{Five on Friday} Life Lately Edition

Happy Friday, ladies! So things have gotten busy again here in the Holt household so I figured I'd just dedicate today's post to a Life Lately Edition and catch you all up on some things happening around here. So let's get this show on the road...

1. A New Look

So you probably have noticed by now the ole blog got a fresh new look. After scouring for months for a new blog template, I finally pulled the trigger on this one from Brand Me Beautiful and I am in love. I still have a few things to add and to tweak but for now I couldn't help but share it and make it go live. The bold black and white with pops of gold make me giddy!

2. Snow Days

As I mentioned last week, NC got hit with some snow days. The kids ended up missing an entire week of school and teachers only reported for a few hours two days last week. I thought that was the end of it and then Tuesday morning I woke up to snow coming down and school cancelled. The weathermen totally missed that one and the roads had not been prepared. Needless to say, it was a disaster and lots of accidents happened. Thankfully not involving me. And then, Wednesday night, we were blessed with more snow. And by snow, I truly mean a winter wonderland. We got right around 6 inches of pure snow at our house and it couldn't be more beautiful. Just look at the pictures and decide for yourself.

3.  Sick Days

Sunday night after heading out for dinner, I came home and noticed I felt cold and a bit achy. I didn't think much of it as we had just came in from outside so I threw on some sweats, curled up in bed, and called it a night. On Monday morning when I woke up, I realized I couldn't have been more wrong. I felt like I had been hit by a truck. I had no energy and could barely move. But in an effort to push through, I took some medicine and made my way to work. By lunchtime I realized that was a mistake and as soon as I was able to go home, that's where I headed. On Tuesday I woke up feeling much better but decided to call the doctor and pop in for a visit just to be sure I hadn't had a virus or anything. When I arrived they checked my temperature and when the sweet little nurse said my temperate was over 102, I happily told her it was wrong. But after another quick check, the thermometer showed the same numbers. I was floored. I didn't feel warm and my cheeks weren't flushed. After telling the doctor my symptoms, he ran a strep test as a precaution and boom, that's what I had. A very severe case of it in fact. Yet again, I was floored because my throat didn't even hurt!! How crazy is that?!

4. Harper's Big Girl Room

Yesterday I purchased Harper's big girl bedding. We have no intentions of switching her over to our guest room until Baby Holt #2 makes his/her appearance, but since he/she doesn't exist yet, we've got a while. I hadn't intended to purchase her bedding anytime soon but after finding it for a STEAL, I had to go on and get it. And let's be real, I have no objections with decorating a room. So at least I get to get an early start (;

5. Dining Room Chair Debate

A couple of weeks ago, I purchased some new chairs for our dining room. I am so absolutely in love with them and even decided I wanted to go back and order more. That was until the husband told me he thought they looked too short for our dining room table. So ladies, give me your opinion? Are these chairs too short? Or do you think they just look short because our current ones were high backed?

Cast your vote and give me your thoughts!

Weekend Recap

Happy Monday, ladies! I hope you all are recovering from a nice, long, relaxing weekend. After a week off from work due to snow, I can't say we really did anything big and exciting this weekend. On Friday I headed into work for a few hours, grabbed lunch with an old friend, then ran some errands before picking up Harper from daycare. We ended our Friday night with the usual dinner with my parents and my friend Brittni tagged along. On a side note, my friend Brittni is single and my dad often asks her if she has found her a man yet. The week before last Brittni had tagged along with us for our Friday night dinner and upon her arrival, she was telling my parents that she had lost her coat and had no idea where it had went. During the blessing, my dad prayed that her coat would show up. So Friday Dad asked about it and she explained to him that she had in fact found it. So Dad told her now it was time to pray for her a man. After all, we prayed for the coat to show up and it did, so now maybe her man would too if we just asked (; haha He always makes us laugh but who knows... he just might be right!

Saturday Kevin had to work yet again so it was just Harper and me. We met Kevin for breakfast Saturday morning then went to visit a friend and see her new home. By lunch time Harper was wearing out her welcome, so we loaded up the car and said goodbye. I was tempted to head on to the house and put Harper down for a nap but decided to surprise the hubby for lunch instead... despite that we'd just had breakfast with him three hours before. He was pretty excited and Harper was too. We swung by the McDonald's drive thru nearby and had yet another picnic lunch in the car. After lunch we headed back to the house for Harper's nap and I tidied up the house. We ended our Saturday night with friends and family over at our house for pizza and a movie night. 

