the October Dress Project.

Heard of it? No? Me either, until late last year when I saw some friends posting pictures of themselves in the same dress every day. I didn't give it much thought until a few months later and had almost forgotten about it now that October is quickly slowly creeping up on me.

So, what is it? It's a brilliant idea, created by two friends when one of their grandmas commented that women only needed one dress to wear an entire week, and one for Sundays. They decided to wear one dress the entire month of October. Yes, you read that right. The same dress everyday for 31 days. 

Why? The basis is simple- anti-consumerism, pro-simplicity, anti-conformity, pro-imagination. But you can transform the ODP to mean whatever you want it to! I will be focusing on pro-simplicity. 

I'm going to be transparent here for minute. I am materialistic, self-conscious, and more consumed with my outward appearance than I am with my inner-self. Gross, right? I know. And I have acknowledged these faults and have been diligently praying for God to help me change my ways. And in several ways, I have changed. But I still have a long journey ahead of me. Sigh, don't we all? 

I need this challenge. I need to transform myself. I need to prove to myself that I don't need this season's hottest trends or name brand whatever or brand new clothes to feel like ME. I don't need all these things to define who I am! 

Want to join me? Come on, wearing the same thing for a month doesn't sound appealing to you?! Your reasons behind participating in the the ODP do not have to be the same as mine. Your guidelines do not have to be the same as mine! Think about it, pray about it, give it a try. I stumbled upon a friend's post from ODP 2011 and seriously, she came up with some super cute outfits! Challenge yourself people!

These are my personal guidelines for the October Dress Project:
- Since I do need a few staples in order to survive the entire month, I will need to purchase some items. But I will not buy new! I will shop thrift, yard sales, or my friends' closets. 
- I will sell unused clothing items/household items in order to purchase these "new to me" items I think I need. 
- I will not be wearing my dress to the gym or to sleep.
- I will not purchase any new clothing or accessory items for myself the entire month of October.
- I will not repeat the same look during the month. 
- I will learn to love myself for who I am, not for what I am wearing. 

I'm not gonna lie, this is going to be very difficult for me to stick with. Luckily, one of my closest friends has agreed to dive into this adventure for the first time with me! I'm not sure we quite know what we are getting ourselves in to, but I can guarantee we are both fired up for the Lord to work on our hearts through this challenge! 

P.S. Yes, you can wash your dress! ;) 

DIY Rustic Fall Wreath

I don't know about you, but I absolutely love September thru December! I love Fall colors, the family get-togethers, the humidity dying down, and the FOOD! This year, I am determined to get some crafting done and finally finish some awesome DIY projects. 

Today, the women in my husband's family got together to eat and drink wine make some holiday wreaths. Everyone else made theirs out of fabric and wire wreath forms and they came out amazing! However, my husband and I are smack in the middle of a "no spend month" and while I wanted to participate, I didn't want to spend the extra money to make a fabric wreath when I had some leftover grapevine wreaths in the shed! So I headed to Michael's and grabbed some fall foliage, which happened to be on sale, and decided to figure it out as I went. I don't want to toot my own horn, but Honk Honk! My wreath turned out fabulous! Unfortunately (for you), I was too distracted by my hilarious in-laws to take step by step photos so you will just have to bear with me! 

Supplies:

1 Grapevine wreath

3-4 small bunches of flowers/foliage 

1 spool of 2" coordinating ribbon OR 1 pre-made bow

10" piece of curling ribbon or string (omit if you are using a pre-made bow)

Hot glue gun 

Scissors 

Step 1- 

Cut all of your flowers and foliage off the branches, leaving about 2" of stem. 

Step 2- 

Arrange your flowers/foliage on one half of the wreath and hot glue into place once you are happy with the placement. 

The only progress shot.. My bad. -_-

Step 3-

Make your bow. There is a great tutorial on how to make a wreath bow here. Skip this step if you purchased a pre-made bow.

Step 4- 

Attach your bow to the bottom of your arrangement on the wreath by tying the string through the center of the bow and around the wreath. 

The finished product! 

 Yes, I know it is still Summer, but I love the look of this wreath so much that I couldn't wait to put it up! I adore the rustic look; I live in the country and it is totally appropriate.

The whole wreath cost me about $10 to make. Everything was on sale plus I had a 10% off coupon good towards my total purchase! Michael's had wreaths in the store that weren't as cute as this one for $50!!

I plan on making a Rustic Christmas wreath in a similar style as soon as the Christmas decorations hit the shelves! :) Stay tuned!

My secret to endless amounts of energy

Since becoming a stay at home mom 15 months ago, I have struggled with productivity. At first, I enjoyed staying up late, dropping Elli off at school, and napping with the baby. The house was clean within an hour, and stayed that way. Once we started homeschooling, I needed to get my act together and not only wake up early, but stay awake. It was so hard to fall asleep earlier than 2am! And if there is one thing I love, it's sleep. I can sleep 15 hours if left undisturbed. Something had to change. About the same time, I was mentally ready to lose the last bit of baby weight Evan oh so generously left me with. I started waking up at 5am and heading right to the gym. It.was.so.hard!! I have always loved staying in shape, but willingly waking up that early was a struggle. But I did it! And after a few weeks of forcing myself to get out of bed, I was able get up as soon as the alarm went off - and looked forward to the time to myself at the gym! The energy I have throughout the day is incredible! Not only am I sleeping better, but I have also lost 13lbs. I'm only 7lbs away from my goal weight! 

