It's 8:09 p.m. Sunday night as I start this post. It's been a month since I last wrote to you all, and it seems like that was yesterday. Or maybe the day before yesterday, but certainly not four-plus weeks ago. As I was sitting in the living room this afternoon talking with a good friend that we refer to as Grammy Carolyn, she said, "Well, you must be busy because you haven't been writing..." I started thinking about that word: Busy. We say it a lot at my workplace and it has sort of lost its meaning for me. The dictionary states that busy as an adjective means: having a great deal to do. I have an overwhelming amount to do most days. I know this won't compare to some people, but I did six loads of laundry last Saturday. That's after having done laundry thru the week. I don't save it up. How did I have enough for SIX loads of laundry? And then believe it or not, by the following Monday I had another load in the wash. And that's just the laundry. Busy. I have three babies. All under the age of four. Some of you are in that boat. Some of you may wish you were in that boat and some of you are glad you are out of that boat! We are busy laughing and playing and learning and enjoying this thing call life. Today Emory was dedicated in our church service. As I was thinking about him and his dedication, my biggest prayer for him, after the prayer of him coming to know the Lord Jesus Christ as his Savior one day, is that he loves and lives his life to the fullest. I hope that he is full of the joy and happiness that his sweet face radiates each and every day currently. And I hope that he is a joy to those who know him. So as I sit here at 8:21 now, thinking back on all the wildness that this crazy, busy weekend has entailed...I hope to share it all with y'all in the coming days. And that I'm not so busy that I can't sit down, before another four weeks pass, and tell y'all about all the great things going on in our home and in our world. I hope you … [Read more...]
Going Back To Work :: Week 1
Last week was my first week back "at the grind" of my j-o-b. And so many of you have asked how it was... It was great. It was crazy. It was fast. It was exhausting. It was smooth. It was everything I thought it would be....and more. Y'all. I really do love my job. I love that my kids are WELL taken care of at their daycare. They love it. They thrive there. And let's just face it, if they were home with me all day, we would all look like hot messes and they would be dumb as bricks! :) I'm just honest about my capabilities, or lack thereof... God didn't make me to be a stay-at-home mom. I admire you sweet women who have the love, the grace and the PATIENCE to stay home with your sweet babies. But that's not for me. Nope. The Lord gave me an amazing job at an incredible company, and I get to work with the best people in the world (though sometimes crazy!) all day long. And I love it. So, while it was tiring and yes I fell asleep on the couch at 8:20 p.m. Thursday night, it was wonderful to be back. The funny thing was, all ten weeks I was at home with Emory I don't think anyone ever got sick. Day one of going back to work, Eliza Jane woke up with a temp of 102. Daddy got to stay home with her! Thankfully she got over it quickly and was back to school on Wednesday. I haven't had to drop all three off at daycare by myself yet...but that day will come so pray for no melt-downs when it does! So here's to week 2 and feeling great about it at the end of it (ha!). A couple of pictures from last week...the first most of you have probably seen - I was greeted with 150+ balloons in my office last Monday morning when I opened my office door! And the second of all three of my bald babies with their Grammy blankets on my desk! {L→R: Emory, Reynolds, Eliza Jane. We didn't get the bucket picture with Emory because our photographer sold her bucket :( } Thanks for your notes of encouragement, your love … [Read more...]
Parenting Is Hard :: Frightful Threes
Some of you who saw the title of this post either sighed and said, "heck yes it is" and others of you may have laughed and said, "just wait...". A few weeks ago I posted something on my Facebook wall about how parenting can be so challenging and how I just wanted to crawl in the bed and suck my thumb... And yes, me with my three kids under four...I'm getting mine. Whatever it was I did to my parents as a kid, is coming back ten-fold. Or whatever it was Andrew did to his parents... That's probably the more accurate statement. {Love you, babe! haha} I love our kids. All of them. Each of them individually. But y'all with kids, you know there are some really hard days. REALLY. Hard. Days. And the "terrible twos" is a joke. I'm going to go with the "Frightful Threes". And honestly so many friends told me that the age of three was much more challenging than the twos. I'm siding with them. To those of you who dealt with the drama, the screaming and fit-pitching at two, lucky you because it came and went sooner. At three, it's been building since like 18 months. What is this behavior. And I don't want this post to be all about how terrible our kid is because he's honestly not a bad kid. He's got the kindest, sweetest heart and he is simply wonderful. Like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, one moment he's great - playing with his sister, kissing his brother, being just the sweetest kid and then like the flip of a switch, someone does or says something {or he's told "no"}, and he goes completely bizurk! That's when the challenge starts. Disciplining him in a way that is loving but firm; That doesn't break his spirit but shows him that we mean what we say. I had lunch with a friend last week, who has a son the same age as Reynolds. I sat down and my opening question to her was, "Does ___ act like a lunatic at times?!" Because we'd had two - what I call - episodes - in the last 12 hours, and it's completely exhausting emotionally, … [Read more...]
