Archive for January 2011
I’m Back in Iowa!
Posted on: January 28, 2011
Well, I’m not actually in Iowa {although I’m not in Texas either…}. I’m just visiting Iowa via Kelsey over at Mrs. Dexter. I love Kelsey’s blog and I’m super happy that she asked me to guest post for her today. She’s doing a great series on coffee shops and I’m sharing my recipe for Banana Bread with Agave Nectar. Yuuuummmmy.
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I’m leaving today for Blissdom. And much like when I left for New York last fall, I have taken some steps to help Jonathan out while I’m away. Because, while some days I’d like to think my full time job is my blog, it isn’t. My full time job is taking care of my family. I take a lot of delight in my work and want to make sure that I can still fulfill my wife/mother roles while away. So here are some ways I’m helping Jonathan cope with me being away:
1. Organize the girls clothes –
Each day is bundled together, with the girl’s name on it. Unwrap, dress and you’re ready to go! {I did provide layers, in case the weather goes all crazy on me.}
2. Organize meals –
I have the freezer stocked with dinners and the pantry loaded with quick and easy snacks. I’ve also made a list of side options to go with each meal.
3. Organize activities – While Jonathan is super active in the girls’ lives, he doesn’t quite know what activities there are to do around town like I do. So I made a list for each day to let him choose.
4. Sticky notes –
I did this when I traveled to New York. Jonathan said it was helpful {for other things – like coffee}, but the dog never did get fed…
5. Movies – While I tend not to want the girls to watch much television during the week, I know it’s an easy pass time. I’ve made sure there are several episodes of their favorite show recorded so they can watch a set amount as needed.
6. Diapers/Wipes/Pull ups – Jonathan isn’t as into cloth diapering as I am {read Jonathan doesn’t cloth diaper}. To prepare for the week, I stocked up on disposables. Because there is nothing worse than having to run to the store just for diapers.
7. Back up help – We were very blessed to live right by three close families while in Iowa. At the drop of the hat we could ask for help and they could be there in no time. Now, as we are still meeting people, I’ve had to do a little more planning. Still, we’ve been really blessed with people willing to help Jonathan {even if it is just inviting him to playdates} so that he doesn’t feel alone in the process.
8. Answering my phone – I’m notorious for not answering my phone. And it drives Jonathan bonkers. Because of that, for the next few days, my phone will be attached to my hip {not literally – not a big fan of those hip holders}.
9. Sweet loving – I’m making sure Jonathan gets some sweet loving before I leave. And… It’s not what you think. I made him a batch of cookies {as bribery for girls} and am currently baking some blueberry muffins – which are his favorite.
10. Grace – Taking care of the girls and being a homemaker isn’t Jonathan’s full time job, it’s mine. I need to loosen up any expectations I might have for how things should go – or honestly, how the house should look when I get back. I need to be overwhelmed by the fact that my husband is showing me this grand gesture of love and respond in kind, with grace and love.
What do you do to help your husband prepare for you being away?
Visit Oh Amanda for more Top Ten Tuesday.
Bookmark Me Baby
Posted on: January 24, 2011
- In: Life
- 9 Comments
In early December, Jonathan and I started talking about business cards – specifically me getting business cards. We knew with Blissdom approaching, it would be nice for me to have cards to pass out to the other attendees. I started doing some research, but never fell in love with anything. I wanted something practical, but expressed me at the same time {a lot of pressure for a little card, huh?}.
Then Jonathan mentioned the idea of a bookmark business card. Immediately I loved the idea. A bookmark {because I love to read} that has all my information on it. Perfect. Now to find a design/designer. After going through Etsy a few times, I came across DesignsByThoughts. As soon as I saw Tiffany’s work, I knew it was a match for me. So I contacted her, discussed some ideas and this is what she made:
Isn’t adorable? I just love the red roof on the church. And the adorable flowers. And the stain glass. And the…. okay, I just love the whole thing. Seriously.
Hannah Makes Tortillas
Posted on: January 21, 2011
- In: Life
- 7 Comments
While we were packing to move, Hannah decided to take a break and make some tortillas. You can hear Grandma in the background – she was less than pleased. But, personally, I thought {and still think} it was pretty hilarious.
- In: Life
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This week we had the opportunity to go to the circus – which was a first for all of us. Initially, I had some reservations about going; I have mixed feeling about zoos and circuses because of the welfare and treatment of the animals. But, Julia loves animals and probably won’t ever be able to see an elephant or lion this closely. So we decided to go.
Excuse the camera phone quality - We forgot our regular camera
We went with some friends, John, Angela and their little guy, Evan. The girls had a really great time. Julia was in complete awe. Thanks to Angela, we scored some seats center ring right at the bottom, so we had great views of everything. When they brought out the elephant, Julia mouth dropped. It was great.
