It's All In The Name...

(Blog Challenge: Dirty details about the name of your blog)

Doesn't every little girl dream about a happily ever after? We grow up watching Disney movies...watching as the heroine ends up with her knight in shining armor. She encounters some sort of challenge and is swept off her feet and saved. I was pretty partial to Belle. I felt like she was the only brunette, the only one who liked to read, she was in France (and I loved France). I related to her. She could have been my BFF.

Fast forward many years to the day I met Doug. I remember my friends talking about how huge he was...not only in size but his personality as well. He definitely made his presence known. He had long scraggly hair and if you had the pleasure of seeing my hubby when we met you know he was nearly twice the size he is now. He always jokes that he was the beast and I was the beauty.

And so the name of this blog is born...Our Happily Ever After. It evolved after Jani was born and we added A King, A Queen, and a Little Princess. We are enjoying life, living our dreams and being the leading stars of our very own love story. I may not end up in a castle but I think what we've got is pretty special :)

 

 A blast from the past....like 7 years ago!!! What a beast :)

Let Me Introduce Myself...

I agreed to do a blog challenge with a friend. After looking at many blogs today, I see quite a few people are embracing June as the month to do a challenge! We'll see how it goes. I've tried to do this before, just write everyday but I sometimes lost focus, lacking anything blog worthy. Not that what will come from me will be worthy of reading, but it gives me a focus and will keep me writing. So....here goes Day 1. A recent pic of myself and a description of myself in 5 words....

 Here's me finishing Run Like A Mother. I was pointing at Jani :)

5 words? Just five....I have never been good at being succinct. These will not be related in any way. Just 5 random words.

Forgetful  -  Social  -  Maternal  -  Romantic  -  STRESSED!

I'm just describing myself at this current moment in time :)

My Free Spirit

Stay Classy

Have you ever said "I will never be the mom who...(insert act you once thought disgraceful but now think is perfectly appropriate)"?

As the warm weather has hit us, I was having quite a few of these thoughts...

I will never be the mom who...allows her child to run around barefoot...in the dirt and rocks, eating anything she can get her hands on.

Yeah right.

I will never be the mom who...lets her kid run around naked in the neighborhood, playing in dirty water buckets, drinking the water she was probably just peeing in, and not wearing sunscreen and bugspray at all times!

Living in a dream world.

I will never be the mom who...tries to bribe her child with food to buy just a few more moments perusing the clearance racks at Target.

Fail.

I will never be the mom who...allows her child to throw an all out screaming fit just because she doesn't want to ride in the shopping cart, who continues to do her grocery shopping while her kid flaps around on the floor, and who doesn't have the parenting skills to force her child to be quiet at all times.

Yeah....I said I wouldn't be that mom.

Yet here I am, loving the fact that my child is a healthy, well-adjusted, free-flying 18-month old.

I have also figured out it is unhealthy to set these unrealistic goals for yourself.

Embrace the craziness, the nudity, the screams, the fits, the laughs, the tears, the dirt.

It won't last for long!

Life As We Know It

Have you ever wondered what it would be like if our lives were like TV shows? I was sitting watching one of my favorite shows right now (Brothers and Sisters) and was enjoying the craziness that the family endures. When a song would start playing, I'd smile. Oh how I wish my life was like this. Doug and I having a heart to heart and music pipes in. My daughter dances through the house...and music pipes in. I sit at my parents watching my nieces and nephews bond with my daughter and...you guessed it...music pipes in! How amazing would that be?! What song would pop in when I'm about to pull my hair out at school? Or when a student comes up to me and hugs me for no apparent reason but to tell me he loves me?

Ahhh....the music of my life.

Boy, has life been musical lately. Lent is officially over. I am officially back to my Internet addiction, but not without making some killer memories throughout the last 40 days. Where to start?

