More and Less: March and April Edition

So last month I didn't get around to updating how things were going. On purpose. March was a doozy. And I pretty much did terrible with more and less.

It all started with not being able to run/walk for exercise. Boo! My heels and feet became so sore that it hurt to walk up and down the stairs in my house. I was sore for weeks before it finally went away and I felt back to normal. And my best guess is that is had something to do with my shoes and needing a new pair that's more specific to my feet and walking/running. Annnnnd, that hasn't happened yet. So I've basically been in-active for the past 2 months. *BIG sigh* But hopefully that will change with swimming weather coming soon! And I really do want to eventually find the right pair of shoes.

I also started eating more sweets and going to bed a tad later. Our sports season got me! Plus my sweet tooth! Ugh. I blogged less and skipped more quiet times in the morning than I care to admit.

Basically it just wasn't something I wanted to write about. #Marchfail

The positive in March was I did really well putting my phone away. I can count on one hand the times I got on my phone in the evenings for the whole month. I just didn't have time for it, was super tired and/or busy, and didn't keep it "on" me constantly. So that was pretty awesome... but the only highlight for March.

April has been a little better. In some areas. Ha. Here are the details...

MORE....

*Going to bed early. This one has been inconsistent at best. With week-night ball games and practices and a busier schedule in general, our bedtimes have suffered. I don't think my kids have been in bed before 8:00 since pre-Spring Break. I try to keep my 10:00 goal in mind, but some nights it just isn't possible, not without neglecting all of my responsibilities, and some nights I end up staying up too late in bed reading. So I really need to get back on track with going to bed early. I'm not sure it's realistic here at the end of the school year but that's why I need to try.... things are busy and exhausting right now! Haha! 

*Cleaning during the week. I'm not sure how to "assess" myself here. On game nights we don't do much of anything in the way of house cleaning. We're home for a stretch in the afternoon and home for baths and bedtime sort of late, and that's about it. On non-game nights I usually vacuum. I don't know when I became obsessed (using the word "obsessed" loosely here) with vacuuming, but I want to vacuum the kitchen after every meal. And if I have time and the living room is "picked up" then I'll also do the living room, and probably our bedroom too. The vacuum is out a LOT. And happens regularly. So does clean up of toys, baseball cards, beyblades, and anything else the boys have out. (Which we make them put away.) But other cleaning happens mostly on the weekends. And for now, I'm fine with that. I just don't have the time or will/energy to do it during the week after my regular chores of supper, kitchen clean-up, vacuuming crumbs and such, and packing lunches. Although this week I did manage to dust one piece of furniture (it was driving me crazy) and I windex-ed one mirror (it was also driving me crazy), so that has to count for something. 😊

*Praying and time with the Lord. I'm doing so-so with this. The biggest hurdle has been making my quiet time a priority every morning. Some mornings I've slept a little later, some mornings I'm slower getting ready so I don't feel like I have time, and some mornings I'm just lazy/selfish. Those are all excuses and things I need to work on but I also know that whether I'm reading my devotion each morning or not, most of my mornings before anyone else is awake are spent with Jesus. I'm praying and talking to Him off and on while I shower and get ready. I do want and need to spend more time in the Word next month.  

*Physical Activity. Zilch. Zero. Nada. Nothing. Does carrying Layton up and down the stairs once a day count? He usually asks me to carry him downstairs on school mornings and he sometimes requests I carry him upstairs for bedtime. I'm hoping to get "fitted"(?) for shoes at some point so I can get back to walking the neighborhood and I'm hoping to swim a lot of laps this summer. 😊

*Blogging. I continued. Haha. That's my only goal until I wrap up this school year. 

LESS...

*Time on my phone. I've formed some good habits! I don't automatically check my phone/look at my phone in the car (when I'm a passenger of course), I put it away in the evenings, and I get on FB even less than before (which was never a daily "addiction" for me). So I think I'm going in the right direction! I still need to work on not keeping it with me every second, and *trying* not be on it when I'm with my kiddos. Setting an example for them and limiting our "technology time" as a family is really important to me and my main motivation. So I'm pretty thankful for my progress so far. 

