Michelle

So Long…July

July 31, 2017 by Michelle Filed Under: Life Leave a Comment

All the things I want to tell y’all about from this past month…it’s all rolled up into this one {potentially long} blog post!

Reading: Y’all know I’m not a reader. Well, prepare to be shocked because I currently have THREE books on my night-stand!!! I know you all just fell on the floor. Pick yourself back up and keep reading. Book #1: God is Able by Priscilla Shirer; Book #2: The Magnolia Story; Book #3: The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace. I am really hoping to get myself in gear so I can tell you more about each of these three as I finish them.

Playing: From looking back at all the photos I took this month it looks like we played at the lake, the pool, gymnastics, HiWire and various other places, including our new {remodeled!} library!

The kids got their first library cards a couple of weekends ago when our newly remodeled library opened back up!

Watching: Y’all know I don’t really watch t.v. I just can’t understand how everyone has so much more time than I do either… HOWEVER, I have been watching two hilarious shows, if I can catch them when they come on: Modern Housewife {I LOVE and adore Katie Mixon} and Speechless {Minnie Driver’s character is a kick @$$ mom and a little cooky…}

Trying: To read every night? :)

Cooking: This has gone to the back burner {haha}, especially for supper. We’re in a season where I am just a wee bit tired of killing myself to get a hot, fresh, homemade meal on the table. Maybe next month I’ll have a better report!

Eating: EMORY! Y’all – the sweet baby is gobbling up anything we put on his little tray! He loves just about anything and his little pincher-fingers are doing so great feeding himself. We are so proud and so excited for him {and us probably, if I’m honest..}

Emory had his first tasting of a From Scratch sticky bun this past Saturday – and LOVED it!

Drinking: Oh, I’ve joined the La Croix wagon….and it’s just lovely. What’s your favorite flavor??

Texting: There’s been a lot of texting over this month…from getting updates on a friend who is trying to finalize an adoption, to family group texts and all the daily in-betweens of ‘what’s for supper’ or ‘did you call your mom about next Tuesday?’ to Andrew – this is our primary form of communication.

Pinning: I just want to pin stuff all day long. But this has really gone into the category of ‘one day I’ll have time again for this, but not in the near future’ so I purposely pinned a few things for y’all so I would have an answer to this one. HA! This month was mostly food and closet organization {I wrote a post about our closet!} Check out any/all of my pins here.

Tweeting: Speaking of Modern Housewife, I tweeted a quote from the show the other night “Rich people are just normal people with boats” – it made me laugh out loud. I’m neither rich, nor do I have a boat so it was appropriate.

Going: Just get me on a plane to somewhere. Anywhere!

Loving: My husband. He’s just a good, good man.

Hating: The feeling of being inadequate. Y’all don’t get crazy on me and try to read all kinds of mess in that. I’m not trying to imply anything. All I’m saying is that there are occasions that I feel inadequate and I hate the way it makes me feel. Then I remember I have all things in Jesus. So there.

Discovering: Emory is discovering so much these days. I already told y’all about him eating, and it’s so fun to watch him discover more and more how to feed himself, and eat {he has no teeth}. He’s also pulling up on everything and I fear he will be walking so very soon…so he got his first pair of shoes this weekend!

Thinking: Y’all know thinking can get you into trouble so I’ll leave this one alone for now.

Feeling: This month has been chock-full of feelings from sadness, frustration, fear, anxiety, joy, gladness, exhaustion… From reading God is Able, I wrote down a list of things of what/how He’s able – combating all the negative emotions. It was a very good thing for me to do…you may want to try it too! Just grab a pen and paper and write ‘God is able…’ then list it out.

Hoping: a few specific things: 1. for my cousin to be completely healed of a medical issue he’s dealing with; 2. for our friends to get their adoption finalized sooner than currently expected {Lord, please show off!}; and 3. that Andrew doesn’t buy another house {hahahah…sigh}

Listening: So y’all know I have been running and I just can’t do music anymore. I know that sounds totally bizarre, but I was just getting so bored I had to switch to something that would engage me more than just a few minutes. I’ve turned to youtube. Now when I’m running I am either watching a show {like Seinfeld} or listening to a bible study {I know…the two are so VASTLY different}. This morning while I ran, I listened to Beth Moore’s talk from Passion 2017 – He is worth it. That was probably the easiest and by far blessed run I’ve had yet.

