Playing Catch-Up!

Last weekend the mister and I had a MAJOR clean out of our house.  We have been talking about doing this for a LONG time, and I was hoping we would have it done by the end of February.  The first time we really had a chance to really get it done was last weekend...yes, the last weekend of February!

We knew we wouldn't really get the job done right with Little Man around, so we took him to the in-laws on Thursday night.  He would stay there until we came for him on Saturday evening!  I was in agony knowing that I was leaving my baby for two whole nights, and I was going to be at home!  His crib would be empty.  It would have been somewhat easier if we were going away on a fun vacation, but it was so hard just being at home cleaning out!  I had to take some pictures of him before we left him, and the mister had to take pictures of me practically crying as we were pulling out of his parents' driveway!

(Btw, I had just worked out before these pictures were taken!)

When we did walk in our door, the mister said, "Hey! At least we can be really loud!" and he went directly to a really creaky spot in our floor and walked over it a few times.  I screamed really loud, and said, "I would rather him be here then to be able to scream!"

We got an early start to cleaning out on Friday morning.  We literally went room by room, and completely cleaned out every nook and cranny.  No drawer left unopened, no space left untouched.  We wanted everything out that didn't have a purpose!  It was a tedious process, but we finished the whole downstairs after working from 7 in the morning until 11 that night.  We did take a break for meals, and a quick walk for me, but other than that it was full on clean out mode!

The next day, we tackled our FROG (Finished Room Over Garage).  I posted about it here.  So that's the before picture, and I will post the after picture after our big yard sale on Saturday.  We were so happy to go through everything, including our attic space and declutter our lives!  I now have space to set up a nice "Mama's Messages" work area upstairs!  I am currently thinking about how I want to arrange everything.  I really want to paint the room now, but that's probably too much to ask!  

We are having a yard sale this Saturday, and I really hope me make some money to buy organizational items and some bins for my work space!  We are hoping to sell a TV, bed, loveseat, chair and half with ottoman, Elliptical, the mister's guitar, lots and lots of clothes, shoes, some jewelry, and more!

In the midst of cleaning, we did find lots of hand-me-down neighbor baby clothes that we had boxed away because they were too big at the time, and now Little Man a new wardrobe!!  Some of our neighbors gave us Polo shirts in practically every color, and another neighbor gave us this cute elephant sweater vest! Score!

(This pic was taken in our closet, so you can see some of the organization!  Looks much neater than it did before!)

We actually finished a little earlier than we thought on Saturday (about an hour), and we met my in-laws for dinner to pick up Little Man.  It was SO wonderful to see him!! I know he had a great time with his Papa and Bippie, but the next time we do that, it better be because we are having a romantic getaway!

Happy Thursday Y'all!

Valentine's Day Surprise! (and pics of Little Man)

 Since I have recently started working out more, the mister surprised me with a pink Nano for Valentine's Day!! I was so excited.  Now I just need some really good upbeat music for my workouts...any suggestions?!  

Here's what I put on recently:

Lots of Black Eyed Peas

Show Me How You Burlesque (Christina Aguilera)

California Girls (Katy Perry)

Hey Ya! (OutKast)

Walking on Sunshine (Katrina and the Waves)

The Adventure (Angels and Airwaves)

Winner (Jamie Foxx/Justin Timberlake)

Here I Go Again (Whitesnake)

Only Girl in the World (Rihanna)

Dynamite (Taio Cruz)

Forget You (Glee Version)

Waka Waka (Shakira)

America Boy (Estelle)

I like pretty much anything but heavy metal, so any suggestions would be great!  Oldies are some of my favorites! (like Let's Hear it For the Boy from Footloose and Yes! from Dirty Dancing)

On Valentine's morning, Little Man had a playdate with a little girl from Bible Study.  They had fun playing together.  He is definitely getting to be a Ladies Man.  He has always been a flirt, but he kissed a girl 3 times on the playground today...and she kissed right back!  (By the way, he is SO much better on the playground at preschool.  If my class is out there at the same time, he'll come over and sit with me for a minute but go off and play on his own most of the time.)

The mister and I went out for a nice date to a restaurant that serves both Italian and Indo-Pak food.  I ate Eggplant Parmesan, and the mister ate Beef Curry with Cabbage.  Usually, the mister only gets Indian food when I'm not around...so this restaurant catered to both of us which was nice!  (It's called Danish's.)

Alright, get those workout songs suggestions coming!! Thanks! :)

Happy Thursday Y'all!

Back in the swing of things?

So I didn't intend to take a week blogging break, but I guess that will happen from time to time.  I am definitely not set on having to blog every weekday, but I do like to keep somewhat of a schedule or I would probably drop it altogether!

