Oh life.

My dog got sprayed by a skunk on our back porch.
Rory's getting her two year old molars AND decided today was a great day to start potty training herself.
Trace has quit baby food and only wants people food. Also he hates his formula but can't switch to milk because of his allergies.
Dave's work hours switched.
I'm back to full time.
I've given up sugar and am down to one soda a day.



I need a glass of wine.

See you in a few days, when life settles down!

Dear High School Girls...

Dear High School Girls,

There's so much I need to say to you but first, I need to say this. You, right now, are a completely wonderful untapped resource of potential. Your life is just beginning. You can make decisions right now about what you will do for your life, who you will be and what version of yourself you want the world to see. You are in a wonderful place in life. You've only just begun, even if it feels like time has been dragging on.

Here's the thing.

Decisions you make now will affect the rest of your life, regardless of what people tell you. So here's my list of things you need to remember.

1) Study. Get good grades in every class. Don't throw away the opportunity to soak up knowledge now. Yes, math is obscure and weird. Sure, science might be boring. History can be dry. But learn it. Take it in. Even if all you ever use it for is to know you could never be a math teacher, then you benefited. Challenge yourself to make straight A's. Challenge yourself to get a high SAT score. Challenge yourself to make intelligence one of your traits.

2) Dress appropriately. Put your breasts AWAY. Wear shorts that don't show your pockets. Jeans should not appear to be painted on. Dress like you are proud of yourself, not like you are available for boys to sleep with. No matter what anyone says, your clothes and appearance are your first impression on people. Would you be proud of the way you are dressing?

3) Boys are not the end all to be all. High school boys are immature and not yet grown up. Having a boyfriend is fine but it's not the end of the world. I know it's hard to feel "alone," but trust me you are not alone. You don't need to waste your time being exclusive with boys. Have lots of dates, figure out what you like and don't like in different boys and remember that high school relationships RARELY end in marriage. Stop being so serious and just have fun!

4) Drinking. can. wait. Don't end up with permanent reminders of a stupid mistake on your record for ever. Seriously.

5) Make friends outside your normal circle. Open your eyes and see that everyone has something to offer. Be the type of person others would vote Miss Congeniality. Be truly interested in what people have to say, offer to help wherever you can and most importantly don't judge a person before you actually know them. What if people judged you based on stories they have heard?

6) If you are passionate about something, pursue that. Don't be pressured into joining other clubs/sports/activities. It's good to try lots of things but if you know you are talented at one thing and really and truly enjoy it, don't stress yourself out trying to do it all. Especially if it's something you want to do in college or beyond. If you love soccer, do soccer and spend the off season training and doing activities that compliment soccer. If you are a musician, get involved in all things music. If you are a dancer, for God's sake stop doing 90,000 other things and DANCE.

High school is not the best time of your life. It's just the beginning. It's an exciting adventure, but it's also hard. You will have fights, you will get upset, you will make mistakes. It's okay. Learn from it. Take it in then let it go. Use every single day as a building block to the best version of yourself.

And never forget. You are one of a kind. God doesn't make mistakes.

Hey, It's Okay.

Linking up with my girls Neely and Amber again this week for It's Okay Thursday. Oh how I love this one!

It's okay...

to stalk your Fed-Ex tracking number for your Erin Condren planner. I need it. I'm obsessed with organizing my life more and I need a good planner! Pronto.

to think your new car smells like Windex.

to forget to buy an air freshener to fix said smell. Oops.

to watch Sex and the City episodes over and over. And Gilmore Girls. And Top Chef. And Oprah.

to have 3 cups of coffee in one day. Hey, K cups are only 5 cals and skim milk is well, skim! :)

to be totally exhausted from work this week. Yawn.

to find your dog horribly annoying one minute and beyond adorable the next.

to keep your phone in your office so you won't tweet during dance class.

to make a menu for each week and be lucky to actually get 3 of those meals made.

to need to do laundry so bad but have no energy to do it!

to be really ridiculously excited about going to the STEELERS GAME this weekend!! WOOP!

