It's the Weekend | Number Fourteen

I've been pretty good lately about waking up earlier than everyone else in my house. I'm trying to savor these quiet mornings because we will soon be adding a newborn baby to our normal chaos and I'm sure I will sleep a lot less and everything will be a lot louder. I also have to get up to use the restroom a few times each night and usually one of those times is early in the morning. I lay in bed contemplating whether or not I should get up. My bladder always wins but then I find myself in our quiet living room, coffee cup in hand, and my Bible. I've been working through the Bible In a Year via the YouVersion app. I love it. It's simple. Straight forward. I've been reading a lot of the Old Testament lately which is always interesting, especially when there's chapter after chapter about how things should be built and sacrificed. I'm in Leviticus currently and it can get a little dull, but I'm pushing through.

This week has been a good one. We had air conditioning installed in our home on Monday and I feel like my life is forever changed. This overheated, very pregnant gal is super thankful for that update. Yesterday was the hottest day we've seen yet this year and I was, for once, comfortable in the rooms in our upstairs tri-level. Best money we've ever spent. We are done with home improvements for this year though. It's only June and we've replaced our roof, kitchen appliances, furnace, and air conditioner this year. No more spending money for a while. But, I love our little home. Sure, there's things I would change about but as of today actually, we have lived here for 7 years. Our first home. We've made a lot of changes and I am very happy with all of them. 

Anyways, here's some link love for this lovely Saturday. 

Money Savers for Boy Moms. I will need this. 

5 ways to survive entertaining as an introvert. I would like to think I'm not an introvert, but I really am. I'm not the life of a party but I do like when people I love gather together. 

It's pretty much summer time. Here are some fun, budget friendly ideas to keep kids busy this summer. 

A $2 lunch idea from Trader Joes? Sign me up. 

Money is a touchy subject. Sometimes we have things we want to say about money but we never do. 

How to create when you just don't feel like it. 

As a millennial, do I have an obsession with self-care? Interesting read. 

Have a great weekend! 

It's the Weekend | Number Twelve

It's Saturday. We had a pretty crazy spring storm over the past few days. It was wet, super heavy snow. Lots of tree branches have broken all through our neighborhood. I also now how a lovely crack all the way across my windshield. Bummer...... that will need to be replaced at some point. There was a little rock pot in it and I think turning on my defroster and the weight of the snow created the crack. Not awesome. It was quite a change from our 85 degree weather we've been having. Colorado weather is never dull. 

My baby shower for this little dude is this evening and I'm excited to celebrate this little man. I have 6 Sundays left before my maternity leave. That's what happens when you work for a church, you count your schedule in Sundays. It's all coming very quickly. I need to get the nursery done. It will all happen in good time. 

This week, I've been researching some fun activities for kids and reading about the transition to two children. I read about living a mediocre life. There's few recipes in there and some tips on bullet journaling. 

Budget-friendly summer activities for kids. 

Transitioning from one to two kids. 

Remember Myspace Tom? He's a photographer that travels the world now. 

What if I want a mediocre life? A good read. 

These friends document their lives 3191 miles apart. 

I want to make this pasta salad and bake this almond butter bread. 

How to start a Bullet Journal. 

Have a great weekend! 

It's the Weekend | Number Eleven

The current chaos of the nursery and my mind. 

We've made it to another Saturday. I'm officially about 7 weeks away from meeting our new little dude. I'm getting more pregnant and tired by the day but I know that it will all be worth it in the end. But, I am pretty ready to no longer be pregnant. We are on the home stretch and I'm just trying to get everything in as much order as we possibly can. I've been planning my leave at work. There's a number of things around the house that need to be done or just forgotten about. We went to a birthing class last night with our doula and everything just keeps getting more real. 

This week, I've been reading a lot of things for mothers due to the fact that Mother's Day is tomorrow. I'm always looking for clever parenting hacks or ideas. I've been reading a lot about screen time and how it affects our children or how we need to get outside WAY more than we do now. 

Here's what I've read this week: 

Celebrity mom's talk about their mothers. 

One of the books I posted about last week is on sale on Kindle for $1.99! 

I'm always looking for clever DIYs for parenting. Here's some great ones. 

I think about our budget a lot, especially with a new baby on the way. Here are 5 ways to save 100 dollars this week. 

Kid's should play outside more and here's how to do it. 

Meal planning has become a part of our home. I'm always looking for cheap, easy recipes. 

A new donut shop opened in our town and my pregnancy cravings might get the best of me. 

Postpartum depression is a big deal. This mom's post is a must read. 

Have a great weekend! 

It's the Weekend | Number Ten

The days are flying by.  I cannot believe how quickly time is moving. I am officially 32 weeks pregnant. I managed to injure my right foot somehow and I've been limping around for a week and a half. I'm still not totally sure what I did but I'm ready to not be big and pregnant and also limping around everywhere. Seriously. Come on, foot! 

I still need to blog about our trip to Estes. I need to actually work on getting the little babe's room all ready to go. We still have some house projects to complete. I'd really like to get our garden going. There's a lot to be done and I just don't have the energy lately to do it. Welcome to the 3rd trimester everyone! 

But, it's the weekend. Hallelujah! Here are a few things I've been reading this week, along with a Mother's Day wish list, and some great books for moms that I've been devouring. Enjoy. 

Why are our kids so miserable? 

Secrets of people who are always full of energy. 

It's nice to have less stuff. 

Sugar is in everything these days. Here's 30 days of meals you can eat during a sugar detox. 

If you need help with a cleaning schedule. I love stuff like this. Also,  here are some lazy people cleaning hacks. 

