9 Things Before Nine{AM}

Hmmm...so much to talk about from this past week. I'll stick to my tidy list for this morning and post some fun things later in separate posts. : )

1. Yesterday, we attended our very first Pine Car Derby at Maddox's school and even though it was 6 hours long, we had a great time! Watching his face light up as he watched his car succeed was so fun for us and even more priceless was how he accepted the cheering and trophy. He is his father. Humble, yet quietly confident. Love you, baby boy.


2. Chad finished reading The Hunger Games last night and when I came to bed, I saw it on my night table where he left it for me and my turn with it. I'm excited to start this series! Is anyone else reading it or read it already? I've heard it's really great.

3. Magdalen is talking a LOT. It has amazed me. Apparently, it has impressed Maddox because this morning at breakfast, as his sister was jabbering away, he looked at me and said "Maggie is really talking all the time now, isn't she?" with a huge grin on his face. He's so proud of her. : )

4. We ate lunch with my dear friend Ashlie and her family on Saturday after a long time of not seeing them. Every single time that happens, it makes me chuckle inside. Ashlie and I spend the entire time talking as fast as we can and jumping from topic to topic because we can't catch up fast enough. She's one of those  amazing friends who gets me and we can always pick up where we were last time. I think I have a post on that whole idea coming soon.

5. We are thankfully safe from any storms we had this past week, although we did hide out in our storm shelter for a little bit. Unfortunately, my hometown was hit hard again less than a year after the original tornado destruction. Please keep all of the people affected in your prayers.

6. Chad and I woke up yesterday morning to the sound of our babies playing together in the hallway and in their bedrooms back and forth. Laughing and giggling and teamwork. A most beautiful sound. We have finally made it! ; )

7. My dad won this amazing award recently at a big event. He won the Man of the Year Award at CASBA (Cookie and Snack Bakers Association) Conference in Orlando last month. It is a huge honor and he was totally surprised, which is a hard thing to do with my dad. ; ) This group has been around since 1970 and Dad has been a part of it for 10 years. I'm proud of him and the hard work he does and the success he has achieved in his own business. Way to go, DAD! (Thanks to my stepmom, Donna, for the photo.)


8. I have been asked to do a guest post by one of my favorite bloggers. I am pretty excited about it and obviously, will share the link after I submit it and she publishes it. A cool post on something she has written is coming soon here, as well. 


9. I'm thinking today on all the posts I need to catch up on. Some randomness, some deep thoughts that were triggered from attending Blissdom, and some PARTIES!!! I have slacked on posting some of the parties I've done or have co-planned. So many great ideas and photos to share. I'm thinking of doing a week of party posts. How does that sound? ; )


Happy Monday!

9 Things Before Nine{AM}

                                                                                       Source: flickr.com via Monica on Pinterest

Okay, friends. Let's just cut to the chase.

1. Blissdom'12 was mind blowing. Inspiring. Overwhelming. I am honestly still processing it all, but I learned more than I bargained for. I also met some pretty cool people. More on that soon.

                                                                   Source: stopthinkingforyourself.tumblr.com via Consuelo on Pinterest

2. Did you watch the Oscars last night? All I can think about is how young Tom Cruise looked. I felt like I was in a time warp....and it was a good one. Can anyone say Top Gun? ; )

3. I also found a rerun of Grey's Anatomy playing. ( If you're a fan, it was the "shooter in the hospital" episode.) I'm amazed at how that one single episode can still completely stress me out & make me break out in a sweat the 3rd time watching.

4. I got to wear my dress from the Grammys again on Saturday night. ; ) I truly thought I'd never wear it again, but hey....it fit. I hope to have a few photos to share from that soon. (And I'm going to finally post the photos from our time at the Grammys. TWO YEARS AGO. Sheesh. I know.)

5. So...grass stains. I can't stand them. Maddox has stains on almost every single uniform item he wears to school so, last night, I poured bleach directly on all of the white items. Guess what? Stains are still there. Mhmmm. I hate bleach now, too.

6. Maddox wrote and recorded another song right before he turned 6 this month. We're working on a full album. We should have 10 songs by the time he's thirteen if we continue to do one every year. So far, so good. They are pretty darn cute and I keep forgetting to share. Hoping to post the first 3 sooner than later.

