Georgia's Home Alone Birthday

Georgia is a lot like her ole mom. One of her little quirks that she inherited from me is that she can watch the same movie over and over and over and over. We have been watching Home Alone year round since she was about 2. Her birthday is near the end of December, she's a Christmas baby. 

So a Home Alone themed party was so perfect for her!

I made her invitation myself with a little help from my friend photoshop. Every year we collect charitable donations instead of gifts at her party, and for her 4th bday we chose St. Jude.

For this year's party I tried to scale back a little on a bunch of elaborate decorations and mainly accentuated the food and cake table. I found most of the decor from searching the internet and ordering things from etsy and amazon. 

I hung some booby trap paint cans from the ceiling.

I scored this life size Michael Jordan standout from eBay. Just like the one Buzz had in his room!

I had a variety of goodies on the favor table. Chocolate money that I got from the Dollar Tree.

Pet tarantulas, also from Dollar Tree! 2 for a buck back in October when Halloween merchandise was on the shelves.

Lastly, Home Alone DVDs. I scrounged around the house and collected cases for them from other DVDs and slid a 5x7 photo from the invitation in to the case. So cute!

Just like last year, the cake was from a favorite restaurant of ours. Newk's. You really cannot beat their cake. I had the topper custom made from etsy and it wasn't exactly what I was envisioning. I ended up having to glue the dang thing together and hold it up with pieces of scrap wood but it got the job done. Memories, right? 

Once the party got started this momma ate, mingled, and relaxed. No high strung crazy with a camera all over the place.  So here is crappy cell phone picture I snapped after I pressed play on the movie. I guess you could say Georgia's birthday gift was the projector we bought for her movie night. It's been great and we have already used it several times. A fun little spin on watching movies at home. I'm already dying to use it outdoors this summer for movies on the back porch.  side note: Josh has recently finished a photography studio for me on the front of our property and its the best thing since satellite television. Around the time of G's party it was still pretty new and empty so we piled pillows and threw blankets down and just kinda camped out. I'm going to do a blog tour of my dream studio soon!

Aaaaand here is the part where I get just a tad sappy. This girl is my muse. She inspires me, feeds my creativity with her uniqueness, and just makes my life freaking awesome. 

Family Costumes...my fav.

I've always loved Halloween, and themes, and matchy matchy stuff. My first married Halloween triggered my obsession for family costumes. Although I guess I should say we started with a couples costume. There is no crying in baseball. (Bear with me here, photo quality gets better as the years go on.)

Then Georgia was born and she was a game changer for me in more ways than one. She is totally my MUSE. The inspiration my creativity flows from. For her first Halloween I was inspired by her bossy, leadership skills, take charge attitude that she exhibited from the second she was born. Hence her ringleader costume.

The Family Circus, 2013

The next year brought my all time favorite costume ever that will never ever be topped and I would dress her in this year after year if she would let me.

Jackie Kennedy and her Secret Service. (insert heart eyes emoji here.)

The 3rd year of Georgia's life was the year I allowed myself to indulge in multiple costumes. One for actual trick or treating, one for trunk or treat at church, etc. We kicked off 2015's season of costumes with a deer hunting theme.

Her Daddy was the accessory to this costume.

And now...our most glorious year yet. The year we added Poet to our family, 2016. The year of family costume greatness.

First we were a fairytale for Georgia's school Fall Festival.

Cinderella, Gus Gus, and Fairy Godmother.

Then we moved on to Georgia's costume for her school party and our church's Halloween fun night. 

Donut anyone? Poet is a cop.

Our grand finale was Georgia choice. Sleeping Beauty Characters!

Aurora, Price Phillip, Malificent, and Malificent's crow.

Until next year.......

??

8/18/16 Josh and I have been talking and praying about the timing of giving Georgia a sibling.  Neither of us have ever come to a peace about me being pregnant again. At least not yet anyway.  With my MTHFR diagnosis, I worry about a healthy pregnancy for me and an unborn child. I know that no mother is guaranteed either of those things, but the responsibility of of knowing I have this issue is always in the front of my mind...not the back.  

I've wondered if we were supposed to be foster parents. And to be transparent, Josh hasn't ever felt led that direction.  

This morning, an option came across to us that made us do a double take. Something we have already considered more seriously than the previous two options we have always prayed about. Private adoption.  

I just felt like I needed to blog something this morning.  Above anything, we want God's will for our family.   What is our purpose on this earth? May we always be willing to answer the call and step out in faith.   It's so easy to say you have faith unitil you're really put in an uneasy place. 

