School’s Out & I Actually Have Time to Blog

     In the words of Alice Cooper, “School’s out foreverrrrrr!”  My last day of work was last Friday, and I am footloose and fancy free for the next eight weeks…except for on Tuesdays and Thursdays when I work at the daycare.  But compared to school life, that is being fancy free.

     We kicked off our summer with our churchwide picnic Sunday night, and Davis had the best time!  Usually late evening is a tricky time for him, but when you’re surrounded by your people and a petting zoo, it’s #nobedtimenoproblem.  Also he learned what a chocolate chip cookie is…

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Y’all…that picture of him with the cookie.  I cannot.

     The rest of this week, we’re going to work on cutting out the morning nap, buying birthday presents, and planning a FIRST BIRTHDAY PARTY!  I am equal parts weepy and happy (and all the other dwarves too).  We cannot wait to celebrate sweet Davis Malcolm!

     In other unrelated news, I took a wild shot in the dark and opened a shop on Storenvy.  For the past few months I’ve been doodling around with lettering, and while I am by no means an expert, I have been having such a fun time with it that I figured…it can’t hurt.  For all of your lettering needs, you can visit me at Love Lettered and follow me on the ‘gram @loveletteredshop.

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The 4x4 canvases are my favorite!

          Those are my summer plans in a nutshell.  The littlest bit of busy and a whole lot of down time.  I am savoring every last minute of this summer and not even thinking about August…except for my required reading…  I’m hoping to be around a little more this summer since my mind is not otherwise engaged…we’ll see how that goes.

Happy Summer!

Dear Davis–11 Months

     Oh Buddy, 11 months.  We are closing in on a year, and I am so excited!  You are 100% personality and so much fun!  We have stayed busy this month and are in such a great routine.  You love school.  You love church.  You love to play.  You are basically just loving life right now.

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     Last month you learned to walk, but it wasn’t your primary mode of transportation for a few weeks.  This month, you spend almost no time crawling and walk/run everywhere.  You love to be chased down the hall and you spend a lot of time looking out the front door and window.

     You are still loving Daddy this month.  So sweet!  When he’s at work, you are all about Mama, but when Daddy’s around, I’ll happily play second fiddle.  Y’all are so sweet running after each other and playing.

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You looked like such a big boy laying in the floor playing…I don’t think I’m ready!

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You pulled this blanket off the couch and cried at me until I put it on the floor for you.  I also love a pallet.

You also cried at this mini drumstick…because it was so delicious.  I also love a drumstick.

Loves
Daddy
Food
Sleeping
Water play
School
Church

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This was your first art where you didn’t yell at me! Winning!

Stats
Length: I haven’t measured, but you are growing like a weed!

Weight:  According to the scale at Granny’s house, 23ish pounds

Head:  Keeping up with everything else…growing

Eating:  8 oz. (from a cup beginning last week!) at 6 a.m. (with breakfast), 10 a.m., 2 p.m., and 6 p.m.  You have been eating everything!  All-time favorites are pasta, chicken patties, green beans, beans, and pretty much all fruits.

Sleeping:  As always, 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. with one nap at school and two on stay home days

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Your daddy also makes this face at me sometimes…like father, like son.

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I cannot believe that the next time we do these you’ll be ONE!

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You are starting to look so much like a little boy not a baby!  You are so handsome!

Show and Tell Tuesday: My Style

     Today I’m linking up with Andrea for Show and Tell Tuesday.  We’re talking personal style…so this will basically be the comedy hour.  I do not buy clothes very often, and I tend to mix and match things I’ve had for yearssss.  There are things I’m wearing that I’ve had since high school (big eyes emoji). 

     My style philosophy is, “I wear what I like.”  If I’m shopping for clothes, I’m looking at the clearance rack first (sometimes only) and always looking for a coupon or sale of some kind.  I don’t stick to one “style,” and I definitely wouldn’t categorize myself as preppy or boho or hipster or whatever else the kids are calling it these days.

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The top left is me on any given day.  The shirt was a $7 clearance rack find, and the pants are my trusty yoga pants (not for yoga).
The middle is what I tend to look like at work in the cooler months.  I wear those black skinny pants waaayyyy too much.  Both cuffs are held up with safety pins (shame).
The far right was a snow themed outfit that I wore to convince the weather to give us a snow day…it worked AND a third grader told me I looked like a princess #winning.  Also my top knot was especially alive that day.

     I’m an elementary school teacher, so for work I like things that are comfortable and don’t need to be fiddled with all day.  I rarely use the iron, so an outfit gets bonus points if it doesn’t tend to wrinkle.  An outfit gets double bonus points if it came from the clearance rack.  I may or may not have 6+ articles of clothing from Walgreens…

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Always accessorize with a baby.  No one will be looking at you.

IMG_2794These pants from Walgreens are everything.  I have three pairs of them, and they are my lifetime.  I wore them until I was literally nine months pregnant…and also now when I am not.

     I like a little of everything…when it’s warm, I wear a lot swishy shorts and tshirts, and when it’s cool I wear a lot of blue jeans and yoga pants.  Much fashionista.

      If I’m feeling a little bland, I add in scarves or jewelry.  Jewelry is a newer staple for me.  I’ve had a lot of what I wear for a while, but it wasn’t until recently that I really started wearing it.  The most embarrassing example of this is a set of silver and gold skinny bangle bracelets that I’ve probably had since middle school (I think they came from Claire’s…I’m hiding my face now!). 

