Five on Friday

Happy 4th of July, everyone! I hope you are all having a great holiday! As I type it is not even 9:00 and I'm in bed for the night. It's been a long week and a busy day, and this mama is TIRED.

I've been off my rhythm with blogging a bit - a couple out of town trips, combined with some insanely busy weeks at work as of late means a couple regular posts that didn't get done. So instead of trying to back track and make them up, I'll just do a mix of updates for this Five on Friday post.

Here are some random pieces for the last couple weeks...

**ONE**
A couple weeks ago, right before my weekend out of town with the WOWZAs, I had a major geocaching mishap that landed my phone on the bottom of a swampy pond. I had stopped to look for a quick cache before going grocery shopping one night. It was getting late and I was losing light. I was in a little wooded area by a pond. I was looking around when something startled me, causing me to jump and drop my phone...right in the water. After a frantic moment or two of swearing and trying to determine how deep the water was, I jump in. I discovered the water was mid-thigh deep. I grabbed my phone - which still on - got out of the water and assessed the damage.

Long story short, it wasn't destroyed, but it was in rough shape. After a couple days of "intensive care" in rice, it's mostly back. The only thing that doesn't work is the microphone - so if I want to talk on it, it needs to be on speaker, or have a headset plugged in. Not ideal, but not worth it to replace...yet.

I discovered in the couple days I was without my phone I realized how much I'm addicted to it. Uff. It's odd how naked I felt without it. Although of course there were ways people get in touch with me if needed, it was weird to not feel as "in touch." I'm thankful for the connected-ness that my phone provides, but I do want to make it less of a downright addiction moving forward.

**TWO**
It has been very, very busy last few weeks at work. It's been really hard. I've worked really hard, put in longer hours, skipped out on some lunches, and been super stressed. Something needed to give - even just a little. So I switched by schedule a little, and am now taking 30 minute lunches (instead of the hour that we're allotted). This allows me to leave 30 minutes early, and as a result get home 30 minutes earlier.

I've had the schedule just a few days, but it's been really nice (as long as I get out on time!). If I leave on time, I get home at 4:45...which allows some time to just relax and enjoy time as a family before we have to get into our night routine. It's not much, but it's something.

**THREE**
A highlight of last weekend was our neighborhood garage sale. The sale, sponsored by our neighborhood association, is an annual event. I missed out last year because of work, so I was really excited to join in the fun this year!

Jeromy's mom, dad, sister, and her boyfriend came over to hit the sale with us - they are pretty intense garage salers! There were over 100 sales within just a few miles of us! We walked through the neighborhood, and found some good sales. Some of the best finds - Jeromy's fishing pole, a Star Wars shirt and practically brand new jeans (among other things) for Linnea, and a couple nice things to outfit my sister-in-law's new apartment. All in all, it was a very fun and successful day!

Linnea was VERY excited to pull around her haul!

But she shopped until she dropped!!

**FOUR**

This week we are without daycare, as our provider is on vacation. Typically when she's on vacation, we split the time between our parents - my parents generally take Linnea Monday, Wednesday, and their usual Friday, and Jeromy's parents usually take Tuesday and Thursday. But this time around, my parents were going to be in Denver (in fact, they still are), so the normal schedule was not going to work. Thankfully, my in laws are awesome, and jumped at the chance to help. Because they live in Somerset (about 45 minutes to an hour away), we decided it made the most sense for her to stay a couple nights over there.

My mother-in-law came over on Tuesday to spend the day at our place with Linnea, and then took her home with her that night. Linnea stayed there Tuesday and Wednesday night. It wasn't the longest time we've been away from her by a long shot, but it was the longest time we've been at home without her. It was weird. I had high hopes of getting a bunch of stuff done, but I didn't. It was really quiet, and quite lonely. Maybe that sounds pathetic, but Linnea is just such a cool kid - most of the time at least ;-) - and we have a really good time as our little family. She came back yesterday, and even with the 2-year-old - almost 3-year-old tantrums, I was happy to have of us under the same roof.

**FIVE**

One of the many joys of my life as a mama is to introduce Linnea to the joys and traditions of my childhood. 

One of the little things I remember doing as a kid was to go out in the rain and "puddle jump" during or after it rained. I went with my mom and my sister - often barefoot - and we loved to find the biggest puddles in the neighborhood. I can still remember where the best puddles could be found.

When it started to rain one evening last week, I decided that it was time to introduce Linnea to this tradition. While it was still drizzling, we put on her rainboots, and found a nice big puddle to jump in .

