This is Us

life, lately.

April 29, 2013 | posted by Jaima @ Ring Around the Rosies | 1 Comment

Things are finally feeling like home around here. Mostly. The roads are still unfamiliar, and I haven’t met a single soul, but I am quite honestly loving the privacy. I may have a very public life online, but there is something about a quiet, peaceful home. Except for the donkeys across the street. They are not quiet, and we all die laughing every time they go at it. But other than that, it’s quiet. Our old house was on a heavily traveled road, and you could actually drive by and see us having dinner (true story, my aunt called the day after valentines and asked how our candle lit dinner was, because she drove by and saw it). Now, we are on a back road atop a hill that sits on five acres. It’s so nice.

Most of the boxes in the house are unpacked. I haven’t touched the guest bedroom or office yet though, and I haven’t hung a single thing on the walls. I feel slightly unsure about doing it, because currently there are NO holes in any of our walls – not even towel racks or toilet paper holders in the bathrooms (unsure how that can be true for a 25 year old home).

We are finding our new normal and getting in a groove. I don’t find myself running up and down the stairs four times at night because I forgot something anymore. Elizabeth hasn’t mentioned “going home” in a couple of days, and is sleeping very well in her new room by herself upstairs (which freaks me out, honestly).

This week, I am hoping to stick to a schedule – get my office set up and begin “working” again. Thank you so much for your patience during this exciting time! I cannot wait to share more with you!

If you follow me on instagram, these may be repeats, but here is a great recap of life lately!

I would love to know how YOU are. What’s the weather like where you are? How is your life, lately?!?

Filed Under: hello monday, Our Family, This is Us

bitter-sweet days

April 9, 2013 | posted by Jaima @ Ring Around the Rosies | 4 Comments

Tonight, after a few beautiful days in a row, that we’ve spent either running all around town or inside packing, we took a nice break after supper to just play. I walked out to just sit on the porch swing – to reclaim my thoughts and clarity and to let Elizabeth play in the rocks (her favorite).

This whole move is bitter-sweet. Don’t get me wrong, we are ecstatic for a new adventure. For a positive change. And to live in our dream house. But this house has been quite special for us, too. It was our safe-haven when our worlds were collapsing. It was our peaceful little home that we brought our daughter home to. It was our saving-grace when we desperately needed to learn to think like a two percenter and challenge ourselves to pay off all of our debt in one year. We made this house our home. Before we moved in, it was a 1970s trailer with green carpet, paneled walls, wavy floors, and little love. The improvements we did, and the joy we filled it with made it a home – a great home.

Beyond the boxes and little piles of things that need to go into boxes, looking in from the swing, I thought about all the meals we’d had at that table. The times we’d had more guests than chairs. How, even when Elizabeth was first born, she sat at the table with us for dinner. I thought about all the painting and “art” Elizabeth and I had done there. The many times, I’ve chased her around and around it trying to catch her for bath time. How she use to crawl across the wood floors in hopes of catching the dog. I thought about the hundreds of times I’ve told her to “don’t climb on the window”, and how I was sure the dog would scratch her way through it one day. I remembered the nights Elizabeth would watch for her Daddy to come home and squeal with excitement when he arrived. And the mornings he use to go in late, and we’d watch him leave from breakfast as he waved goodbye and honked.

I thought about the hours we had spent trying to do something with this yard. About the neighbors dog that wouldn’t stay out of my flower beds. About how the yard looked when we moved in, and about the night last summer I finally dug up the remaining of the sidewalk. I smiled as I saw Elizabeth playing and thought about the times she begged to go “ouside”.

I remembered all the parties we had on this front porch. It seems like every time we planned a party for our larger back deck, it poured rain. At one time, on CJ’s last birthday party, we had like 15+ people on this porch. I’ll never forget those nights. We’ve had many, many bbq’s served on this porch. I remember walking up the steps with baby Elizabeth on the day we came home from the hospital. I recall sitting on the front steps 8 months pregnant to take a break from painting and renovating, because we didn’t have chairs in our house yet. Thousands of bubbles have been blown in the past couple years from this swing. Lots of blog posts have been written on this porch. Tons of coaching calls have happened here, in the quiet escape from the busy house. But even before we lived here, I remember playing on it as a child (it is my aunt and uncles home in case you didn’t know). I remember CJ, as a toddler, finding money my Paw-Paw would hide in the “money tree”, which is what we still call the tree Andrew & Bean are standing by. I also remember my mama driving her huge clunker car to pick us up in the afternoon, when we stayed with my aunt. There have been lots of hide-n-seek games played behind the trees in this yard. By my generation, and Elizabeth’s.

