Two

I'm writing with the word 'two' resonating in my ear with Riley's adorable little voice.  We have been prepping her for the last month asking her "how old are you turning?" It has been such a treat to see her so proudly answer.

I was looking back at some posts when I discovered Riley's One year blog post about all the things she could do and say.  I thought it would be so great to include a list of things she does and says, but am learning quickly that I will for sure be leaving words out, because on the daily she says new words.  I wanted to include a few of my favorites.  I'm pretty sure her third birthday will be me documenting full on conversations that we have the rate she is going.

Currently saying: New words every day, phrases even!  She can sing, "let it go," say"this way" "all done" "help please."

She can use certain words at appropriate times to get what she needs and wants.  She is really good about asking for help when she cannot do something.  Also she can be very stubborn and let her temper fly when she cannot do something.

We are right in the thick of toddler hood and it is frustrating, exciting, hilarious, messy, lovely, heart-warming and beautiful.

Just a short while ago we really starting praying with Riley before bed.  Full on holding hands and everything.  There are nights sometimes where we put her to bed not thinking to pray and she reminds us.  She will reach her hands out and say 'pray' ever so gently reminding us of a tradition we need not fail with.  I appreciate the sponge-like moments like that where we truly are instilling behaviors inside of her that are so powerful and are so life-long.  It really is a two edged sword raising children.  I know we have already made mistakes, but I also know the impact of consistency even at this age as Riley will remind us of little things we forgot to do that day.

She loves dancing, even when nobody else is,
she loves her friends so much and asks to see them just about everyday.
 As long as she is around new people at least once in the day she is happier
Playing around in the garage with Dada and Joe can keep her entertained for a couple hours.
She love her baby stroller and tries to sit in it
She asks to be outside daily
Not into coloring with the exception of tracing her feet and hands
She is much more inclined to seek the attention of males
Her timid/shy intro lasts all but 3-5 minutes with new people and sometimes none at all
This girl is sensitive to noises and songs and really already has a great rythym
She loves her freedom and walking around.  Being in the cart while shopping is right on the cusp of being phased out
Doesn't like slides
Loves reading
Can count to ten
Can say her ABCs
Can say her name
Come on
lets go
stop it
NO
Yes
Okay Mama
Open
Help


This girl is so amazing in all she does.  I am so thankful for another year of health and growth and truly have loved watching her the past two years.

Coffee + Chat Vol. II

Hello hello and welcome to the weekend.  It has been such a long time since I have blogged and wow do I feel the difference when I get out of the habit!  This last month had brought some challenges but I feel like I have overcome and light is at the end of the tunnel.

1.  Myers-Briggs Personality Test:  Has anyone done this?  I took the full test about 8 years ago and decided that it was time to take it again for a refresher and to see if I had changed at all.  After getting married and becoming a parent I feel like there are components to my personality that have totally changed.  After taking the short version I did find that one of the four letters had indeed changed.  It has been interesting revisiting that and reading up on strengths and weaknesses.

2.  Mom Group: I am apart of a Moms group that I love and am so stoked that it has grown the past few months.  I have been so thankful that we have stick it out for over a year now and I look forward to continue growing together and seeing our littles grow up.

3. Exercise: My little family has been sweating it out together and gees has it been fun.  The mornings have been pretty cool still until about 8:30 and we have had a really good time connecting with each other and cheering one another on.  We have a little trailer that we tow Riley in with our mountain bikes and we all get to experience being outdoors and being in nature.

4. Mental Health:  I am a huge advocate for self-awareness and holistic health.  Recently I have been battling some negative thoughts and patterns of thinking that I do not like and really bring me down.  I have been praying a lot and really asking God to guide me through.  I am noticing that as changes happen in my life I struggle with insecurity and self-confidence.  I used to be in counseling in college and am now signed up to go back in the fall.  I am really excited about it too.  I feel now shame at all that I am choosing to go to counseling because it is so beneficial.  The things I learned about myself when I was in counseling was so good that it just makes sense to me to go back and learn again.

5. C.S Lewis: I am reading Mere Christianity and am super in love with the author's style of writing. I am challenged by the material as well as connected to the tone and flow of the authors rhythm.  Most mornings Drew and I are up earlier than Riley and we get in some solid reading time.  This has been so good for my soul to dig into a book uninterrupted and then to be able to share with Drew on such an intellectual level.  I am truly thankful for that.

