knowing vs. believing

My devotional this morning inspired this blog... and it also happens to be something I struggle with - constantly.

"Do we truly KNOW that God is in control and do we believe that at all times?" - that was the statement made in my Fearless devo on the You Version app on my phone. It focused on Matthew 14 - when Peter attempted to walk on water but lost faith and started sinking. "Oh ye of little faith..." - which is me through and through. Because I KNOW that God is in control and I KNOW His plans are greater than mine and I KNOW that He is faithful and loving and my constant... yet I don't always trust and believe this. I don't have a strong faith that helps me through trials struggles daily life. I tend to rely on my own self which is where all my troubles begin.

I'm challenging myself to stop worrying about everything and instead know that God promised to take care of them - finances (I did just quit my job... so $'s a little tight and I freak out easily!), future children, buying a house... all of these things are weighing heavily on my mind here lately, and I can easily get wrapped up in what I want rather than what God wants. I can easily stress myself out and get anxious and upset [which always results in taking it out on the Mr.]. So - while I know that I'll still worry, I'm going to try remind myself daily... that God is in control. :)

So that this munchkin can grow up having a faith that believes  God can and will move mountains...

Body Pump!

I'M GOING BACK TO THE GYM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My friend Maria talked me into trying out her gym (Ladies First) in July of 08... I did and was instantly hooked! I continued even when I found out I was pregnant in March of 09 and worked out 3-4 times a week throughout my entire pregnancy. Unfortunately that gym didn't offer child care at the time and since I worked, I chose not to leave her any more than necessary and stopped going in October of 09. It has been that long since I went to a gym. Oh. My. Word.  My husband swore I was a different person when I worked out. I relieved stress and anxiety and came home calmer and happier... poor guy hasn't been off the hook for a while, lol. :) Well it changes today.

This is me & my mama wayyy back in 09 when she came to visit... we were on our way to the gym! :) 

Maria is now teaching at a "new" gym in town- Kinetix - and their prices are super fair. They also have child care and let's face it - I'm taking full advantage of my "freedom" as a stay at home mommy... :) I am returning to the wonderful world of BodyPump, BodyStep, Zumba, and so much more tonight at 5:30. I have been so excited all day long!!!! I can just feel the stress and anxiety floating away - lol. I am so super excited to burn some calories, meet some new friends, have some "me" time, relieve some stress, and get in shape!

So... wish me luck. I have a crazy friend that is trying to talk me into going to a spinning class tomorrow at 9:30. :)

-K

This week's menu!

This post is mainly for my mama =)

Meal 1- Broccoli & Cheese Stuffed Chicken breasts with homemade mac & cheese (sister inspired)
Meal 2- Mexican Fiesta with a salad
Meal 3- Baked Ravioli, Garlic Bread, & a salad
Meal 4- Chicken & Rice in the Crock pot (pinterest fav!!!) with broccoli.

We are going to the in-laws this weekend so I don't have to cook Friday-Sunday! WOOHOO! :)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Meredith woke up yesterday acting kind of funny. We went to Panera for breakfast and she ended up laying in my lap - which is definitely not like her. We came home and she cuddled me on the couch for over an hour and had a temperature of 101. According to her nothing hurt. Well, except her fever, lol! I asked her over and over again if anything hurt & she finally said "yea... my fever hurts" [in a sad voice], lol. She ate lunch & napped well, but still had a fever when she woke up. Before bed it was nearly 102, but she ended up sleeping great all night. Today she is feverless, but we stayed home from church just in case. I would hate to think she has something and then pass it on... so Brentwood Church - we missed you and your Hogger's Games this morning, but can't wait to catch it on podcast!

Meredith wanted to lay on the floor..

She also wanted Daddy to cuddle her <3
{Please excuse the junk in the corner. It's going upstairs}

Lastly... Billy found a new app on his phone... and we had a little fun with it. FREAKY! {Oldify}

That's all! Have a great rest of the weekend!

~K

Yogurt & Turkey Burgers.

