Getting Wedding Ready with Drybar!

I'm sure many of you reading this have been in weddings and if not one, than probably MANY; and you KNOW how expensive they can be! Don't get me wrong, we all know that they are so fun to be a part of, but the getting there takes some work; budgeting, and planning and all that jazz. This past weekend, I had the honor to be in an out of state wedding for a girlfriend of mine, and my daughter was even going to be one of her flower girls! Talk about EXCITING!! So I had my dress, shoes, earrings--we had our hotel booked, and literally, all I needed was my hair left to be planned. When Drybar of Louisville informed me that they'd love to partner with me the day before I left, I was DOWN. The salon officially opened January 22, and is Louisville's FIRST Drybar. 

They are located on Shelbyville road, in between Toys R Us and Whole Foods. A bright white shop with tons of windows and bright, vibrant decor--it's a shop hard to miss. I was welcomed by smiling faces, from the receptionists and stylists and also the owners themselves! [How cool right??] The salon is big enough to hold MANY clients and I've always thought it would be the perfect spot for bride's and their girls to get ready at. 

A lot of women haven't heard about the Drybar blow-out experience, so here's the scoop. You're immediately welcomed with your drink of choice: ice water, diet coke, tea, etc. [I chose diet coke because after running the 5k that morning, this mama was in dire need of caffeine!] Then you're given a menu which you can select your ideal look from: some examples include the Mai Tai, loose, beach-like waves; or a traditional blow-out called Straight Up. If you're really wanting fancy though, there's a fun look called the Uptini, which is more of an up-do. You can see the full menu here if you want to take a peek before going in! 

The stylist greeted me so friendly and took me back for a wash. We chatted about our kids and my race that morning and swapped motherhood stories the whole time. By the end of the appointment I felt like I had known her way longer than the 40-ish minutes it took! She dried my hair and curled it with some loose waves--I was in love with the finished product! (Please excuse my sweatpants and baggy tee; keep in mind I had just ran three miles before hand! Ahh, SO tired!!)

I had actually been to Drybar before, when we had our family pictures taken back in October, and I was SO pleased with that experience as well. The curls lasted me well over 24-hours and I never even had to re-touch it!! The same goes for this visit; my family of four and I left for Cincinnati right after my hair appointment and we went to the rehearsal, dinner, and I sat with my kiddos in the hotel where they swam for almost an hour. Even after sleeping on it, it was STILL in excellent shape. If you're a product junkie like me, or if you're even looking for the simple necessities, Drybar WON'T let you down. Their dry shampoo (Detox) is one of my absolute faves, and I actually did use some of this a few hours before the wedding ceremony. As a mom of two, I kinda feel like dry shampoo is at the TOP of my priority list these days...

I can't say enough about Drybar of Louisville. Excellent staff, TALENTED stylists, and a wonderful opportunity. I am not the best at 'treating myself' but I think days like these are so needed. Mamas, if you CAN, check this salon out. And if you have any questions at all, comment or e-mail me! I assure you that the time is worth it, and the hair styles do NOT disappoint. 

Thank you Drybar, for this amazing gift that could not have come at a more perfect time for me!! You definitely have made me a lifelong customer! 

Boy Scouts and What it Means to be a Lion Cub

This post was compensated by the Boy Scouts of America, but all views are my own.

Several months ago I was checking my e-mails and there was one that really caught my eye. It was an invitation to attend a Boy Scouts club meeting. They wanted to know if my son and I could check out their newest pilot program: Lion Cubs, to see if it may be anything he'd be interested in joining. I did a little more research, and learned that the the program is for kindergarten boys who are interested and looking for after-school activities. Five year old children can often join sport leagues and teams, but previous to this piloted program, they weren't able to yet join Scouting. Being a Lion is all about exploration and making new friends. Their vision is to expand imaginations as well as to help spark new interests and creativity.

I didn't really have to think twice about this partnership because it was obvious my son would benefit from attending. Weeks before the meeting I showed Pierson some videos and photos of the Boy Scouts and some of the things the boys did and do. We are friends with some guys who grew up Scouting and they had great stories to share about their hikes, camp outs, and the car races--which my son was SUPER intrigued by. Lucky for us, the event that we attended WAS the car race: the Pinewood Derby, and he loved every second.

Dawn, the Cub Leader, was wonderful to introduce us to every person, and to also bring the Lion Cubs around Pierson to share their stories with him. He was completely enthralled; being surrounded by other similar aged peers who were listening well, being attentive, and making him feel completely included, like he was actually one of THEM, how FUN right?

Dawn had a whole box of cars that Pierson could choose from, so that he can try out racing it firsthand. He was ecstatic when he saw the track, and when they let him place it at the starting point, his excitement was so contagious. I mean, here I am, completely new to an event such as this, and I was PUMPED for him to 'race' his car. The Lion Cubs actually surrounded him at one point and cheered him on, even though him doing this was simply for fun. They would actually be the ones participating in the car races, but they were so sweet and inclusive.

