Things I Don't Do

If you follow me on instagram, you probably remember seeing some posts from me in May about the #PilatesSummerSeries with Robin Long over at The Balanced Life Online.

Well, after I think it was 2 weeks, of doing pilates with Robin and just tuning in to her blog, I kind of became addicted to her website. If you don't follow Robin, check. her. out. NOW. 

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No, this is not a sponsored post. Robin isn't paying me to tell you about her. I just think she's that great and has a lot to offer :) Plus, her little girl is the same age as Christian and well, Robin has become my inspiration to get my pre-baby body back! 

Anyway, today Robin shared some posts from her "archives" and one of them..."Things I Don't Do" really got me thinking. 

I can't tell you how often I find myself making comparisons because of social media... and those comparisons, well, they don't exactly shout my praises! 

My life is simple. 

Often, the things that others are doing are just things that I simply don't do. 

AND THAT'S OKAY. 

Saying that, embracing that, is freeing! Although, some of my don'ts definitely should become dos...I want them to become dos...

So here is a list of things that I just don't do. 

I don't dress like I just walked out of a magazine. In fact, I mainly wear yoga pants every day and let me tell you...they aren't lululemon or any other big name brand ;) 

Oh and I also don't shower every day...I know. Beware. I'm a mom, though, need I say more? 

I don't live in a pinterest inspired house. Yes, I do have a million pins on pinterest, including pins of house projects. Will I ever do all of those pins? Definitely not. Will I hopefully someday do some of them? Maybe. I just like to pin :) 

I don't cloth diaper. Disposables all the way. Don't judge. 

I don't have a Victoria's Secret body. Never will. Maybe that's partly because I don't really work out. But I'm healthy and working on being even healthier. 

I don't garden. I used to and then entered Christian. Someday I hope to again, especially now that we have a yard that I can do it in! Actually, it just occurred to me the other day that I should probably be watering our plants that are already in front of the house...the annuals? Or are they perennials? Either way, I'm far from having a green thumb. 

I don't cook fancy new meals every day. In fact, the majority of the meals I make are basic...meat and vegetable or a single dish. What can I say? I'm not a chef. 

I don't have a gym membership. {Insert sad face here} Boy do I miss you Lifetime Fitness!! or the pool anyway... 

I don't blog very often any more. I used to dream of being that mommy blogger that shares about everything she is learning as a new mom to help other new moms in their journey. Guess what? I haven't been able to figure out how to do it and still keep up with my busy little boy and maintain my sanity. So I won't compare my little slice of the internet with anyone else's. This is just what it is. 

My thoughts and my memories. Nothing more. 

I do have fun playing with my baby boy every day, or just snuggling with him when he is a cranky, fussy, teething boy. I do play outside with him and go to the park and for walks. I do read him stories and teach him about the world. I do go to church and volunteer and read the Bible and lead a small group. I do cook dinner for us {most nights} and do the grocery shopping and laundry and keep a {mostly} clean house. I do spend time with my husband and relax at night. And when I do attempt a pinterest project or get to blogging or house projects, I do take my sweet time and not finish them for months and even then it may not have been what I envisioned or what pinterest said it would be like. 

I also should add that I don't upload pictures from my camera very often...so those of you wanting smash cake pictures will just have to settle for these for now :) Someday there will be more haha 

On his actual birthday 

 At his birthday party

So what don't you do? Share in the comments or link to a post! I'd love to hear! 

Life Lately

Hello! It's me over here! Yes, Chandelle! I know I haven't been around much lately but I'm alive and thought I should at least give a quick update! 

For starters...did you know we are moving!?!?! 

Yep. That's right. We are moving from out cute little townhouse to a 

single family home in just 12 days!! Yikes. 

Here it is! 

Can I get some more boxes?? 

And a moving van?? Er...truck?? 

How do we have so much stuff!?!

 Needless to say my time has been occupied not only with a busy little always on the go guy who is getting into everything, but also with packing! The second he goes down for a nap I get to packing. And well, we are currently out of boxes so here I am finding time to blog! 