I have found 2 new loves. <3 Yogurt & Turkey Burger(s).

I always want to eat yogurt, but because of my quirks with the stuff it's hard to find something I like. I can't stand fruit chunks in it. I also don't like plain (flavored) yogurt... and lastly I find it pointless to eat it if it's full of sugar (ie: trix yogurt, lol). So when I found yoplait's greek yogurt in honey vanilla flavor I decided to give it a whirl and OMG I'm glad I did. I love it!!! It's super yummy with a banana or all by itself. Gahh!

Our friends, Donna & Phil, invited us over for dinner one night and grilled these Butterball Sweet Onion flavored turkey burgers. I was skeptical at first [and I know the Mr. was] but they were so good. So good that we went out and bought them a few nights later... and they've basically been a weekend tradition ever since. I've tried different toppings on them to change things up and my favorite combe is spinach, avocado & tomato with a little bit of ketchup. I could eat these things daily. Yummmm....

Now that I'm hungry I'm going to go make an Isagenix shake for a late lunch. :)

~K



Cleaning Schedules...

Some people have work out schedules... some people have play date schedules... I have a cleaning schedule. :)
Monday- Kitchen
Tuesday- Living Room
Wednesday- Our Bedroom
Thursday- Meredith's Bedroom
Friday- All Bathrooms
Saturday & Sunday- Meal Plan & Relax. :)
I have a detailed list of what needs to be done in each room posted on my fridge and I stick to it nearly every week. I like knowing what needs to be done and I LOVE having a clean house. I have a few things that are done on a daily basis [1 load of laundry, unload/reload the dishwasher, wipe off kitchen counters, make beds, pick up & vacuum the living room {yes I vacuum daily... don't judge}], but the other stuff [dusting/upstairs vacuuming/etc] gets done on the day I clean that room. The first time I did each room it took a lot longer than I wanted it to... so I started stressing thinking it was going to take forever each time... but the next week it was soooo much quicker! I guess the deep cleaning part had been done so it was way easier the next go around. I try to get all my cleaning done first thing in the morning so that I can enjoy my day with Meredith... and also because once I put it off it's easy to forget about. Some days though I wait until nap time - it depends on the weather and what we have going on. When I sub at school I either clean that night when Meredith goes to bed or double up the next day. I vacuum the living room daily and Meredith is a huge helper - she picks things up and moves them for me every time I start vacuuming {insert my mom telling me to stop because I'm creating a monster here...}. lol

Today is Friday and it's bathroom day. the half bath is done and I'm procrastinating doing the 2 full baths... It's almost lunch time and I'm being a bad fun mom and letting Meredith play on my iPhone while I blog. We stayed home today [we were out late last night], but it's FRIDAY which means that when the Mr. gets home we have him for 2 full days! Mer & I love the weekends! <3 I also love the time and memories I'm making with my girl... vacuum monster helper and all!

-K

clarification :)

I started blogging on word press but realized that I like blogger better. So I started a blog on blogger and copied/pasted my wordpress stuff on here... and published them all at the same time. Hence the fact that it looks like I wrote wayyyyyy to much in one day. Just wanted to clarify that those were originally written over a few days. k. thanks. bye. :)

A-Z... ?

I read a few blogs the other day where people had written about themselves "from A to Z" - I thought it was cute.

Then, while subbing yesterday, the kids had to do something very similar... so I figured I'd give it a try. I'm pretty sure my sister would make it way more interesting/funny, but here goes:

A- Anal. I'm pretty anal about a lot of things. :( I like my bed made as soon as I get up. I like for the bathroom to be hair free - all the time. I like my kitchen sinks to be empty at all times (that's what a dishwasher is for, lol). I liked my desks in straight lines. I want paper clips to be in the center of the stack of papers being held together. Yea... the list goes on.

B- Billy. :) He's my Mr. and I love him.


C- Clean Freak. I am a clean freak... Maybe I should say clutter freak? I like my house to look organized/neat/clean/clutter free pretty much all the time... and I have a 2 almost 3-year-old. Yikes!