A couple minutes after we started, the clouds opened up and started to completely down pour! Like can't see a foot in front of you, getting in your eyes, instantly soaked down pour! Linnea didn't love that, so we went back inside briefly. But when the storm passed we went back out to jump again.

It was only a couple minutes, but it was such a wonderful time, passing on a little tradition of my childhood to my sweet baby.

After our puddle jump adventure...

Five on Friday

Wait, what? Friday already? It's been a busy week, in a busy month. Slow down, time...slow down!! We've got a fun weekend ahead...and a fun couple weeks for that matter. I'm trying to just soak it in and enjoy. Some days I do a better job at that than others.

Here's what's rattling around in my brain this week...

**ONE**
I am wearing a new shirt today that is very unlike me. Thanks, folks who follow me on Instagram, for weighing in on it. Through this, I have realized how boring I am with my clothes. I don't have a lot of variety. I typically wear darker, jewel tone colors - mostly because those are the colors I like, and the ones I think look best on me.

I generally wear pretty plain clothes - not a lot of detail or design.

But then I found this shirt. Literally the only red piece of clothing in my wardrobe, and very unlike antyhing I own. But something about it spoke to me, so I bought it.

**TWO**
This perhaps falls into the "TMI" category, but here we go...

Tuesday afternoon, I started having this itch on my back. I took a look, and it looked like cluster of mosquito bites. NBD...it's Summer in Minnesota, and that happens - they are particularly ridiculous this year, as if to just mock us after the long, grueling Winter.

But the next day, I kept finding more clusters...a couple more on my back. Some along my bra line...another along my underwear line...one in the middle of my stomach. They itched like crazy.

I, being the slight hypochondriac that I am Googled everything from bed bugs, to fleas, to shingles, to contact dermatitis. I called the nurse line too.

Long story short, they are not concerned at all... they said it didn't sound like shingles or anything serious. Probably either some sort of insect bite, or seasonal allergy issue.

The itch is getting a little better, but the bumps have not gone away yet. I'm just trying not to think about it. I'll let you know how that goes... :-P

**THREE**
The Fault in Our Stars movie comes out today! Have I talked about my love for John Green on here before?

(Just now as I'm writing this I checked the blog and I found that yes, just last week I wrote about re-reading the book).

I seriously have such love for John Green. If you haven't read his books, please do. He's so brilliant, so witty, such a good writer. It's so wonderful (and a little surreal) to see him getting the attention he so deserves!

**FOUR**
Who is this big girl? Seriously! Do you ever take a picture, and then look at said picture, shocked at the reality of it? That was this picture this week for me. She'll be three in just a couple months, and I just can't believe it.

**FIVE**
In frustrating news, the miscarriage saga continues. I had my post-op appointment with my doctor this week (who, by the way is FABULOUS...if you are looking for a doctor, let me know...she's the best). It was good...she's so kind. She gave me a big hug, we both teared up a bit, and talked about moving forward. Just as a precaution, she had me do a pregnancy test to be sure that the pregnancy hormones are out of my system. She said a very small percentage of women still test positive at this point of the process.

Well, it turns out I'm one of them. She called me today and said that my pregnancy test came back positive...4 weeks (as of today) since the D&C. While I would LOVE it if this was a new pregnancy, that is highly unlikely as we were told to not have unprotected sex until I got my period again. (TMI? Sorry...).

So yeah. I have to go in this weekend to get my blood tested to see where the hCG (pregnancy hormone) levels are. This feels like such a huge step back. I had hope that my period (and opportunity to "try" again) were right around the corner, and now I find out my body still thinks I'm pregnant? Come on, body! You're smarter than that!

We've had it so easy, comparatively speaking, to other people who have dealt with fertility issues... but this is still stinky.

Five on Friday (well...Saturday...)

Another week gone. I'm a day late on this, but decided still to post. How can it be June tomorrow?The weather finally seems to be agreeing with the calendar, which is nice. It's been a fun week...here's what's on my mind.

**ONE**
My birthday was on Thursday, and it was wonderful! I had a really great day! Jeromy took the day off, so we all got to sleep in. We had a nice slow morning, waking up slowly, and having blueberry pancakes for breakfast. Mid-morning we took Linnea to daycare, so Jeromy and I could have a little date day.

The weather was amazing, so we decided to do a little geocaching. It was a bit of a bust, since the path we needed to take to find many of the ones we were planning on was flooded out. But we found a few, enjoyed each other's company, and soaked up the sun.

Geocaching!

We had an impromptu lunch on the patio at Maynard's. After that, Jeromy dropped me off for my 90 minute massage! It was wonderful!!

Jeromy picked up Linnea, and then they both picked me up after my massage. We made a quick stop at home, and then had dinner at Brasa, which has become a family favorite. It was a perfect day!