That brings me to the next big thing going on our lives...I think Christian is

  transitioning to only 1 nap already!!! How did that happen so fast!?! Don't get me wrong {but maybe call me weird} I am SO excited for him to take just one nap a day!! That means we can go out in the morning and do stuff and see people and not have to worry about being home in time {so early} to get in a morning nap. Bring on the fun! Just in time for warm weather and summer!!! 

At least this is what he has been like the past few days and today he actually made it until after lunch to go down for his nap...so here's to hoping that continues! Oh and umm...somehow he is already 

almost 10 months old!!!! Ah! I love this age and he is so fun but I'm so sad that he is growing up so fast! 

Stay tuned -- A 9 month baby update is coming soon!! *hopefully* 

In all of the busyness that is our lives right now, though, at least I have one less distraction -- Social Media! Have you noticed the radio silence lately?? Well, that's because I gave up social media for lent! I have a bet going with my husband that I won't go back after lent...We will see. 

You are probably thinking "isn't blogging social media??" Well....yes, I guess it is. But it isn't the distraction for me that facebook, instagram, and twitter are...or even pinterest! 

And boy have I been loving pinterest! So many house ideas!!! Can't wait to get started on some house projects for sure! Be ready for some DIY posts! Woo hoo! That is if I can find the time to blog about them :) 

Anyway, back to my social media fast...I feel like social media creates a lot of pressure and comparisons in my life, not to mention that it's a major distraction. So I'm "patching" this area of my life so that I might be able to see God more clearly instead and hear his heart for me and it just happens to go along with my One Word for 2014 - Simplify! 

I just ordered 2 books for Christian about Easter! Can't wait for them to get here and even more I can't wait for next Easter and Christmas and every other season to teach him about Jesus! 

Well, I think that's all for now. Hopefully the next time you hear from me you will be reading a 9 month baby update! Christian is only like 2 weeks away from being 10 months old! Eeek! I'm so behind in those posts and keeping my pictures organized...ai yi yi! 

Right now I just have all of my pictures on my computer saved by year and season...So either a fall 2013, winter 2013, spring 2013, summer 2013 or Christian 0-3 months, Christian 3-6 months...I'm planning to switch to just month and year...but to get it all organized is quite the project. I don't even print them! 

Any tips for keeping pictures organized!?!? 

Did you give up anything for lent?

What are your favorite books or activities to teach your kids about Easter?

What is going on in your life lately? 

I would love to hear from you! Thanks for reading :) 

Developing "Bad" Habits

Over the past few weeks I've had this nagging voice in my head that just won't go away. 

It keeps saying, 

"You better stop. You're developing bad habits...in fact, they're pretty well developed already..." 

Who knew that such little things in parenting could be "bad habits"???

I guess I knew. I remember being the nanny that thought, "I will never do a, b, or c with my kids."

And yet, here I am. 

I'm here to make a confession. 

I lay in bed with my 8 month old to help him fall asleep. 

Every night {almost}

and for every.single.nap. 

Honestly, I'm not sure if it's me laying with him that helps him fall asleep, or if its being in a bed and not his crib. When he goes in his crib he seems to think its time to play...but in the bed he snuggles right up and goes to sleep. If only we could transition to the bed already...too soon??

I remember many nights laying with a 3 year old as a nanny just waiting for her to fall asleep and telling myself how I would NEVER create this "bad habit" with my kids. Well, well, well. 

Never say never! 

It's a lot easier to not create "bad habits" when you are only putting a child to bed a few nights a week...and when you aren't always with them all night long either. 

And okay, now as a mom, I find myself asking, "Really? What is a 'bad habit' any way??"

Of course, I already know that most parenting and sleep books will tell me that my story is a text book example of a "bad habit". 

From rocking to sleep, to snuggling to sleep, to nursing your baby to sleep, to giving your baby a pacifier...they're ALL bad habits. 

Or are they? 

What really IS a bad habit anyway? 

Well, instead of turning to the age old parenting books, I decided to turn to my good friend Google! 

I googled it. 

Define: Bad Habit

"A negative behavior pattern" 

Okay, I will agree that my laying with Christian until he falls asleep is FOR SURE a behavior pattern. But is it really negative????

Of course, I went to Google once again! 

Define: Negative

"Not desirable" 

Interesting. 

What am I desiring in this situation? 

A sleeping child. 

What am I getting with my "bad habit"???

A sleeping child. 

