Life Archives - Page 2 of 2 - Small Things Are Big Things

November 19, 2012 by: Kara Noel Lawson

My dayz

Recently and somewhat randomly, I have been hanging out with bloggy folks. Since I don’t really feel part of the the blog world, I’m mostly awkward and a total dork in these social situations. It’s pathetic. Anyway, I’ve met the sassy Hollywood Housewife and she did a thing where you record the events in your day in pictures. I joined in! I tried my best, but I have to be honest, the idea of taking pix of every moment kinda stressed me out. I’m always on the move and I don’t really keep my phone or a camera on me during the day. Quite a few times I would have loved to grab a picture but in leaving to get a camera the moment would have been over and me leaving the room could have caused a meltdown. (I’m also linking up to Life Rearranged’s InstaFriday.)

Here’s what I do in a day… try not to fall asleep…

Everyday before 7am I get the oldest three littles settled in front of Sesame Street with bananas. We go through about 2 bunches a week. That’s a hellofalot of bananas.

7:30am: I nurse this lil’ lady. She’s kinda a B until she has her milk. I’m hoping she’ll want to wean soon. (Please tell me I’m not the only one who hates nursing but does it for the ‘greater good’.)

8ish am: Morning playtime. Making paper airplanes and launching them. Paper airplanes are a mommy playtime goldmine. Guaranteed to occupy kiddos for at least an hour.

9am: I start getting the ball rolling for school. I always wear my PJs while driving to school (unless I’m doing errands afterward). I’m super trendy like that. I often walk but today I didn’t.

After drop off I usually do my morning chores, aka unloading the dishwasher and tidying the kitchen.

Then I have some playtime with the littles so I can ignore them later without feeling guilty. Today was all about my future groupie…

11ish am: I wash 2 lbs of strawberries and put on a long movie for the 3 littlest littles. We go through 2lbs of strawberries a day. That’s a hellofalot of strawberries.

That whole ignoring thing mentioned above is necessary for me to be able to run on the treadmill. But I don’t actually get to ignore my kiddos. Although I put on a long show and make sure they have plenty of snacks, I’m inevitably interrupted at least a dozen times – someone hit someone, someone has a stinky diaper, someone needs to be wiped, something spilled… Usually they end up in the garage, talking with me while I run. They especially like to make fun of me huffing and puffing or imitate my running in place. It’s humbling to say the least. Today my water bottle was knocked over by a little person and spilled all over the conveyer belt and I almost killed myself tripping over the empty bottle.

True story.

Are you jealous of my life yet?

After I’m showered, I clean more. It’s shocking how much I clean because my house is always pretty messy. I dusted. love this year’s minimalist mantel.

1pm: Pick up from school and parent/teacher conference. Eeeek. Eli is loved by his teacher and I love that. She sees his sweet gentle spirit and that makes my heart smile.

2:15pm: Drs Appointment for Cy’s strange non healing boo boo. Which I was completely sure was some sort of tumor inside his head that was so large it was popping out. I’m not joking. I was convinced. Anyway, it turns out it is a scab that he just keeps scraping off and it’s not healing because it’s a bit infected. Oral medicine, topical medicine and pancakes at Jack in the Box. (Note for my mom: It looks better already!) I may still be a little convinced it’s some sort of strange thing.

Being a mom brings out all those over the top cray cray paranoid thoughts. (Tell me I’m not the only one!?!?)

4pm: I decided to paint the top of our wooden side table orange. It looks horrible. You know when you are doing a project and even while you are working on it, you know it’s going to turn out like crap. Yep. That’s this table. I have no idea what to with it now. Eli was not impressed that I used his school work to tape off the bottom of the table. But we are super green like that.

4:30pm: I was invited to OC Metro’s Hot 25 party. Which called for the super hot right now duck face. Which is the polar opposite of hot.

And then I had to decide what to wear. This totally sucks, because nothing fits. I am getting smaller but my closet is all over the place.