But now, we’re on to our next adventure. Ready to make NEW memories. To hopefully raise our children and grandchildren in a home we loved before we walked in (you know that “this is it” feeling?). Soon, the walls and walls of boxes will be moved to our new home, and this home will be passed on to another family to create memories in.

Throughout this whole process, I just keep singing, Building 429’s song. (on a side note, their lead singer is our current worship pastor, and we will sorely miss our church).

I’ve sang this song, the entirety of our stay in this house. We knew, going in it would just be a temporary home. We had no idea how long we would live here, but we are thankful for the almost three years we’ve had here.

Filed Under: Faith, our house, This is Us

hippity hoppity easter’s gone away

April 2, 2013 | posted by Jaima @ Ring Around the Rosies | Leave a Comment

April is here already – ready of not. Spring has (sort of) sprung. Winter holidays have passed. New things are blooming. We are about to make the next big move in our marriage/life.

We had a great weekend. Allbeit, busy, but good. This was our last holiday in this house, and we are very much in the midst of packing, so things were quite a bit different and a lot more low-key here. Firstly, this was all of the decorating I did. I never finished these shelves, and frankly, I loved them just the same. Secondly, the weather here has just been yucky. It was cold and rainy all day Easter, so we didn’t have any special easter egg hunts (contrary to the 3 or 4 we did last year). We had a nice dinner here, just the 3 of us. It was perfect! While dinner was in the oven, we colored eggs, because we hadn’t had time to do it before. And, after a great meal, Elizabeth napped and so did we! Andrew & I piled up on the couch with the dog and took a nap ourselves. It was super nice after all the running around and things we’ve had going on! A great day to focus on the true meaning of Easter, to praise God for the resurrection – the single most important event in history, and to relax!

I also want you all to know that I may be slightly missing in action the next 2 weeks or so, but you can definitely follow along with me on instagram throughout the day. I am not one of those bloggers who have three months worth of blog posts in the queue scheduled. I try to keep things real and relevant as they are happening. But trust me, I do have some amazing things in the works for you! And am super excited to share our next adventure with you!

Filed Under: easter, Holidays, This is Us

Tuesday

March 12, 2013 | posted by Jaima @ Ring Around the Rosies | 2 Comments

It’s been a whirlwind around here lately. I will admit that I hate the glorification of “busy”, but suffice it to say, we’ve been just that: busy!

My business is exploding before my eyes, which is a true blessing to our family, but combined with the end of semester for school, a huge family milestone I’m excited to announce soon and the calendar which says that within the next two months from today, I will be spending 4 days in Dallas for this event, 4 days in Orlando for this event, 5 days in San Francisco with Shaklee, and that Andrew will be in Texas with the Army for 4-5 weeks, I’m a little overwhelmed… We didn’t realize Andrew would be gone when I booked travel for myself – not that it really matters, I was selected to be part of each of the events, which is a huge honor I just can’t turn down… Thankfully, we have great friends who have offered to keep Bean the few days I’ll be away.

And can I just say that I am READY for spring? The weather here is so wonky. You’ll think it’s spring for a couple of days because it’s in the mid 60s, and then it will snow. And then comes the rain and mud… it’s crazy. No more teasing us, please. I’m ready for the real deal.

So how are you?!? I hope things are peaceful for you. Despite having a lot of places to be and things to do, Andrew & I are super duper excited about our future and some incredible things that are also happening during the next two months. But you have to stay tuned for those.

Before you go thinking I’m some sort of Wonder Woman, I will also be sharing how I handle it all and still manage to have a balanced, healthy home later this week!

XOXO, friends!

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Filed Under: hello monday, This is Us

what I learned from monkey joes

February 18, 2013 | posted by Jaima @ Ring Around the Rosies | Leave a Comment

This weekend we had the privilege of keeping our friend’s little girl. She is only 8 months older than Elizabeth, and they totally love each other. It was Elizabeth’s first sleep over.

Even though they love each other, and get super excited to see each other, they had their moments… And so did I. We already knew it was going to be too cold to do anything fun outside, so we planned to take the girls to Monkey Joes, which is a jump around place with lots of bounce houses and things.

Both girls are mostly potty-trained, Elizabeth a little less than the other. I remembered about 3 minutes after we got in the car that I forgot to remind Elizabeth to potty before we left, so we pulled over so I could put a diaper on her for the ride, just in case. It was too late. She peed in her car seat. I stripped her down and changed her clothes. And as a frazzled mom, without thinking, I put her right back in her wet seat.