Well, what's okay with you this week? :)

Oh How Pinteresting #5

Linking up with the adorable Michelle over at The Vintage Apple for Oh How Pinteresting! I thought I'd feature some delish recipes I've pinned recently...



Need a pinterest invite? Drop me a comment and I'll email you one! Pinterest is awesome. For real.

Source: healthifiedkitchen.blogspot.com via Kate on Pinterest

Crock Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup. This looks fantastic, just needs some tortilla strips and sour cream on top. :)

Source: healthifiedkitchen.blogspot.com via Kate on Pinterest

Broccoli and Pasta Bake. Kinda like quiche but no crust. It's apparently a breakfast recipe but I think it'd be good any time of day. It'd be good with chicken mixed in too!

Source: twopeasandtheirpod.com via Kate on Pinterest

Baked Pretzel Bites.

Source: amybites.com via Kate on Pinterest

Summer Corn Chowder

Source: kathiecooks.blogspot.com via Kate on Pinterest

Dipped Oreos. I am so making these for Rory's Mickey Birthday in May!

What did you pin recently?

What's in a name?

You may have noticed, it's changed around here! This is the blog formerly known as "567Kate." New look, new name, new attitude!

I started this blog in December 2009 but never really took too much time in posting or making it an actual hobby until Fall of 2010. In the last year, my fascination with the blog world has gotten much bigger. I've made some seriously wonderful friends in this world and in the "Twitter-verse." I've become a craftier person, a better cook and someone who has found a little niche in the often lonely world of being a full time working mom of 2! So thanks. Thanks friends. For being my sounding board, for making me laugh, for keeping me in touch.

As this blog has evolved, so has my life. From one kid to two. I've been married for almost 5 years now. This song by Andrew Peterson really sums up how I feel about my life thus far:



I was 22 and Dave was 23 when we got married. I was 24 when Rory was born and 25 when Trace was born. We're still kids in so many ways ourselves, but we're here. Dancing in the minefields of life, trusting that our paths are being God by the Lord and trying to live the best life we can.

"I do" are the two most famous last words
The beginning of the end
But to lose your life for another I've heard
Is a good place to begin

'Cause the only way to find your life
Is to lay your own life down
And I believe it's an easy price
For the life that we have found

And we're dancing in the minefields
We're sailing in the storm
This is harder than we dreamed
But I believe that's what the promise is for.
-Dancing in the Minefields by Andrew Peterson


And that, dear friends, is our new story. Our new journey. A fresh start. Here's to many more chapters!

True Life: I'm a Mommy Blogger

First by the time you read this, my blog may have it's new look up and ready to go! Jenn over at Munchkinland Designs did it for me and it is exactly what I had in mind. She is fantastic! I'm no longer 567Kate, this blog is now "Dancing in the Minefields." A post is coming next week explaining that change. :)

Now...
Okay, yes. I am on hiatus. But I had to link up with Fabulous but Evil and Mrs. Monologues today for True Life! I never intended this blog to be a Mommy blog, but whoa baby. There are definite times when it is. I have two kids so...it is what it is. :)
http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif


I have two beautiful kiddos:http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif

Trace is 10 months old and the sweetest baby. He has pretty severe acid reflux, but as long as we are careful with his food and keep him on his Zantac regimen, it's pretty controlled.



Some of my favorite Trace posts...

Trace's birth story
Trace is frustrating.
Trace is sick. (First acid reflux post)
Trace is http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifsix mhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifonths old!

Rory is almost 2 and a half and she is a spit fire. She's full of personality and always energetic and excited. She loves to dance and sing and makes me infinitely happy. (And she is named after Gilmore Girls! :))http://www.blogger.com/img/blahttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifnk.gif


Some fave Rory posts...

Rory's birth story. (On her 2nd birthday!)
Rory's rambles.
Rory meets Princess Tiana.


