31 Days of Haney Life

I remember last year when Nester did her 31 Days series. I remember thining that I didn't have any skills good enough to blog about for 31 days. A year later, I still think the same thing. I'm not a great runner, I like to cook but don't really have enough original recipes or tips to blog about for 31 days, I'm not a photographer, etc. You get the idea! I didn't think I was an "expert" or even knowledgeable enough to blog about any specific topic for a month straight.

But this year, I realized something. I am an expert at something-- being a real wife and a real mom. I can tell you in full detail that sometimes I have great days as a wife and a mom where I am ON IT. The house is clean, my quiet time is great, my tasks are all completed, I make a delicious meal, and my child eats and sleeps well. My husband and I are really in sync, too. Then I can tell you that (more often than not), I have rough days. My house is a mess, I snap at Griffin and Tyler, we eat late because I just can't get it together, and my quiet time gets pushed to the next day's to-do list. Those days are a lot more common than the afore mentioned perfect day.

That, my friends, is our real life. My pastor recently said something in his sermon about social media. He said that so often than not, we post the glamorous things, the perfect things. We're sure to post pictures and tweets when we're making fresh bread or have prepared a delicious meal. When our child is dressed to the nines and our house is tidy. Rarely do we post pictures of the frozen pizza that we overcooked or our trashed living rooms. My friend, Megan (who also made my 31 Days button, THANKS GIRL) said something a month or so ago that hs resonated with me so deeply since. She said, "Don't judge your life by someone else's highlight reel." That is so true and hard to do when we're constantly bombarded with blogs, tweets, Instagrams, and Facebook pictures and statuses of everyone's "highlight" reel, if you will.

So, it's my goal to take the next 31 days and not only get back to blogging, but show you what our real life looks like. Obviously, I won't disclose everything, but I hope to paint a realistic picture of what our daily life looks like, the good and the bad! Maybe it'll simply serve as a reminder to me in a few years of what life looked like for us right now, but maybe it'll also encourage another young wife and mom who is both stumbling and sailing through a beautiful life one day at a time.

 

Date Nights

I thought it might be fun to document a few date nights that Tyler and I have had recently. We've been really making a point to spend a lot of intentional time together before the baby comes in hopes that after he is born we will continue to do so. I have loved every minute of it! To be honest, the grand majority of our quality time happens at home, but there is truly nothing like spending the evening in your pajamas with your man. I absolutely love it.

I wrote briefly that a few weekends ago, Tyler and I took a little one night "babymoon" to our favorite bed and breakfast in the area. I have become overly paranoid about being too far from my doctor and the hospital, so we thought we'd stay local. Luckily, we have a B&B that we love that is only about 30 minutes away. We checked in late afternoon, spent some time talking to the couple that owns the place, then set out for a super classy dinner at Texas Roadhouse. Try not to be too jealous. I know that our refined taste is a stumbling block for some because they wish they could roll like us, but we like what we like.

Please do not be fooled into thinking that I only ate that salad. That was only one of my sides with my main course (Chicken Critters, if you must know). However, this picture of myself makes me painfully aware that I indeed have "pregnancy head", a term coined by Jenny McCarthy in her book Belly Laughs. My nose has taken on a life of it's own. OY. Expectant moms, you HAVE TO read this book, though. I laughed through the whole thing and every single word, including pregnancy head, is painfully true.

After we ate, we headed back and enjoyed some homemade cupcakes, a delicious beverage (water), and a movie in front of the fireplace. We had a great time being together but not at home. I find that when we're at home, even if we're just relaxing, I can always get distracted by all I have to do. I'm working on it! It was wonderful to have a little getaway!

Last night, we had a Valentine's Day date. Honestly, I can really take or leave Valentine's Day. It is fun for me because I have an awesome husband and many people in my life that I love. It's also really fun as an elementary school teacher because you really get into the excitement of tiny paper valentines and a ton of candy. I had Toy Story valentines this year and they were a big hit. I also love Valentine's Day in elementary school because you get an abundance of these:

I'm not ashamed to say that pregnant or not, I love Nerds. Do they make them with crack? They are so addicting. I. Love. Nerds.

Back to Valentine's Day with my husband... the important part of this post, not the Nerds.

We enjoyed an amazing dinner at The Cheesecake Factory. That is one perk to living in Cincinnati: we can go whenever we want! Except we don't... ever. It was a fun treat. Tyler had steak, this amazing salmon, and mashed potatoes that I finished for him. And when I say finished, I mean that I ate more than half of them. I enjoyed some of my favorite pasta and will be destroying the rest at lunch today. We saved room for dessert and split a piece of White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake. Everything was incredible and we sat there for almost 2 hours just talking. It was so wonderful. I'm really thankful that not only do Tyler and I love each other, but that we truly enjoy each other's company! Cheesy? Yes. True? Yes.

My least favorite part was when we told our waiter that this was our last childless Valentine's Day and he actually said, "Oh, yeah? That was the case for my wife and I last year. Get ready for having a baby. I'm not going to lie-- it's AWFUL. My son is 8 months old and he's just now starting to get fun." I honestly had no idea what to say. First of all, WHY WOULD YOU TELL ME THAT. And second of all, how sad for your wife and baby! Yes, I know that having an infant is not all peaches and cream, but seriously? That's all you could say!? It blew my mind. It would absolutely kill me if I ever heard Tyler talking like that about our son (which he never would). I would understand a little realistic advice; I mean, I know it won't be easy, but to say all of that? He honestly rendered me speechless, which is something that has never happened before. After we ate, we went to the Apple store and played/ lusted over the iPads. I changed my mind; I don't need a Kindle, I'll just take an iPad with the Kindle app. After hitting up a few more stores in the mall to finish some baby related tasks, we went home and relaxed. Great, great evening with my best bud.

While we've prepared our lives and house for this baby, we've really been working on preparing our marriage for him, too. Something that I am trying to constantly meditate on is that when the baby comes, I will need to keep this order straight: #1-- God, #2-- Tyler, #3-- Baby. I know that I will be tending to the baby's needs 24/7 for quite sometime, so I know it's going to be super hard on many days. I'm sure that I will fail on a daily basis, but thankfully, I have a very gracious God and a very gracious husband. I know it will be quite the learning curve!

Happy Tuesday!