That sounds like I am getting the desired outcome. It is a pattern, but far from negative...IMO. 

I enjoy those precious moments of snuggling with my sweet boy until he falls asleep. And yes, they're only moments. That kid is zonked out within a matter of minutes! If he hasn't fallen asleep after 5 minutes, he just isn't tired. 

Oh...and once he's out..he SLEEPS. Like 1.5-2 hour naps and 9-10 hours through the night! 

You can't tell me that is negative. 

I actually look forward to these snuggles too! 

And when he actually lets me rock him to sleep...I love that even more!! 

Maybe I'll feel differently when he is 3...but for now we are embracing the "bad habit" and calling it successful sleep snuggles. 

I will feel guilty no more! :)

What "bad habits" are you embracing today?

We love sleepy time snuggles :) 

Stop the Mommy Wars

Wow. I never realized mommyhood was a competitive sport.

I often feel like every decision I make is being thoroughly "reviewed" and "judged" by other moms. Maybe this is more of a fear in just my head, but a recent photo series, I think, shows that I'm not alone.

Let's be confident in the decisions we make as mommy and support our mommy friends in their decisions too.

What you decide is best for you, your child and your family, may not be what another parent decides is best for them.

And that's okay. 

There is more than ONE way to be a good mom.

Let's support each other as we find our "way".

Connecticut Working Moms recently released a photo series addressing this issue.

Maybe you've seen it going around Facebook. If not, check it out.

Stop the Mommy Wars. 

Click {here} to view the complete photo series. I highly encourage you do. 

Getting Rid of the Clutter

Yes. That's a closet in MY house...I'm ashamed. But I'm being real.

And truth is...its WAY worse now than it was when I took this picture. I guess that will happen when  you are showing your house trying to sell it! Yep. We're moving!!! {Hopefully} Stay tuned...that's another post. 

Anyway...Did you know babies come with A LOT of stuff!!?? 

Welp...they DO!! 

Your house can fill up just with baby stuff!! Especially when you live in a cute little townhouse. LOVE our townhouse and love that it forces me to simplify and really focus on the necessities and clear out the excess....as hard as that can be for me. That closet up there, though, has become the way it is from making room for baby stuff... 

One of the first steps I took as I focused on my "one word" for 2014 was simplifying our house. The hubby and I did a major "ho out of 2013" as 2013 drew to an end. We got ride of a TON of stuff!!! 

All within a matter of a weekend! 

The desire to set up a playroom and have space for all of Christian's new Christmas toys may have been a major motivator... 

Either way, we went through and did some MAJOR cleaning and decluttering and got rid of a ton of stuff that we don't use, don't like, or just plain don't need. No more almost no more closets full of clutter. Just that one closet up there in the picture...Otherwise every room is neatly organized and cleaned out...except for our bedroom closet which was sort of the catch all for stuff that still needs to find a home or an organizational plan...Maybe that will come in the next few months with the purchase of a single family home?? :) More to come on that! 

As we sorted through our stuff, I felt instant release in just cleaning out our stuff. We even made some money in the process by selling some books and other items online! That's a pretty good motivator for cleaning stuff out too if you ask me! 

Now that we have pretty much cleaned out and organized our whole house {which will make moving easier...} I have a few tips to share with you in case you are looking to simplify in 2014 and clear out the clutter! 

1. Go room by room. 

2. Make piles and sort out the entire room/area of a room before moving on to something else.

For example, go through each area of the room and make 5 piles - 

Keep, Relocate, Donate, Sell, Throw. 

Go through EVERYTHING. Even things that you think are "good". 

3. Ask yourself the following questions when trying to decide if you should keep something: 

"When did I last use this item? How often do I use it?" If you haven't used it in the past 3 months or so, it could go. And if you hesitate on if you need it or when you last used it...it could go :) 

"Will I use this item in the next 3 months?" 

"How much does this item cost?" If it is a cheap and easily replaceable item, it may not be worth storing it on the off chance that you will use it again (seasonal items, etc) 

4. Once you have sorted your piles in a single room: 

Bag up the "donate" pile.

Throw the "throw" pile.

Put away the "relocate" pile. 

Put back the "keep" pile.

5. Enjoy a glass of wine and celebrate your hard work then move on to the next room! 

What helps you declutter? 