And as is the usual, our Sunday looked the same as it usually does. Harper and I joined Kevin at work for some breakfast. Good thing Harper loves our picnics in the car as this was the third one this weekend (; After which, we headed home got dressed and rolled out for church with my parents. Then after church we headed to my parents house for lunch, with Brittni in tow. We spent most of the afternoon there and then headed back home for Harper's nap. When Kevin got home we grabbed dinner and spent the night working on a few of the home projects we currently have going on. But I'll have more on that later (;

Hope your weekend was more exciting than ours but just as relaxing!

Soaking up the Snow Days!

North Carolina got hit with some snow, sleet, and ice earlier this week. Thankfully for us, the weathermen were right for a change and we got more of the snow and less of the other nasty stuff in our area. Since school was cancelled due to the road conditions, this girl has been taking full advantage of the last couple of days off and has been soaking up all that the snow days have had to offer.

Monday after leaving work at noon, I headed home where I arrived just in time to rock Harper to sleep for her nap. In the past she hasn't wanted to be rocked, but here lately she loves it and I soak it all up. As she slept most of the day, I caught up on episodes of The Bachelor and a few Hallmark movies I had dvr'ed (is that a word?). By the time she got up, Kevin was home so we spent the rest of the evening curled up on the couch with blankets watching Cars. Harper's new favorite movie!

Unfortunately, Kevin's work doesn't close for anything so at 4:30 am he was up and at it Tuesday morning. Since this is the first real snow we've had since last year, I was disappointed that he was going to miss out on all the fun... especially since this is the first year Harper could truly enjoy it. But then at noon I got a surprising text saying to not take Harper out in the snow till he got home and then we'd grab lunch. Confused I text him back and didn't get a response.. then fifteen minutes later he walked in the door! Thankfully they hadn't needed him at work so he asked if he could go home. So the remainder of the day was spent enjoying our snow day as a family, along with my mother in law, brother-in-law, and his girlfriend. Hands down some of my favorite people ever!

Yesterday I decided to take Harper to daycare so she could get out of the house for a bit and enjoy some time with her friends. However, not thirty minutes after I had gotten home, I was missing my little sidekick like crazy. I seriously considered turning right around and picking her back up but since it would have been right smack dab in the middle of her lunch, I decided to busy myself cleaning the house up and catching up on laundry. But you best believe when 2 o'clock rolled around and I knew she was getting up from her nap, I rushed straight back to get my girl. We spent the rest of the afternoon watching more snow fall, eating cupcakes, & watching way to many episodes of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. & of course we ended the night with a spaghetti dinner and some UNC Vs Duke basketball with friends. 

It's been such a great few days and when I have to return to work it's going to be sad. But for now I'm going to continue enjoying my snow days at home with my girl! What do you ladies do on snow days? 

{Matters of the Heart} The Hardest Thing About Becoming a Mom

Happy Tuesday, ladies! Today, I want to share something that has been weighing heavily on my heart over the last six or so months. It's a topic that I've pretty much kept to myself but after recently reading an article on Facebook I was inspired to share my thoughts and feelings on the matter. So sit back with your cup of coffee or tea and lets get real this morning about some matters of the heart....

When I found out I was pregnant with Harper all of my friends could not have been more excited about the newest addition to our little family. Throughout my pregnancy, my friends were some of my biggest supporters. While Kevin worked nights, they took turns doing dinner with me to make sure me and baby Holt were fed; they registered for baby items with me; helped me decorate Harper's nursery; went with me to buy maternity clothes; and constantly sent me texts letting me know they loved, supported, and prayed for us daily. So when Harper arrived, I expected that same support to continue and our friendships to remain the same.

And for a while they did. For the first part of Harper's life, my friends called, text, and stopped by often. They brought us dinner. Offered to watch Harper for a few hours so we could nap. And some even offered to keep Harper for an hour or two just so Kevin and I could have a dinner alone every now and then. Things were going great. And then a few months went by and things shifted. Maybe it was the fact that the newness of a tiny baby had worn off or that my friends thought I was too busy for them after returning back to work, but many of my friends stopped calling, stopped texting, and stopped coming over. And you know what? It hurt. I always thought the hardest part of becoming a mom was going to be  having to learn to adjust to the demands of a baby while working a job, keeping house, and being a wife all with practically no sleep. But for me that wasn't it. Call me selfish, but for me, the hardest part about becoming a mom has been watching the girls I thought would be my best friends for a lifetime, replace me with friends that don't have kids.

