a brighter yellow

Thursday, February 9, 2012

Pinspired--- The Vow Edition

Tomorrow night I'm going to see The Vow. This is what I have to say about it.

Source: Uploaded by user via Jenn on Pinterest

;)

Link up what you're Pinspired by this week!

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Our Love Story

Becky over at From Mrs. to Mama is hosting a link-up for everyone to share their love story. One of the questions I got recently is about how Nathan & I met, so I thought I'd join in the fun. Also, my young 25 year old self has been with my man for a long freaking time, so I have lots to share. :)

1. How long have you and your significant other been together?

Nathan & I started dating in October of 2003.

2. How did you meet? {What's your "love" story?}

Nathan was a Senior in High School when I was a Sophomore. I remember seeing him walking down the hall holding hands with one of my friends he was dating, and thinking he was SO hot. I'd known this girl forever, but we weren't close friends any more, so I didn't know if they were serious or what, but from then on I had a crush on him. I'm pretty sure he didn't know I was alive. We also worked together at Hy-Vee (the grocery store) and I found myself getting butterflies when I would see him at work, but we never really talked. One day we had our lunch break at the same time and we were the only two in the break room, so I tried to strike up conversation, but he acted like a jerk and didn't say much.

Fast forward to my Junior year and Nathan was away at college, or so I thought, but I found out that one of my really good friends was sort of dating him. I say sort of because really he was coming to town every weekend to hang out with her, but she wasn't interested in him at all. So, I told her that I was and I was going to tell him that she wasn't interested and I was. She was relieved (I think) because she couldn't figure out how to let Nathan know she wasn't interested without hurting his feelings. So, I did it...over MSN messenger. Ha! Mature, I know. I just told him that she didn't like him, and that I did if he ever wanted to go out. I don't remember how long it took for everything to transpire, but we talked for awhile without him ever asking me out. I had finally decided he wasn't going to ask me out, and I was a Senior so I was just going to forget about boys and have fun. (Forget about boys sounds so silly now seeing as I NEVER HAD A BOYFRIEND, but whatever.) As soon as I decided I was not going to date anyone my Senior year, Nathan finally asked me out, but I told him no. I thought we were too different to date, but Nathan kept asking. I think it was the third or fourth time he asked me out I decided I'd give him a chance. We went on our first date to dinner and a movie, and we both knew that it was something special. We have a mutual close friend, and we both talked to her individually without the other one knowing after our first date and said we were going to get married.

That first date was in October of 2003, and only a few weeks later we found out that Nathan would be deploying at the end of December. BAM. Things were serious. We spent almost every minute together that we possibly could before Nathan left in December. Nathan came home for leave in May 2004 for my High School graduation, and then again in November 2004 for Thanksgiving, and we got engaged. He was home from deployment in March 2005, and we were married in July 2005.

3. If married, how long have you been married? If not, is this the guy you hope to marry? {do tell}

We were married on July 9, 2005, so that puts us at about 6 1/2 years of wedded bliss.

4. If you are married, where did you get married at? Big or small wedding? If not, where would you like to get married? And will it be big or small?

We got married at our home church in our hometown. It was a big wedding by attendance standards, because we both have big families, but it was pretty simple. We had a traditional wedding at the church, and it was followed by a cake and punch reception in the church fellowship hall. No dinner and drinking reception, because I was only 19! :)

(picture of a picture- sorry!)

5. Do you have any nick-names that you call one another? Do share!

We call each other the typical babe, sweetie, honey, but I also like to call him fatty...it's sarcasm obviously because he's a bean pole.

6. Name 3 things you love most about your honey.

He is such a man of integrity and honor. He loves the Lord and his family with all of his heart, and has made the sacrifices to prove that. He's also hilarious.

7. Tell us how he proposed? Or your ideal proposal?

Because of him being deployed, we'd already discussed the fact that we would be getting engaged when he came home on leave, because we had a wedding to plan! :) The entire time he was home I kept wondering how and when he was going to propose, and of course he kept me waiting. There was a big element of surprise because I didn't pick out my engagement ring at all. I just told him I wanted it to be white gold. While he was gone he sent me some "idea" pictures of rings he was looking at, and they were horrible, and just not me at all, so I was having some panic. Anyway, he later told me he had been so worried about how to surprise me. We were babysitting our best friends' little boy one day, and when Carson laid down for a nap, I fell asleep on the couch. I woke up to a knock on the door. I didn't even have time to realize Nathan was gone. I opened the door and he was down on one knee. It was perfect, and my ring was PERFECT. Simple and classy.

8. Is he a flowers and teddy bear kind of guy for v-day, or strawberries, champagne, and rose petals?

He normally gives me a card with really sweet words handwritten in it, and honestly that's better than the other junk. He knows I'd rather receive flowers any other day of the year, and he's pretty good about doing that for me. For Valentine's day I'd rather just get a gift of something I want...like a new shirt or something. He knows me well and normally lives up to the pressure. :)

9. Are you a sunset dinner on the beach kind of girl, or pop a movie in and relax on the couch?

Sunset dinner on the beach sounds amazing, but since the closest beach to us involves a muddy river, we actually spend a lot more time hanging out on the couch watching movies, football or TV shows. I also like to school him at Phase 10.

