Posts Tagged ‘My friends rock’
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Our family is packing up our house for a big move to Texas. We leave next Wednesday, so we are working hard to get everything squared away in time. Thankfully, a lot gets done when Jonathan is at home and we can work together. But, I’ve still found that there are some lessons we’ve learned NOT to do when packing up your entire house.
1. Pack up all your toys – While it might seem like a great idea to clean up the toy room, it’s dangerous territory when your two toddlers have nothing to play with.
2. Pack up all your medicine – Sure, you haven’t been sick in months, so why do you need 3 bottles of NyQuil? Trust me on this – packing up all your medicine is like asking to get sick.
3. Have your oldest get pink eye – See #2. Told you I was asking for it.
4. Have your youngest get pink eye – Could I really expect her not to get it, since big sister is all she has left to play with {see #1}?
5. Get sick yourself – See #2 and #3 and #4.
6. Start The 30 Day Shred – I blame this fully on Alicia’s amazing results. Once I saw her before and after pictures, I went out that afternoon and bought 30 Day Shred. I’m on day 5. And I’m really, really sore.
7. Volunteer for anything – I volunteer for things before I even think. It’s a good habit that comes at bad times. Thankfully all my friends are gracious enough to overlook when I back out of my responsibilities at the last minute {Sorry friends!}.
8. Be hard on yourself – Let’s just say I haven’t been the greenest human lately. Or the most time conscious. Or the most loving. Or the most hygiene prone. Or anything else I strive for.
9. Be overly hard on your kids – Moving is hard for kids. They don’t fully understand what’s going on. And while it’s frustrating to explain for the fourteenth billion time what it means to “pack” I need to cut the girls some slack.
10. Not ask for help – I’m blessed with friends just waiting to help us. And I take advantage of it when I can/need. And that means thankfully I have dinner provided for us every night this week. Can you say awesome? {Thanks friends!}
What are some of your packing tips? Any crazy stories of packing with little ones?
Visit Oh Amanda for more Top Ten Tuesday.
A Real Texas Wedding
Posted on: October 25, 2010
- In: Life
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Yesterday we celebrated the marriage of two very close friends, Matt and Kristen. You might recall that Julia was their flower girl. It was a beautiful ceremony and I am so thrilled for them!
Julia was cheesing so hard in all her pictures that her eyes were almost always closed or look closed. But man was she thrilled to be up with with Kristen!
I’m not one to really cry at wedding. But…. I nearly cried. And not at the exchanging of the vows, or the pronouncement of the couple, or even the sentimental feelings of remembering my own wedding. No, I nearly cried at the very beginning when Julia was walking down the aisle. She did an amazing job as flower girl {not being scared, dropping flowers all the way down and not making a peep}. When she first started, she looked back at me a little apprehensively, and with a reassuring nod and some encouraging “You’ve got it” she marched on down. And my heart swelled with pride and sadness. Pride that she was doing something rather brave for a 2 year old, and sadness that she’s growing up so quickly. I pray that I truly live in the moment, that I treasure this time and enjoy our time together. Because one day, she’ll be walking down the aisle, and she won’t be a little girl anymore.
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After making my first apron, someone suggested I do an apron giveaway. Then one day at Hobby Lobby I came across some adorable fall inspired fabric and knew immediately that I wanted to make an apron for my readers to win!
It’s very fall-ish and perfect for all your Thanksgiving cooking coming up {hard to believe Thanksgiving is so close!}. I truly made this apron with all of you in mind and want to tell you how much I’ve appreciated your support as I’ve grown my blog this last year. It’s been so much fun and I couldn’t have done it without you!
For each comment, you’ll receive an entry and a chance to win!
1. Leave a comment telling me your favorite thing about fall.
2. Blog about the giveaway, linking back to this post.
3. Follow me on Twitter: @sadiewindham
The giveaway ends on Friday, October 22 at 11:59 CST.
This giveaway is for US residents only – sorry to all my UK friends.
