simple sunday

One of the things I love and hate most about this stage of life is the simplicity. We haven't spent money on clothes, or much in the way of dates, or anything excess really, for months. We just haven't been able to afford it. I know, however, that once Christian is working full time and we have a bigger and more steady paycheck, I'm going to miss the simplicity terribly. Money just doesn't buy happiness, you know? And sometimes that's hard to temper.

Anyways, last Sunday was just the most beautiful and simplest of days. I wanted to bask in it and never let it go. Time has a way of rushing on, much to my dismay. So I'm capturing it in the best way possible.

The morning always starts in a rush. Sunday morning was especially busy because Christian was teaching the first hour lesson. We got there, and he did great, as I knew he would. He's such a gifted teacher, and I love watching him do it. The rest of church was a blur of baby snuggles and hall walking and snack feeding. (hashtag youngfamilyatchurch am I right?).

My favorite part of Sundays is getting home, feeding Nash, and putting him down for his long afternoon nap. Christian and I try to squeeze in a nap ourselves, but this time we decided against it. Instead, we spent two heavenly hours in bed playing game after game of Ticket to Ride, intermingled with snuggling of course. Oh how I love the colder months for that reason! When Nash woke up, we fed him again and I started dinner. Tonight's menu was fire roasted tomato soup and biscuits. Christian manned the latter, while I whipped up this favorite soup of ours. After eating together and cleaning up, we decided to take advantage of the lack of snow and bundled up for a walk. We put the most adorable teddy bear hat on Nash, and fawned over him for a good 15 minutes before walking out the door. It's so ridiculous and fun to be doting parents to just one baby. I love that he can have all our attention right now.

We head out into the cold, and it engulfs and invigorates me. Something about being out on walks turns me into the biggest talker, at least, more so than usual. So that's what we do: talk and talk about the future, what we want to do with our lives, our time, our families. We talk about goals and dreams, while basking in the real dream that is our life currently. Strolling around Provo with my boys is absolutely my favorite thing in the world right now. Nash's bedtime approaches, so we turn around and head home. Christian offers to make popcorn and hot chocolate while I suit up baby boy for bed. After we put him down, we clean up our room and settle in for a nature show, a Sunday favorite. I am exhausted and don't last for more than 15 minutes. As I drift off, I can't imagine being luckier.

God is truly so so good to me.

liebster, schmiebster

I've had this liebster award hanging over my head for awhile now (not 1, not 2, but 3 nominations! Also thank  you Marla!) So third time's the charm I guess?

I "met" Danica through her blog. BLECH I just hate that because it makes things sound much creepier than they are. She's really the bees knees though (apparently this is the 50's now. Welcome to my blog, cool cats). Her blog cracks me up, and the only reason why I'm okay embracing this online-turned-real-life friendship is because she's the real deal and as great in person as she is via the internet. So thanks for nominating me, lady. Here are the questions she asked:

What blogs do you read every day? Well obviously Danica's, also Bonnie's, NieNie, Brooke's, and my dear friend's Chantel's and Kimber's. 

Where do you find inspiration for your blog? I really love people who are funny and REAL. So I guess when I read and see things like that, I'm inspired. Also my husband and baby. What a cliche.

Latest book you read AND should I read it? I'm currently reading Harry Potter but, been there done that. I also just finished reading Heaven is Here, and I loved it. Stephanie's love for her husband and motherhood is super inspiring.

If you could make ONE book mandatory reading for every American, what would it be? Can I say Harry Potter? Because seriously... Harry Potter. If I had to choose just one (why would that even be a rule?) it would probably be Deathly Hallows. SO GOOD.

Which song is the most played on your iPod/Spotify right now? It's not really one song, but the NSYNC Christmas album has been on repeat in our house for the last few weeks. Actually who am I kidding... more like every December for the last 14 years of my life.

Where is your best-kept-secret place to shop (for anything)? I totally love Trendy Xchange in Provo. Now the secret's out!

What’s the #1 thing on your Christmas Wish List? Honestly I would just love to find a place to live in Salt Lake. Our imminent move is starting to stress me out. Either that, or some earrings that my little guy can't pull out ha!

Who is your favorite Harry Potter character and why? I love that every other question is slanted to  Harry Potter. That's my life ha. I totally love Ron. If I went to Hogwarts, he'd probably be my MCM. Also Hagrid. And Dobby. ACK! This is too hard!

What is your must-have winter fashion item? Scarves, for sure. You never realize how cold your neck gets until you cover it.

What should I name my baby? Provide one boy and one girl name. Lilly and James. HA joke. I really love the names Owen and Ava!

I’m coming up on the crazy/fun/miserable lead-up to Christmas where all my kids eat candy and drive me insane. What is your best coping mechanism for when life is out of control? Oh man, if I knew the answer to this question, I wouldn't have eaten half a container of ice cream yesterday! For me it depends on the circumstance I guess. Sometimes ice cream helps (obviously), or bad reality tv, or a good sweat session at the gym, or painting my nails, or a trip to target, or watching videos of my laughing baby, or making out with my husband.... I guess just dabble in it all until you figure out what works.  

