Sunday, January 19, 2014

Daddy's Work

A month ago {yes a month ago, but a year and a half later and I finally updated my blog design so…you win some you lose some} we had a fun night away with our little family. 

We had a wonderful time!
 What makes it even more special is that Adalyn talks about it at least once a day. 
And what makes it hilarious is her memories of the weekend and the fact that she thinks Daddy works at the aquarium.

Adalyn's version of our weekend {that's repeated on a daily basis}:
Daddy's work.
Fishies.
Penguins.
No turtle. 
Mickey skates.
Minnie.
Goofy.
Daisy. 
Donald.
Mickey bag and popcorn. 

I drove into the city by myself- which is a pretty big deal for me- I only hit traffic in the part the I dread the most, but we made it and it really wasn't that bad. 

We parked and headed off to Daddy's {real} work
we said hi to everyone, he grabbed his stuff and we were off to the aquarium that's right around the corner. 

Cue toddler confusion. 

Daddy's work suddenly became so exciting. 
We did some quick poses with her penguin shirt to match the penguins...
and we were off to see the fishes! 
The fun ended when a big sting ray and this guy swam in front of her.
We tried to explain that there's a very thick glass and she was safe, but she wasn't having it. 
She did enjoy a little hands on turtle activity though. 
After the aquarium we checked into our hotel and walked around to find a place to eat. 

After dinner we got into our "soups" and went for a swim! 
I keep trying to record her saying "soups on!" because it's pretty much the cutest thing ever, 
but in true Adalyn fashion, the moment I go to record her saying it she stops. 
A busy day led to a great night's sleep to prepare for another fun filled day. 
Thankfully, the weather was beautiful and made our time there that much more enjoyable! 
We walked around the Commons and got some breakfast. 
She's got the cheese part down, we are just working on the looking at the camera part now

Our trip wouldn't be complete without a stop at frog pond
and a visit with the ducks,
that were clearly thirsty for some juice. 

I loved our time in the Commons!
Usually when I go to the city most of my time is spent in the Faneuil Hall area, 
so this was a newish experience for me. 
 We grabbed some pizza for lunch and headed back to the hotel to change for the main event.
We are going to Disney in March and we are a little nervous about how is going to handle the characters.
Mr B bought us tickets to see Disney on Ice as a Disney prep. 
Having been to Disney on Ice before {pre-Adalyn},
 I came prepared with our own stuffed Minnie and Mickey
and light-up toy {thank you $5 spot at Target}
to save us approximately $200. 
I'm not even kidding.
Okay, so maybe it's a slight exaggeration.
Instead, we spent $40 on popcorn, water and…cotton candy because Mr. B's inner 5 year old couldn't resist. 

{And shout out to my super talented friend for making Adalyn the adorable bow to match her outfit!}

Adalyn was a little scared the first 10 seconds or so, 
but the rest of the time she loved it 
and was filled with awe and excitement!
We had so much fun! 
It's always nice to have some time away
making these sweet memories with just the three of us. 
We decided we would love to visit Daddy's work and spend the night in the city every couple months-
a chance to be together and talk about it every single day,
 until the next time :) 

Monday, January 13, 2014

{in}Fertile Friends

I am extremely behind on blogging.
It's ridiculous. 
Pre-Adalyn time seemed to go by fairly quickly.
Post-Adalyn time literally {literally} flies bye. 
Bzzzzz. Gone. 
Just like that.
Having a blog {and not keeping up with it} basically multiplies how fast time goes by by approximately 100.
I'm not kidding.

I'm thinking my best bet is to focus on a few big things that happened that I missed and then from here on out get back in to the swing of things with day to day life. 

But until I do that and can even figure out where to start with that,  I wanted a post to be specifically for a little group I created on Facebook. 
I've mentioned it before recently, but this is a specific post/invite to join.
I actually created this group when I was trying to get pregnant with Adalyn and praise the Lord all of the girls who were a part of that group ended up getting pregnant at some point!!

So here we are again with baby #2. 
In the same boat.
Actually, this boat is worse because it's going on an even longer journey (almost a year), but it comes with a sweet awesome little distraction- thank you, Lord.
I was just saying today that she has no idea how much she helps me get through this. 
I am so so thankful for her. 

Roxie was my distraction when trying for Adalyn and I think it's pretty obvious that Adalyn takes the cake on this one!

So anyways this is a private group on Facebook- so no one can see anything unless they are a part of it. 
And it's just a place to vent, whine, get advice, request prayer, encourage etc. 
Infertility sucks.
Big time.
And it's something that most people truly don't understand until they've been there. 
Connecting with others who are going through the same thing is really valuable!
It's certainly not a group I wish I were a part of or a group I want anyone to be a part of, but this is the journey the Lord has us on and I try my hardest {some days are worse than others} to look at it as an opportunity to connect, to strengthen our walk and our faith, to know it's a part of our story and a testament to His faithfulness. 

He is faithful and we are believing. 

And in the meantime, I'm venting about how everyone around me is pregnant or having babies and how evil digital pregnancy tests are.
If you're not familiar, you wait for an eternity while you stare at a little flashing timer, you stare so long that you begin to wonder if the little hand is starting to move and then you're given the result:
 "Not pregnant." 
Yeah. I'm good.
I'll stick with one solid dark line, pleaseandthankyou.

I love the {awesomely overplayed} song Oceans by Hillsong- one part in particular has been standing out to me lately:
He's never failed me.
And He won't start now.
He knows who the perfect addition to our family and when the time is right. 
And until that time comes, I will limit my waaaaahhhs, ughhhhhhhhhs and 9u389uitwygjfbhjabf!!!!s and work on my praise for what he has blessed me with. 