On Writing Thank You Notes…
First of all, I really should own a stationery store or company with all the excitement I have regarding notes and letters and pretty papers. The other day I got a sweet email from someone asking if Reynolds has learned to write a thank you note. Sadly, he has not, but he'll scribble his name or trace his hand on a birthday card so that counts for something, right?! {We're getting there...} That email did get me thinking about the fact that I have not written thank you notes just yet for all the Christmas gifts we received {sigh...} and I can't believe that January is half-way over so I've got to get on them...fast! So where do you go for help to write your thank you notes? I'm not the most creative person when it comes to writing {or anything else} so sometimes I need a little inspiration. Well, lucky for us, Gifts.com has created a helpful guide to inspire us all. It provides tips and examples on how to properly write a thank you note, including some do's and don'ts to make our friends and family members feel appreciated. It really is terrific! Now go get your stationary, I'll get mine!, and let's get writing! Don't worry about being too formal, a thank you will always put a smile on anyone's face! If you're in need of Thank You notes or stationery, check out my last post about Basic Invite or check out the link below! Happy writing! … [Read more...]
Reflections On Maternity Leave :: Things I’ll Miss
As my maternity leave is winding down {I go back to work in less than two weeks!}, I've been thinking about all the things I will miss about this time that I've had not working...being in our home with sweet Emory. Aside from the sweet smiles and snuggles with Emory, of course, there are so many daily things that will be missed, starting with watching the Today show. I have been watching the Today show since my days at Berry College and being able to tune in every morning has taken me back to yesteryear. I'm going to miss Kathie Lee and Hoda's Boozeday Tuesday and Winesday Wednesday, etc. I'll miss Live With Kelly and whomever she has on with her that day. I'm going to miss reruns of Fixer Upper, Property Brothers and Home Improvement {that show is so much more funny now that I'm older!}. I'm going to miss long walks outside {since the weather has been so amazing here lately}. I'm going to miss having the laundry caught up... I'm going to miss having time to read. I'm going to miss going to the grocery store, un-rushed. I'm going to miss having supper cooked and ready to eat by 6 p.m. I'm going to miss having the house picked up, most days. I'm going to miss the calm and quiet moments. The lunches and visits with friends. I'm going to miss the feeling or perception that there is order in the world of our home. {Mind you, it is not totally organized or "finished".} That's not a finite list and there is a lot that I will miss...but I'm looking forward to getting back to our "normal" however non-normal it may seem at times! For the next twelve days I've got some major things to accomplish - starting with painting the closet in R's new bedroom and then installing a closet organizer...should be fun! I'll share pictures when it's done! I hope you're having a great week! … [Read more...]
Welcoming Emory
Our sweet Emory is now a month old! And it's about time I shared with you his birth story. Some of you know that we went in for our check on November 9th and were told that he was "a big baby" and our doctor recommended a growth check for the following week's appointment. On Wednesday November 16th we had an ultrasound done and he was weighing in at 7lb 2oz. That part was fine. What the doctor wasn't as comfortable with was the fluid in his little kidneys. Since the first ultrasound where we found out that "Almond" was a boy, we knew there was fluid in his kidneys. Something we were told was "typical of little boys" and to not be worried about it. Well, in this ultrasound, his left kidney seemed to be holding more fluid than it should. We found that out when sweet Dr. Wilcox walked into my room and promptly said, "Well! We need to get this baby out! Tomorrow or Friday?!" You see, they were only comfortable with about 1 cm of fluid in those kidneys and his left was well over that limit. This was her way of saying it's time. Huh!!!? I'm sure she loved the stupid /stumped look on my face. Say What? Excuse me, "M'am?!" I think Andrew and I laughed nervously a little. And then I said something really dumb like, "This literally is the busiest weekend of our lives!" Of course, she inquired. Thursday we had our annual oyster roast. Friday night was our annual Festival of Trees, of which I had ordered a GORGEOUS dress from rent the runway...and also Andrew was to be a greeter for an hour... Saturday the Lucas men were planning to go the USC football game. Sunday was to be our anniversary. Monday night we also had a dinner to attend. So you see, the timing here was not perfect. Ha. Is it ever? So we contemplated. Andrew even asked if we could wait until Monday to induce. She stated she would go check the schedule and let us talk while she left the room. We both sort of stared at each other. And … [Read more...]
Our Sixth Anniversary
Sometimes it's hard for me to believe that Andrew and I have only been married six years now. Other, rarer times, it seems like we just got married and then all these kids appeared out of nowhere. Yesterday was our sixth anniversary, and while the time has been short but long, it's been a wonderful six years. Of course we've had our growing pains, and learning about each others' buttons, but there has been more joy and laughter in these six years than so many more before them. So in preparing for our anniversary, knowing that the potential of our 3rd child being born at any moment around the date, I had to start working on Andrew's gift early. I don't know about you, but we're the type that like to know what the gift idea or traditional gift options are...Hallmark has a great anniversary gift resource in case you need one. Year six is iron. IRON?! You may say to yourself....yes, iron. As I contemplated what to get Andrew, a friend had some suggestions: a golf club - an "iron" if you will. A new grill? Some kind of sign? I was feeling a little clueless. Then Andrew and I had lunch together one day {it must have been a blue moon...} and talked about our anniversary and potential gifts. He told me that Pinterest offered 1,000+ ideas for your sixth anniversary where iron is the traditional gift. I found a really cute, funny card...Thanks for being my Iron Man it said...so I followed the link to Etsy and purchased it! Then I found a cheeky little gift via ScoutMob My husband loves his one scoop of ice cream at night, often just a little spoon full so this was perfect! The last of the items on this little gift list is one that I think is amazing. The guy who makes these tools used to have a son at our daycare and as the world of social media goes, I found out about his website, Wildlife Workshop Fire Tools. So I inquired about a grill spatula... and yes, it's monogrammed... Aside from these gifts, I also gave him a new … [Read more...]
- « Previous Page
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- …
- 30
- Next Page »