Mommy getaway: Girls weekend in California

Last weekend I was able to take some "me time" and go visit my sweet friend Katie who lives in Hermosa Beach, aka paradise, right outside of LA. My bff Cassy is a teacher and was going for her spring break, so we decided to make a girls trip out of it.

The thought of leaving Macy for almost 4 days was a little overwhelming. Between school, work and family, taking a 4 day weekend is not as easy as it once was. But I knew it would be so worth it to get good quality time in with my two of my closest girlfriends, and the ocean view was just an added bonus.

Thursday morning as I was leaving the house for the airport I got a little choked up thinking about Macy, and "what if she forgets about me" -silly thoughts, I know. I snuck in her room super early and gave her a smooch before I headed out the door. My sweet amazing husband was very supportive of my trip and is such a great daddy so that was never a stress of mine. I knew she was in perfect hands.

I got in to LAX around 10am and Cassy picked me up from the airport. Katie had to work until 3:30 that afternoon so we had the day to go and explore. We went to Santa Monica Pier to do some sight seeing and have lunch, then headed to Beverly Hills and Robertson Blvd for some shopping and possible celebrity spotting (no luck, this time!)

The famous Santa Monica Pier

Cassy and I

Yummy margaritas to celebrate our trip!

All I could think of was "Troop Beverly Hills" -love that movie!

After we picked Katie up from work we headed to her place in Hermosa and relaxed and got cleaned up. I loved being able to catch up with friends and have uninterrupted girl time. Later we headed out to a wine tasting just down the street from her place, then out to dinner at Frito Misto, the best little Italian restaurant ever! Katie literally lives on the main strip in Hermosa with tons of amazing little restaurants and boutiques. Lucky girl!

Wine Tasting before dinner

Seriously the best place ever

After dinner we went to a bar to support Katie's friend, Mel, who was having a fundraiser. Mel is a cool roller derby chick and we went to this place that had a band that was playing hard core heavy metal, I mean HEAVY metal. It was quite an interesting experience to say the least. But we had a blast because we were with each other!

Us with Katie's friend, Mel.

Blurry pic- but a shot of Katie and Cassy doing their best hair banger impression to go along with the music.

The next morning I woke up early dying to get out and enjoy the beautiful surroundings. I wanted to go for a run, which Katie quickly obliged, but Cassy wasn't so much of a fan of that idea. That girl HATES to run. And me, being the mean friend that I am, thought I could coerce her in to loving it. We laced up and headed outside and I told her we had to run for a straight 7 minutes then we could go into 1 minute intervals. I was cracking up at all her huffing and puffing but we did it and we ended our run up the Hermosa pier. I had a runners high without hardly running - I think it was more of an "ocean breeze high".

Afterwards it was Katie's turn to convince us to try something new -juicing. I was on board because I love to make smoothies in the morning, but I'm not going to lie, I didn't LOVE it. It seems like a lot of work and a lot of waste. But Katie loves it and its great for her and her hubby - so I am glad they get something out of it.

Proud of her juicing skills

After that we got ready and headed out the door. I really wanted to go to the The Grove in LA, which is a shopping center AND where they film the TV show Extra. Shopping and a chance to see a celebrity? Count me IN!

Group shot at The Grove.

As soon as we walked in from the parking garage we spotted the set of Extra and Maria Menounos (who is beautiful by the way) walked right up to us to say hi and said "you girls look so cute". She was great!

The gorgeous Maria Menounos

After lunch and shopping Mario Lopez finally made his appearance, but was too busy working to get a picture with us. He is surprisingly a very petite in person. I always imagined him being stocky because he is so muscular. He is also very very pretty.

Mario Lopez hard at work

After we were shopped out we headed over to the Getty Center, which is an amazing place filled with awesome art and landscaping. You could seriously spend HOURS there but we were so exhausted so we opted for a quick tour of the grounds and art-teacher-Cassy was excited to check out some Van Gogh paintings.