Sooo if you'd like to join and connect with some sweet ladies with the same desires and frustrations as you- just comment with your email or send me an email: thesmellylife@gmail.com and I can send you an invite to the group and get you on my prayer list! 

And of course, for anyone not in this season of life, if you could keep me and the other ladies of the group in your prayers as well that would be wonderful!

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Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Blessing Box

This week we had our first snow of the season.
I'm always blessed by Adalyn's joy and awe in the simple things.
This is such a busy time of year and I love taking the time to just stop and watch her. 
A great reminder to be still,
be present
and be thankful. 

How have you been blessed this week? 
Grab the code, link up and be a blessing to others by sharing a way that you've been blessed!

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Blessing Box

I haven't blogged in ONE month.

Wah.

Ugh.

Why. 

I feel like I am constantly playing catch up. 

But I'm slowwwwwwly starting to get on track, but man, oh man, I don't like being behind on everything. 
And I mean everything.

Anyways, a belated blessing box post: Adalyn's birthday!!

We had two parties for Adalyn this year- a friends party and a family party- both Curious George themed.

The past couple days I have been working on getting her pictures edited and organized from her friend party and I'm reminded of how blessed I am to be surrounded by such sweet families and friends! 

Her party was a blast!! 
There will hopefully (but possibly not because I'm a slacker) be a post with more details.

This party wouldn't have been the same with these awesome people.


I always prayed/dreamed of the day I'd have "mom friends" and "Adalyn friends" and I'm so blessed that that dream has come true!

Grab the code, link up ad share how God has been blessing you!

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Blessing Box


Last weekend my mom whisked me and my sister away for my birthday to the Women of Faith conference in CT.


This was my first official time leaving Adalyn!
I had left her one other time before in February, but that's when Mr. B and I had the stomach bug and my mom came to rescue her so I feel like that time didn't really count seeing as how my time away was spent with the toilet.

Mr. B happened to be away this weekend too so I was leaving Adalyn with my dad and my brothers. 
Cue slight panic attack.
But here's the thing...my dad is a...dad.
Of four.
So I'm pretty sure he can handle a couple days with a toddler. 

My eyes only watered when saying goodbye and the rest of the time I did great!
Oh yeah, and so did she.
And my dad. 

It definitely helped that I was busy with awesome worship by Gateway Worship

great speakers
Angie Smith- blogger celebrity. 
She's our good friend... she just doesn't know it yet. 

Cece Winans brought down the house.

Junk food was consumed.

Unfortunately extra sleep wasn't had. 
That's a definite complaint I have about these conferences.
Hello WOMEN of faith.
MOMS of Faith.
TIRED moms of faith who would love nothing more than to sleep in in a nice dark hotel room. 
C'mon now. 
Can I get an amen?!

Anyways, the next day consisted of more speakers, more awesome worship and a little Third Day concert. 

We finished off our time away with a yummy steak dinner at Texas Roadhouse. 

It was a fun and refreshing time away! 
There's a first time for everything and now I think I can handle a full weekend away sans Adalyn. 

My dad also did a fantastic job at keeping me updated which helped a lot!
He was always texting me pictures, videos or sharing little stories.  
He was in heaven and it was the sweetest thing.
Through this time away I realized how much of a blessing it is for me to give this time to others to be with Adalyn without me- it's nice for everyone. 
It was a special time for them and they all loved it! 

We ended up getting home a little earlier than expected so with that and daylight savings I was able to soak up time with my girl before bed. 

We spent the night at the farm and then I got to wake up to her excited for church and singing her favorite worship song.
{She stopped singing when I recorded, but started back up :) }

Talk about blessed, right?!

Blessed to have an awesome dad who was so very willing to watch Adalyn and soak that one on one time with her. 
Blessed by that time away with my mom and sister.
Blessed to be surrounded my so many women of faith {no pun intended...}
Blessed by a time of worship with so many believers.
Blessed by the words the Lord put on the heart of the speakers.
Blessed by these opportunities! 

What have you been blessed by this week?? Grab the code, link up and share! 

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Blessing Box


This week there was a good Shutterfly deal and, like always, I waited until the last minute to take advantage of it...and didn't finish in time.
{in my fantasy world I'd like to have a bunch of photo books ready and waiting for every deal- a girl can dream, right?}
So yesterday and today, I've been trying to put together Adalyn's Second First Year Book.
I know.
And while we're at it...
Yes, my header is from when she was 4 months old.
 Yes, my bio says I can't wait to be a mommy.
Yes, she's weeks away from turning 2.
I keep begging for time to slow down so I can catch up, but it's just not happening.
Rude, I know. 

As I was working on her book I was reminded of how grateful I am for facebook.
Although facebook is filled with some negatives, this week I'm focusing on the blessings of it. 

Anyone that is friends with me on facebook knows that I post a lot of pictures.
Like, a lot. 
But it's such a blessing to have a simple way keep family and friends connected and up to date with Adalyn.
Many of them have only met her a hand full of times, but I love that they feel like they know her because of the awesomeness of technology and Facebook.

Not only is it a blessing to those that aren't in our every day life,
it's also a blessing to me to be able to have everything organized and documented.

I'm so thankful that I have all the pictures with notes, stats and captions
 because Lord knows my memory is only getting worse. 
Mommy brain, anyone?
It's the pits, right?!



So even though I'm ridiculously behind and struggling to catch up I've been so thankful that I was consistent with Facebook and that it's been so helpful with getting me back on track!


How have you been blessed this week?
Grab the code,  link up and share!