Misc. Mommy posts:
Rockin' the Bump!
Rockin' the Baby!
Mom Guilt sucks.


I should tell you a little bit about my parenting style...
Both my kids were c-section. Trace was scheduled, Rory was not.
I vaccinate.
Both kids are formula fed babies. I am naturally unable to breast feed. I'm pretty sensitive about it and I get so angry when people rip on formula feeding.
I use disposable diapers.
I am a stay at home full time working mom. I own a dance studio and my kids go with me.
I used Babywise to sleep train both my kids. It worked wonders for us, but I understand it doesn't work for everyone.
We go to church every Saturday night or Sunday morning. We are Methodist by affiliation, Christian by choice.
I will never judge your decisions or speak poorly of your choices, unless I think you are straight up maliciously harming your child. ;) Please respect our decisions as well. Healthy discussion is fine, but being rude is unacceptable around these parts!

That's us in the nutshell! We're one big crazy mess most of the time but we laugh a lot, love a lot and are thankful every day for the blessings we've been given. Dave and I know that our children are a gift and we don't take them for granted for one second! :)

P.S. I usually 4-5 times a week, but am on a little break right now getting ready for dance to start again!

Couple Days Off

Hey everyone! I'm on hiatus until (hopefully) next week. I'm working on a new separate blog (A Disney Blog! Gotta fuel my obsession) plus this bad boy is getting a serious upgrade by way of Jenn over at Munchkin Land Designs. She's got 4 kids and I've got 2, so it's taking some time on both our ends! It's all good, moms gotta stick together. :)

I'll be around commenting, but my brain is too fried to write the logical, coherent, funny, intelligent posts you are all accustomed to right now.

HAHA.

Okay. Bye!

What Is Enough?

Source: flickr.com via Jackie on Pinterest

I've been wondering a lot lately about what is enough. When will I be enough?

Good enough?

Thin enough?

Happy enough?

Strong enough?

Smart enough?

I feel like in this crazy life I lead, I let myself feel like I am lacking in all sorts of areas.

But I'm not.

What I am today is exactly enough. It's enough. And where I am truly am lacking, I will work on and build up to be more than enough. I am equipped to deal with today and what comes my way. I am enough.

Source: weheartit.com via CityGirlChic on Pinterest

Scratch that.

I am more than enough. I am the best version of myself there will ever be and that is all anyone can ever ask of me.

Source: weareours.tumblr.com via Kate on Pinterest

No one else has a right to make me feel less than enough. If someone doesn't find enough value in a certain area of my being, well that's there problem. I'm working, evolving, changing, developing. I'm becoming a new creature, a little bit every day. I'm discovering new pieces to my puzzle and filling in my blanks, to use two cliches. I'm choosing to be enough. I'm deciding that I am all that I can ever be and that's a good, honest thing.

Some people may not see me this way. Some people may find me to be less than the need me to be. I can only be myself. I can not be more, I can not be less.

Yesterday, I was enough.

Today, I am enough.

Tomorrow, I will be enough.

I'm going to be fine.

Source: kindovermatter.com via Dagny on Pinterest

Boob Tube Babble: SYTYCD

Sooo...So You Think You Can Dance wrapped up last night. I had all these fantastic plans at the start of the season to blog my thoughts on SYTYCD each week. Well...that happened once. HA. Maybe next year. I think now is an appropriate time to review this season.

Favorite Dance of the Season: Neil and Melanie's Contemporary to Total Eclipse of the Heart choreographed by Mandy Moore.



Favorite Contestant: MELANIE. Duh. In my opinion, she's hands down the best dancer to ever grace the SYTYCD stage. Her technique is flawless, her extensions are insane and her stage presence is beyond amazing. She also seems like such a humble and good person in general. Oh I want to be her when I grow up...wait.

Favorite Choreographer: This season...Travis Wall. I like Sonya and Mandy Moore a lot too but I think I have to say Travis was my overall fave.

