Two to One

dress: Target (similar)
vest: Gap
bag: Dorothy Perkins (similar)
sandals: Gap (similar)
watch: Target (similar)

Every week I watch my sister's daughter. I sort of get practice for two kids already. Her and my son are six months apart and the bigger they get, the more similar their behavior is. Right now they are in 'everything is mine' stage. They don't want to share or be nice, and although they have undying love for each other, they pound on one another half the time. On those days, I don't get dressed until about 2pm and don't even try to follow any  kind of schedule. They are good kids and obey when I put my foot down but, at the same time,  there is two of them and only one of me. It gets hard sometimes but the moments they are cute and loving on each other they melt my heart. Those are the moments that prove life as a mama is worth it all.

Hope you are having a great day! 

As Good as It Gets

tee: Old Navy
skirt: J.Crew
bag: Ali Express (similar)
shoes: Macy's (similar)
watch: Target  (similar)

The other day hubby and I were discussing the business of weddings, after we received a wedding invitation from our friends. Their nuptials are going to take place on our exact wedding anniversary, even the same hour! It was wild to read their invite, because it reminded us of our own wedding. It's going to be six years (WOAH) next month since we walked down the isle. It feels like we got married few months ago not few years!

We reminisced about our wedding day, talking about all the things that we hold dear to our hearts. Coincidentally we were on the way to the same hotel we were staying at on our wedding night, for lunch. I said that I remember very little from 'the best day of our lives' and how unrealistic expectations get people in trouble. Of course, everyone dreams about a romantic and gorgeous affair which ends in a passionate night of hot lovin, but that's simply unrealistic. 

It was a very well organized day with a lot of places to be, people to see and things to do. Expecting it to be the best day ever seems to set people up for failure when something goes wrong. Having it as stress free as possible is as good as it gets (we had a minute by minute schedule we gave out to our whole family - it helped). And I'm fine with that. It was a very happy day, but the best part? The rest of our lives together.

Thank you for stopping by! 

Currently Loving {Dressed Up} Thursday Link Up

top: J.Crew (thrifted) (similar)
skirt: J.Crew (similar)
wedges: Aldo (similar)
clutch: DIY (similar)

As I mentioned last week, I lost the camera charger (and hubby almost killed me). So it took a few days to order a new one and have it shipped. Now we are back up with regular scheduled posts and I have to say, I missed it. Blogging is such a fun thing and I love doing it. Although, having a break from outfit pictures was something I needed. Here is the love of all things cute and dressy - my yellow blouse with fun print skirt. 

An InLinkz Link-up

On Becoming a Morning Person

image

This is me. Well, not really a picture of me but what I'm doing every morning at sunrise. I'm running. Thanks to some friends, and marathon-running sister of mine, who encourage me along.

I've never been a morning person. Since we got married, hubby and I would stay up late and then sleep in until cows came home. It's a little different now - baby wakes up by eight am every morning and one would think that we would change our sleeping habits. But we really haven't been doing a good job going to sleep at a normal time, i.e. before midnight. We would stay up way too late and be exhausted the next morning, hating it every time. 

With the daylight savings time and early sunrise, I feel like I'm loosing precious time by not waking up early enough. However waking up @5:30 am just to be by yourself isn't exactly all that exciting. I hit the snooze button and go right back to sleep. Even if I'm trying to have extra time to do my Bible study, with a cup of tea in hand and half asleep. 

It's just not motivating enough. 

But when a group of us agrees to meet at six am to exercise, it's a totally different story. It's like there is an obligation to go. First, I have to keep my promise to come, and then, I will get all those texts if I don't. Having somewhere to be at a certain time makes the whole thing very official and important.  

Mind you, I only ran a few days but I already like it. I love the quietness of the streets, crisp morning air, and the gorgeous morning sunrise. I push myself to exercise, having some time think and clear my mind. And the half an hour girl talk after the run is so much fun that I would come just for that.

Then I come back early enough to make pancakes from scratch and have prayer time, all before everyone wakes up. 

Now I just can't wait for nap time, because I'm already exhausted even though it's only ten am.

My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up. (Psalm 5:3)

Fear {Motherhood Challenges Series}

Motherhood is a challenging task. It makes you take an honest look at yourself and evaluate who you are as a person. Of course, none of us can reach a point where we have corrected out bad habits to the point of perfection. In addition, every child needs to learn from his parents how to grow, learn from and deal with difficult parts life.

Fear is one of the biggest motherhood challenges. It's not the fear of my son getting hurt physically (nothing can stand in a way of a toddler) but the emotional pain that I may cause, or who he may grow up to be, or the future that expects him. 

A lot of times, I fear what I'm doing isn't enough or wrong, and I start doubting my own abilities as a mother. I fear he will grow up to make some awful mistakes or will hurt other people. I fear that I'm not patient and tender enough to show God's love everyday. I fear that he doesn't see the loving and ever-bearing parent I want to be. I fear that something I do or say will impact him forever and he won't recover from the consequences.
As mothers we face the reality of life every day and want to protect our children so much more but we cannot. What we can do is ask God to cover all our inabilities and insecurities with his love. It's not that we won't make mistakes, but we know that God keeps our children in His hand and in whatever we're lacking, He will fill up. Whatever we can't do, God will finish and whenever we mess up, He will give mercy.

Fear disables us from moving on and cripples our ability to love fully, give our all and do great things. God doesn't want us living in a constant state of desperation and tragedy, better yet he has a plan. We just need to trust Him and let go. He knows the present, he has been in the past and every child has a future. When we do our part, he will take care of the rest.

There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. (John 4:18)