This and that...

It's finally Friday! I feel like this week went on forever! And although I'm halfway through about three thought-out and pertinent posts, I don't have enough brain cells left to finish them.  So after the week that it's been my Friday post is going to be a bit random... so here is what's going on with us these days:

Week one of my "fresh start" has been a major success! I was up at 6am on Monday thru Wednesday (and "slept in" until 6:15am on Thursday by accident) and spent close to an hour each morning reading through Romans. Let me just say, when you put the time in, God really does speak to you and laid out exactly what I needed to hear each morning. It's the confirmation I need to keep up until this becomes a routine.

We had a sweet high school gal from our church over for dinner on Monday night and I just loved getting to know her better. She's asked me to be her mentor and I am beyond honored. But now that's made me realize that I should get one, too! I think everyone needs one... someone who has been where you've been and is where you want to go. Josh says that any mentor worth a dollar won't have time to do it, so I have one in mind and just have to muster up the courage to ask.

Other moms: you know how you don't really shed during pregnancy and then you go through a weird hair-falling-out phase about 4 or 5 months after giving birth? Well, I had remembered that, but forgot about the annoying hair-growing-back (again) phase that completes the cycle. I cannot do anything with these annoying baby hairs... does anyone else have this problem?  And no, I don't actually keep them slicked down like this, but they are hard to make blend in!  (and no, I can't believe I posted this)

Lilly has decided to start biting me (and only me) as a sign of affection (maybe?). How does one go about getting an 11-month-old to stop biting? And no, I have no desire to bite her back.

Speaking of Lilly, her favorite word for the past month has been "What?" (or more accurately "wwwwwwhhhhhhha-T" with an emphasis on the T sound). I have tried for a solid month to get it on video and she plays coy every time I pull out the camera. Such is life.

Jake has started a new obsession with the movie "The Incredibles" and asks to watch it 24/7. We are minorly convinced that he seriously thinks that he is Dash and runs around the house at top speed every time his character is on screen. It's actually a very appropriate comparison.

I am aware that I never posted about Jake's preschool experience... (1) because he refuses to stand still for a photo and I could not get a first-day-of-school picture like other moms do and (2) because so far he has a love/hate relationship with it. Day one was awesome, day two he realized that I was going to leave him and flipped out, day three was by far the worst and he clung to me like I was dropping him off at prison, and day four he marched in there like it was no big deal until he stepped foot in his classroom.  His teachers tell me that he only cries for 10 minutes (aside from the hour he cried on day two), but it still breaks this mama's heart. I know he's still adjusting, so I'm just trying to be patient with him. In other preschool news, his teachers sent home a list of all of the songs they are learning and I do not know a single one. Nope, not one. I'm not sure I'm going to be much help.

The closest thing I have to a "first day of preschool" picture.  Sigh.

 We rearranged our living room which made a world of difference in how much space we have and I love it! The only downside is that the paint color that I liked with the old arrangement now looks blah with our new arrangement (weird I know). So now I'm deciding if I can just live with it and get over it or if I want to go through the hassle of repainting. Also wondering what our landlord would think if I told him that I'm painting yet again in less than a year. Decisiveness is not my strong suit. And yes, I am aware that these are crummy iPhone pictures with really bad lighting and my living room is not in picture-perfect condition. For those of you who are new, I feel like it's my calling to post pictures of my home in "real life" rather than the beautiful ones when it's cleaned up, which I still do on occassion. It's like a ministry for other people like me who have good intentions, but also have multiple tornadoes coming through on a daily basis and messing up your hard work.  The "before" pictures are on top.

Something NEEDS to happen above the couch.  B-O-R-I-N-G.

The pictures don't do it justice, but the room feels SO much bigger and opened up... with more seating!

Not sure what's up with the color on the "after" picture... picture 1 is more accurate.
And yes, The Incredibles is on the TV! 

My husband and I are solely paying for the Redbox movie rental in our area. In the past three weeks we have racked up quite a bill on only three movies. We always think that watching a movie together sounds like a great idea, and then we're both too exhausted to ever start, thus the movie sitting on our mantle or coffee table for weeks on end (look closely at the above picture for proof). We need an intervention.

Okay, I think that's enough random rambling for today. Chances are that I won't get around to posting again until Tuesday since Sunday night will be a late one watching my husband become an IronMan! I'm so proud of him already for all of the time he has put in to prepare for this race!

Any big plans for your weekend?