If you are feeling sluggish, I highly recommend setting that alarm and getting active first thing in the morning! Walk on a treadmill while reading a book, lift some weights to your favorite songs. Just do it! I'm currently blogging while cooling down on the treadmill ;) Don't make excuses. If you fall off the bandwagon a couple days, just pick back up where you left off. You are the only obstacle in the way of being/staying fit. 

Sisters by Heart/Linked by Heart

Earlier this year, I was blessed with the opportunity to join my favorite nonprofit organization, Sisters by Heart, as a Regional Coordinator for their newest project, Linked by Heart. Sisters by Heart was founded in 2010 by a group of dedicated HLHS moms who wanted to offer something that was truly lacking in our community; hope and support. They joined forces and over the past 2 years have formed into an amazing organization, reaching hundreds of families that would have had no where to turn for support. Sisters by Heart sends care packages to newly diagnosed HLHS families that include super awesome items every Momma needs for themselves and their HLHS babe while in the hospital awaiting and recovering from their first open heart surgery. And their blog.. Man. These women work so hard to provide accurate and encouraging information to the hundreds of HLHS moms on the web, scouring for hope that their baby can make it through this journey. As if that weren't enough, SBH recently expanded their organization to include Linked by Heart. They have recruited HLHS moms across the country, myself included, to help support the entire HLHS community, not just the newly diagnosed moms. By registering in the Linked by Heart database, families from all over the country are able to connect with other HLHS families in close proximity, by similar complications, same hospital, etc. It is truly an amazing resource and I am so honored to "meet" and support the moms in the Southeast region!

Sisters by Heart/Linked by Heart have touched so many lives already. They rely on monetary donations to keep the support by way of care packages going. If you are touched by the hearts of the women of this organization and want to help send some love and support to Mommas of babies with a broken heart, please consider sending a donation their way here.

It's here!

For months I have wanted to sit down and revamp my blog Evan's blog. As much as I have loved using this blog to update everyone on Evan's condition, I have wanted something more; a space to write freely about the other aspects of my life. What? You didn't know I wasn't just a heart mom?! I know, it's crazy to think I have a life outside of my super special babe, but I do. I want so badly to post about my sweet girl Elli, to post my latest pinterest projects, recipes; all the fun stuff! And so I will, starting now! Welcome to MY new (to me) blog! ;)

I will trust You.

Lord I won't forget how good You are! While I was watching Evan crawl all over the house today, and pull up and cruise the furniture, this song ran thru my head. I will never forget how faithful God has been to my family, to my son, who is such a Miracle, and all the glory and praise goes to Him..

Ok, I promised it wouldn't happen again, but life happens, and I have failed to keep up with blog posts. Darn!

So what's been up? Lots. Evan has been a busy bee since my last update. This past weekend we participated in the Tampa Congenital Heart Walk. This is only the 3rd year there has been a walk in Tampa and I was sad to see few participants/supporters. Next year I am making it a priority to do what I can to shine some light on the event. Evan had a great time riding around the track in the stroller while I huffed and puffed to keep up with Elli, who insisted on running the entire first lap (1.5 miles!). She definitely took the walk seriously :) 

Evan has also dealt with two ear infections and what was suspected to be croup (but it wasn't). He was a grump for sure but did well, considering. It's been unseasonably warm here in Florida these past few months and we are definitely taking advantage of the awesome weather! We have made several trips to Disney and Aquatica water park. Evan loves Disney days and had a blast meeting Mickey and Minnie for the first time. He gave Minnie a big, wet kiss on her nose :) So stinkin' cute! He loves the rides and enjoys watching his sissy get so excited. The water park is hit or miss, ha! He loves splashing in the water, but does not like the super speed "lazy" river because you get sprayed with water. He did, however, fall asleep in his life vest after one trip around in the water and poor Dad had to go sit with him while still in the water and keep his head afloat while he napped.. Oh the things we do for our babes. 

Evan had his Cardiologist appointment last week and got some really wonderful news. His heart function looks fantastic and his leaks are still very minor. We will be keeping him on the enalipril and go back in 3 months again! It's so weird to think just a year ago we were scheduled every 2-3 weeks for appointments! And I just have to say, I absolutely love the staff at his Cardiology clinic. The nurses and receptionists are wonderful, they always take the time to entertain Evan and do whatever they can to make sure we are comfortable during the visit. His sats were good and he sat thru the EKG completely still while watching his favorite nurse dance around and blow bubbles, lol. She is the best! His echo lasted almost 30 minutes and thanks to Yo Gabba Gabba, he cooperated long enough to get the important shots. We also visited the Pediatrician for Evan's 15 month check up. He is 24lbs 120z and 31.25" long. He is continuing physical therapy until he meets his new set of goals and received a referral for speech therapy. We also got a referral to the eye DR because Evan's eyes seem to cross when he focuses. Praying it's all in my head and he is just fine.. 

Now, on to the AWESOME news! After a few months of literally no progress in physical therapy, Evan has finally decided he wants to move and has been trying so hard to catch up! He is able to pivot side to side on his belly, can get to the sitting position from his belly, can get down to his belly from sitting, is pulling up on the couch, taking big steps while holding hands, and started crawling today!!!!! I put two of his toys about 6 feet away from him and with some encouragement, he crawled all the way over to them! Oh, the tears of joy, such a simple milestone that has been a difficult mountain for my dear son to overcome.. It's just the most wonderful feeling to see him accomplish something we have been working so diligently on! I cannot wait for him to show off tomorrow in physical therapy! :)

Thank you all for continuing to send positive thoughts and prayers for Evan and our family. It is so great to have such an amazing support system <3 Much love!

The gang w/ Mickey & Minnie 

Water park! 

My monkey :)

Evan @ the Tampa Congenital Heart Walk 2012