*Focusing on gratitude and all the things that are going right-that are true and good can really turn a negative mindset into a positive one.

Goals: *June*

Setting attainable goals...that is difficult.  Making goals is super easy for me because I have so many ideas and aspirations, but implementing them in manageable bit sized chunks is challenging.  I am going to try something a little different this month in hopes that I can be successful at accomplishing them.


June Goals 

• Delete IG and FB from phone
• $500 in sales
• Plan out summer activities
• Refurbish a garage sale dresser
• Understand consolidation 
• Finish Love and Respect, start new book
• Create prayer wall in room
• RA Reunion
• Find a community group

Goals tend to keep me balanced and my life in check.  I like to make sure that I have goals that are life giving and productive, fun and positive.  If we take life too seriously it will just pass right by us with no smiles on our faces.  That is no good.

Lets take life and live it, and not let life take away your life.  You are the designer, you are in charge of finding happiness.  God is with you and He is the author of life.  He hasn't failed me yet and I am sure He will not fail you.

What are your June goals?

When I am Not a Good Blogger

I would love to give a shout out to all those bloggers out there who consistently write content for their readers.  It is a hard job to accomplish generating good literature week by week.  Go bloggers!!

I definitely go through times where I feel like I have nothing to write about and instead of pushing through those dry spells, I just choose not to write.  This is not my favorite confession, but it is true.  However the ironic part of this whole thing is that my word for 2015 is consistency, community and cultivate.  Being consistent is something that I really lack in many areas of my life and I really wanted blogging to be a way that I could prove myself wrong.

 Welp, grace upon grace upon grace.

I am by no means a perfect person and the fact that I set my mind to accomplishing something and failed is a great example of that.  But Oh there is grace.  I am going to try again and set my expectations a little lower than I did the first time.

So here it is:

How to Succeed When You are not Being a Good Blogger

1. Set your blogging regiment at a manageable amount-It is very easy to get a little overzealous with blogging.  I mean it is a really cool space on the internet that is all yours right?  Set your limits and know how often you want to blog-be realistic.
2. Know your Niche-Don't try to write outside of what you are comfortable with and make sure your niche allows for enough to write about.
3. Use a planner to schedule out posts-this one is key!  Try to have post idea outlines prepared in advance ideally for the month.  Sitting down to write is much easier and faster when you already have an idea of what you are going to write about.

What do you do when you are not consistent writing content?  I would love to know!

Not getting Overwhelmed at the Gym

I recently joined a gym and knew that when I walked through those doors I would be completely overwhelmed by all of the machines!  I knew that I would want to go try them all, and then not really get anything done.  My sister is a personal trainer and helped me put together a plan for the gym, so that I would not be overwhelmed, I would not be there more than 1 hour, and I would see results.  What?!?!

It's true.  This way of working out is so great because I actually keep track of my workouts on my little piece of paper-so old school right?  I have already seen increase in my lifting.  So great.


Here is what I do:

Mon: Chest and Tricep
Wed: Back and Bicep
Fri: Legs and Shoulders


Here is the breakdown:

3 Chest exercises and 3 tricep exercises
After each exercise we do 25 reps of a core workout
Ending with 1.30 min. of cardio
Done!

Chest and Tricep

Dual Axis Incline Press: 1st set: 12 reps 2nd set: 8 reps 3rd set: 15-20.

**2nd set: Increase by 10% from first set. 3rd set: 50% of 2nd set

Example 1st set: 45#  2nd set: 50# 3rd set: 25#

Trust me this is the way to work out!  You will feel amazing and see results on your paper-numbers do not lie!  If that makes sense then we will move on.

Knee-ups 25 reps
Bicycle: 1.30 min


Rotation 2

Shoulder Press (exercise)
90/90 (Core)
Stairmaster (cardio)

Rotation 3

Chest Fly Machine (exercise)
Side Plank (core)
Treadmill (cardio)

Rotation 4

Tri Dips
V-ups
Bicycle

Rotation 5

Tri Rope Pull Downs
Russian Twists
Stairmaster

Rotation 6

Overhead Tr Dumbell
Plank Alt: Arm and Legs
Treadmill

Done Done Done!

That is all seriously-pretty great right?