R&R

I did something that I rarely do - something that I think very few mothers every allow themselves to do (or at least without loads of guilt) - I took off time for myself.  I'm calling it a ME-CATION.

Half a day of that time off included registering Tatum for kinder, which I have already discussed in detail. (That time doesn't count toward the me-cation time).

The other two days (yep, you read that correctly), included a variety of things.  There was lots of laundry - I am now caught up.  Take that, laundry monster - I beat you into submission, and will revel in that fact for the short while until you return, which was possibly a full 1.5 hours after the beating - but there isn't even a full load of laundry to be done, so there....

I did general house cleaning (despite my assurance to myself that I would NOT do that) and picked up dry cleaning. 

Other (more fun) activities included a nice manicure and pedicure (there's the start of the R&R!), lunch with friends, finishing the kids school supply shopping (well, almost finishing), lounging by the pool on two separate days, going running (twice in one day, no less!), and actually reading a book (notice that I didn't say finish the book)!

I also created a new prayer journal with recent Sunday school prayer requests (purchased on my trip to get the rest of the kids school supplies - I'm really a nerd at heart and I love school supplies and getting organized!!) and enjoyed some quiet time.

It has been glorious.

This is what my R&R looks like....and I need to do this more often.  Certainly more than every few (and I'm being generous) years.

There is a reason that the Lord designed the week with a day of rest....why do I not plan my life and my schedule according to His design when it's obvious that it's so desperately needed?

Watching 'lympics

Jacey and I have been watching a lot of Olympics over the last couple of weeks.  She is absolutely enthralled by it - virtually ANY of it.

I'm not sure if there is anything cuter than a two year old, fist pumping in the air, chanting, "USA, USA!".

It's precious, really.

If I was better at getting video of it, you could fully appreciate it, but you'll just have to take my word for it.

Tonight she wanted to watch the " 'lympics " and made sure that she was all set up to do so, continually telling me, "be right back" while she got yet another thing to snuggle with.

Yes, it was a full couch.  And she fully expected me to snuggle with her, getting quite upset if I had to get up to get anything.

She is serious about her 'lympics,folks!

Cindy Lou Who

Doesn't she look like Cindy Lou Who from The Grinch?  Can't you just see her with a blanket saying, "...but why, Santa Claus, why?"

Smile!

In case you needed a smile today...it is, after all, Monday!

Make the most of your day today!

......and......

Have a safe, happy and healthy spring break!

You like me, you really like me!

Gush, gush...

In all seriousness (ok, not really - 'cause I'm not all that serious most of the time), Brandy gave me this award what seems like a few days ago (but in reality was almost 2 months ago, apparently I've been in a hole or time is really flying by more quickly than I realize) and I've been meaning to make this post as a reply (so sorry for the delay, Brandy!).

It would seem as though I need to post and follow the award rules, so.........

1.  Thank and link back to the person who gave it to you.

Thanks, Brandy! And see above, but if you're too lazy to do so, I'll link again.

2.  Share 7 things about yourself.

1. I am a transplanted Texan
2. Like Brandy, I am a Days of our Lives fan, and have been watching (off and on) since I was in the 7th grade (so count it up...that's over 20 years of watching that show - and let me just say, Bo and Hope, get back together and for Pete's sake, stay together!). I used to watch Santa Barbara and Another World before they were taken off the air (and in my spare time, I need to find and watch the finales of both of these shows, so if you're reading and you have access to either of those links, feel free to leave a comment with 'em!)
3. I am a recovering perfectionist and am trying to live with the realization that only one person every mastered perfection in this world, and I'm certainly no Jesus!
4. I am wife to one, mommy to three, friend to a few and advisor to many
5. I love my job(s) (ok, so maybe not the house cleaning or laundry part of the equation) and feel that I'm exactly where God wants me to be
6. I discovered The Office and My Name is Earl late, and adore both of those shows (yes JKW, I know you tried to tell me how funny they were years ago...I should have listened!)
7. I don't know how Gini manages to continually construct her Tuesday Ten posts, because these lists are hard!

3.  Pass the award on to 15 bloggers who you recently discovered and who you think are awesome (ok, so I'm going to cheat a little and they may not be recently discovered blogs...)

