My Life In Between

If you are following me from Like Mama ~ Like Daughter, you found me! If you are new to my writings, welcome!

My name is Hannah. Im married to my highscool sweetheart, Kyle. We have three beautiful daughters, Bunny (5), Squirrelly (2), and Mousey (born October 2014).

I am starting this blog for many reasons. A little over a year ago, my life dramatically changed. After living the majority of my life in West Virginia, we bought a house in coastal North Carolina. By we, I mean my husband and I, along with my parents... I know what you are thinking, "Oh my gosh, she wants to live with her parents?" Well, yes. Actually we all get along great. We have similar goals and rather enjoy each other. We split all of the bills down the middle, so no one is mooching off the other. It works very well.

                        

But... And this is a big but... We don't actually live in NC yet. We moved in together here in WV (mostly to let my sister rent out my house so she and her children can be closer), and are paring down and paying off things before we move. My hubby has a great job here that he loves. That is how we can afford this dream. Someday, we will be there full time. But there is a lot if work to do here first. We go down several times a year, but the rest of the time, we are here. This blog is the story of my life in between.

Spinning Plates

Why do I do this? I LOVE writing. I love blogging. I miss it when I don't do it for a while... And yet here we are, almost three months since my last post. I think I get wrapped up in the idea that I have to have some impressive something about which to write in order to blog. I am going to try to start blogging even if it means just posting whatever I want.

Update:
Mousey is five months old and amazing. She has a dairy and chocolate sensitivity that we had to figure out, but other than that she is my easiest baby. She sleeps! The big girls love her. She and Squirrelly have a great bond of pure love, and Bunny is all about getting to carry her two feet to me and making her laugh.

Squirrelly is potty trained now except at night ( and a few acidents nere and there). She is a major girly girl and silly and bossy and I love it. She loves to sing with me, even when I am being ridiculous. Still a papas girl. Still awesome.

Bunny is going to be five in less than a week. FIVE! I wasn't freaking out till she sat down and read a bob book all on her own the other day, on the first time ever even looking at it. Then it hit me. She is a big girl. She is really so much more fun as a big kid than as a baby. She has either outgrown or learned to deal with most of her sensitivities. I am really excited to have new adventures with her.

The hubs and I jumped on my mama's band wagon (shes lost 30 lbs) and started getting fit through BeachBody. He lost over 70lbs since fall and I've lost 20 since Mousey was born. Its pretty exciting. We are feeling so much better too. We have big plans for this life. Going to have to be healthy to keep up. (P.S. If you want to know more. Shoot me a amessage on my facebook page)

Life is crazy busy and I feel like some sort of performer that is spinning plates on sticks. Every now and then, I take down one plate and put it away, and all is still for a moment. Then back to spinning. Maybe even adding more. Too many spinning plates. But none have broken in a while, so there is that. Hoping things quiet down a bit soon.

I would add pics to this post, but blogger isn't letting me do it from my ipad. Maybe Ill add some later. Going to go ahead and post it now before I get to busy... Again lol.

Reflections

As I look back on 2014, there is so much I could say.

It was one heck of a year, and not all good.

However, I started out with a word in mind, and through it all, I tried to remember to "nourish" myself and my family and my life.

But really, it was not me that did the nourishing.

He works all things together for good. 

He restores my soul.

He nourishes and makes me whole.

Thanking God for this new year...

I plan to relish every second of it.

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Mommy Moments Monday

Elfing

Christmas time has rolled around again. And while most years we find ourselves making the majority of the gifts we give, this year, with a new baby, we decided that we would save ourselves the extra work and just buy gifts... Holy cow! Now I see why so many people complain about the cost of Christmas. It is a good thing Papa has a better job now, than in years past. Even still, I put my foot down when it came to Baby Mousey's first Christmas ornament. I found one that I loved for her on amazon... For $23! Sorry, but that is not going to fly with me. Then I found one on zulily, but it would not be here in time for Christmas... Finally, I said to myself, "Self, how hard could it be to just make an ornament?" So that is what I set out to do. 

I searched Pinterest and came up with a few ideas. Most involved felt. Super cute, but i did not have the supplies on hand and didn't want to wait to get them. When the crafting waves hits, you have to ride it now. 

Then a link to a link to a link led me to some youtube tutorials. Boom! There is was. The perfect little mouse for my perfect little mouse. So I grabbed some clay (I had just seen some when mom was cleaning out some boxes) and made this little critter in a few minutes. 

I was psyched at how it turned out, so i cranked out two more little critters.

Later, I added eye hooks (I made them with jewelry wire) and baked them. Then I added some details with a couple of sharpies. I tied on some pink ribbon, and was done. Ornaments for my three girls, in no more than a half hour total, with only supplies I already had laying around. I call that a win.

Tails!

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual, inspired by SouleMama, capturing a moment from the week.  A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see. 

Three

Three weeks ago today, after 42 weeks and 5 days of pregnancy, our sweet Miss Mousey finally decided to make her entrance. It was an epic birth and I will write out the full story some time, hopefully soon. For now I will just say that we are both happy and healthy. She is wonderful and oh so very loved.

Miss Mousey. Born on the morning of October 26, 2014. 7lbs 8oz. 20 inches long. Perfect.

She came out hungry and had a strong latch, right away. She was pretty fussy until my milk fully came in, two days later. However, she has been a very happy baby ever since. We rested pretty much all of her first week, and have been slowly easing back into things since then. She is a major mama's girl, but is warming up to other family members as well.

She loves the moby wrap, which is such a blessing because I need my hands free as much as possible to keep up with Bunny and Squirrel. They, by the way, are thrilled to have a sweet baby sister to love on. Squirrel has been very sweet and gentle with her. Something I didn't expect to come so easily to a two year old. Bunny is all about her role as the biggest sister. She is very proud that, at four and a half, she is big enough to hold Mousey (while sitting on the couch or the bed) by herself. 

Three weeks in, with three girls, and things are going great. 

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual, inspired by SouleMama, capturing a moment from the week.  A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see. 

born, at home, on October 26th 

perfection