The Getty

On a balcony at the Getty overlooking all of the LA area

After the  museum we were ready for a nap! One thing I must point out, is the traffic in the LA area is INSANE. Even though your destination might only be 8 miles away, it will take a minimum of 45 minutes to get there, to get anywhere! As someone who lives and works within a mile of each other, this was hard for me to handle. Anyways, we finally got back to Katie's to take a nap and eat our yummy leftovers. Mmmm. Eventually we got up and got ourselves ready, which is one of my most favorite things to do. I always say since there won't be any sick people in heaven I won't need to be a nurse so I will do my other calling- hair and make up! We went out in Hermosa and had a blast dancing all night. There was one bar that we went to that was absolutely packed except for the dance floor (silly people). So we spent a good 2 hours jamming out to everything from the early 90's to today. It was so fun!

Glammed up and ready for a night out!

The dancing KILLED my feet so I opted for a pedicab to take me a couple blocks.

The next morning we got up and walked to the cutest place for breakfast - with an ocean view of course. We rested for awhile then headed over to the neighboring beach, Manhattan Beach, for some shopping and sight seeing. I will have to say, of all of the places I have been in the LA area during both of my trips, Hermosa is by far my favorite. It is smaller but still has plenty to do. I am so jealous Katie gets to LIVE there!

Walking to breakfast. I could get used to this.

Manhattan Beach pier

We eventually made our way to the beach and had a late lunch/picnic in the sand. We just laid around and read and relaxed by the ocean for about 2 hours. It was bliss!

Picnic on the beach

Reading with an ocean view

We ended Saturday by eating some yummy sushi, getting frozen yogurt, and calling it an early night.
Luckily our travel back to Indy on Sunday went quickly, because I could not WAIT to get home and squeeze and kiss my baby girl! I am so grateful for my husband who encouraged this trip and was excited for me to have some time to get away. Even with all of the other responsibilities I had at home waiting for me, I was still able to take some time out and catch up with my friends and RELAX. I definitely encourage all mothers, students, co workers, wives, and any wearer of many hats to take time for yourself every once in awhile. I know I sure enjoyed it!

My New Goal

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A Texas Christmas

This Christmas was a very special for the Regals. Not only was it our sweet Macy Jane's first Christmas, but we got to spend it down in Dallas, TX with my family. My dad, step-mom Sandra and little brother and sister, Trevor (14) and Taylor (12), all live down there and I have been visiting TX for Christmas and summer breaks ever since I moved to Indiana when I was 6. As a product of divorced parents, I spent a lot of my time growing up in both Indiana and Texas, and have such a special place in my heart for that big ole state.

After we had Macy we knew there would be no question, we would want to spend her very first Christmas down there. All of my childhood memories regarding Christmas are revolved around being in Dallas, even before Trevor and Taylor were born. My dad and fam hasn't seen Macy since she was first born and it was the perfect time to get everyone together again. My brother TJ, who lives in Indianapolis, also flew down. It felt so nice to have everyone together!

We left super early at 6am the Thursday morning before Christmas. I was so nervous Macy was going to be "that baby" on our flight so I prayed and prayed that she would be good and that there would be no snafoos on the way down there. God definitely answered those prayers and everything went perfect. Better than I could have imagined. She was a little angel and the star of the flight down there. Thank you Jesus! People were either commenting on how good she was, or how cute she was. Both I agreed with :)

First flight of the day! (6:30am)

We all packed in my dad's house and Taylor went right to work as Macy's primary care giver. She made all of her bottles/food, gave her baths, picked out all of her outfits and matching bows, and even helped put her to bed every night. It was so sweet, a nice little break for Kyle and I.

Mace and Auntie Tay in their animal print jammies!

For mine and Kyle's Christmas gift, Taylor and Trevor paid for us to go to Jumpstreet- an indoor trampoline funzone. I loved it. Besides all of the crazy kids running around, it was a blast!

Feeling like a kid again at Jumpstreet

On Saturday night we met our good family friends out for an "adult night out". We had a really great steak dinner and went out to a piano bar. It was super fun and it was nice to have family right in town to babysit. A rare treat living so far away.

Night out with our friends Sean and Brandi

The next couple days were spent time with extended family, shopping for last minute gifts, and getting ready for Christmas. We even made a trip out to the Galleria for the famed picture by the Christmas tree.

First time meeting Santa! (The actual pic is much better!)

My sweet family of 3

The girls!

Love  my family!!

