miles and it feels great.

Did you set goals this month? How did it go? How do you keep momentum when you've failed to meet some goals?

My husband rocks

2013-04-30T03:30:00.000-05:00

Literally. My husband can rock a guitar wearing a v-neck, dark washed denim, and Toms or Chuck Taylors. He is an incredibly talented worship leader and I love listening to him sing around the house. But that's not what I'm talking about today...Today I'm linking up with Amanda at A Royal Daughter and Rachael at The Growing Tree to talk about why my husband rocks.

Because he is so funny.
One of the first things I noticed about my husband is his humor. He's witty and has a smart sense of humor. Growing up in New Jersey, I was surrounded by biting sarcastic humor. Jarrod's humor is edifying and intelligent. He makes me laugh all the time but never attacks through humor.

Because he heals my past.
Jarrod's parents are still married but mine divorced 15 years ago. They were unhappily married long enough that it created some scars in me. While I've worked hard to overcome that, it creeps into my marriage every once and a while. We all have a tendency to do what we know and a lot of what I know is broken. Jarrod acknowledges that but helps me move past it. He doesn't see me as broken. It's a tough place to live - between acknowledging the hurt but not living there - and Jarrod does a perfect job.

Because he supports me.
Before we started dating I had all but given up on finding the one that I could fall into. I'd dated seriously before, thought I'd get married, and it didn't work. So I made a mental list of the qualities I was looking for in a life partner. The list included a lot of higher education, comfort in my career drive, progressive theology, membership in the United Methodist Church, and a plethora of other qualities including age, attractiveness, and personality. Jarrod knocked all of my expectations out of the park. The biggest being - he supports my career. He comes with me when he can, assists when asked, and plays the role of Mr. Leanne with grace.

Because he's the best father.
Wesley adores his daddy. Jarrod has patience and firmness with Wesley, but knows when it's time to play. Wesley has learned what it means when Jarrod says, "I'm going to get you!" Wesley's response is a lot of giggling and "running" as fast as his little legs will carry him. Jarrod will chase Wesley until Wesley falls over in a fit of giggles. There is tickling, laughter, and it warms my heart.

Jarrod also cares for Welsey in practical ways. We cloth diaper which means every day Wesley brings home a wetbag of dirty diapers from school. They are incredibly gross and my gag reflex cannot handle it. I could suck it up and empty the bag, but I don't have to. 9 times out of 10, Jarrod takes care of it. He makes sure that Wesley's backpack is packed for school each morning, knows the names of each of Wesley's teachers and classmates, and makes sure that Wesley is cared for during the day at school.

Because he's a great life partner.
Jarrod makes sure that I relax. I struggle with downtime because there's always something left to do. The house is never clean enough, work is never done, and there's always something I feel I should be doing. So Jarrod forces me to set boundaries so that I relax from time to time. He lets me watch what I want to watch on TV and doesn't subject me to the UFC or zombie shows. He's been known to watch the Bachelor, Bachelorette, and even enjoys Bachelor Pad because he knows it's brainless downtime for me.

Although not often enough, at least every few days I take an inventory of how fantastic my life is. I take a mental snapshot of Wesley and Jarrod and thank God for my beautiful life. It's not perfect, it's incredibly chaotic, and it's moving way to fast, but it's awesome!

Breastfeeding - A Journey

2013-04-29T05:00:00.000-05:00

If the title of this post is confusing, let me be clear - this post is about breastfeeding. If you aren't comfortable with that (or if you're my dad) find something else to read. How about Wesley's birthday celebration? Or perhaps candied bacon? Yes, try that.

If you're still reading, that means you're okay with me talking about breastfeeding. I'm sharing my story because everyone's journey is different. There is already a lot of breastfeeding stories but hopefully I can shed some different light on the subject. Recently I enjoyed Heather's post over at Cookies for Breakfast. I am also breastfeeding a toddler.

Before I got married, I knew lots of mamas with precious children. They either couldn't or didn't breastfeed, or just didn't talk to me about it. I knew very little about breastfeeding and what I did know, I wasn't interested in. It's amazing how education, experience, and time can change your perspective!

