Monday, May 25, 2015

Wedding, Soccer, and Memorial Day - We've Been Busy!

It's been a packed three-day weekend, but a great one!

 We got ready for Amanda and Seth's wedding after spending a few hours outside at the Pumas soccer tournament.  I got a new dress for the occasion!  That is a rarity for me.  I really like the dress.

 Ready to go!

 The wedding was beautiful!  And like a good Catholic, I did not take pictures inside the church...even though I really wanted to!  Sister Pilar, Sister Olvido, Sister Isabel, and Sister Monica were the bridesmaids along with Amanda's actual sister!  I started crying as soon as I saw the Sisters walking down the aisle.  Couldn't stop!

The ceremony was perfect.  Father Robert and Seth's dad (who is a pastor) shared the wedding duties.  It turned out great!

 Then we walked over to the Hall and enjoyed a great party!  Jacqui and me at the reception.

 The Sisters walking into the reception.  The colors were navy blue and yellow.  So pretty!

 I snuck a picture of Mr. Dodd!

 I couldn't get over the decorations at the Hall.  Stunning.

 Having a good time!

 Mr. and Mrs. Davis!

 I couldn't wait for her to get over to my table, and when she did, we squealed and cried and then did that some more!

 Toasting.

 Grampy and me.

 Having a bit of fun!

 Sure do love this man!

 Amanda's dress was PERFECT!  A la Grace Kelley.  She was just adorable.

 The back.

I am so completely over the moon happy for this girl!  She deserves it all...love, happiness, health, babies, or anything she wants!  She's just the brightest light and I am privileged to call her a friend.

I had a wee bit of fun at the party the night before and was not feeling so great on Sunday morning.  To make matters worse, we had to get up early and go to day 2 of the soccer tournament.  Eric was fantastic and told me to stay and sleep a bit more in the car.  Yes, I took a picture of myself.  #noshame.

 After an extra hour of sleep, I was feeling a little bit better.  We watched Evan play three games and Hudson played one.  Evan's team made it to the finals and got 2nd.  It was funny because we were all under the impression that these games were just for fun exhibition games.  Then it got all intense when people realized that we were playing for prizes!

I am liking my hair because I finally touched up my roots.  #redhead

 Group shots.

 More group shots.

He can never just smile at the camera!  Sigh!

We had a pretty amazing Memorial Day with a special half marathon walk, but I'll put those pictures into a separate post.  Good weekend.

Busy week ahead with graduation prep.  I need to keep exercising to keep my sanity!

Tuesday, May 19, 2015

Momfessional Moments

I'm linking up with Andrea today to share my "Momfessional Moments."  You know, the crazy stuff we moms do to survive and get through the day!  I've got so many, it's probably ridiculous, but here are a few:

It's a Win
I sometimes joke around that if I can get everybody out the door with clean underwear on their butt, it's a win.  That's not to say that we haven't pulled dirty clothes out of the hamper, done a sniff test or  Febreezed something in the dryer to make it acceptable for the day!  Yeah, that's happened more than I'd care to admit.  But I don't recall a time when anyone was wearing dirty underwear.  The boys MIGHT have had to wear a pair of their brother's underwear for the day, but at least it was clean!

Low Standards
I'm known for saying I have rather low standards. At the end of the day, cleaning is just not my thing.  It's not really my thing at any other time of the day either!  When someone talks about mopping their floor each day, I smile and say I have low standards.  People think I'm kidding.  I'm not.

Wash Again
When I'm too lazy to switch clothes from the washer to the dryer, I've been known to wash a load again.

Mis-Match
I've recently discovered that wearing mismatched socks is a sanity saver when I can't find a matching pair, and no one sees my socks anyhow.

Teacher vs. Parent
I am a totally different person when it comes to being a teacher and being a parent.  The teacher in me recognizes the importance of homework, long term projects, science fair, and reports.  The parent in me HATES it all!  I want to come home at the end of the day and be a slug.  The children want help.  It is a never ending battle inside my head to be gracious.

Health Standards
I've been known to let the kids have candy for breakfast.  It's not everyday, but it surely has happened.

Cooking Help
The kids frequently want to help me make dinner.  I know I should let them so I can foster their love for being in the kitchen.  But it's so time consuming!  I just want to get dinner on the table fast and they slow me down.  *Sidenote...even though we were busy and hungry last night, I let Hudson help me make the bacon wrapped weenies.  He loved helping.  I felt like a good mom for just a moment!

Video Games
I refuse to play them even when the kids want me to.  I find zero enjoyment in it.

TV Binge Watching
I can get very caught up in a new Netflix series and ignore the world.  Orange is the New Black, House of Cards, Gilmore Girls, and I'm currently watching Call the Midwife.  It's wonderful!  I'm trying to apply restraint, but it's hard.

