Wednesday Randoms

• When I decided to start blogging again, I had a goal to be consistent with my posting. I set a goal of 3+ times per week. As we can see that hasn't happened. I'm okay with that. If I don't have pressure that I have to maintain, then maybe I'll keep it up. 
• Our Student Ministry had a special Good Friday service. It was very good. I'm blessed to be able to work with the students. 
  


• I'll try to remember at some point, to do a full Easter post, but here are some pictures of us dying the eggs. We also had this really cute princess decorating kit from Target. They turned out really cute!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• I ordered some new glasses from Coastal Contacts. I'm still not exactly sure how I feel about them. This was my "hmm, I can't decide" face.
  
• Here are a few more pictures my brother's girlfriend took of our family on Easter. My brother and I accidentally coordinated. Aren't we cute?? Ha! Also, after seeing myself in these pictures? Yeah, those arms will be getting a major workout. Blah!! 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• This weekend we gave Anniston the choice of going to the Gentry Zoo or planting a garden. Both are things she's been wanting to do. I just knew she'd pick the zoo and I was so excited. She picked the garden. We made a tiny one and hopefully we'll at least get a few veggies out of it. 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• I'm not sure if I've mentioned this before, but almost every Saturday Nick takes Anniston for the morning. Sometimes I go with them and sometimes Nick goes alone, but the majority of the time, Nick and Anniston both go. They go and eat breakfast with Nick's dad and then they shop at all the "boy" stores. The first Saturday of every month they go to Home Depot and build the project. Anniston really loves this and is always so proud of what she's built. This past weekend they built bird feeders. Nick told me she hammered all the nails by herself. He only had to help her with one screw. She was SO proud. We hung it up in a tree near a window and have been on the lookout for birds!
  
  

Introducing....

We all know that being a mother is hard. Whether you are a working mom or a stay at home mom balancing time can be an issue. I struggle with this. It's so hard to make time for myself when you have so many other responsibilities as well. 

I've seen these groups on Facebook, on blogs, all over really, where people have created freezer meal swaps. I've been wanting to do one for a while, but just have never really decided to take on the project. I've decided now is the time! 

Here's how it will work. I want to start out with six ladies, including me. We will meet either once per month or once every other month. Before our meeting, we can get together either by email or in person and create a menu. Each person will then take one recipe off of the menu. They will cook six of that recipe. On the day of our meeting, each person will bring their meal and then we'll swap them. So you cook six of the same meal and go home with six different meals. 

We can use the meeting times as play dates or as "mom time", whichever works best. We can tweak the system as we learn what works and what doesn't. If it works out really well and we want to increase the number of meals, the number of group members, or the number of meeting times, we can adjust as necessary. 

I'll post our recipes on here so we have a place where they are all listed! If you have a blog as well, I can look into doing a link so we can all link together. I'm game for whatever! 

So here is what I need from you. If you are interested in joining, please either send me an email at LindseyKennedy25(at)gmail(dot)com or leave a comment here. If we have more than six people sign up, we may have to break into two groups of however many. 

I'm really excited about this! Once we get our group members, we'll set a date for our first Friends with Freezers swap!

Wednesday, umm...Thursday Randoms

I wrote this post yesterday and, in true Lindsey fashion, forgot to post it. I don't know what is wrong with me but I can't remember anything. If something is important, I have to leave 100 post-it notes around the house so I don't forget. Sheesh.

• Anniston was in need of some new tennis shoes so on the first day of spring break, Nick took her shoe shopping. It's not secret that Nick and I love bright colored tennis shoes (Nick is more well known for it than me) and apparently, Anniston inherited that love. They really are cute shoes and she loves them!

• My SIL that lives in Florida is pregnant with her first baby, a little girl named Annabeth. My other SIL, Tiffany, and I spent the last two weekends getting everything ready. We had an "Alice in Wonderland" theme and I think it turned out adorable. We had a few ideas that didn't quite pan out, but otherwise everything ran smoothly! I don't have any actual pictures of the shower yet, but I'll post them when I get them.




(Tiffany and I made fascinators to wear at the shower. They turned out so cute but on the day of the shower, I was a little embarrassed to wear it. HA!)