Fast forward many years. When Jarrod and I were ready to start our family, I began to I read stories about mamas who could not breastfeed for various reasons, continued breastfeeding until the child was well into toddlerhood, and decide not to breastfeed. I know and love mamas who never had the opportunity to breastfeed, made the decision not to, exclusively pumped, and exclusively breastfed. I love all of these mamas and enjoy their stories. I love when a mama gets what she wants. That's my favorite.

After reading, researching, and speaking with people specifically, I decided I was going to give breastfeeding a go. I set no expectations for myself, but begin to plan to breastfeed for as long as I was able. I researched breast pumps so that I would be able to continue to feed Wesley milk even after I went back to work. The whole process completely overwhelmed me in the beginning, but I set my mind on breastfeeding and I'm an incredibly stubborn girl. I even watched a breastfeeding DVD. Everything made it look easy. I knew in my head that it wasn't, but I was determined to give it all I had.

Our breastfeeding journey began shortly after Wesley's birth. I was able to nurse him almost immediately. It was a beautiful experience. He was little and perfect and didn't have teeth. It seemed very natural to me. I met with a lactation consultant and she was delightful. I knew most of what she told me, but it was nice to have someone to talk to about it. She even called one week after Wesley was born to check up on me. I told her everything was beautiful. It wasn't, but that's what I told her. It was supposed to be beautiful, so that's what I said.

Everything said that if you're doing it correctly, breastfeeding shouldn't hurt. That's crap. It hurts. I was doing it right, but it still hurts. It hurt to take a shower, sleep on my stomach and take off my bra. Not to mention every time I nursed Wesley it hurt. After about 4 weeks or so, the pain was lessening and eventually went away, but for a while it hurt a lot.

When Wesley was 9 weeks old I went back to work. I made the mistake of only pumping once a day. This caused my milk supply to go down temporarily. I started taking fenugreek and increased my pumping schedule to 2-3 times per work-day. It was challenging - my office didn't have a door and finding a private corner to pump was nearly impossible sometimes. I traveled for work and would pump in my car between workshops. I nearly crumbled under the stress. Working fulltime, commuting, lack of sleep, maintaining relationships, and daily life was taxing. Looking back, I'm not sure how I made it.

I stopped pumping by the time Wesley was about 1 year old. I was thrilled to put that pump in storage! Wesley nursed first thing in the morning and before bed nearly everyday. He skips a session every now and them - sometimes even days in a row. I keep thinking the end is here, but I think we have a few more weeks left. Our freezer is empty - when I travel overnight for work, Wesley gets soymilk before bed and seems perfectly content. Sometimes after I'm gone for a while he will snuggle up next to me and cry. He enjoys nursing for comfort.

I don't talk about this much. In fact, many of my closest friends probably don't even know I'm still nursing. It feels taboo, but I know I'm not alone. I never thought I'd be nursing a baby, let alone a toddler...with teeth!

Did you nurse your babies? What were your struggles or triumphs?

Wesley, the walking ninja!

2013-04-26T08:50:00.000-05:00

A few months ago Jarrod was home with Wesley while I was at a meeting. I received a text message from him that said,

Wesley just walked 10 feet because he thought I wasn't watching!

We knew our kid had the ability to walk, but we'd only seen him take a step or two. Turns out, he's a Walking Ninja! Unlike with most things, Wesley doesn't like attention on him when he's walking. He loves attention when doing just about anything else, but not walking!

My kid can out crawl any baby I've ever seen. It's an incredible effective and efficient mode of transportation for Wesley. If I turn my back for a moment, or heaven forbid need to use the bathroom, Wesley will crawl through the whole house and end up playing with shoes in our closet before I can locate him! I thought that because he was such a quick crawler, that he would be a fast walker. I expected him to walk by 11 months or so. I was wrong!

When he hit his first birthday and was still not walking, I was concerned. He was pulling up on things and was developmentally average, but my mama-heart was breaking because he wasn't "advanced." I know I shouldn't rush walking, but I want my boy to be the best at everything! Jarrod and I started practicing with him and giving him opportunities to walk assisted - with a walker, push toys, our hand, etc.