Me and my girl at dinner!

**TWO**
This weekend has been Operation: Big Girl Bed. We bought the bed last weekend, and were finally able to order the mattress on Thursday. Jeromy picked it up yesterday, and we have one successful night under our belts. It takes her a bit to settle down, although that was true with her crib. She's waking up a lot to go to the bathroom, but again...it was like that with the crib.

I think she'll do okay, which is a relief.

**THREE**
Have you heard of John Green? He's an absolutely brilliant young adult author. I've been a fan since about 2007/2008. He's gotten attention recently for this book The Fault in Our Stars, because it's now a highly anticipated movie.

I re-read The Fault in Our Stars - finished it this week. It was even better the second time around, which I didn't even think possible.

If you haven't read it, do yourself a favor and read it...and then let me know what you think. I'm looking forward to the movie, which is coming out next week. John played a big part in the creation of the picture, so I trust it will do the book justice.

**FOUR**
I put together the family calendar for June today (we have a dry erase calendar that hangs in our kitchen), and I'm just bracing myself for the month to fly by. It's a busy one, filled with lots of fun things, and two out of town trips for me. I catch myself worrying about how everything is going to get done, and how it's all going to go.

I have to turn off the anxious voice in brain, and tell myself to just enjoy!

**FIVE**
I found this a week or so back, but I still wanted to share. I really like it, and find myself coming back to it. It can be true about a lot of things and situations. You may not be able to control the situation you are in, but you have the ability to choose the way you respond. It's not always easy, but it's a good thing to at least try to remember.

Five on Friday

It's been a busy week, and I can't believe it's Friday! Three day weekend coming up, and a short, birthday week next week! Waaaa-hooooo!!!

Here's what's in my brain this week!

**ONE**
You guys. I'm going to be photographed for the 4th Trimester Body Project. Have you heard of it? Basically, the 4th Trimester Body Project is the brain child of photographer Ashlee Wells Jackson. According to the website the project is "dedicated to embracing the beauty inherent in the changes brought to our bodies by motherhood, childbirth, and breastfeeding."

I've been following the project on Facebook for quite some time. The images Ashlee captures are absolutely gorgeous - moms of all shapes, sizes, ages, and circumstance. Sometimes on their own, sometimes with their kids - always a black and white image of women wearing black underwear and bra (or some topless). The images are so tastefully done, and provide such a beautiful glimpse at what bodies can look like after pregnancy and child birth.

As soon as I heard they were coming to Minneapolis, I considered doing it. But being photographed in my underwear? That's enough to make most people a little nervous. I've struggled with weight/body image issues for most of my adult life. I have, for my entire adult life, been considered "overweight" by the BMI scale. The ONLY time I was barely under that was when I was breastfeeding and training for a half marathon, and quite frankly not able to eat enough within the day to maintain a healthy weight.

So yeah, I'm nervous. But I believe so strongly in the mission of the project. And I want Linnea to grow up seeing me EMBRACE my body, rather than OBSESS over its imperfections. Especially after the miscarriage, I knew how important it is to honor and embrace my body as much as I can.

Stay tuned to hear more - the photo shoot is at the end of July!

**TWO**
Have you heard Sia's song Chandelier? (I don't know how late I am to this party.) I was exposed to it this week and I CAN. NOT. STOP. listening to it.

The song itself is awesome - a little bit haunting/weird. The video is down right bizarre. It's once of those songs and videos that I don't quite understand, but I can't get enough of.



**THREE**
I meant to post this last week...I've been thinking a lot about the world of social media. It's such an interesting beast. Through social media I've met people I likely never would have met, stayed connected with people I may have struggled to stay connected with, have shared major life experiences, gotten advice, etc.

But there is such a dark/dangerous side too. Social media has created a world of instantaneous judgement. You like a post, comment on a picture, share a link. You write your opinions on the latest election, or the juiciest piece of celebrity gossip, etc, and it's suddenly available for everyone to see to read, judge, like, share...

Further, social media creates a certain sense of anonymity and level of protection... people feel as though they can say ANYTHING with repercussion. People say things online that they would never say to someone's face (or at least I hope they wouldn't).

I really don't like this side of social media. I'm trying to be aware of my own habits, to not play in to this tendency.

I don't really have a point to this...I've just been thinking about it, so I thought I'd share. :-)

**FOUR**
A good example of the "staying connected with people I may have struggled to stay connected with" mentioned above are my awesome friends Bethany and Pam.

