Last night Dustin and I had the opportunity to go on a midweek date. We always jump at the chance to do something fun in the middle of the week, versus waiting for the weekend to come. Plus, most weekends are jam-packed with 39481 things anyway. My mom so graciously babysat Via so we could have a few hours to ourselves.
We ended up going to Benihana in Maple Grove to celebrate Dustin’s recent birthday (and how can you beat a $30 free birthday meal?). Beforehand we walked around the local outdoor shopping center (1.) Because the weather was perfect, (2.) Because our reservations weren’t until 6pm and (3.) Because I love to browse in cute little shops.
We ended up finding a fun shop, similar to Patina, with some cool mugs. Dustin lined up three in a row and pointed them out to me and said,
“If we were mugs, this would be our family.”
(Side note: he had initially chosen MY mug to be the mug that said “Little Miss Sunshine” until I spotted the “Little Miss Chatterbox” mug on the shelf below. I mentioned that one seemed more fitting. He agreed (even though he hadn’t included it)! He said he didn’t want to make me feel bad, but let’s get real, I am so chatty, all. the. time. I never run out of things to say; my mom tells me that when I was little, we would take a road trip for 3 hours down to my Dad’s farm on the weekends and I would talk the entire way straight, without stopping. Fortunately for me, Dustin is a listener, and a great one at that. We are both working on becoming more of what the other is and less of what we are. I’m thankful that Dustin listens to me and lets me talk, but I admire his ability to be such a great listener and I’d love to become slower to speak and quicker to listen.
Anyway, I got to thinking that it would be fun to do a short (okay…not so short) post about our little family. When I started up this blog, I did an introductory post about how we met and why I was starting it but wanted to go into a little more depth just for fun.
DUSTIN // Mr. Messy
At 28 years old, Dustin is a Master-licensed plumber. Right out of highschool in 2004 he began his apprenticeship and attended Dunwoody for his journeymen’s license. He stays busy working full time for various contracting companies throughout the Twin Cities; (fun fact: he worked on Target Field and when it opened, we got to march in the contractors parade & attend the first game.)
In his spare time, he loves to work out and do anything active. He also enjoys reading - on any given day I can find a stack of 5+ books he is tackling in the bedroom. In highschool he played football and he is known to tune in to a Vikings game every now and then.
He is the most playful, hilarious person I’ve ever known - more like a little kidalways ready for an adventure - than the average adult. He’s very intelligent, super handy & can fix anything, and he loves to make people laugh. He is definitely the optimist in our relationship, always looking on the bright side of things and staying positive. He is so polite and kind and very generous; I think if it were up to him, we would tip 30% at every restaurant we go to. One of his favorite meals is grass-fed filet and mashed potatoes - the meal he requested on his birthday - and he has a definite sweet tooth for my 7-layer bars and almond pound cake, among other goodies.
He has a heart of gold, brings home roses for no reason, writes me cards every Sunday night, and has a (huge) soft spot in his heart for his little daughter. After Olivia was born, I remember him saying, “You know, if we have all girls, I’d be really happy.” This shocked me, knowing (almost) every Dad wants a boy at some point. We would still love a boy in the future, but I think his heart grew to a whole new level when he met Olivia. He is always looking to lend a helping hand, he volunteers with our church, and he goes out of his way to make others feel special and loved. He is tall, dark & handsome, and definitely my dream come true…even if he leaves a trail!
ME // Little Miss Chatterbox
I’m 23 years old, a graduate of Bethel University, and an RN by degree (BSN). I’m currently a stay-at-home mom to Olivia and working (very) part time at twoawesome jobs (with even more awesome people!!). I grew up seeing my Dad start, own & run his own business, so I LOVE customer service positions and have a high standard when it comes to sales. I saw my Dad give the best of the best customer service and I try to do the same no matter where I’m working or what I’m doing.
I have naturally curly hair and have finally learned to embrace the mess it can sometimes be. I love to cook and bake (love is an understatement) and I even love to grocery shop; I would do it 24-7 if I had the chance (cook and bake, that is; grocery shopping twice a week is plenty). I played Varsity tennis in high school and still love the sport.
Being a mom was a dream God placed in my heart from a very young age, and I was so blessed to see it come to fruition last May. I have never been so happy in my life as I am now that I have Olivia and it feels like a hole in my heart is filled with her little soul that I never even knew existed.
For fun I enjoy rubber-stamping and card making, anything creative & crafty, shopping, cleaning & organizing (yes, you read that right), and spending time with my family of course. As for my favorite foods, I don’t drink anything other than water and occasionally tea, but I splurge on really good homemade salt&pepper sugared potato chips, fresh salsa, guac & tortilla chips and sweet potato waffle fries. I eat 90% gluten free by choice (more on that later). Oh, and if it is almond-filled or almond-flavored, I’m SO in.
I am a very loyal person and give all of myself to those I love. I am punctual and scheduled; I love to plan. I have very high standards (and can be a bit too much of a perfectionist), so I’m working on holding myself to a standard of grace, not perfection.
I love autumn, burning candles all day long even when the sun is shining, and one of my favorite things is having the windows wide open when I’m doing laundry so when our backyard smells like dryer sheets I can enjoy it wafting through the house.
I have a dream of owning a big custom-built home on a few acres of land out in the country and having a big family, growing old with Dustin and watching our kids grow up. I’m an only child and always wanted siblings when I was younger, so I want to have lots of kids and a big, busy house filled with noise and chaos and laughter and love.
I feel like I was meant to be born down South, because I’m a country girl at heart. I love feeding the birds, taking walks, doing hot yoga, and hosting/entertaining. I also love to write. Part of me hopes to write a book one day sharing my whole story (err, our whole story)…but that’s another post entirely. I am outspoken, very bold, and not afraid of what others think of me. Life is far too short to hold anything back, and I’ve learned that if you don’t have love, you don’t have anything worth holding on to. I’m a blessed daughter of the King and thankful that I can place my hope in the One True God.
OLIVIA // Little Miss Giggles
Via Bea is the littlest member of our family and definitely the cutest. She loves to giggle, thinks it is beyond hilarious when someone ‘fake sneezes,’ and smiles almost more than she breathes. She can hold her bottle all by herself and loves to play in her crib. She talks with her hands in her mouth (eventually she’ll learn its not the most effective way to communicate) and she falls asleep almost instantly in her carseat. Speaking of sleep, she loves it. I’ve never met a baby who loves sleep as much as she does - and hopefully her younger siblings will love it even more than her (!!!).
She loves wearing headbands (okay, so…I love when she wears headbands) and her favorite shoes are her gold moccasins. Her feet & tiny toes are the absolute cutest and just like mine (long and thin). She has Dustin’s ears to a T and when she was born, she had a full head of dark-dark hair just like I did when I was born; she even weighed the same as I weighed at birth and was the same length I was when I was born. (Just think of all the fun God has in His spare time planning these little details).
Finally, her nursery is tiffany blue, because I want her to grow up knowing that she has timeless beauty that is worth being celebrated and cherished. Her name means “peaceful spirit” (Olivia) and “bringer of joy” (Beatrice); My name (Megan) means “pearl; a precious gem” - she is my precious gem and my heart fills more with love for her every single day.
That’s us.
H A P P Y F R I D A Y !