 8/20/16

The last 2 days have both been very slow and very fast.  We've been praying, discussing, and what iffing over and over.  

Josh and I have decided that we will be open, say yes, and then pray only for God's will.   Our pastor said in a sermon this last year that if you pray for God's will in your life, you can't go wrong.  That resonated with me.   So many times I try to work things out on my own, find the rhyme or reason in a situation, weigh my pros and cons, and search for the right thing to do.   When all I really need to do is "let go and let God" pray for the direction of my life to follow only the path he has laid out for me, and everything will be just fine. 

If all goes as planned we will meet with the birth mom tonight. I'm so nervous! Worried about what to wear, what to say, will it be awkward?, will she like me?, a million thoughts like these! 

I made a little book to give her that tells about our family in a simple way. I tried to put myself in her shoes as much as possible (which is impossible, I will never understand what she is going through) and tell her the things I would want to know if the roles were reversed.   

At this point, my main prayer is the baby's health. The birth mom has had no prenatal care, and says she is due anytime now. We are hoping for a doctors visit next week to check on her, the baby, and estimate a due date.

I'm also VERY nervous to tell our families. This will pretty much be out of left field for them to hear and will be the most random piece of news. Ever.   I want them to understand us and accept our choice.  To complicate things, Josh will leave for work in 2 VERY short days!! I may have to deliver this news to our loved ones by myself. Nooooo! I don't wanna! Haha.  Depending on the due date, he may also be away at work when the baby is born. Geez Louise! Jesus take the wheel.    

For now, we will see what today holds! 

8/23/16 We met with the birth mother and it went as well as it possibly could! At the end she hugged Josh for the longest time and said "I feel so much better now" I will never forget it.  

Other than this in person meeting, our communication is through a mutual party that has professional experience with adoption.  It works best for everyone for comfort, safety, and privacy.   

At our meeting I gave the birth mom the book I made for her, she showed us pictures of the baby's biological siblings, we discussed different scenarios for how things would go at the hospital, and we all prayed together.  I told her that anything she wanted to know about us, all she had to do was ask anytime. 

She told us she has a strong intuition the baby is a boy. She was sure of it. I wonder if she's right! 

The next day, Sunday, all I could think about was the adoption of this baby. Along with anticipation and excitement was a feeling of loss.  Loss for myself that I will likely never experience pregnancy again, never breastfeed again, loss of a baby I hoped I would someday have that looked just like Josh.   I heard a song on the radio that gave me an incredible peace. The line the comforted me said "Everything I once held dear, I count it all as loss. Lead me to the cross" 

I know anything that I could  dream of for myself could never compared to what God has in store for me.   Josh and I continue to pray for only God's will in this situation. 

Today I went to see an attorney (just me! Josh is back at work) about all the formal paper work and it was way less complicated than I thought it would be! 

 I took this picture before I walked in. Just to remember a significant, unique moment in my life. You truly never know what each day will hold. 

Hopefully by tomorrow there will have been an ultrasound done and we will know health, gender, and due date of the baby!   At that point we plan to tell our parents.    I wanted to have some more information to give them before we share the news, because I know they will have lots of questions. I didn't want to answer all of them with a shrug of my shoulders. At the advice of my best friend I'm praying I can do a good job of helping them understand our decision.     

That sermon of my pastor's that forever changed my life (my pastor is awesome if you can't tell)  was that in your life you don't have to worry about which way to go or fret over the right choices to make, as long as you pray for God's purpose to unfold in your life you will never go wrong.  I'm doing that! 

8/26/16   We went to an ultrasound with the birth mom and learned that the baby is a GIRL and we've given her a name :) the same day we told our closest friends and family the news and everyone has been amazingly supportive. 

We are expecting the baby to be born within the next week. Ah!!  Honestly I'm feeling VERY emotionally invested at this point and of course that is scary.  And even more honestly it's harder to pray for only God's will at this point when we are so excited about this baby.  But that's how I started this whirlwind journey and that's how I'll keep trucking. Praying for God's will and knowing it is always for the best.  For us, and for this baby girl. 

Advocare 24 Day Challenge

Hey blog world! It's been a minute.  I recently discovered advocare, and well I love it. 

I went to a friend's advocare mixer really to be polite with no interest in the actual products.  I left signed up as a distributor and committed to a 24 Day Challenge.  

Huh?? How did that happen? 

It happened because not once at this little advocare mixer did any one talk about pyramid schemes or making money. It was all about the products. How they work, how they make you feel, etc etc. 

My sweet friend, Hilary was starting a 24 day challenge group that was starting at the beginning of May and ending right before Memorial Day.  I signed up as a distributor and bought my challenge at a distributor discount of 20% off. 