1. Beth (She's just inspiring all around...)
2. Gini (her blog cracks me up. A lot.)
3. Heather Hendrick (her posts on her family experience in Haiti make me want to take up breastfeeding consulting and be more intentional about - everything)
4. Jen (I love keeping up with my college friends, and they make having a family of 5 seem easy!)
5. Julia (makes me want to be a kinder, more gentler parent)
6. Julie (she's my awesome friend who has decided not only to come back to Texas but to the world of blogging, even if she's abandoned her blogspot page and moved to shutterfly)
7. Kendra (I love her crafty ideas and the ways her family incorporates teaching the kiddo's about the Lord in everything!)
8. Kimberly (she could have two shirts and some seeds and manage to clothe and feed an entire family - and shows you how she does it! Her mad skills amaze me.)
9. Lysa (she is simply inspring as well!)
10. Melissa (I love keeping up with my college friends and seeing how beautiful her kiddos are growing up to be!)
11. Michelle (I love catching up with my college friends and seeing other families of 5 survive is helpful to me!)
12. Misti (her blog moves, inspires, and reminds me that God has a master plan for me, his work-in-progress child)
13. Misty (I love looking at the beautiful pictures of her kiddos...even if I don't see them in person although we live blocks away from each other) :)
14. Rachel Olsen (her current piece on battling perfectionism is wonderful for a recovering perfectionist like myself)
15. Tiffany and Lindsay (they're blog makes me think of wonderfully creative things that I don't have time - or perhaps the talent - to do)

So many of these blogs inspire me to be better - a better wife, mother, decorator, Christian, person...and I appreciate the self reflection that many of these provide for me as I read through the posts.  And in case you're wondering, I didn't originally have them in alphabetical order.  I reordered them and then had to relink almost all of the links.  I said I was a recovering perfectionist, not recovered.

4.  Contact the bloggers and let them know that they have won. (Well, I did link back to their blogs, so I'm guessing they'll figure it out).

  

Q&A

Well, I was 'tagged' in Melissa's post, so I figured I would go ahead and answer the questions. I'll apologize ahead of time for my boring answers, but hey.....if you're reading this then you probably already know that I don't lead the most exciting life out there.

1.  What brand of toilet paper do you use? Whatever brand Matt buys at the store or what I have a coupon for or is the least expensive at the time!

2.  Who is the celebrity that you are most embarrassed to admit you have a crush on? Embarrassed? Me?! Hmmm...Like Melissa, I like Johnny Depp (and have since 21 Jump Street, so it's not a recent thing), Ryan Reynolds, but am not really embarrased by either of those facts.

3.  What is your all time favorite movie?  Tough one!  So I'm going to cheat...The Goonies, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (a must-see for it to feel like Christmas to me), Tombstone, You've Got Mail, 50 First Dates, insert numerous chick-flicks here...

4.  What store do you spend most of your paycheck?  Do daycares and Kids Klub count as stores? If not, probably Kroger.

5.  What is your favorite restaurant? I have many, 'cause I like food! Olive Garden (love, love, love their salad!), Cheddar's (best and cheapest dessert in TOWN! - cookie monster!!), Freeb!rds (hey, it's not too classy but I still dig it!), Mi Cocina (has recently changed their name to Polly Cocina, but that doesn't stick well in my brain)

6.  What is your most favorite thing to do in the town you live in? Go watch movies

7.  Where is the best place you have been on vacation? Skiing in Colorado

8.  What is the most distance place you have visited? Europe during the summer after my freshman year in college. Visited Italy, France, Germany, England...it was a wonderful whirlwind trip!

And now I apparently need to 'tag' 8 other people, so here goes!  (If you've already been tagged, feel free to just link to your prior list) :)

Julie George
Brandy Scott
Gini Howerton
Michelle Skow
Missy Schrib
Jennifer Harrell
Jennifer Karnes
Jennifer Westling

Who knew?

Of the five people who read this, apparently some are well-traveled. Or live in exotic places. I just discovered the 'stats' tab available in on Blogger (duh me, so perhaps I'm a little slow on the uptake over here), and in the last month I've had visitors from Malasia, Thailand and Singapore.

Who knew?

Feel free to let me know you're here and reading! Anyone should be able to post a comment...

What a morning...

Here we were, out the door ON TIME - 7:18 AM. I was able to get Tatum to school in time for Kellen to come into daycare with me so he could properly say "Bye" to her for the day. I was able to talk with her teacher for a bit, get Kellen and I back in the car, and head to his school. Made it there with no problems, sent him off with an "I love you and have a GREAT day today!"

And then to the office....where I realize that I have made it to work with ZERO make up on. Zilch. Nada. Nothing. Completely bare faced.

Oh my.

No, I don't wear make-up on the weekends, or even wear much of it during the week. But let's just say that my face hasn't taken on the radiance of pregnancy quite yet.

My poor co-workers. My poor students. A little bit of powder and lip gloss (applied both to my lips and eyelids - and no, I don't know if that's ok to do or not) and we'll see if I can make it through the day without wondering ALL DAY LONG how horrid I look! Oh well!