Celebrating: Eliza Jane turns three at the end of the month. Three, y’all. What on the planet earth. We are certainly going to be celebrating her!

Smelling: The magnolias were blooming earlier this month and they were sweet and warm and full of beautiful fragrance.

Ordering: I ordered three bathing suits this month. And I returned them all. Turns out I’m a mom with three kids…and I’m not 22 anymore.

Thanking: We did an exercise in a meeting at work recently, where we had to think of specific people who have impacted our lives. As I wrote down the names, the question asked of us was whether or not those people knew how they had influenced me… Sadly, two are no longer living, but the other three I hope to be able to put pen to paper and convey the thoughts that I’ve been toying with for some time now.

Considering: Do you ever feel like you’re considering so many things that you just can’t consider anything? There are so many things. Things that I believe at times I’m inadequate for/to accomplish and things I’m just afraid of even how to start. But nonetheless I’m still considering.

Starting: There are too many things already in process to think of starting something else.

Finishing: This post! On July 31st! I’m so proud of myself right now, I could squeal with delight!

I think this is a good representation of how we all feel at the end of this wonderful month!

Here’s to August…the eclipse and return of school! “I would send you a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils if I had your name and address…” – Joe Fox {You’ve Got Mail – the best movie ever}

So long, July!

much love,

What’s A Rug Pad For Anyway?

July 18, 2017 by Michelle Filed Under: Decorating/Remodeling Leave a Comment

Y’all there are just things in life that one doesn’t know about, even as an adult.

Rug pads are one of those things. I always felt like they were a money waster, and ‘do I really NEED one of those’?

Yes. Yes, I need one. I need four actually.

I have discovered that rug pads are good for several things, not to mention keeping said rug in place. They’re also great at preventing damage to your floor from all the dirt and debris that collects underneath. Also, if you have a fancy rug {read: expensive}, rug pads prolong the life, beauty and strength of your lovely rug.

Now that I’ve educated you, I have two runners in my upstairs hallway that drive me absolutely bonkers. Why? Because, between the kids and the husband, it’s always wonky. It never stays put. The same is for the rug in Eliza Jane’s room.

Well, was….the same for the rug in Eliza Jane’s room. Until I got her a rug pad.

Lucky for us I got an email from a Rep at RugPadUSA asking if we could work together so I jumped at the opportunity!

I measured Eliza Jane’s rug and sent him the measurements and within a week I received our new rug pad – we got the Superior Lock 1/4 pad.

The kids rolled around on the rug for almost an hour. We all talked about how ‘squishy’ sister’s rug now was. I may have hopped on it a few times.

When Andrew stepped on it for the first time that night, he looked perplexed and said, “why does this rug feel so amazing now?”

For several weeks he and I took turns commenting on how much nicer Eliza Jane’s rug was now that she had this great pad under it. {It’s still amazing, we just don’t comment to each other about it anymore…}

I will definitely be purchasing rug pads for the rest of the rugs in our house! And the great news is right now some of the pads are 20% off + Free Shipping! Woot! Check it out!

**This post was sponsored by Rug Pad USA**

My Closet Project

July 17, 2017 by Michelle Filed Under: Decorating/Remodeling 1 Comment

I really should put this as part one of probably 5…or maybe 10. Because if I’m honest, this is going to be a process.

Nothing’s as simple as just doing the one thing.

Like, buying drawers to add to a tower that you’ve had for 4 years.

No. No, you see, this started in my mind a few months ago. Then last week I slowly began chipping away at this ice berg.

Last Wednesday I took the afternoon off, to pack up the mounds of clothes that had collected in our bedroom. Clothes too small for Eliza Jane, too small for Reynolds, but not yet fitting Emory. Clothes that Andrew didn’t want any longer. A comforter {or two?}, an electric blanket that hadn’t been put away {it’s 90+ outside, but whatever}. A television {hello?} and other random things that either weren’t put away in their proper home place or were waiting to be put in that invisible bag that was making its way to Goodwill.