Favorite Guest Judge: REALLY?! LADY GAGA of course! I'm boderline...okay totally obsessed with her. Even if she had nothing worthwhile to say and acted like a total idiot...I would have picked her anyways. :)

Dancer Who Went Home Too Soon: Miranda!! Not only is she from Pittsburgh (HOLLA) but she was such a star. I loved watching her. The tap dancing boy should have stuck around more too, because I wanted more tap!

Dancer Who Stayed Around Too Long: RYAN. Ugh. She bothered me so much when she danced. Yes, technically she was great. But her performance quality sucked. I really couldn't stand her. Someone needs to tell her to shut her mouth when she dances.

And what do I think of the results??
RIGHT ONNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!!!!!!!!!!! :) :) :) :)

Hey, It's Okay. #2

Linking up with Neely and Amber again this week. :)

It's Okay...

To eat great all day and the ruin it with some Oreos before bed. It happens.

To get super excited when the Disney Channel plays classic movies like Beauty and the Beast. Good stuff!

To shop online for the kids' fall clothes but never actually buy any of it. I will, just not today. :)

To be crazy excited about your new blog design!

To leave Trace in his pajamas until the last possible second because he looks so cute in them. Like a little old man.

To need a Mommy Break some days. Nothing wrong with a couple hours to yourself.

To be excited and dreading the start of the dance year all at the same time.

To be considering starting a side business...

To already be counting down the days until Disney! 315!

To wish you lived closer than 2 hours away from a Target. Geez.

To some days contemplate moving with the kids and Dave to somewhere else entirely.

To never be able to do the above because you could never be away from your mom and dad. :)

Life on the STAGE!

On Monday, I posted about my parents. That got me thinking...I've never really divulged how theatrical my family is. My mom has a cd, my sister lived in Nashville and pursued a recording career and has performed with Ricky Smith from American Idol. My dad does voice overs...we're theatrical.

In 10th grade, my mom began directing major musicals for our hometown theatre group. First up? Annie! Chelsea was Annie, my dad was Daddy Warbucks, I choreographed, Mom directed.

Then came Oliver. I was the Artful Dodger, Dad was Oliver's adopted dad, Mom directed, Chels was a pickpocket...with a broken arm. :)

You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown was that summer. I was Lucy, Chels was Snoopy.


Then Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Yes, I choreographed. Yes, I lost 20 pounds during the run because I was so exhausted. Dad was Simeon, a son of Jacob, Chels and I were dancing wives, Mom directed. It was AMAZING. Sold out almost every night.

I'm sitting on the bottom step, right in front of the kid playing Joseph.

Godspell this summer! I played Sonia and Chels was Gilmer. This was the summer my parents opened their own theater!! Oh how I miss that building.

Then Cinderella. Chelsea was an Ugly Step Sister. I was in college. Not sad I missed this one. Another post for another day...HA!

Godspell again this summer. This was my first showmance. Awww!

I'm on the far right, super blonde hair and black sparkly dress.

The following summer, it was Little Women (not the musical.) I was Jo. We also did Honk! that summer, I was the Cat. My sister had knee surgery so she missed out on this summer entirely.

Little Women!


Honk! Holy skinny. Ohmygoodness.
That winter we did My Fair Lady. My sister was Eliza Doolittle and she brought the house DOWN. She was amazing. Beyond amazing. I cried I was so proud of her. I wish you could hear her sing. She's amazing. And she can act. And dance. She's fierce. :)

My parents also stage managed and technical directed all my dance recitals growing up. My dad built all our sets and my mom made the show flow. My teacher trusted them and it was a great relationship.

Since then, we haven't done any plays. It makes me so sad! But now my parents both have full time jobs again, so hopefully...we'll get back where we belong. On the stage, as a family. :)

Here we go Steelers!!