I was sucked in to this challenge idea because, like me, Hilary is pretty in shape. We both run, teach hot yoga, and occasionally lift weights.   We both wanted to look leaner, and have more toned tummies. Basic wants of a woman. 

I had tried the challenge in the past, 5 years ago, and quit after a few days. It was different then. I was trying to lose weight for my wedding, wasn't in shape, didn't exercise, and wasn't doing the challenge with a group or a friend.  

Let me give you the run down. The first 10 days were great (also known as the 10 day cleanse or fiber cleanse) I was motivated, after only a few days my yoga leggings were feeling too loose and my skinny jeans were fitting comfortably. Not to mention I was seeing the abs I had been hiding behind my crap diet. Holla! 

^ That's my yoga leggings gapping open in the back after 2 days! ^ 

I was back in my size zero jeans that I bought last time I trained for a half marathon (I'm under 5 feet tall) and didn't have a hellacious wedgie when I was wearing them. What what. 

A typical days menu for me on the challenge looks like this. I'm a picky eater with texture issues, just an FYI. I'll just use my easiest to throw together meals as my examples. 

Breakfast: Peanut butter chocolate meal replacement shake. Freaking delicious. Tastes like dessert for breakfast and it's packed full of protein! 

Snack: banana 

Lunch: Turkey breast sandwich on 100% whole wheat bread w/ mustard and tomato. Broccoli with roasted red peer hummus.

Snack: 1 egg scrambled with a spoonful of mango salsa. OR a quest bar. 

Dinner: A lean steak seasoned with some variety of Mrs. Dash (cooked on my George Foreman grill which is hella conveinient) Cherry tomatoes, and a sweet potato drizzled with a little all natural honey.  I bought the sweet potatoes that are wrapped in plastic that you can just throw in the microwave. Life saver. 

Snack: diced pineapple 

Another easy food for me to make the challenge work were premade salads that you can get any most supermarkets With a vinagarette dressing, preferably all natural. 

I'm not great at meal prepping so some days I was taking it one meal at a time, which was making it harder on myself. So meal prep if you can! Make a quick turkey sammich if you can't. 

The last 14 days were tough to stick to and its because I didn't meal prep very strictly.  If I hadn't had my friend Hilary to keep me accountable I don't know what I would've done!  

Her they are! ^ my final results! ^ I only ran once during the 24 day challenge, focused more on muscle building by lifting weights and doing ab workouts every 2-3 days and did hot yoga at least once a week. My guns (aka arm muscles) be poppin' and look Ma! I got abs!  I bought a bikini and some more pairs of size zero jeans.   Honestly I look a little skinnier than I'm comfortable with (but what a nice problem to have!) and I'm going to start using advocare's Muscle Gain for that! 

If those jeans start to get a little tight I plan to do the 10 day cleanse (fiber cleanse) as needed to check myself before I wreck myself.  I really loved the 10 day cleanse and would highly recommend it before you head out on a beach vacation or squeeze into a bridesmaids dress. It's perfect for that!! 

If you want to jump all in with the 24 day challenge, grab a friend for company and do it together! 

You won't be sorry! 

Want to just dip your toes and dabble in a little advocare, start with Spark. I kicked my Starbucks habit of one a day for 3 straight years with spark.  Now that's some good stuff.  It's perfect for someone wanting to get away from sodas, frappes, or energy drinks. It's also what I drink if I need a little boost of motivation to get my workout in. 

https://www.advocare.com/160419272

On the left is me at the beach last year hiding my stomach with a high waisted swim suit, I was doing yoga 2-3 times a week and running 2-4 miles on a regular basis. On the right is me with my stomach after the 24 day challenge! 

Whitewashing Our Stone Fireplace.

We recently moved into our "forever home" and are beyond thrilled. It is truly perfect for us! I'm having a ton of fun making it our own. 

Our house has lots and lots of natural light via some big ole windows. Inspired by this light, I chose a neutral color palette when painting the main rooms. 

The original color was gold. Not bad. But it didn't compliment all of our sunshine that streams in like I was wanting. 

Once we had a fresh coat on the walls, the stone of fireplace looked very very orange and maroon. 

Solution: whitewashing.  Very scary to begin with, you feel like you can't turn back. But after the initial panic it's so beautiful and you won't regret it!  

Here is the how to: 

We painted our kitchen white. (Porcelain by Sherwin Williams in eggshell) 

I had about a half a gallon left of this white. So I mixed together a ratio of 2 parts paint to 3 parts water in a solo cup and brushed it on to a few of the stones to ponder moving forward. There is no exact science to this mixture, you can't really mess it up, I promise!

