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Friday, November 29, 2013

Happy Thanksgiving!

I know, I'm a day late with this post, but yesterday was crazy!

I got to make my very first full Thanksgiving dinner! I was nervous and excited about the whole thing. Would the turkey come out well? Or like the one in National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation? Would the rolls turn out? (I made them from scratch!) How would the pumpkin pie taste? After all...it didn't LOOK that great. Would the kids eat it? Perhaps that was the real test!

Well...

Let me say...

Dinner turned out fantastic!!! The turkey came out perfect, the rolls were beautiful, Michael liked everything, and even though the kids are super picky, they even ate some of the food! We discovered that Julia and Justin are both fans of cranberry sauce after much convincing on Justin's part, and Justin...well, let's just say the pumpkin pie passed the kid test, and the husband test! I couldn't be happier with the result. Now next year, I just have to remember to make the gravy! lol!

Of course, a couple of pictures...just cell phone shots.

The turkey!

Mmmm...Thanksgiving yumminess!

We also got the Christmas tree set up yesterday. We got all the lights on while there was a lull in the food prep, but the rest of the decorating waited until after dinner.


There's still a bit to put on, but it's already beautiful!


How was your Thanksgiving?! Hope it was enjoyable...
God bless!
~Stacy

Friday, November 22, 2013

One Month of Thanks - Weeks 2 & 3

I missed posting week two separately, so here are weeks two and three!

November 8: I am thankful...There are too many things swimming around in my head today to choose just one. I am simply thankful. Sometimes it just needs to be that way.
November 9: I am thankful for quiet mornings with hot coffee.
November 10: Today...I am thankful for air freshener. Way to stink up half the house, little girl! haha
November 11: I am thankful for our home. It's not just a house for us. It is HOME. We fought for it...and I'm so glad we did...
November 12: I am thankful for pediatrician offices that work with you over the phone to give you options and save you a possible trip and nearly $100 in co-pays.
November 13: I am thankful for new opportunities! Looking forward to watching my sister grow her new awesome business!
November 14: I am thankful for my hook and yarn. Crocheting relaxes me and allows my mind to let go of the stress as well.
November 15: I am thankful for my faith. Without it, many days I would feel lost.
November 16: I am thankful for my husband. He may drive me crazy some days, but he is our family's rock. He works hard so I can be home with the kids all day, AND...he's putting everything in the blind for me this morning.
November 17: I am thankful for still, quiet days, hot coffee (again) in the mornings, and the opportunity yesterday to rekindle my love of reading.
November 18: I am thankful for flashlights, generators, bottled water, and food that doesn't require cooking. And candles.
November 19: I am thankful for my mom for letting the kids and I spend the night, and my sis and brother-in-law again. Thanks everyone.
November 20: I am thankful that my kids are happy and mostly healthy. They're being troopers with all this house hopping while we wait to see which "1130 pm" estimate from DTE is right.
November 21: Today, I am thankful for my Moby wrap!

God bless!
~Stacy

Monday, November 11, 2013

When a House Becomes a Home

A while back, I don't think I would have been able to differentiate between a house and a home. Honestly, anywhere that I lived was "home". When I lived with my dad...home. When I lived with my mom...home. The guys that I lived with...home. My apartment (which I loved, mind you), was home. About a year before Michael and I got married, he bought his first house, which would then become our first house. Of course, it was home to me. Everywhere I had lived up to that point was home. Maybe it was because I was clawing for any feeling of normalcy in my regularly uprooted life. Having moved more than a dozen and a half times before I turned 21, I wanted something that felt concrete, that felt real, that felt like home. So I made it that way for myself. Were all these places actually home? Absolutely not, and now, I can totally understand why.


Right around this time last year, Michael and I started house hunting again. Yeah, I had helped with the house he bought before we got married. I believe my exact words were "You better put an offer in on this house or we're going to lose it...it's not going to last at this price!" It wasn't an "OR ELSE!!!" statement, it just was the absolute perfect house for us at that time. As our family rapidly grew, though, we realized we needed more. Enter, the new house. We had multiple showings here. The first two, the "tenant" stayed home. (By the way, if you're selling your house, and you want to sell your house, make an honest effort to LEAVE for showings! If I can do it with two toddlers at 6 months pregnant, just about anyone can.) Our first impression of the house was "Well...it's nice, but it needs a significant amount of work..." - HELLO wallpaper in every room?! The second showing, it was already feeling familiar to us, and was becoming more of a "This could definitely work" feeling. The third showing, we had to request that the "tenant" not be here. That was the showing...the moment that we realized this house was the house for us. Being in here by ourselves...just felt right. Despite the gobs of wallpaper that would need to be taken down, the deep cleaning that it needed (and embarrassingly still somewhat needs), the mismatched tile floors, the wall paper, the windows and siding, the wallpaper...are you seeing a pattern? Anyways...despite that, it felt right. So we went for it. Man, did we have our work cut out for us! I can't even tell you how many times *I* was ready to back out, but Michael pushed on. He didn't reach his breaking point until about a week before we were supposed to sign over our old house to the new buyers (which are perfect for that house!). I don't remember what it was, but he basically wanted to tell the sellers to "f-off". Yeah...he wasn't happy. But, we all came to an agreement, and here we sat, in our new house, just a little while later.


