Currently & Week's End Co-Host

THINKING ABOUT: Palmer turning two. In just ten short days, our sweet little baby girl will be two. Leaves me thinking how fast the time has gone; how quickly the past two years have just zipped by. Its hard to think back, remembering exactly how small she really was. Now, she is this rambunctious, full of energy little girl with a fiery personality. The once dependent little baby is now a learning-to-be independent toddler who fills our lives with so much excitement!

READING: Some really great posts in our Saturday Spotlight. I am so happy with how well it has gone already! I am finding some really great new blogs to read and that is what this link-up is all about; finding new blogger friends and building community. I am already having a hard time choosing a favorite post for next week and the link-up only started yesterday!!!

REFLECTING ON: Our gymnastics experience. Saturday marked the start of Palmer's first session of gymnastics. Let me tell you, it didn't really go as well as I thought. It was a VERY structured program, and at not quite two years old, Palmer following directions for 45 minutes didn't turn out well. She was clearly the youngest one there. Most of the other kids could follow the directions given to them. Palmer just wanted to run around and jump and play. They assured us that it gets easier. The program is very repetitive and said Palmer would likely pick it up very quickly. We will give it a couple more classes and see how she is doing.

BATTLING WITH: The terrible twos. No kidding you guys, Palmer has hit this stage of tantrums. Like, all afternoon. Today she woke from her nap and the moment I picked her up, it began. Kicking her legs, waving her arms, crying and screaming. For what? I truthfully cannot even tell you. I honestly can say, I have absolutely no idea what she was so upset about. I am crossing my fingers that it is just teeth (but I blame everything on teeth.) Hopefully it passes sooner rather than later, because today, I was at the end of my rope.



This week, I am joining Oak + Oats for the Week's End Link-Up! Be sure to join us with your best posts of the week, and when you are done here, head on over to the Saturday Spotlight Link-Up for your chance to be featured!

***If you are wanting to join the co-host line up, you can sign up here and use code: WEEKSEND for 25% off any Oak + Oats packages.

RULES!!!!!

1. Link up ANY POST from last week!

2. Make sure it is a POST and not your BLOG URL. We love your blog but we want you to share a post.

3. Click on one, two, three, or more posts and LEAVE ENCOURAGING COMMENTS. The whole point of this is to find new blogs, make new friends, and all that good stuff! You MUST read the post right before yours and comment.

4. Follow Oak + Oats and Crazily Normal

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Currently

T H I N K I N G   A B O U T   How quickly time is passing. We were just talking today about how fast the last 4 years have gone. It has been 4 years since we got married then it was just a whirlwind of events and now, here we are, just one short month away from having a two year old. It hardly seems like that much time has passed at all. Yet, it seems like we have been this way for a long time and I can barely remember life without Palmer or not being married. Its funny, isn't it, how you can feel like your life is speeding by yet barely remember what is behind you. 

 E X C I T E D   A B O U T   The holidays. They are certainly in full swing around here and I couldn't be happier. We spent our evening driving around, with our hot chocolate in tow, looking at Christmas lights around the city. Some of them are amazing; like I have never seen before. 

Hot Ccocolate and a side of marshmallows!

Although I have to work over Christmas, I know it will be amazing. Palmer will be the centre of attention and we will all love it! I am really looking forward to spending time with our families over the holidays.

W A T C H I N G   The final season of SOA. I think we are the only ones left on the entire planet to have not watched all of season 7! We ended up buying it on iTunes and are watching it with AppleTV. I am very interested to see how the series ends...I can't wait to find out!

L O V I N G   That Palmer is actually understanding about potty training!!!! Seriously, we have gone 3 days nearly diaper free at home and this girl is killing it! A few little dribbles here and there, but she gets it! Yes, shes been a bare bum running around the house, but if it means she is going to be potty trained soon, I am all for it. Any useful hints from you diaper-free mamas out there??

Currently {7}

|| Thinking about || How reality is really starting to hit me that we will soon have a 2 year old! We celebrated one of Palmer's besties 2nd birthday this weekend and it made me really realize just how close we are to having a 2 year old. In just 3 short months....Everyone always says it, and I never really believed it until I experienced it, but life with a child goes by so fast. It's truly unbelievable how fast these past 21 months have gone by. I find myself telling people "she's almost 2" now when they ask instead of 20 months.


|| Listening to || the sound of Palmer not sleeping. I can hear her playing with her talking Abby doll, who is now one of the 4 stuffies (including Mr. Elephant, Elmo, and Big Bird) Palmer has to take to bed with her every. single. night.

|| Watching || We totally binge-watch TV series, and now that we have FINALLY caught up to Season 7 of SOA, we are seriously considering purchasing the season from iTunes because I know we cannot wait a whole year for the DVD to come out so we can borrow it from the library! Our next problem though, is which TV series to watch next...Any ideas?

|| Reading || Jennifer Weiner's All Fall Down. I started this book about a month ago and have yet to finish it. I'm determined to finish it soon though as I have another book I'm eager to read. The minute I'm done this post, I'm off to lay in bed, cuddle with Leaf and continue to read my book.


|| Thinking about ||...speaking of cuddling with Leaf, I think we are getting back to having our Leaf back...About a year ago, Leaf was struck with worse anxiety than he already has. He refused to sleep on his bed in our room anymore, and eventually ended up spending 98% of his time outside, including overnight. We never did find out what his problem was. We tried giving him calming dog treats, walking him more, "forcing" him to lay upstairs with us, but nothing worked. But, since he has a sore leg, about 2 weeks now, he seems to be more OK with being inside and he has now even spent 3 or 4 nights sleeping on his old bed. I'm hoping this is a sign that he is getting back to his old, non-anxious self.

