Confession Time

- The other night, I dropped a pen in the cushion of my favorite chair and went "digging" to find it.  In my search, I uncovered not only the pen but also approximately six pennies, nine Goldfish crackers, and two Legos.  Without hesitation, I took the pen and pushed the other items back into the crevice. #Iwillvacuumsoon

- I am LOVING Zumba; but, I'm slightly concerned about the songs I now find myself humming and singing to myself all the time.  Today's pick? "Talk Dirty to Me" by ________.  (I don't know because I was afraid to type in the song title on my school computer.) ;)

- Poppy is having some trouble with food, so I took him a chocolate milkshake (his favorite) last week at lunch time.  When I got to his room, his roommate informed me that he was in therapy and wouldn't be back for a while.  Since I was just sitting there - and it was melting - I decided to have a sip of the milkshake.  Fifteen minutes later (and 750 calories - can you believe that?!?), when he finally returned, there was approximately 1/4th of the milkshake left for him.  Oops.  #notonmydiet

- I am a giddy school girl over the possibility of a big blizzard here today.  I have done NOTHING all week in anticipation of several days of being snowed-in and doing nothing again.  It's bad.

Got anything to confess today?  I'd love for you to join me and link-up below!

 

Juan Pablo Kisses His Way Through New Zealand

You know what is really amazing about the Bachelor - I mean, besides Juan Pablo's hair? The weather.   Did anyone else realize that Andi and Juan Pablo's date consisted of bathing suits and waterfalls AND scarves, winter coats, and visible breath.  Same thing on the group date - rolling around in water-filled balls wearing bikinis by day, coats and blankets by night. #mysteriesofthebachelor 

Anyway, now that that is out of the way, here's a quick recap of last night's episode:

Juan Pablo & Andi go on a lovely one-on-one date where they slither between rocks in (no doubt) snake-infested waters to get to a beautiful clearing where they can stand under a waterfall and make-out. (Speaking of rocks, Andi totally rocks the one-piece bathing suit. Right?) Then, they bundle up for a romantic little dinner (of hardly any food) but get rudely interrupted by a geyser spraying them with cold mist.  (Didn't the producers speak to that geyser before taping? #rude)

In short, their time together went something like this --- 

Kiss, kiss, kiss, "I'm cold," kiss, kiss, kiss, "that geyser is so rude," kiss, kiss, kiss, kiss, kiss, kiss, "I can't wait to have kids," kiss, kiss, kiss "will you aksept this rose?" kiss, kiss, kiss, kiss, kiss, kiss, kiss, kiss.

Basically, they have a lot of the same goals for their lives and have a strong spiritual connection. ;)

*I still like Andi (remember, she was one of my top picks originally), and I think she's both beautiful and cute at the same time which ranks up there with being the Assistant District Attorney in terms of difficulty and impressiveness; but, I don't think she's the one.  He basically only wants to make out with her - which is all fun and games until they get home to Camilla and jobs and all that other totally boring stuff that will interrupt this vacation way worse than any old geyser did.

Next, it's group date time.  I thought this date started out just lovely - does it get more beautiful than the New Zealand countryside? - and turned pretty weird.  Rolling down a mountain in giant hamster wheels is one thing (I actually thought it looked pretty good), but kudos to the random production person who must have had the great idea to ADD WATER to the balls so that everyone would have to be half-naked while they did it.  #thoseproducersthinkofeverything

Later, the girls got to enjoy more time with Juan Pablo over "dinner," this time in Hobbit-ville from the movie Lord of the Rings.  This was actually pretty cool, except I just couldn't stop thinking about how devastated the die-hard Rings fans must have been seeing their holy-land disrespected like that.  I'm guessing quite a bit of disinfecting and sanctifying had to take place there once filming wrapped up.  Don't you think?

Juan Pablo kissed Renee during their time together (thank goodness), and I was happy to see that he really does seem to like and respect her -which I can't say about a lot of the other girls.  Unfortunately, he went on to then kiss Nikki and Sharleen also (ON THE SAME DATE), so that kind-of cancelled things out a bit.  *To be honest, I really like Renee; BUT, I think she's too good for J.P.  He's the kind who likes to talk about respect and role models and mothers; but, mostly, just likes to make-out.  She can do better than him.