• One of the weekends we were working on shower prep, Anniston and I went to Russellville to stay with Tiffany and the kids. We went up on top of Mount Nebo and Chris took some pictures. He took them of each of the kids separate, the two girls, and then all three. This is the only picture I've seen thus far but I'm already in love!

• Our friend, Ryan, turned 29 on March 17. (Which was a sad reminder that I'll be 29 in April. I'm having a very hard time with this.) We went to their house for a birthday cookout and couldn't resist taking a funny picture with the green mustaches. We tried to get Anniston to ask "May I mustache you a question?" But she wouldn't do it. 

• Since the shower was this past Saturday, all of the girls went and got pedicures and manicures (Thanks Aunt Lala and Mimi!). This was Anniston and Caroline's first pedicure and I'm pretty sure they loved it. 





• When I went in to wake Anniston up this morning, she was sleeping so sweetly with her hand on her baby that I just had to take a picture. It's not often that I'm able to sneak in her room and her not wake up so I was glad she stayed asleep long enough for me to snap a picture. And, yes, we are still wearing Christmas pajamas. And if you wear Christmas pajamas in March, you must also cover with a Christmas blanket. It's a rule. Look it up. 





• Anniston has been SO funny lately. My friend, Sarah, just did a post about the funny things her daughter has been saying and it's inspired me to do one. Nick and I have a shared cloud, iTunes, etc. We have a note saved so whenever we see or hear something funny, we add it in there. It's been a great way to remember the funny things she says and does. Of course, some of the things we've had to get onto her for and then laugh about it later. 

Disney 2013 - The Resort

At Disney in 2011, we looked around at a bunch of different resorts. We had stayed at the Caribbean Beach Resort, which we really liked. Two in particular caught our eyes, the Polynesian Resort and the Grand Floridian. We loved everything about the Polynesian, the grounds, the theme, etc. The Grand Floridian was gorgeous too but it was more about convenience and being near everything.

(Polynesian - source)

(Grand Floridian - source)

When we got home from the last trip, we immediately decided when we would make our next trip. We sent out a group email and invited any and all to attend with us. We wanted to ask people early because Disney is not cheap. We wanted everyone, including us, to have plenty of time to save.

Anniston was a HUGE part of our deciding factor this year. She is obsessed with Disney Princesses. We had heard good things from other people about the newest resort, Art of Animation, but it wasn't really in our running. That is, until Anniston saw the Ariel room. I showed her pictures of other resorts, but in her eyes, nothing compared to that Ariel room.

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I got online and used the online chat feature (which is amazing for anyone wanting to ask questions and not have to stay on the phone forever) to ask a few questions about the resort. The person I talked to said that he had not stayed at the resort but him and his wife had toured the grounds and the rooms. He said that it really compared to a moderate resort as far as grounds, theme, and room size go. He said the rooms are slightly smaller than a moderate, there aren't slides at the pool, and there is not casual dining on site. He did say that the food court choices (quick service meals) had excellent choices. I was very thankful for his honesty.

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While I was a tad disappointed in not staying at one of the Deluxe Resorts we had picked out, but Anniston's only little once, right? And that Ariel room will make her week! Plus since Art of Animation is a value resort, we'll be saving a lot of money, which is always nice! We have already booked our room, for several reasons,  but we currently do not have a discount code.

When we went in 2011, we originally intended to stay at a value resort and ended up receiving a discount code that made the moderate resorts equal (or less, I can't remember) in price to a value resort. So, if for some reason we do receive a discount code, then we may switch to a moderate or deluxe resort if it's a better value. That's one of the many great things about Disney. It doesn't matter when  you book your package, if at any time you receive a discount code, they will apply it and refund you the difference. They do not combine offers but they can change them. You can always call them and they'll tell you which is the better deal. I love that!

So, my friends, come October, we'll be staying in an Ariel room at the Art of Animation. And making a (then) four year old little girl very, very happy.

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Motherly Instinct

I was born without it.

For most of my teenage years and some of my adult years, I said I didn't want kids. Nick and I would talk about it and I wasn't set on it, but the idea just never appealed to me. I'm not one of those women who get baby fever. I tend to be more of a realist than a dreamer. Yes, those newborns are sweet and snugly but I also know what happens in the middle of the night and how incredibly hard those first few months are (at least they were for me).

