Thursday, January 28, 2016

Ingrid

I've been spending a lot of my free time on YouTube these days. I stumbled upon Ingrid Nilsen's videos a few months ago and fell in love with her. I especially love her series "5MFU" (5 minutes for us) because they're short, meaningful videos that get straight to the point. So if you need a little pick me up/some encouragement/a friend, check her out! Here are a few of her videos that I can completely relate with.

Friday, January 22, 2016

Moody Weekend


Recently, I have been feeling a little down. I can't exactly pinpoint what has been bothering me. Maybe it's a combination of the new challenges that motherhood has presented, with a growing, sassy, 16 month old, and the uncertainty I feel about decisions that I need to make. I'm not sure if it's because I'm not ready to make said decisions or if I'm just over thinking things a bit. I know that prayer usually helps me in situations like this, so maybe I should look into that.
I love being a mom, but lately I have been getting a little annoyed with all the lovey dovey, gorgeous moms on Instagram, with their artistic photos and meaningful captions. And I'm sure they have the bad/annoying days with their kids, it's just that all they post about is the good, and even on the rare occasion when they post about the bad, it's still portrayed beautifully. Ha. Maybe I'm guilty of this too? You tell me.

Over this past weekend, my emotions were just a bit all over the place. Sundays have proven to be challenging. We started going to church from 11-2pm with the new year, and it has cut into Gwen's nap time. I know this is a very common complaint amongst LDS parents with small children, so it's nice to have friends to sympathize with. Anyway, it makes things a bit difficult and you end up with a cranky baby for the rest of the day, sometimes for 2 days. Oh, and I decided it would be a great idea to walk to church since we were actually ready 30 minutes before church started. I overestimated my cute boots, and my feet were killing me by the end of our (power) walk. Ryan made sure that I got a ride home with someone while he and Gwen walked home. It was kind of embarrassing, but it made me feel loved when Ryan kept insisting that I find a ride home.

What got me through this weekend was knowing that Ryan would have Monday off from work. I like parenting so much better with my partner. I think it motivates me to be a better mom when he's around. I dragged him to the Desert Botanical Gardens that I've been wanting to go to for so long, and we had a very nice time. It seemed to be just what we needed. Mostly what I needed to get out of my moody weekend funk.


Saturday, January 9, 2016

Snow Day


Soooooooo. I mentioned that I would be making a video about our Christmas...but that did not happen because I didn't take out my DSLR once on Christmas. I was too busy enjoying family time and hanging out in my pajamas for most of the day.
A photo posted by Beverly Houpt (@bevhoupt) on

A photo posted by Beverly Houpt (@bevhoupt) on

I don't regret that I didn't take a video of Christmas day because I made sure to make a video the day after when it snowed! Snow is a pretty big deal in southern New Mexico, so it was such a treat. It happens maybe once every year/every other year, so everyone makes sure to go sledding or build a snowman. It's real cute.


A photo posted by Beverly Houpt (@bevhoupt) on

As you can tell in the video, Gwen is a true Arizonan and doesn't care for snow. It was kind of a bummer, but she has plenty of time to change her mind.