Disclaimer:  I'm whining today.  I'm whining about my child today.  This is my space, I do what I want, and today, I whine about having a toddler.

Oh boy.  The terrible two's have hit our house.  As in, I swear L just woke up one morning and decided that, for however long she deemed fit, she was going to give Mommy a run for her money.

I'm exhausted.

She's stopped sleeping through the night-sometimes waking up two or three times a night.  All she wants is to  be tucked back in.  This morning she wanted a story at 4am....um, no kiddo, Mommy was practically comatose and we do not read stories at 4am.  We sleep, thank you very much, I love you, good night.

She woke up again at 4:45 just to say HI!  Literally, I opened the door to her room, she said "HI!", ran back to her bed, crawled in, and waited for me to tuck her in.

Kiddo.....*sigh*

(Sidenote:  The only reason I get out of bed to check on her is because she is crying.  It's crying that worries me.  I don't like crying toddlers in the middle of the night, especially when they have had ear infections out the wazoo like our child has.  I always go to a crying kid in the middle of the night.  Especially if she has been a good sleeper up until this point.)

Oh and let's not forget to mention the full blown temper tantrums we have throughout the day over what's on TV, one of the cats is on the couch, Mommy goes to the bathroom, or her sippy is empty.

Hello everyone!  I did not intend to take a week and a half off from blogging!  However, I didn't count on how exhausted I would be and how my toddler is still adjusting to the new house, her new room, and the bathtub has been a source of temper tantrums lately.  Let's just say that I haven't been able to think about blogging, let alone sit down and do it.  For that, I apologize.  I hope to get back to posting nearly every day starting this week.

I have a lot to tell you guys about our move, our house, and some of the things we have been already doing to our new home.  Expect this blog to start detailing DIY projects, painting, etc. on top of everything else I talk about.  I am excited to get started on some of the things we have planned for our home!

This week, I also get to finish working on L's birthday party stuff so, I hope to have a few posts on that subject as well in the coming weeks.

How would you all like a couple of pictures from the last week or so?

That's what I thought. :)



And there you have it!  Stay tuned for my recap of the weekend we moved and how it all went down-complete with surprises!

Well, it's Thursday, and that means we close tomorrow on the house and we begin moving tomorrow afternoon and all weekend. 

So, you aren't going to hear from me for a little bit.  I have a couple of small things planned for the blog next week, so look forward to those!  After next week, I should be back to posting regularly.

However!  I don't want you guys to miss out on all the packing and moving fun, so be sure you follow me on Instagram (username: selindine) and the hash tag #thebigmove to see sneak peaks of the new house, how we manage to cram all of our junk into a UHAUL, and I usually end up having a freak out moment when we move, so I'm sure that will be documented too! HA!

Thank you to those of you who have offered words of encouragement and support during this time.  I am excited that it is here, but I am ready for it to all be over.

Have a great weekend and I will see you all on Instagram!

Life is full of unknowns.

Some of us live in fear of those unknowns while others don't give them a second thought.

I know people who live in fear and I know people who choose to live their life out loud.

I have been thinking a lot lately about my position in my life.  I have been questioning if I actually own my life, or if I am too scared to take control.

I believe I am in the in between.

There are some things that I take initiative with and go for it (for example, this blog) while there are other things that I say "Someday..." to and file them away.

But, what if those "someday's" never come?

What if it all falls apart and I'm left to think about all those "someday's" without enough time to think about them, let alone do them?

I think it's normal for us to think about our immortality, especially if you have children.  I don't think it is healthy to dwell on it, but a good dose of reality every once in awhile can keep us on our toes and cause us to re-evaluate our lives.

Which is where I am at right now in my life.

I am re-evaluating.

Not about the face value things (my marriage, L) because I wouldn't trade those for the world.  Those are my dreams come true and I am one lucky woman in that arena of life.

I'm talking about the deeper things, the things that are at my core, the things that make me me.

Because I want to live life out loud without being afraid of rejection, obstacles, and set backs.  I just want to do the things that are at the center of my being, do them the best way I know how, and fill up that portion of my soul that is mine and mine alone.

I want to do it because I want my daughter to know that, no matter what society tells her, she is an individual and the things that are at her core, are hers and hers alone.  No one can take those from her.  She owns them and she owns the responsibility to nurture them and help them grow.

From this day forward, there will be more living out loud going on.  There will be more examples set for L, there will be more of enjoying the little things, and there will be more of quenching the thirst in my own soul.

I have a legacy to carve out and deepen.

I just pray there's enough time.

As I am running around like a crazy lady getting everything packed and ready to go for our big move this weekend, I have been listening to a lot of music.  I thought I would share a track that I can't get enough of with you all:

Well, this has definitely been a great day around here!  Justina from Justina Who... nominated me for the Liebster Blog Award!  This is a really cool way for bloggers to meet other bloggers and give us "small time" bloggers a chance to flourish!  THANK YOU JUSTINA! 

I have a daunting task ahead of me this week.  This week, I will be packing up our home that we have lived in for the past year and preparing to move to our first home.  I am happy, I am sad, I am overwhelmed, and I am nostalgic.

L learned to walk here.  She started talking here.   She grew out of her highchair and into a booster seat here.  This was our first house.  Our landlord was lovely.  Unfortunately, she passed away in December of last year and the new landlord has recently taken over.  It just isn't the same.  We are quickly outgrowing this house.  So, it is time to go on to bigger and better things.

I was thinking about all of this this morning while I was browsing Instagram, and a woman I follow posted the above quote as a caption on one of her photo's.  (Sidenote:  Her family is doing something so amazing!  Her, her husband, and their four kiddos are traveling the country for the next six months with a trailer in tow.  They sold most of their belongings and set out on Monday on their grand adventure.  If that isn't living life, I don't know what is!  Check out Joy and keep track of their amazing adventure here.  So inspiring!)

We are finding ourselves at the beginning of a new adventure and, while it certainly has been a roller coaster and scary, we need to give hope a chance to float up.  So, here I go off to pack up a few boxes, all the while giving hope a chance to float up!

What a weekend!  Phew!  I'm kind of glad it's over, honestly.  We didn't do a lot, it is the events that took place that kind of threw off the whole weekend and made it kind of blah.

However, that doesn't mean there weren't a couple of bright spots that didn't make it a complete wash-out.  Friday, I took L to get her first hair cut and it was a total success and Saturday morning L and I went to get some lovely, older furniture for our new home (for free, I may add!).  The rest of the weekend we just spent laying around.  The weather was chillier than usual and it was dreary, so we didn't do much outside.  For the past several weeks, I have been trying my best to get L outside more, but the weather keeps making that almost impossible.  *sigh*  Hopefully, soon, we can get outside and enjoy some good sunshine!