*Sweets. Ummmm, I don't even get an E for Effort this month. I blame the Easter candy and being tired. Haha. I haven't had the energy to fight the sweet tooth!! But it's time to get back on track. Swimsuit season is around the corner!

*Being overwhelmed. This month has been a success! We've been busy and things at school are starting to get pretty crazy but so far I'm keeping my cool and haven't panicked. #Praise!! I'm praying this attitude and peace of mind continues throughout May because our calendar is filling up and May is possibly our busiest month of the entire year. This particular goal feels the most out of my control but also the most important. God's grace is so abundant!

So that's a wrap on how more and less went in March and April. I have to lot to improve on! Even though it isn't May yet, I'm going to try to start fresh today. 😊

Happy Friday Eve!!

Friday Favorites: A Busy Week in Spring

It's Friday! Woohoo!! This teacher-mama is tired and looking forward to the weekend!! 😊

This week I tried to be really intentional about making pictures and documenting regular life. I miss not being able to blog as often, but for now, during another super busy part of the school year, this is about all I can do. So here's a look at my faves from a busy week in Spring...

*I'm not even sure this picture was taken this week... it may have been last week.... but these 2 sibling-like cousins getting to play together at Granna's is always a favorite. They are so much like brother and sister and it's the funniest, cutest thing.

*Our t-ball team pictures came in and I'm in love. Of course my babies are my favorite but I love all of these boys. We are having such a fun season!

*We went out to celebrate my mom's birthday on Saturday night and when we got ready to leave, Piper requested Garrison ride home with her... so then Austin wanted to ride home with her, and then Layton wanted to ride home with somebody..... and then we had a dilemma on our hands until we worked it out by letting the big boys ride home on either side of Piper with AnAn and Frankie, and Layton got to ride home with Granna and Papa. So guess what that meant? Terrell and I had a mini-date! Hahahaha! Terrell joked and said we were going to go 35 the whole way home. We enjoyed talking without interruption or backseat drama for 25 whole minutes. 😊

*And Anna sent me this pic of their backseat.... they were actually in Frankie's truck. Haha! 

*Sunday morning pre-church play time with a pause to watch ESPN's Top 10. Haha! Oh my boys and their love of all sports. 

*Layton brought down some of his "building/equipment" toys and pulled out the gears and told me he was building a pool. 😊 I thought it turned out perfect!

*Monday night, Garrison and I actually had the night off while the littles went with daddy to baseball practice. It was so nice to stay in and have some quality time with my oldest. We read and watched the Braves and enjoyed our laid back evening.

*Then he came and sat with me on the couch to watch the game.... and it called for a selfie. 😊

*Tuesday afternoon the boys enjoyed their first popsicles of the season! All we had were banana flavored... they weren't huge fans but took what they could get. Ha!

*While I cooked Tuesday night, I loved my backyard view so much. The boys played soccer and Terrell cleaned the pool and we just enjoyed our night off.

*Garrison came home this week with his latest art project from school and I loved it! When I read that he chose to fly to Hawaii and visit a volcano and the beach I decided it was even more special. Maybe we'll take the fam one day and he'll get to experience it. 😊 He is really enjoying art this year and loves his teacher. 3rd grade has been pretty awesome. 

*Terrell was home one day for lunch this week and sent me this picture of our pool. He is the best pool guy ever by the way. I love and appreciate the way he's taken charge of making sure it's perfect.

*And later that night we enjoyed a summer preview! Our night by the pool was so fun! The water temp was the highest it's even been so the kids got wet and played baseball and tried hitting and throwing the ball over the water. 

*We also had our first poolside time-out. Haha. Pool rules are serious business.