A Mama in the Big Apple
Posted on: September 20, 2010
- In: Life
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I got back from New York late last night. While I had a fabulous time away, I was ready to see my family and return to my little life. And if I wasn’t ready before I got here, having Jonathan tell me five times how happy he was I was home would have done it! And just to make sure I fully understood how much I was missed, Jack {our Golden} would not leave me alone all night. He just kept getting closer and closer to me on the bed. Then the girls this morning both did little happy dances and haven’t let me out of their sights yet!
But on to the actual trip…
New York is amazing. It is crazy and congested. You can’t stick your arm out without hitting someone and I love it. Friday I spent sightseeing with Dimple, before Shambhavi came into town. We stayed mostly in the Houston St area near Union Square. We ate brunch at this great place called Clinton Street Baking Co:
So amazing is this place that the typical wait for brunch is 2-3 hours. Hours. Since we got there late and it was a weekday, we only waited 30-45 minutes. We took advantage of the time and got to see sights like this:
{Empire State Building}
And this:
{Flat Iron Building}
Friday night we went to eat at Grimaldi’s Pizzeria in Brooklyn. Despite the fact that this place is quite literally a dump, the pizza was amazing and lived up to the hype. We crossed over the Brooklyn Bridge to burn off all that yummy food.
Saturday we took the Sex in the City tour which was fabulous. It took us to the Meat Packing District and Greenwich Village. We got out at both places and enjoyed some pretty tasty cupcakes from Magnolia Bakery, made famous because of the show {and well, their delicious cupcakes}. Saturday night we went out for Dimple’s birthday. We went to a new bar, Plunge, that is on top of Gansevoort Hotel, over looking the Hudson River in the Meat Packing District. It was breathtaking. Our second stop was later that night at one of Dimple’s favorite spots, PS450. I didn’t take many pictures on Saturday, because I was getting weary of dragging my awesome, but big, Nikon everywhere. Hopefully I will get some pictures from Dimple and Shambhavi to show you soon!
Going to New York was a total departure from reality. It was relaxing {I slept till 11 most days!}, fun and completely fancy-free. But on Sunday I was ready to for home. The trip made me even more grateful for my family and my simple little life. In the words of Juno MacGuff: “I never realize how much I like being home unless I’ve been somewhere really different for a while.”
And the Results are in!
Posted on: September 15, 2010
- In: Life
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After yesterday’s post on my ten choices for New York, I’m seriously considered having you all pick my clothes for me each week. Thanks for all the great input! I thought either 1) people wouldn’t really give much opinion or 2) people would think this was the craziest post I’ve ever had. {But then I remembered I just wrote about composting toilets and reusable toilet paper, so I’m in the clear for covering crazy posts!}
I’ve decided to take all the clothes with me {plus a few more “plain” tops – as I do tend to overpack}. However, for sure I’ve decided to wear #4, #7 and #9. I added a few cardigans per layer suggestions and made sure my comfy flats were packed next to my amazing {but not so great for long walks} heels. I will also be adding this number {sans bike and possibly a different scarf}:
Thanks again ladies for all the input {and super sweet words!}. I will be sure to take lots of pictures to post next week!
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We had an amazing Labor Day weekend. While it was all happening, I couldn’t tell you what made it so great {maybe that the girls slept in, or that we had an extra family day}. But looking back now, I can tell you the top ten highlights from the last three days:
1. The Weather – Nothing puts me in a better mood than cool{er} weather. I am not a fan of summer weather. So each year when fall begins to cool things down, I am like a walking musical. It’s nothing but sunshine and roses {or is that cool breezes and fall leaves?}.
2. Hosting a BBQ – Jonathan and I decided to host a BBQ on Friday night. I emailed some friends and before I knew it, there were 15 adults and 12 kids partying in our backyard. Total bliss.
3. Apple Orchard Visit – There is a local orchard that I just love. Since the weather was so perfect, we decided to spend Saturday morning at the orchard. Hannah was more than thrilled with the all-you-can-eat apple policy.
