Chickens

Chickens are all the rage these days. Nearly everyone I know is building a chicken coop. From my friends to bloggers I follow, chickens are a hot topic. I totally get it. They're adorable as chicks and then they grow and lay the most wonderful eggs. My dad sends me home with fresh eggs from the farm nearly every time we're in town.

I wish I could adopt the idea of owning chickens, but right now it just isn't feasible. I'm not even sure our HOA would allow it. Darn HOA. Although, I know the neighbor kids would love it. Our next door neighbor just brought home a bunny and we're all a little obsessed.

Since we're not bringing home our own chickens, we're doing the next best thing. We're going to them. We joined a local CSA that we absolutely love and while I gather veggies, Crosbi chases the chickens.

It was all fun and games until the chickens started chasing us! I'm assuming they thought we had food, but I'd be lying if I said we didn't high tail it out of there! Still, a fun chicken-filled afternoon for both me and my girl.


xoxo

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Weekend Getaway: Huntsville, Alabama (part 2)

It's Memorial Day Weekend. Most people are hitting the lake, maybe even the beach. Some are lounging by a friend's pool or camping. Under normal circumstances we would have been doing some version of those things. Our intentions were to be lakeside with friends, but it has been crazytown at the Stepp house, so this weekend we were not like most people.

We spent 24+ wonderful hours in a shopping center. Just feet from H&M. Who does that? We do! And it's not the first time. Nearly four years ago I wrote a similar post. Funny enough, it's my most visited/searched for post. Anywho, with so much happening lately (traveling, family in town, work stress, etc.) I wanted to sneak away from home where I wouldn't be tempted to do housework or check e-mail. I didn't want to think about cooking, instead I wanted to have my choice of outdoor dining. So that's what we did. We packed our bags and headed to Huntsville. We parked at the hotel and didn't get back in our car until we were ready to go home. We did a little shopping, a little eating and a lot of relaxing. We may have only been a little over an hour away, but we crossed state lines, so our getaway felt legit.

When I was growing up, my mom was always surprising me and my sisters with little getaways to hotels where we would spend a night or two and play in swimming pools we had almost entirely to ourselves. I loved the spontaneity of those getaways and hope to have similar adventures with my family. There's just something that says "vacation" when you're not sleeping in your own bed.

Whatever you're doing this holiday weekend, hope you're spending it with the people you love.

xoxo

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Slow Down

 

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The title of this post is a little ironic. We've been doing everything but slowing down lately. The last few weeks have been a whirlwind. I took my first work trip since Crosbi was born, which was also my first time away from her. Ever. Nothing like jumping in the deep end. I went from not spending a single night away from her to three nights. It was brutal. It was good for me professionally, but did a number on me emotionally. I felt like someone would be waiting for me at the airport to revoke my mommy card. Not sure I'm ready to add traveling to my job description just yet. But I did have a good time and had wonderful moments of feeling like the "old" me, so no regrets.

Then we had a bit of a freak accident. The day I got home from my trip, I had my eye poked out. Okay, it wasn't that dramatic, but it was terribly painful. I was reading books with Crosbi and as she reached up to play with my hair, her fingernail actually scratched my right eye. I fell to the floor in pain. A trip to the ER and some good meds later (plus some amazing help from my in-laws), I was better. The hardest part was that even though I was home, I couldn't see. Literally. It hurt to open my eyes. So three nights away from Crosbi felt more like six when it was all said and done. One of the toughest moments as a mom so far.

Praise God I'm fine and life is returning to normal. Sort of. Just as I was getting my eyes back, we made a quick trip to Missouri to see my brother graduate high school. I honestly don't know where the time has gone. When Todd and I moved to Nashville, my brother Drew was ten. As silly as it sounds, in my mind time stopped. When I return to Missouri he should still be ten. Not a grown man preparing for college. Time, please slow down. Please?

Although life has been busy and full, I find my internal pace slowing down and I'm really embracing the warm months to come. We joined a local CSA and I can already tell it is going to change how we share meals in our home. I love that I drive out to a farm each week to gather our fresh fruits and vegetables. I'm ready to pull out the blow-up pool and sprinklers to watch Crosbi play in the water while I drink iced tea on the patio. And today, I caught myself going 5 miles below the speed limit to run errands. For the person who got a speeding ticket earlier this year, that's a big deal. No need to rush. No need to speed up time. We have a super busy summer planned. Full of lots of good things, but as we come and go, I'm hoping to really slow down and enjoy the time I'm given. Before long I'll be watching my own baby girl accept her high school diploma. Heaven help me when that happens.

Until then, we're slowing down. We're enjoying the little things.

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