Saturday, December 20, 2014

A Kick in the Pants

So as of this month I started writing the Sunday School toddler curriculum for my church. I have only completed one month of it but I really enjoy it. I submitted my first batch on Monday. This is important so remember this :)
My favorite toddler :)
Fast forward to Wednesday when I received a phone call from the temp. agency I have been using since September 2012 to find a job. They had a job they thought I might be interested in, it sounded good to me so I said they could throw my resume over to the company. With a temp. agency you don't know who the company is until you are scheduled for an interview. Now if you read my "Year in Review" post you know I have been a stay at home mom since June. When I didn't receive the last job I went for in late October, I thought God's plan was for me to stay at home so I stopped looking and started my Jamberry business. I was content and at peace with what I thought was the plan. So receiving this phone call in the first place was a surprise.


They called me a couple hours later to say the job was at Dick's Sporting Goods Corporate (DSG) but the company I would be interviewing with is a vendor of their's who embeds their employees at the corporate building. Me and all my athletic passions just loved that I was going to get to go to DSG corporate for the interview.

So first interview goes well. An hour and a half after the company from late October calls, another position opened up and they asked for me. So in the course of 24 hours I went from being content being home with my daughter to having two really good companies interested in me. I can't make this stuff up. I was given one interview at 10am and the second at 2:30pm. The agency contacted me later on to say that the DSG vendor conveyed to them that the job was mine to lose. As long as I didn't blow the second interview I would be receiving an offer. That was great to hear but then they said I needed to be prepared to make a decision by the end business Friday.


That whole night I was talking to family and friends to weigh the pro's and con's of each job. Most of the conversations were me saying how speechless I was about the situation. One of our family friends said this, "I live by the motto 'God's never in a hurry because He's always on time.'" Well remember how I said I wrote toddler curriculum on Monday? Here was the last lesson I wrote, "With God the timing He chooses is perfect. God is never late or early. God is always on time." Copy and pasted from my word document. I wrote it Monday before I knew what Wednesday through Friday would hold.  Now don't stop reading, there is more!



So as you can imagine the next morning I was really nervous. Depending on the days events I could have a job in less than 24 hours, a life changing job. I went to DSG Corp. and sat down in their amazing lobby (Yes even their lobby is fabulous). One of the many vendors with meetings came a few minutes later and sat down with me. I was reading a Sports Illustrated magazine and probably looked jittery. He started talking to me and it took my mind off of the huge interview. He asked about why I was there and I gave him a brief synopsis of the situation. He says with a smile, "Everything will work out. But I think you should work here. It is great  and you will love it." '

The interview went better than I could have planned. It just felt perfect. The two people who met with me made me feel like I had finally found "my people." The job description combines all of my talents and includes my passion for sports even though it is just the retail products they are working around. It is as close to a dream job as a 20-something can get. With that said, it seemed pretty clear to me that the second interview of the day wasn't necessary. I filled out the necessary paper work and accepted the job offer 20 minutes later.



Now who was going to take care of our little princess? There is a daycare 30 seconds down the road from us but they weren't sure of their availability so that was out. I told that to the woman from my MOPS group who watched Lily during both interviews and she offered to watch her full time! I feel so much more comfortable with that and she has 3 children around Lily's age so that's a bonus. Within 2 minutes of having a potential crisis God had an answer. Now I am a complete control freak but this whole situation I can't even logically explain. I have been a Christian since I was in elementary school but this is the first time I can say without a doubt God did this! He gave me this opportunity, dropped it in my lap and made it all work out. He spoke through my friend Thursday night, He sent me a vendor at DSG to calm my jitters and provided childcare for our daughter in the best possible situation. This whole thing definitely gave me the kick in the pants I needed to trust God, no matter what. I might want to control everything but God does it better. If you have any doubts that God knows what He is doing remember this story, it's a good one.


Now to reward you for reading this novel..... Lily can walk! Not consistent but we will take it! And it is just  too adorable.


 

Thursday, December 11, 2014

2014 in Review

To review a year in a blog post is such a weird concept. How could I possibly encompass 365 days in a post that doesn't take (days) weeks to read?