I'd like to say it's gotten easier with time but if I did, I'd be lying. Just this weekend I logged into one of my social media accounts and saw one of my friends post pictures with another friend. I'm almost embarrassed to say it, but I cried and for the briefest moment, I considered just deleting my social media accounts so I didn't have to see anymore because it cuts my heart like a knife. It hurts to watch yourself be replaced and know there isn't anything you can do about it. It hurts to constantly try to stay in touch only to be told by your closest friends that they're busy and don't know when they're going to be free; yet they're always hanging out with other people.  But despite how much it hurts, the thing is, I get it and I don't blame them. I get that we aren't in the same place in our lives anymore. I get that they are single or married with no kids, so they surround themselves with the same sorts of people. And I hope and pray that one day that will change. Maybe when they have kids, they'll come back around and our kids will have playdates while we laugh at how things used to be.

But if not, that's ok because  I also remind myself that not all of my friends have replaced me. I still have a couple of my best gals that I can count on to always be there. There's still that friend who I talk to every single day. The one that will traipse all around Greensboro or Danville with me every single weekend on my many shopping adventures. The friend who comes and rescues me when I get in over my head and chases Harper around while I tidy up and cook dinner. The friend that my daughter calls B and gets giddy about every time she comes over. And then there's that friend who will drive three hours from Wilmington just so we can have a girls day. The one who will send me random texts to let me know she loves and misses not just me but Harper as well. And the friend that ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS stops by whenever she is in town... even if it's just for five minutes. For those friends, I am grateful and don't know how I could navigate marriage and motherhood without them.

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So what about you? What was the hardest part of motherhood? Did your friends seem to replace you when you became a mom?

{Weekend Recap} Valentine's 2015

Happy Monday, ladies! After a few weeks of sporadic blogging, I'm happy to report that I'm back in the swing of things. It's been a crazy few weeks here in the Holt household but some pretty fun and exciting things have been happening and I can't wait to share all about them in the coming weeks! And speaking of fun and exciting things, lets get on with this weekend recap.. because it's been a good one friends!

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Friday after work, instead of heading home and tidying up the house like I usually do, I made plans to catch a movie with some of my coworkers and my brother in law's girlfriend. The movie didn't let out until shortly after 6 so my parents volunteered to get Harper since Kevin was working. So since I had some free time and no baby in tow, I ran a few errands before heading over to Mom and Dad's. By the time I got to my parents' house it was dinner time so we loaded up the babe and headed out to meet the hubby for some seafood at a local restaurant.

Since Kevin had to work Saturday, we decided to exchange Valentine's Day gifts Friday night when we got home. I wasn't sure Harper was going to make it since her little eyes kept drooping but as soon as she spotted presents on the table, she was bright eyed and bushy tailed. She dug into her presents just like she learned at Christmas. I can only imagine how fun her birthday party will be this year now that she's got the hang of things (; 

She ended up staying up till almost 10pm, which is totally uncalled for for our early bedtime child, but she was excited about her Fisher Price Cruella De Ville Car and Dalmation and her new 101 Dalmations dvd so we let her play to her little heart's content until she could barely keep her eyes open anymore.

Saturday morning went the same as it usually does. Since Kevin was working, we headed to see him during his morning break so we could keep him company as he ate breakfast. After we left, we headed to meet my parents for breakfast at our usual breakfast stop, Farmers Table. Their bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich and hash browns are to die for! After breakfast we headed home, where Harper took a nap, and I did laundry. Story of my life. Harper woke up shortly after 3 so after a quick snack, we headed out to Danville with my friend Brittni to do a little home goods shopping and to grab some groceries for our upcoming snow storm that may or may not hit this week.

We ended the night with dinner from Chick-fil-a and a Hallmark movie... only Kevin didn't make it for the movie. Five minutes in and the poor guy was passed out on the couch. Twelve hour days will do that to you.

On Sunday Kevin had to work again so we joined him for breakfast at work. It seems that some days, our breakfast dates are the only quality family time we get but we make do. After breakfast, Harper and I headed to church with my family, as well as Kevin's. Kevin's brother and his girlfriend have been coming to church with us the last few months and we couldn't be more excited!

After church, I headed to my parents' house for our usual Sunday lunch. Mom fixed homemade vegetable soup and grilled cheese sandwiches which couldn't have been more perfect for the cold and windy day. After lunch we spent some time hanging out with my family until Harper started having meltdowns. A clear sign it was way past naptime. So on that note, we said our goodbyes and made our way towards home. Harper ended up sleeping from 3-6:30 which gave this mama some time to rest and catch up on some programs I had on the dvr until Kevin got home. Since I didn't feel like cooking we grabbed some Mexican food for dinner. I finished out the night with The Bachelor Tells All while the hubs and Harper got some bonding time in doing who knows what (;

All in all, it couldn't have been a more perfect Valentine's Day weekend. Here's to hoping you had a great weekend with all the ones you love!

