Hello January

It's January and a whole new year!  Hot dog!  I am optimistic about 2014.  I am hoping that it is a great year for me and my family.  I don't really do resolutions so much...  but this picture that I found on Pinterest made me smile.  I think that it's a great reminder of how I'm hoping my year will be!

Because it's a new month... it's time to link up for Farley's Currently!  So... here goes:

1) Listening to a silent house.  M1 had a sleepover at a friend's house last night.  M2 had a cousin over here last night, but he went home with a sore throat after midnight...  It's a temporary silence, but I'll take it!
2) Loving my time off for a multitude of reasons, but I actually had a chance to be "crafty" -ish!  I get frustrated with myself on Pinterest b/c I often lack follow through.  I pin tons of things but don't ever go back and make them or see them through.  Well this week I went back through my "For the Home" board and found 2 ideas that I wanted to try out.  I wanted to do a burlap bedskirt in my guest bedroom and also learn how to do monograms on my Silhouette.  Here are my 2 projects from this week... .what do you think?  If you don't follow me on Pinterest...  you can find me HERE!

3) Thinking that January will be a very hard month and I hope I handle it with grace.  January 5th will mark one year since I delivered Frances.  I must confess that I am much less angry now, but I am not 100% yet.  I don't know how long that will take, but I am a work in progress.  I am thankful that I had the chance to hold her and thankful that I can go to her grave when I need a place to get away.  So I am giving myself some grace this month... but also hoping that other mothers who may be hurting will find hope in my journey and struggle.

4) Wanting.... nothing at all that I can think of.  I am a minimalist anyways and I don't need much to be happy.  My list is quite short actually: my boys, my husband, coffee! :)  Santa was good to me though with gift cards for local shops and a day at the spa in Savannah!
5) Needing to lose some weight and start taking better care of myself.  I don't have a specific number really, but I definitely found solace in food and drinks this year.  I don't know if it was grief or the severe depression, but somewhere along the way ... I lost me!  We'll see, but hopefully the old me is still in there somewhere {and she has a bunch of clothes in the closet waiting, ahem}.
6)  Favorite January memory... a super nervous boyfriend asked me to marry him on New Years Eve 2001... and I promoted him to husband!  Golly... that was 12 years ago!

I hope that your January will be amazing.  I head back to work tomorrow {the mourning has already started}.  Happy New Year bloggy peeps... talk to y'all soon!

Five For Friday {Spring Break Edition}

 I'm linking up with Doodle Bugs for her Five for Friday linky.  I have officially been on spring break for 2 hours now and each minute so far has been delightful...  Only 30 school days left until SUMMER break... just sayin'...

1)  Found this on Pinterest over the last week and pinned it to my CHUCKLE board.  It is so true, right?  Have I mentioned how excited I am about summer break?  I always sign up for summer school, etc.... but NOT this year.  This summer I am going to concentrate on relaxing and spending time with my M1 and M2.

2)  You know how I've talked about some days being harder than others?  Today marks month three since I delivered and buried my baby girl.  I am hoping that as the months go by... that I won't be so mindful when the 5th happens.  I will tell you that as I get closer to May.... my level of anxiety and sadness increases.  There are some days that I feel completely paralyzed by my own thoughts.  Not sure if this is normal... and navigating these waters has been really, really hard.  

3)  I know the buzzy creatures have a job to do... I get that...  I'm just saying that I feel like I am bathing in pollen.  My car is covered...  There were at least 2 days this week where I probably looked like a drug addict with my scratching all over, agitation, runny nose {and stopped up at the same type... what is that all about?}, along with that glazed Benadryl look!  I take the Zyrtec D each day to try to look like a normal human, but sometimes the pollen wins!
 
4)  It is spring break and we are doing a "stay-cation"... you know... a vacation where you stay at home :)  I am hoping to fill each day with fun things for my boys though locally.  Hoping to catch a matinee, take them to the pottery painting place, spring/summer shoe buying excursion, lunch at Chic Fila, etc. 

5)  I have made  a HUGE to-do list for this week.  Do y'all make lists?  I make them constantly... I think it helps make me feel somewhat organized.  I have a grocery list, house list, school list, etc.  I am OK if I don't get everything accomplished... just want to be fully present this week.  I am going to be back soon to blog about making ice cream with my firsties this week (they proclaimed it the best day EVER!) and also getting my supplies ready to do the Wizard of Oz next year...  here is the start of my efforts :) 

I hope that you all have a FAB weekend and that it will go by slowly!  Be back soon...

It's Currently March

Wow... every time Farley posts the new month's Currently I am kinda shocked!  How can it possibly be a new month already?  So, she says it's March... I'm down with that.  School for us ends in late May... so this is progress my friends! I have already sent in the deposit for my week at Fripp Island and I couldn't be more excited. Without further ado... my Currently:

 

Listening: to my boys fuss with each other.  M1 and M2 have a great relationship... they aren't that far apart in age.  BUT when they fuss with each other it makes me wanna bang my head against the wall.  It doesn't happen all that often, but holy moly!  

 Loving: My new dishwasher!  Our old one had started to leak water all over the kitchen.  It also had started to fall out of the casing (is that what it's called?) probably from where my boys used to use the open door kinda like a stool when they were littles!  Oops!  I keep walking into the kitchen and smiling!  I'm nerdy like that!  

Thinking: This has been a really stressful year to only be March.  Still not enough words to explain this pain that I am feeling... I am trying to give myself grace as I navigate these waters, but I would be lying if I said I am not struggling with anger and a whole host of other emotions.  Still coveting your prayers and positive thoughts. 

Wanting: The laundry fairy to come visit.  There are only 4 people at our house but the laundry is crazy.  I have thought about making my children go to school naked to cut back on some of the laundry... wonder if that'd help?  

Needing: More peaceful sleep...to wake up rested.  This goes hand in hand with all the thinking I've been doing.  I am struggling to fall asleep at night and stay asleep.  Allergy season has started up here in south Georgia so I am having to take Benadryl... undoubtedly this will help some with the sleep issue because if I take more than 1 at a time... it knocks me on my BUTT!  

Like/Love/Hate: I like shopping... I like shopping for flip flops, for make-up, for school supplies.  I even like grocery shopping (alone).  I do not like shopping at Wal-Mart though...  I LOVE Starbucks and I go there every morning.  They know me and my order. I take my own cup so my iced mocha stays cold until lunch time.  It sits on my desk and patiently waits for me.  Hate selfishness beyond words.  People who are only interested in themselves... BIGGEST pet peeve!  {ever}

I've been really busy the last few weeks trying to keep my brain focused. I have several St. Patrick's Day products posted and a freebie on Google Docs.  Check them out: 

Check it out here

Check it out here 

and a freebie here 

Hope you all have a great week... hope you enjoy the freebie and don't forget about the pencil sharpener giveaway {it ends in 3 more days}.