They also had acrobats who did these amazing {although completely crazy} stunts. At one point in the show there was a woman on this small platform hanging from the ceiling. She had nothing securing her to anything and she did these twists and turns by just holding on to a bar. From the ceiling. Then they had women climbing sheets hanging from the rafters and doing synchronized twists and turns. It was really, really impressive. And really, really crazy. I suppose it’s not crazy – their trained professionals – but I’m probably not going to sign up for acrobatic classes anytime soon.
I’m glad we went, if for no other reason than to see Julia and Hannah’s faces when they saw all the animals and acrobatic tricks. It was a fun family adventure.
Have you ever been to the circus? What did you think?
Visit Alicia at Alicia’s Homemaking for more Try New Adventures Thursday.
Unintentional Co-Sleeping
Posted on: January 19, 2011
- In: Life
- 14 Comments
Nap time in the Big Bed
When Julia was born, I was firmly against sleeping in the same bed with her. I viewed our master bed as a sanctuary, a safe haven from the day. And as such, I didn’t want to share it with anyone but Jonathan. Which in reality meant, I spent a lot of nights sleeping in a rocking chair. But despite the hours spent sleeping nearly upright, I never gave in.
And then we had Hannah.
I was way too tired to make the trip 20 feet to Hannah’s bassinet and back every few hours. Before I knew it, Hannah was 6 months old and co-sleeping. Honestly, Jonathan and I didn’t mind, both knowing it gave us a little more sleep. However, somehow {maybe intuition?} Julia caught on to our new sleeping arrangements and demanded to have a spot too. Well, demanded might be a tad strong, maybe begging at 3 am is more like it. And really, who were we to fight it? {Ah, the life of sleep deprived parents}. Slowly, we weaned both girls out of our beds {well, Julia never fully – she still managed to find her way back in every few nights}.
Once we moved to Texas, we had the horror {and I do mean horror} of discovering that our movers broke Hannah’s crib. So, much before she {or we} were ready, Hannah was bumped up to a big girl bed – a twin mattress on the floor. Before we knew it, Hannah was coming into our room every.single.night. We pushed both girls’ beds together, in hopes that it would deter Hannah from leaving. But it did not. And, if Hannah left, Julia was sure to follow.
So our sleeping arrangements are back to unintentional co-sleeping. And while we don’t love fighting over the space at 1 am, I’ve learned to deal with enjoy having baby feet in my face every night. After all, this won’t last forever. Right?
My Blissdom Top Ten
Posted on: January 18, 2011
- In: Life
- 15 Comments
In one week {ONE WEEK!} I leave for the Blissdom Conference in Nashville. I am beyond excited. Thrilled, actually. I don’t fully know what to expect {it’s my first time going}, but I do hope to get a lot out of the conference. There are so many great seminars lined up, that it’s kind of hard to narrow down just want I want to participate in. But, I’m sure what ever I go to will be great.
1. Knowledge – From search engine optimization to editing your posts, the seminar descriptions look packed with information. And while I want to go to every single one, I’m sure I’ll be on overload before I know it.
2. Community – I’ve “met” some amazing women over the last year. Grown to really know them as they share their lives through their blogs. It’s provided me with a since of community that has been really incredible. I can’t wait to meet them in real life next week!
3. Networking – Along with the women I have “met” there are still so many great blogging women out there I haven’t. Having the chance to meet new women and expand my network is something I’ve been looking forward to for a while.
4. Creativity – I’ll be honest, I’ve been creatively dry for the last several weeks. Almost as though I’m on auto-pilot. I keep telling myself “Make it to Blissdom” because I’m convinced I’ll walk away full of wonderful creative ideas. Or at least I really hope so!
5. Seeing my family – Blissdom is held each year in Nashville – my childhood city. So going this year means I get to spend a little time with my family. Which is really awesome, because I miss them, even if it’s only been a month since I last saw them.
6. Staying at Opryland – Ok, this might be kind of a silly reason to be excited about Blissom, but the conference is held at Opryland Hotel. In all my years, I’ve never spent the night at Opryland. It’s like a daydreamy place – I had my senior prom there, I’ve walked through it’s halls dozens of times with my family – but I’ve never been lucky enough to spend the night. Until now. And as if it couldn’t get better, I get to stay with Alicia from Alicia’s Homemaking. Squeal!! So excited!!
7. Mama vacation – I’ll be gone for five whole days next week. Five. The longest I’ve ever been away from either of my girls. And while that’s a little sad, I’m taking Alicia’s point of view when she emailed me “I’m going to go SIX days without having to wipe down a high chair!” Woot!