Within a matter of two hours or less I had purchased a few things on Lowes.com, I had bagged up the things that were going to be donated and I had packed up the things that needed to be moved into Emory’s closet for days that I choose not to think about now {2&3 years of age…}. The tv was moved to our bed – where it would NOT stay. The comforters had been sorted by size, and one was posted online to sell {and thankfully did sell within a day!}, the others put away for much colder days.

That was the start of this vision I had.

By Friday after noon, my next 1/2 day of working, 1/2 day of play, I was ready for all the things related to the closet. I went to Lowe’s to pick up my online order and I’ll spare you all the details, but I waited for 40 minutes…

Forty.Minutes.

Forty.

For them to find my order and bring it to me. Then. Then y’all, I went to Chic-Fil-A, the KING of fast food service. And I sat for another 20 minutes.

Y’all. I got myself a cookies ‘n cream milkshake for all that stress.

I lost an hour of what was going to be the most productive afternoon I’ve had with NO kids and no husband around. This time was like GOLD. Actually, it was much rarer than gold. What’s rarer than gold? {help me with this – it’s an actual question}

I got home and unloaded my boxes into the house. Sidebar – I am so strong right now. The guys at Lowe’s were impressed by my Sherah strength. I didn’t tell them I am constantly carrying around 30+ lbs of child-weight. Which, for those of you who have carried a half-conscious child at any point during nap- or bedtime knows that IS serious strength.

So between Friday & Saturday I built six drawers and one tower. I could put these things together with a blind fold over my eyes by the time it was over. Me and my screwdriver were good friends. So good that the palm of my hand was developing a small bruise. Andrew says to me Saturday afternoon “You know I have a drill.”

I may have cut my eyes at him. I was on drawer number 5. My screwdriver was good enough at that point.

So here we are with the closet now with two towers…and six drawers.

I’ve moved most of my things from a chest of drawers, that is soon to be added to Eliza Jane’s room since it’s part of her bedroom suite, into the drawers here. But now my challenge is to figure out what sort of storage to add to the shelves. This particular system isn’t set up to have drawers all the way up the tower, only half way.

I’ve always admired The Container Store and their chic options…something like this

But then I wonder what else might be out there. Do you know? Have you worked on or remodeled your closet? Help me please…I want something that hides all the belts, clutches and sports bras…

Thanks in advance!

Needing Jesus

July 2, 2017 by Michelle Filed Under: Being a Mom, Faith, Life, Marriage Leave a Comment

(Reader’s note: this was written originally last Monday, 6/26…but this is how long it takes me to finish things these days… ☹)

I always think it’s funny when something happens by “coincidence”.
I just happened to forget I wasn’t supposed to take a lunch today, and ran an errand to Trader Joe’s. Then I happened to run home to drop off all my goods, etc. and strolled around my house to see what the cleaning lady did while she was there this morning (it’s always fun to see how she reorganizes things!!).
Then I happened to get a notification that a sweet girl, that I’ve known from way-back-when, Jess Connolly, was doing a live video on Instagram.
And I happened to turn on my car’s blue tooth so I could listen in on her little video.

Jess’ husband worked in my office, what seems like, a million years ago. Back when he was this sweet guy dreaming of marrying this gorgeous gal named Jess.
Dreams do come true.

They have an amazing ministry…she’s killing it all over the place – praise be to Jesus alone, I know she would say.

So here I was in my car listening to her pouring out her heart about being “Expectant” about all things Jesus…which includes us as fallen humans and how we can be expectant to still need him and she said this one thing that I repeated over and over in my head until I got to a stop light and could email it to myself so I didn’t forget!
“What if..you still needed Jesus?”
She was recalling a conversation she had with a dear friend of hers from the other day, about all these things we plan out and set out as goals etc. And she said something like, But what if, at the end of all the planning and goal-setting that we still needed Jesus.
I sat there thinking, that’s mind-boggling to me. We DO need Jesus. But do we admit that in the every minute – every day?