6pm ish: The event was neat! Delicious food (at the Island Hotel in Newport Beach) and I absolutely loved to hear about each of the honorees. I know Orange County has an interesting reputation in this great country of ours, but I truly love it here. From farmers to inventors to bloggers, you should check out the Hot List. (Proud to support the lovely Kristen Howerton as one of the honorees aka mom of some of our lovely Eli’s Lids models!)

9pm: My day came to a close with some snuggling on the couch with my sweetie. We watched a podcast about how to BBQ and the Soup.

So there’s my dayz in a nutshell. A little me time, a little work and a lot of family. And I’m just about to start it all again.

Have a great week friends!

October 19, 2012 by: Kara Noel Lawson

I have to eat my words

Yes folks, I have to eat my words. I thought the 5K would be lame. It wasn’t. I loved it.

We woke up in the “middle of the night,” at least that’s what Eli said when we woke him up a 5am so we could get to the race by 6:30. I’m ~~a total jerk when I wake up~~ not a morning person, so just getting up early was a huge feat. We bundled up (in Lids of course) and headed to the race. I wasn’t nervous because I had a plan – I would run for 10 minutes and walk for 2 till the end of the race. Totally doable.

We arrived for check-in and met up with all our friends and family. It really was quite a group… Jami, Adam, Kendra, Evan, my marathon running cousin Olivia, and her equally as marathon-y boyfriend and friends, Kelly, Jeff and Katie.

I really had no idea what to expect because the longest I’ve ever run in one session was 22 minutes. And my treadmill doesn’t have a speed or distance display. First you line up in groups sectioned out by the speed you will run each mile. I started in the 15-18 minute mile… the one just before walking. I figured it would take me about 45 minutes. I had my book on my iphone and I was ready… ready enough.

I set my alarm for 10 minutes and started jogging. I felt pretty good. Honestly, I was just having fun looking at all the random people, people watching is my favorite pastime. Ever. The Chapman 5K runs through the Orange circle and all through the old part of town so the scenery was lovely. Before I knew it, my 10 minute running alarm went off, I was feeling OK so I decided to run through my planned 2 minute break. Two minutes passed and I still felt good. And I just kept running. I thought I could run through the whole race. Maybe.

We passed a church and they had a worship band playing out front. I’m not sure why, but I wanted to weep. Seriously. WEEP, as in, break-down-into-a-snot-dripping-out-of-breath-full-on-cry-fest.

I had a moment passing the band.

I’m not sure exactly what brought it on.

Maybe because I’m a spiritual gal.

Maybe because I knew that if I pushed myself I could actually run this whole time.

Maybe it was fear of turning into a kale-eating-I-just-love-running-so-much-I-wear-florescent-shoes person.

I’m still not sure.

I rode that little high for a few minutes. Then I got tired and decided to walk. Lame, I know. Just as I was about to kick it down a notch, our friend Adam caught up with me. FYI, he was only behind me because he was pushing a stroller. Damn. I couldn’t walk now. Not with him still running… WHILE PUSHING A DOUBLE STROLLER. So I kept running. Huffing and puffing and pushing myself.

We went full circle on the run and got back to the Chapman University campus. I passed some bloggy friends and then my family cheering for me. That was cool (really cool) and I was just cruising along. Then one of those bloggy friends joined me for the last half-mile ish of the race. Kelly. Kelly who was running a marathon the next day. Kelly who works for a race wear company (Team Sparkle). Double damn. Cruising was over. OVER. Now I was getting a personal running coach. We started “picking people off” as we got closer to the finish line. She was super encouraging and my last mile was actually my fastest. Just over 10 minutes!

I finished the whole thing in 35 minutes and 4 seconds. WOW.

I felt so accomplished!!

I was proud.

I radiated delight.

I was going to throw up.

Seriously.

Queasy central. I was thinking I shouldn’t have stopped so abruptly and I was looking for a trash can. I didn’t up-chuck (that’s what we call it around here). Thank God.

I found my family and friends. It turns out Kelly got second place in his age group. We hung out for a while eating oatmeal while watching Kelly in the awards ceremony, my kiddos were wide eyed over my “gold medal” then went out to eat. I’d say that was a pretty productive morning. My favorite kind of time – a unique healthy outdoor family/friends fun day.

