what i love Wednesday

Have you seen The Tonight Dough, Ben and Jerry's new ice cream flavor? Do I even need to say anything about this other than "Caramel and Chocolate Ice Creams with Chocolate Cookie Swirls and Gobs of Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough and Peanut Butter Cookie Dough?"

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Sequin Skirts
My friend from college is making these GORGEOUS skirts. They are coming soon to MyLovelyYou Boutique. Check out her Etsy shop to order.

Another Sparkly Lovely Skirt handmade by me! Coming this Spring to my Etsy shop! Where would you rock this skirt? #lookbook #styleblogger #seamtress #lovelyyouboutique #ootd #sparkly #skirts #wiw #style

A photo posted by Natasha (@mylovelyyou) on Feb 18, 2015 at 9:39am PST

Chambray + Colorful Sequins = Ready for Spring! This Sparkly Lovely skirt is handmade by me, coming to my Etsy shop for Spring...super excited! #handmade #sequin #skirts #lovelyyouboutique #styleblogger #lifestyleblogger #lookbook #ootd #streetstyle #pretty #sparkly

A photo posted by Natasha (@mylovelyyou) on Feb 17, 2015 at 1:33pm PST

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Teach Your Monster to Read
You probably know that I'm a computer teacher and like most of the eastern side of the country right now, we've been out of school. Josh has spent a lot of time playing Teach Your Monster to Read and it's by the Usborne Foundation so you know it's gotta be good, right? He sits a few feet away from me and needs virtually no help to figure it out. He advances from skill to skill and he laughs out loud along the way. It's completely free and you can print parent reports to see your child's progress.  If you have a little guys learning to read, I think you should take a look at this site. (And no, they didn't pay me to say this.)

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Coffee With A Story
Chick-fil-a's new coffee is scrumptious! Throughout February, nationwide you can get free coffee all day at your local CFA. My favorite is the Vanilla Iced Coffee, but it's really sweet so if you don't like coffee with your sugar I suggest you try the original. But do try it. YUM!

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What are you loving lately? Leave me some love in the comments.

ten more ways to beat cabin fever

You've been through all of the board games and the kids are fighting and you can't even think straight anymore. What do you do? Honestly, I don't really know but I do have a handful of ideas. Last year I brought you Ten Ways to Beat Cabin Fever and today I'm talking about 10 More Ways to Beat cabin Fever.

We just got our first snow this year in WSNC but I know all of you northerners have been hit pretty hard for a while now so I thought it would be a good time to talk about what you could do inside to fight boredom. Grab your kids and sit them down for some of these fun indoor activities when the winter blues hit!

1. Make a T-shirt. There are a gazillion ideas on Pinterest for T-shirt crafts. I've got a post on creating your favorite team shirt coming up soon.

2. Make tic-tac-toe pizza.

3. Write a letter to the future you. Encourage your kids to sit down with you and tell their future selves some things. You can ask them some questions to get them thinking. For example, what do you wish for yourself in the future? What do you hope your life will be like? What do regret or wish you'd done differently? Do you imagine yourself as being happy? What's the most important thing in your life right now? You can write about those things.

You can also use this website to type the letter and it will actually be sent to you on that future date.

4. Plan your summer vacation. Okay, I simply have to give a shameless plug here for our condo at the beach but of course you don't have to plan your summer vacation to Myrtle Beach. There are lots of fun things that you and your kids can do to start thinking ahead to your big family trip. You can gather things from around the house and put together activity bags for the car rides. You can research activities to do while your there. You could give the kids a budget to stick to and see what they come up with. You can also write out a meal plan or itinerary and when the kids get to offer input they'll be more apt to not complain when you get there.

7. Watch some basketball! I don't know about where you are but I live in ACC territory and college basketball games can be relatively inexpensive and a lot of fun. On any given night of the week we can usually find a basketball game going on somewhere near us.

If you can't get to a game, then dig out your sand pails from the beach last summer and set them up Bozo the Clown style and see how many baskets the kids can make in succession before they miss one.