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That leopard scarf is my spirit animal.  I wore it so much this fall/winter.  The green shirt came from the men’s department at Walmart.
The shirt, pants, and jacket in the second picture all came from Old Navy (many years apart).
The gray shroud is one of my all time favorite purchases ever.  It came from Kohl’s and is so cozy.

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Fun fact…the day I wore those aviators, the bag boy at Kroger told me I was “swaggin’” #streetcred

     I have two pairs of Kate Spade studs (bought on sale…) and several pairs of knock offs that came from Wal-Mart (for $1 – $3 apiece!).  They make a big statement!  Walmart has been stepping up their game lately in clothes and jewelry.  Are you following Whoa, Wait. Walmart? on Instagram yet? Do it.

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I almost moved my husband’s deer box thing…but this is real life.  He probably doesn’t like my jewelry out anymore than I like his deer head box.  I did not realize what a problem I had with those studs until this picture…and I know for a fact that there’s a kelly green pair in my purse.  Big eyes. 
I wore that monogram necklace at our wedding reception, and it was one of my favorite parts of our day!

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In the past few years, I’ve developed a fondness for necklaces too.  One of my favorites is the tortoise shell links (far left).

     Jewelry is installtion art.  Keith hangs antlers and animals on the walls…I hang jewelry.  Marriage.  All of my necklaces are organized by “theme.”  Aaaaand I feel like a mental patient for admitting that.

     This is my “style” in a nutshell (a large nutshell…coconut shell).  I wear what I like…even if it’s $5 and 7 years old.  I might be tempted to describe all this as “eclectic,” but if we’re being truthful, “mess” is probably a better word!  I’m a fairly confident mess who believes that more is more and anything is a neutral if you will to be so!  I carried a hot pink purse for many months and called it neutral.

     Also to be noted, my husband laughs at my clothes at least once a week, but we can’t all wear scrubs every day…one of us has got to keep things interesting!

Thanks for stopping by, ladies!  Now if we could only go back about 5 years, I could tell you where to get all this stuff!

Do Good Moms Feel Frustrated

Your grace abounds in deepest waters
Your sovereign hand
Will be my guide
Where feet may fail and fear surrounds me
You never fail
And You won't start now

And I will call upon Your Name
And keep my eyes above the waves
When oceans rise
My soul will rest in Your embrace
For I am Yours
And You are mine

Hillsong United

     Unless you've been living under a rock, you've heard this song at church lately.  It's kind of having a moment, and there are about a million blog posts about why we should or shouldn't sing it.  This is not one of those.  This is a post born of a busy morning and a fussy baby.

     Davis is really a very good baby...but he has his moments.  Don't we all?  Yesterday I decided bottles were no more (so this is mostly my fault anyway).  He woke up, got breakfast and a cup, and unleashed his inner Allyson.  He screamed for the cup only to throw it on the floor.  A few times it got hung on the edge of his chair, so he screamed until he could loosen it...and throw it.

This is not a big deal!

     I know full well that this is not a stressful morning.  I should have picked up the cup, put it away, and let Davis finish his banana in peace.  

I didn't.

     I let myself get to thinking that he wasn't ever going to take a cup.  He was going to be underweight at his next appointment.  He was going to feel hungry and yucky and act ugly at school (and then what would people think of me?!).  Furthermore, why wouldn't he eat a better meal and stay full longer?  Why haven't I switched him to whole milk yet?  Do good moms know when the right time to do that is?  Do good moms feel frustrated?  Do good moms leave pacis and lovies and their sunglasses in the house and have to turn the car off and on three times to go back into the house?

I'm asking for a friend...that's never happened to me...

     I love Davis more than I could ever express, but babies can break you.  Let me reiterate that yesterday morning should not have been stressful.  The events really weren't.  The lie was.

A hectic morning means you're a bad mom.

Why didn't you have everything together early?  You're lazy.

You're going to be late.  You'll have a bad day.  Bad day = failure.

You're not really good at this.  You'll never get it together.

     Maybe I'm crazy (scratch that maybe), but the truth is that the enemy knows my weaknesses.  He knew that a hectic morning was the perfect time to whisper lies.  He knew that those lies would hurt.  He knew where to sow fear and anxiety and resentment.  

Motherhood is deep water, y'all.

      My heart wants to do what is best for Davis every minute.  I have such a hard time separating my actions from his behavior.  It's so easy to think that every time he's fussy it's my fault.  Every unfinished bottle or meal is my fault.  Every time he's not perfect, it's my fault.  The lies and the fear and the anxiety are deep.

But that depth is where His Grace abounds!
He meets us there.

     He is Grace.  He establishes us and affirms us and upholds us through busy mornings and the enemy's lies.  He speaks His Truth in the face of the enemy even when we can't.  He doesn't magnify our failures and our struggles.

     The truth is that is wouldn't matter if I had a perfect house or a perfect baby or a perfect family or a perfect life.  My sufficiency can never come from myself.  2 Corinthians 3:5 (ESV) speaks clearly.

Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God.

     I had a great morning today.  I was ready and dressed and had the bed made early...but Davis didn't take his cup.  My sufficiency wasn't from the made bed or the fact that my eyeliner matched on both eyes today.  My sufficiency comes from Jesus only.  He quiets the lies.  He quiets my heart.


Because no post is complete without a picture.