Cheers to the Weekend, Hello April Edition

Man, this felt like a loooooong week. We had something every.single.night. this week, which makes me so happy to welcome in the weekend! Here's what we are saying CHEERS to this week/end:

Pelicans and Greenway. While we were waiting for Daddy to return home last weekend (more on that in a sec), we had a great Saturday! Following successful soccer and baseball practices that morning, we spent the afternoon gobbling down snowcones during our first of many visits to Pelican's in 2017. We then went to one of our favorite places, our Greenway (which is located right across from our 'hood), and spent time running around, playing on the amphitheater stage, and exploring. And it was such a lovely day for it all!

The Palmetto 200. I was so proud of my hub, and his seven teammates, for working together and successfully completing their non-stop run from Columbia to Charleston last weekend. My hub ended up running a total of about 25 miles during his legs of the race, and we were so excited to welcome him back home into cheering arms!

March Madness brackets. Womp, woooooomp. Okay, well, at least my little Harrison would say CHEERS to his bracket, considering he is currently beating his momma with his picks. I thought I would be able to bring home the title when his champion pick, New Mexico State ;), lost, but then my champion pick, Arizona, lost and well, it looks like he is going to end up beating me. Better luck for 'ol mom next year. Meanwhile, this kid is feeling pretttttty proud of himself: 

Momma Night Out. Earlier this week, four of my girls and I headed out to dinner. It was so nice to get in some good girl time with these ladies I love. The weather was perfection as we dined outside and my heart was full after our time. Love my people, love our conversations, love our town. <3

And that's about it! We have a busy weekend ahead, with one of my sisters and her family coming in for the night for some fun. :) Tomorrow will be B.U.S.Y. We start with soccer pictures at 8:15 am, which will be followed by Harrison and Raleigh's first game, and then Banks' baseball practice, and then Banks' team pictures and then my hub is volunteering at a local Easter egg hunt for families in need. Oh, and did I mention I am co-hosting a baby shower for one of my girls tomorrow morning, too? Sheesh. No rest for the weary! But it should be a fun day for all, with a beautiful weather forecast. Hooray! 

By The Numbers

I haven't written one of these posts in over a year and thought it'd be a fun change of pace 'round these parts. Here are some numbers that are prominent in my life these days:  

1191: Number of baked goods I have handmade and decorated over the last 10 months, with 1019 of those being made for our adoption fundraising (971 of which were cookies, 24 of which were cupcakes) and another 86 being additional cookies made for my own personal events. That's a WHOLE lot of baking!!! 

528: Number of blog posts I've written since starting "Doc Momma" back in July of 2012. Geez. That seems like quite a few!   

403: Pages of the New Testament I have read to date during my early morning quiet time, with 74 more to go! I can't wait to see how it ends. ;)  

386: Days it has been since we officially began our adoption process. One of these days, our phone will ring. One of these days...  

100: Ounces of water I drink each day.  

87: Days until the first of two extended family beach trips. Yay!!! They are two of our most favorite weeks of the year, when the kiddos get to play, play, play with their beloved cousins while we grown-ups kick back, relax (well, as much as we can with littles running rampant ;), and enjoy having our toes in the sand and a drink in our hand. And I miss all my nieces and nephews like crazy when it's been too long between visits; so, I love any chance I get to focus on and play with them, too. I can't wait!! Come on, summer! 

79: High temperature anticipated for today...and for the weekend, too. Yeehaw! Hello beautiful spring weather! 

37: School days left until summer break. Heck yeah! I cannot WAIT to have so much time to spend with my trio with no real schedule to keep nor homework/sports/important stuff to do. :)  

25: Number of miles my hub ran as part of his 8-man team during the Palmetto 200 last weekend. Whoa. 

20: (As of yesterday!) Number of Pure Barre classes I have completed so far this month, as part of the 20 classes in 31 days March Madness challenge. Pumped! And I am hoping to get 3 more classes in before month's end this Friday. Mission accomplished! 

13: Number of runs Banks' team scored in their game Monday night, aka their first victory of the season. Go Vols! Hoping they can do the same tomorrow night!  

9: Number of loads of laundry I do each week. It just never ends!!! 

7: School days left until Spring Break. We've got two trips planned with some downtime in between, and I am so excited for it all!  

4: Episodes of my "new" favorite show, Fixer Upper, that I've seen. I had heard that the Gaines were this awesome Christian couple with a strong faith and a cool story, and even though I am a taaaaaaad late to the game, I am loving their show!  

3: Days until Raleigh and Harrison's first ever soccer game!!!!! Also, 3 days until their team photos, 3 days until Banks' baseball practice, 3 days until his team photo, 3 days until I co-host a baby shower for a dear friend, and 3 days until Clay volunteers at a local Easter egg hunt for families in need. In other words, Saturday is going to be b.u.s.y.   