Bethany, Pam, and I met when we worked together at Augsburg Fortress Publishing several years back. After several years of working together, Pam and I moved on to other opportunities, while Bethany did an awesome job of advancing within the organization. Now Bethany's moving to Seattle, which prompted us to get together - for the first time since probably the last time we worked together (2008/2009).

So on Wednesday we got together for dinner at Pizza Biga in Minneapolis (Jeromy and Linnea joined in too). After dinner, we went to a local nail salon to get pedicures.

It was SO fun to reconnect - we picked up right where we left off, as in no time had passed. It was a good reminder to make it a priority to get together with friends, and not let time slip away.

**FIVE**
I ran for the first time in a very long time this week. Getting back to running has been such an obstacle for me. I hadn't been able to run - or even workout - at all when I was pregnant. And then when I miscarried, I was struggling to get motivated to get back at it. But I know that running and being active is such a critical part of my emotional health.

So I pushed myself out the door. I'm so stubborn that I set the bar high for myself - so my first run back was almost 4.5 miles, pushing Linnea in the stroller. It was slow - and we took a couple little breaks, but I did it it and it felt good to be back at it.

The goal for the coming weeks is to get back to a decent routine. Wish me luck!

Five on Friday

After weeks that dragged by because I felt like crap, this week has really flown by. I spent the week trying to get back on track...with work...at home...emotionally.

Here's what's rattling around in my brain this week...

**ONE**
Has it really only been a week? Even though the week has flown by, I can't believe it's only been a week since we officially said goodbye to our Christmas baby. It's been an odd week emotionally. I've been less sad than I expected overall, mostly because it honestly just feels like a bad dream. It seems weird to think I was even pregnant...and especially weird to think that it was only a week and a half ago that everything seemed fine.

I've been so thankful for my friends this week. I've gotten texts, blog comments, Facebook messages, calls, etc. to check in on how I'm feeling, how I'm doing, and to say sorry. I appreciate this more than I can say. Thank you to everyone reading this who has supported me in these ways.

**TWO**
All of a sudden, my birthday is just around the corner. I know a lot of people don't like their birthdays, but let me tell you...THIS girl is not one of them.

I love that my birthday is MY day (sure, there are a lot of other people born on that day, but whatever). I'm not always great about taking time for myself or thinking about what I want, but I try my best to do what I want on my birthday.

I love that birthdays offer the opportunity to celebrate LIFE! I hope that I never get to the point of not wanting to disclose my age. I wanted to embrace each and every year of my life - they make me me, after all.

**THREE**
I've officially caught the family cold. Not enough to stay in bed, but enough to make me feel really junky. Headache. Scratchy, runny throat. Stuffy. Yuck. I hope it passes soon.

**FOUR**
We're hoping to make the move to a big girl bed for Linnea soon. This has been another transition I've been SO overwhelmed by and nervous about. However, I'm hopeful, because other transitions I've been really nervous about lately (getting rid of the nuk at bedtime, potty training) have gone pretty well. I think she's ready. Now the question is...is mama?

**FIVE**
Seriously, where is Spring? It's been chillier this week than average. Sounds like more consistent 70s and sunny days are on the way. Please, please, please!!

Five on Friday

The week is over. Praise God. This week has been...lousy. But it's wrapping up in the best way that it could, given the circumstance, and for that I'm thankful.

**ONE**
Like I shared in my last post, I found out I miscarried this week. We found out on Wednesday, at what should have been our first prenatal appointment. Since then, there have been lots of tears, lots of anger, and lots of nerves as I prepared to have a D&C. For those who don't know what a D&C is, basically it's a surgery to remove the fetal tissue from the uterus. I opted to have that done because my body hadn't miscarried naturally, and I didn't want to have to wait to have it happen at work or something.

I'm planning to write a separate post about the process. I hope actually is that if someone else needs to go through it, that it brings them some reassurance and comfort that it'll be okay.

What I'll say here is that it went really well, and although there still is and will continue to be sadness, I'm very relieved to have it behind me.

**TWO**
Remember a few posts back when I posted about the Sara Bareilles' song "I Choose You?" In that post, I mentioned how it's a perfect proposal song. Well, apparently Sara and I think the same way! The official video for the song came out this week, and it is AWESOME. I dare you to watch this without smiling or tearing up. Also, I love her now even more than I did before because she chose one straight couple, and one gay couple. Go, Sara! Love this!!



**THREE**
We made some yard progress this week, which was really exciting. We've been in our house for almost 7 years (??!!), and it's constantly been a (slow) work in progress. The previous home owner had a lot of random gardens, that just didn't really work for us as non-gardeners with a 95-pound dog romping around. This week, we had a few stumps ground - two tree stumps, and a root ball from a bush we were trying to dig out. It wasn't super expensive, it was fast, and it made a big different. Win, win, win! Hopefully we'll get some nice weather soon to do some clean up and more seeding. Jeromy's talked about getting a little vegetable garden going again. That would be great!