Running. Like I said before, I never thought running would bring me joy. But my sisters, mom, and I are signed up and ready for the race next weekend and I am loving my training. Odd that I am saying that. I have found that since the weather got nicer for a bit and I ran outside, treadmill running is just not as satisfying. More to come on the race next weekend. I can't wait to bond with the women of my family. They are my ya-ya's!!

My husband. We tried to make a commitment to actually talk at night during Lent. It gets easy to get wrapped up in technology. Ipods, computers, televisions, cell phones. You know the drill. So we decided to try the Great Dates. Familiar? If not, they are a series of dates based around 6 faith-based principles of marriage. We have only been able to do Great Date #1 but we had an amazing time. You print the date off, seal it, and don't open it until the date. You follow the instructions and you cannot look ahead. We were totally entertained. My hubby and I are corny like that :) We were hoping the first line would tell us to book a trip to Mexico but no such luck! We look forward to seeing what Great Date #2 holds.

Teaching. I don't talk much about my job. I keep the blog pretty family focused...pics of Jani and the like. But it is such a part of me how can I not bring this in. Seriously, my classroom is musical....literally. We have music of some kind playing from the moment the kids enter until the moment they leave. What was the theme at the end of the day you ask? Bieber of course :) Who can't help but smile when a room of 1st graders break out in song?! All kidding aside, I love my job. I love my kids. They bring me joy....and stress...daily. But it's worth it. I'm often asked if I made the right decision going to classroom. My answer...hell yes!

Jani. Oh dear Jani. My little 18 month old ball of fire. The girl literally marches to the beat of her own drum. She marches everywhere! Easter was right up her alley. We try to limit her sugar intake and allowed her to have some sweets this weekend. She was in hog heaven!! She loved the hunting...running around the yard yelling "EGG"!! She loved twirling in her Easter dress and showing off in church. I think she's going to be a performer. Not surprising in the least. Her 18 month post will be coming.

So what songs are playing in your life? What a Wonderful World? My Life Would Suck Without You? Shoop? Build Me Up Buttercup?

Jackie House anyone? :)

And because no post is complete without some Jani.....

Happiness....

I've seen quite a few blog posts lately about what happiness is. I've been thinking about this a lot lately. I've been contemplating what makes me happy...what keeps me happy. With Lent about halfway over I haven't done outstanding on what I set out to do. But I've done okay....I've taken on some things that I hadn't plan on taking on and have been enjoying putting a lot of energy and thought in different areas. So what's making me happy?

1. Blue eyes. Blue eyes that truly melt our heart every single day. Sometimes I wonder if Jani will ever get sick of having people tell her how cute her eyes are. Something tells me she will milk it for all it is worth.

2. Running. I was never a runner in high school or college. It wasn't until after college that I started doing it occasionally. Then Doug and I really got into it and had a year of 5K's. We did quite a few races together. Then I got pregnant and stopped running. After Jani was born I tried to get back to it. It wasn't happening. Running while breastfeeding = an ugly situation for me. So here we are now. My mom and sisters and I ran a race last year in honor of my gma, Run Like a Mother. We've decided to make it a tradition. Last year I barely ran....this year I am training. It's bringing me true joy. Tonight I ran with a smile on my face and got some weird looks from other runners/walkers :)

3. Dressing up. We had an 80's party and Doug and I had fun putting our costumes together. I also have a daughter who LOVES to dress up. The other night she had on her swimsuit, Easter dress, bath robe, and Cabbage Patch purse. Pure comedy.

4. Wagon rides. Jani got a wagon for Christmas and we put it together. She treats it like her personal limo. We walk up and down the street. She attempts to stop and pick up her "date" Noah each day but it's always before he gets home. The tears that ensue just break my heart every time. Young love :)

I need to continue to focus on the happy things. It's so easy to get bogged down with the negative. Spring is here people and we are going to enjoy every single solitary ounce. We are going to run, play, blow bubbles, draw pictures, and love with our whole hearts. Lent truly reminds me of how much love we have to give.