I loved it!

Here’s what I learned for my next race… yes, I’m doing this again. I think the Turkey Trot in Dana Point. Wanna join??? Anyway, back to what I learned. The morning of the race I bundled up in warm pants loose too-big-for-me pants and and long sleeved non-running top over my tank top. My pants were falling down the whole first part and my tee was sweaty and cumbersome by the end. Running clothes for sure. I think I want an arm band for my phone so I don’t have to hold it the whole time. And I think a sparkle skirt will make me run faster.

October 5, 2012 by: Kara Noel Lawson

5Ks are Re-donk-u-lis

I can’t think of anything more ridiculous than paying money to run. Except maybe getting up at the crack of dawn and driving 40 minutes to do it with a bunch of strangers.

And that’s exactly why I’m doing it tomorrow morning.

Yep. I’m running the Chapman 5K tomorrow.

Why don’t I explain how this madness began…

I was sharing on twitter that we were given a treadmill by our dentist (An old one they were getting rid of – I LOVE it!! Such a blessing!) and my crazy running friend Kelly suggested I sign up for the Chapman 5K, because you know how runners try to rope everyone into their world… like a cult. A cult of kale-eating-I-just-love-running-so-much-I-wear-florescent-shoes group of people. I said I would do it because October seemed like forever away (it was June at the time) and I had been going strong with my fitness pal so I was all into getting back in shape.

I started running… ahem… jogging… ummm… gasping for breath… yep, gasping for breath as I lop along on the treadmill using the Couch to 5K (C25K) app on my iPhone. I felt like I was going to die just trying to jog for 60 seconds at a time on the treadmill. Yep… that sums it up. But I kept at it and now I’m on week 8 (I had to repeat a few weeks in there) and can run for 20 minutes straight. It was a pretty slow process but I can honestly say I look forward to it… being over for the day. I still hate running, but I feel like I accomplish so much in that 30-ish minute workout.

Anyway, I was planning on just signing up for the 5K and flaking out because as I said above, the whole race thing in general, just seems silly to me. But then our best friends signed up, then more friends signed up and my lovely marathon running cousin signed up.

Blarg.

So, I’m running tomorrow. (probably walking a bit too.)

Blarg.

You know, the thing I dislike most about the running thing is I thought I would have faster body results. As in I-want-to-lose-weight-in-my-belly-and-I’m-not. In fact, the only places I am noticing results are my lower thighs and my boobs. In other words, a part of my body I could care less about (lower thighs) is getting skinnier and another part that I don’t mind being big (ahem) is getting smaller.

Blarg.

I’ve been alternating the treadmill with a couple of Jillian Michaels DVDs and those are awesome! My faves are her trouble zones and frontside and backside workouts. In between sets I run around my stairs. 60 times is a mile. Yep. You read that correctly – I measured the distance around my stairs and I literally run around them. Below is video proof. You gotta do what you gotta do when it comes to working out at home with 4 kiddos!

You’re welcome for the laugh.

Of course, if I absolutely love doing the 5K and start training for a marathon then you should totally support me… and we will never speak of this post again.

Happy Weekend!!

September 6, 2012 by: Kara Noel Lawson

Insta Update

Summer is over. Blarg.

It was busy. A good kind of busy. The kind of busy that means I don’t get to update here as much as I would like. But that’s part of the reason I officially made this a personal blog. Here is a summer recap… with a HUGE biz update at the very end!

We had our annual Back to School Feast last night and Eli started Kindergarten today. I didn’t cry but I sure did miss him. The feast was awesome and I’ll share details in another post soon.

We had the bestest time at Pageant of the Masters with our friends! (The crazy girl behind me is my friend Amber, check out her foodie web series at The Stomach Rules!) It was a great time without kiddos for a night. We were blessed with a night at the St Regis. Where they have butlers. Butlers who organize all the makeup thrown on the counter.

As you know, I’m embracing the Invisible Work that comes along with motherhood. This involves cleaning and moving furniture. My husband loves the furniture part, as seen on a screenshot of our texting.

