Let's Dance

Women with kids, I don't know about you, but come eight o'clock every night, I. am. done. 

Like, I put whoever's turn it is down for the night, turn around five seconds later to hug him or her five more times, fill that cup of water, blow their nose, put socks on their suddenly cold feet, take socks off now increasingly hot feet, and then I fall asleep outside their door. Okay, that falling asleep part doesn't happen. I usually head to the computer, turn my desk lamp on, and get to work editing photos and/or reaching out to companies/respond to e-mails. You can usually find my husband in his comfy grey chair [formerly known as Reese's rocking chair], remote in hand, kicked back and ready for a couple of hours of unwinding. Sometimes I remind myself that everything I THINK is important after being mom ALL day, just isn't. And I join him on the couch, after grabbing my favorite fuzzy blanket, ready to potentially pass out for the rest of the night. 

Parents, I don't know about in your household, but our routine pretty much looks the same, every. single. night. 

Is that just us? We have a schedule, we have the things we each enjoy doing, we kind of separate ways, and we hunker down to do whatever we want to do. Sometimes that's together, and sometimes that's apart. It's eight years of marriage and it's not BAD, it's just comfortable. Comfortable is sweet, don't get me wrong, but sometimes, you need to switch things up. 

Recently as I tucked the kids into bed, (plural, because they each need me to tuck them BOTH in AFTER Asa has done whichever one)--I was missing him. Staying at home feels SO different than being away from him teaching. Because teaching, we were doing very similar things all day long: teaching 3-5th grader emotional and behaviorally challenged children. And we were both apart from our own children, but we shared a common thread. Now that I'm taking some time off, and my conversations are almost solely with a 3 and 4-year old around the clock, I miss the heck out of him! 

I walked down the stairs, probably hunched over because I was so tired, and I KNOW I was feeling ready for bed that particular night. But I came over to my computer, searched "songs to slow dance to" on YouTube, and started playing the first one that came up. I went over to the TV, turned it off, and grabbed my husband by the hand. He looked very confused, but was already starting to smile. I stood on his feet, like I always do, and rested my head on his chest. "What motivated this?" he asked. 

"I just miss you," I replied. 

We danced through the whole song, he spun me in a few circles, and then planted a giant kiss on my forehead. We exchanged I love you's, and then instead of going to the living room to crash and watch TV, we sat at our eight foot farm-table instead. We talked and laughed for an HOUR. And I realized that what was once a typical and mundane Tuesday night, had turned into the most amazing and absolutely needed date night. This is it: 

Marriage. 

Dating. 

Love. 

Romance. 

Exhaustion. 

Sharing. 

Caring. 

Vulnerability. 

Risks.

Eight years of marriage.

We had the honor of being a part of a friend's wedding this weekend and I was the only bridesmaid who was a wife and mother. As teary eyed as all the rest of the ladies were staring at the bride and groom, I looked over at my husband who was being the epitome of SUPERDAD with our two kids in the front row; trying to keep them quiet, rested, attentive, and to help them get through however long the ceremony was going to be without a ginormous toddler melt down. Of COURSE I was SO excited for our friends who were exchanging vows and sharing in communion with each other, but tears welled in my eyes when I looked over at him and his eyes locked with mine. It hasn't been easy. There have been so many arguments, so many selfish remarks and comments and actions [mostly on my end...ALL on my end???], disagreements, forgiveness being plead, grace being begged for, and just LIFE. 

SO MUCH LIFE...

housed in these eight years. And I looked back over to this gorgeous bride and groom and thought, "May you ALWAYS dance with each other." 

And I suppose that's my recommendation to all of you. When you're tired and feeling weary, when life feels boring and more than mundane, when you've wiped a million boogers and changed thousands of poopy diapers... look to your spouse, your love, your person. Take him or her by the hand and whisper, 

"Babe, let's dance." 

If you want to hear the song that has always been our absolute favorite, the one we call "our song," click here! 

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!