Are there questions you ask yourself or steps you take in cleaning out rooms? 

What are your top tips for organizing and decluttering? 

I'd love to hear!! Please share in the comments :) 

Real Life Mama

I now get to enjoy moments like these, every day, ALL day! It's my dream come true! 

You're probably thinking - "Really, mama? All day, every day? Because my days aren't like this EVERY day and especially not ALL day." 

So let's be real. ALL day EVERY day isn't like this. My little guy rarely has a bad day {Praise the Lord}, but I {yes, this mama right here!!} have plenty of bad days. 

I struggle with being a mama, friends. 

Almost daily. 

If you're anything like me, those cute little faces, like my little Christian man above, really do make it all worth it. But there are a lot of days that I question what I'm doing. 

If I were to write down everything I do in a day I know the list would be long and I'm sure your's would be too! 

But this is the list I see in my mind when I think about my day: 

Didn't read the Bible long enough. 

Fed the baby. 

Changed the baby.

Cleaned up spit up. 

Folded laundry. 

Washed dishes. 

Made the beds. 

Cooked dinner. 

Tried to squeeze in some blogging...and the baby woke up.

Fed the baby again. 

Cleaned up baby after a major blow out. 

And the list repeats itself... again, and again, and again. 

Day in and day out. 

When the day is over what "accomplishments" do I have to show for myself? 

Usually it's not a whole lot in a tangible sense. There are no "promotions" for motherhood. Unless, that is, you count adding in another bundle of joy!? :) {No, we aren't expecting again!}

I don't know about you, but I'm often left with a lot of doubt. 

Is being mommy really enough????

I should have blogged more. 

I should have made a healthier dinner. 

I should have really deep cleaned and organized the kitchen. 

I should have baked a homemade dessert for small group instead of buying the packaged cookies from the store. 

I should have played with the baby more. 

I should have, I should have, I should have. 

The funny thing is that most of us probably feel this way as moms. But the pressure to do more and be more is probably coming from moms too!! 

Let's be real with one another. 

Let's have playdates in our pajamas {because we don't really get dressed up every day! Or is that just me?? }. 

There's nothing that makes me happier than when I get together with another mom and both of us are in our comfy clothes and haven't showered. 

Let's bring the packaged snacks to gatherings. 

Let's delete our pinterest accounts and take away the pressures of this world to be more. 

Loving on our little ones and showing them the love of Christ, leading them in truth daily is 

ENOUGH.

Being mommy is more than enough. 

It's everything. 

I'm talking to myself here too. We are the best moms for our kids. No one can do it better than we can. Our specific kids were given to us for a reason. And we are everything they need. So even when the only rewards of mothering is the smiles and hugs and laughter, let's remind each other that we are enough. 

Being mommy is enough. 

If you don't believe me...just ask your little one. 

I think my little guy thinks I'm just enough :) 

Even if we can't see it, there is a purpose to all the little, tedious tasks we do.

Psalm 138:8

"The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me; your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever. Do not forsake the work of your hands."

Mommy Brain?

Sometimes I think I'm losing my mind. And then I realize maybe I lost it long ago. Maybe while I was pregnant? Or maybe pregnancy grain just becomes mommy brain. Maybe pregnancy brain and mommy brain has just provided me with an excuse. Either way I'm forgetful.

Like the time that I steamed the carrots without the water and ruined our pot. Oops.

Or the time multiple times that I have "forgotten" my cell phone at home only to later find it in my back pocket of my pants... Or in the diaper bag.

Don't even get me started on forgetting things for the diaper bag.

How about the time I forgot to replace the spare outfit and Christian had an explosive poopy diaper that leaked all the way up his back and almost onto my pants? 

Ya. My white pants. 

And his white baseball romper. 

Streaked with mustard yellow runny baby poop.

 On the day of class photos for our new mama class. 

Yep. That happened. 

And Christian ended up wearing his friend Fritz's orange onesie...while I was wearing a red shirt. So much for coordinating in the pic! Can you say new mama right here?!? {THANK YOU so much to the mama friends who have had my back!!}

Or what about entirely forgetting the diaper bag?? Luckily that hasn't happened. Yet.