He quickly found games in pushing chairs around the room, but was not walking unassisted. Crawling was simply the quickest option! We weren't "concerned" but we were trying to do the best we could to assist Wesley in walking when he was ready. I addressed it with his precious teachers at school. At first they didn't tell me anything - they'd learned the hard way that mamas can get hurt if they aren't the first one to see their baby walk... Around this time Wesley started taking steps here and there. Nothing consistent, but we knew he was capable of walking.

His teachers started talking about Wesley walking at school. One day he spent his time playing soccer at school - walking and kicking a ball all over his class. If you gave him a lot of attention, he wouldn't perform, but he was perfectly capable and comfortable walking at school...just not at home.

It took him several weeks before he began walking unassisted at home. Our boy, who is normally one to seek out attention, was practicing when no one was looking. He didn't want the cheers when we'd catch him and definitely didn't want attention until he'd perfected his steps. We started calling him the walking ninja.

Thankfully, he's no longer a ninja and now walks everywhere we go. He is learning the importance of holding a hand, but really prefers his freedom. He walks the full hallways to his classroom at school and when he falls, he pushes himself right back up again. We are so proud.

Because everyone deserves a lifetime

2013-04-24T06:58:00.003-05:00

The tagline for the Susan G. Komen 3-day for the Cure is "because everyone deserves a lifetime." Over the past few weeks I lost count of the number of people I'm praying for who are battling cancer. I have a list on my phone so that I can pray for them by name, but the list is getting incredibly long.

A sister battling ovarian cancer, a mother diagnosed with breast cancer, and a grandfather who learns he has prostate cancer, a mother who lost her battle and leaves behind 4 beautiful children...

In 2007 I decided that I was going to walk 60 miles in 3 days in memory of my grandmother who passed away before I was born. I knew a small handful of women who were also battling breast cancer. I've walked in 6 Komen 3-day events since then, met hundreds of survivors and friends, and lost all of those women I initially started walking for. There are a beautiful group of pink angels looking out for me.

Since 2008 when I officially joined the Komen 3-day family, I have met countless fighters, survivors, and those who walk with purpose because they lost someone special. It breaks my heart each time I see a picture on someone's shirt with dates on the bottom. That represents a life cut short. Someone lost their lifetime.

This month two people in my world have lost their fight with cancer. One was Bridget Spence, a former coworker and incredible inspiration. Diagnosed with breast cancer at just 21 years old, Bridget spent 8 years fighting and living. She married her Big Man just a few months after Jarrod and I were married. She was never healthy enough to have a child. When I think about Bridget I live my life with a renewed sense of purpose and energy. She lost her lifetime just a few weeks ago and the world will never be the same because of her life.

I hug my little man tighter when I hear the news of diagnosis or death. I pray that we can find a cure before he ever loses someone in his life. I pray he won't have to live without his mama, Momo, Mimi, Nana, or friends because of cancer. I pray he will never worry about his wife losing her hair or breasts because of cancer. I pray for a cure.

And while praying is great, fighting is necessary too. You all know that the way I fight is to walk. Each year I make the commitment to walk 60 miles over 3 days while covering an entire city in pink because I believe everyone deserves a lifetime. Each year I am committed to walking and raising money to do something about cancer. In order to participate, each walker raises $2,300. This is not recommended, it's mandatory. Each year I've been able to do that because of you.

This year I'm asking for your help again. Would you please consider making a donation to join the fight against breast cancer? It's tax deductible and completely easy - you can make the donation online! I need to raise almost $2,000 and I know with your help I can do it.

If each of my facebook friends donates $2.11 today, I will meet my goal.
If each blog reader donates $4.80 today, I'll meet my goal.
If you donate what you can, you'll be part of the fight against breast cancer.

I believe in a world without breast cancer. Please join me in making sure everyone gets a lifetime.

Birthday Celebration

2013-04-23T10:10:00.001-05:00

Yesterday I should have posted the next few chapters from Jon Acuff's book Start. It was a very special day because it was the official release of the book. It was also a special day because it was my birthday yesterday! I took the weekend off from reading and writing and spent time with my aunt and uncle who are in town visiting from Arizona.

