Turkey and Grave…y
“We have a situation.” my mom whispered, 30 minutes after we’d arrived at my grandpa’s house in rural Arkansas for Thanksgiving. “What do you mean, ‘situation’?” I asked. “Sam is dying. And we can’t find him.” she answered. It took me a minute to process what she was saying, partly because it didn’t make sense; mostly because it was late and I was a little preoccupied trying to clean the toddler’s clothes and car seat from where he vomited during the road trip after eating 2 pounds of gas station gummy worms and Taco Bell, in that order. “Sam is dying…and he’s missing.” I repeated. “Correct.” she confirmed. Sam, of course, was my Papa’s ancient hunting…
Attention Deficit Mom Disorder
Yesterday I did that thing where I put a kid in time out, forgot I put him in time out, and stumbled across him much, much later. He was all, “Mommy, can I come out now?” I replied with, “Have you had enough time to think about what you did?” (Also, could you be a dear and remind me what it was? Because it’s been long enough I forgot.)
Goodbye Bikini, Hello Love.
Just last week I was sitting on a beach in Mexico with a piña colada on one side and my husband on the other. He was wearing a blue swimsuit that matched the blue of his eyes. I was wearing a green polka dot bikini that actually made me feel quite uncomfortable, being preacher’s kid who grew up wearing athletic shorts to my knees (dubbed “Lord Shorts” of course). But it was our honeymoon. You’re supposed to show skin on your honeymoon. You’re supposed to only wear skin on your honeymoon. Or something. We were so cute, he with his 4-ish pack (everyone loses a few “packs” after college), me with my toned legs and flat stomach. We were so…
A Year of Fruit
As I reflect back over 2015, the first momentous occasion I think of, obviously, was the pregnancy and birth of our third child. But aside from, you know, adding another human to the mix and all, 2015 was also a great year for Team Brooks because it was the year we focused on the fruit of the Spirit. Each month we focused on a different “fruit”, plus a few bonus attributes at the end of the year. We planned activities surrounding it, prayed about it, and memorized a Bible verse to help us remember it. (Backstory found in this post.) Now that 2015 is coming to a close, I wanted to share how…
{uncomfortably} real life.
I had a redefining moment a few weeks ago on social media. This happens every so often and I’m thankful it does. I posted a picture on Facebook of our playroom in complete disarray with a caption about how I genuinely love seeing the toysplosion of little kids after big play. The post was met with several “same here” and heart emoji replies, in addition to one or two comments about the amount of toys pictured and the responsibility of my boys to clean them up. Fun fact: it doesn’t matter how many positive comments I receive, I will obsess over a single hint of criticism for weeks. <font-family: sarcasm> It’s one of the many perks of being a…
See ya, 2014. It’s been weird as always.
If we’re being honest, I don’t love celebrating New Year’s Eve. You get invited to parties that start at…what? 7?…and then last until past midnight. MIDNIGHT. (I am a strict 10-pm-bedtimer.) So you’re stuck at a party for 5 hours minimum. Sometimes they’re great. Sometimes they’re terrible. And when they’re terrible? You cannot leave. It’s against every unwritten social rule to leave before issuing in the new year with awkward kisses and televised ball drops. It’s just not my favorite thing ever, which is why I’m super excited to celebrate tonight at my house by playing a competitive game of rummy with my husband and father-in-law. (Seriously, can’t wait.) That said, closing out that…
for real tho…life as of late
It’s been a while since I’ve just documented life as of late which, coincidentally, is what the title of this blog is. And I have a hankering to write words without having to think too hard about them, so howsabout a little update post for my own sake. Like an update on Beckett. He’s 3 and really good at being 3. He is a little tootface that makes me laugh on a minutely basis. Have you seen that little chunky kid who says “apppparennttllyyyy” a lot? That’s Beck with the words “actually” and “seriously”. It’s amazing. He’s potty trained for the most part, and he’s really good at entering a…
But when we do…Jesus.
In normal 3 year old fashion, Beckett was climbing under the coffee table and jostled it, spilling my best friend coffee. I flipped out. “ARE YOU KIDDING ME RIGHT NOW?! DO NOT MOVE THE TABLE. WHY WOULD YOU MOVE THE TABLE? WHO MOVES TABLES??” Unfazed by my obvious overreaction and ridiculous line of questioning (who moves tables, really?), he crawled out and went to find something else to play with. A few minutes later, out dump 3,258 of our Hoarder’s Edition® Matchbox cars all over the floor. “DUDE. WHY. WHY ARE YOU DUMPING ALL OF THOSE OUT? I LITERALLY JUST PUT ALL THOSE AWAY.” He looked over at me and started picking them up before I even…
Amerrrrica, Amerrrrica
We went to the pediatrician the other day for our bi-weekly visit. (If you ever want to prepare for having small children, spend 80% of your time either being sick or taking care of sick people.) The doctor walked in the room, sat down, and started asking what was going on with Hutton. Doc: So he’s been sick. Ok. How high has his fever bee – wait – *studies her notes* Is this a typo or is that really how much he weighs?“ Me: Uh…yea. Almost 19 pounds? That’s how much he weighs. Doc: Wow. This is the weight they just took? Just a second ago? Me: Yes. Doc: Wow.…
Living the Moments
This post was originally written for my friends over at thirtyone17. Their site is a charming, fabulous, unfiltered take on being a modern day Proverbs 31 woman. I wanted to share this post here as well, because the response it generated tells me I’m not the only one who struggles with what I shared, BUT I only repost it under the assumption you’ll read this and then immediately head over to their super awesome site. Capeesh?! (Or “capiche” if you’re fancy.) Name the last 5 Instagram photos you saw on your news feed, in order, without cheating. Can’t do it? Me either, even though I liked pretty much all of…
