Putting down the phone part 2

Happy Tuesday, y'all!
So this is a quick post, but in the effort of accountability for my "phone plan" and to give an update I figured this is necessary.
It's been a week now and I have really done well. This weekend I slipping back into old habits of scrolling here and there but caught myself and was able to walk away from the phone. Who knew this would be such a challenge?? If you don't think you're that connected to your phone, try being super conscious of your phone use and find out!! 
I will say, I LOVE not being on my phone during the day. Consistenly I find that my attitude is better, my patience with my kids increases, my involvement in their activities certainly increases, and I just feel like a better mom.
If you don't have kids then you might think the phone thing isn't a big deal (and maybe it isn't), but let me leave you with this thought. Are you missing out on other relationships by being distracted by social media?  Maybe connecting more with your spouse instead of both mindlessly playing or scrollin on your phone at night? Are you missing out on connecting better with friends? Or maybe you're missing out on connecting with God who longs for a deeper relationship with us always? 
I know all of those hit me on some level. All of those relationships mean so much more than getting caught up on everyone else's daily thoughs. On a side note, my hubby and I did download a game on our phones this week (which is so not me) but we compete together on our phones and hey, I'll take anything that'll give us another way to connect! So that's my phone exception ;)

Putting the phone down

So I have begun a new project called "BE PRESENT". 
This is something that just came to me the other night as I was taking a shower (because don't all epiphanies happen during the shower when you finally get alone time?). I was reviewing my day and thinking about a blog post from a friend about how she traded in her iPhone for a flip phone. Yes, a flip phone!
So at first like most I was like...what?? Does anyone besides grandparents use flip phones? But the more I read, the more I understood. She admittedly talked about how her phone became such a distraction. It kept her from being present with her kids, it was the reason she found herself fussing at kids as they bothered her while she was mindlessly scrolling on social media, and it ultimately became an addiction. 
I couldn't shake her post in the back of my mind and as I reviewed my day, I realized my phone was doing the same thing. In the effort to not ditch the iPhone, but knowing something needed to change, I started a plan. Really more, a list of phone rules for myself that I am committed to following.
Before I go into my plan, let me further explain why I personlly needed this. I realized I spend a rediculous amount of time mindlessly scrolling through Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat all throughout my day.  This may not be so bad except for the fact that I am a stay at home mom. This wasn't always the case either (the stay at home mom gig). I used to leave my daughter home with a sitter while I worked all day, but instead our family has made sacrified and I am blessed to be home with my two beautiful babies all day, every day. Yes, not everyday is super fun and not everyday do I see rainbows and butterflies feeling delighted to do laundry, dishes, clean up messes, change diapers, etc. BUT I am blessed to be the biggest influence in their young lives and experience their day to day WITH them.
The thing is...I wasn't really spending my days WITH them like I wanted. Yes I was physically there and sometimes present, but not fully present like I know I am called to be and like they need me to be. And I officially beacme fed up with that. I found myself irritated when I was scrolling and they needed juice or kept crawling on me, interrupting some article I was trying to read that someone reposted. It's not pretty and I'm not proud, so I decided NO MORE.
My plan? PUT THE PHONE DOWN!
My rules? When my kids are awake, the phone is down. Exceptions are phone calls (which are rare and either with my parents or people I am helping with my Advocare business). Other exceptions, to reply to a quick text, which unless I initiate I realized I don't get many of.  If it's nap time and both are down (again rare) then I can pick it up and scroll or if it's late night.

After a day of this plan, I realized tonight as I began to scroll through today's updates I didn't miss it. I felt sooooooo free! The minute I began to scroll I felt a little suffocated.
So to reflect on day 1, it was a great day. After churc and before a family eveing BBQ I played with my kids, really played. I was there, fully and soaking in their laughs, silliness, and just them as little people. My baby napped while I played with my 3 year old, doing ABCmouse, coloring, and just enjoying her.
I was a kinder momma, a more patient momma, and it felt amazing.
I will do more of this and will continue to follow this plan. I need it, and my family needs it. I am going to LOVE this new normal.