*Garrison actually got in and swam/played off and on. We can't wait until warmer weather arrives and stays!

*This weekend we're dog-sitting for my parents and Emma has already made herself right at home. The boys were cracking up at her sitting at the computer yesterday afternoon. Haha!

*Favorite Not-Pictured Moments: Our impromptu family meeting earlier this week during supper. It wasn't planned but somehow it happened and it was really needed. We talked a lot about pool rules and safety, but also the importance of listening the first time, no matter what. Honestly I think we've just gotten lazy and let some things slide that we shouldn't have. So we let the boys know about our convictions and the "why" behind certain things.... rules, consequences, trust, "rewards", etc. and it went really, really well. Layton didn't grasp everything but he got the general idea. And the big boys handled our big discussion (and it was a discussion, not a lecture) well. I was very thankful for how smoothly it went and how God led us to our little family meeting. 

And... direct quote here...."Since Emma is spending the night with us, can we get doughnuts in the morning?" -Layton Selph (HAHAHA!!!!) 

This weekend we are looking forward to another t-ball game, celebrating Pops' birthday, and sleeping later!! I also need to tackle some "chores" around the house, grocery shopping, and school work. So it won't be a lazy weekend but we're still planning to enjoy some downtime and extra rest. #praise Happy Friday, Happy Weekend!!

A Few Notes From Our Week

The week back from Spring Break has been interesting. Plus worn us out. Plus a tad crazy. Plus a tad exciting because ONLY 30 DAYS TO GO!!! 😊

So I thought I'd make just a few notes about this week....

*My boys have gone to bed past their (school night) bedtime every single night this week. Ahhhhh. Between a late practice night, a late game night, Terrell being out of town, and them struggling with remaining on "Spring Break time" this week, our bedtimes have suffered. Hopefully we'll get back on track soon!

*Because bedtimes have been later and we haven't been used to waking up super early, the mornings have been more rushed. I haven't hit snooze a single time this week (yay for improving in that department), but I'm getting ready slower and the boys have been taking a little longer to wake up. So we've been a little behind every morning. Hoping get back on track with that soon too!

*Garrison finished the book Wonder this week and LOVED it. He had the opportunity to watch the movie at school a couple of weeks ago and decided to read the book shortly after. We had to put it on hold at our library but once it came in, he read it constantly and loved it. 

*My (long term sub) para has been out the majority of this week which has made things a little crazy for me and my students. Thankfully I've had a pretty great sub to fill in for her so for the most part we've been able to stick to our schedule and accomplish everything we've needed to this week. My regular para (who is still on maternity leave) we'll be coming back in a few weeks. I'm so thankful for both of my partners at school this year! They've been awesome!

*Terrell and I haven't seen each other much at all this week. He was out of town Monday night and didn't get home until late Tuesday night... then on Wednesday he spent most of the night outside trying to make sure our sod was being adequately watered, and then last night I had Science Night at school while he, Austin, and Layton had a game. So we're looking forward to seeing each other this weekend. Haha. Sometimes the busyness of life just makes us roommates. 

*For the first time ever, we had to remove gum from one of our boys' skin. #thingsyouneverthinkyou'llhavetodo It was stuck so good that when peanut butter didn't work, we turned to Google and ended up using Vaseline. We had to let it sit for a couple of minutes and then we were finally able to peel it off, and by we I mean I.... while the rest of the finally looked on in curiosity and concern... and it was after 9:00 PM. Sigh. #anothermemory

*We had a major scuffle here earlier in the week while Terrell was gone and there was so much yelling, screaming, tears, and craziness that when I looked outside and saw my neighbor walking his dog, I cried from embarrassment and ashamed-ment. I mean, there is no way he didn't hear world war 3 happening inside my house. It was bad. I hope he doesn't think we're a terrible family. Gracious.

*Leftover Easter candy has been my nemesis all week. I've eaten way too much, way too often. Time to get back on track with less sweets! #wherethere'sawillthere'saway #mindovermatter #sweettoothbegone!