Thanks for nominating me Danica.
I keep waiting for the day when things like this make me an official blogger. 
Maybe it would help if I wrote more than just twice a month. What are you gonna do.

bad habits

Obviously "not writing stuff" is a bad habit I'm suffering from at the moment. Life's just hung me out to dry the last few weeks, so I'm recouping. Good news though, I'm back on my B Game
(a little less than A Game, but better than F Game!)
so. There's that.

Anyways, I've been thinking a lot lately about my bad habits, because I have a few that drive me crazy. I'm sure Christian could tell you that I've got WAY more bad habits than this (like tickling him which he HATES, but I honestly don't see the problem...), but here are the glaring ones that I've noticed lately. They make me laugh, and you're going to think I'm crazy.

I drink a ton of water. WHAT A BAD HABIT! 
Ha just joking. But because I drink so much, I have to refill my water bottle every hour or so during the day. When I'm at home, I usually turn the faucet on and let it run for 30 seconds or so, to cool down, because I like my water to be freezing. Usually I get distracted while that happens and wind up changing a diaper, or thinking "hey i haven't eaten!" and then start cooking something, or I hop in the shower, or I'm doing my makeup, and before I know it, the sink has been on for literally 20 minutes.

This happens at least once a day, I'm not kidding.

In the same vein, I'm awful about eating food and not finishing it. I can guarantee that there is always some bag of half eaten carrots, or several neglected granola bars in my bag. Last week there were 3 apples in there. THREE! In October, I also found a half eaten granola bar in our pantry that I can only assume I left there because Christian is an adult and finishes his food, and Nash is just like "gimme rice cereal." I have a hard time finishing meals lately too, because I'm usually navigating the circus that is feeding my 6 month old monkey.
I mean baby.
Why then, if I'm not eating, am I not 3 pant sizes smaller than before I got pregnant?
Spoiler alert: it's called donuts. I can definitely finish donuts.

So I guess what I need to learn from these bad habits is it's actually a deeper rooter issue: I don't follow through! I have all these plans like "drink water!" and "eat food!" and then I'm just like "yeah maybe not". And don't even get me started on the cookies I meant to take to our neighbor that somehow ended up disappearing instead...
(I lied. I can finish cookies AND donuts)

I need a life coach or something.

6 months!

This blogging thing cracks me up sometimes. For a few weeks I'm like "write all the time!" and then things get so busy and all I want to do is read Harry Potter during my spare moments. So I do.

But Nash is 6 months old tomorrow, and that I deem worthy of a post!

At 6 months, Nash is rolling all over the place. It's so fun to see him using this as his mode of transportation haha. Next stop... crawling! He's also sitting, and has been for almost a month now. He gets a huge kick out of this, which is adorable. He's eating lots of solids, and has done so well with everything we've introduced. Like his parents, boy loves his food! He's sleeping in nice long stretches at night, and we MOSTLY feel human in the morning ;) He's in the middle of his first cold, and handling it pretty well... as long as I don't use the snot-sucker ha. He loves his toys, being held, figuring out new faces and making them all the time, grabbing everything in sight, and primary songs.

I can't believe this adorable human is only 6 more months away from being a 1 year old. Time is seriously flying. I love my little buddy so very much! I'm so thankful I get to be his mom. I think that since May, I've learned and changed more than I did in our first two years of marriage!

(Maybe not... but man. Motherhood will stretch ya! And my imperfect self is so thankful for that!)

weekend warrior

I have been a total drama queen lately, sorry about that. I just really feel things. A lot. Ha!

So I'm gaining a new appreciation for weekends as this semester progresses and continues to drown us (Christian) in mountains of pointless STUFF. Not like I didn't love them before. Obviously. But they are as good as gold these days.

Last weekend was nothing special, but having so much time together was just the best. Friday night we made pumpkin ravioli with balsamic brown butter sauce for our dining-in date.
Guys. RAVIOLI IS THE WORST THING TO MAKE IN THE WHOLE WORLD. The name of the dish should have tipped me off. The end result was seriously delicious, but I advise against this endeavor unless you have a ravioli mold (we didn't) and a lot of patience (also didn't).

We also went to a birthday party which was fun, but the fun was overshadowed as I saw a little boy fall off a table. I'm being slightly dramatic, but seriously my mom fears about Nash falling off of things are a little out of control right now.
(He's already fallen off the couch and the bed so.... not unwarranted worries!)
Seriously, as a mom, that's the worst thing to witness!

I also tried out an easy, delicious new recipe for our Sunday dinner (I'm such a culinary fiend right now), and it was a hit. I love when that happens.

And church! We survived with flying colors! I actually really enjoyed the whole thing, AND neither one of us got spit up on! Win, win, win.

And can we talk about all the unadulterated time with my number one buddy? I miss him so much when I'm working and schooling during the week. Saturday and Sunday are the best for that reason. I didn't think it was possible before I became a mom, but seriously. He gets cuter every day, and I fall more and more in love each time I look at his sweet face.
And can you blame me?!
Christian and I are the luckiest!