Today, I'm linking up with the adorable Lindsey over at Running Down a Dream for her Football Link Up today. Want to see more? Click on her button! Lindsey is a wonderful woman and a fantastic mom to McKayla. Check her out! You won't be sorry! :)



Now...on to the football.

I'm a football fan. A big one. Okay. A HUGE ONE.



I'm a Steelers fan. We live in Western Pennsylvania. Where we live, there's 5 options of teams to be fans for: Steelers, Buffalo Bills, Philadelphia Eagles, Baltimore Ravens, Cleveland Browns. You will occasionally find a Jets fan (like my sister's boyfriend...stupid.) or even a misplaced Patriots fan. (SPIT ON THEIR NAME!)

But. The majority? STEELERS.

Steelers fans are loyal. Steelers fans are hardcore. We are found across the world, sticking together and professing our love for the Black and Gold.

I've been a Steelers fan my whole life, save for 2 years when I was a Tennessee fan. Don't ask, we all do stupid things in our youth! ;) Dave is a huge Steelers fan. Both our families are fans and we're raising our kids to be Steelers fans.

The Steelers are owned by the Rooney family and they play at Heinz Field. The Rooneys are one of the first families of football and they are class acts. In the past, they have released many players for poor behavior off the field. (Jeff Reed ring a bell?) YES. There's been tons of off field drama over the last few years, but we're dealing with it. It's being taken care of. Ben is really trying to turn his life around. He just got married for pete's sake! MOVING ON!

Dave has been to several games, I've been to one preseason game. I'm claustrophobic so sports games and I aren't really good friends. I watch them all on tv though! :)


Dave and I at training camp in 2008. Notice my broken out face and puffy cheeks? I was totally pregnant and didn't know it yet! :)

Okay for some reason I can't find ANY of my pictures from the games we've gone to. One game we were in the 12th row and I have fantastic pictures of Troy Polamalu...HOTNESS. Just pretend. :)

My favorite player at the moment is Heath Miller. He's a tight end. hehe I'm also a huge fan of Coach Tomlin. He looks exactly like Omar Epps from House. FOR REAL.


You had to know I was going post this.
Wiz Khalifa is a Pittsburgh boy...throwing this song out to the BLACK AND YELLOW!

Pittsburgh...city of champions!
Ice or grass, we'll kick your...butt. ;)
(Just don't talk about the Pirates. Sigh.)

Meet My Parents.

On Friday night, I confessed something on Twitter.

My parents used to play Molly Menu and Captain Cafeteria in a radio melodrama. They would read the lunch menu in a largely over dramatic fashion, with a storyline that went on for years about Captain Cafeteria, the superhero of nutrition, Molly Menu, the damsel in distress and Jerald Junkfood, the dastardly villain. Neely commented on how hilarious that sounded.

(Shout out to Neely! Heeeeeyyy girl!)

And that got me thinking.

My parents are pretty amazing people.

(My parents, at Rory's Christening in 2009. Good looking folks, aren't they? :))

When I was in 5th grade, my mom left her job as a kindergarten teacher. At the time, my dad was an insurance salesman with lots of flexibility in his hours. My mom wrote a one woman musical called "Mary...the story of Jesus through His mother's eyes." A family friend wrote the music but my mom wrote the script and the lyrics. It's a beautiful, moving, funny, intelligent piece of theatre. As a family, we traveled all over the states and parts of Canada, supporting my mom as she performed her play at churches far and wide. She performed, I ran the lights, my dad did the sound, my sister was in charge of costume changes. It was a family affair! My grandpa traveled with us lots of the time too.

We took several long extended "tours." One was six weeks long where we drove across the country performing all along the way. I've been to 47 of the 50 states with the ministry. I've seen the Grand Canyon, Mount Rushmore, the Sequoia trees, the California Coast, the Alamo, the St. Louis Arch, the Mall of America...just about every landmark you can think of. To say I'm blessed in the travel department is an understatement.


Mom and Dad in Duck, NC last summer.