Christmas morning was so special. There is something about having a baby that makes times like this extra fun. Even though Macy thought it was just another day, it was so fun to watch her play with the paper, explore her new toys, and be around all of our family. I would have to say her favorite was crinkling the paper in her tiny hands and eating the tissue paper.

"Mom, what is all this stuff??"

Matching Jammies is a tradition!

Loved her new toy!

 It even snowed - which was a complete Christmas miracle! In my 27 years of winters in Texas, I have never seen it snow like that or stay on the ground like it did. Of course, my sister would not let me get away with observing from the window. I had to garb up and piece-meal together an outfit and head out in the fun.

Fun in the snow!

We had such a great time that when it was time to go my heart broke a little. There were definitely tears shed. It broke my heart that they will never get to see Macy in this stage of her life again. Best case scenario we make a trip this summer, but by then she will be a walking one year old. Good thing we have Facetime and Skype! Praise God for technology!

I am so proud of my little traveler. She adjusted so well and I am happy that I was blessed with such a sweet, happy easy going little thing. She definitely takes after her daddy in that sense ;)

The most important Christmas yet

Christmas is a special time for most everyone. I have fond memories of laying in bed at night hoping to hear Santa land on the roof and waking up in the morning to the fireplace lit and a mound of presents under the tree. As I grow older though, Christmas has truly taken on a completely different meaning. Even more so this year as a first time parent.

I have always grown up going to church, but it wasn't until my adulthood that I truly understood the role Jesus, my Lord and Savior, played in my life. I read scripture and I understood it. I consistently started meeting with God, investigating His Word, and craving daily time alone with Him. The more I understand Jesus, the more excited and important Christmas is in my life.

Reading the Christmas story I get lost in the thought of how amazing it would be to be around when first hearing the Messiah had come. The long awaited King, had came. How sovereign God was in his planning of Jesus' birth. How God took on the form of flesh, not a king that was born in a palace, but a simple man, born in poverty in a dirty stable, and worked hard with his hands. He was born poverished and died disgraced. He was a human that we all could relate to. He endured pain and suffering, and even cried out to God to make it stop. But he was faithful and perfect. And his sole purpose on earth was to save me, a sinner, and imperfect person. I still have a hard time fathoming God's grace over my life, forgiving me for my inequities every single day, as I continue to fail over and over.

This year as a parent, I am even more emotional thinking of Christ's birth. God sent his son, his baby, knowing fair well the life of suffering he would endure. The heartbreak that God had for him, and for all of us. That God loves us so much, that he would send His only son down to save us. A love that never fails, a love I could never return.

 As Macy and our future children grow, I want to make a vow that Christmas will always be about Jesus. About what a gift he is, and that he is enough. Of course we will get our children gifts, and have traditions just like I did as a child, but we will worship Jesus, not the presents that lay under the tree.

After this past weeks events, I am even more confident in my Lord. That I need him, that I can't live my life without him. Since the day Adam and Eve sinned against God, the world has been a dark place. It is not a question of "how could God let that happen" but a statement of "wow, we need a savior". And God sent us just that. Your salvation is so important, this world of darkness can easily consume you, and now we must cling on the the Promise. The promise for redemption, forgiveness, and for salvation. Life here on earth is but a breath, our eternal life awaits us. Let it be on Heaven, let it be in a place of no pain, no darkness, no monsters.

I can't wait to share my first Christmas as a mommy with my family and sweet baby girl. Rejoicing in everything that Christmas truly stands for!

"O holy night!

The stars are brightly shining

It is the night

Of the dear Savior's birth!

Long lay the world in sin and error pining

Till he appear'd and the soul felt His worth

A thrill of hope

The weary world rejoices

For yonder breaks

A new and glorious morn!

Fall on your knees

Oh hear the angel voices

Oh night divine"

Our First Family Roadtrip

This last weekend we took our first "real" family road trip down to Nashville, TN. I was born in Nashville, and have a lot of family strewn through middle and east Tennessee, so I always look forward to visits to the capital of country music.

Hopped in the backseat on the way down - she loved that!

Kyle at the wheel. It was weird riding in the back!