D- Duke. Duke Daniels has been with us for 4 years now and while he drives me insane - I don't know what I would if something ever happened to him. :(


E- Egg salad. I love Egg salad. My mom used to make it for me when I was in school and even though it stunk up the whole classroom, I LOVED eating it. Hmm... maybe I'll make it for Meredith & I tomorrow. :)

F- Frozen Yogurt. Lynchburg has a bazillion froyo places. My favorite is Bloop. It's super creamy and über healthy and delicious... I have turned my daughter in to a frozen yogurt freak as well. She'll eat all her broccoli on her place if she thinks she gets ice cream afterwards! :)

G- God. I am a follower of God and I don't know where I'd be without Him.

H- Hugger. I am a hugger...

I- iPhone. I'm addicted to it. I got one a year ago and don't know what I'll do if I ever have to give it up.

J- Jealous. I can be a jealous person at times. especially over clothes/shoes/purses... It's a sinful habit and I'm getting better, but I still struggle at times. :(

K- Katie. She's my sister, but also my best friend. I'm pretty sure I think she's the most hilarious person I know...even though she probably isn't. :) I'm also often jealous of her. lol.


L- Loud. I'm Loud. When I talk... when I whisper... The end.

M- Meredith. Meredith Kate Daniels. She's my buddy and I love every single second I get to spend with her. Why's and all! :)

N- NOSEY!!! I am a very, very, very, very nosey person. At least I admit it, right???

O- Outgoing. I'm a pretty outgoing person... I like making new friends and getting to know people. :)

P- Pinterest. I LOOOOVE Pinterest!!! :)

Q- Quick trips to the store sans Meredith Kate. :)

R- Restaurants... I love eating out. I especially love eating out without Meredith. I love trying new places & new food. Billy has become a little more adventurous throughout the years, so it's even more fun now. Sidenote - if we eat out with Meredith, then I prefer loud restaurants, lol. :)

S- SUMMER!!! I love summer time. Everyone always wishes for fall or snow, but I love sunshine, summer, pools, laying out, lemonade, sunscreen, pony tails, flip-flops... all things summer!


T- Teacher. I am a teacher... er I was anyway. :) I still am... I'm just taking time off from the classroom setting and instead teaching Meredith Kate for now. I do love teaching though - and kids.

U- U makes me think of underwear which reminds me of Christmas, lol. We always get new underwear at Christmas and mom tries super hard to make sure it's what we'll like. :) I will be continuing this tradition with Meredith this Christmas and she'll be receiving new underoos as well! :)

V- Vacations. I love taking vacations. Mini or big. Meredith has thrown a loop into that world, but the older she gets the better they are. I also enjoy taking mini vacas with the Mr. We recently went to Williamsburg for the weekend and ate lots of yummy food, went shopping, went to Busch Gardens, got a  massage... it was wonderful weekend and slightly needed. :)

W- Working out. I always love working out. Finding the time is the hard part. :( I have opted to do living room workouts. I have a great Nike app on my phone that has some easy and some super intense workouts that I use... I also like trying new videos. Suggestions anyone?

X- X? I can't think of a thing for x except for x-rays & xerox machines. both are boring.

Y- Yogurt... I found a new fav. Yoplait honey vanilla..yummmm! Also, I hate fruit chunks in my yogurt. that's all. :)

Z- Z reminds me of zoo.. and my favorite zoo animal is the giraffe! :)

That's it. That's a little snippit of me - A-Z :)

Substitute Teaching.

I'm substitute teaching this year. It's a great way to stay in the loop & make some extra money. Meredith is going to her "old" babysitter on the days I sub. She was so excited to go to Phyllis' today and I had a lot of mixed emotions. She kept saying she wanted to play with her friends. She told me over and over yesterday that she wanted to see Phyllis and play with Cadence & Lexi. I was super happy that she wasn't upset about me leaving her... but I was a little sad that I was keeping her from her buddies for selfish reasons. I know that staying home with her & pouring into her on a daily basis is what I want[ed] so badly... but I hope she's happy with our decision/transition. She was so loved at day care and learned so much. I know I'm happier.. I just hope she is, too.