Then, at the end of the date, Juan Pablo wished Cassandra a happy 22nd (22?!?! Is it even legal for her to be on this show?!?!) birthday by sending her home.  You gotta give it to him for not wasting any time once he knew she wasn't the one, but I still felt for the poor girl.  Oh well, I feel confident there will be PLENTY of eligible bachelors lining up to meet her back home. (Plus, she's pretty much guaranteed to get on the next season of Bachelor Pad or whatever, to "win money to support my son's future" right?)

*Nikki has made a swift turn for trashy-ville, and I don't like it.  She had me in the beginning because of her passion for her job as a pediatric nurse and her "bubbly" personality.  Lately - based on some of her outfit/language/hair color choices,  I think I'd be looking for another practice for my kids.  (#Iprefermynursestobegrandmas). Sorry girl!  Plus, one of the tabloids said she calls the other girls FAT!  On no you didn't!

*I've actually really come to like Chelsie, but I don't see much of a future for her.  She's adorable and seems confident and secure (ahem, Clare) without coming across as too obsessed with herself (Kat), which are good qualities in my book.  I hope things shift for her.

*Sharleen.  UGH. Go home already.  The truth is, I don't hate her; I just really wonder what made someone as "sophisticated" as her think coming on television to date a guy with 15 other girls was a good idea.  Let's not drag this out, go home.  Honestly, I don't think Juan Pablo will be all that upset, and we can all stop holding our breath in suspense (#notreally).  P.S. Whatever you did to your hair that night at the Hobbit-house... I wouldn't do it again if I were you.

Next, we're on to Clare's one-on-one.  Oh Clare.  She's totally beautiful - albeit kind-of in a your face and hair never move kind-of way - but a dra-ma queen.  By this point, I was bored of the show and TOTALLY bored of the "we snuck out and went too far in the ocean at 4:30AM last week" story line.  Clare still felt sad (which I understood - J.P. handled the situation TOTALLY wrong.  #typical) and like she needed to "crawl back into her little turtle shell" but Juan Pablo eased her fears (I'm still not exactly sure what he did other than just look hot and speak in that accent to her) and they went on to have a lovely date that involved gigantic black sweatpants, a very tight fitting wife-beater (of course), and a rose.

To be fair, I appreciated that J.P. and Clare's date was normal - even down to the hideous couch and poorly decorated room they were in - but it still felt forced to me.  Isn't there a happy medium somewhere between hobbits and harem pants?!?!

Finally, the rose ceremony.  Honestly, this was not too eventful to me.  I thought J.P. seemed sincere when he told Chelsie not to worry and that it was obvious that Kat pulled out the final stop when she, totally randomly it seemed, told a sad story about her father during her one-on-one time.  I honestly thought Kat would have made it further, but I wasn't sad to see her go.  This feeling was only confirmed by her statement that she's "always been told how great she is" in the limo ride home.  #byebyebirdie Regardless, with those boobs that personality she'll be all over the Bachelor circuit before we know it. 

So, that wraps things up for this week.  Did you watch?  Who would you say are the frontrunners now?  *I'm rooting for Renee or Chelsie, but I honestly think Clare, Nikki, or even Sharleen will win. Also, it's worth noting that Juan Pablo is moving up the sleaze-scale each week in my book, therefore, vastly decreasing my amount of investment in his future. #sorryJP

P.S. Don't forget to get your confessions ready for tomorrow, and enter the Valentine's give away here before Friday!

Life Lately

Last week wasn't my best for blogging; but, if I can be annoying for a second, it has been a pretty good couple of weeks for me in the "real world."  I'm finding a lot of peace in pursuing less this year and finally getting semi-organized, feeling some of the benefits of taking care of my self health-wise, in a bit of a creative "sweet spot" when it comes to decorating and other little projects, AND I'm continuing to LOVE this stage of parenting.  (Yes, I've always enjoyed being a momma, but right now my time with Sam just feels so natural and easy... He's really my "buddy" and not just my "baby" anymore. He is at such a fun stage, and I enjoy being with him so much.) 

I feel like there is a good bit of "updating" I need to do, so I thought I'd share a few of the things we've had going on lately to catch you up on life around these parts...