Soccer Practice
I hate going to it.  I'm all about the games.  Sitting through three days/two hours each of soccer practice is mind numbing.  I try all sorts of things to make it better...read, surf the web, watch Netflix, walk...but I'd rather be doing all of that from my couch and not a lawn chair on a soccer field.  My husband is amazing and has done the majority of the soccer practices, but now I'm semi-managing the little one's team and sort of need to be visible!

Food Battles
I don't do them.  I'm not a short order cook, so I won't make anyone a separate meal, but if they don't want to eat, I don't care.  They'll figure it out if they are hungry.

Okay, that's enough for today.  There are soooooo many days when I feel like I'm not a good mom, I don't spend enough time with my kids, I don't engage, or I am cranky.  Then one or the other will walk by me and give me a huge hug.  Maybe I'm getting a few things right!

Monday, May 4, 2015

Weekend Wrap Up - A Little of This, A Little of That

It was a relatively slow soccer weekend (only two games), so it felt like we had a bit of time to catch up on a few things including some cleaning and shopping.

This was taken on Thursday morning, because we couldn't quite believe that it wasn't yet Friday.  Hudson was fully dressed under the blanket, but wanted just a few more minutes to rest his eyes!

 I tried some detox water.  I like the flavor of the cucumber and lemon, but I'm not overly fond of the mint.  It was fairly refreshing.

 Hudson helped out a younger soccer team on Friday night, and I was super excited to see that this book was delivered right before we left!  So far, I LOVE the book!  It is a system of tidying your house that fits in with my personality: all or nothing.  It does not advocate doing a little bit of cleaning at a time.  You deal with all of your stuff at once.  I've already started in with certain categories of cleaning.  Pictures and explanations below.


We attended the First Communion of Kempton, Luis, Alexis, Nathan, Isaac and Kevin on Saturday morning.  Evan jumped in as the only altar server for the service!  It was so neat to be a part of the day with so many friends receiving such a special sacrament!  Every boy in that picture can now receive communion!

Evan had official altar serving duties on Saturday night, so we went back to church and then headed home.

We were up early on Sunday morning for Hudson's second soccer game with his regular team.  They lost.

I read more of the organizing book and love so many of the concepts and ways that you approach items in your home.  It's not about tossing stuff for the sake of tossing.  However, it is about keeping only those items that TRULY bring you joy.  When looked at it from that approach, so many things are easier to let go of...at least for me.

The author has a pretty tried and true systematic method for going through your house.  You don't approach it by room, but rather by category starting with clothes.  Today I went into my closet and drawer and pulled out every top I own.  I put them all on my bed and let them "speak" to me.  Sounds corny, but it really worked.

Piles of tops and a few other items of which I knew were going to leave my closet.

There were several tops I like, but not enough that I truly enjoy wearing them.  Some of them had served their purpose in my life, and it was time to thank them and let them go.  The author also advocates folding as many items as possible and storing things vertically.  I gave it a go!

My newly vertically folded shirts!  So pretty and easy to see!

I ended up taking three bags of clothes, one giant box of stuff, and another box of stuff to the donation center!  Oh it feels so freeing to let go of items that I don't need, want, or get joy from.

 The only things left hanging are those which are materials that won't allow them to be folded nicely.  I pretty much only went through my short sleeve items.  I still have a whole closet to go, but it felt good and worthy of time.  I feel like I won't lose momentum for this type of project.

By letting go of stuff, it leaves you with the things that you truly love.  When you are only surrounded by loved items, you take better care of them.  What a fantastic concept!

Can you tell this idea excites me?  I'm sure I'll have future updates.

The rest of Sunday was spent doing what I call "puttering."  We had a few errands to run and grocery shopping to do.  We needed to fill the car with gas and buy fish.  It was a really pleasant weekend.

Sunday, May 3, 2015

Daily 4C - Week of April 26-May 2

I haven't done one of these in a while.  I may or may not try to go back and piece together the days missed.  Probably not, but it was a thought!

 Day 116 - Happy 12th anniversary to us!

 Day 117 - I took my first spin class at the gym.  It may be my last.  I almost died.

 Day 118 - My grumpy face.  It was a rough day at school, and I was feeling a bit worn down.

 Day 119 - Panoramic picture day at school.  Oh the chaos!  Actually, it was fairly smooth this year.

 Day 120 - We were having a hard time coping with the fact that it was only Thursday.

 Day 121 - I received this book yesterday and am so excited to start purging and organizing.

Day 122 - We attended the First Communion of six friends from soccer.  Kempton, Luis, Alexis, Nathan, Isaac, and Kevin all received the sacrament, and Evan was the altar server.  Happy day!