The rest of the ride I felt like such a bad mama. Who forgets that they’re “potty training” their daughter. And then, she started walking towards the door, and I realized what I did, as the back of her pants were wet. Thankfully, there is a dollar store right beside Monkey Joes. Andrew ran in and grabbed an outfit and I got us all paid and ready to jump.

And then it happened. I went to the bathroom with the girls, to change Elizabeth’s clothes (again) and let them potty. As I was telling them how much fun we were going to have, and still secretly trying to calm my own mind, another mother in the handicap stall was yelling at her toddler son. He was whiny, and I don’t know the circumstances, I don’t know what happened before they got to the bathroom, but I do know she kept telling him to “shut up”… At least 4 or 5 times, in the time it took me to wash the girls hands, she told her innocent child who wasn’t even talking yet to “just shut up… or we will go home”.

You can imagine the look I shot her as she emerged from the stall. And I probably would have kept giving them to her, had she ever looked up from her phone while her child happily played with mine. I so wanted to ask, “so is that how your parent’s talked to you”, but it’s not my business.

Suddenly, I didn’t feel like a bad mama. There were many other mamas that reassured me that day, that I am in fact not a bad mama after all.

For two days, I’ve been thinking that maybe I just don’t get out enough. I cannot imagine ever speaking to my daughter that way, even when she is defiant and fussy. But this morning, in my 5:00 bootcamp class, I took all that bad energy, and came home refreshed to knew thinking.

We are too hard on ourselves sometimes. Sure, there are obviously some mama’s who could take some lessons (which makes me soooo sad, especially for that particular little boy), but it isn’t our job to judge them, either…

So it’s a new week, and a new chance to be the best mommy’s we can be… Here’s to that, it’s Monday, refreshed mindset, new chances. Give yourself a break, Mama. You are great! The days seem so long, but we know the weeks go by so fast…

Filed Under: Elizabeth, Mommy Moment, This is Us

our valentine night {steak house date at home}

February 17, 2013 | posted by Jaima @ Ring Around the Rosies | Leave a Comment

For Valentines, Andrew said he would just pick up some steaks to grill, and we would have a quiet date night at home with Elizabeth. And quiet night we had, but thanks to our amazing friends, we also had a night to ourselves! It was an amazing steak house date night in the comfort of our own home! No crowds or long waits. I still dressed up. I figured if we were having “date night” the least I could do was put on something other than the usual yoga pants.

Here’s how we had a steak house date at home for a small fraction of the cost…

I made chocolate covered strawberries during the day for us and for our friends as a nice thank you!

Andrew picked up a bottle of wine, an amazing heart shaped ribeye (which is my favorite steak, even over filet mignon), and scallops! He marinated the scallops and grilled them….

While I baked some red potatoes,

made some gluten free croutons,

and threw together a salad!

It was one of our favorite meals, and such a nice night at home in the quiet, with a little Frank Sinatra playing in the background.

It really doesn’t take a whole lot to have a nice night during the week to treat your significant other. And it is totally necessary. We make it a rule to go out on at least one date a month, but we try to still sneak in a few at home the rest of the month too. Sometimes, we put Elizabeth to bed a little early and pop popcorn and watch a movie, or sometimes, we make a favorite dinner together. I understand the children make things complicated, but perhaps you could find a friend or neighbor and swap a couple of hours with them, if a baby sitter isn’t available.

Dating your husband is absolutely necessary in having a great marriage. And sometimes doing little things like applying a little makeup or your favorite perfume can be a great thing to welcome your husband home to, also.

So tell me, how do you make special time for your spouse?!?

Filed Under: Andrew, marraige, recipe, This is Us, valentines

Christmas at our house

January 2, 2013 | posted by Jaima @ Ring Around the Rosies | Leave a Comment

Christmas may be over, but the memories remain. This was definitely one of the best ones we’ve had in a while. I would normally apologize for being MIA over the past week or more, but truth is, I’m not sorry. Andrew took some time off work for the first time since before Elizabeth was born, and so I decided to do the same. We soaked up every lazy minute the past couple weeks, and today things sort of go back to regular schedules. Most days we stayed in our pajamas, played lots of games, worked puzzles (over and over), watched Christmas movies with hot cocoa, did lots of baking, and thoroughly enjoyed all of our family!

Here’s what our December and Christmas looked like…

I went to check the mail one night, and couldn’t resist snagging this picture as I started to walk back in the house… It was too perfect. This was on our Christmas card this year!

