It's the Weekend | Number Eight

This week has had it's ups and downs. Early Wednesday morning, around 2am, I woke up suddenly and started puking all over our bedroom. It was pretty horrific, especially being 6 months pregnant. We are still working on getting the stain out of our carpet and I'm pretty sure I ruined some of our bedding. Sad stuff. But, now I finally don't feel like I've been hit by a truck and am ready for a busy Easter weekend. My husband has been a gamer with me being sick and cleaned up after me without a complaint. He's pretty awesome.

One awesome thing about this week is that we had new kitchen appliances delivered. The ones we had in the house were old enough to drink a beer, if you know what I mean. The fact that they were still somewhat working it a miracle. We are getting a dishwasher too but it won't be here for another week or so. I can't wait to cook with my new oven and my fridge is so new and shiny. I'm nerding out as a homeowner at the moment. It makes our kitchen look so much better! We used our tax refund money this year to purchase them. 

Anyways, here are the places I've have been clicking around the internet this week. Some wellness stuff, some parenting articles, and of course some food.

A good reminder that health looks different for everyone. 

I always need ways to drink more water, especially while I'm growing a little human in my belly.

Marin hasn't really traveled with us a lot. I hope to change that. Here are some traveling tips for kiddos. 

If I didn't work for a church and Easter Sunday wasn't crazy, I would make this casserole. 

I'd like to bake these avocado brownies in my new oven this week too. 

Did you know that kids that use touchscreen devices sleep less at night? Not great. 

We are also supposedly all parenting wrong. Who knew. 

Have a great weekend! 

Hollen Home | Marin's Big Girl Room

When we were expecting our first kiddo, we decided early on that we weren't going to have a pink, princess nursery. I wanted something that was fairly neutral. We went with lighter green walls with lots of black and white accents. You can see the before and after of Marin's nursery here.  I've loved this room for the past 3 years.

When we found out we were expecting again, I started clearing out our office space in our spare room in preparation for our newest little one. Once we found out we were having a little boy, we decided it would actually be much easier to keep Marin's current green room as the nursery and make the office spare room Marin's new room.

I wasn't sure if she could be convinced to have a different room and give her little brother her old room, but once I mentioned that she could paint one wall whatever color she wanted, she was sold. I knew what was coming. Marin is all spunk and all pink. Most of our lives are covered in glitter and princess pink.  I now have the one thing in our home that I didn't think we ever would: a bright pink wall. I actually kind of love it. Only painting an accent wall and then painting the trim white really helped.

We gave Marin a big girl bed for Christmas that just sat in a box until her big girl room was completed. The matching dresser, an awesome little chair, and a new white bookcase were added as well. I bought her a little rug. My mom made her awesome pink curtains and she has some awesome princess bedding. It all has come together quite well.

Now when the sun hits the front side of our house, Marin's room glows a nice pink color all the way out into the hallway. She loves her new big girl room. I can't quite believe we have a bright pink wall.

Next up in nesting....A revamped baby nursery. Stay tuned.

Sources:

Rug: RugsUSA

Bedding: Walmart

Bed, Chair, & Dresser: American Furniture Warehouse

Bookcase: Amazon

Paint Color: Behr Sweet Chrysanthemum

Wall Art: Hobby Lobby

One Little Word | 2017

Over the past few years, I've sought out One Little Word for the new year ahead of me. Sometimes the word comes to me almost immediately during the Christmas season, other times I have to really hunt for it in the midst of the chaos and beauty of life. It's a nice feeling to have a word that you can become grounded to or even toss aside entirely, but for it to still be there as you need it and learn through the seasons of a new year. I've learned a lot from my words in the past. 

Here is my word from 2015 and 2016. I love being able to choose a word, or even have a word choose me. It keeps me grounded but also moving forward. 

I had my word for this year probably about a month ago but I'm just now being able to share it with you all. Many of my mornings have been filled with this idea and I feel it's ready to share with the world. 

Leading up to this post, I feel like I have been wavering in many things in our lives. Being pregnant with our second child (see the adorable announcement video here) has sent me on an never ending loop of feeling super tired but knowing that I should be doing something worthwhile. I desire for my days to mean something, to be worth something. I desire to be able to look back upon this year and realize that we accomplished a lot, even with a little. 

My word for this new year is.....INTENTIONAL. 

As far as goal setting and New Year resolutions go, that word originally felt like a predictable choice, an easy choice. But, it kind of chose me. 

I read this quote early this morning on Pinterest and it soaked into me. Being INTENTIONAL to me is putting in the hard work. Creating the lists. Taking the chunks of time in your day that are usually wasted and doing something extraordinary with them. INTENTIONAL to me is finding the magic in the ordinary. Emptying the dishwasher. Changing the diaper. Reading the same book to the kiddo for the 100th time that day. Working on the work project that never seems to end. Crossing off the items on a to do list and continuing to move on. 

I like the idea of working hard in silence. I believe that's what INTENTION looks like, feels like, moves like. Many times in life, I want people to be aware of my hard work. I want people to think that I have it all together and that I work my tail off. But, in all reality, I don't think that matters. Yes, you have to do the work and put in ALL of the time, but your success will speak for itself. 

I want to approach this year much the same. Do the work, put in the hours, don't boast about the hustle. The success and end result will speak for itself as something of value and worth. 

It's the little steps, the little lists, the little moments that will add up to an life of INTENTION. 

These will be my areas of focus this year...a mind, body, and soul approach. 

HOME |  Purge. Home Projects. Weekly Cleaning Schedule. Clean Car. 

BODY | Move more often. CSA or Farmer's Market. Self-Care Weekly. Get Outside. Drink More Water. Essential Oisl. More Sleep. 

MONEY | Side Hustle. Meal Planning. Debt Free Goals & Plan. Budget Boot Camp. Spending Freeze. No Mindless Purchases. 

FAMILY & LOVE |  Family Meals. Date Night. Work Life Balance. Be Present. Take Vacations. More Husband Time. 

MIND | Less TV. More Books. Podcasts & TED Talks. Learn Something New. Brain Dump in AM & PM. 

SPIRIT | Wake at 5am often. Gratitude Journal. Morning Pages. The Artist's Way. Community Involvement. Church. 

I'm not sure where all of this will take me this year, but I'm willing to take the time to find out.