I think I will make it short and sweet this year because in about 10 minutes Lily is going to get tired of Veggie Tales and will want to play :)

2014 was filled with soccer as per usual, Mike restarting his Masters degree, and Meg becoming a stay-at-home-mom. Lily did what all infants/toddlers do which is be cute and do whatever she wants. She is our little princess and we are so blessed to have her in our lives. This year she began to talk, became a speed crawler and could probably pass as a competitive eater for the under 2 division. She loves her food and isn't too picky as long as you let her feed herself. Although tantrums and stubbornness are starting to rear their ugly heads, there is no question Lily is our child. Her favorite toy is a ball, no surprise there, and she loves her plethora of teddy bears.

This little video just cracks me up! Anyway, Mike has been working on his masters since the fall of 2011 so we are excited to have him finish up in May. Balancing a full time job, coaching 2 or 3 club teams depending on the year and assisting at the college hasn't been easy but Mike has pushed through and is pumped to have his degree. 


Meg went back to work in retail from Nov. 2013 until June 2014 and then determined the minimal hours wasn't worth the hassle. Now she works in direct sales, can challenge herself as much as she wants and still gets to stay home with Lily. The perfect setup! She also continues to coach one club team and her regional Olympic Development Program (ODP) team. 



This year we traveled much less than years prior because Mike no longer works in admissions which had a very demanding travel schedule. We have also found that like most first time parents, having a child changes everything. This is probably the first year I haven't gone to most of Mike's soccer games to support his team because let's face it, Lily can only handle so much soccer. Poor girl is at the field too much as it is. Though here is the kicker (pun totally intended) Lily can't walk yet but can intentionally kick a ball and pull a ball back with the sole of her foot. Mike is already making sure she doesn't favor one foot over the other. #coachingproblems

Lily setting up her cones.


Alright and to round out the year here a couple of pictures from Lily's first birthday party. We celebrated it over 3 weeks because why not!




2014 What a year! May God continue to bless our family in ways we could never imagine in 2015. We know we don't see friends and family as much as we would like so feel free to check back here to see what's going on. Click subscribe and enter your email address in the upper right side bar if you are lazy like Meg and just like posts to automatically come to your inbox.

We Wish You a Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year!!

Love,
Mike, Meg & Lily Bair 

Thursday, December 4, 2014

My New Adventure

What a crazy month it was! November 2014 wasn't filled with a lot of soccer but it was nonstop from the 1st to the 30th. On the 8th of November I took a risk and signed on as a independent consultant with a direct sales company called Jamberry Nails. They are new but growing rapidly! After a month I can say, so far, it has been one of the best business decisions I have made!


I really struggle being home with Lily some days because I feel like I am not contributing financially or doing my part besides being the best mom ever :) I love little girl with all my heart (so don't think otherwise!) but for someone who is Type A I really miss the interaction and relationships of being in an office too. 
Who couldn't love this little princess?

Jamberry has given me so many friends in less than 4 weeks and I love the community that comes with the Jamily I am now a part of. 

Mike likes to remind me of how much I hate sales and yet look what I ended up signing on to do. I like to remind him that I don't sell! I share my love of the product and it sells itself. I am an avid nail biter so I always have something on my nails. Now instead of repainting them every 5 or so days I keep Jams on for 2 weeks! I don't have the time or patience to let polish dry anyways...and neither does Lily :)

Day 1                                        Day 7
 I seriously hate confrontation and being pushy so I really dreaded my first vendor event last weekend at my sister-in-law's parent's church. The first couple of hours I just stood there smiling and saying '"hi" which I am really good at! Then I started giving free nail art samples at my booth and that is all it took for the sales to come rolling in. 

Now I am not going to make a full income off of this... at least not for a long while... but Christmas won't be so hard on our budget this year and we are planning to use this to help get rid of our debt (Yay Dave Ramsey!). I even decided (was forced by my husband) to book a bridal event for the first weekend of January. Man am I super nervous about that! Over 1200 brides PLUS whoever they bring along...the fiance, mom, bridal party. 


I was skeptical to sign up because it was quite the investment for the booth but Mike and his Dad assure me that it will pay off. I am a little bit of a perfectionist and I hate to fail so I am praying this either works out phenomenally or fails miserably so I know if it is something I can really succeed at.

If you are interested in checking Jamberry out either contact me for a free sample or just follow this link.  http://megbair.jamberrynails.net/.