Kids and babies make me uncomfortable. I have no idea why that is. I love Anniston with all my heart. I love all the kids of our family and friends. Kids make me laugh, but they make me uncomfortable. I just don't know how to interact with them. I've always been more of an adult person. Even when I was growing up, I spent more time with adults than I did with other children. I don't really know how to be silly and fun. I'm not good with playing pretend games.

I'm happy with being a working mom. I enjoy my job and the adult interaction during the day. When Anniston goes and stays the night with her grandparents, I'm grateful that she loves them and has a good time with them. I'm also grateful for the chance to sleep in a little. :) Actually, when I was in Haiti, the depth of how much I missed Nick and Anniston was a little shocking to me. I'm not typically that way, but being gone for a full week was hard (So, yay! There's a little bit of maternal-ness!).

After we were married, the idea grew on me and eventually we made the decision that, yes, we did want a baby.

The year before Nick and I got married, I decided that I needed to find where I fit best volunteering in our church. I thought: children's ministry! Umm, I lasted exactly 9 months. In that time, I was sneezed on, threw up on, coughed on, drove to the brink of the edge by kindergarten girls. I would be trying to lead our group and they wanted to talk about Barbies or play with my hair (::cringe::). I learned quickly that children's ministry is not my area. But I will say this, God bless those who that is their ministry. I appreciate everything that they do for the kids back there every Sunday.

I have no idea why I was born without this motherly instinct. I mean, I have the basics. I love Anniston. I do whatever I can to keep her safe. I enjoy spending time with her. I feed her, clean her, bathe her and I count all of those tasks as blessings. I enjoy taking her places and doing things together. Whether that be shopping at a store (although I will admit, sometimes this stresses me out to the max) or experiencing something new or some new place together.

I just lack that instinct to want to do it again. I wrestled with that for a very long time. I've talked it over with friends and family. I don't feel that something else is missing. I feel complete. I don't long to have another newborn, another baby, to go through the tough toddler years. I look back at baby pictures of Anniston with love and fondness, but it doesn't make me want to do it again.

I say all of the above to somewhat explain part of our decision on not having any more kids. There are other reasons as well but this is the one that people just don't understand. Most people have been nice about it, but we have run into a few people who are just plain condescending and rude in regards to our decision. We've had people tell us that we were being cruel, yes someone said cruel, not to give Anniston a sibling. I don't feel that way. We didn't make the decision because we think we are bad parents or that we can't handle another child. Our family feels complete. We're happy as a family of three.

So I hope this gives a little bit better explanation of the way we feel. And, now, we can can return to light-hearted and fun posts. :)

Disclaimer: I wrote this post solely to explain part of the reason we decided not to have any more kids. Not to fish for compliments or start debates or anything other than to give an explanation. Therefore, I am turning off comments.

Disney 2013 - The Time of Year & Why We Booked Now

Disney at Christmas.

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What more could you ask for? We originally planned to visit Disney in December 2013. We wouldn't have to take the kids out of school for more than a couple of days. I've heard amazing things about what WDW looks like at Christmastime, and if you know me, there is nothing that I love more than Christmas. Well, except maybe my family. On most days.

But then we started getting down to the nitty, gritty details: crowds and cost.

Crowds:
We used these three websites to determine crowd volumes for December 2013:
undercovertourist.com
touringplans.com
yourfirstvisit.net

They all said the same thing: high crowds at the beginning/middle of our week with maximum crowds at the end of our week. We were not okay with that.

Costs:
We started looking at cost. It was an average of 50% higher the month of December than the lowest priced week of the year. It was about 20-25% higher than the average for the year. The closer in December to Christmas, the more expensive. When you start adding in the costs for everything, not to mention flights are higher during the holiday season as well, it was going to cost a small fortune extra. Plus, we read that the probability of receiving a discount code for that time period was slim to none.

We all talked it over and it was decided that the cons outweighed the pros. Based on the crowd prediction charts and the costs, we moved it to October. When it came to choosing a week in October, it pretty much was just decided based on when Halloween was. We aren't huge Halloween people, but we thought it would be fun to be there over the holiday and the kids trick or treating at Magic Kingdom. The crowd charts weren't really any different from week to week and neither were the costs.