8. Having fun – While Blissdom is sure to teach me a lot, I know it’s not just going to be a boring classroom – in fact, it’s going to be a blast. Between the kick-off party and the pj party, I have a feeling there’s going to be a lot of giggling women all around.
9. Being myself – Writing brings out a part of me that nothing else seems to and I love it. So having the chance to spend time tapping that resource is such a great thing.
10. Fashion – Ok, since I made 2010 my year to bring out my fashionista, I’m pretty excited about some of the finds I came across between now and then. In particular, a gold necklace. Which might not seem like a big deal, but to me it’s huge. I don’t wear gold, so to do a gold necklace is a big step. I’ll be wearing it at Blissdom so let me know what you think!
If you’re going to Blissdom, what are somethings you’re looking forward to?
Visit Oh Amanda for more Top Ten Tuesday.
- In: Life
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The other day, Jonathan said “You really tricked me about who you are while we were dating.”
Those words might seem to sting, but they didn’t. Because it’s true. Well, at least what he was referring to: My love/hate relationship with Chinese food.
While we were dating, we loved eating at Asian restaurants. One we found while visiting friends in Boston, Pho Pasteur, was amazing.
Madam Mam's Spring Rolls*
We ate there two, maybe three times on a week long trip. When Jonathan would visit me in college, we ate at some favorite haunts: Madame Mam’s and Thai Noodle House. Yum, yum, yum! And since Asian food is one of Jonathan’s favorite, he was thrilled that his girlfriend loved it.
And then we got married.
While we lived in Iowa, we didn’t find one Asian restaurant that we both enjoyed. Not because they weren’t good, but because I am incredibly picky. I am no fan of Panda Express buffet style Asian food. Yet it seemed that was our only real option in Iowa. So whenever Jonathan would ask “Do you want Chinese food?”, I’d sigh and say “No.”
And Jonathan felt duped. All this time I claimed to like Chinese food, when in fact, I didn’t. Or so he thought.
So this weekend when Jonathan said “You tricked me” I had to clarify:
I didn’t trick him. I still love Asian foods, I just don’t like Asian food chain restaurants. There is a big difference. Upon learning this tidbit of knowledge {although I’m fairly certain this wasn’t the first time I told him my pickiness}, he was elated. As in I-don’t-care-if-we-just-ate-let’s-drive-to-Madam-Mam’s-now-and-eat-again elated.
Needless to say, this week’s date will include Asian food.
And we’re both pretty excited.
It’s Really all About YOU
Posted on: January 14, 2011
- In: Life
- 7 Comments
The other night Jonathan and I were working on my website {have I ever mentioned how wonderful it is to have a web analysis for a hubby?? Well, it is!}. Our jaws dropped when we saw this:
Site Stats for A Wife Loved Like the Church
Since I started actively {and intentionally} blogging last February, my numbers have literally tripled. Each month I am blown away. Each month I think how amazing all of you, my readers, are. You. guys. rock. Really. You do. Your comments, your encouragement, your support, it brightens my day. Thank you so much for supporting me over the last year! I love y’all!
Just a little Friday joy to share with all of you… What’s your Friday joy?
- In: Life
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When we moved into our apartment, we laughed that it had a fireplace. A fireplace. In southern Texas. Now you’re laughing. Even though we laughed, we knew right away, the moment it was cold enough to put the fireplace to use, we would. December came a went. No fire. Then the new year began. Still, no fire. Finally, this last week, we had an “arctic blast” {weatherman’s words, not mine} and the daytime temperatures have been in the high 30’s / low 40’s and slightly dreary. Perfect fireplace weather.
Feel the warmth?
Monday I told the girls I would attempt to build and start a fire. After much coaxing turned begging and finally walking away, I had a fire going. It was slow at first, but then it burned for several hours, using up all our wood. Tuesday we bought more wood, and I started yet another fire. Come Wednesday night, I tried my hand once again. We celebrated my new found ability by roasting marsh mellows. Yummy.
Yes, those are stockings you see. All our Christmas decorations are still up, with no plans of taking them down soon. And it's not from my love of Christmas, just sheer laziness.
Now, it might not seem like a big deal to start a fire all on your own. Plenty of people have done it. But I can’t honestly say I’ve ever started a fire by myself before this week. I’ve always started fires with other people, had help collecting kindling, help coaxing it, and bringing it to life. Never all by myself, where the fire won’t start unless I start it. It was a pretty great feeling!
Up next? Starting a fire without matches! {Well, ok, that might be a bit of a stretch.}
Visit Alicia at Alicia’s Homemaking for more Try New Adventures Thursday.
A Wife Loved Like The Church 
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