Monday, October 20, 2014

A Day at the Zoo

Lily and I  went with our MOPS group today to the zoo. I was a little hesitant because it was going to be a long day with no nap but Lily was a champ. First we got to go to a short class where we pet some animals. Lily pet the humongous cockroaches, the Madagascar Tenrec, a possum, and the duck. She especially liked watching the duck walk around.

Then we made our way to the giraffes, which was the most exciting part of the day. Because of our sweet MOPS connections we got to go into another area closer to the animals. The giraffe came right over and Lily and I got to pet him!

 I was so surprised how close he got. Went back and forth along the fence so all the kids got to pet him. So awesome!

Then Lily and I found the aquarium. Lily really likes looking at the fish at Wal-Mart so I knew she would enjoy looking at the huge tanks of wildlife.
The penguin exhibit was Lily's favorite but when I went to let her stand against the glass it proved to be a little overwhelming. She did much better at the shark tank :)

Then we went through to the end of the zoo and saw the Kangaroo.
A great day all in all. Little girl loves those animals.

Monday, October 13, 2014

Bossypants

So one of my resolutions for 2014 was to read 52 books in 52 weeks. Yea that isn't going to happen unless reading board books to Lily counts :) I am happy to say that I definitely read more this year than in years past. So far I have completed 4 books!

My favorite so far was "Bossypants" by Tina Fey. I love her as a comedian so when it was time for my mom's group Book Club, I volunteered to host and voila! I had gotten it from the library before and read less than half so this time I had motivation to read the whole thing.

The book is an autobiography sort of... It doesn't have a story line in the true sense of the word but there is a beginning and end and what is in between those parts makes sense. Here are my two cents about the book.

It surprised me how much my parenting style and general thoughts on being a mom matched with Tina Fey's, despite our completely different lifestyles. I appreciated how down to earth she was. I am tired of reading "mom books" (not that "Bossypants" is really a mom book, just a book written by a mom) and talking to other moms who say all the right things. Let's be honest, half the time being a mom is a complete mess and that's okay! Fey showcased that multiple times in the book and I kept finding myself saying "I feel the same way." Woah, who knew Tina Fey and a random 25 year old SAHM could feel the same?

Anyway a good, quick read if you can get past the random curses, crass comments, and otherwise rough humor.


**Next on my reading list is something very different and the same. "Life on Planet Mom" by Lisa T. Bergen was given to me by a wonderful neighbor from my MOPS group. I just started it but so far it seems to be exactly what I need to be reading.**




Sunday, October 5, 2014

Pumpkins with our Pumpkin '14

Fall is my absolute favorite time of year and it seems to be everyone else's too. Pumpkin Spice Lattes (aka PSLs), scarves and boots are all over Pinterest and Facebook. It is awesome. I had my first PSL last weekend and although it was iced because it was 75 degrees out it was still amazing! I have a fall scented candle going right now and it smells awesome. It is a new scent from Wal-Mart's Better Homes and Garden brand called Pumpkin Whipped Cream. I might go through the candle in (a week) three days I have been burning it so much.

This weekend the fall temperatures hit hard so we decided to take advantage and hit another fall tradition, the pumpkin patch! For the last 4 years we have gone to Soergel's Orchard and although they have gotten really popular, and therefore very busy, we still make our trip every year. They have an actual patch (very important), lots of kids activities, tractor rides, and really yummy fall foods. Mike loves their homemade apple pie, pizza bread, and caramel apples. I love their Amish made apple cider donuts, apple cider, and mac 'n' cheese.
Last year we went with Lily for the first time and we loved sharing the experience with her as 1 month old. We learned this year how fun it is with a 1 year old! Lily loved playing in the hay and watching the ducks. She thought the pumpkin was a ball and kept trying to pass it to us. Needless to say we went a little crazy taking pictures....Enjoy!





















Lily playing in the hay :)

And the most exciting thing about fall is that it means Thanksgiving is coming which is my favorite holiday! Ahh so much fun coming so soon! I can't hold in my excitement!!!!
Now I am off to crochet a scarf for a family friend while eating some of Mike's pie tehehe.
From our family to yours. Happy Fall! Don't let one beautiful day go to waste.

                                                 Love,
                                                     The Three Bairs 
 


Sunday, September 7, 2014

Turning One is So Fun!

