A Weekend in Texas

I got to check off a bucket list item a few weeks ago. For no particular reason, I've always wanted to visit Texas and Georgia. For whatever reason, those felt the most "Southern" to me and I really wanted to see what it was like in the South. We've been planning this trip to Texas since Fall. The whole trip was centered around a girls' weekend at the IF: Gathering. We planned to fly in a day early so we'd have time to drive from Dallas down to Waco for a bit before the conference started. My love of all things farmhouse and Fixer Upper made this a given while in TX. The weather ended up making it an extremely short visit (thanks for nothing Texas weather, the snow followed us down from Minnesota!) but I still felt at home. I could have spent hours in there gathering inspiration. Even though we are in the Baby Steps, we saved cash for me to take on our trip. I did find some sweet little things to add to our home and remember this trip by. Now we just have to go back and visit when the weather is warmer! And note to self: just because it's Texas does not mean 40 degrees will feel warm. Pack more than sandals and a light jacket next time or you'll be buying sneakers to save your feet again haha.

Visiting Magnolia was such a small part of our trip but it was the only time I lugged my "big girl" camera with me. I wish I had taken more pictures of the rest of my time with these sweet friends. I tried to soak it in and appreciate every moment away from my family before we headed back home. The whole weekend put me out of my comfort zone but in the very best way. It's easy to sink into a rut but sometimes its necessary to step out in faith and try something new. These ladies have become like family to me and I so enjoyed getting to experience all of these new things with them!

2019

It seems that everyone thinks resolutions are cliche. There is such a high failure rate that most people think why even bother! In the past few years there has been a trend towards choosing a word for the year instead of resolutions. The first one or two years I chose a word, I ended up forgetting what the word was or didn't let it guide my actions at all. In December 2017 I decided that my word for 2018 was going to be GRACE. I had a teeny baby and toddler running around so I knew I was in major need of grace, from myself and everyone around me. Little did I know how much that word would truly impact my year!

In early 2018 I was diagnosed with PPA and had to make some serious changes to my routine. I had to turn all of my focus onto healing myself and finding a good self-care routine. I had to ask for help and accept it when it was offered. I had to give myself ALL THE GRACE. It took quite awhile to feel better but had I not shown myself grace most of all, I'm not sure I would have been able to heal. It meant making an effort each day and at the end of the day, letting things go when they didn't get done. I felt so much of God's grace surround me as I worked through each day.

Another goal I had in 2018 was to document our lives through the 1 Second Everyday app. In 2017, I did a weekly self-portrait project and wanted to do something completely different last year. I loved how the video turned out! I had to push myself to document more videos than photos and although some months were a flop, I had some form of memory to add in for every single day.

This year I decided to have set monthly resolutions as well as choosing two words for the year. I chose HEART + HANDS as my focus words. You know the saying, "If you think my hands are full, you should see my heart!" I have some big dreams that God has placed on my heart as far as our family goes and that saying just keeps popping out at me. This is the second year in a row that I found a planner with my inspiration word on the cover! I know God will open my heart + hands to accept whatever His plan is for our family.

 On top of those dreams, I wanted to set a monthly resolution to work on a new skill or improve a skill I've worked on in the past. So far I've picked out my resolutions for January, February, and March! My hope is to blog a couple times a week about how I'm working towards those resolutions each week to keep myself on track. I know for myself, when I try to work on a goal for long periods of time I end up falling off the wagon. I hope by focusing on each resolution for just a month at a time, I will find a good routine to continue those skills after I've moved on.

I'd love to hear what resolutions or goals you have for this year! If you chose a word for 2019, what was it?

Day In the Life - Mom of Two Littles

One of my favorite things to do is write down what a day in our life looks like with the kids at different ages. It's like a snapshot of how chaotic our days can be with little ones and how that changes as they grow. This day happened to play out the way my ideal schedule would go. However, at least a few days a week this schedule gets thrown out the window for errands, commitments outside the house, lazy days, etc. I believe kids thrive on schedules so we try our hardest to give them routine. I also try to remember that deviating from the routine is just as important for them to learn! So here's what our days currently look like with a 1 year old and 3.5 year old.