My parents' ministry years were tough financially. The Lord always, 100%, provided our needs, just not always our wants. My sister and I learned to budget, work hard to earn our money, how to determine a want vs a need, to be happy and completely satisfied with what we had, the value of our religion...so many lessons that can't be learned when children are given everything they want without working for it. (Another post for another time...) Not ONCE did my sister or I feel like we were "poor" (We certainly weren't, we were happy, healthy, fed, clothed and blessed!) We didn't get cars on our 16th birthdays, we didn't shop at Abercrombie and we didn't have crazy expensive sneakers at the start of each school year. But we were happy. And we learned so much. The lessons of financial responsibility, tithing to the church, being thankful for blessings and being good stewards of our money have lasted us into our adult lives and we won't forget them.

My parents are awesome people. Rory calls them Baba and Gaga. :)

Rory and her "Baba."

Once, on a trip for the ministry, they made us stop at this place called The Corn Palace. It's a castle made entirely of corn. It smells and it's weird. But they LOVED it. My sister and I still make fun of them for this one. :)

We also were forced to dress up in turn of the century costumes and walk around the set of Dances With Wolves. It's turned in to a total tourist trap, solely to embarrass tweens and their younger sisters for years to come. THANKS MOM AND DAD.

And no. Absolutely not. I will not share those pictures with you!

I had an amazing childhood, filled with wonderful trips and exciting times. My sister is my best friend and my parents are my favorite people on earth. I trust them with everything and I've never once been afraid to talk to them about something important. I won the family jackpot, for sure. I hope Rory and Trace will have just as exciting of a childhood growing up!

Triggers.

I've gained quite a few followers lately (yay! welcome!) and I need to be upfront about something. And no, this isn't a pity party post. My blog is a record of my life and this is what it is right now.

95% of the time, my blog is happy. My kids, dance, my husband, funny anecdotes...I like to keep things light and fluffy because I like to focus on the positives in my life in general. But. (And this is a big but.) I "suffer" from postpartum depression. Suffer? Am inflicted with? Deal with?

How about handle?

I handle postpartum depression (PPD) every day. Every stinking day. Most days lately are great, some days...not so great. Today is a not so great. Today was filled with triggers for me. Triggers are things/moments/feelings/anything really that makes your PPD flare up.

My triggers are numerous, some worse than others. Memories of an ex boyfriend are a huge trigger for me. The sound of dirtbikes. (I KNOW!) Stress. Dance registration. Thinking about high school. The movie "Down With Love." The list goes on and on. Most are silly, like movies or songs. Others are more serious.

I've also noticed that when I'm unbalanced, I can't control my eating habits. Like I can NOT control it. I am physically hungry ALL THE TIME. I feel famished, like I need to eat constantly. I have no energy to exercise and my legs feel filled with sand. When I am balanced, my eating habits are so much better. I can actually control it and I desire to work out.

When I am unbalanced, I can't sleep. I average maybe 5 hours a night and not consecutively. I get migraines, ocular and normal. I think I am the most ugly person on the face of the planet. I am extremely irritable. The list goes on and the symptoms intensifies as I spiral down.

Thankfully, through good medicine, lots of prayer, talking with my family and allowing myself to rest, I handle my PPD very well. As I said, 95% of my days are great. Lately has been tough, but I know it will swing back up. It always does, because I'm standing on the promises.

True Life: I'm a General Blogger

The always wonderful and full of sunshine and rainbows Tara over at Fabulous but Evil (hehe) is hosting a new link up that goes for 8 weeks and serve as kind of a intro to bloggers from all over the blogosphere. Each week highlights a different genre of blogging.

I'm linking up this week because the theme is general blogger.

That's where I fit. I think. I'm a little of all kinda of blogs...Mommy, humor, fluff, serious, inspirational (I hope! :)), occasional recipes and crafts...I'm like the general store of blogging.