2: Days until one of my sisters and her family arrive to the Mill for a *special* visit... ;)  

1: Hour of time it takes me to simply make and bake a couple dozen cookies, excluding the many hours spent making and coloring the icing and meticulously decorating said cookies. And since I have two dozen that need to be completed by Friday, it's time this Momma gets back to work! 

Those are all my numbers for today, folks!

Cheers to the Weekend, Hello Spring Edition

Hello, weekend! We meet again! After an emotionally trying week, I am so very excited to see you! Here's what we're saying CHEERS to this week/end: 

Fun for my kids. While I was busy enjoying my 25 hours of solo time last weekend, my kiddos were having a BIG time with their Bammy and Digby, including spending three hours at their favorite zoo, Riverbanks, on Saturday. I loved going to Riverbanks when I was little and love that they got to spend the day there with their Bam and Digs. With a trip to the toy store, outdoor family baseball practice, movies, pancakes, and more, the kiddos had an absolute ball!

Fun for my hub. Last weekend, my hub joined four of his friends to go away on a hunting weekend to celebrate a friend's 30th birthday. They had the BEST time and were quite successful in their hunting of pheasants and quail. I'm so glad these guys got to get away and have a great time together. 

Running to Charleston. This weekend, my hub will be gone again. Except this time, he's running to Charleston. Like, literally RUNNING to Charleston. He is participating in the Palmetto 200 with some of his F3 guys, and they will be running all day/night in relay shifts from Columbia to Charleston (200 miles), with most legs averaging about six miles at a time. Actually, he left eeeeeearly this morning (as in, met up at a friend's house at 4:00 am) to start the race and will finish up some time tomorrow afternoon. Whew. I am so proud of him and his teammates. Go get 'em, guys! 

The Volunteers. Banks is a proud member of his coach's pitch team, the Volunteers. As of last night, they are 0-3. :0 Not the record we were hoping for to kick off the season, BUT the kids are having a great time playing and we parents (and siblings) are having a great time cheering them on. I have such wonderful, vivid memories of my big brother playing baseball when I was little--my dad, coaching; my mom, cheering; my sisters and I, playing on playgrounds, climbing trees, running up and down huge hills, eating our weight in concession stand candy--and I have no doubt the same memories are being etched in Raleigh and Harrison's minds as the little spectators. 

Warmer temps. After a chilly week last week (aka several inches of snow!), we were SO happy to welcome in Spring with warmer temperatures this week, with highs reaching in the 80s on Wednesday. We took FULL advantage, staying outside all.day.long--Harrison and I spent the morning playing outside, Raleigh and I laid out for a couple hours later on while he napped, and then all three kiddos ran through the sprinklers later in the afternoon. It was LOVELY. And it got me SO excited for summer, when our days are spent outside, soaking up the warmth of the sun as much as possible. 

Financial Peace University. My hub and I started Dave Ramsey's class, "Financial Peace University" at the beginning of January, attending class at our church each Tuesday evening learning how to "live like no one else so that later we can live and give like no one else." Earlier this week, we officially graduated. Hooray! To be totally honest, I was dragging my feet when my hub suggested we enroll and take the class (ughhhh!!! I hate all things business/finances/etc.) but reluctantly agreed. And to be totally honest again, I could not have enjoyed it more! Seriously! I learned so much, and it was not the boring class I was expecting. Actually, it was really life-changing. And aside from the chaos that was Tuesday nights for the 9 weeks of class (i.e., arriving home from Raleigh's gymnastics class at 6:00 pm and immediately getting Banks back out the door for his 6:15 pm baseball practice while simultaneously using the 10 minutes I had to spare to get dinner on the table before greeting the sitter and basically running out the door at 6:10 pm in order to make it to the 6:30 pm class), it was really enjoyable. If you haven't taken the class before, I HIGHLY recommend it. If you have any questions, or want to hear more about it, please shoot me a message and I'd be happy to answer/help. 


And that's all I've got for today! I'll be taking my trio soccer practice tomorrow morning followed immediately by baseball practice--should be fun (and tiring!). I've got some baking to do and some little kid church teaching to do, and that's about all we have on our agenda. Otherwise, we will just see where the weekend takes us while we wait for Daddy to return home from the big race! Have a lovely weekend, friends! 

25 Hours

What does a momma do when she has 25 WHOLE HOURS to herself? With no husband, no kiddos, no others, no work, no nuthin'? When it's been upwards of a decade since this happened? When that momma has been carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders for many months? What does that momma do?

She drives in silence for awhile.

She sings worship music at the top of her lungs.   

She cries while reading a heartfelt card and opening a beautiful gift.

She sips her brand-new-most-favorite-ever drink from Starbucks, while tucking herself away in the corner of the store, reading a light-hearted book for nearly an hour.

