Instagram Saturday

This has been a doozie of a week.  Not only was I not able to get to my October challenge because of kids being sick and a massive amount of sleep deprivation, but I escaped this week with a sinus infection.  I'v been sucking it up and pushing through the pain and congestion because I'm leery about taking any meds that warn nursing moms to think twice before using.... okay, I will.   Now if I could only find my Netty Pot I think I could get relief.

So in the mean time no updates to share, but I thought I'd start a regular installment that I can dust off and bring out from time to time.  Instagram Saturday (or any other day of the week for that fact)  I love taking photographs and have loved the Instagram app on my phone.  It has a bunch of built in filters that give photographs a more dramatic effect and make anyone with a camera on their phone look like they might actually be a budding photographer.

I hope you enjoy my pictures.  If you'd like to follow my feed on Instragram look me up- I'd love to follow you too.

Here are some of my favorites from this summer-

We spent the week of 4th of July with some dear friends at a lake house in Upper Michigan.  It was a relaxing and peaceful environment unless you are Kaylin and haven't grown into the fine art of doing nothing. :)  As we searched for ways to keep her busy, while taking care of Jordan who was only 2 months old at that point, our go-to solution became bubbles.  She would wake up every morning requesting "bubbles, bubbles," and we obliged. So much joy and freedom - I can't see bubbles and not think of our sweet girl and that week at the lake.

I went to a women's retreat with my friends from church and was challenged in what I believe about the Bible and how I would live that out in my life. I realized  I'm way to casual in how I value the Bible and the impact it can have on my life.  I started working through an inductive Bible study by Kay Arthur and have loved digging in to the word of God and seeing things that I haven't before.  This was one of those rare afternoons when both kids decided to nap at the same time and I got to enjoy some quiet time on the porch.

Another favorite of our dear Kaylin is Elmo!  I put Pinterest to work and found some cute Elmo Cupcakes that I thought I could reproduce for Kaylin's birthday.  These were my practice Elmos... they turned out cute but the final Elmo product turned out even better.  It just makes me wonder what kind of crazy things I'll end up attempting for my kid's birthday's throughout the years.

Happy Birthday Kaylin! Yet another favorite thing of Kaylin is Thomas the Train.  For her birthday we went to a Day Out with Thomas and then had lunch at a little diner called Two Toots.  They deliver the food to your booth via model railroad train.  My mom and dad were in town to help celebrate and we got some priceless pictures of the kids with Grandma and Grandpa.  This is one of my favorites- three generations of energetic women.  So lovely!

Just in case you thought I forgot about Jordan here's some of the sweet snap shots of him this summer...  Nap time, Mini Daddy, and a day at the park.  This kid is amazing and blows me away with his clear blue eyes and gummy grin.  He is my little cuddle buddy and sweet peanut. 

Hope you enjoyed!  We'll be going to a pumpkin patch sometime soon and I hope to catch more pictures of my sweet family and what we're up to.

Have a great day!

Bring the Hype!

Today is day 2 of my 31 day challenge and so far, so kinda... okay.

I'm doing my best to stick to it, but I guess my kids haven't quite made the commitment yet. Sunday night I was up at 11:00, 1:30a, 4:14, and 5:30. Monday night, 2:13a, 4:15, and never got back to bed.  One kid has a hacking cough, the other has gas... pleasant combination. As soon as Kaylin isn't contagious I'm getting to the gym, as soon as Jordan is sleeping I'll get up in the morning.

If a picture says 1000 words
- this is my day in two words
 "Help, ME!"

Hoping the next check in shows a little more progress. :)

Today I was completely wiped out but still needed to parent.  Since watching Sesame Street for 8 hours isn't an option I had to be intentional about getting off the couch and out of the house.  So we combined our errand today (going to the grocery store) with an outing (having a picnic at the park).  It helped to have a plan for the morning and feel like I was doing something with my day instead of letting it do it's worst to me. We waited out Jordan's nap with a Sesame Street and played play dough, but then we were off and out of the house enjoying a beautiful fall day. This did wonders to wake me up and pick up my sleep deprived spirit.

Lesson take away- When exhausted, make one choice that can help take control of your day.

Later today as I was watching the clock and counting the minutes till Dad would be home, I got the call that could have made my train come off the tracks...  Dad needed to stay and work late to get a project done.   Arghhh!  I'm tired, have been on the job all day, and just wanted Jody to be home to tag in and take over.  Okay, deep breath, I can do this.

I let Kaylin sleep extra long, made an iced coffee, and moved the lap top down on the floor to get some work done while entertaining Jordan. When Kaylin woke up she played kitchen while I cooked dinner. Jordan went down for a cat nap and we rode out the early evening.  I fed both of the kids and got the call Jody was on his way home- Hallelujah!

I was still exhausted, still not very excited about the fact I had to do an extra hour on my own (really not that big of a deal, but remember I'm running on fumes) I needed to change my attitude and make dad coming home a fun event for the kids and the dad. So, I started to do a cheer ... "15 minute clean sweep, 15 minute clean sweep, 15 minute clean sweep" ... I was hyping up the kids, things were getting picked up, dad coming home was becoming the event of the day, and my attitude was completely changed.  We danced, giggled, raced around... and in the end had a really fun time.

Lesson take away- I need to decide to do things on the outside that help change my attitude on the inside.

Being with the kids all day when I'm really tired is trying, but I know Jody faces stuff all day at work that can be trying too.   I want to make sure that when he comes home at the end of the day he has a happy wife and kids to be welcomed by, and that the house isn't a complete pit. :) Another benefit of the 15 minute clean up- the toddler feels like a big girl because she helped get work done.  When she feels useful her tantrums aren't as frequent or as intense. Win, win, win- all the way around!

So, that's the check in and what I decided to do with my less than ideal situation, and crazy lack of sleep.  I guess, if I was hoping to be more intentional, that I'm doing it- even if it's taking a different form.

Plugging away at it- Hope your month has started well!