I guess I was a little busy last week and didn't take many pictures, and then I left to go visit family for the weekend (and forgot my camera).  But now I'm back in business...the taking way too many pictures business :)

So Little Man's hair has not been cut since his first haircut in October.  4 months!  I kinda liked the shaggy look for awhile, but then it started to look like he was growing a mullet and people were confusing him for a girl, so I knew it needed to happen.

The mister did not want to pay $9 for a haircut for Little Man, so he told me that I could do it just fine....Riiiiiiiight! I don't know the first thing about cutting hair.  I did cut a friend's hair in college and it turned out pretty good, but this is different....a squirmy 16 month old!  

I decided I should take the scissors to his hair while he was eating breakfast...gotta keep him busy.  The mister was getting ready to go to work.  I sprayed down the mane and started snipping.  After the first two cuts, I knew it was a HUGE mistake.  I laughed and screamed.  The mister came and said it was fine, but it wasn't.  I finished up the best I could, and at the end, I was half laughing and half crying.

We ended up at Great Clips at 4:00 this afternoon, and thankfully the lady was able to fix it most of the way. There was one part that is just going to have to grow, and thank goodness his hair grows fast!

I do think he looks older now!  Can I say it again?...He's growing way too fast!

Hope y'all have a great Tuesday!  

Monday Message: Be Content!

 I want to start by sharing some great news! Little Man is walking! He still crawls more than he walks, but on Saturday, he took 18 consecutive steps on his own.  The mister and I were both sitting on the floor across the room from each other.  I was holding Little Man and told him to walk to Daddy.  He was a little wobbly the first few times, but then he started getting the hang of it.  I would back up as he was coming to me and make him walk a little further.  When he would get to one of us, he would scream really loudly until we screamed too, and then he would clap and want to do it again!  

Many of the folks at church ask me each week if he's walking yet, so I was happy to let them show the answer yesterday!

On another note, this past week has been a real trial for me.  I have really had to learn to trust in God and believe that He truly knows what is best.  I do try to take control and want things to work out to my timeline and my desires, but that's not always His plan.  

A few friends have sent me Bible verses this week to help me through my struggle, and they will serve as my Monday Message:

Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding, but in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight. 

Ecclesiastes 3:1 To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.

Philippians 4:11 Learn to be content...whatever the circumstances.

Happy Monday Y'all!

Thankful Thursday: The Mister

 Today, I am so thankful for my husband (the mister!)

We have been couped up together in the past few days, and it has been wonderful!

On Monday we cleaned the house.  If you are a faithful reader, you know I am not a huge fan of cleaning, but we started a weekly cleaning chart.  Among some of the mister's chores (which we agreed on) are emptying and taking out all the trash/recycling, cleaning Little Man's bathroom, and vaccuuming the whole house!  Yes, I know I am so fortunate to have a man willing to split the chores equally!  

He is also very willing (sometime "over"willing to me) to have a conversation almost immediately when we have any type of argument or spat.  If he realizes he is in the wrong, he offers a genuine apology.  I'm a little more stubborn and don't always immediately see when I'm in the wrong.  When we were about to get married, the pastor said, "Learn this phrase, and your marriage will last: 'You're right. I'm wrong. I'm sorry, and it will never happen again.'"  Great advice :)

He also takes great care of Little Man!  We usually take turns getting him up in the morning, which consists of a diaper change, rubbing Vanicream (to prevent eczema) from head to toe, and getting him dressed.  We also take turns putting him to bed, which means giving him a bath, rubbing Vanicream again, putting on pajamas, reading books, and singing songs.  That is probably my favorite time of the day.  The mister helps change diapers and washes the sippy cups.  He is truly wonderful!

I am so thankful to have him for a husband.  I am truly blessed!

Happy Thursday Y'all! What are you thankful for today?

Wordless Wednesday: Snowed In!

 Well, before we got snowed in, I did some traveling this past weekend.  On Thursday, we headed to my in-laws to celebrate my sister-in-law Lindsay's birthday!  We had spaghetti with the best meat sauce ever (made my my mother-in-law) and hot fudge cake (also homemade!)  It was delicious!

We spent the night there and then headed to Charlotte (because the mister took his college youth on a ski trip).  I got to see one my best friends from college and her son James.  They had lots of fun playing together, and we tried to get them to smile with us for pictures.  When we couldn't get them to smile together, we decided to throw them up in the air and then get a shot on their way down :)

Today, our school districts are closed again, which means no work for me or the mister!  We spent all of Monday cleaning the house, which was long overdue.  We also took Little Man out for a walk around the neighborhood.  Yesterday, we ventured out after the mister got his truck up our steep driveway.  We rented a couple of movies and picked up pizza for dinner!  (By the way, Inception is a great movie, and I would also recommend The Town)  

Link up with Daphne:

Happy Wednesday Y'all!