When the time came for the 'real races,' Pierson was SUCH a trooper about sitting on the sidelines to watch. We did the Pledge of Allegiance and he stood so proudly with the other boys, like he had been doing this his whole life. Do your little ones ever just completely amaze you at their sincerity? Watching him be a part of this made my heart just swell, Y'all.

We cheered the Lions on and met some fantastic parents. Pierson went over to the car check-ins and studied every single car with a glimmer in his eye. He was excited, supportive, and was building friendships in the mere hour that we were there! I know the goal of the Scouts is to teach boys courage, compassion, positive attitudes, cooperation, honesty, and SO many other characteristics; and seriously, these were all very evident and sweetly displayed by the boys present. And at the very end, Dawn knelt with Pierson and even gave him his VERY own certificate; he was SO happy! It was very considerate of her to do that, and we are so appreciative of her generous heart.

Obviously Pierson and I were honored to go check out this new program, go #scouting, and to see what this was all about! Dawn gave us tons of great resources and helpful information, and we are very strongly considering signing him up in the fall when he starts kindergarten. Pierson came home and told his sister Reese ALL about his afternoon, telling her that "he won" the race and that he had made a ton of friends. Excited is an understatement for how he felt about his day!

So we want to say a HUGE thank you to the Boy Scouts for having us, and to the super sweet Lion Cubs who made us feel incredibly welcome there. I think the new Lion Program is a wonderful idea, and they're doing a great job weaving traditional Scouting concepts of character development into these age appropriate activities.

If you are interested in signing up for activities, I encourage you to check out your local Cub Scouts or Boy Scouts. You can search here for scouting units in your area. I really don't think you'll regret it!

Have YOU been involved in the Scouts? Don't forget to share your #scouting experience on Facebook and Twitter!

Playing Catch Up [and a FUN Surprise!]

I didn't post in this series last week, so this is a combination of last + this week's photos. I've had a lot of people ask what I'm doing now that I'm home, if I'm ready to go back to the classroom, and just generic "how's it going?" questions. These pictures are a really good look at what many of our days look like, and here's my answers: no I'm not ready to go back, it's exhausting; and I love every second. Maybe not every second, because that would make me a legit Supermom, but I honest to God couldn't be more grateful for these days and months with Pierson and Reese. 

I want them to know their names when they start school, so we focus each week on a letter. Last week Reese learned how to SPELL her name aloud, which just amazed me! She's the busy bee--a very typical three year old probably? So she's not super in to the "school lessons" we do, but I put her name to a song and she GOT IT. Ask her how to spell her name, she'll recite it loud and proud! That's what the "R" is for in all of these photos [it supposed to be a R for rainbow and we attached some cotton ball clouds for fun] ;) Pierson gets really into these crafts and does such a great job! And Alfie is almost always with us, as you can see. The dining room has turned into my office AND classroom; last night at dinner I told Asa, "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I miss bulletin boards!!" [I think 90% of teachers don't ENJOY putting up bulletin boards, ha! But I miss having a giant place dedicated to showing student work!]

With Valentine's Day being last week, we made Daddy some more Pretzel Bites to take to his his class party. We spend a lot of time drawing, coloring, painting, and listening to playlists on Pandora. I'm always making 'to do' lists to try and stay organized, and having that quiet time while they nap/rest is something I definitely treasure! 

Here's when they opened their Valentine's Day gifts. They were so excited to see bags sitting on the dining room table when they woke up. [Moment of truth: Asa bought the gifts the night prior because we completely forgot!! He did a good job!] An Ariel Barbie for Reese because she and I were going to the Broadway show of Little Mermaid; and Pierson put together and painted a bird house, as well as some fun Legos. And Pierson and Asa went on a boy date to see Lego Batman and get Mexican food while Reese and I saw Little Mermaid w/ the girls!

AND my exciting surprise this week!!! American Girl gifted us with their first ever BOY doll, Logan. He is Tenney's [another new AG doll!] band mate and drummer, is 18 inches tall, and is seriously the most handsome doll ever. Pierson was SO excited to add a boy to the mix because whenever Reese wants him to play with her dolls, his only options are girls! I think it's safe to say BOTH kids were thrilled with this awesome surprise, and I'm excited to watch them play together. (Thanks, American Girl, we love y'all!)

We had a great couple of weeks. Yesterday, we went to the Zoo with my friend Lauren [their former sitter] and "baby Jadon," and TODAY they joined us in the park for our picnic too! Her husband Josh came and the kids LOVED having him there to be all rough and tumble on the playground (and I loved having the extra set of hands.) So now it's time to finish my coffee and take some deep breaths because Reese definitely only slept an hour and I can hear her upstairs yelling at her brother ;)

Have a blessed weekend, everyone! And thanks for joining me here!

Better to be Loved than Admired

Have you read or finished Present Over Perfect yet? If you haven't grabbed a copy of this book, PLEASE do yourself a favor and fix that. I was screen-shotting and typing out ginormous passages, texting them to my friends and family every other day while reading this. The chapters are all heavily underlined, and so many of the words are forever imprinted on my brain because honestly, being present is something the Lord is earnestly trying to teach me. 

