bybmg: March 2014
The feelings are all so raw right now, but we got word that our in home daycare is closing because they are moving. I've cried many tears over it (Sorry, Katie, if you're reading this...I don't want to make you feel bad...We LOVE you, that's why this is so hard!). If you've been around here for a while, you have heard how much we love our daycare. This next daycare will be Henry's 4th since birth. I guess that's the risk we take going in-home, but we just love the home environment for our children.



So, we're looking again.

It's been a great week! If you're here for the first time, welcome. Take a look to your right at my social media links and some of my favorite posts. I'd love to connect with you. If you're a regular here, thanks for always being here. Two posts in one day. I couldn't resist. 




1. I got accepted to test out and publicize some Lego Juniors. Henry is going to be PUMPED.

Trying out Five Minute Friday again with Lisa-Jo. This week's word MIGHTY really hit me.


I'm nervous. Russ and I went to a meeting last night about a Master's program. Positives are that its held within our school district mostly. It's at a reduced cost. We can take it together. Share books.



But it comes at a hard time. We have two littles, 4 & 1. It will mean time away from them. Babysitters. Late nights. Writing papers. Possibly more loans. We already have another house payment in student loans.



There's never a perfect time to further education. We could end up having another kiddo while we're in the program. But we need to do it. The long-term financial benefit will be best. The short 2.5 years will be LONGGGG but will zoom by in the rearview.

There's never an ideal time for anything. Having kids. Going to school. Its going to require some mighty strength on our part. Working together. But that's the best part. Together. We can do it.



Mighty. Children who will see us as mighty - always learning, reading, trying. Trying to do better for our family. Trying to do better for ourselves. Walking through this journey of life.
I spent last Thursday - Sunday in NYC. It was an amazing trip. We walked a ton and saw a ton. I'll try to not make this post super long, but there's a lot to share!


I arrived at LGA within an hour of my mother-in-law and Russ's aunt got in. We found each other in the airport and took a car to our hotel. My sisters-in-law met us later that day.

Thanks for stopping by! If you're new, take a look to your right and connect with me. I post many of my outfits on Instagram during the week, but post the details of each piece here on Wednesdays. 
Linking up with The Pleated Poppy.


I didn't capture many of my outfits in NYC this past weekend. Honestly, we were outside walking a lot, so most of the time I was in a coat.
 

I brought two coats with me and I'm glad I did.  I hate being cold. This pic was taken before heading off to the Today Show on Friday. I stood outside in 30* weather for 2 1/2 hours, but I was on TV!  This coat is from eBay and the hat is from a hat store in the Mall of America.

Three of my wonderful blogger friends nominated me for a Liebster Award, so I figured I probably should respond!  Thanks for thinking of me Rachel, Jenny, and Beth!



This award is a fun way to get to know a little bit more about other bloggers. I've got 11 questions to answer. Then I'll share 11 questions and nominate some other bloggers. So here it goes:

You never know what you'll find in a mom's purse. Sometimes it can be downright comical. I just cleaned out my purse, though, so you won't get the honest matchbox car, crumpled shopping list, and fruit snack wrapper version. Enjoy!

I'm in NYC right now and have left the computer at home, so these are my highlights up through Wednesday. Look for a NYC highlight post this coming week! Linking up with High Five for Friday.


We took a quick weekend road trip and made a pit stop at two great restaurants. If you're from Iowa, you probably know Hickory Park - yummy food and a great dessert menu. We also stopped by the restaurant where Russ and I had our first date (and later our rehearsal dinner). It's amazing how much food can bring back memories.



Russ and I used to be huge How I Met Your Mother fans. One of my favorite lines is when Barney continuously introduces Ted to random girls. 

Well, today, you get, "Have ya met Darby?"

Thanks for stopping by! If you're new, take a look to your right and connect with me. I post many of my outfits on Instagram during the week, but post the details of each piece here on Wednesdays. 
Linking up with The Pleated Poppy.


This was my attempt at some St. Paddy's Day spirit at school.
I've never been much of a mask user. This year I have had some heightened feelings about my skin and anit-aging though, so I was excited when Influenster included this mask in their J'Adore Vox Box.

So, without further ado, my lovely review where you get to see me without any make up and with green stuff on my face.  Enjoy!

 

This mask is the Boots Botanics Ionic Clay Mask. I've never done a clay mask before, just ones that peel off in a film or exfoliating ones.