Yesterday instead of writing a post for you, I took the day off. I woke up and shared homemade waffles made with love by my sweet husband. He woke up very early to be sure that we all had waffles before we had to leave the house.

After breakfast, we packed up and left the house. I got my hair cut while the family killed some time. Before long, we were on our way to the Fort Worth Zoo!

We spent the better part of the day watching the animals. It was the most beautiful day. I love that my birthday is in late April because nearly every year the weather is perfection. This year was no different.

Our time at the zoo ended with a merry go 'round ride for Wesley and I. It was hands down the highlight of my day.

Wesley crashed on the way home from the zoo. When we got home we all took naps and it was awesome.

The day ended with cupcakes and singing, but I didn't get any pictures of that.

Thanks for letting me take a lazy day with my family!

Leanne's Wish List

2013-04-19T04:30:00.000-05:00

In honor of my birthday next Monday I will be sharing some interesting wish lists this week. On Tuesday I shared some of our favorite kitchen gadgets that either we have or we want. Wednesday you got Wesley's wish list, toys and useful items for a toddler. Yesterday it was Jarrod's turn to share what is on his wish list. Finally it's my turn! I know you've been waiting on the edge of your seat for my wish list. The wait is over!

1. Shoes

I'm still wearing walking shoes I purchased before I was pregnant. Since then, they've seen hundreds of miles. That is embarrassing since I've written about how important new shoes are. It's beyond time for new shoes and while I'll likely get fitted before purchasing, I'm fairly confident that these will be my new shoes.

2. Energy Saving Outlet

I've been talking about getting one of these for years. I'd love energy saving outlets for the whole house - cell phone chargers, computers, TV, and accessories. This one looks awesome for the entertainment center.

3. Maxi Dress - something like this with sleeves or like this without sleeves (from the Gap)

I've been toying with the idea of a maxi dress for several years and I think this is the year. Jarrod and I are headed to France later this year and I think a maxi dress will be the perfect way to travel in comfort and style. These look pretty but also comfortable enough to wear all day walking, traveling, and being outside. I could layer with a sweater or a jacket and flip flops or ballet flats.

4. Kindle Fire

Jarrod has one and I want one. I think I'm too thrifty for an iPad, although that would really be my preference of tablet. I already have a MacBook Air, so an iPad seems silly. In fact, so does a Kindle. ;-)

5. Travel Smart Adapter

As I said, Jarrod and I are headed to France and we will need at least one of these adapters for our electronics. We aren't going to travel with much, so we won't need one for everything, but we will need to be able to charge our phones a few times while we're traveling.

My list revolves around a lot of our travel plans. Anyone have experience traveling in Europe to share? It's a business trip for me so we don't have a lot of time to sight-see or do things on our own. But we're excited and I'll share our experiences once we are back!

Links are Amazon Affiliate links, but all opinions are completely mine. I was not provided with any products but would be happy to review something if you want to send it! ;-)

Jarrod's Wish List

2013-04-18T04:30:00.000-05:00

In honor of my birthday next Monday I will be sharing some interesting wish lists this week. On Tuesday I shared some of our favorite kitchen gadgets that either we have or we want. Yesterday you got Wesley's wish list, toys and useful items for a toddler. Today it's Jarrod's turn to share what is on his wish list. By Friday you'll be waiting on the edge of your seat for my wish list. And I promise that you won't be disappointed!

1. Smallville: The Complete Series on Bluray - AKA the greatest show that ever was.

Jarrod loves super hero TV shows. I know I should appreciate that, but I don't really. I try, but I just don't get it. That's okay. This is his wish list. :-)

2. Guy Fieri Knuckle Sandwich Block Set

We have knives but they are from Jarrod's bachelor days. I've read about Guy's knives and agree that they would probably be awesome to have.

3. All of Bobby Flay's grilling tools - mostly the pans

Jarrod loves to grill. He is slowing accumulating more and more tools to go with his love of grilling. While it confuses me that these tools are only at Kohl's, I'm in favor of more grill cooking because it means less mess and Jarrod does all the hard work... And delicious food!

