029: Let's Do Something Fun.

December. Fun things already happen in that month, Christmas. Hanukkah. New Years Eve. Parties. Presents. People.
Then why do I feel like I need to add to it? Meh. Who knows.

Every Sunday in December will be.... (drum roll) ...

Headband Sunday!

Yes. I'm dedicating that fun day to an accessory. I'm a girl. What else do you expect? This means my "Black Friday" shopping will consist of searching for headbands that will fit my abnormally large head.
(No, really. I have a huge head for a girl.)

Five Sundays. Five headbands. Let's do this.

(Why? Why not? Accessories are fun.)

If you need ideas, I've got a Pinterest board HERE for some inspiration.



Well. Are you in?

blessings, sgym

028: Mama Monday, the First.

Today is, was, mama monday. Today, my baby turned 7 months old. Just 5 months ago I felt like we were NEVER getting out of the rut of feeling sickly and tired, using the nipple shield to nurse, glugging back water every five minutes, and trying to keep myself from spinning into a spiral of self pity and PPD. So, the first mama monday is a reflection day.

1. Breathe.

I kept forgetting that the small(ish) baby sleeping near me while I caught up on my dvr wouldn't be that small forever. I couldn't figure out how to leave him alone and get the household chores done. The laundry was on its third full basket. I was trying to balance both extended families, church, husband, and friend time. It took me time, but I slowly learned to breathe. I've always been a people pleaser. I have a hard time saying NO. So. Stop. Breathe. Kiss your baby's head. They won't be that small much longer.

2. Follow your instincts.

Before my baby was laid on my chest, I knew exactly how I was going to parent. I had all the answers. Everything was figured out. HA. Yes. I'll say it again. HA. Now, I'm following my gut. It's been right 99.9% of the time so far. I know when he needs sleep, food, cuddles, more sleep, and even more food. I can't tell you how. I just know my baby. I hope I can keep with it as he grows. My instincts told me that I MUST breastfeed (and so did my monthly budget). I fell into co-sleeping by accident, did research, and now I think I could even call myself well rested. There are others, but those are the two I can discuss in one sentence.

3. Take a ton of pictures.

One day my little man won't be so little. Cliche. Yes. Don't care. He won't be and I want to remember these short and beautiful times.


In the spirit of my "ton of pictures" mantra, here is Mal. Newborn through 7 months:

 newborn.

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one month.

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two months.

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three months.

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four months.

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five months.

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six months.

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seven months.

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If you're caught in the cyclical depression of early motherhood; breathe, follow your instincts, and take a TON of pictures. You will be out of it soon enough.
Try to enjoy it, love.

blessings, sgym

027: What I Wanna Do.

Let's set some goals. Hey, maybe I'll stick to them this time. Heh.

1. I want to share. 

Let's face it, being a sahm can be kinda lonely and my facebook friends don't really want their newsfeeds fogged up with my bajillion thoughts and musings on crafts, baby wearing, and eating real foods.

2. I want to write again.

I used to be a pretty consistent creative writer. I'd love to make that part of my brain work again.

3. I want to be creative.

I can make the neatest friendship bracelet/quilt/christmas ornament or take the coolest picture and be pretty stoked. I can be even more stoked if I share it with someone. Blogs seem to be an adult's version of "show and tell' time, my friends.

4. I want to be accountable.

I have a million (ok, like 20) different projects happening all at once in my head. For example, I have a finished quilt top that isn't a quilt yet. I have a half-pieced quilt for Mal. I have multiple cardboard looms with half-finished friendship bracelets. If I have somewhere to share that and post about it, I'll more likely want to finish it. Right? HA. I can hope.

5. I want to have fun.

Not sure that one requires clarification.

Also, I'd love to have some weekly themes, like "mama monday" or "thoughts thursday." Hey. I think I just came up with my first two weekly things. That was easy. (winky face)
Well, this was fun. Let's do this again real soon.

Remember. Live intentionally.
blessings, sgym

026: The Mother of Reinvention.

New header. New layout. Big thanks to my sister for the photo. Huge thanks to irocksowhat for sharing her artsy goodness with the world, AKA for the banner image in my header. Guess what, she rocks.

current thoughts:

blessings, sgym

025: Perseverance.

I can't stick with nothin'. Can I get a heyyyyy on that.

 Quick catch up:

 My family expanded! (by two feet! get it?)

This is Mal. He's basically the cutest ever.

On IG? Search the #littlemanMal hashtag. You'll see what I mean.

 He's cute, but he's fussing. That means no more computer time for mama.

 I'm coming back to this. For reals. (Haha. I think I said that last time...)

 sgym

024: I've Had an Idea...

Every time I'm skimming through Etsy or soaking in my favorite design blog, I start to wonder... "Could I do that?" When I walked through Pier1 last month, I saw a pillow with a lattice rick-rack pattern on it. It was almost $30 and a shade of brown that kind of made me cringe. Again, I asked myself "...Could I make this?" And without a doubt, my answer was... YES.

So, I really think I can satisfy my cravings for crafting and desire for DIY projects by seeing if, well, if I can do what I see! Now, I'm not trying to take over other people's business niches or cut into their reader base. No no no. If I make anything I'm not going to use myself, I'll probably give it as a gift to someone anyways.

But there are TONS of crafty people out there sharing how they pieced this quilt, what technique they used to antique this thrift-store find dresser, or the exact steps to their great-granny's cookie recipe. If they share it... why can't I try it? Why can't I tell YOU about it? Plus, it's more exposure for these awesome websites that truly inspire me every day. I obsessively follow and read them. While imitation is the highest form of flattery, I'm not everrrrrr trying to steal from these talented people.

I'm just curious... Could I do that too?

blessings, sgym

023: No, Let Me Sum Up...

To try and call the past few months "busy" would be an understatement. There was a trip to Nashville, Cage taking test after test, the holidays, over 50 hours spent in the car, and nearly running out of money more than once. Needless to say, it was a very exciting time. And, exciting times sometimes pull me away from blogging at all. I'd love to write more often, but I'm afraid my life is just going to get even MORE busy. It looks like we're moving back to Nashville in early March. We still have NO idea where we're going to live, but we're putting it in God's hands while diligently searching for apartment complexes that would be equidistant from Cage's work and the church we'd like to attend. They're about an hour apart, so living half-way between them would be very good for us. Since that's the Brentwood/Franklin area... we're pretty much out of luck. This is why we don't rely on luck but the goodness of our Lord, hallejuah and amen. Haha, I'm having to hold a mini-church service over this issue because it's seriously stressing me out. So, what else is coming up for us? Uhhhhhhh... Birthdays! Cage and I are turning 24 on Feb 22 and Mar 6th, respectively. I've been working out under an incentive program here at the base in Biloxi. Basically I'm working out 4 days or 5 days a week from Jan 13th to Feb 28th. I don't think I'll win any prizes, but I lost 3 lbs in the first week and 2 inches in my waist by the second week. Soooo, maybe it's working? My goal is less to lose weight and more to get in shape. I want to be able to walk up a flight of stairs (or two) and NOT be so winded I'm having to sit down and rest for 10 minutes. Lots of pictures from the holidays and other adventures are sure to come. I've just got to upload them and then I'll get them to ya, no worries.

So yeah. Laundry is calling out my name.

blessings, sgym