We meet again!

Hello All!  I have been gone from this blog for far far too long. In fact, in my last post I announced we were expecting a son and fast forward to today and that little boy is 13 months old! So clearly...time flies and I have really stepped away. BUT... I'm back! The days only get busier when you have two kiddos instead of one, but I find the need to blog more than ever. As a stay at home mom, I'm either talking to littles all day or myself, so maybe this can be a good outlet also? I originally started this blog to chronicle our newly married life and now my goal is for it to become a scrapbook of our goings on as a family, as well as a journal of the real-ness of our daily life. Too often we only showcase the good days, sweet moments, and fun things, but life with kids isn't always those things. I LOVE being home with my babies and wouldn't trade a second of it! My goal is to stay more consistent with this (for once) so that those who follow us from afar can keep up better wth us. I also want this to be my outlet for whatever goes through my brain since we all know "mom brain" is something fierce and if I do not write down what's going on, I may never remember it! Pictures of our sweet family and a quick recap since my hiatus will be in the next post! O and also working on updating the blog as a whole and those changes will be coming too!

More News!

So my last post briefly updated y'all on the craziness of life but we have more craziness ahead as...
WE'RE EXPECTING BABY #2!!!
We are beyond thrilled to be expanding our family and we're actually 18 weeks along at this point! Shows how often I post! HA! 
To make life more exciting...
WE'RE HAVING A BOY!!
We're due in January and so far this pregnancy has been much like the last...smooth and staying small (people don't believe I'm 18 weeks at all). I was SUPER "blah" the first trimester...meaning, I just felt crummy all the time...so not only fighting exhaustion but little appetite most of the day. Once we hit 2nd trimester my body jumped back into energy momma mode and hungry momma mode too! O yeah and we moved in July so that was some fun added stress, but so grateful to God for the fact that we are living in Houston and much closer to family now.
This summer has flown by and we are just about to celebrate our sweet girl's 2nd birthday (WHAT?!?!!) on Sunday. I cannot believe it! So that's our big news for now and here's some great pics for y'all to enjoy!

Park fun!

Tire swing fun at the great-grandparents'!

Mommy and Sammi on the 4th!

First pool experience! She LOVED it!

Workshop fun with daddy and great-grandpa!

Lazy day with mom (not the best pic of me but I love any cuddle time I get!)

Cousin's b-day party! She rode on a horse!

That's it for now everybody! Thanks for catching up! I'll be back soon for bump updates!

Update time!

O my goodness! It has been beyond too long...in fact, I wrote this post back in May and never published it! Life with a baby (who's now a toddler seems to get crazier by the minute) and so much has changed in the last year that I felt the need to update! Also I swear I'm going to get better at posting more often! So let's see... Since my last post, I no longer work full time away from home and my sweet girl, my husband got accepted into an amazing engineering program, I got into grad school, AND our sweet girl turned 1!! It was almost this time last year that an amazing opportunity fell into our laps that changed so much for us. To keep it brief (because I will elaborate in another post), this opportunity helped me lose that last 5 lbs of baby weight, lose 10 inches over my body in 3 weeks, give me amazing energy, and most importantly...bring me home from my full-time underpaid job to work from home and spend my days with our baby!  My husband started in an engineering program at that same time I started grad school, so we've both finished an intense year of school and did great! On to summer school for me! 'Cuz who needs a break, really? Our baby not only turned 1, but it VERY quickly approaching 2! She does SO MUCH  now! Walks, talks (still limited words), signs the word "more", LOVES Frozen, and has decided her favorite food is donuts. She has the sweetest little heart! Loves to help mommy with anything and is incredibly fearless...I'm talking climbing, jumping, etc. 

Us back in November!

Grateful for these dads!

