You Only THOUGHT I Was Gone Forever

Or, perhaps there’s the off chance that not one of you even had a single thought about why I was not writing for a few weeks.  That’s ok, too.  I’m not sure I think about other people’s blogs except for when I’m actually reading them.

Here’s the deal.  I just all of a sudden had this urge to have my life be just…my life for a few days.  I didn’t want to think deeply, I didn’t want to try to solicit comments or wonder what anyone else was thinking about my life.  So, I stopped.  And, I waited until the feeling passed which brings me to today.

I feel a few updates are in order.

Carter is only a few weeks away from his 2nd birthday.  This is taking a while to sink in for me.  I’ve been a mother for almost 2 years and the time has FLOWN by.  I don’t even want to think how fast the time between now and elementary school will go.  I’ve been planning his party and I’m pretty excited about this one.  I’m giving a themed party a shot.  I’m attempting to have a monkey party.  I’m planning a big ol’ post full of links and photos about all the cute stuff I’m wanting to do.  My thing is, I’m artsy but not so crafty, so this is a little stretch for me.

I took Carter for his 2 year photo shoot and it went SOOO much better than the 18 month one.  Here’s my 2 favorites:

Speaking of school, Jeff and I have had some conversations about what type of schools might be a good fit for Carter when the time comes.  Again, whole other post because I want your opinions on this one.

I’m still on a huge self-improvement kick.  Since I am someone who will not allow myself to complain about something if I’m not willing to take action on it, I’ve had to take a lot of action.  Way back when, I started griping about my skin looking old and crappy.  I made the purchases and used the stuff and I’m not sure I’m in much of a different place with the look of my skin thanks to years and years of acne.  I may just have to live with that one.

But, I have completed my 3 trips to the dermatologist to remove what I considered to be some really yucky moles from my face and neck.  The scarring hasn’t completely gone away, especially from my most recent trip, but for me it’s serious improvement.  I don’t feel so self-conscious about people looking at my face now.

Also, on a whim, I decided to spend a little money on myself and get a haircut.  Believe me, it was about 3 months past time and my hair was starting to look real “creative”.  Here’s the results:

I like it. It’s fun and kinda spunky.  The stylist straightened it and flipped it under when she cut it, but I feel the “flip out” is more me.

I started getting a little unmotivated and unthrilled about my workouts.  I felt like I was working really hard, but not seeing much in the way of results.  So, I found the brave girl within and started taking a fitness class.  I’ve done yoga before and liked it, but I wanted more of a cardio workout.  It just so happens that my gym just started having Zumba classes.  Zumba is latin dance-based fitness.  It is so FUN even though I’m SO bad.  I’ve been 3 times now and I’m hooked.

I’m still couponing, though with much less of an obsessive feel to it.  I don’t really have a reason for it, but I’ve stopped going to CVS and BiLo each week and have stuck to getting just the basics at Publix.  I’m sure that my zeals for the steals will return soon enough.  I’m pretty psyched about having friends over next week to do some grocery and coupon swapping.  And, I could chat all day about coupons, so it should be fun.

I continue to struggle with the “working-together-married-with-children” thing, but I’m just not going there right now.

Enough for now as Carter is sitting in the floor pulling out the contents of my purse and putting on lip gloss.

Some fun things from the blog world this week:

Mom 101 is quickly becoming a favorite read of mine.  I particularly enjoyed her posts this week on making a lifestyle change to eat well, hating dog hair in your house (I no longer have a pet in the house because of a similar dilemma), and why it’s so important to blog special memories.

I got a big laugh and said a few hearty AMENS as I read this post about how Moms and Dads are viewed so differently in their roles.

Amanda’s post about marriage really got me thinking.

This week I read someone’s post about flash carding and teaching babies to read (and other age inappropriate skills) before the age of 1.  I searched and researched and finally got back in touch with this article thanks to Vicky.  It’s a LONG read, but speaks volumes and volumes of truths for the way that children learn.

Happy Reading!

Good Reading for a Tuesday

Once again, I bring you the best of the best in my blog reading for the week.

I came across a link to Wolfram Alpha this week and thinks it’s pretty great for doing research.  It goes beyond your typical search engine results.

Heather explains getting started on coupons so well.  She answers everyone’s questions and points you in the right direction.

I nodded my head and said “Uh huh.  Yeah.  Me, too.” all through this entry of Holly’s about how grandparents never want to follow your rules for your child.  Rather, they know best because they “didn’t kill you”.  Nice.

I laughed and laughed when I read this entry on the church secretary being the most powerful person in church.  Jon’s writing at Stuff Christians Like is a must for daily blog reading!

Here’s a hilarious entry from Mom 101 about the frustrations of getting children to sleep in their own bed and ALL NIGHT.

Throw off any pretentiousness before clicking this link from Motherhood Uncensored.  She throws down on those parents who let their kids go ape sh** in the baby pool and defends them for doing it.  Geesh.