4. Caramel Apples – You can’t visit an apple orchard without buying a caramel apple. Yumminess on a stick.
5. Pedicure – I went for pedicures with Leah and Rachel. It was my first time going and a great girls time out.
6. Family Bike Ride – Saturday evening we decided to ride into Iowa City for dinner. We biked about 4 miles to The Mill and had their Big Nachos. On the way home we stopped by my former boss’s house {who we’ve stayed in contact with since Julia was born} and enjoyed a lovely chat.
7. Watching The Family Stone – Have you seen The Family Stone with Sarah Jessica Parker and Luke Wilson? If not, it is such a cute movie {especially around the holidays}.
8. Coffee on the Porch – We hosted house church on Sunday and sat on the porch talking about God’s awesomeness and drinking coffee. Beautiful.
9. Playtime at the Mall – Monday morning we spent family time at the play gym in the mall. Jonathan bought me my first pumpkin spice latte of the season. The girls enjoyed running around crazy, while Jon got a little work done.
10. Attending a BBQ – We started the weekend off with good food and good friends, so what better than to end the weekend with good food and good friends. There were a few more adults and kids this time around and much fun was had by all.
I don’t recall Labor Day being this much fun, but I’m hoping it’s a tread for the future.
What about you? How was your Labor Day weekend?
Visit Oh Amanda for more Top Ten Tuesday.
Miss Mommy’s latest giveaway!
Posted on: August 19, 2010
- In: Life
- 3 Comments
Emily over at The Adventures of Miss Mommy is doing another fabulous giveaway!
Hailey’s Halos, is an Etsy store that makes adorable headbands for little girls
There are so many cute headbands to choose from! And the best part is, there will be three winners!
Visit Emily, leave a comment and make sure she knows I sent you!
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In the last week Jonathan’s grandma moved in with us, our whole family got sick, and I freaked Jonathan out by suggesting we use re-usable toilet paper. And during all that time, I learned some real life lessons.
1. Flowers from my husband “just because” makes my heart flutter.
2. Mamas don’t get sick days. Ever.
3. I have a wonderful community of friends. I already knew that, but felt it even more this week.
4. I still can’t sew a straight line. But I’m learning.
5. Hannah is not pleasant teethers.
6. Cola icee + no naps + Sam’s club = absolute craziness.
7. Cocoa roasted almonds are delicious.
8. Dyson makes the best vacuum in the world.
9. Mattresses on the floor will provide hours of entertainment for toddlers.
10. There are 130 days till Christmas. Oh yeah, I so just went there.
Visit Oh Amanda for more Top Ten Tuesday.
A few weeks back, Leah posted about her strawberry patch and beginning harvest. Since she’s had such abundance she’s been sharing with all her friends. She gave me a call one morning to tell me I could come pick some strawberries if I’d like. Oh yeah. We headed over after naps. I spent all of 15 minutes picking berries and came home with this:
Funny enough, that’s actually only half of what I picked. For every 2 I put in, Julia ate 3. I’m not even joking. Notice the quickly abandoned graham cracker at the bottom of the strainer? I’d given it to her at the beginning as bribe for not eating the berries. It didn’t work.
Once we got home, the Windhamettes and I sat outside in the hot summer air eating fresh picked strawberries and whipped cream.
Hannah was especially delighted.
- In: Life
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Whew, I feel like I’ve been in a bloggy fog for all this week. We have a pretty busy weekend ahead so I’ll be taking off a few days. But don’t worry, I hope to have some pretty good posts to show for it coming up to make up for it.
My friend, Emily, over at The Adventures of Miss Mommy, is hosting another one of her fantastic giveaways. She’s giving away a green, energy-saving, environmentally friendly power strip! Now, you might not be like my family, who owns a bizzillion and one power strips, but these things are awesome.
This new product “goes green” by using a master socket that controls the other outlets on the The Energy Saver Green Power Strip. Meaning when the device such as a TV is plugged into the master socket is turned on, the other sockets with your cable box, DVD player, and sound system will then be powered on. The reverse happens when you power down your TV turning off the power to the other sockets. This saves you on electricity and therefore money.
What an easy way to help the environment and your pocket book! Win-win for everyone!
Make sure to enter over at Miss Mommy and tell her I sent you!
A Wife Loved Like The Church 
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