So, when did this house become our home? You know, I don't know that I can even put a date on it. It just kind of happened. I can tell you when it really hit me that this is home, though. I have had little moments here and there where I felt like "yeah, this is where we're meant to be", heck, I even sent a message to our real estate agent telling her that because, well, it's true! We're meant to be here, and today, it hit me like a ton of bricks. I was standing in the family room looking out the window at the snow coming down over the pond and starting to cover the grass. I could still smell a lingering smokey scent in the air from when we had our first fire in the fireplace last weekend because we had no power. It was that moment that I realized...


this is home

This is where we belong. This is where we will grow old together. Where we will invite our kids back over for Thanksgiving, Christmas...you name it. We have a lot of work ahead of us, but we also have the rest of our lives to complete it. We will fix it up slowly but surely, and it will become ours. It will become our HOME.

God bless,
~Stacy

Thursday, November 7, 2013

One month of thanks - Week 1

I think breaking this down weekly before the big all inclusive post would be fun, so here are my first seven days!

November 1: Today I am thankful for my sister and my brother-in-law. They let me drag the kids over to their house today even though they weren't going to be there much! We did have other options, but their house is most familiar. :-)
November 2: I am thankful for our fireplace. It kept us warm when we had no power for the second day in a row.
November 3: I am thankful for good times with good friends and family.
November 4: I am thankful for prayer! Any time I'm feeling low or inadequate, I can turn to prayer - and Jesus - to get myself feeling better.
November 5: I am thankful for the little people that I carried in my womb. They make my family whole...even when they annoy me to no end.
November 5 part 2: I am SO thankful that today has been dubbed movie day. Lord give me patience...
November 6: I am thankful for DAY CARE DAY!!!
November 7: I am thankful for Michael's job, which allows me to stay home and watch the kids grow. They may drive me crazy some days, but it's totally worth it.

What are you thankful for?

God bless
~S

Monday, November 4, 2013

Starting This Week...

Today is the day of new beginnings! There are a couple of things I've been really wanting to do again, and one that I really need to recenter my focus on. So, today...marks day one!

I ate a lot cleaner than I do now.

I used to exercise very regularly - about five times a week.

I was drinking a lot more water than I have in the last few weeks.

I felt fantastic, and was finally becoming comfortable in my body. Now, a lot of people tell me that I look great for having had three kids. And, I'll be honest, I feel like I do look ok, but I don't feel it. I have about 25 pounds that I would like to lose again, and this is going to do it, for sure!

1) First things, first. I'm changing the way I eat. I went to the grocery store yesterday and picked up "my" food. This consisted of a lot of vegetables, a box of Triscuits, a bag of tortilla chips, and a handful of other things. I'm not eating 100% clean (obviously...), but much cleaner than I am now. I didn't do boxed meals. I rarely ate red meat. I focused on raw fruits and vegetables with chicken being my main source of protein. It won't be easy in the slightest, but I want to make it work. Chasing three kiddos around all day will probably mean that making a meal for myself will take an hour instead of 15 minutes, but I need to make it work.

2) Exercise!!! I was doing Turbo Jam and a DVD made by The Firm that targeted hips, buns and thighs with a bonus killer ab workout at the end. I miss those workouts, and need to find time to fit them in again. I may have to wait until the kids go to bed each night - just like I do with my running - but I want to start fitting them in at least a couple of times a week. I will be running again as well. The C25K program has kind of gone on a 2 week hiatus again - unintentionally, and I really want to get back to it.

3) I need more water. I was doing really well when I was still breastfeeding and pumping for Alaina. I mean really well. I was averaging 150 to 250 ounces of water each day. I was dropping weight and still maintaining my milk supply for her - for the most part. Over the last week or so, my water consumption has plummeted. I'm lucky if I get 40 oz a day now! It's no wonder I'm always tired and hungry!

So, starting this week, I'm going to work on making a healthier me! What would you do to make a positive health change in your life? What have you done in the past? Don't be shy! I don't bite, I promise!

God bless,
~Stacy

Friday, November 1, 2013

One Month of Thanks - 2013 Edition is coming soon!

I've done this in the past, and I will be doing it again! :-)

In case you're interested in seeing what the past years included, here are the links! I'm sure there are certain repeats for obvious reasons. ;-)

One Month of Thanks - 2011

One Month of Thanks - 2012

Would you like to join me? I most likely will not be posting here daily, but possibly weekly, with a compilation of all items at the end of the month!

So, what are you thankful for? Please feel free to share with me!

God bless
~Stacy