**FOUR**
Mother's Day is this weekend, and it's very bittersweet this time around. I have been really excited for this weekend for weeks, as we had planned to break our baby news to our parents. Instead, we've had to tell them that we were pregnant, but miscarried. Linnea has brought me a lot of comfort in these days. I am SO thankful to be her mama, and I hang on to strong hope that I will be a mama to another baby soon.

**FIVE**
My parents are leaving for Italy this weekend...lucky ducks! I so envy my parents' travel. We traveled around a good amount growing up, but now that they are empty nesters and have some expendable income, they travel a lot. I live vicariously through their travel for now...and hope that Jeromy and I can do half the travel they do. Jeromy and I love to travel, and thankfully have similar travel "wish lists." What's on your travel wish list?

Five on Friday

This weather has really got me down! I'm glad it's not snow, but I'm ready to be done with the rain and dreariness. Come on! It's MAY...start acting like it!!

Here are the random thoughts floating around my brain this week...enjoy!

**ONE**
As I shared in my last Weekend Recap, we had sudden (and rather unexpected) big time success with potty training on Sunday. After nearly a year of going on the potty (first number twos, and then number ones) but not being good about telling us when she needed to go, something clicked for Linnea. Seriously. It was like she all of a sudden got it. She was in "big girl underpants" all day while we were at home, and a pull-up when we went out (and for nap time) with one accident total for the day.

I excitedly e-mailed our daycare provider, who was understandably a little hesitant because Linnea JUST started going on the potty there (little stinker). But after another day of success with my parents on Monday, we sent Linnea to daycare with pull-ups and she stayed dry ALL day. In fact, now she's been dry ALL week! She's been so proud - our daycare provider started a sticker chart and she's been consistently getting 5 stickers each day, which earns her a special prize. When we've been at home, and while she's with my parents she's pretty consistently been in underpants, with only one little accident.

We are so excited and proud of our girl! We'll still need to work a little bit on some fine tuning and consistently, but I think we're close to being done with diapers!

**TWO**
I'm reminiscing hardcore to a year ago this weekend, when Jeromy and I (and my WOWZA girls) were in Kentucky for the Kentucky Derby. We had SO much fun. It POURED rain the day of the Derby, but we made the best of it, as we always do! It's one of the memories I will never, ever forget.

WOWZAs at the Derby!

Jeromy and I at the Derby

 \
We had a great spot - look, it's a horse!

Mint julep, anyone?

**THREE**
I'm loving this song this week. I don't know what it is. SO catchy and unique.


**FOUR***
The rain this week has really been getting me down. I keep telling myself that at least it's not snow...but let's be honest, I think we're all ready for some sun, and hopefully some warmer temperatures.

Maybe next week?

**FIVE**
I've seen a few posts - on Facebook, Instagram, and blogs - discussing May baskets this week. I remember doing May baskets as a kid. Do you remember the little green mesh berry baskets? That's what we used to use. I find myself adding "make and deliver May baskets" to the VERY long list of things that I want to do with Linnea when she gets a little older. :-)

Five on Friday

TGIF!! Can I get an amen?! I'm super excited that it's Friday. It's been a long week, and the Carlsons are in need of some rest and relaxation.

Here's what's on my mind this week...

**ONE**
I wasn't aware of this previously, but this week is National Infertility Awareness Week. Many of the blogs I follow have been hosting guest posters to share their journeys with infertility. Reading these stories has been touching, humbling, eye-opening, and heart breaking.

I haven't been through any infertility issues personally, but I have walked with many friends who have. Some stories have ended happily with successful pregnancies and births. Some have ended equally as happily with adoption. Some are still being written.

I hope to be the best support and advocate I can be for everyone who is going through this painful journey.

**TWO**
I have confirmed for myself this week that I legitimately have emetophobia - irrational fear or anxiety of or pertaining to vomiting. I have half joked, half been serious about it for a while...but now I'm sure. All winter I have had huge amounts of anxiety when anyone I knew got the stomach flu, convinced that I was going to get it. After finding out that my mom had the stomach flu right after we spent the afternoon there for Easter, I was up all night, worried that I was going to get sick, or Jeromy or Linnea was going to get sick. Linnea didn't sleep well that night - she was having bad dreams. That just made it worse because every time she cried I was convinced she was getting sick.