Our tree is filled to the brim with special ornaments and memories from generations past, and the lights twinkle just right! It’s hard to see in this picture, but there’s some below of the train around the tree. Christmas ‘10, Elizabeth was only 5 months old and crawled for the first time towards it. This year, every single night she and her Daddy would start it up and watch it for what must have been hours. She would load all of her little animals on it and shout, “all aboard…1, 2, 3, goooo”! And every night after bath time, she got to unwrap a Christmas book beneath the tree and we would read it right there in that bottom right corner of the picture.

These are moments I will never ever forget – and that’s what Christmas is really about.

In the middle of the month, we had a totally impromptu gingerbread party! I texted the mommy’s of her closest friends and cousins, and ended up with nine 2-3 year olds around our kitchen table one Saturday morning. Andrew & I built the houses Friday night out of graham crackers and gathered different candies and white frosting for them to decorate with. Elizabeth helped me make a batch of gingerbread cookies for the party. Everyone brought a snack to share and we served hot cocoa and apple juice – so easy. Definitely a new tradition we will be keeping for years to come!

We did a lot of baking and crafts. We did at least one of each every day, and surprisingly, it wasn’t too overwhelming. After Sandy Hook, I looked at the messes very differently, and praised God for the ability to make them!

A little bit of magic in every room. Not too much, just a touch here and there. I scaled way back last year and got rid of a very good portion of my Christmas stuff – it makes it much more tolerable, but just as special! I only want things that truly make me happy and/or have meaning in my home!

I made Elizabeth a felt tree with buttons and her own ornaments, thinking that it would keep her off the big tree. She loved it, and played with it a lot, but it didn’t work to keep her off. I decided to pick my battles though.

Christmas Eve, our church has an incredible service. Afterwards, we went to Andrew’s moms for eggnog, snacks, and presents. Then we always light Mom and CJ’s trees at the graveyard. Mom use to do it for her Mom and Dad who are buried right beside them. Now, I do it for all 4 of them, and plan to continue doing it as long as we live here. Elizabeth always kisses them goodbye without being told. Blows me away and brings me to tears every time. The simple fact that she knows who they are, though she never met them, is so incredible to me.

Christmas morning was so special this year. It was the first Christmas I have been excited for in years! Elizabeth got my old bike, which she loved! And Santa totally surprised me this year too! New luggage, a new vacuum I really needed, 4 sets of glass storageware (so happy to get rid of all that mismatched plastic crap), all new bath towels, hand towels, dish towels, and dish rags, a super surprising ticket to Blissdom this March in Dallas (that I didn’t even mention – or planned on going to), and other fun stuff!!! And the best part? This is our first completely debt free Christmas!!!

We had birthday cake for Jesus with a ham I always bake overnight for breakfast! And around noon, we pack up in our pajamas and head to my aunts for the day! Until my grandparents passed away in ‘02, we all went to their house. Then it was my mom’s until she and CJ died, and now this was our 3rd Christmas at my aunts!

Hope you had a very merry Christmas this year!

And I hope you’re ready for an incredible NEW YEAR!!! We certainly are!

Filed Under: Christmas, Holidays, Our Family, This is Us

monday, zoo, loretta lynn, parties, and more!

November 26, 2012 | posted by Jaima @ Ring Around the Rosies | Leave a Comment

Is it just me or have the last few weeks just flew by?!
Ours have been jam-packed with fun things. A little bit of work and a whole lot of play.
Last Sunday, on Veteran’s Day, our zoo was having free admission for vets and their families. Considering we hadn’t been there this year (shockingly) we took advantage of the beautiful day. So thankful we did.
We’ve been doing a little Christmas shopping, but I generally make most of our gifts – you’ll see some of them in here (I have to be careful about posting them, because I don’t want to spoil any surprises).
Thanksgiving was AMAZING this year. One of the best ones I can recall. I didn’t take any pictures that day because I was too busy soaking up the day. It was a quiet day, with my immediate family. After dinner, the men played with their new toys and the girls watched old home movies and went through the sales papers! That night, the men took the babies home, and I went out with my aunt and cousin. It’s a crazy tradition, but we always have so much fun and create so many memories.
Friday was Andrew’s birthday! I don’t care how old you are, you’re never too old for a birthday party in my book. Our family values every one so much more now. And we are all there to celebrate! Of all the meals I could have prepared, Andrew wanted a frozen pizza party (gross, huh?). I guess since we rarely eat already prepared food, or junk food for that matter, he thought he’d make a party of it… haha. I’m thankful for Amy’s organic gluten free pizzas!
Saturday, I cleaned out all day and worked on a school project (did you know I not only run a business and blog, but I’m in the midst of finally getting a degree) while Andrew went out with a friend. We rendezvoused for sushi later.
Sunday, was an at-home, self-declared family day!! Just the 3 of us. We put on the traditional Loretta Lynn Christmas album I grew up listening to and decorated for Christmas and put up the tree. Sipped hot chocolate (it’s cold here), and had left over Thanksgiving for dinner.
I wish you could have seen Elizabeth’s face when we cut the tree lights on. This Christmas is already fun! We could just skip all of the presents, because the magic and wonder in her eyes has already been more than I ever expected. It’s going to be a great season. She keeps walking around smiling and saying, “looooook, Mama!”. Love it.