10. Tell us one thing you'd like to do with your significant one day. If you could do anything? Go anywhere?

I hope we have the opportunity to travel more in the future...there are a lot of places I want to go with Nathan. Europe, Hawaii, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter... :) We're big nerds.

11. Tell us what you plan on doing on this Valentine's Day.

Since Nate is gone I'll probably try to do something fun & Valentine-ish with the boys. I'm hoping when Nathan is home a few days later we might get to sneak off for a date.

12. Are you asking for anything this Valentine's day?

Nathan actually already sent the boys and I a package with cards and candy, but I did send him a little "wish list" on e-mail of affordable items I'd like to have from the Pleated Poppy and Allora Handmade, but right now we don't have a lot of slush fund, so I'm happy with just the fact that he'll be home a few days after V-day.

13. Give us one piece of advice of keeping a relationship strong and full of love.

I think the most important thing Nathan & I have learned is that our relationship comes before other relationships in our lives, but second to our relationships with God. Especially as parents of young children it's SO easy to put your marriage on the back burner, but that's a huge mistake. Also, we believe by building a strong marriage, we are doing a service to our children. Growing up in a happy home with married parents is the best gift we can give our children.

14. Show us a picture of what love means to you.

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Pinspired--- Toddler Bed Edition

When Deacon was born I had every intention of being out of this house before Manning got out of a crib...

and God laughed. Looks like it might be happening sooner than later. I think Deacon needs more room for sleeping (poor buddy is still in his pack and play) and I don't see the point in buying an additional crib at this point. I mostly think toddler beds are silly, but because buying a crib mattress is way cheaper than buying a twin or full bed that M's room REALLY doesn't have room for, I think we need to get him in a toddler bed & move the crib to our room for Deacon.

Anyway, I saw this toddler bed on Pinterest & thought it'd be perfect. It's cheap, adorable, and goes well with Manning's decor. The only problem is finding someone to make it for me. Can someone please give my dad the link to this blog post? ;)

Source: loridanelle.blogspot.com via Laura on Pinterest

Isn't it cute? Hopefully Manning has his own...soon!

Link up with me. PLEASE don't forget to link back to me in your post, and to include my Pinspired banner.

So What! Wednesday

One of my bloggy besties has a link-up every Wednesday called So What! Wednesday. For some reason I can never seem to get a post put together on Wednesdays to join in, but today, I'm in a So What! kind of mood, so it's happening.

So What if I bribed Manning with a chocolate chip cookie AND a package of M&Ms to get through the grocery store, Mama needed to shop!
So What if I spent $150 on groceries when I only wanted to spend $100! Groceries are expensive...and organic milk at $7 a gallon doesn't help. Seriously, we think gas is expensive!? Milk is the real rip-off!
So What if I made it all the way through January without buying a single frivolous item. I still felt broke the entire month. Months with five weekends are AWFUL.
So What if Valentine's Day is coming up? My sweet husband will be 1800 miles away and that sucks.
So What if I finally decided to give cloth diapering a try? That doesn't make me crunchy. I'm still a formula-feeding, c-section loving, TV watching, candy feeding mama.
So What if I'm more excited for Deacon's upcoming birthday party than I am for my own birthday? Birthdays as an adult suck, often go unnoticed and the birthday money goes to bills anyway.
So what if these are obnoxious and I spend most days in pajama pants or sweats? I LOVE these pink jeans, and I WILL own them...and wouldn't they be SO perfect with a lacy looking top and nude flats? I'm on the hunt for a cheapie lace top.

What are you saying So What! to this week? Link up with my friend Shannon!

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Mean Girls

When I was a Senior in High School a movie came out called Mean Girls starring Lindsay Lohan. While I'm sure almost all of you have seen it, maybe a few haven't. To sum it up as quickly as possible, Mean Girls was a satirical look at how girls in high school can and do treat each other. While it was hilarious to see the "popular" girl gaining weight because of being manipulated by those below her, it was also a sad look at how girls treat each other. I graduated that year, and I got married the next, and I kind of thought I'd moved on from the Mean Girl phase in life...

and then I started a career...and I started blogging...and I became a mom...and I realized that it never really ends. When a former co-worker decided she had a problem with me and sought to create a rift between me and all of the other girls at our bank branch...to seeing women all over blog land play this awful game of being sugar sweet to someone's face and bad mouthing her behind her back. I'm guilty too. For me, it stems from being a people pleaser. Even when there is a girl that I don't care for, it still tears me up when she doesn't like me. It's not something I'm proud of...I'm just being honest. For some girls it stems from insecurity. Insecurity in their parenting abilities, so they tear other moms down. Insecurity in their life decisions, so they tear people down who've made different choices.

Here's the thing...it is a vicious cycle. As I saw another insult fly across twitter, I was tempted to start heytelling with one of my friends about how hurt my feelings were, but I realized...the solution begins with me. I know, cheesy cheeseball cheese, but it is so true. I can't control the actions of anyone but myself. But maybe...maybe if we all started to be aware of our actions and put effort into controlling our words and kindess, we could put an end to this Mean Gir