Swim Lessons

Bailey has been in swimming lessons for the past two weeks on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday from 5:00 PM - 5:45 PM. She has done so great and has not been afraid of the water. The first few days she wouldn't stick her head in the water but now she loves too - but on her terms only. Here is a picture of her practicing kicking on her first day. I have taken advantage of the swim lessons and started swimming laps in the gigantic pool - those lanes are much longer than the lanes I did on the swim team (oh geez....umm...12-15 years ago!). I still got it though - if my bathing suit bottoms would stay up. I have lost a little weight and I don't like them to be tight because "muffin top" is NEVER attractive - so my bathing suits are not very good for going fast. I am going to look this weekend for a 1 piece to do laps in because it is a very good workout and relaxing, plus my SS class is having a pool party on Sunday and I think a 1 piece would be more appropriate (oh geez...I'm turning into my mother!).

My Pantry Checklist

I finally got everything listed in my pantry and freezer written down to make out meals - I knew I had enough things to make a few meals but after seeing it all written down and matched up I had 10 meals with a few being large enough to have left overs (spaghetti, pizza, chicken casserole) so it will be close to 15 meals total without needing to go to the grocery store except for milk, bread, fruit, and maybe one or two things. Some of the meals are simple like soup and sandwiches or chicken fingers with applesauce, but Bailey loves those meals and they are perfect for us two. It is hard to not pull in for fast food on the way doing errands but I've been good about going strait home. It has been especially hard these past two weeks with swim lessons being at night - we haven't been getting home until 6:30 every night (Tues-Friday) so making dinner is a rush.

I have been trying to cut back for a while now, but I get the urge for retail therapy! I am co-hosting a Wine & Appetizer Event at my house this weekend and wanted to spruce up my decorating so last week I went to TJMaxx to look for shams for our new quilt I bought for my birthday but instead walked out with 2 shams, 2 down decorative pillows, and the fanciest pillow I have ever owned. It is so perfect! I wasn't sure of my choices but when I asked a girl (who looked cute) what she thought she informed me she was in interior design school and that she loved it. So I walked out spending way more than I wanted to but the end result was perfection and it looked expensive (meaning I spent 1/3 of what it would have costs at a department store...I love TJMaxx).

Also, my personal photographer, B.O.S., finished our family/Bailey's 3 year old pictures and I am so pleased! I have been looking for art or something to put on my kitchen walls and the colors in the pictures were so bright and fun that they looked great in my newly bright green kitchen. I attached my favorite picture - not to "toot my own horn" but it was my idea and it turned out so good. Thanks again Brittney for doing our pictures - she has done Bailey's pictures every year since she was born and always does a great job.

I still need to re-do the kitchen chairs because they are too "matchy" with the new wall color. I am wanting to do stripes with blues and greens or something like that. Last night I started cleaning at 7:45 PM and did not finish until 11:00 PM - way past my bedtime. My house is so clean! I wish it would stay that way but of course Meiko and his hair will ruin it in 3 days....but I love him :) The good news is I have a very clean house and have the weekend to not do any chores :) :) Double smiles!

B is for Busy

For the last couple of weeks we have been very busy. After my birthday weekend which was filled with all sorts of activities I planned on going to see my Sister-in-Law and brother down at the beach for memorial day weekend. I had made plans to go there with Bailey a few weeks in advance but since my ENTIRE family had zero plans they crashed in on my plans. It was a lot of fun though - I believe this was the first family vacation I have been on with my brother and sister in over 10 years. Good thing we like hanging out together because it rained a lot so I got zero sun and gained three pounds from over eating. The day we were leaving I got a phone call from the dog sitter - poor Meiko was sick with a stomach bug I guess because he couldn't keep anything in (unfortunately...both ends). Although the weekend was full of dead ends we still had a lot of fun crashing at Lauren and Keith's house for the 3 day weekend.

The next weekend was full of wedding festivities! It's the south and it was HOT! Bailey was a flower girl in my sorority sister's wedding. She was so excited to wear her white princess dress. It was a beautiful wedding and although I personally was not in it I still was involved with the activities - it was fun to be an "insider" and hang with the bridesmaids.

Last weekend I was asked to go to the beach with family but declined because I just wanted to stay home. On Friday I had guitar practice (which by the way I am doing pretty good on...pat on the back!). Bailey and I went shopping for birthday, baby shower, and father's day presents and then rented movies and ate M&M's. On Sunday we went to the pool for three hours - so nice! It was a relaxing weekend of no structure - just doing as we pleased. It's nice to have weekends like that ever so often.

So of course this Saturday is jam packed with an evangelism project, 2 baby showers, and going to see the princesses. Going, going, going! This Sunday is Father's Day and Blake should be getting his package by Friday. I'm really excited about his gift that Bailey got him...pics to come.

Blogger Junkie

Since Blake's deployment I started looking for military wife blogs. There were a few I liked that posted other blogs that posted other blogs....and so on. So lately I have added about 10 new blogs I follow and I love them. I love the blogs about decorating cupcakes, cakes and cookies, throwing parties, tips on ANYTHING... However, as much as I love these blogs it makes me feel like I need to do more. I don't know if anyone else feels this way but you see great ideas and you want to do them but it gets overwhelming. I am a "list maker". I have a book filled with "to do's", "will do's", and "dreams". So when I look through these lists and see nothing checked off it's hard to take on other tasks.



I am on the second week of "One Month to Live" devotional/book and it says to not spend time on areas of your life that are in the "dark" or unimportant to you...like the things you don't tell people about or things that are not healthy I guess. It made me think of things that are in the "dark" and my biggest "dark" place was all the television I watched that became such a time stealer. It has been over a MONTH since I had the cable taken out of my house and I have to admit that first week was hard. I missed relaxing on the couch watching my shows and watching the news while getting ready in the morning and before bed. Now I don't miss it that much. I have found better things to do with my time like signing Bailey up for the summer reading program at the library on base so in our "down time" we read her library books or work on "school" stuff like writing letters and numbers. We don't have time everyday to do this but at least 3 afternoons a week we sit down and work on "school". It has been so nice to not worry about cleaning off my DVR. Also, I have had more time for cleaning the house and events to attend. So now instead of this "dark" place a.k.a. watching 10 shows a week I have this "light" place filled with books, interacting with my child, and more time for meaningful things.



At the end of week one in "One Month to Live" it asks you to make out a dream page with everything you have ever wanted to do. Looking at it every night makes me want to make them a reality and take one of the dreams off that list and put it on the "to do" list for that week. It may be small steps and take some time but it will be worth while in the end.



I've said it before that it makes it easier to do these things because I am able to spend more time on my interests verses caring about what Blake wants to do. I also have more time for Bailey and myself because I don't have to spend time with him, make big dinners, or clean as much (less dishes, less dirty clothes, less dirt traffic, less clutter...). I bought this book months ago but never had time to do it so it is perfect for these months he is away. It encourages me to do new things and be a better person. Some days can take 3 days to complete and then some nights I get in too late to work on it so it will probably take me 2-3 months to complete it.