Ooftah. It’s potty training week, so understand the emphasis of my first word of choice (I could have used a few other words, but ooftah seemed the most appropriate). But it’s Friday which means the weekend is almost here! Here are a few things this mama is loving today!

This Friday comes with great relief. This might have been the busiest week we have had since moving to the farm yet. Not that Friday really means anything during planting season, but it’s still nice to think that Eric’s day off, Sunday is coming up. Not that Nora and I will be here this weekend, we leave for Kansas City tomorrow afternoon so I can do my orientation at the hospital Monday. Still, I’m celebrating the end of the week with a smile on my face and a bag of SweeTarts propped on my growing belly. Let’s begin!

Good morning Friday! I am so glad you are here! It’s been a very full week around here. Nora had an ear infection and both she and I are in the middle of colds. BOO! Not to mention our house officially went up for sale on Monday. We got tons of phone calls and have some folks who are interested, so we will see if anything happens this weekend. Fingers and toes crossed, people! Here are some things that are on my mind this week.

There is nothing better than waking up on a Friday to dark clouds, heavy rain and thunder and lightning. Oh wait, how about adding cuddling with your little baby in bed?? Yep, that is pretty much the cherry on top. If only we could stay in bed and cuddle all day long. Sigh…but me and this little gal have stuff to do today! And so we will begin!

It’s always odd when a holiday lands in the middle of the week. But either way, it’s a holiday and reason to celebrate with family, food and lots of laughs. This Five on Friday is here again. Sadly, I’ve kind of slacked on my blogging this week. Lots of fun stuff going on, which means lots to catch up on! Let’s get started!

“Smile, Nora…. Please just ONE little smile!”

*click* *click* *click*

frown, curl of upper lip, blank stare…

*click* *click* *click*

The one day we have professional pictures taken, my ever smiling child won’t even show a hint of happiness. OK, her favorite animal noises, that will certainly get her to smile.

“Nora, what noise does the lion make? RAWR!!!”

{insert ShRiEk of anger here}

Welp, that was that. Thirty minutes of trying to get her to smile, or even remotely act like her happy self, down the drain. Not only did she look adorable in her new strawberry onsie tank, pink Toms and hot pink bow perched atop her pretty little head, but MY hair and make-up was even done. Everything was set up perfect – blue skies, comfy blanket on the grass, even a handful of Cheerios. The one and only instruction I gave her was to smile. But her stubborn self wouldn’t allow it. She wanted to do what she wanted to do. To top it off, I felt like I wasted a perfectly good amount of Big Sexy Hair Mousse on my hair for nothing that day. Which brings me (finally) to my second fav thing on this Friday afternoon….

If your needing some volume to your hair, long or short, this stuff TOTALLY does the trick! A few sprays here, a few there and whala! Volume to the max! I love this product (I have for years, now) and truly think it’s the best out there. It’s money well spent in my book!

In Nora’s defense, I don’t think she felt totally like herself yesterday. She had been pretty whiney for a few days already, and this day just topped it all off.  Lucky for us, our photographer was super kind and patient with her – I just love that Angie Plank (if you need a photographer USE HER!). Our meltdowns this week have looked a little something like this:

As I was getting annihilated by Jillian Michaels later that afternoon, I was thinking back on our little “moment” during our pictures that morning. Nora’s “I wanna do what I wanna do” actions sadly reminded me of my own daily shortcomings. How many times has God deliberately called me to do something, and I give him a firm curl of my upper lip because it’s not what I want. Ouch. Lately, I’ve felt some pretty distinct tugs at my heart to truly lay my burdens on Him, but have been reluctant, feeling like I can still take on the problems of the world by myself. That whole “God uses your kids to teach you lessons” thing hit home in a big way. And yesterday, God served me a big ‘ole piece of humble pie through my little girl. Thanks Nora 🙂

Hello Friday and hello cold front in KC! And by cold front, I mean 85 degree weather and only the feeling of semi-drowning in humidity. Nevertheless, the weekend is here. And Eric and I are SUPER excited to be trying out our new smoker tomorrow. Nothing screams weekend like smoked meat, cold drinks and a fat baby in a kiddie pool. Amen? Yes. Very well. Let’s continue….
I am doing another link-up with some adorable gals that I love following in blog land. I’m so glad that they have decided to continue this link-up through the summer months.