What if, in your every day, everything, you still needed Jesus.
Instead of thinking, I’ve got this. I’ve got all these things to do in XXX time, or whatever, what if you still needed Jesus.
What about this moment, this day, this week…would be different?
What if you acknowledged that you still NEEDED Jesus. Needed Him like you need breath. Every moment of every hour.
“As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God.” The Psalmist says (Ps. 42:1).
What if that were true.
How would your thoughts be different.
How would your words be different.
How would your heart be different.

How would your hopes be different.
How would your perspective change.
Would you have more peace?
Would you have more joy?
Would you lay all the burdens down at the Savior’s feet and leave them there?
Would you, like Mary, sit. Still and quiet and wait to hear from Him?
Would you keep rushing around like Martha, trying to get all the things done, while harboring an attitude against those you love?
Would you still be holding that grudge against that friend that hurt you so many years ago?

I think it’s so easy for us to just get up every morning and get going that we forget we need him. I need him to be joyful. I need him to have grace and strength and patience with my kids, my husband and myself even. I need him to be KIND. I am a sinner. I am not even remotely in the same solar system as perfect, and therefore, I need Jesus. To be more like him so that others might slightly like me.

What if, you and I went to bed tonight resting in Jesus. Needing him.
What if, tomorrow morning, when we woke up, instead of grabbing the phone to see how many likes or messages we got during the middle of the night, or doing whatever thing you do when you first wake up…we said, “Hey Jesus. I need you. I NEED.You.”
And then we waited to hear from him.

What if we did that? I wonder how tomorrow might be different.

Something to think about on a Sunday night. Hugs for a sweet bedtime…hopefully the fireworks where you are aren’t too loud tonight…

A Mom Moment…

June 13, 2017 by Michelle Filed Under: Being a Mom 1 Comment

Kids know just how to punch you in the gut, don’t they?

I’m not talking about the “I hate you, get out of my life” drama that I PRAY hard we never deal with…

I’m talking about the bedtime, “No, MOMMA, I didn’t want YOU to put me to bed. I want DADDY!” drama.

It’s often Reynolds who gives me the boot out of his bed {and seemingly out of his heart…}. And I’m sort of okay with it, some nights. Whatever, he wants his dad. It’s a guy thing, sure. Okay. I can get on board with that.

But Eliza Jane…seriously. The girls need to stick together here. We’re outnumbered….she’s supposed to be on MY team right?!

Tonight was going along great, she got in her nightgown, hopped into the bed and {flip! the switch}, she lost it. She screamed that Mariah Carey scream {that makes my ears start to bleed}, shoved her face into the bed and burst into tears. I sat there completely unaware of anything that had just happened…. Bewildered beyond anything.

“MY NOT WANT YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! MY WANT MY DALLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

Seriously.

She punched me in the gut. The heart. I was shattered. She was so completely distraught that I was the one to sing her songs, pray her prayer and wipe those sweet curls out of her face to kiss her goodnight.

HE didn’t push you out of the smallest hole in his body and provide your sole nourishment the first four months of your life, but whatever. Fine. You can have him.

I’ll go sit on my favorite couch and drink a straw-berrita while eating a half-pint of icecream. I’m not hurt. I’ll be fine.

sniff.

I walked out of the banshee’s room and into Reynolds’ where the boys where having a lovely story time and recounted to “Dally” what had just happened.

“She wanted YOU, she just said it!” he stated, confused as I was. I’m pretty sure Reynolds laughed at the drama I had acted out for them.

“Well. She no longer wants ME, she wants YOU.” and I stood there with my pout-pout face on. And then I walked out.

And back into her room. I had debated going back in. She was still crying over Dally…

Somehow I got her pulled back from the proverbial cliff. She smiled and laughed at me…she told me she loved me with her tiny hands holding my face. She kissed me and said “night night momma, lus you” as I walked out the door and blew her a kiss.

I guess I did something right. My gut feels better…my heart no longer shattered. Maybe she does love me after all.

This was taken last week at the beach…the night we got caught in the rain!