7 AM: I try to wake up and be downstairs by 7 just to get a few minutes to myself. I read a quick devotional on my phone, make the bed (this is new so I don't expect that to last), and sneak downstairs. I've been trying to get my yoga in right away in the morning before the day gets in my way. A lot of mornings one or both of the boys join me before I can get started. Jax has been feeling kinda icky this week so he was extra snuggly when he woke up. He nursed and then snuggled in my lap while I started yoga.

8 AM: Once we've all woken up the boys usually play and watch PBS while I attempt to throw breakfast together. I'm not a huge breakfast person even though breakfast food is my favorite. Both the boys love to eat breakfast though and are usually hounding me for food as soon as they're fully awake! Sometimes the TV distracts them long enough for me to get food ready in peace. Usually Jax is hanging off my legs and Mav is blasting me with questions about the world.

 9 AM: Breakfast is finished anywhere between 9 and 10 depending on how long they've played while eating. I used to get the kids dressed as soon as they woke up. Then I'd end up changing their food covered clothing after breakfast almost daily so now we eat in our jammies. Getting dressed has become a game of who can run away from mama the most before you're dressed haha.

10 AM: After several rough months we've finally gotten Jax on a regular 2 nap schedule so he goes down from 10-11. This is usually when I attempt to clean up one area of the house. It's also when I try to give Mav some one-on-one attention by doing his "school work." Every day he says "Mama, you know what we haven't done today?! My schooooo werk!" (He says it in the sweetest sing-songy voice, I need to record that before he stops saying it.) I wasn't ready to send him off to preschool this year so we chose to work on some things at home. A friend shared this workbook from Costco and it's been the perfect starter to his school work every day. Then we finish up with some sort of activity if there's time.

 11 AM: If we have errands this is when we usually try to sneak out of the house. It becomes a bit of russian roulette because it's so close to lunch time and the boys often get hangry. Sometimes I feel like it takes an hour just to get all the shoes, coats, and hats on everyone to get out the door. I know I'll miss helping them some day so I try not to get too wound up about how long it takes.

12 PM: I didn't feel like braving errands with my camera so there's no shot for this one. If we weren't running errands this is usually when I'm throwing together lunch and trying to get a load of dishes going. I try to make sure I sit down with the boys during lunch and actually talk with them. This also forces me to eat like a functioning adult instead of just snacking here and there.

1 PM: Since we were running errands we didn't get back until 1 which made lunch more rushed. Gage waiting under Jax's chair is how 100% of mealtimes go unless we put him outside. Once they finish up lunch its straight down for naptime, the goal is asleep by 1:30. They're both exhausted by then so they fall asleep pretty quickly.

2 PM: Since we're in BSF this year I've started using the first part of naptime to read my Bible and get at least a few questions done. This is also when I do my daily gratitude list, finish writing my to-do list if I haven't already, and get distracted by my phone for longer than I want to admit.

 3 PM: I work on my to-do list once I'm done with my Bible study. This day I had some computer work to get done. This is only a small view of how chaotic our office/mudroom is right now. I had it nicely cleaned and then the winter gear came out and everything else piled up in here too. I wish I could avoid it but both of our laptops crapped out this year so the only access to a computer we have is in the office. That's also why I'm terrible about blogging on a regular basis. It's hard to get down here and still keep a good eye/ear on the boys.

4 PM: The boys wake up anywhere between 3:30 and 4:30. I let them sleep until they wake up but more often than not I'm in there to wake them up at 4. We hang out and play until Mark gets home from work.

5 PM: If we're on our game (which doesn't happen often) then someone will cook supper right away and we can eat before 6. That's what happened this day but usually it's closer to 6:30 before we're eating. When we moved to this house I made it a rule that supper is to be eaten at the table as a family. That's how I grew up and it's really important to me that my kids have that too.