We've had quite a bit of "winter weather" here already this year (in fact, last week was our first full week of school in a month) but nothing really significant.  *According to the news, that might be about to change with significant snow accumulation coming this Wednesday and Thursday.  I'm crossing my fingers!  Regardless, Sam loves being outside in the snow and coming back in for "warm" chocolate, as he calls it.  His new favorite thing is to lay on the floor and make "snow" angels anytime and anywhere. :)

With our neighbor and Sam's best-bud Benji.

 

...

Two weekends ago, Jeff was out of town with his Bible study group, so Sam and I packed up and headed to spend the weekend with my sister in Northern Virginia.  Her beau was out of town too, so it was a perfect sister-weekend centered around shopping, eating yummy food, and spoiling Sam.  (In less than 48 hours we went to a gymnastics center open-gym,  a bouncy-house play place, Chickfila, Chuck-E-Cheese, and a playground - and that was just the stuff for Sam).  I wish I had taken more photos, but these two pretty well sum up our time.

Blurry, but I couldn't resist this one of Sam & KK (in a dress) coming down the slide.

On our way back home... Happy & TIRED

I don't think she will mind me saying this, but Kathryn isn't exactly the most maternal person in the world; so seeing her relationship with Sam grow and how much they just ADORE each other has been such a blessing to my heart. This weekend was such a fun real life version of all the years we spent "playing house" in our basement only with real chips and salsa instead of felt ones. ;) She really is the BEST aunt (Jayme too, of course), and Sam has been talking non-stop about "KK" since we got back.

...

I've been working on my master bedroom re-do for over a year now (sad, I know), but just recently I've gotten the "umph" to really move forward with it.  My to-do list is still LONG, but I'm motivated and excited to get it finished up soon.  My latest obsession?  Creating a girly desk area for me to write, read my Bible, and keep our little family organized.  I'm ordering these two prints to go over it this week from my new favorite Emily Ley.  

(I might have also already ordered her Simplified Life binder and some other goodies for my future-desk too!)

...

Speaking of decorating, between last weekend's Ikea run and some VERY generous gifts from Land of Nod, Sam's nursery is in the process of being transformed into a "big boy" room.  #Itsabouttime.  I'm keeping a lot the same, but playing with the colors of Jeff's grandmother's quilt (shown below) and adding in fun shades of red and blue/teal too.  It's coming along slowly, but there will be a loose travel theme, and lots of fun details when it is finally finished.

...

This past weekend involved a lot of pizza-making, M&M-sorting, cupcake-baking, Olympics-watching, and fort-playing.  Sometimes I can't help but laugh at how much our life has changed in the last three years, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

 

...

Yesterday, Sam and I put together these simple little Valentine's for his classmates at preschool.  I wanted to stay away from candy (not that I don't love candy, but you never know how other people feel about it for their kids), and avoid spending tons of money and time on them while still looking like I have my ish together. ;)  These perfectly fit the bill!  The "I like how you roll" printable is free here (there is a cute girly version too) and the colorful bouncy-balls were a dollar each in the Target party section.  (P.S. Addy is, literally, obsessed with the balls.  Good thing I bought extras!)

 ...

And finally, a couple of you have asked how my Poppy is doing lately...  To be honest, it's really hard to give an update because his health and mood change so drastically every day.  He is officially in a nursing home now and needing pretty much constant care.  It is hard to see him in the stage, but the home is right next to my school so I'm able to see him almost every day during my lunch break, and we've had some sweet time together.  Aging is really pretty terrible, but I am more thankful than ever for the many many good years we have had with him and the huge role he has played in my life.  We have his pain pretty well managed - so he is comfortable - now, and his mind still seems to be mostly good, but I know he is getting tired of fighting.  Please continue to pray for comfort and peace for him and also for my mom and uncle as they continue to have to make tough decisions regarding his care, etc.

Ok, consider yourself officially updated!  Here's hoping for a blizzard so I can finally catch up on the other blog posts I want to write. :)

Happy Monday.  Hope it's a good week!

P.S. There will DEFINITELY be some Midweek Confessions up on Wednesday to make up for any amount of unintentional smugness in this post. Get yours ready and plan to join me!