Thank God for routines!

Today I got to thinking about how much we thrive off of routines. When the routine is thrown out of whack, so is the rest of the day usually. The Fannings definitely thrive off of routines. Yes, even Riley. Actually he is the one who got me started on most of my rituals. Must be the Marine in him. Sometimes I think it borders on OCD (seriously) but it's how we function efficiently in our household. Of course on weekends, routines don't exist and we prefer it that way. As much as I would love to be spontaneous and adventurous, it's just not me. Our girl must have gotten the memo about our OCDness because she has developed a routine of her own....and it's a great one at that! Don't get me wrong, everyday is not perfect, but most days recently have been near it. Having a child has been the best thing that has ever happened to me for many reasons...but on the topic of routines, it has taught me how to adapt when things don't always go as planned. I love Hallie for teaching me this. And even better, she serves as my constant reminder to be thankful for my blessings. On any given day (bad or good), I can take one look at her and know that everything is going to be ok. 

Hallie has been sleeping consistently from around 9 to 6 in the morning. This brings us great joy!!!!!!!  Even though she is pretty ravenous by morning, she is a perfect angel for bathtime, dressing, and grooming. Then it's breakfast time....she has been nursing AND drinking about 3 ounces from a bottle before we head off for daycare to get her belly full for Miss Mindy. I have been picking her up around 4:15 (sometimes earlier and it makes me so excited) and she is usually already sleeping or almost asleep. We come home and go straight to the crib for a nap. Our child suddenly loves naps! Her daycare friends must be keeping her very busy! It may be her newly found ability...bouncing in her new toy at daycare. She can't touch the ground yet since she's a shorty, but Mindy puts a pillow under her feet and she is starting to get the hang of bouncing. That's my girl! Naptime is mom's time to get some much-needed daily chores done. I don't remember ever having this many chores before...or maybe they just didn't seem as difficult to complete. After naptime comes dinner time followed by playtime. Playtime has become a lot more dynamic as of late. We introduced Hallie to the world of Baby Einstein. I put it on Monday after her nap and she watched the entire thing and then passed out again on her playmat. She got so excited during the video that this is how I found her...she had squirmed toward the tv.....

Learning about animals takes a lot of brain power mom!

This rolling business is great for my abs

And my cute little booty...

Speaking of booties, we finally got back into the groove today and went for a stroll. We just can't get enough of Miss Mindy so we made a stop by there to pick up some things I had forgotten to take home. I always forget that Wednesday is our last day of the week at daycare so there is always something left behind. She sat outside and chatted with us for awhile and we joked about Hallie's future boyfriends, Parker and Elijah (the two 1 yr old boys at daycare)....Hallie just loves Mindy...she smiles and giggles at the sound of her voice. That made my heart smile. Good thing we bundled up for our walk because Hallie isn't used to the new cooler temps outside....she seemed a bit surprised.....

My manly man got to spend Saturday and Sunday havin' fun in the garage. I am still amazed at the sight of the huge engine being yanked out of the Mustang. I can't believe he makes it look so easy. Here he is hard at work....this thing will be remodeled in no time! He is having so much fun with this project! Next step: take engine to the rebuilding place to be rebuilt (whatever that entails), lol....

Why it's greased lightening!!!

He sees a project....all I see are dollar signs. Lol! But I think that's what flashes through his mind when I go to Hobby Lobby!

My 27th birthday came and went. Riley and I are none too excited about the number 27. We can't put our fingers on it, but 27 just doesn't sit well with us. Closer to 30 I guess. Thank you family and friends for all of the texts, bday cards, and phone calls! I love all of you! Riley surprised me with a pedicure and massage which is exactly what I asked for...smart, smart man! Poor guy had brought home my favorite steaks and had planned to make dinner for my bday while I went and treated my feet to a pedicure...BUT he got off work way late and I decided I'd much rather just sit down and relax a little with him instead of leave the house (plus the place was closed by then, lol). So instead I made a trip to Walmart to get a new blowdryer (mine had gone to meet Jesus that morning), picked up some dinner from the deli, and bought Toy Story 3 to watch that night. We made it through about 30 minutes when we couldn't stay awake any longer. See, that's why I don't like 27...I'm too old to stay awake for a whole movie! ;)

I am trying something new this year....30 Days of Thankful. One thing I am thankful for each day of the month of November. Once the month is over, I will put them all in a post on here. I guess I better catch up to day 3! Time to go be thankful! Have a great week everyone!