 

Joining Hannah for Currently.

Currently {6}: Swooning Over Fall

Here is this week's version of Currently with Jenna//A Mama Collective, with the very fitting theme, Fall.

| Loving | All the fall smells. I loving the new BBW fall candles, like Pumpkin Caramel Latte, as well as my old favorite, Fireside Marshmallow (my absolute favorite.) Now, I can burn them all day everyday without feeling like I was wishing Fall upon us!

| Enjoying | The Fall colours. I am seriously loving the colours of the leaves right now. The most beautiful shades of red, yellow and orange. I took Palmer out yesterday for a mini photo session to capture the beauty of it. See the post here.

I'm hoping to get out to the corn maze one of these days and take some pictures with the pumpkins. I also think this would be a fantastic place for some family Fall photos! 

| Thinking about | the Fall activities I have on my Fall Bucket List. I would love to get out to the corn maze, as I just mentioned. I'd also love to do the whole pumpkin carving thing. I think Palmer will enjoy the results, the doing, probably not so much yet. Maybe next year. I am hoping there will be a number of Fall activities around the city that Palmer might enjoy too. And, of course, there is always Trick or Treating! I can't wait to find Palmer the perfect Halloween costume. I know it will be much better this year, now that (1) she is walking and (2) she will enjoy the candy she gets!!

| Swooning over | the Fall outfits this season, specifically for Palmer. I am dying over these little boots she got last weekend. I love wearing skinny jeans, sweaters and boots, and Fall is the perfect time of year for it. I just need to find myself the perfect pair of Fall boots to go with my favorite skinny jeans!

| thinking about | what Fall decorations I will be covering my house with. Last year, I picked up the cutest little pumpkins at the grocery store to use as a centerpiece for the kitchen table. I will definitely be picking up a few this year too. I also want to tackle a wreath for the front door. I am hoping it will be easier than I think, and will turn out beautifully!

{Currently} 1

I first want to thank Jenna for allowing me to be a part of her awesome link-up. I came across her blog not long ago, but I instantly became a fan. I love reading her posts - they are meaningful and so well written. I look forward to reading her posts when I see them pop up in my feeds. So, thank you, Jenna//A Mama Collective for letting me be a part of your inspiring blog!

Welcome to Currently, where we share with each other what we are Currently up to and let you share your post through the link-up below. We love this link-up, where we can make new friends and build community. I have been eager to join this link-up for awhile now!

JOIN US!

{Currently}
//thinking about// Palmer being 18 months old. July 21 marks her 18 month birthday! I cannot believe the time has gone by so quickly. We are that much closer to having a 2 year old, and she is heading towards the "terrible twos" in full force! OK, maybe that was a bit of an exaggeration, but it's close.

//dress//

//reading// I have a book out from the library that I've not yet started...I'm bad for that. I always have good intentions of reading but my plans usually fall through. I think this one will be good though.; What Alice Forgot. It was a recommendation from another blogger, although, for the life of me I cannot remember who!! (Sorry).


//listening to// Since I made it a goal to run 15km each week, I need some quality, up-beat tunes to keep me motivated. My playlist right now consists of (these are only a few):

(1) FANCY - IGGY AZALEA

(2) HEY BROTHER - AVICII

(3) TIMBER - PITBULL

(4) CAN'T HOLD US - MACKLEMORE & RYAN LEWIS
Any others anyone can recommend???

//watching// With summer in full force these days, we don't watch too much TV, unless you count the constant humming of Bubble Guppies in the background.  One show I do watch regularly in the summer is Big Brother. I don't know why, but it sucks me in every time (I've even got hubby watching it with me the 3 days a week its on). There is something about the house guests and their dynamics that intrigues me; forcing me to keep watching week after week! Do you watch BB?

//thankful for// My career. As a nurse, not only do I get to go to a job I love, but it allows me to be home with Palmer often too and enjoy my other job, being a mama. Working full time shift work is sometimes difficult, but its also really great. I get to spend some days during the week with Palmer and when I am working the weekend, she gets quality daddy-daughter time.  I wrote this post about being a working mama a couple weeks ago and got really great feedback from it.

CURRENTLY LINK-UP RULES

1. Link your Currently post below! Entries unrelated to the theme will be deleted.

2. Link back to this site so others can join on this adventure with us. You can grab the button below:

3. The link up starts on Mondays, but you can join any day of the week!

4. *THE MOST IMPORTANT RULE* We are each here to encourage each other and build a community of women and friends. :) Comment on the blog post directly before yours to help support and get to know each other. If you do not do this, your post will be deleted from the link-up.

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Here’s the template for you to copy and paste and do a post as well — link up with us below!

Thinking about:

Reading:

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