Saturday, August 23, 2014

Math In My Head Lives On + (18 Weeks)

I started this blog about 4 years ago when I found out we were expecting our first baby. We were also PCSing to North Carolina to begin Life In The Army: Round Two. Since then, my blog has highlighted our daughter's birth, a new house, surviving a deployment and getting my AFAA Group Fitness Certification to teach Stroller Strides. It's been a place where I post birthday wishes, recipes, crafts, DIY home projects and writer's workshops. My loyal readers include my parents, my sister and some of my closest Facebook buddies. Despite my low subscriber numbers, I've surprisingly passed 25,000 page views, mostly from Pinterest traffic! 

Recently, I've been struggling to find time to update the blog with purposeful posts. For a while I was toying around with the idea of changing the name of the blog from "Math in My Head" to "Lilacs and Lemons." I liked the sound of it better and I was hoping it would make a better title and more focused blog. BUT... after playing around with logo designs (fun) and looking into changing the blog address, I decided to leave the blog as Math in My Head. It works for what I use it for- family updates, ramblings, and creative projects- and I like that there are people of the "interwebs" who find my posts interesting or useful. What do you think of my new header logo design?

I'm sure the next year will bring many more changes, challenges and adventures both personally and for my family. Meanwhile, I enjoy having the outlet to write down memories and share stories and ideas. My goal is to continue posting announcements and milestones, but I also want to have some weekly and monthly features:
  • Lilacs and Lemons will be a wrap-up off the week highlighting the good and not-so-good. 
  • My Dinner Menu will be, well, my weekly dinner menus for the month. Revolutionary, I know! I've been trying to do a better job of meal planning, so this seems like a great way to keep track of what works and get some more ideas. 
We'll see if this is too ambitious, but I will adjust as necessary. 

Now for a little update. We are starting to feel settled in Tennessee, but we definitely wish we lived closer to my parents, so that we could be nearby to help and support my dad as he undergoes radiation treatment for Prostate Cancer. Down goes Cancer!

Cole and Grace are getting ready to start school (MBA for him and Pre-K for her). I'm surprised by the number of supplies required for a 2-almost-3-year-old!

Practicing dressing up. 
I'm feeling extra motivated to get some projects done around the house. I ordered some curtains for the bay window in the living room and got some new throw pillows for the couch. Surprisingly, I chose a gold/mustard yellow color... I hope that it makes the room feel warmer and more homey! I also hung a gallery wall of pictures in our office/den and rearranged the desk and rug. Next up window treatments for the kitchen and shelves to organize the downstairs closet.

Not the greatest picture, but I'll get a better one when the drapes are up. 
Hung using craft paper taped up as a template. Now, to update the photos...
I'm counting down the days until my sister, Jennifer, comes to visit in October! We can't wait to show you middle Tennessee and introduce you to some our new friends!

Baby Anderson # 2 is growing, and I can feel little movements now. We should be able to find out if we're having a boy or a girl in 2 weeks! I'm excited to start planning his/her nursery, and Grace is very curious to find out if she will have a little brother or little sister. She started commenting that my belly is big because it gets in her way when she tries to sit on my lap.

17 weeks
18 weeks with this cheese monkey!
#18weeks

Cravings: Hot lemon and honey, turkey sandwiches 


Feeling: Bigger, but more energetic