8. Create a new Zentangle. Here's the most recent one I started while waiting for Julianna to finish piano yesterday.

9. Give your kids your digital camera to play with. Send them to another room and see what they come back with. When they're finished you can even have a funny selfie contest.

10. Take out a deck of cards and a couple of dice. Have each kid choose a card and roll the dice. The numbers on the dice correspond to these twelve exercises and the card they choose tells them how many of that exercise they have to do. The game is over when everyone has finished 5 sets of exercises.

• 1 = run up the stairs
• 2 = tag the front door, the back door, and any side doors in your house
• 3 = jumping jacks
• 4 = arm circles forward and then back
• 5 = sit-ups
• 6 = leg raises
• 7 = squat jumps
• 8 = high knees
• 9 = heel kicks
• 10 = bicep curls
• 11 = kids choice
• 12 = 10 second wall sits

Bonus points if you can get your kids to alphabetize your bookshelves or DVD collection.

Now I want to know: How do you beat cabin fever?

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Edited to add: Hahaha I just saw a spot on the TODAY Show about beating cabin fever and they included a few of my same ideas. Remember this? We took a piece of poster board and cut big holes in it and hung it in a door frame in order to fly our paper airplanes through.

links i love

Small School in Albuquerque: Arming Teachers, Training Students
Does teaching active self-defense have a place in schools these days?

Eight Most Overlooked Foodie Towns in the South
Or another reason I love my town

What State Do You Actually Belong In
I got Georgia which is not far off.

Cool Harry Potter Short: The Greater Good - Dumbledore and Grindelwald
A prequel to The Sorcerer's Stone. Say what?!

And just because I have to put this out there because I have Spring fever and because well, who doesn't love the beach?
Our Personal Myrtle Beach Condominium For Rent

then and now

I've been posting a lot on Instagram so if you'd like you can follow me here.

June 2013

August 2009

August 2009

June 2013

August 2009

June 2013

things I learned from training for and running 13.1 miles

• The event itself is a lot like Christmas.  Runner's high is amazing.  You also get the blues the week after the race is over.  I haven't felt "down" in months.  Just about three days after the race was over I started feeling like my best friend died.  I didn't run for the whole week after and I missed it so much.  I missed the schedule, the routine, the free time to just think.
• I'm kinder to my children when I have "me time" away from them.  I started losing my patience with both kids a lot quicker the week after the half marathon.  It must be good to be away from them 25 miles/week.
• I make some funny faces when I run.

• I am a much nicer person in general when I make myself go to bed at nine o'clock each night because I'm getting up early to run most mornings.  I have no self-discipline to go to bed early when I don't HAVE to run the next morning.

• My family makes some darn good cheerleaders.
• It's a lot easier to decide what to eat when you know you don't have a 10 mile run scheduled for the next few days.

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Let the sun shine in

My sweet kids

my grandmother's birthday dinner

 

 

I told Jules that we were going to K&W for dinner and she promptly asked, "Oooooo! Can I have some Jello?!"

a note from Jules

Dear Daddy,
I'm so glad you like the vacuum we gave you for your birthday, but I really wish you'd left it in the box. Even hearing the word vacuum terrifies me! Could you take care of that for me pronto? Thanks!
Love,
Julianna

babies, babies everywhere

I know you're tired of hearing me say this, but I know so many pregnant people and people with young babies now. Two of my friends are probably going to have their babies in the next week - one is due this week and the other is being induced (twins - she's already made it to 37 weeks!). Two of my other friends from college are due in August. The funny thing about that is that both of them are having girls and both couples have chosen the name Addison.

Also, some of our other friends came over on Friday night (two with babies and one pregnant). Here are some pictures of those adorable little boys. Then last night we took another couple of friends some dinner. They just got home from the hospital with their premie last week. He was due May 30th but born on March 22nd and (this obviously goes without saying) I saw him tonight for the first time and he was so tiny! I was almost afraid to hold him. He made the tiniest little grunts and whines. Anyway, I guess there's still something in the water around here.

sandbox

A couple of weeks ago we bought a Little Tykes sandbox from some friends whose children had outgrown it. With all of the fun Julianna had at the beach a few weeks ago playing in the sand I figured she’d love it. It’s shaped like a dinosaur – very cute – although our backyard is starting to become amusing.