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Since Anniston will be in preschool, we don't really have an issue with taking her out of school for a week. Tyson (bless my heart, I can't remember. He'll be 9 when we go.) and Caroline (kindergarten) will work it out with their teachers to make up any work/tests. It's not that busy of a time of year (meaning they aren't preparing for large tests, etc) so we don't think it will be that big of an issue.

The kids do not know when we are going. They know we are going this year but they don't know the dates. Anniston doesn't really have that big of a concept of time yet and the two older ones probably suspect it will be on a school break. We have a really fun way of breaking it to the kids. By the way, if you see any good deals on Disney themed luggage, please let me know! :)

As for why we booked now - I'll make this short and sweet.

#1) Plane tickets kept rising. We have a Disney  Visa and that means we get six months no interest financing on Disney packages, including flights if you book it all at the same time. We saved for this for two years, but it's nice to be able to pay for it over six months so the money just isn't gone. Plus we get points for booking it on there which convert to Disney dollars. We now have almost $300 that when it gets closer, we'll have them loaded on a Disney gift card and take it with us. We won't have to spend an extra dime on souvenirs, any extra food, etc. If you are planning a Disney trip in the near future, I highly recommend getting one of these cards. The trick is: use it for things you were already buying anyway, and pay it off every month. That's the only way we use our credit card.
#2) We've heard rumors that the ticket prices will be going up sometime in March or April. We wanted to book our package before the costs went up. I didn't want to wait and have to pay extra for something we could have booked a month earlier and got cheaper. (Look at me being all thrifty!! :) )

So those were our main factors in deciding the time of year and when we chose to book our package. Not too complicated of a process, but definitely worth some research if crowd volumes and costs are a concern for you!

Wednesday Randoms

• I'm at a loss for blog posts. Well, I'm at a loss for blog posts that I think people will enjoy reading... :)
• Last Tuesday, my SIL, Tiffany, and I stood outside in a line for two hours in the wind and freezing cold at our local consignment sale. They have two sales per year (spring/summer, fall/winter) and we both consign and volunteer to get in at the pre-sale. At the last sale, I didn't find a whole lot and was actually kind of dreading it this year, but luckily I found a lot of great deals this season! And it's Tiffany and I's only time to spend together just the two of us and kidless, so I suppose I'll stand in that line for as many years as I can get away with it. :)

• Anniston's first dance recital is the first weekend in May. She got her outfit last Thursday and she LOVES it. I only let her try it on that once (I didn't want her to think it was a dress up costume) but she looks at it every day and talks about how pretty it is. There is no telling how this recital will go. There are two options. 1) She'll either love being on stage and completely ham it up. She'll dance her heart out and love the applause. Or 2) She'll act completely shy and will stand up there and do nothing but keep her head down. Girlfriend is not shy but sometimes she acts that way. It should be very interesting to say the least. 

• Last Friday, it was decently warm outside and Anniston begged to wear shorts. It wasn't quite that warm so I informed her that she would get cold. She said, "I can fix that!" Next thing I know, she's got on a pair of her baby legs as leg warmers, Hello Kitty chucks, Sleeping Beauty socks, khaki shorts, t-shirt, and Hello Kitty jacket (not pictured). She has her own sense of style. 

• Our cousins from Louisiana were in on Saturday, so we went over to see them. The boys took the little girls to the Monkey House to play. The rest of us stayed and hung out. Anniston and Emmrie had so much fun playing together that when they had to say bye, they were both super sad. We'll get to see them again in a couple of weeks though!

• Sunday it was rainy and gross here. We ended up oversleeping. With that and it pouring, we decided to stay at home from church. We had to think of some rainy day activities to keep us all sane. Anniston practiced writing her name and I think she did a great job! 