This year was Andrew's first Father's Day! The way he loves and cares for our sweet girl is such a blessing to me. The bond these two have is so sweet to watch. She's in every way a daddy's girl and I'm pretty sure she's got him wrapped around her tiny fingers. For those of you who don't know, Andrew stays home with Samantha everyday while I go to work. As crummy as it is to not be the one home with her everyday, I'm blessed beyond belief to have him home with her. Since we made the transition to him staying home with her, my house is messier, laundry piles up a little more, but gosh is that baby loved! It's the best knowing she is in good hands all day and in the comfort of our home! Andrew is a great dad who's good at getting baby smiles, giving medicine, cuddling, and keeping her well! I am blessed to share this journey of parenting with him!  

One of their first pictures :)

 

 

 

 

Love this picture!

 

Buggy's 1st Christmas!

 

 

Park fun!

 

Her first taste of snow cone!

 

 

Her onesie said "HAPPY FIRST FATHER'S DAY! LOVE, ME"

 

Andrew' 1st Father's Day

  I can't end this post without also sending a shout out to my own dad! The relationship I have with him is one I see with those two cuties in the pictures above! So much of me is exactly like him and I'm so grateful for that! I have always been and will always be a "daddy's girl". It's hard living so far away but face time and phone calls make life much better! My dad is my cheerleader, my dream encourager, and forever owns a piece of my heart! He's also a fantastic "Papi" to our girl! Sometimes when she's sleeping I swear she looks just like him...and I love that! I'm blessed to have these dads in my life!!  

 

 

These dads putting together the baby's room before she got here!

 

nap time :)

 

 

   

7, 8, & 9 Months!

I swear, one day I will be super consistent with this blog! So much has gone on since our last update about our sweet girl! I'm pretty sure the last time I updated (for her 6 months) she could barely sit up. Now we have a full on (super fast) crawler and "puller upper" on everything!   7 Months -tried cereal for the first time -tried puffs for the first time -began sitting up on her own -first road trip with mommy and daddy to "middle of nowhere" Texas for a sweet friend's/college roommate's wedding -first wedding attended -first bath without baby tub -started saying "mama" when she wants food

first time trying cereal!

 

trying out the rocking horse at Uncle David and Aunt Robert's house!
 It's been in our family since I was a baby!

First Easter! Trying out the goodies in her Easter basket from Mimi :)

 

First Egg Hunt!

Happy Easter!

  8 Months -tried baby food -does like apple sauce/apple baby food -loves squash and sweet potatoes -not a fan of cereal -started crawling -tried water for the first time -tried some table food (i.e. pieces of French fries) -sleeps til noon or 12:30 everyday (in bed between 9-10) -still use baby tub and takes a "big" bath every now and then -had broken in "baby jail" AKA the pack 'n play  

Trying water for the first time!

bath time fun!

 

pink girls! She loves seeing herself in the mirror!

first snow cone!

 

Mother's Day!

    9 Months -craws like a maniac! -may or may not have discovered the cat food ;) - pulls up on everything! coffee table, ottoman, couches, etc -nothing's off limits! -discovered our "junk baskets" under the coffee table -loves to be chased around the house with us crawling behind her  -STILL sleeps til noon or 12:30 everyday (in bed between 9-10)- on a side note, I already know my 2nd child will never sleep -LOVES puffs, Baby MumMums, baby food, and wants any food we are eating -loves to taste ice cream, snow cones, and French fries -making humming sound when she wants food -still drinks formula and breast milk but this mommy is about dried up -loves to lay on her kitty (poor Macy) -says momma and dada sporadically -high fived mommy for the first time! -waves "hello" and "bye bye" -loves the beginning and ending song on Adventure Time  

my morning glory! Always wakes up with a smile :)

 

LOVES the swings!

Visiting with great-grandpa

 

First time grocery shopping with the cart cover!

 

 

9 month check up time!

 

Eating puffs! Her favorite!

 

Kisses from Aunt Jenny :)

  So now that I've blown up the blog with baby pictures, I feel only slightly caught up! I cannot believe how 9 months has flown by! This sweet girl is the joy of our life and we love watching her grow! We love you Samantha Joy!  

Until next time,