I am planning on making this for dinner sometime this week. 

Mother's Day will be here before we know it. Here is what's on my current wish list: Wish #1, Wish #2, Wish #3 (Charcoal) , Wish #4. 

If you're looking for some books for moms, I highly recommend: Long Days of Small Things: Motherhood as a Spiritual Discipline, The Magic of Motherhood: The Good Stuff, the Hard Stuff, and Everything In Between, The First Forty Days: The Essential Art of Nourishing the New Mother.

Have a great weekend!

This post may contain affiliate links. When you make a purchase through those links, I am paid a small amount in advertising fees. Thanks for your support.

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! 

It's The Weekend | Number Seven

Prego Belly & Sidewalk Chalk 

This weekend I hope to finish our little gal's new pink room. We still need to build a bookcase and get her rug in her room. It's very pink and it's very fun. After that project is finished, I get to move on to the little boy's nursery. I am officially in my third trimester and I keep realizing how quickly time is flying. Holy cow, we have 12-ish weeks left!!! I feel like I was just starring at a positive pregnancy test at the end of October, while on vacation.

Here are the places I've been clicking this week. Lots of it has to do with food because I feel like I'm constantly hungry. Some links are about parenting because I've obviously had that on the brain. Some are about paint. Food, family, and home. Those are the things on my brain lately. You can look forward to a post on Marin's new big girl room and some more mom guilt rants in the near future. I'm sure of that.

Someday our kids will probably share a room. These bunk bed ideas are pretty awesome. I would sleep in them.

I've been thinking about this a lot lately | Why Kids Need Real Play

Lunch can get boring. Here are ten sandwich free lunch ideas.

15 tips on how to be a successful parent.

I'm all about white trim in my house. But, painting things black can also be awesome. 

This chocolate banana smoothie is right up my alley right now. This cobbler looks awesome as well. 

Speaking of food, Joy the Baker Over Easy: Sweet and Savory Recipes for Leisurely Days and Food, Health, and Happiness: 115 On-Point Recipes for Great Meals and a Better Life are my current reads.

I also just started reading Chasing Slow: Courage to Journey Off the Beaten Path and I am loving it.

Have a great weekend! 

This post may contain affiliate links. When you make a purchase through those links, I am paid a small amount in advertising fees. Thanks for your support.

It's The Weekend | Number Six

Our very neglected garden beds. 

It's been raining the last few days around these parts and my heart has been so happy about it. It reminds me of my season of time in the northwest. I just want to go play music and drink tons of coffee. If only that were a distinct possibility right now. But, it is the weekend and I don't plan on even leaving my house today if I can help it. 

I do enjoy finding great things out on the internet. There are lots of people doing some extraordinary things and I like keeping track of those things. Sometimes though, the internet is a cesspool of disgusting and hurtful things. Last night I was perusing Facebook and stumbled onto a video of a man beating a small child to a pulp. Due to the automatic play feature of most videos on Facebook, I didn't even realize what I was watching until it was too late. Ryan knows how it affected me I'm sure my pregnancy hormones were no help.  I was disgusted, frustrated, almost in tears. I went into my child's room and kissed and hugged her for good measure. There are nasty things out in this world. It took everything I had within me to get that image out of my head and to fall asleep last night. We watched a lot of funny cat videos and I read my new book in an attempt to drift to sleep. 

Anyways, sometime the internet is sucky. But, the links below help me realize that not everything out there is frustrating and ugly. This week, we are talking pizza, making a house a home, some parenting stuff, and the idea of gardening. Enjoy. 

I am making this pizza this week. I've been craving those artichokes. 

To continue on the pizza craze, because we love pizza in this home, how about some pull apart pizza bread for good measure?

I am always thinking about how to make our house a home.  I love the idea of embracing your story for your home. So often I get caught up in trends and what everyone else is doing. Just do you. 

This is a bit of a read but I thought it was interesting: How Parenting Became A Full Time Job. 

I also found this interesting....Visualizing the data of parenting.  

I've been thinking about gardening this year again. It's been a few years and I think Marin would have a blast. Here is some great gardening 101, especially with kiddos. 

Bedtime hoops...Four questions you should be asking your child at bedtime. I love this. 

Have a great weekend! 

It's the Weekend | Number Five

Phew. This week has been a whirlwind of late nights at work for events. I'm ready to just chill at my house for the day with the kiddo. Nothing too crazy. Come tomorrow, the craziness will begin up again like it always tends to do.

Lately, I've have started to gather links of all of the places I have been perusing in the great, grand internet. There are plenty of people out there doing big things and small things. Some of these are practical, some are inspiring. Some just make me hungry. This week, we have an article on rage cleaning, eating healthier, and not waking up with regret. I also have been reading about podcasts and ways to become a better morning person. 

I tend to clean my house a lot. I thought this rage-cleaning mother article was pretty accurate.  

I saw these cheat sheets floating around Facebook this past week. I always need ideas for how to eat healthier.

I never want to wake up someday with regret.  These things are important.

Do you listen to podcasts? I do. Here's a primer on how to get started. 

I am normally a morning person because of the kiddo. Here's 8 things every person should do before 8am. 

I always have a thing for tortellini. Getting my family to eat more broccoli is always a win as well. This Lemon Broccoli Tortellini looks delicious.

Commonwealth and Do the Work: Overcome Resistance and Get Out of Your Own Way just became available for me at the library for my Kindle. Time to get my read on. 

Have a great weekend!

This post may contain affiliate links. When you make a purchase through those links, I am paid a small amount in advertising fees. Thanks for your support.