And if you actually looked through all of those pictures, here’s my favorite Loretta Lynn Christmas song… Mama always said, “we’ll have a good ol’ country Christmas this year”, and we always have. This year is no exception!

Filed Under: Andrew, Christmas, Elizabeth, Holidays, Our Family, thanksgiving, This is Us

thankful

November 22, 2012 | posted by Jaima @ Ring Around the Rosies | Leave a Comment

I am thankful for so much. My heart is seriously full.

Things are definitely not perfect, we have our heartaches and hardships like any other family. Part of my resolutions this year was to rid my life and my home of anything negative. We are choosing to focus on the positives that we have, instead of the things that we don’t. And let me tell you the surreal peace and happiness that has come from that.

I am thankful for my family. I have been so richly blessed. I may not have my mom anymore, but I have aunts and cousins who take such good care of me and Elizabeth.

God gave me an amazing husband. He is the hardest working man I have ever known. He is annoyingly perfect at everything he does, and always goes waaaay beyond whatever the task at hand is. For instance, if he scores a 98 on a test and has a chance to retake it, he will – just to get those 2 extra points, even though he already has an A. He is a master carpenter, an IT guru, a SSG in the US Army, an amazing pianist, a former volunteer fire fighter, an expert marksman, He works full time, does Army on the weekends, takes 4 classes a semester (and maintains a 4.0), and still has time to be the best daddy and husband there is!

I am thankful for my perfect daughter, and God’s timing. She is overflowing in personality. She is healthy, and growing (slowly). She has such a kind heart and never lets us forget to say prayers before meals and bedtime. I am so glad God decided to give me the opportunity to be her Mommy!

I am thankful for Shaklee and my incredible team! I LOVE all of the girls on there so much. It’s hard to believe I didn’t know any of them 16 months ago, and now they’re among my best friends! I am thankful for the opportunity to make a full time income from home working during Elizabeth’s naptime.

I am thankful for this blog – my outlet – and the community that has formed here the past year. Y’all are incredible women. I love hearing your stories and getting to know you. I am thankful for the chance to share my own story and ideas, in hopes of helping even one of you.

I am thankful for this free country. Regardless of who is in office, I am thankful for the freedoms we still have, the rights we are guaranteed, and all of the men and women who have fought and continue to fight to ensure we are protected.

I am thankful for my health, my talents, my abilities, and all of the little things we so often take for granted such as our warm home we complain is too little, and the fridge we complain is too empty. I’m thankful for the vehicles we complain are too expensive to fill up, and for the clean roads we complain are too bumpy.

So what about you? What are you thankful for this holiday?

Filed Under: Faith, Our Family, thanksgiving, This is Us

monday

November 5, 2012 | posted by Jaima @ Ring Around the Rosies | Leave a Comment

It’s been a full few weeks! Full of fun and new things!

Elizabeth is 1 day shy of being 28 months old, which is CRAZY to me. How did those months go by so fast? She is not a baby anymore, but a little girl. A little girl who is almost officially potty trained and sleeping in a “big girl bed” as of this past week. The transition to the big girl bed happened because she figured out how to escape her crib. She is a MONKEY! The other day I found her on top of her play house! The switch has been both challenging and comical. I usually find her passed out in the floor when I go to check on her. I keep telling myself she is just exploring her new freedom and that she will eventually stay in her bed. She has done great potty training, too! So proud of her! I am way overdue for a “dear elizabeth” post…

Anyway, besides the potty training and crib change, our days have been full of painting pumpkins, running and playing at the park, trick or treating, and savoring the few sunny days we have left before winter.

I have also been very busy behind the scenes here planning 2 Christmas series for you! And planning out 2013! Be sure that you are subscribed to my newsletter to get all the latest updates, weekly tips for creating balance, and exciting upcoming events!