• I'm going to do a post on this later, but Anniston has been having some behavior issues lately. Remember in that one post, that one time, where I said I thought we'd turned a corner. I need to learn to keep my mouth shut. Thankfully, yesterday was a MUCH better day. 
• I'm really enjoying planning our Disney trip. I don't want to overload the blog with Disney posts, so I'll spread them out some. I have a feeling that Disney is a place we'll plan on going every couple of years. The most fun thing to plan: outfits. :)
• It's supposed to be gorgeous the rest of this week and this weekend. I. CANNOT. WAIT.

Disney 2013 - It's that time again!

We are huge Disney fans at our house. We love the movies and the characters. We love most of their preschool shows. Most of all: we love Disney World!

Our first trip as a family was in May 2011. You can read all those posts here. Nick had never been before and, of course, neither had Anniston. I can't really remember how many times I have gone before. I know of four for sure, but it is possibly five or six.

We had the best time on our last trip. It was just the three of us and we enjoyed it so much. When we got back from that trip, we immediately started planning our next trip. We decided we wanted to go at Christmas time and so we just set a date of December 2013.

Since Anniston would be four when we traveled, we decided that would probably be a good age to go with family. She would have buddies to play and ride rides with and it would just be fun. So we sent out an email to all our close family and asked them to tag along.

2013 and planning is finally here!! It seemed like such a long time away at that point and now it's already here! We've begun the planning process. Who am I kidding? I've been planning since we returned last time. I would go every single year if I could. I can't, but I wish I could.

After the beginning of the year, we began pricing things and looking at crowd projections. All of those attending decided it was going to be too crowded in December so we changed our dates to October. We'll be traveling October 25 - November 1st. (All of you house robbers out there, we have an alarm system and will have a house sitter so beware! :)

Since our last trip, I had my heart staying at the Polynesian Resort or the Grand Floridian. We just loved those two resorts. BUT, as much as I wanted to stay there, Anniston wanted to stay in the Ariel room, i.e. the newest resort, the Art of Animation. So since, technically speaking, this vacation is for her, we made the sacrifice decision to let her have her Ariel room. I've heard wonderful things about the Art of Animation so I'm excited to see it in person. Plus, since it's a value resort, we'll be saving more money than we anticipated!

The biggest news is we booked our vacation last week! We booked our resort, dining plan, tickets, and flights so we are mostly set. Up next is dining reservations, makeover reservations, and outfits.

Last time we went, Anniston wasn't old enough to really understand and get excited about it. This time is different. She knows we are going, but she doesn't know when. I'm keeping that a secret from her. I'm planning on getting her own special luggage and pack all of her special outfits in it. Once I get all that together, on the day or day before we leave (our first flight is really early), I'm going to send her on a scavenger hunt. The end will end in her luggage and an outfit to wear on travel day. This is probably one of the things I'm most excited about. Just seeing her excitement this time is going to be priceless.

I'll go more in depth over the next few months about our planning process. I know it's not that interesting to everyone, but it really helps me plan the next trip, or remember what worked and what didn't, when I keep all the information together. Plus, there may be one person out there who actually likes to read my planning processes!

2013 Little Rock Half

Back when I turned 27, I created a list of 30 things I wanted to do before I turned 30. See the link up there ^. I started running in January 2011. I ran my first 5K in March 2011.

Before I started signing up for races, I absolutely hated running. I was using the Couch to 5K program and on running days, I dreaded it. I would make myself sick to my stomach thinking about it. Then I ran my first race. My time was horrible at 38 minutes but I finished it and I didn't walk. I had a lot of friends there that ran that day (who had just ran the LR half the weekend before, mind you) that ran it in less than thirty minutes. And when I say less than thirty minutes, I mean like less than twenty-five minutes.

Not only did I get bit by the running bug, I got bit by the competitive bug. I am not a competitive person. In any form or fashion, at all. I didn't want to compete with others as much as I wanted to compete with myself. I began to set goals and try to beat previous times. When I made my 30 before 30 list, I thought, "I'll add a half marathon to it."

I ran my first 10K in October 2011. It was the Survivor's Challenge and I ran it in honor of my father-in-law, who at the time, was a two time cancer survivor. He's now a three time survivor. The day after that race, I signed up for my first half marathon.