After texting a few friends and getting the go ahead from Josh, I took the plunge and decided to whitewash the whole thing.  

A little of the paint/water mixture goes a long way. It dries very quickly.  

It can also be pretty messy since the consistency of the whitewash is so thin.  So cover anything you don't want splashed or splattered.  

You can't blot away at the whitewash as you go with a rag or old T shirt if you feel like it but that's not necessary at all.  I only blotted on my gray toned stones to let the gray show through more. 

 If a stone still looked too orange or red for my liking I would do another coat after the first coat dried.  I ended up mixing up another cup of whitewash that was a little heavier on the paint  and did my harder to cover stones with that.  

It all moves very fast and you can do this easily in a day or less. 

Action shot via Georgia Love. 

Before/after 

Before/after (after photo still slightly unfinished at the top) 

We plan on getting a chunkier mantle piece and some decor, but until then this is where we are. I plan to finish the top at nap time today! 

I'll add you can also use this same process to give brick the same makeover. 

 

13 point what???

Ok I'm going to say it...I'm training for a half marathon.   

Holy. Crap. 

The girl who quit the high schooltrack team the first day.  That's me. 

It all started with checking off one of my bucket list items of running a 5k.  I trained with the 5k Runner app, and fell in love with running. 

I don't much run for time or speed, I savor the distance and endurance.  I love pacing myself for distances I never ever fathomed possible.  Not in my craziest dreams! 

I have kept my 13.1 mile ambitions quiet.  I've told a few family members, and my closet friends.  It just feels like a wish upon a star type thing. Can't believe I could actually accomplish this goal.  Pinch me. 

I've been using this training schedule I found via Pinterest.  I modified a bit to make my long run days Thursday since that is when Georgia enjoys her weekly trip to her "school".   Last week I conquered my 10 mile run AND officially registered for my race. The Midsouth Championship Marathon and Half.   It is in Wynne, about 2 ish hours from home.  

Here are my last three long run Thursday stats. 

I'm not gonna even lie.  10 miles was a whore.   I've been running at Craighead Forest Park in Jonesboro and I'm taking all the hills instead of avoiding them...and it sucks a little.   

My motto throughout this process had been Start slow, Finish strong.  No worrying about how fast I am.   Just focusing on distance, pacing myself, and enjoying the run.  Pacing myself is the best gift I ever gave to my running soul. There will always be somebody faster than I am.  Trying to outrun anybody else takes the enjoyment out of my run. 

I've just been focusing on my distances and building my stamina, speed naturally increases as I get stronger.   

I'm only running for me. Seeing my world on foot.  Loving my body for doing things I never thought possible.   

Cue cheesy orchestral music here.... 

Running is super therapeutic.  I told Josh last week "I'll be right back, I have to go run before I kill somebody" as soon as my feed hit the pavement exercise enduced endorphins baptized me with their goodness.  For real, I felt lighter.  Mind cleared.  All those cliques. 

5k...maybe.

I 7/7/14: I've been doing hot yoga for a while now and I LOVE it.  Until G was about a year old, my weight loss had been soley from diet modification and a little walking.  Yoga is by far my favorite workout I have ever tried.  I focus so much on my balance, posture, and breathing I don't think about anything else for an hour. Literally clearing my mind.  I had been suffering from frequent migraines after having Georgia and since starting yoga *knock on wood* I haven't had another one. I am extremely thankful. 

My baby daddy has a job that keeps him away from home the majority of the time. My yoga studio of choice is 30 miles away, and it has been a challenge to get to yoga when he is at work....enter running.   

I have always wished I was a runner. Well wish in one hand and poop in the other.  Get up and make it happen.  Running is something I can do anywhere, and if I need to I can push G in a stroller.  

I've bought this 5k runner app.  It trains you to run a 5k in 8 weeks. I just completed Week2Day1 this morning and I think I'm hooked.  Don't get me wrong, I hate running while I'm actually running. But when it is over I already want to do it again. The 5k Runner program suggests you not run everyday, and on my off days I am wishing I could run! I have been trying my best to go to yoga on running days off (when Josh is home to Georgia sit).  

Running a 5k has been on my bucket list and I am determined to check it off! Josh is due back to work tomorrow and soon I will start training while also pushing G in her stroller. Interested to see how that turns out.  

At this point I'm not longer driven by weight loss.  I'm around 14 lbs lighter than pre-G weight and have a healthy BMI.  My goals now are building endurance and workout habits, toning, and just being a better me! I still weigh myself (not everyday) just to keep track and motivate myself to stay away from regular consumption of junk food.  