Praying you feel loved by the crazy people in your life tonight…Sweet dreams friends…

The Blue Apron Meal…

May 22, 2017 by Michelle Filed Under: Being a Mom, Cooking, Food & Drink Leave a Comment

Finally! I am getting to this post! We are on week three of our Blue Apron meals (what?!?) and man, that time went by fast! I really wanted to share with y’all about Blue Apron because I know I was really curious so I figured if I was, someone else must be too…right?

Here’s some background info for you. We cook at least three, if not four nights a week and frankly, I have been getting bored with the same.ol.food and needed new options. Options that we like {read: flavor] and that my kids will eat {read: not be afraid to try}. We try not to eat out a lot because it really is so expensive and a lot less healthy… So when I finally bit the bullet to do Blue Apron, the cost was calculated out to be less than $9/portion {I purchase the 4-portion option}. For us a portion actually equals dinner for all of us plus at least one additional meal, be it lunch or supper for another day. With that in mind, the cost really comes out to be just under $7/portion, which isn’t so terrible.

Our first box arrived three Saturdays ago…and here’s how it went down…mostly in pictures.

You get this really great box

That tells you that cooking is happy…and in the process you get really happy/excited.

Then, you unload all the goods and get even more excited.

The first meal I chose to make, out of the two that came in our box, was the Crispy Catfish and Sweet Potato Fries. Now, I’m a Georgia girl and my PawPaw had a catfish pond in South Georgia so I grew up eating catfish. I grew up FISHING for catfish on hot Saturday afternoons…where you had to sit perfectly still and quiet. Do you know how hard it is to sit still and quiet as a child…? I have sweet memories of sitting on the bank of that pond fishing for what seemed like an eternity…to catch just enough fish so that we could fry them for supper.
So here I was taking my stroll down memory lane, and thinking that the only true, proper way to eat catfish is with honey… That’s how I grew up eating it!

There was no honey included in this recipe. We were trying something new. And I was still very excited.

I followed the instructions to a “T”, even using the same bowls that my pictures showed!

These sweet potato fries…man, was that a workout! I took a selfie that I will spare you, but it was of my “angry face” because these dang potatoes were so hard to cut through! That was not included in my recipe notes! Let it be known to you out there, who may be novices to cooking, sweet potatoes are hard…so get yourself a really sharp knife, and be careful in the cutting!

Along with the sweet potato fries was sauteed spinach that I had to mash out all of the liquid {which was kind of sinky…}.

But Y’all. This was SUCH a good meal. Simply delicious.

One Eliza Jane was so excited she could barely stand it!

A few things I learned:

My kids LOVED this meal.
You need to flip the sweet potato fries mid-way as they cook {else they’ll be charred a wee bit like mine}.
The 35-ish minutes they said it would take to cook the whole meal was slightly under the almost hour it took me…and I’m not sure if that was due to my lack of experience as a cook or the fact that maybe I wasn’t as organized as they were when they hit their start button.

Nonetheless….this meal really was delicious. The catfish was better than I thought it would be considering there was no honey involved at all. The sweet potato fries were simply amazing and yes, I’ll certainly make those again!

Has anyone tried Blue Apron and had success? What about any of the other food/meal delivery services? I’d love to know your favorites!

Oh, and if you’re interested in trying Blue Apron, shoot me a message and I’ll give you a code that gets you a free delivery! Woot!

Much love!

May 2017…so far

May 17, 2017 by Michelle Filed Under: Being a Mom, Life 1 Comment

Y’all…I have so much to write about. So many things I haven’t had a half-second to put down on paper {or type in a blank box} and I truly fear that I never will!!! So much I want to say and tell y’all!

But…tonight I’m just going to give some updates because it’s been a couple of months. In my favorite kind of fashion…here’s the latest with our Lucas clan.

Reading: Magnolia. It’s seriously the greatest magazine {in my little opinion} since Real Simple came out. It doesn’t help that I, along with the rest of the ship-lap-loving-world, am completely infatuated with Chip and Jo.