She strolls down the street to her favorite, local boutique, taking her time to peruse the store before trying on top after top, distressed jean after distressed jean, and ultimately selecting her favorites for purchase. 

She continues on down the street, having happened upon her town's Spring Fling, visiting the many, many booths, sampling the many local goodies, talking to local store vendors, all while sipping a glass of wine.

She finds a sunny spot alongside the street, perfect for people watching, finishes her wine, and reads another chapter from her book.

She heads to the store to create her favorite salad to take home for dinner, surpassing the free-cookie-stash usually required when grocery shopping with, ahem, others.

She drives home and slips on her pajamas in the middle of the afternoon, turning on her favorite girly show while reading People magazine and giving herself a manicure, with the soundtrack of an afternoon thunderstorm playing in the background.

She grabs her book and walks out on her screened-in porch, making herself cozy on the outdoor couch and devouring yet another chapter.

She throws on workout clothes, grabs some headphones, and blasts worship music while taking a much-needed, albeit leisurely, stroll around her neighborhood in the warm sunshine, praying for peace and grace in ways that she can better help others.

She sits, still and quiet, on her front stoop - no agenda, no plan. And she enjoys the stillness. 

She comes in for the night, throwing her pajamas back on, washing her make-up off, and enjoying an adult beverage (or two) while eating, lounging, relaxing, and purposefully and proactively pushing all stressors away. 

She realizes that, despite wanting, needing, this time so desperately after the last few months, after yearning for just a little "me" time to push away the hard and focus on the easy....she is lonely. Her house, too quiet. Her day, too easy. 

She heads to bed, well before 10:00 pm, falling asleep quickly and waking after 8.5 hours, well-rested and ready to take on the world--ready to hug her husband, ready to squeeze her babies, ready to be there, present, re-energized, and ready to rally, for everyone else around her. 

She takes her time getting ready in the morning, eating a leisurely breakfast, slowly sipping her coffee, and getting a head start on the week's laundry before tackling her most dreaded task of the week: groceries. 

She comes home and enjoys a few more chapters before it's time for her 25 hours to come to a close. She drives down her driveway and onto the road, toward her babies who await her.

So. What did she do with those 25 hours? Exactly what she needed.

 

Cheers to the Weekend, St. Patrick's Edition

Top o' the mornin' to ya! Happy St. Patrick's Day, friends, and Happy Friday! Here's what we are saying CHEERS to this week/end: 

Long weekends. The kids are off from school today (hooray!), which means we'll be wearing our green and celebrating St. Patrick's Day together. We have big plans of no real plans, aside from getting a green milkshake and enjoying the SUN! Harrison and Raleigh had green-ariffic fun at preschool events earlier this week and were proud to sport their green!

Snow days. Speaking of sun, we had none of it last Sunday morning. In fact, we had a couple inches of SNOW! And we were out and playing in it by 8:00 am (which was *really* 7:00 am since it was Daylight Saving Sunday ;) ).

Sporting Saturdays. Raleigh and Harrison had their first soccer practice last weekend, which was adorable albeit quite chilly at 9:00 am that morning. Their next practice is tomorrow but with rain forecasted, I'm waiting to hear whether it's still on. We shall see!

And then, Banks had his first baseball game later in the day. Although his team lost their opener, I see a lot of potential for the team and am looking forward to what the season brings!  

Free evenings. As I mentioned in an earlier post, this Spring will be a busy one for our little family, what with all the sports stuff going on. So, I'm not going to lie: I wasn't upset in the least when Banks' baseball game was cancelled earlier this week due to weather. And while I would not call myself spontaneous in the least, my hub balances that out well with his spontaneity. Case in point: his declaration that night that we needed a family ice cream outing after dinner. So, we loaded up, went out for some supplies, and enjoyed sundaes with chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream covered in a hard chocolate coating, whipped cream, sprinkles, and a cherry on top. Yum! We definitely made the most of our sports-free night! 

Unprecedented weekends. My hub is gone for the weekend, celebrating our friend's birthday with a guys' weekend away, specifically a hunting weekend :0. Which was going to mean a full weekend with my little trio (while anticipating another weekend of just me and my trio next weekend, too, but more on that next week); that is, until my mom asked to take my kiddos for a Bammy/Digby sleepover on Saturday/night. YOU GUYS!!!! Do you know what that means? That means that, for the first time in years (dare I say a decade?!), I am going to have 24 hours ALL TO MYSELF. I don't know what to do with myself! Do I stay in my jammies and watch girly movies all day while sipping wine? Do I head out for some solo shopping? Do I tackle house projects? Do I give myself a little at-home spa day? Do I read in quiet and without interruption? The possibilities are endless! Can't wait to see what my solo 24 hours bring! :)

On that note, have a great one, y'all! And Happy St. Pat's!