*Other than our one major scuffle, the boys have gotten along pretty great this week (Praise!!) and we've had a good week back. The countdown is on for summer and we are looking forward to the grand opening of our pool sometime soon! 😊

Happy Friday!! Have a great weekend!

Weekend Recap/Spring Break Wrap-Up

We had a really great weekend and wrap-up to our Spring Break. I'm so thankful for all the fun, rest, and extra time together we were able to enjoy last week and over the weekend. It was very much needed and awesome. 😊

Friday morning we slept in a little and since Terrell took the day off to spend with us we got ready to go shopping for pool and deck furniture! Squeal!! Of course the boys were more impressed with manly things. Haha.

We made some final decisions about furniture, made some purchases, and then headed home to get ready for our last big outing of Spring Break..... a visit to SunTrust Park to watch our high school baseball team play!

My parents went with us and other than horrible traffic, we had a really fun trip! We had free admission and free parking (everyone did) and we got to sit in the cushioned seats right behind home plate!! We felt like VIPs. 😊

We loved cheering on our Trojans at a Major League field. 

Meanwhile, my father-in-law was back at my house working on our deck as we had new materials arrive during Spring Break. We are so thrilled and excited about how it's turning out!!

The Trojans played a good, close game and came away with the win!

We won 3-2 in a true Major League Battle. 😊

We got rained on near the end of the game and walking back to the car but what's a trip to any Braves game/field without a little rain? Haha. It seems to happen to us every time. It was a cool experience for sure and the craziness of the drive home and extra looong adventure at Steak n Shake was made a lot more fun thanks to Granna and Papa coming along. We had a blast.

Saturday morning was pretty low-key. Terrell did a lot of work outside while the boys and I hung out. 

They played a ton with baseball cards, watched too much TV, and got along great. Praise!! 

Once Terrell finished a couple of his "projects" he took some shots of our new backyard. We can hardly believe it!! It's no longer a mud-pit! It's beautiful and wonderful and almost completely finished!! 😊 This view is from the other side of our fence where we have our playset, trampoline, and soccer goal (for now).

And this is the view inside of the fence.... Basically, we're in love. #thatsumsitup

Shortly after lunch we had to make another run to Lowes and Home Depot for a few more things we needed for the backyard and then it was time to hit up the annual Fish Fry/Family Reunion at my parents' house. I didn't get any pictures because 44 PEOPLE and CRAZY, but we had a good time and enjoyed seeing everyone from my mom's side of the fam who we don't get to see super often. 

We wrapped up Saturday night with me buying groceries and then all of us watching Atlanta United and the Braves. It was a great Saturday.

Then Sunday morning we were off to church. 

We had a sweet and cold morning together. It doesn't feel like Spring just yet but we know some warmer temps are on the way! (PS... I've never been so excited for warm weather! Ha!)

Sunday afternoon I organized and tackled some preparations for the week (my theme is Bugs 😊), laid out and ironed my clothes, made lunches for the boys, and was able to squeeze in a short nap.

 We also couldn't resist a few more pics of the backyard. It's just our favorite view!

I also made a run to Dollar Tree Sunday evening on my way to pick up Subway for me and the hubs. #teacherlife

And I came home to this.... baseball in the foyer. Sigh. (Thankfully it was a stuffed baseball.) Sunday afternoon was a tad long with these 3 being stuck inside but thankfully they found ways to entertain themselves without breaking anything or anyone getting hurt. #lifewithboys

Sunday night we tried to get everyone to bed a little early and it was my turn with this baby. He likes to "read" by flashlight while we sit on the bed with him and then we tell him goodnight and I love you 14.7 times before we're free to leave. Then he pretty much always goes straight to sleep. 😊

We had a laid back and wonderful Spring Break and weekend. Now we're 34 days away from SUMMER!! Woohoo!!! We can do this! 😉

Happy Tuesday!