 Today was Lily Michaella's first birthday! We had an amazing time the past two weekends celebrating with both of our families so today we invited some close friends to the park. It was so great to hang out and enjoy the beautiful weather to celebrate Lily turning one! Mike and I can't believe 12 months have flown by this quickly but as everyone keeps reminding us, kids grow up so fast. 
Looking at these photos one year ago is on the left and today was on the right. All I can say is WOW! Lily is the best gift we have ever been given and we can't wait to watch her grow more every day. 


She is the most outgoing, sweet, crazy, silly and content little girl I have every met. She fights laughing so hard but when you can get her to giggle it is totally worth it. She has her own little language and is such a ham in front of an audience. I love the moments she will sit, cuddle and watch the world around her and then during playtime Lily shows off her independent side. Lil, Baby Girl, Lily Girl, Stinker, Lil Lil, Silly Lily are only a few of her nicknames. She loves watching TV with Mommy in the morning. Lily likes to sing some tunes or dance as she crawls. She loves to chase Daddy around the living room. Watermelon and Cheerios are her favorite snacks. Lastly, her favorite toys are balls,any kind, which explains why we got her an awesome ball pit for her birthday. She played with it for 35 minutes straight!

This is my most favorite picture of the day. I love my little mini me. 

Oh and of my awesome Hubs who has been an amazing Daddy to our daughter. I love watching them together and their precious relationship.


Looking over the last year has really made us appreciate our soccer family. We live far away from our parents so most of the help and support we get with Lily is from people we know from our large soccer family. I don't know what we would have done without their love and support the past 12 months. So a big "Thank You" to you all. Lily is so loved and  I know our parents appreciate it too, knowing that we have people out here who care about us so much :)

Thursday, August 7, 2014

11 Months Coming Through

Someone is exactly one month away from turning 1 and it's this girl! Lily is 11 months old today. I can't believe that we will be celebrating her first birthday so soon. Of course I have been perusing the net for months to see what presents are best for one year olds and what kind of healthy cake to make her, but I am sure no matter what we do she will love it.

Anyway, this month Lily did a lot of fun thing like....
1) Was in her first wedding as a flower girl for my brother's big day.
2) Attended her first wedding as a guest for her two best friends as they tied the knot.
3)Went in her first full sized pool with her play date buddy.
4) Was tricked into standing on her own but prefers to sit and crawl as fast as possible. It is seriously crazy how fast she can crawl.
5)Went to her first town fair and won a prize with some help from Daddy.
6) Tried a lot of regular solids. She loves celery sticks and gnawing on carrots. She is also a big fan of Italian food.
7) Has her 6th tooth coming in.
8) Lily can now wave hi and goodbye without someone waving to her first. It is adorable.
9) Learned to drink from a regular cup and always smacks her lips afterward.
10) Because I am incapable of ending at 9, Lily is the best girl ever!!! We are so lucky to be her parents!

Watching her become a toddler is crazy but so much fun. I am already excited to share her first birthday celebrations and I am sure there will be so many pictures to post!

Tuesday, August 5, 2014

My First Anywhere Chair Review

I was so excited to purchase a Pottery Barn Kids Anywhere Chair. Because of Lily's small size I decided to go with the "My First Anywhere Chair." It arrived in two packages, one large box that contained the foam and a bag with the slipcover. When the slip cover arrived a couple of days after the foam pieces I immediately put it together. I was really frustrated when the velcro strips inside the slipcover did hardly anything to keep the foam in place. The personalized initial was also much smaller than the website advertised.

After watching the Pottery Barn Youtube assembly video I understand why the new design of slipcover does not have the defined shape the older PBK Anywhere Chairs do. The fabric sleeves with Velcro strips held tight to each piece of foam, especially in the flat seat area. In the new design, the inch wide straps with small Velcro squares barely stick together let alone hold dense foam in place. It is really a shame because the PBK Anywhere chairs are such a great product otherwise but I do not want that lack of stability in a chair used for small children.

The customer service for Pottery Barn Kids was very nice and helped me walk through the return process. She also got me the special permission required to return a personalized item since the slipcover was monogrammed. Tomorrow my PBK My First Anywhere Chair makes it way back to the warehouse and I try to find a suitable replacement. Lesson to be learned, don't change a good thing!