I blog about these people the most...Dave, my husband, Rory, my 2 y/o daughter and Trace my 9 m/o son. I blog about our lives, Trace's journey through acid reflux and a host of stomach issues, Rory's crazy antics and our life as a family of 4.






I own a dance studio and blog often about life as a business owner and ballerina wanna-be there. I like to add pictures of my kids doing cool things all the time too. :)

I blog recipes, craft ideas, vacation dreams, things about Disney (my favorite place in the world!) and things I find on Pinterest all the time. I'm a full on Pinterest addict! haha



I just started blogging about my journey to get healthy again. I was looking at my senior pictures at my mom's house yesterday and MAN. I miss that body! Two kids in two years does a number on your body, but I'm working on it every day. Choice by choice. Meal by meal. Pound by hopefully pound!

I sometimes blog serious issues...Christian and religious issues, formula feeding woes, mourning the death of loved ones, gay marriage...I have a serious side and it comes out. It's part of what makes my blog real.

I'm also working on a whole new look and feel to my blog...stick around! It's usually fun around here. :)

Hey, It's Okay.

Today, I'm linking up for the first edition of It's Okay Thursdays, hosted by two of my faves, Neely and Amber. They are great!

It's okay...

To collapse on your bed the minute the kids go down for a nap. It's all good, we all need a break.

To spend an hour on Pinterest every night and shamelessly pin crafts you will never have time to complete!

To delete the RHONYC reunion 2 seconds in to it on your DVR because these ladies are stinking annoying! UGH! ANDY COHEN. Get rid of them all!! Except Sonja. Love her! Bethenney was so smart to get off the show.

To forget to get chicken out of the freezer for dinner tonight...oops. Pizza it is.

To google who A is on Pretty Little Liars. Don't hate, I did it when I was pregnant with Trace and couldn't handle the suspense! I won't tell, promise. :)

To want to eat Chinese food every night of the week. As long as you don't do it.

To really like the tired feeling your legs get after a good elliptical workout.

To pin wedding ideas when you've been married 5 years. Maybe your sister will get married (or engaged!) sometime in the next few year. You'll be prepared with ideas.

To have no idea what color scheme/theme you want to go with for your blog makeover. Any suggestions?

To dream of someday owning a pair of Louboutins...even though you will never pay that much for shoes!

It's really okay. So much drama on blogs and Twitter lately...Yikes. I'm staying out of it!

Oh How Pinteresting...#4 Who am I?

My favorite link up...Oh How Pinteresting! Michelle over at The Vintage Apple is the host and I love this one. I spend a ton of time Wednesday nights scouring everyone's posts and repinning everything. It's such a fun bloghop! (Also, the first, original and authentic Pinterest blog hop out there...JUST SAYING! :))

This week I thought I'd feature some things I've pinned that tell you a little bit about who I am...

Source: None via Kate on Pinterest

Mom.

Source: fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net via Kate on Pinterest

Christian.

Source: None via Kate on Pinterest

Dancer.

Source: google.com via Kate on Pinterest

Steelers Fan.

Source: myhappylittlethings.blogspot.com via Kate on Pinterest

Diet Coke Addict.

Source: kelseaflife.blogspot.com via Kate on Pinterest

Kappa.

Source: images.google.com via Kate on Pinterest

Disney Obsessed.

Source: bonesturnedfitspo.tumblr.com via Kate on Pinterest

Getting healthy!

Source: amybites.com via Kate on Pinterest

Wanna be Chef.

Need a Pinterest invite? I can send you one! Leave a comment with your email and I'll get you one today.

You can find my Pinterest Boards HERE.

What did you pin this week?

We Are...Penn State!

Sunday we had a free day. No commitments what so ever! This rarely happens for us and since I start back to work in three weeks, we decided to take advantage of it. We loaded up the kids and head to State College. State College is home of Penn State, Dave's alma mater and a family favorite.

We walked around campus, strolled through downtown, visited the kids' godfather and his wife and then stopped at two iconic places.