4. Microsoft Surface Pro with all the bells and whistles

Jarrod recently started a new job. His previous job furnished him a laptop and while it was insanely old and incredibly slow, it gave him the ability to work from home. He only have a desktop at his new job and is trying to figure out a way to get one of these so that he can work and remote in from home, a coffee shop, etc. I'm trying to talk him into a Macbook Air, but that's because I'm a Mac girl.

5. Debt Freedom.

Jarrod practically Jesus Juked me on this one. We're very close to being debt free, but it is taking longer than we anticipated. Life has thrown some pretty intense and expensive curve balls at us this year. Jarrod's ready to be debt free because he has some awesome things in mind that would slightly change our budget each month... He says he would like more money for the following.

Raising the grocery budget to buy better wine, cheese, and fish. Better quality ingredients so I can experiment more with cooking.
More money for dates so that we can go out and try new foods but we don't give ourselves a lot of leeway to try new things.

Links are Amazon Affiliate links, but all opinions are completely mine. I was not provided with any products but would be happy to review something if you want to send it! ;-)

Wesley's Wish List

2013-04-17T04:30:00.000-05:00

In honor of my birthday next Monday I will be sharing some interesting wish lists this week. Yesterday I shared some of our favorite kitchen gadgets that either we have or we want. Today you get Wesley's wish list, toys and useful items for a toddler. On Thursday it's Jarrod's turn to share what is on his wish list. By Friday you'll be waiting on the edge of your seat for my wish list. And I promise that you won't be disappointed!

1. Play Kitchen

If you've spent any time around here you know that Jarrod and I love to cook. We hope to pass this love down to Wesley and a play kitchen is the best way to do that. Because we don't have the incredible skills that John and Sherry do, I imagine we'll need to purchase a play kitchen. We want some neutral that won't make our house look like Toys R Us.

2. Learning Tower

Many years ago I was a nanny for an 18 month old boy. He had one of these learning towers and it was fantastic. He'd play at the counter while I made him a snack. It was one of the best things I'd ever seen. I definitely want one for Wesley sooner than later. Perhaps we'll make one like Heather did!

3. ABC Blocks

Wesley LOVES balls but I think it's time for him to have some fun blocks to play with. These wooden blocks look like they'd be awesome for stacking and throwing. Let's be honest, Wesley is going to throw them. Maybe he'll learn how to spell in the process...

4. Fisher-Price Laugh and Learn Apptivity Case

The first time I saw this Wesley was about 5-6 months old. A friend of mind had a 1 year old and he played with her phone quietly in this case while we had coffee. I couldn't believe how entertained he was! I came home and immediately told Jarrod we needed to get one of these. He vetoed saying that Wesley didn't need any "screen time." Wesley wasn't interested in our phones at that time so I dropped the issue. Fast forward 6 months or so and Jarrod teaches Wesley to watch cartoons (PBS) on his Kindle. This toy is now fair game because Jarrod uses screen time way more than I do!

5. Wagon for Two

A few weeks ago a friend of mine and I took our kids to the zoo. We talked about how we wished we had a wagon so we could pull them in that rather than using two strollers. This one looks like it would be great for the zoo, walks to the park, or other outings. It'd be a good size for Wesley and a friend or Wesley alone with a bag of his stuff!

Links are Amazon Affiliate links, but all opinions are completely mine. I was not provided with any products but would be happy to review something if you want to send it! ;-)

Kitchen Wish List

2013-04-16T04:30:00.000-05:00

In honor of my birthday next Monday I will be sharing some interesting wish lists this week. Today I'll share some of our favorite kitchen gadgets that either we have or we want. Tomorrow you'll get Wesley's wish list, toys and useful items for a toddler. On Thursday it's Jarrod's turn to share what is on his wish list. By Friday you'll be waiting on the edge of your seat for my wish list. And I promise that you won't be disappointed!

Click on each item to be taken to a link with more information. Links are affiliate.