Scenes of Summer…

My favorite summer pic…

A lil’ biz update…

Thank you thank you thank you for all the support with Henry – buying Fedorables and by spreading the word about his fundraising! I’m excited to share, the Hill Family received almost $2,500 in the iPad raffle. I’d like to think our kick a&$ video made all the difference.
We were featured on BabySteals. I love them. Thanks for all the kind words you put on their awesome FB page about us during the steal. It means a lot to me. REALLY. I love BabySteals so much I hope to do a lil’ secret surprise with them in January-ish.
Speaking of secrets… I can’t reveal it all, but samples for our newest Lid are in route. (Squeeeeee)
Many colors. (Squeeeeee)
And you get to vote on the two we decide to sell. Voting involved. (Do you like that idea or is it lame?)
Maybe a new site… 🙂 It will be rad

July 30, 2012 by: Kara Noel Lawson

a hundred stars

I turned 32 last week. I’ve never been one of those folks who gets hot and bothered with getting older. I’ve looked 30 since jr high so it’s pretty satisfying for my looks to finally match my age. Unless I look 50 now – and if that’s the case, please don’t tell me. I had a bit of a reflection on my 29th birthday (and continued the story on my 30th) and I feel the same way. I’m happy and comfortable with the way my life has turned out. Maybe a little too comfortable.

My birthday was perfection. One of my favorite type of days – productive and playful. My hubby had to work, but got up while the house was sleeping, to make me chocolate chip waffles and left 10 love notes hidden around the house. I liked it. A lot. The children and I ate waffles in bed and chatted about my birthday. They were excited to help me find the notes and had no concept of my age. I asked them if they had unlimited resources, what would they would get me for my birthday. Eli said he would get me “an expensive LEGO set.” Shocker. Cora Jane said she would get me 100 stars. One hundred stars?? “Oh yes, Mommy! I would fly into space and capture you 100 stars.” That girl. She oozes awesome.

She thinks big.

The kids and I did loads of errands and I was able to do all sorts of prep for an epic pinterest party I threw last weekend. (I can’t wait to share about it!!! You will flip. Flip!) I treated myself to Golden Spoon for lunch and the kiddos to Jack in the Box mini pancakes. They love those mini circles of fluff and it’s only a buck for 8… or is it 6? Doesn’t matter. They’re good. We ate in the backyard under the shade tree. Sigh. The good life.

With full bellies, we were enjoying our time together in the sunshine. I love to use these moments to talk with my kids. Really talk with them, not “at” them or “to” them, “with” them. This moment we talked about birthday presents. We talked about getting a gift the birthday person would like, not something you like (ahem “expensive LEGO set” above). We talked about gifts that you don’t have to buy. Some people (like me) love the gift of a love note, a dinner out or something handmade from the heart, more than something that costs a lot of money. We talked about our favorite shows (I said Shaun the Sheep) and about the things the kids were learning in VBS (no matter what, you can trust God).

At some point Eli disappeared inside to play with LEGO bricks, while the rest of us were lounging. He came back outside a little later with a sheep he made from his imagination. A gift for me, for my birthday. He understood from our conversation that I probably didn’t want a LEGO set for my birthday, so he had asked me my favorite show so he could make me something from the heart. I liked it. A lot.

We took the big kids to VBS then my hubby took me to sushi dinner with the littlest littles. A perfect day. The kind of day that gives you some perspective.

I have a good life. Nope, a GREAT life. I’m comfortable. I could live like this forever. I could. But knowing what I know (what we all know) about the world out there, what should my life look like? We have full hearts, full bellies and a full home. But I want to think big. I’m trying to think big, like Cora Jane.

I’m switching things up at Eli’s Lids. (I still can’t tell you everything yet because I’m a jerk like that.)

This blog is a business blog but I’ve always been pretty personal. Now, I’m officially turning it into a personal blog.

So what’s going to change?

Nothing really. I’ll probably be more opinioned.

I’ll be launching an exclusively business blog soon. But since Eli’s Lids is such a huge part of our life, you’ll get all that here as well.

Happy Monday!