First, the Lion Shrine.



Basically, a big Nittany Lion Statue that every good Penn State family takes pictures at. :) We hope to make this a yearly tradition and frame them all side by side in our basement. I didn't realize how slippery the status was though. Dave is holding Trace, obviously but Rory is just standing there. About 2 seconds after this picture, she took a nose dive off and proclaimed her hatred for the Lion. Oh well. :)

Next up, the Joe Paterno Statue. If you don't know who Joe Paterno is, obviously you don't watch college football. He's the winning-est collegiate coach of all time and he's been at Penn State for like 40 years. He's a wonderful MAN as well, an educator and benefactor. He recently donated a ton of money to the school to help with the hockey program and the religious studies department. A good man, JoePa. Plus he's adorable. :)



Dave, with Ro and Trace, at the Paterno Statue at Beaver Stadium. He was so excited to show PSU to Ro and Trace. We have high hopes they'll chose Penn State.


It was such a nice day! We had dinner at a 50's Diner called "Baby's" and Rory was free! Kids eat free on Sundays...even better. :)


Rory, at Baby's.

A nice, family day for us Undercoffers. I'm so blessed to have a great little family of my own. I don't take these three for granted for one second. Life is too precious.





Before I let you go...have you all entered Neely's giveaway?? A YEAR subscription to Birchbox!! Go HERE to check her out. And lastly, a special shout out to Jenn at Munchkinland Designs. Last week was her 2 year anniversary and I won a shop credit through a giveaway she hosted. I am so excited!! I need to make some decisions on the look and feel of my blog. Browns, blues and green I think...maybe! :)

Weekend Recap

First off all, an important piece of business! My girl Neely over at Complete Waste of Makeup is giving away a YEAR subscription to Birchbox. Birchbox is a once a month goodie box of beauty product samples delivered to your door. It's a $120 value!!! Go enter by clicking her button...and check out her blog while you are there! She's fantastic and never fails to make me laugh. She is a great blogger, balancing serious posts with light hearted ones. She inspires me to eat healthy and work out. Girl does 90 minute work outs ALL THE TIME! Neely is just plain great. :)



Now! On to our weekend...

Friday, we went to Pittsburgh for Trace's fluroscopy. What that is is a special Xray to check for abnormalities or disformities in his digestive tract. He had to drink barium. (Yikes!) I wasn't with him for the test, only one adult was allowed to go back. Wisely, I decided Dave should go. I sat in the waiting room and cried for an hour. :) It's a scary thing to watch your only son be taken away for a serious test. I knew I'd cry IN the exam room if I went so Dave went. Dave is way more level headed about these things than me. :) I sent out a desperate tweet from the waiting room for support. Kelly, my first blog friend, answered the call. More on that later this week. :)

We won't know the results until tomorrow. It's going to be good, whatever comes out of it!


Saturday, my best friend from high school got married!! She married her long time other half. In fact, I distinctly remember in high school her proclaiming she was going to marry Joe. They weren't even dating! :) It was a beautiful wedding.

Some pictures...I actually don't hate these pictures of myself. That's a first in a reallllly long time. It feels good to work out and eat well! Who knew?! ;)


Not perfect, but at least it hints at my old self! :) Dave and I, being all sorts of sassy. Well, he's not. He's tolerating me. That's what he has to do! Can't believe we've been married almost 5 years. Where does time go??


Allie and Joe! Leaving the church. :)


My best friends from high school, Allie and Andy. We don't get to see each other nearly enough but when we do, it's like no time has passed. I'm crazy blessed to have these two in my life.

Yesterday, we took the kids to State College to visit their godfather and his wife and walk around Penn State Campus. It deserves a post all it's own because Rory was CRAAAAAZY. She was cracking us up all day. Might I say we're edging out of this awful behavior?? Who knows? Anyways...a great weekend.

How was your weekend? Did you do anything exciting?