Playing: What all of my motherly dreams were made of…playing baseball in the front yard with my kids. Y’all! I remember so very fondly playing ball in the yard with my mom and my dad that I have just been waiting {patiently?!} for this day. And it happened just a week or so ago and has been a recurring thing since…and it’s just bliss.

Watching: Oh I could just watch these sweet babies for days and days, but apparently I’m not in reality! If I take my eyes of Emory for a millisecond, he’s rolled himself under a chair! But seriously…I love watching all three of these sweet kids. They absolutely adore each other and it’s the best seat to the most wonderful show…

Trying: I’m really trying to run. I don’t like running. I will walk for miles…and that’s just how I want to do it. In running there’s too much bouncing. My ponytail whacks me in the face. I get WAY too sweaty and I feel so gross afterwards. But I’m trying. I’m supposed to run a 5k on Saturday…we’ll see how that goes.

Cooking: OH! This is fun. And a future blog post to come…I have done a couple of Blue Apron meal orders! So I have a lot to say about that…and will leave you hanging here on this little cliff!

Eating: {see above comment…and I will leave you waiting to hear all the yummy details!}

Drinking: Straw-Ber-Ritas!!! The perfect little something at the end of a hot day.

Texting: My friend Meredith and I both got our new Ban.do agendas today (YAY!!) so we were texting each other about how great they are and how fabulous we are for getting the same amazing stuff!

Pinning: I feel like I’ve been pinning a lot of plants and flowers recently. I have been working on the shade bed in our back yard {it’s coming along quite lovely} and we recently had two trees and several dead azaleas taken out of the front yard so there’s a lot happening in the gardening department.

Tweeting: I think I like the idea of tweeting better than I do actually tweeting. I’m not one to share my every thought like the Donald… so as much as I’d like to be a hip tweeter, I just don’t think I am…?

Going: I love to go. I love to pack a bag and GO. We are going…in just a couple of weeks. We are going to the BEACH for a WEEK with ALL the KIDS. Y’all. Pray for us. haha. I’m kidding. It will be great. It will be fabulous. I seriously cannot wait.

Loving: So much. My husband. My kids. Amazing people who are just so incredibly self-less. I want to be more like them.

Hating: I hate spiders. I don’t like bugs. And I loathe mosquitoes. I’m starting to feel like I don’t really like summer because with warm weather comes all the things I don’t like. I don’t like sweating either…oh I think I already said that…

Discovering: I can’t really say that I am discovering anything new… But Emory is and it is SO fun to see and hear him figuring out these new things!!

Thinking: You know…it can be dangerous when you think…ha.

Hoping: I am hoping my husband reads this tonight and sees my hint about a quiet date night Friday night… yes, we have a sitter.

Listening: It’s actually quiet right now as I write this. The dishwasher is running, the monitor echos the white noise playing in Emory’s room… There’s nothing else causing a stir. Now…just five minutes ago Eliza Jane was screaming like a banshee because “my want you” for the 37th time tonight… But I guess she’s finally given up.

Celebrating: There’s always something worthy of celebrating, right? Last Friday Reynolds got his trophy for t-ball and last night Eliza Jane got her medal for completing a season of gymnastics!

And yes! We just celebrated Mother’s Day…and all the moms and being a mom. And I celebrated my sweet Momma in Heaven. I miss her something terrible, but I trust she’s having a blast up there with Jesus.

Smelling: Have you stopped to smell the roses recently? I did a walking meeting with a co-worker a few weeks ago and we found this amazing rose along our path…and of course we stopped and smelled it! I wish I could have bottled up the scent and passed it out with this photo!

Ordering: I need to order a swimsuit! Did you see the post I wrote for the Columbia SC Moms Blog? So many options! I’ve narrowed my choices and now I just need to swipe the card! I also need to check to see if the kids need new suits…

Starting: Oh there’s nothing to start…and no time to start anything!

Finishing: There’s a lot to be finished. Flower beds, laundry, ironing…all the things I’ve already shared including writing more blog posts!

I’ll save all of that for another day. I’m off to bed while the littles are sleeping.

I hope you have had a joyful May so far. If you haven’t celebrated anything today…look around and find something to be excited about. I trust you won’t have to look very far…