Today I'm over at My Thirty Spot taking part in the the Love for 30 Project with a letter to my twenty-year-old self. Enjoy!


P.S. If you're visiting from the Love for 30 Project, welcome!!!  I can't wait to connect with you. Follow me on Bloglovin', Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, whatever! All links are to your right along with some of my favorite posts.
As opposed to last week, this week did not feel like a Monday every day. Hooray! As always, I'm linking up with High Five for Friday. If you're new here, some of my favorite posts are off to the side along with my social media accounts. I'd love for you to connect with me.


 

1. I blogged on Monday about a hypothetical conversation I might have while on a coffee date, and then I got to have an actual coffee date with a good friend. Good for my soul.



(I wrote this last summer but never pressed publish, so here it is now!)

This last month - month & a half has been a roller coaster.

 I'm a teacher, and at our school every Friday we can wear jeans as long as we show our school pride. This means 1/5 of my work week wardrobe needs to be purple and gold. Although I love a good t-shirt, I don't like looking frumpy. Below are five suggestions on how to display school colors while still feeling somewhat fashionable.

The lovely folks over at Influenster sent me the J'Adore Vox Box with some great goodies to try out for free!


Photo from imylene


If we were to have a coffee date, I'd drink a Frappuccino or some other blended beverage even if it's freezing out, because Pumpkin Spice Lattes are out of season.

If we were to have a coffee date, I'd tell you that I am ecstatic about my trip to NYC in a couple weeks. I'm going with my mother-in-law, sisters-in-law, and Russ's aunt. I adore flying and wish I got to do it more often. I'm excited to go on a flight by myself. I think this will be my first without the hubby or a friend along. I've never been to NYC. We're going to see Wicked, the musical, which I've never seen. We're staying at a ritzy hotel, possibly hitting up the Today show, it's going to be a blast.

Happy Friday, Friends! If you're new here, check out some of my favorite posts down the right side along with my social media links. I'd love to connect with you!  Each Friday I link up with High Five for Friday and share the highlights of my week.

 

1. Last week I turned 30. Saturday night I went out to celebrate with 11 wonderful friends. I am SO blessed to have these great women in my life.

I pinned this recipe from Kraft Foods not too long ago. I'm always looking for new ways to dress up chicken without adding in pasta or many carbs. My love for black beans has growing in the past year, so I wanted to give this a whirl.

 

The recipe directed 4 chicken breasts (about 1 pound) but our grocery store only has larger ones - two per pound, so I got four knowing the cook time would be a bit longer.


One thing that has saved out cooking recently is this handy little digital thermometer (similar). It has a wired probe that you plug into it that you put into whichever meat you're cooking. It has all the temperatures pre-programmed and beeps when you hit the recommended temperature. Set it and forget it, right? Perfectly cooked meat and no guessing if it's done. 

You may wonder - why in the world is it in Celsius? Well... I'm not sure. It used to do Fahrenheit. But it doesn't matter because it still tells me which temps are for which meats along the bottom of the display.

The recipe was a hit. With the larger pieces of chicken, it took about 10 minutes longer than the recommended time to cook (still about 30 minutes), but still a very manageable time. Everyone gobbled down the food and we had leftovers for lunch. Try it out!

Thanks for stopping by! If you're new, take a look to your right and connect with me. I post many of my outfits on Instagram during the week, but post the details of each piece here on Wednesdays. Linking up with The Pleated Poppy.

 
Growing up, I was United Methodist - both of my parents are United Methodist pastors. But, I was surrounded by many Catholic friends who were always giving something up for Lent. It just wasn't something we did. I had actually been pondering *maybe* doing it this year...I love a good soda, maybe I should give it up, but I wasn't totally committed.



I was checking out Instagram and came upon a post by Caroline G about random acts of kindness. She's so good at it! Read through the thread, a gal had the idea to do an act of kindness each day for Lent. My first thought was, I am in.


So, will you join me? Lent begins tomorrow. One act of kindness each day for 40 days. That's it. 

I'm going to share some of my acts of kindness with the hashtag #fortydok, so look for that on Instagram.


Dear Amateur Blogger,

You're doing great. You write because it's fun, and that's how it should be. If it ever turns not fun, you need to take a step back and evaluate. You started this because it was enjoyable and you thought you had something to share with the world.

It's ok that you don't get many page views. Every eye that does read your work is an important one if it's one or 1,000. If one person ties their scarf a new way, is uplifted, or gets something free because of a post, you've made a difference.

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