 6 PM: This is usually when we are eating supper and having some family time. Rough housing, video games, books, building with blocks. Every night is different!

 7 PM: Family time and the beginning of their bedtime routine. This night they decided to "help" me decorate the Christmas tree. This is usually one I do myself since I let them help decorate the other tree. But they were having fun so eventually I broke down and stopped trying to stop them from decorating it. I can always move the ornaments later.

This is generally bath time on the nights they need one and then we follow their bedtime routine around 7:45. If I had my way it would be lights out by 8 but it usually crosses over into the 8 o'clock hour. I don't mind because usually bedtime is full of snuggles and giggles.

8 PM: We finish up the bedtime routine with books and prayer. Jax nurses for a minute before jumping up to join in on the book. The boys get snuggled into bed with one last kiss and the we cross our fingers that they go right to sleep. Right now they're falling asleep within 10-15 minutes but sometimes it's rough. Mav has been known to still be awake when we check the monitor around 9 or even as we're getting ready for bed around 10.

I want to know, how similar does your routine look to ours if you have little ones at home?

Traveling With Little Ones

Last week we got back from our first family vacation to Florida. Now, we travel back and forth to Iowa quite a bit in the car but this is the first time we've gone so far from home. This is also the first time either of the boys have been on an airplane! I did tons of scouring the internet and asking friends for their best tips for enjoying vacation with little ones.

I would say my two biggest tips now that we're back are to make wherever you're staying feel like home and start off with low expectations for your kids. When we travel anywhere that we're staying overnight, I always bring small comforts to help my kids feel more at home. A sound machine to help them sleep, small loveys, and some essential oils that we use to help them feel more comfortable. I usually try to follow their normal routine as closely as I can so they know what to expect. Although we took the "it's vacation!" attitude this trip and we're paying for it over a week later. The boys got so far off their schedule and it hasn't been fun trying to get them back to it. We stayed in a condo instead of a hotel and I think that made a big difference in them settling in too!

The other thing I highly recommend is to lower your expectations. Of course you want to have a good time on your well-earned vacation! Hey, it's been 5 years since we took one so I totally get that! You have to remember that kids are still kids and when they are out of their normal element, they're going to act up. For example: I packed loads of toys and snacks in our carry-ons for the boys. We had two flights lasting a total of about 3 hours each way. We knew Maverick would be fine with movies and snacks, he took the long day in stride. I thought surely because our first flight was so early that Jax would sleep on the plane and then we'd pacify him with snacks and distractions. NOPE! We made it through the first flight alright but the second flight ended with me crying in the airport. Yikes. I had way too many expectations which made it so much harder on me when things went wrong. Honestly, that rough flight set my expectations much lower for how the rest of the week would go and I needed that! The boys had normal meltdowns for their ages but were champs all week so we took everything else in stride and laughed as much as we could.

We were lucky to be traveling with family so we got to spend alone time with each of the boys! That rarely happens at home where both of us get to spend time with just Mav or Jax. Those memories alone are worth their weight in gold! The few sour spots were far outweighed by all the fun we had. Traveling with kids surely comes with its difficulties but don't let that stop you from taking them along for the ride! And travel with extra help whenever you can because it saved our sanity haha.

Welcome!

My reason for starting this blog is to share about my love for motherhood and home decor as I'm learning on the fly. I'm still fairly new to being a mama so I'd love to share what works for me and our family along the way. We moved to Minnesota last Summer and bought our first home just weeks before our second son was born. Growing up in the country fostered a love for all things "farmhouse" before it was a decorating style. The older I've gotten, the more farmhouse just feels like home to me. I've gotten myself elbow deep in decorating books and instagram accounts trying to make our house feel pretty while raising these little farm animals! Follow along as we make this house a home and do our best not to mess up our kids too much!