1. Cuisinart Greenware

We didn't get new cookware when we got married, so we're still using Jarrod's almost 10 year old set he got as a bachelor. I'd love non-stick but eco-friendly cookware and this one looks like one of the best! It has just about everything we'd need, including a steamer. Plus, it doesn't emit harmful gases. When we opt to replace our cookware, this is likely the set we'll purchase.

2. Stoneware Oval Casserole dish, loaf pan, and aluminum baking sheets (with more Silpats!)

If we are going to go green with our cookware, we should definitely go green with our bakeware too! I love the colors and styles of the Rachael Ray Stoneware casserole dishes. They are funky, colorful, and functional. I especially love the ones with the lids! And I think they would match our fiestaware also. The glass loaf pan isn't sexy, but it is necessary. Our non-stick ones are not only bad for us but they no longer non-stick and our bread gets stuck. Finally, aluminum is environmentally friendly and the silpats eliminate the need for non-stick!

3. Black and Decker Blender

Our old KitchenAid blender died a few weeks ago and I was forced to hunt for another one. While I'd love a Blendtec or vitamix, I just wasn't ready to shell out that kind of cash. After reading this post from Dusty, I decided the Black and Decker blender was the one for me. Not only is it much quieter than our old KitchenAid, but it's sleek and works quickly!

4. Food Processor

We got a food processor when we got married and I loved it. It sliced, shredded, and chopped. It was amazing. But after several moves, a few drops, and lots of cooking, it eventually saw it's end. Although we have a small chopper and a mandoline , I'm itching for a new food processor. This one is very pricey, but I think it could do everything I'd want it to and hopefully would last us more than 4 years. I love that this one has a nesting bowl and could see that being incredibly useful!

5. Ice Cream Maker

I've wanted an ice cream maker since before Jarrod and I got married. I love ice cream and think it would be so fun to make our own. Jarrod wouldn't even let me register for one...I think it's just because I wouldn't let him register for a frydaddy. Anyway, I think I've finally convinced him that an ice cream maker is an excellent idea and now that we have the KitchenAid mixer, this attachment is a no brainer.

Links are Amazon Affiliate links, but all opinions are completely mine. I was not provided with any products but would be happy to review something if you want to send it! ;-)

Start: Paring down and figuring out

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

Every Monday in April I will be writing a recap, review, or thoughts on the book Start by John Acuff. I'll cover about 2 chapters each week. I received an advanced copy of the book so I don't expect you to follow along (if you have one too, please join me!) but by April 22nd - in honor of my 31st birthday - you can have your very own copy. Pre-order it now and you'll also get $250 worth of other awesome goodies from Jon Acuff. All opinions are mine.

We are already on post #3 in my series reviewing the book Start. If you haven't read posts 1 and 2, I invite you to head over there now. The two chapters we'll cover today are about Editing and Mastering. In order to be awesome, it's important to scale back on what is most important and then practice that until you've mastered it!

My mom has always told me how scary change is. I grew up thinking change was a terrifying thing. I fought it for a long time. I hated change, introspection, or doing things differently than I'm used to. I imagine I'm not alone in this fear. But in order to be awesome and enjoy what you are doing with your life, change is inevitable.

We tend to add complexities to our challenges because if the problem is simple to solve, then we have to change. And change is scary (105).

If there is an area of your life that you want to change, identifying it is easy, but changing is harder. Jon Acuff compares this concept to hoarding. The hoarders made popular thanks to TLC clutter their lives with stuff, but we often clutter our lives with unrealized dreams. "The hopes you refuse to edit and learn to master don't rot so tangibly - at least at first" (106). Years pass while dreams remain ignored and eventually you'll wonder, how did I get here?

I will be 31 next week. I often look back on the past 10 years of my life and wonder "how did I get here?" In a lot of ways I wonder this with explanation points, not question marks - How did I get here!!! At 21 I had no idea I'd get my masters degree, land a fantastic job, have a wonderful husband, and a beautiful and healthy son. I am literally living a lot of my dreams. At the same time, in a lot of ways, I know exactly how I got here. I worked hard, aimed high, and didn't give up. While this section of the book deals a lot with jobs and vocations, it can be applied to all areas of your life. I'm working the job I love but there are many areas of my life that are not what I'm dreaming of. I want to do the things that I love both at work and at home. Identifying what brings you the most joy is crucial in being awesome.