My cousin Allison is recently married and a mommy-to-be so we were excited to go visit her and her new hubby. I would have to say the hardest part of preparing for the trip was figuring out what to pack for Little Miss. I didn't want to over pack, or forget something we really needed- but I  must say, I actually think we brought the perfect amount of things. For entertainment we brought a blanket and toys and her johnny jump up. We also brought her Bumbo that has a tray on it to feed in her in, her pack and play, our monitor and her sound machine too.

Saturday we went out to eat for breakfast in a cute little area near Vanderbilt University then headed to Opry Mills outlet mall to walk around. Later that night we grabbed yummy pizza and watched Notre Dame go 10-0.. Go Irish!



Ally and I at lunch

Little Miss helping her daddy pick out something to eat

I was so proud of my little bug, she slept great both nights in her pack and play. And even slept until 7:30 Sunday morning (which would have been 8:30 Indy time!) We put her in the empty spare room with a sound machine and monitor. I am not a fan of sleeping in the same room as her because I feel like we would have to go to bed when we put her to bed (at 8pm) and I'm sure we would be waking each other up (us and her) between all the noises we make. So sleeping in her pack and play, in an empty room, was the way to go!

Auntie Ally at 23 weeks with cousin Jackson!

My cousin Tonja and her family drove in from Knoxville to visit with us as well. Her dad, my dad, and Ally's mom are all siblings. It has been fun growing up with them and sharing life together through out the years. Kyle and I have always said we "want to be parents like Tonja and Steve". Their two boys are well rounded, love to play outside, don't own a cell phone or a game system! They can hold a conversation with you and aren't constantly glued to an electronic device. Model parenting right there!

Took Macy on her first Carousel Ride at Opry Mills



She absolutely LOVED it!

On Sunday we headed down to Franklin, TN, which might be the cutest town I have ever been in, and walked around and grabbed lunch before we hit the road. Tonja was sweet enough to capture a couple of pictures of us that I just love to death.

The two loves of my life in Franklin, TN

Overall, our first family road trip was a success! Macy did great, although 5+ hours in the car may be her max at this point, and it was so nice to escape the daily nuances of homework and housework.

Just us 3. Not a worry in the world.

(( Have to say though-So glad we are FLYING to Texas over Christmas. We had debated driving and now I know that would have been miserable))

So very grateful for this special angel. God is good!!

The 31 Day Challenge

"But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well"
-Matthew 6:33

As a new mommy I have found it hard to balance everything. Balancing being a good wife, a present mommy, working full time, school work, and unfortunately- my time with God has suffered as well. In the past, I have found that consistent time alone with God (lovingly dubbed TAWG) keeps my life on track- spiritually, emotionally, relationally, and physically. Over the course of the past couple years I have been involved in some sort of bible study, discipleship or marriage group that has given me structure and "homework" that keeps me on track. Since having Macy I haven't been involved in a group and I haven't been good about carving time out to spend in devotional. I feel like I have a strong praying life and this summer Kyle and I made a commitment to pray together every single night before bed, which I love. But my actual time alone with God, in his Word, has suffered. When my time is inconsistent I feel like my life reflects it. My convictions become more loose and I become my own God (by trying to control my life and the happenings with in it).

Thankfully, this last week I started back with my original discipleship group and have women(friends) to help me stay accountable in my time in the word. The three of us are all in similar places in life (one of which just had her first baby this summer too) and have known each other for awhile now, allowing for deeper conversations and openness.

This week we kicked off the "31 Day Challenge" where we were given a list of 31 verses and asked to get in the word every single day. Ideally it would be enough time to pray, meditate over the verse, and answer a couple questions. The key would be no distractions, (TV off) and in an environment that would foster talking with God and being able to hear what he is laying on our hearts.

I could not be more excited about this! I am looking forward to my TAWG and to see how He is working in my life. I know that it will make me a better wife, mommy, friend, etc. I recognize that I am unworthy, and that I fail daily -but I've got renewal and a fresh start every single day. For this I'm eternally grateful!

A day in the life

I want to capture what my life looks like right now as a new mommy, full time nurse, and part time student. I've seen this type of post on several blogs before and I thought it would be neat to write one, especially to be able to look back at it one day. To do "A day in the life" properly, I need 2 seperate days. One of what a day looks like when I am home, and one when I am working.