I ran it in March 2012. My only was to finish. I did finish with a time of 2:49. I wasn't thrilled with that, but I finished. When I signed up for this one, I decided this was my year to have a time goal. My goal was under 2:30 but my ultimate goal was to get 2:15 or under. Things happened (a complication with a leg surgery) and I didn't begin my training until the last week of December. I almost threw my time goal out of the window, but I didn't. I created a schedule for myself and I stuck to it. I ran every day, but maybe five days total, from that last week in December to March 2.

 

 

 

 

The race was this past Sunday, March 3. I also get so nervous before a race, even a small one. I had several friends there running and it helped to know that other people would be with me (well not with me because let's face it, I'm slow, but there on the course somewhere with me). It was really cold. It's no secret that I hate cold.

The race started and I got warmer, thank heavens. The only issues I had were trying to get around all the walkers. Again, because I'm slow, I get put in the open coral. The course is a really great course. A few inclines, but beautiful scenery. You get to run past the Capitol and the Governor's mansion, across the river, under an American flag, past firehouses, etc, etc, etc. So it's really nice to have pretty stuff to look at. I finished in 2:27:45. So I was under my time goal but I didn't make my ultimate goal. I did, however, shave 22 minutes off my previous time.

 

I'm not making excuses but I really believe if I hadn't had to waste so much energy passing people, getting stuck behind them going almost at a walk, then having to speed up to pass them, I might have done a few minutes better. Would it have been enough to reach my 2:15? No, but I do think that it might have gotten me a little closer and I would have pushed myself more to reach it. Next year! :)

Math Makes My Mind Hurt

About this time last year, we got Anniston's full sized bed. She had been in her crib converted to toddler bed for almost a year when I ran into a great deal at our local flea market. We stored it upstairs until we got the mattresses. Since that time, her room hasn't really progressed any.

For some reason, I've had a really hard time deciding which direction I want to go. Do I want to stick with the pink theme or go totally away from that and do something more trendy? Luckily, I waited so long that now Anniston has an opinion. She wants fun and bright.

I was planning on saving all of these things up and then spending a weekend completely re-doing. I'm having a hard time visualizing everything so I just decided to put the pieces I have in there and see where I go from here. I put her chevron rug in there, which may or may not stay.

This weekend, I started the project that's been haunting me for months, her new quilt. When we got her bed set up, we just bought an interim quilt from TJ. It's not my favorite but it has worked for the last year. I decided on fabric back sometime last summer, Kumari Garden. This was my third time to order this fabric and I just love it.

Once I found the fabric, then I had to figure out a pattern. I ordered this pattern, but since chevron has gotten so trendy, it's hard for me to use it now (however, the pattern is amazing and easy to follow. I'd order another pattern from her again in a heartbeat!). Plus, there was the chevron rug on the floor and I just don't patterns everywhere. Kind of a less is more thing. So I found an inspiration quilt on Pinterest that I loved but for the life of me, I couldn't find a pattern for it anywhere.

Now, I've created my own patterns before or taken a pattern and adjusted it to what I needed, but for some reason, doing the math on this one on Friday night just about did my brain in. I'm not even kidding. I got so overwhelmed a couple of times, that I just had to walk away. At one point, I had Excel, a calculator, and about ten pieces of paper (about 7 of which were wadded up in the trash) out and I was using each one like a mad woman. Poor Nick. Our brains just work differently. I'd ask him a question and he'd start talking to me in some foreign math language. I would have to ask him to stop and then just have him listen to me until I talked it out. We usually had the same answer. Mine way was just way more complicated and had about 15 more steps than his way, but I just had to say/figure it in a way I understood (you know, like 2nd grade math).

After using math skills, I didn't know I possessed and figuring the same thing over and over and over, I finally felt I could start the quilt Saturday night. I thought to myself, "I'll work on this tonight and tomorrow. I should have it cut out by Sunday night. I'll start sewing it this week and I'll have it ready to send off in about a week." Psh. I cut and cut and cut. Bless my little heart, I'm not even halfway done cutting it out. I'll be lucky if I have it ready to send off by the end of March, but I'm going to shoot for mid-March anyway.

Here are a few pictures before I got started of the fabrics and what the bed-skirt will look like. After this post, I won't do another one until I do the big reveal. If I can't make it be a weekend project transformation, I can at least make it look that way on the internet. :)