Rationally, I know that throwing up is not going to kill you. Sure, having the stomach flu is unpleasant, but it comes and goes, and it's okay. But emotionally, I'm just that 9-year-old laying awake in the middle of the night with my blanket wrapping around my head to cover my ears so that it dampens the sound of my sister throwing up after chemo.

This is really random, but I've been thinking about it a lot this week.

**THREE**
My hubby has been a total rockstar this week. He had a big product launch, and has been working extra long hours. On Tuesday he worked his normal day, and then started again at 6:00 PM, and didn't get home until 3:30 AM!! He continued the rest of the week with his regular shifts, without hardly complaining! I can't say that I would have been the same way. I'm so proud of him, and all of the hard work he's done in his (not so new anymore) job.

**FOUR**
May is next week. WHAT?! I came to this realization earlier this week, and I couldn't believe it! I'm alarmed, but also excited. I love May - warmer weather, my birthday, Summer on its way! Bring it on, May!

**FIVE**
I usually have more to say. But this week I do not. So I will leave you with a picture. I love my little bookworm. She seriously LOVES to read...and it warms my heart.

Five on Friday

I (along with the rest of the world) am (not so) patiently waiting for Spring to actually come, and come to stay. While it's definitely been nice to have less snow, warmer temperatures, and sunnier days overall, Mother Nature has not been consistent. It may say April on the calendar, but I still need a bit more convincing. :-)

Here are the random thoughts and things in my heart and head this week...

**ONE**
It's Easter on Sunday, and I'm super excited! As I get older, I enjoy Easter more and more. When I was a kid, I was all about Christmas (and still am), but Easter is definitely climbing the ranks of my most favorite holidays.

I love that Easter is in Spring (at least according to the calendar) - the season of new life and new beginnings. And that's what Easter's all about too! I love the brass and drums at church. I love proclaiming "Christ is Risen!!" and realizing fully what that phrase means.

When Linnea started talking excitedly about the Easter Bunny this week, I realized I haven't done a great job preparing Linnea for the true reason for THIS season. For Christmas, I think we did a good job. For every mention of Santa, there was at least one conversation about Jesus. And I think she really got it. She knew it was Jesus' birthday. Of course, she knew that Santa was a part of it all too, but she knew he wasn't the biggest part (at least I hope she did).

Explaining that it was "Baby Jesus' Happy Birthday" was pretty easy. Linnea understands birthdays. We get a year older. We celebrate. It's a special day for that person. But Easter is harder. How do you make crucifixion and resurrection understandable for a 2-year-old? So as the week has progressed, I've talked about why we celebrate Easter. I've also taught her, "Christ is Risen!" I hope these little steps help her remember the importance of Easter. And of course, the Easter Bunny will be visiting too...

**TWO**
Some of my best moments this week were in the dark and quiet as I was putting Linnea to bed. Our days are sometimes crazier than I'd like. A lot of rush, rush, less play time and fun than I would like, and some crabbiness on both of our parts thrown in. But in those moments as we snuggle, read, and sing together before bedtime, all of that goes away. Linnea has become SO expressive. I used to sing the songs to her, but now she usually sings with me. I die a little each time she moves her hands and arms to the music or wiggles her little head or puts her lips just so to say the words. Ahhhh. Love her. She helps me slow down and savor those moments. Side note: One song that's regularly requested is "Jesus Loves Me." Lately she's wanted to add everything in sight to the song. It got to "Jesus Loves Linnea, Mama, Daddy, Luther, teddy, Murphy (her stuffed dog), blankies, Frozen, special book (her photo book she likes), bed, signs, lotion, soap, and light" before I enforced the rule that we just keep it to four. So now it's usually "Linnea, Mama, Daddy, and Luther," although earlier in the week "Elsa and Anna" got their chance too.

**THREE**
Have you seen this? I saw it (and then posted it) on Facebook this week, and it's sticking with me.


I love to think about what the world would be like if we could all look at things through these eyes.

**FOUR**
I've realized I'm a bit sappy and deep in the post... so just to mix things up, I'll share that Linnea sneezed a huge, messy sneeze yesterday and immediately wiped it away with her arm, getting snot EVERYWHERE before I could even do a darn thing about it. Afterwards, she had this shocked and surprised look on her face like, "what have I done?" All either one of us could do was laugh about it. Ahhh...the glamorous life. :-)

**FIVE**
While we're on bodily functions, Linnea started going on the potty at daycare this week!! This has been a VERY long time coming, which is crazy considering she's been going on the potty (although not potty trained) for pretty close to a year! I don't know quite what the block was for her - too busy, nervous? I have no idea, but I was honestly starting to get concerned. I was planning on connecting with our daycare provider to see what we might do to move forward, when I got the e-mail at work from her, saying Linnea went! That was Wednesday, and she did it again Thursday! Hooray! Hopefully this is the start of a good trend!