Whine [wine] much?

I need someone to teach me how to teach my kid not to whine. I'm pretty sure she gets it honest though. She has turned into a monster when it comes to not listening and whining. I have discovered in the past 2 weeks that if you tell her not to do something - she's going to do it... and then whine when she gets in trouble.

She came to me today and held out her hand and looked at me with this stern glare [as stern as a 2 year old can get anyway]... when I questioned what she was wanting expecting she said, matter-of-factly, "Your phone." yikes. I know I'm on my phone too much and I probably let her play on it a bit too much as well... but when I told her no, that she couldn't have it, I was blessed with a loud "WHYYY????" [in the most whiny voice possible] followed by an attempted fake cry. geeze louise. I'm substitute teaching tomorrow and she's going to her former babysitters and I KNOW she's going to think she's hell heck-on-wheels now that she's home with mama all the time. [Phyllis - if you read this, I promise I don't let her walk all over me at home. there are rules... she just chooses to defy them here lately.] I know this is a phase... and it'll pass... :) I'm just praying for patience and wisdom as I try to discipline/instruct/help/teach/guide this beautiful little girl the Lord blessed me with! [and I say I'm ready for #2... maybe with the help of a little wine?! just kidding :)]

Hello World!

I used to be really good at keeping a journal. I wrote in one all throughout high school and even some college. I did the whole xanga thing for a while, too. But of course, when life changing events happen [getting engaged, getting married, having a kid] I stop writing. Go figure. I started thinking about how I need to write down stuff Meredith does or says... I try new recipes and want to remember them... I find myself being creative and need to document it... I do stupid/crazy/amazing things to myself or my house, yet I never write them down so I can cherish the memories later... and I'm hoping to end that now!

Example 1: Meredith is entering the "Why???" phase. I thought I had skipped over this phase completely [like we skipped the biting/hitting phase, thank the Lord], but I was wrong.  Everything is followed up with the same stinking question. Tonight she asked for  a sucker [it was in my purse... she knew it... we were at a friend's house... it was late] but I told her no and to put it back. "Why?" - because it's late and you don't need it. "Why?" - because it has a lot of sugar and it will make you crazy. "Why?" - because I said no and put it back... Then the "Why?" turns into that whiny/fit throwing sound of "WHHhhYyYYyYYY???" Yikes.  I know that this is a phase and it too shall pass, but Lord have mercy... it can wear ya down! :)



Example 2: I rearranged my living room and Meredith is stressed out over it. She kept saying we needed to put it back together. She pushed and pushed on the sofa telling me it needed to go "ober dare" [back to its original spot]. This morning I told her she could eat breakfast in the living room and when I set her table up in front of the couch [which is in the wrong newly placed spot] she couldnt' take it and I had to move it to the center of the room where the couch used to be. She is so much like me it's not funny. I had no clue that the change in the set up would throw her so much. [P.S. she doesn't like watching tv from the new angle either... well, good! maybe it will deter her from asking to watch so many shows]

Example 3: I am crazy. I know I have OCD tendencies and that my neurotic ways would make the most sane person crazy... but I vacuum daily/nightly... sometimes multiple times throughout the day depending on who was coming over what went on. Well... I can't figure out how I want my lines to go with my new LR set up. It's killing me. I vacuumed twice today - both different ways - to figure out how I want to do it. Yea.
Example 4: Last one. I promise. Billy's new job has allowed me to stay at home with Meredith & future children. I am so blessed and thankful for this new opportunity. I have day dreamed of this day and while there are still some questions and concerns - I know that this is the best decision for our family. God is showing us that too... I was offered a home bound student and I have at least 1 sub job per week lined up from here til November. How awesome is that?

Speaking of sub jobs - I have one this week and since I haven't been getting up before 8 or so - all stinking summer - I should probably go to bed. Yikes! :)