Take 3 or 4 I'm not sure but, I'm here again!

Clearly it's been awhile since I have posted. Boy has life been changing a lot around here again. We are now expecting baby #2! And along with that has been some SERIOUS morning sickness. I've been exhausted and super sick. It is tough keeping up with everything when you feel like poo. My poor house is showing it too. Toys, laundry, dishes...it's all just out there waiting to be cleaned and picked up...
Dear morning sickness please give me a break soon!

Anyway I'm 13 weeks along and really wondering if we are expecting a boy. This pregnancy is so different from my first one it's overwhelming a bit! I have no clue what to expect, haha!

Lucy is getting huge and it's exciting and scary. I'm loving my big girl but missing my snugly baby. Such a weird mix of emotions! We are soon going to start potty training and getting rid of the beloved pacifier. Dear Lord, help us through those rough nights!

I'm going to start watching another little one soon baby M is 9 months and I will be watching him 3 days a week! Toddler B is 2 and loves playing with Lucy every day! I feel blessed to get to be in their lives but boy they are tiny little hurricanes of destruction every day, haha! Clean play and repeat. That's my life these days. I will however soon begin the process of getting my in home daycare license , which I'm very excited about! Yay for rediscovering your path in life! There are days I miss being a youth pastor but I would never trade it for having a chance to be in my kids lives more! I'm blessed!!

So there's my life for now. Why am I back to blogging? 1. Because I need something to help me stay focused on the world aside from toddlers! 2. I need a better schedule and minor accountability. I feel like I go through the motions every day and I need some stability to keep focused. 3. I need to feel like I have people to talk to besides babies and toddlers! (love them but, they aren't great conversationalists sometimes, haha!)

So come on moms talk to me! What are your potty training tips? How do you balance adult life with toddler/baby life? Any good devotionals you are reading? I'm starting to work through Liz Curtis Higgs "Bad Girls of the Bible." hoping it's as good as it looked! Now I'm off to tackle vacation laundry and pick up piles of scattered toys!

Kitchen!

Here's Lucy's finished kitchen! I'm pretty pumped about it (and secretly hoping she loves it!) thanks to my wonderful husband for helping install the sink (aka:bowl) and faucet! I'm proud to say I sewed the curtain myself!
Now here's a before reminder followed by the lovely after! (I know, I'm slightly biased!)

Kitchen- part 1!

Oh it's been a busy busy week! My house has been heaving one huge sigh of relief as I have finally finished some of my long overdue projects/deep cleaning. Seriously the garbage guys are going to think we are purging. Goodbye magazines we never read!(and all that other junk that's been piling up...seriously I threw away about five boxes from old cell phones, cameras, and other fun techie stuff we have gone through. Not that I wanted to keep them in the first place but I just forgot I stashed them and then never looked there for about three years....I know it's pathetic!)

Aside from some pretty hefty cleaning I have just been enjoying staying home with Lucy. I have do much relief to be able to be part of her life and enjoy these moments with her. I feel so lucky and blessed for this opportunity! It's amazing what I can accomplish while that girl naps!

Anyway, I'm super pumped because Tyler got step one of Lucy's play kitchen finished! Yes! The "sink" aka: metal bowl and $10 cheapo Walmart faucet have now been installed! Yes! This means the painting and sewing can officially begin!
My current dilemma is now should
I paint it all white and just use pops of color with accessories or should I infuse more character into it? Honestly I'm leaning toward going all white with some light distressing. And since I'm trying to keep this project super cheap cost wise I'm wanting to use paint I already have...
Which I have: Russian white which is a creamy white/barely tan color (main wall color in my house), burgundy (from my living room if you look at past fire place pics I have posted), and a grayish brown color that I used in my bathroom and a hallway.
So here's what I have so far if you have thoughts or suggestions about paint I would love the input!

My First Full Week

Well in a couple of days I will have reached the mark of having been a stay-at-home-mom for one week! My house may not look any cleaner but, my desk, pantry, end tables and all the hidden storage spots are heaving a sigh of relief. Seriously, you might not see a difference but, boy the garbage man sure will, haha!
I start opening my doors next week to take care of a couple other kids so I'm trying to get all the nitty gritty stuff done this week...all while Lucy naps of course!

I can't even begin to say how grateful I already am to be able to have this time with my daughter. My level of stress has dropped astronomically and my general sense if relief is just wonderful. I love spending mornings snuggling and watching cartoons, playing, hearing her giggle echo throughout the house!
I wake up feeling relieved that I don't have to worry about missing more time with her...
My house might not look perfect but there's always going to be something baking in our home and memories being made. And, to me...that's much more important than dusting.
I will say though it has been a major test of my discipline. I could easily nap or read all afternoon but I want to keep up on things and not get overwhelmed at my messy house.
Now, to make up a weekly cleaning schedule to get a good routine going and make a menu board/binder so I can start keeping track of our favorite recipes!
So far, I am loving full time wife-mommyhood! (I think Lucy is loving it too!)
Here's a pic of Lucy and I on mothers day playing on the slide at my in-laws!

Please and Thank You!

Hi. My name is Stefanie and I am the mother of a very stubborn 18 month old girl. She REFUSES to do anything other than scream when she wants something. Oh the girl can talk and does she just prefers to scream. Please oh please fellow patents have you experienced this if so, how did you get it to change?!

Your favorite toddler things!

Since I will soon be able to stay home with Lucy I have been building a list of all the fun random things I want to do with her. I want her childhood to be filled with everything from lazy rainy days to she's-had-so-much-fun-she-can't-stay-awake days!

So here is my question for you... What are some of your favorite toddler(ish) activities that you suggest we try out?

After all I want her to grow up knowing summers are fun, for adventures and for growing her imagination!

Book Review- 'Have a New Husband by Friday' by Kevin Leman- Part 1

Did you know amazon.com gives away free books? Well they do and sometimes they are really good ones!

Anyway, I was looking around one day at their free books and this one was offered so I figured hey, why not even if it sucks maybe I can learn something!

I've so far read about half of it and there is a few major points that I have had to remind myself of that I really appreciated being reminded of...
The first is what I wanted to share today... "here's the catch- your husband won't do his part until you do."

Okay, I know this concept won't be appreciated by everyone but, this is what it had been reminding me...
I can't expect anything from my husband if I'm not willing to give also. It's that vicious cycle that if I don't respect him he won't respect/love me.
I can keep us stuck in a vicious cycle or I can just step up and honor him.
Don't get me wrong I try very hard to respect/love him and we work very well together but as every couple does we do have some moments...
Since i will be a stay at home mom soon I know that I need to work even harder to show him my respect and appreciation. He will be the main bread winner and I need to express my appreciation for the money he brings home, the house we share, the time we spend together. I want him to know that I don't take for granted how hard he works to provide for our family.
I may not always like/agree with my husband but I know he deserves to be respected and appreciated and instead of being upset about something I will intentionally begin looking for more ways to praise him...after all I want him to know that I am and always will be his biggest cheerleader and supporter!
I am so very grateful for the gift that he is in my life. God had truly blessed me with my husband and I hope and pray that I daily I have the courage to treat my husband as the gift he is.
Anyway that's part one of the review! Have you read this book if so what did you think?