Now...just to make sure I don't forget Christian and bring Baxter with me instead. 

Wait...Christian??? 

BAXTER! Get out of the Jumperoo! 

Oh no! Christian must still be in the car!!!! 

Just kidding :) Did you really believe me??? 

Do you ever feel like you are losing your mind? Or that you've already lost it? What things do you forget? How do you stay on top of the little things? 

Preparing for Daylight Savings Time

At 2am on Sunday, November 3, 2013, Americans will be turning their clocks back 1 hour marking the end of Daylight Savings Time. 

This has been a day that I have looked forward to for as long as I can remember.

Until I got pregnant. 

I remember savoring that extra hour of sleep last year as a sleepy, sick preggo mommy to be. 

At the same time, I was grieving over my last year of getting an hour of extra sleep. 

Well, friends, I'm doing my very best to make that NOT be true! 

Although our schedule is sometimes more of a "routine", we do do our best to have a consistent, set bedtime for Christian. He has went to bed at about 9pm ever since he was about 1 month old. 

After Daylight Savings Time, 8pm will really feel like 9pm. 

Since our hope is to keep Christian's bedtime at about 9pm (so he can have more awake time with Daddy after he is home from work), we are attempting to slowly shift Christian's bedtime to 10pm pre-Daylight Savings and turning our clocks back. That way, 9pm will still be his right bedtime after Daylight Savings. Or, who knows, the kid may always end up deciding that he is ready for bed at 8pm anyway! Babies sure keep you on your toes! 

So basically our attempt is to shift Christian's bedtime by 15 minutes every week leading up to November 3rd. 

Week of October 7th - Bedtime 9:15pm 

Week of October 14th - Bedtime 9:30pm

Week of October 21 - Bedtime 9:45pm 

Week of October 28 - Bedtime 10pm 

This has been working great for us so far! However, a later bedtime works for Christian since I stay home with him and we don't have to worry about him getting woke up in the morning to get to day care. As his bedtime has been moving later he is now sleeping until almost 11am most days. But this works for us. 

Keep in mind, you could also slowly shift the bedtime AFTER Daylight Savings as well! 

Fingers crossed that this will work and I won't be surprised with a baby up at the crack of dawn! :) 

Here's to an extra hour of sleep!
But maybe not... 

Are you doing anything to get ready for Daylight Savings Times? Do you have any tips? 

I'm a Good Mom and So Are YOU! ~ Guest Post at Taush.O!

Hello friends! I have something new for you today!

Yesterday I had the opportunity to be a guest writer over at Taush.O and want you to check it out!

Here's a sneak peak of the post....

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Hello there! I'm Chandelle...Stay at home mommy and blogger over at Mommy's First Year and Mommy in the Making.

I'm so excited to be entertaining all of Tausha's readers today! Thank you sweet friend for letting me take over your little slice of the internet for the day! Let's just all agree on something quick...Isn't Presley just the cutest little thing!? I can't get enough of her!

Anyway, let's get to it!

As you may have guessed, I'm a first time mommy to our sweet little boy, Christian James! I can't believe it, but he is 4 months old already!

 Just over a year ago I was married to the hotty in the picture below...then nine months later...voila! Along came Christian! We actually found out we were pregnant on our 4 week anniversary of being married. We have quite the story, though. You should check it out now by clicking {here}. You won't want to miss the video of our proposal in New York City, either! 

So now we are living life as the 3 of us...

plus our cute puppy, Baxter too! 

It gets even better, friends! I now get to enjoy moments like these, every day, ALL day! It's my dream come true! 

I just can't get enough of his smiles! I know I'm biased, but come on, he is the the cutest!! 

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If you've been following along for any amount of time, you probably are familiar with me and my little family...so to get to the real story behind this post, head on over to Taush.O and check it out! 

ENJOY!

It Won't Be Like This For Long...

I'm sitting here with this sweet precious baby sleeping in my lap and all I can think about is how fast time is going, how big he already is, and how much he has changed in the last 2 months. 

It's 9:43am and most days he would be napping in his swing right now while I would be finishing up showering and getting ready for the day. 

It won't be long and he won't fit in my lap any more. He will eat at the table and not my breast. He will be running around the house and snuggles with mommy will be short and probably more often when he is sick. 