In a fantastic analogy, Jon Acuff compares the valuables in our lives with diamonds. Diamonds are more valuable than ordinary rocks because we've assigned value to them. Throughout the day, I assign value to different things - choosing to give my time to them. Sometimes it's brainless TV, facebook, or gossip. That's not smart and something I have complete control over. What might happen if I assigned the most time to the things that I found to have the most importance in my life?

I'd spend more quality time with my son and husband
I would spend more time at work helping people and building relationships
I'd stop watching trashy TV and start reading more books
I'd give up on relationships that are toxic and focus on the ones that are life-giving

In short, I'd be awesome. Well, I'd be the most awesome Leanne that I possible could be. I'd be assigning value to the things that are really most important to me.

Want to find the rocks and diamonds in your life? Look at your calendar. Don't like what you find? Edit it. You own the calendar. (123)

One thing that can paralyze me in this phase is deciding what to focus on. My self-imposed to-do list is long. Master photography, read lots of books, exercise, cook meals, learn more about healthy living, etc. This is how I spend my free time and it can be exhausting. How do I know what the most important things are?

I think that's an awesome problem to have. There are too many things you enjoy in life. Boom! Congratulations. There is a danger with that, though, because people with too many passions tend to do something nobody ever says out loud. Out loud they say, "I have too many passions. I don't know which one to start on first." But what they really mean is, "I have too many passions. So I won't start on any."(129)

Deciding what you're most passionate, the things that bring you the most joy, is a challenge. But once you've found something you love to do, it's time to master being awesome. Mastering is scary to me. When I interviewed for my current job the title was "director." By the time I started, they'd changed the title to "specialist." I immediately pushed for a change. I felt incredibly inadequate - my nametag was off-putting. No one wants to listen to someone who refers to themselves as a specialist! It made me feel much more arrogant than I was. I am still mastering, there's no way that I could possibly be a specialist. Turns out, no one else had issues with it like I did. Thankfully, my title was changed again and now my nametag says coordinator. Much more fitting.

If you're dream is to write, write, get feedback, and talk to other writers. If you're dream is to be a business owner, learn from business owners. Shadow someone doing what you love. This process solves two issues - it helps you master your skill and it helps you decide whether your dream is really something that you want to do.

We're so desperate to be "the man" or "the woman" right away. We're so eager to chart our own course that we don't think we need to be led. We say, "...I've been called to this, and nobody in the history of mankind has ever done it like this! Who could possibly give me advice? Being an apprentice would be failure. This is my time!"

If you don't want to spend the time learning from others, prepare to fail. If you don't want to spend the time practicing because you just don't enjoy it that much, celebrate and move on to something you love even more! Learning from others and spending time mastering is your key to even more awesome. But it's also a magnet for criticism.

Learning about critics math from Jon Acuff is worth the price of the book. I cannot do it justice so I'll give you a teaser.

1 insult + 1,000 compliments = 1 insult

That's right. Worth the price of admission. If you deal with criticism or you plan to, go buy the book. If you want to be awesome, you'll need to deal with criticism. It's bound to happen. As much as I want to run from criticism, I've learned that if I want to change the world, people are going to be negative around me. It can be loud sometimes, but I'm learning to tune it out.

The final key in mastering is creating sabbath in your life. Jon Acuff tells a story about building in a little Central Park in your life. If New York City built up every square inch of the city, we'd miss out on a beautiful and peaceful park. I tend to build up things in my life until I completely run out of room. In order to be awesome we need to disconnect, schedule peace, and have sabbath.

Make sure that in the midst of this adventure you don't confuse "building up your dream" with "burning out your dream." (158)

Believe it or not, but I pared this post down a lot. In fact, I edited out a lot of material. I didn't write about a much of awesomeness in these two chapters. I hope in the next few weeks I'll be able to share more - more of my fears, dreams, and how I'm incorporating sabbath into my life.

In the mean time, I'd love to hear about what you think of the book based on my small pictures. Are you intrigued? What are your fears and dreams?

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