Some Exciting Things... Stay tuned!

Happy Tuesday, ladies! If you're still with me, thank you. I know my blogging has been pretty sporadic over the last few weeks. It's been a little crazy at the Holt household here lately and it hasn't left me with a lot of time to blog. But I plan to change that here in the near future. There are some very exciting things going on right now that I can't wait to share, so hold on and bear with me for the next little bit as I get my thoughts together and share some of the wonderful and exciting things that have and are taking place in our home, lives, and here on this little blog of mine!!

{Weekend Recap} Shopping, Super Bowl, & Sickness

Happy Tuesday, ladies! I hope your weeks are getting off to a great start. I'd like to tell you mine has but if I did, I'd be lying. After a fabulous weekend, I woke up around 12:30 yesterday morning sick as a dog. Five hours later, I was passed out asleep with a pillow and a towel on our bathroom floor. Thank the Lord the hubby happened to have yesterday off because I don't know what I'd have done without him. He left in the middle of a monsoon to go get me some Jello and Gatorade, as well as got Harper up and dressed, fed, and dropped off at daycare. He's my hero. Thankfully after a day spent in bed and a nice, long shower, I'm feeling much better. Which leaves me here today to tell you all about the rest of our weekend.

Friday night, after Kevin got home from work, we headed to his grandma's house for a birthday party in celebration of her and Kevin's grandpa's birthday. We spent the better part of the night hanging out with all of Kevin's family while indulging in hot dogs and hamburgers. We ended up getting home sometime shortly after 9pm. After Kevin put Harper to bed and we changed into our pj's, I settled on the couch with my laptop where I spent the better part of an hour purchasing some new items for our home thanks to Target's amazing 48-hour home sale. I managed to snag four new chairs for our dining room, as well as three new sets of curtains for our living room all for less than $300. Yay for bargains and pay days!

Kevin had to work again this past Saturday so that left the day to just Harper and myself. I spent my Saturday morning sleeping in, something I haven't done in forever, while Harper did the same. By 9am, we were both up and moving. A short time later we headed to our old breakfast stomping grounds with my parents for some yummy eggs, crispy bacon, and shredded hash browns. Since we wrapped up breakfast around the same time Kevin was having lunch, we made a pit stop by his work to see him for a few minutes before heading back to the house to hang out with my sister. 

Saturday evening we headed out to dinner with Bryan and Brooke (Kevin's brother and his girlfriend) at a local ice cream shop. We haven't been to Mayberry in forever and I was craving some of their bean and bacon soup with a hot dog topped with cheese. Not to mention I couldn't say no to a scoop of butter pecan ice cream either. Yummy. I definitely indulged myself in way to much but it was delicious. Then after dinner we headed back home to put Harper in bed and spend the rest of the evening cuddled up on the couch watching a new Hallmark movie. My favorite way to spend a Saturday!

Kevin was fortunate enough to have Sunday off for the first time in God knows how long. We had all intentions of getting up and heading to church but we ended up sleeping in to late. So instead, I whipped us up some eggs, bacon, toast, grips, and a batch of strawberry muffins and we spent the morning being lazy in our pajamas. Around noon we got up and got ready, then headed out to my parents' house for our usual Sunday lunch. After lunch with Mom and Dad, I headed back to our house to do some serious cleaning while Kevin took Harper to his parents to hang out with them for the afternoon. Bless his heart. He knows I love to be able to clean in peace. While he was visiting for a couple of hours, I managed to clean out, sanitize, and reorganize our refrigerator (something I haven't done since Harper was born :X oops), deep clean the kitchen, do a load of dishes, finish up a few loads of laundry, and dust and vacuum the first floor. By the time I finished, I felt so accomplished it made me almost giddy :P

We finished out the night watching the Super Bowl with my sister, brother-in-law, nephew, and Kevin's brother and his girlfriend. Being from North Carolina, I don't care too much about the Super Bowl as our team, the Carolina Panthers, never make it. But this year was different as I'm a big fan of Russell Wilson. My brother and Russell attended NC State together and having been in the same major, the two had class together. Russell is definitely the same guy on the field as he is off. He's a man who hasn't let fame and success get to his head and volunteers all of his free time at a local children's hospital in Seattle. He's a real role model and for that I cheered for him with my whole heart. Despite the outcome, I still consider him to be a real winner. Tom Brady, not so much. But that's a topic for another day...

And that wraps up my weekend friends. What exciting things did you ladies do this weekend?