Today's stats. 

I plan to update periodically on my progress. 5k here I come! 

8/1/14 I'm on week 6 of this 8 week 5k training app.  I seriously can't believe how different I feel.  I work out everyday. 

Everyday. 

Who am I?!? Not typical of me at all.  The program has you run 3 times a week and on the days I don't run I either go to yoga class or do yoga at home. Sometimes I even "cheat" and  run on a rest day. What the....

Y'all. I joined the track team in Jr high and quit on the first day. I am not a runner, never have been. Until now I guess. 

The way the app works is you run/walk/run/walk in intervals, decreasing the walk intervals and increasing the run intervals over a period of 8 weeks. My last run I ran for 10 minutes, walked for 5, and ran for another 10.  I realize this may not sound like much, but back at the beginning running even 2 minutes was tough for me. 

I can't stress enough how crazily changed I feel. I have more energy, my thighs and calves are much more firm, and my butt...it doesn't bounce up and hit my lower back when I run anymore (that can really happen folks)  I feel more toned and can say "I'm in shape" which is amazing. 

It's not about how I look, it's how I feel. 

A couple more weeks and I will be finished and able to run a 5k without stopping to walk. I am nervous and hopeful. I'm still in shock I've come this far. Did I mention I quit the track team on the first day???  

I haven't registered for any 5k races yet, I still feel like it's too good to be true. I'm just so excited about putting a big ole check next to this bucket list item. I never thought it would actually happen! 

8/3/14 

Tonight's run, Week 6 Day 3. This is the last run of the trainer program where I get a walk interval. I ran 15 min, walked 3, and then ran another 5.  Next time I just run 20 min straight. Bring it on! I've been including my warm up and cool down walk in my time, and next run I won't anymore.  It's about to get real, I'm running for long intervals really striving toward 5k. Excited to see what happens!

I don't even recognize myself from a month ago!

8/7/14 I have ran twice now without a walk interval and I am SO shocked.  

 I have almost accomplished a 10 minute mile. I've signed up for 2 races. A color run 5k and the Cardinals Care 6k...that's right 6k. Which is pushing my original goal and I can't wait, it should be a really fun race. It ends inside of Busch Stadium and Jackie Joyner Kersee will be handing out medals at the finish line.  The Cardinals Care organization is the charity we donated money collected at Georgia's first birthday party to. 

One hard thing about getting into running is leaving Georgia with a sitter.  Pushing her in a stroller wasn't ideal for me as a new runner or for her in the heat. Not to mention she usually got bored before I was finished.  I don't feel comfortable running with her on the streets and felt safer on the track.  The same scenery wasn't entertaining her at all.  So to all stroller pushing running moms HIGH FIVE, you are awesome.  

Even though I only leave G for 30-45 minutes every other day when I run I feel so guilty! I hoping this gets better.  She has fun with her sitters and I keep telling myself I'm not gone that long. A little voice in my head keeps telling me that I'm a stay at home mom and that means I should stay at home with my baby.  Sometimes I run on the treadmill after she goes to bed, but I want to simulate actually running a race as much as possible and races aren't indoors on a treadmill.  I really hoping the guilt subsides eventually! To quote P!nk:

8/11/14 I completed Week 8 Day 1 this morning with my trainer app. I'm feeling great! I can't even begin to describe my excitement that in just a few days, I will have run 5k...3.1 miles! 

Today's run was supposed to be 28 minutes but I was feelin' spunky and turned up the speed and went an extra 30 seconds. 

I was shaving my legs in my post-run shower and HELLO I have a calf muscle! Well everyone has calf muscles, but I have more defined, larger, noticeable ones. Too bad my legs are always painfully pale and I'm naturally as hairy as Robin Williams. My leg shave smoothness lasts about a whole 3 hours before I have stubble again and look like I haven't shaved in a significant amount of time.  So it's not like I wear shorts often for anyone to see my calves. 

Okay I've gotten side tracked here...back to the point. Calf muscle, woo hoo!

8/14/14 

Finished my 5k Runner app today! I can't believe the changes I have felt in just 8 short weeks.  If I can do it anybody can. I have always used the worn out phrase "I'm not a runner" but I am now. By choice. I'm so thankful for all the support in my life from family and friends, and everybody who watched Georgia for me so I could go run.  

I am in such a positive place, just by working on my own health and fitness. I'm not in competition with anyone but the old me...and I'm kicking her butt! 

The miracle isn't that I finished. The miracle is that I had the courage to start. 

Peace.Love.5freakingk