Happy Friday, friends!!

Five on Friday

This has been the LONGEST. WEEK. EVER! Not really...but a couple of factors, including working my late shift on Wednesday instead of Thursday have made this week seem to go at the pace of a snail...who's really old...crawling through molasses...in really hot, oppressive weather... well, you get the idea!

Here are five things on my brain this week...

**ONE**
One thing I haven't mentioned on here before is my deep love of Ellen DeGeneres. Seriously. She's my favorite ever. I think she's such an awesome person (or at least seems like it) - so generous and genuine, funny, and positive. She's a role model in my life, and her talk show is one of my very favorite shows. (Meeting her, and going to a taping of her show is a bucket list item of mine, so if anyone has some connections, hook a sister up, mmmmkay?!)

Anyways, I love love love this video from this week. Warning: I learned the hard way that if you watch this, you will cry from happiness. So don't watch it at work. Unless you want to cry at work. (I used to make fun of my mom for being such a sap and crying when she was happy. Now I do it all. the. time. I am old. Or emotional. Or both.)

**TWO**
Jeromy and I are volunteering at Feed My Starving Children this weekend, and I'm really excited! It's one of my favorite charity organizations, and I love volunteering for them. For those of you who aren't familiar, FMSC is local Christian organization that packs and ships meals to starving kids across the globe. They have worked with food scientists to come up with super nutritious, safe foods for starving kids to eat, to help get them healthy.

So when you go to volunteer, you spend a couple hours scooping dry ingredients into plastic bags, sealing and packaging them, to get them ready to be sent out. It's enjoyable work, because you get to chat because it doesn't take a ton of concentration, and the time goes really fast! I also love that it's easy enough that kids can do it - and often do! It's so important for kiddos to be able to learn the importance of giving back at an early age, and I love that FMSC helps to do that! Unfortunately, Linnea is still too young to help, but she'll have a good time with Grandma and Grandpa.

**THREE**
I came across this quote today: It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are. - E.E. Cummings

I really like it. I've struggled a lot previously (and sometimes still do) with the comparison game... "So and so is my age, and does this and that" or "Maybe I should be doing XYZ like that person." Things like that. As I've gotten older, and a bit more settled into my life, I've started to gain the confidence to become and embrace who I really am...trying not to worry about what I could, should, would do. But just be Becky...and continue to strive to figure out what that means.

**FOUR**
I have had a couple encounters with super crabby people this week, and it just makes me sad. Now I certainly have my crabby moments, but I work really hard at not acting on it. Admittedly, my family and friends see my crabby sometimes...I think that's natural. To me, it's a whole other thing when you are crabby, rude, or just plain mean to strangers. I was driving to work on Wednesday. I had been driving in the right lane, but then switched over to the left lane to let a truck merge in from the ramp. I was blocked in for a bit, unable to shift back to the right, but I kept at or a little above the speed limit. Out of nowhere a woman came tearing up behind me, flashed her brights (as I was trying to get back over), and then zoomed back me, flicking me off very angrily. Seriously? The world would be such a better place if we just cut each other a little slack, and tried to assume the best in people.

I also, for the first time in a while, got hung up on at work. It happens sometimes...just part of the job I guess. But it had been a very long time since it's happened. I won't go into details, but when I was calling to be friendly, and provide some help and insight, I got talked down to, and hung up on. How do we get off treating people like that? I will continue to strive not to.

**FIVE**
I have the greatest friends ever. I'm still on a happy high after my WOWZA dinner last night. The WOWZAs are my very best friends - mostly girlfriends from college, but all awesome, wonderful, amazing women. We had a four hour dinner, that seriously flew by. We laughed until we cried. We cover the full spectrum of topics. I am so so so thankful for these beautiful women. It makes me smile to think of us as old ladies, still up to our goofy shenanigans. Because I'm CERTAIN that we will be. :-)

Jackie, Rach (visiting from Kentucky...hooray!!), and Sus

Sarah, Me, and Kirstyn (we were missing two...Bethany - overdue with her second baby and LeElla - who lives in Kentucky

Don't I have beautiful friends?! They are gorgeous - inside and out. I love you, ladies!!

Five on Friday

In my "scientific research" (read: obsessive reading of other blogs) as I was preparing to start my own, some form of Five on Friday posts seemed to be a thing. I like them, because it's a fun place to put all the random thoughts and events of the week. And let's face it, I have a lot of random thoughts each week! So here we go...