A day I am working (every Monday, Wednesday and Thursday):

6am- Kyle's alarm goes off, I am typically annoyed and keep my eyes closed pretending to be sleeping. He"quietly" gets up and gets dressed and heads off to the gym/work.

6:45am- My alarm goes off. Wasn't it just 6am? I quickly get dressed in scrubs (so glad I don't have to pick out an outfit) and do my hair/makeup. At this time I usually hear Kim, our sitter, let herself in and get settled downstairs.

7am- Macy starts to stir and I go in her room to wake her up/ feed her. I quickly nurse her then Kim comes upstairs to burp her and get her dressed for the day.

7:30am- I grab a bite to eat (usually peanut butter on a slice of bread) and head out the door for work. I only have a 10 minute commute which I love! I have to get there a little early so I change in to OR scrubs.

8:00am- Clock in and take care of patients for the next 10-12 hours.

8:30pm- Get home. Macy may or may not already be down for the night. I eat a small dinner and cuddle with the hubby on the couch watching TV.

10:30pm- Get Macy from her crib and do a quick "dream feed". (Hoping to drop these soon!)

10:45-11pm- Pass out in bed! Say our prayers, kiss each other, and never look back.

A day at home with the babe:

6am- Once again, Kyle's alarm goes off and I am wishing it wasn't. I need to sleep!

7am-ish-Macy starts making noises in her crib that wake me up. I usually let her lay awake for at least 10 minutes in the morning so she can get used to entertaining herself in her crib. I am still drifting in and out of sleep at this pont.

7:30am- Go get her up, change her diaper, and bring her in to my bed to play for a little bit, while mommy struggles to keep her eyes open. She usually just lays there and talks to herself for awhile.

8am- Feed the babe. Get her dressed for the day, get myself dressed as well. Typically yoga pants and a tshirt. Who have I got to impress?

8-10am- Bring Macy downstairs and put her on her playmat. Give her tons of toy options and make myself some breakfast. (Usually a bowl of cereal) Once she gets bored on her playmat I get on the floor with her and we work on her rolling and sitting up skills. Once she starts to get fussy I know play time is over.

10-10:30am- Lay Macy in her crib for her morning nap.

10:30-12p- I try to catch up on homework and housework while Macy sleeps. Lately I've been avoiding my treadmill workouts that I used to do at this time. Once everything is cleaned and accomplished I usually veg out on the couch watching TV until Little Miss wakes up.

12p- Macy wakes up from her nap and I feed her again. If we have errands to run this is usually when we do. Or we go on a walk, or we just do some of the same things we did earlier this morning. Play on the floor and work on our exercies.

3p- Macy finally is worn out and goes back down in her crib for a nap. This nap is usually shorter.

4p- She is back up and ready to eat. I feed the babe and Daddy usually gets home around 5. We all hang out, talk about what we want to do for dinner and lounge around, catching up on each other's day.

6ish- Macy lays down for another shorter nap. Kyle and I make a final decision on dinner, which usually requires him going out to pick something up (like Qdoba or Subway)

7p- Like clockwork she's back up and ready to eat. I feed Macy cereal and nurse her, give her a bath and put her in her jammies. Then more play time to wear her out.

8:30ish- Macy starts to get fussy so we lay her down in her crib and then watch some TV and relax. I will make lunch for the next work day and clean bottles/breast pump stuff, pick up all her toys, and any other sutff laying around the house.

10pm- Go upstairs and get ready for bed. Teeth brushed, jams on, lay in bed for a little bit struggling to keep to my eyes open. Like I mentioned before, hopefully we can wean the dream feed soon.

10:30- Get Macy and bring her in our room for a dream feed. Kyle is most likely asleep by now so that doesn't help. Lay her down right away afterwards.

11ish-pm- Crawl back in bed, wake up Kyle for our nightly prayer and quickly fall asleep! Zzzzzzz!

There it is. A day in the life.

After going over our typical day when I am home, I realize there is definitely room for improvement! My two biggest imporvements would be to work out while Macy takes her long morning nap. And to make dinner while she takes her evening nap. I never know what to make, therefor to don't know what to buy at the grocery, therefor don't have anything in the house when it comes time to fix something. Looks like I'll be going to the grocery this weekend!