I had a massive break down last month; desperately feeling alone, seeking words of affirmation from family members and really feeling as though on so many levels, I just wasn't connecting. I was getting overly discouraged when Instagram posts weren't doing as well as others have in the past [like, how did I ever get 3k likes on ONE photo? That will NEVER happen again!] And that sentence and realization RIGHT there, is what this post is all about. Whose likes matter? Why do they matter? What is the POINT of social media? There are so many different lessons I want to tie in to what I'm trying to say, but I'll try to take it slow so that I don't completely overwhelm (or bore) you. 

In a podcast listening to Lara Casey share her story [another author I highly encourage you to get familiar with!] she encouraged her listeners to STOP searching. She said, "Imagine your followers to be real life people, because they ARE, and imagine them being at your dining room table. If you even have ten followers, ten people, that's actually a LOT of people to be hosting in your home. So it's not necessarily a good thing trying to find MORE followers, more people who aren't presently with you in this season, because then you are distracted and not pouring in to the people who ARE at your side." That may have been terribly paraphrased, but her point was to be content with the people in your life, and to check yourself to see how you are trying to invest in THEM. With 13k followers, that's a crap ton of people; people who wouldn't actually FIT inside my home or at our dinner table--but that is thousands of people I get to semi interact with and influence with my words via Instagram. Do all 13k SEE my posts? No, of course not. But many do! So what message do I want to share with them? And beyond that, with 13k followers, how many do I ACTUALLY have a real, meaningful relationship with? How many of us can say that we have one at all? You can have hundreds of THOUSANDS, millions even, of quote on quote followers--but are they who at the end of the day, matter? 

Going back to Shauna Niequist's book, she has an entire chapter dedicated to "It's All Right Here." Let me share with you my most convicting points (pages 110-114): 

• -Making someone feel loved in an instant is SO much easier than showering someone your love OVER AND OVER, day in and day out. 
• -It feels good to be good at something, to master something, to control something when marriage and intimacy often feel profoundly OUT of our control.
• -Little by little, we tiptoe away. 
• -The distance seems to always create space for another person, and then there's a whole new level of pain and violation. [YES, because this has happened TO ME]
• -When things are hard and painful and barbed at home, what a LOVELY thing it is to be loved at your work, right? What a lovely and DANGEROUS thing. 
• -It's EASY to be liked by STRANGERS. It's very HARD to be loved and connected to the people in your home when you're always bringing them your most exhausted self and resenting the fact that the scraps you're giving them isn't cutting it. 
• -It is better to be LOVED than admired. It is better to be truly KNOWN and seen and taken CARE of by a small tribe than adored by STRANGERS who think they know you in a meaningful way. 
• -People out THERE are easier than the ones in here. 
• -It's ALL in here, NOT out there. 

I'm here to tell you as a person with thousands of followers [and embarrassingly enough, as an "Influencer" this does not necessarily *sound* like a large number to me]; it doesn't matter, because you can and will still feel lonely. In another podcast listening to Dale Partridge talk with a Pastor, the Pastor said something along the lines of, "No matter the number, your feelings will still be the same." He said he had always imagined that when his church got to 500 members, that would be it, and he would feel like he had arrived. And he now has a church with over 40,000 people attending his different churches each week. The same goes for  many of us in our 'following.' [If you can't relate, bless you, but perhaps you still do with feeling fully loved and cherished inside your own walls.] I LITERALLY remember 10k being "the magic number" on Instagram. "Oh once you hit 10k, big things will start happening," I was told. Well, let me let YOU in on a little secret. That's not exactly true. "Maybe when I hit 15k?" I've thought. Or 20k? But honestly, I follow a LOT of 'mommy bloggers' and women who have an incredibly large following, and do you know what I hear as the common thread? 

That they can still be lonely. That they can still spend too much time on social media, that they often fall short of comparing themselves to other, to doubting whether or not they should just walk away, and so many other similar thoughts that I, a woman with 13k followers, have as well. Why? 

Because our love is not OUT there. 

Because our tribe is INTERNAL. 

Because the ones who not only KNOW us but LOVE us, are sitting AT our table. 

Because the children we are rolling around with on the floor, and the husband we hold hands with on the couch--they, are who matters. 

Sometimes this realization is scary. I've had lots of doubts about posting, sharing, writing, conversing. But a quote from Shauna sums my heart up so well, and I am guessing yours too: 

"Sometimes brave is being quiet. Being brave is getting off the drug of performance. For me, being brave is trusting that what my God is asking of me, what my family and community is asking from me, is TOTALLY different than what our culture says I should do. Sometimes, brave looks boring, and that's totally, absolutely, okay" (126). 

"...Getting off the drug of performance," yes. Do I need to post a picture every day to be loved? Maybe, to be admired. But deep down I know that relationships are not virtual; they are physical. I love the groups I'm a part of on threads on Instagram. I've gotten close with women in Colorado, California, Illinois, Canada, Oregon, North Carolina, and SO many different states. I'm thankful for them and I long to one day create an IG meet-up! But these relationships are not ENOUGH to BE enough. Do not second guess yourself because of your social media presence, do not doubt your identity based on the thoughts, moods, and opinions of others. 

It is better to be LOVED than admired. And friends?

You already are.