So today I'm cherishing this time. Holding him close and knowing we won't get to live this day twice. 

What are you doing to cherish today?

Monday Madness!

We are officially on WEEK 2 of Stay At Home Mommy Life! 

Since baby boy isn't even a month old yet (but almost!!! :/), he doesn't exactly have the most consistent or predictable routine... But we are getting into more of a groove! 

Feel free to check out my posts over at 'Mommy in the Making'  on how I filled my days "pre-baby" and what life was really like "back then". 

Honestly, things haven't changed a TON. Life does revolve around Christian now and what he needs, when he needs it! We really don't have a "schedule", but we do have some what of a "routine". 

Life with Christian

Sometime between 6:30am-8am Christian wakes up and is ready for a diaper change and to eat

After a little bit of snuggle time, Christian chills out in his bouncy seat or swing while mommy pumps

By about 8:45am/9am time for a little snack and then Christian hopefully/usually goes down for an hour to an hour and a half nap and mommy gets to have breakfast and shower (and today even blog!) 

Awake again and time to eat by about 10:30am and then usually back down for another hour and a half nap or so 

Afternoons are usually spent much more awake! Lots of rocking and cuddling with mommy! Sometimes we will read books or play on his play mat. No real "routine" in the afternoons yet....probably mainly because we have often been out and about a lot in the afternoons! 

Then daddy is usually home by around 4pm/5pm and we enjoy some family time before mommy starts making dinner. 

We sometimes go for an evening family walk and then bath time for baby boy sometime between 8pm/9:30pm and then time to eat before he goes down for the night! 

It will be interesting to see how this changes over the next few weeks and we get more of a "schedule"...hopefully :) If not, at least we have a bit of a "routine"

Looking to add some more stroller walks into our day, though! It just can be hard since baby boy doesn't always eat on a consistent schedule or at a consistent time and its not good to be in the middle of a walk when he decides he is hungry! :) 

So here is what we have on the agenda this week!

{The Weather}::: Minnesota has been having lots of storms lately! Luckily, Farmington has missed out on the brunt of them and we haven't gotten really any damage. Looks like about a 50% chance of storms again tomorrow and Wednesday but sun the rest of the week! Temps are going to be warm all week too! Highs in the upper 70s - low/upper 80s! Summer is officially here in Minnesota! With all of the humidity too! 

{What's Cooking?}::: It seems my hubby checks my blog to know what we are eating each week...so this section has become mainly for him :) ha ha Love you hubby! Here's what's on the Menu! 

• Monday - Chicken and Biscuits
• Tuesday - Fajitas
• Wednesday - BBQ Ribs and fresh green beans
• Thursday - BLTs
• Friday - Chicken and salads

{Weight Loss}::: Here's to being transparent and held accountable! I gained 48 pounds while pregnant with Christian...yes, that's 13 pounds more than the highest recommended for me having started at a healthy weight...oops! So far I have lost 30 pounds without any effort, so about 18 more to go! I made my first trip to the gym yesterday (with approval from my doctor) and am starting Weight Watchers for Nursing moms this week! I'll keep you posted :) They recommend losing about a pound a week so it could still be awhile before I'm fully back to my pre-pregnancy self, but slow and steady is good too! 

{Things I Hope to Accomplish}:::

1. Finish filling out the details of Christian's birth and labor story in my pregnancy journal...hopefully even write up his birth story to share on the blog too! 
2. 4 Week Baby Update on the blog...stay tuned! 
3. Clean the house
4. Do the laundry 
5. Grocery Shopping and couponing

{Weekly Appointments}:::

• Monday - Prepping food for snacks/etc for Weight Watchers
• Tuesday - Get together with my 'New Mama Class' 
• Wednesday - Lunch with Daddy at work and then New Mama Class from 1-3pm
• Thursday - Small Group night!
• Friday - Grocery Shopping and laundry day...we will see if we can get that much accomplished in one day... 
• Saturday - Daddy works at church at night and maybe going to Apple Valley Freedom Days during the day
• Sunday - Daddy works at church in the morning and then family time in the afternoon 

Have a Great Week!! 

Baby boy will be a month old on Saturday already! Check back for an update...our last 'weekly' update before starting monthly updates! :)