                

7. During Blissdom, I received a free signed copy of the book Quitter by Jon Acuff. He was an amazing, inspirational, hilarious, and very real speaker. I came away with so many things to think about and started reading it yesterday. HIGHLY RECOMMEND.

                

8. This morning on the drive to school, it was just me and Maddox. I cranked up my current favorite soundtrack and used my still-a-little-bit-sick-awesome-raspy-singing voice to sing Bruno Mars' "It Will Rain". It was perfection. So I did it twice. With feeling. (Don't be thinking 'poor Maddox' because he was singing along, too. Promise.)

9. And lastly. *sigh* I can't find the key to my new treadmill. : / How's that going to work out now? Hmmm. Still looking....

HAPPY MONDAY!

9 Things Before Nine{AM}

                                                                                      Source: theposterlist.com via Amanda on Pinterest

I love lists.
Really, I do.

I think it comes from the fact that I'm pretty disorganized in my head and it helps to write most anything down. I know a lot of people feel the same way about themselves. I'm also sure that my dear husband would think that "pretty disorganized" is an understatement. (I'm okay with that. )

So....after a weekend, whether it was full or not, I have a lot of thoughts swirling in my head and instead of trying to do a post on some of the topics, I'll just start writing them in list form on Monday mornings before 9am. No pics today because I honestly didn't take any all weekend!

(And yes, 8 Things Before 8 would be absurdly too early for any human being. So I'll go with 9. )

1. I have been sick for 1 full week now and I'm over it. I have that deep horrible cough that sounds like I'm hacking up a lung each time and it's pretty gross. Good news: It doesn't hurt to cough today and my regular voice is *almost* back. At least I can speak now and give orders. ; )

2. Because of #1, I did laundry ALL.DAY.YESTERDAY. That's it. And the bedding is still not completed this morning. Bright side? At least I'm not having to fold it.

3. I'm going to Blissdom on Thursday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And I feel unprepared because of #1, again. If you don't know what it is, the short answer is: a blogging/social-media conference here in Nashville. If you want the long answer, click on the link. : ) I've been waiting to go to this for 3 years now and finally made the leap and bought a ticket. So many "famous" bloggers to meet!

4. Yesterday, for the first time ever, we had to talk to Maddox about the death of someone he knows. A beloved grandfather of one of his closest friends passed away unexpectedly this weekend. And Maddox sees him quite often. We told him early in the day, so there wouldn't be any uneasy thoughts for him at bedtime. It went smoothly and he had good questions, but seemed to understand. When bedtime prayers were said, he added a prayer for his friend all on his own and melted my heart even more.

5. I bought a used treadmill from a friend. As of yesterday, it now resides in my bonus room and as soon as I'm not coughing/wheezing anymore I'm excited to use it! No more trying to convince myself to drive all the way to the YMCA and failing!

6. Maddox has his first loose tooth. I think. I'm so sad about it (even though I know I shouldn't be) and told him not to touch it so it won't fall out too soon. It makes me queasy.

7. We eat cold cereal for breakfast almost every single morning. Unless Chad makes oatmeal. My theory is that a healthy cereal + almond or coconut milk is waaaaaay healthier than most cooked breakfasts that other people make.

8. I'm on a reading binge. I've read 5 novels in the last week and a half and I'm only slowing down this week to prepare for Blissdom.

9. And finally, for today, the biggest thing on my mind all weekend was my friend, Cindy. She is one of my best friends from high school and college and she has cancer. Breast cancer, to be exact. She's been through her double mastectomy already this past week and is healing, but the cancer was found in her lymph nodes and that never equates to "easy". I've been through this with my own mother, but she was lucky and had none in her lymph nodes, so she didn't have to have the dreaded chemo or awful radiation. Just a chemo pill every day. Please join me in prayers for Cindy, her husband, and their 3 children ages 4.5, 3. and 1. They need all the prayers we can send up on her behalf. Thank you.

That's it, folks. Lists in the future won't be quite as long, but it was a heavier mental weekend than normal.

On a last note, I have decided to take back my life and DO the things I've been wanting and planning on doing instead of just dreaming in my head and this post (whether you understand why or not) is the start of that. This is going to be my year! I just know it. : )

Happy Monday!