**ONE**
You guys. (And by "you guys" I mean the one..maybe two people reading this). This is my 8th blog post!! Hooray! That may not be a huge milestone for others, but for me, who's struggled with sticking with the routine of blogging before, 8 posts in a month or so is great! An item for my 14 in 2014 list is to do 50 blog posts in the year. I was intentionally conservative about this number, to allow for falls off the wagon, writer's block, etc. To think that I'm already almost a 5th of the way through so early in the journey is very exciting. It motivates me to do even more! Let me know if you have any post suggestions!

**TWO**
I went to the doctor yesterday for ear pain. My ears have been bugging me for about a week. It started as just pressure...kind of like if you were in an airplane or leaving a loud concert. They felt like they needed to pop. But on Wednesday they were really painful...and it was radiating down my neck too. I was convinced I had an ear infection or some type of blockage in my ears. Verdict? Nothing! The doctor checked my ears, throat, and lymph nodes and found no indication of anything. It's nice to know that nothing's wrong, but it makes me feel like a crazy person! My ears are legit bugging me. If it's not an ear infection or blockage or something, what is it?? The doctor and I talked about the possibility of it being stress-related. So I guess I need to relax, and hope my ears are back to normal soon! It's driving me nuts. Anyone else have a similar problem? I swear this happens to me all the time...I have some random symptom that's bugging me, but nothing wrong. It's incredibly frustrating.

**THREE**
2 1/2 year olds are the most irrational, crazy creatures on the planet. And adorable. But crazy and irrational too. As referenced in my last post, it's been a rough couple weeks for us. We've given up the nuk, dealt with bad molar teething, and are living with a very emotional two-year-old. Tons of power struggles. Tons of whining and "I don't want ______" (most usually followed shortly after by "I want ________ - whatever she JUST turned down). She insisted that she didn't want to go to Grandma and Grandpa's house (which is one of her favorite things in the world), after whining every day previously about how she wanted to go there. I've spent a lot of time with kids in the past, but never truly understood the crazy-level of two until I had my own.

Luckily, it's mostly balanced out with lots of awesomness too. As challenging as two is, it's so much fun too! Linnea is constantly learning new things, and she surprises us every day with what she knows, does, and says. Just this week she learned the song "Down by the Bay," and has been having a blast making up verses. "Have you ever seen a Daddy dwiving a twuck?" (followed by huge giggles).

God is smart to make two-years-old so cute. Otherwise a lot more two-year-olds would be thrown out the window (I kid, I kid).

But yeah. She's cute. Which makes the crazy, irrational stuff easier to manage.

**FOUR**
I often get stuck on songs. I'll hear a song a couple times, and really like it and then play it practically on repeat for the next several days. The song of the week for me is Sara Bareilles "I Choose You." Honestly, I really don't like her current hit "Brave," but I heard this a bit ago (I think on Jimmy Fallon?) and immediately loved it. Her voice is amazing, and this song is so sweet and catchy in the best kind of way. "We are not perfect, we'll learn from our mistakes, and as long as it takes I will prove my love to you." Check it out...

 

While we're on the topic, while I was listening to this, I couldn't help but think about how this would be such a cute proposal/wedding song. I LOVE sweet proposals - not the overdone crazy ones...but the cute, sweet, thoughtful ones. So of course I had to look and sure enough I found this gem...



A couple things about the video... in my opinion, the mark of true singing talent is when artists are even better live. This seems to ring true for Sara (yeah, we're on a first name basis). Her voice is just as strong, if not stronger live - and this is just a video! I'm sure it was even better in person. Secondly, how cute is this?! I love how genuinely surprised she is ("Holy shit! It's happening!") and then how she spontaneously altered the song. And then the funny banter after the song. All of it is so awesome. I think I have a girl crush.

**FIVE**
I've got a fun weekend ahead, that I'm really looking forward to! Tonight is a "typical Friday" for us - which mostly involves crashing and watching either a movie, or stuff off the DVR, with some laundry and clean-up thrown in (which actually is perfect). Tomorrow I have my first blogging event - the "Favorite Things" party. I'm really excited...and a little nervous. I still feel like a very "wannabe" blogger. My blog layout isn't as fancy as others, I don't know the terminology, and it's all still so very new for me. I already really admire a lot of people who I will meet, just from what I've learned about them on their blogs. Hopefully I get some helpful advice, and gain some new readers. I am confident I will meet lots of cool people! Thank you, Melissa, for encouraging me to join in and sharing your blogging friends! Saturday night we have a friend's birthday party, and Sunday afternoon is my dad's 70th (!!!!) birthday party. Woo hoo! Should be lots of fun. Full report next week!

What are the random things on YOUR mind today?