I’m starting to love this morning routine I’ve created. After Bonnie’s talk on balance at Creative At Heart, I realized my old morning routine was setting me up for workday failure and that something REALLY needed to change. So for the past week, I’ve been following a certain routine that begins at 7:30 (or earlier), and it’s resulted in MUCH more productive days! I want to wait a few weeks before blogging about it, just to make sure it sticks, but I’m really excited about getting off on the right foot every morning!

Last week was a good one. I’ve slowed down quuuite a bit, and I’m loving it! One of our pastor’s kids, Ami, is my FAVORITE 5-year-old in the world. She and I have been BFFs since this time  she was having a tantrum two years ago and I managed to calm her down by asking about her pink dress. Ever since then, we’re as best of friends as a 20-something and a kindergartener can be! We had a “date day” this past Wednesday that involved ice skating, Ted’s Bulletin (where she went on a total sugar binge with a chocolate milkshake AND a pop tart), and a trip to the nature center where saw a snake devour a mouse.

If you’re ever in need of laughter, hang out with a five-year-old. Ice skating alone was enough to have me in stitches, since Ami had never been before and I hadn’t been for at least five years. We had one of those Fred Flinstone moments- you know, where you desperate trying to stay upright, flailing your legs and arms all over the place? And then we both ended up on our butts on the ice anyways. It was the best!

As always, lessons learned/events that transpired over the past week!

• We’re FINALLY getting our house in order! You might be thinking “…but Abby, didn’t you move into that house in August?” Yes, but moving during wedding season makes it really hard to get your life in order, especially when you’re ADHD. So this weekend we made a long-awaited trip to Ikea to get a bed frame for our guest room, which required moving allll the crap out of that bedroom that’d been piling up since August.
• We also bought an entryway bench! WOO. Living large, people.
• And, I finally finished hanging the photo frame collage I carefully planned out for the living room. So it no longer feels half-finished! Now I just have to order photos for those frames.
• This is what happens when you get a little older. Things like entryway benches become a highlight of your week.
• Matt took me on a creative date on Thursday- he told me to pick anything I liked from a book he bought for us, “52 Uncommon Dates.” But instead of choosing one of those dates, you know what I asked to do? “I really just want to crunch the ice along the W&OD trail before it melts!” So we took the pups to the trail and I wore my wellies, and Matt waited patiently while I stomped along the puddles covered in ice for a solid 2+ miles. And it was AWESOME.

It’s been a while since I’ve posted a photos of the pups, so here’s a little dose of our four-legged children! Hard to believe they’re both German Shepherd mixes, isn’t it?

Fun fact: the only way I can get them to sit like this is to bribe them with Beggin strips. Yaaay!