We finally got around to buying some sand for it this past weekend and let it air out all week since it was a little damp. After that we had a small earwig infestation problem.

Yesterday Jules got to play in it for the first time. Of course it took her a while to get used to it, but then she decided she loved it. Now every time we come in she makes a beeline back toward the door and if I let her outside for even two minutes she runs straight towards it and climbs on top of the lid.

thirteen months

Dear Julianna,

Wow! Mama is almost late getting this letter written to you this month. It has been a very, very busy month.

Today you are thirteen months old! I know I say this every month, but where the heck does time go? I *cannot* believe that in a month or two it will have been two years since I found out I was pregnant. Jules, the past few months with you have really made me look forward to having another baby. I smile just thinking about you playing with a sibling. For now I’m content enjoying you!

Last weekend we took you swimming for the first time. You had a blast! All of the VERY loud squeals and the smile on your face made my heart melt into a puddle. I can’t wait to see you at the beach this summer. There’s just something about having a baby that makes even the most basic things become fond memories.

This month you learned to shake your head vigorously as if to say “No!” and you nod emphatically in order to say “Yes!” Sometimes you do one when you clearly mean the other, but with a little prompting you figure it out quickly. You are learning how to communicate very well.

Your vocabulary is also growing (along with your little belly) and you have learned new dances this month and will perform for us any time music is played. You also love to blow the flute and whistles at Nanna and Papaw’s house although you’ve taken to calling Papaw “Pap” instead. You can make the sounds of a cow, duck, cat, and airplane now. I can’t even begin to recall all of the words you have spoken at one time or another although the only ones you speak regularly are “bye”, “Mama”, “ball”, and “Pap.”

I took you to our first “class” together at The Little Gym a few weeks ago. You were hilarious! When we first got there you watched the other kids through the window with the funniest expressions of pure amazement and intrigue on your face. When we went inside you got that all-too-familiar mischievous grin on your face as you ran away from me thinking that you were going to get chastised. When I just let you run you were simply delighted. You ran in three huge circles on the large floor mat and then climbed all over everything. When the group sang songs and marched in a circle you ran off and entertained yourself. When the other kids climbed under the parachute you watched from a safe distance and when everyone else blew bubbles and played with the bells you did your own thing wherever you wanted, but it was a blast to watch! I signed us up for the summer semester on the spot and I know that after just a few classes you will find a lot more joy (if that’s even possible) in going to The Little Gym each week.

A couple more things - We also had your picture taken this month by someone with a little more talent in the photography department than your daddy and I. They are absolutely beautiful! You are the cutest little girl ever! (And I’m not just saying that because I’m your mama. Just ask any of your grandparents and they will all agree.) Anyway, I will treasure these pictures forever as I remember how you were at one year old, because my goodness! Have I mentioned how fast time is going by?! Also, just look at your face! You’re adorable!

I made a very important decision this month, Doodle. Even though you don’t know it you were a big part of it. I was trying to decide about whether or not I should continue to teach in the fall. First and foremost, I want you to know that I considered you and how it would affect you in every aspect of making this decision. I struggled with it for the longest time. I had major anxiety about it and I became stressed every time I thought of it, but now that the decision is made I feel (and I sleep) so much better.

I decided to quit teaching after this school year and work from home in order to spend more time with you next year and to get you in a morning preschool program where you could have some interaction with other kids. I am excited about it and all the possibilities it will bring. We can go to “strollercize” at the local parks with other moms! We can go to toddler play groups! Without having to get ready for work every morning I should have more time to do other things, but yet I’ll still have an income to live off of. Without having to drive more than 60 miles each day just to get you to Nanna and Papaw’s and me to work we should be able to go other places on the gas in our gas tank and I can’t wait to see what life as a WAHM brings.

I love you baby.

Love,
Mama