Thursday, February 18, 2016

Life Lately: Winter-ing

Here's the latest round of all the "'ings" we've been up to around here for the last few months. With a smattering of pictures of the little people who keep us busy.
Making: 1 Second Every Day videos...and I'm totally obsessed. I just love how little, ordinary snippets add up and tell the story of our lives. It's a lot like these lists I write- it's all just regular stuff, but the regular stuff is actually everything. This app has been such a fun way to record our life in this stage.
Cooking: noodles. The kids would eat noodles for every meal if I let them. And I pretty much do. (it's winter, which only strengthens my love for mac and cheese. I make no apologies).
Drinking: wine and watching The Bachelor. I'm the very definition of "basic", and I'm ok with that.

Reading: The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up. Guys, this is truly life changing. Don't get me wrong, the author is a nutjob (in mostly a good way!), but her method is simple and pretty much brilliant. We listened to the audiobook, and there was a fair amount of eye-rolling over the ideas of "does it spark joy?" and "thank your possessions for their service", but in general we both still like the concept and are giving it a whirl. I could (and should? might...) write a whole post about just this, but for now we're getting addicted to to the art of  "KonMari". I'll keep you posted if it helps us dig out of the hoarder pit we call a basement- fingers crossed.
Wanting: to have more patience with the kids. Ugh this is hard. They are adorable, but they're also so tough right now. The whining...OH the whining....I know it's all a phase, so we're just doing our best to be consistent with expectations and discipline...while we count down the minutes until bedtime.
Looking: into options for school for Piper next year. Her Fall birthday means she'll have one more year of preschool, so we're evaluating options to determine what's the best fit. She'll likely stay at her current school (it's hard to say no to the convenience of having all the kids in one spot), but we're open to other options if it seems like the right thing. It's crazy to think she's almost ready for "real" school!

Playing: mandolin. We had a really musical few weeks recently, playing and singing at work (more on that soon), church, and a retreat. It's fun to stretch out of our comfort zones a little, and gain some experience performing in front of people, and leading worship. Plus I love that the girls are growing up with music around them. I really want to encourage them to learn an instrument (or 2 or 3...) someday, but for now it's fun to just have informal family band sessions.

Wasting: money on Jimmy John's. Well.....Jimmy John's is de-LICious, so I'm not sure it's a waste, really, but I should probably be better about packing my lunch so I don't have to rely on sandwich delivery once a week. (But it is so freaky fast!)
Wishing: I wanted to work out. I want to want to work out. But alas...that's not really the same. Dustin's been getting up e-a-r-l-y to go to a Crossfit class in the mornings, which he's loving. I need to break out the elliptical again, or get my butt back on the rowing machine...but isn't eating ice cream so much more fun?


Enjoying: slightly more sleep. We started sleep training Miller, which is going really well. He's going down now without a fuss, and sleeps from around 8pm to 3am (then he eats, and is back down again til around 7). Getting up once in the middle of the night is a bit of a game-changer, after months of feeding him every 3 hours around the clock. Piper is now crawling into our bed every morning by 6, which I don't love but she usually just snuggles and goes back to sleep, so for now we're allowing it. I don't have the energy for arguing before the sun even comes up.
Waiting: for spring. This has to have been the shortest, warmest winter ever, so I'm not complaining exactly. But I will be excited when we can toss the kids outside again and let them run all their crazies out!

Liking: having an M&M dispenser at my desk. Maybe liking it a biiiiiit too much.
Wondering: what's next for our company in light of the big news: Resource/Ammirati was just acquired by IBM...So far we haven't seen changes, but we're all eager to see what this means for us.

Loving: seeing the kids play together. The girls alternate (moment to moment) between being thick as thieves and being at each others throats, but they always want to play with Miller. Always. They love to bring him toys, and sing to him, and try to make him smile. And he lovvvvvves them right back, giggling at their silly baby-talk voices and happily slobbering on anything they give him. It's a really special gift watching people I love so much, love each other so well.
Hoping: we can get a break from the doctor soon. This time of year is so tough with the constant sniffles, coughs, ear infections, etc. Seems like one of us always has at least a little something. Between that, and the regular check-ups, I've had just about enough of the pediatrician lately. We're lucky that no one has had anything serious, but I still hate to see the little ones feeling yucky.

Marveling: at the amount of laundry our family generates.Wednesday is my work from home day, so I can at least throw loads in during the day which helps keep up with things a bit better (and saves our weekends from being nothing but a mountain of sock folding) but it's still astounding how many tiny messes my tiny messy people manage to create every week.
Needing: a haircut, in a big way. Postpartum hair loss hitting hard this time around, so my thin, wispy, mini bangs are a bit of a situation.


Smelling: Well...we have a baby, and an allllllmost potty trained toddler. So. You get it.  
Wearing: jammies, a lot. The kids love jammie day, Miller doesn't really know the difference, and I find it hard to resist the lure of sweatpants after a long day. Winter is for snuggling, right?

Following: along with a new study with our church small group. We're studying Simplify, by Bill Hybels, and one week in I'm already loving it.
Noticing: how much the girls pick up on things we say and do. They parrot things back at us sometimes that scare me...making me realize I need to be careful with my words. There's nothing like hearing your four year old scold your two year old with your exact mannerisms to make you want to be extra careful about the things you say. 

Knowing: I need to do a better job meal planning. And going to bed early. And getting up early. And prepping things the night before. Being an adult is hard.
Thinking: about taking a vacation this Summer. I know there's really no such thing as a "vacation" with kids, so we might have to settle for a "trip"...but I still love the idea of doing something special as a family, so we're toying with the idea of taking the kids to the beach. The planning part stresses me out (not to mention all the money it's going to cost) so we haven't really gotten much further than the "thinking" phase, but hopefully we can put something together to get all of our little toes in the sand.

Bookmarking: The Five Love Languages of Children. I loved the regular version (for grown ups) and thought it would be fun to start exploring how our kids prefer to give and receive love. Our girls are still a bit too young to take this too seriously, but we had some guesses as to what they might be. Piper is a big gift-giver, so I wouldn't be surprised if that's her primary "language", and Fin seems to like physical touch (she's a snuggler...and a wrestler...) Miller so far just likes milk. :)
Opening: all my apps on my phone. Dustin makes fun of me because I always have a million apps running in the background (he's an obsessive app closer...I remember to do that about once a week). Maybe that's why my battery's always dead?

Giggling: at the crazy outfits these two hooligans put together. I've long given up on choosing their clothes (after losing far too many battles). They like what they like, and making them happy is worth the funny looks we get in public. Yes to creative expression!
Feeling: like there are a million other 'ings going on...starting, failing, doing, trying, crying, sharing, growing...it's hard to keep up! The 'ings keep piling, and we just keep going...and loving. (and stripe-ing). 







P.s. Our last "life lately" update, in case you missed it.
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2 comments :

  1. Wow, IBM huh? That is big news. Also, I love the last photo (with the stripes) - the way Miller is looking askance at his crazy sisters!

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    1. Isn't he hilarious? Or at least appropriately wary...

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