Fierce, Fast and Brave and Strong

I feel like I need to start a series of "mom life" posts, a category that this post could fall under.

As we were listening to the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse station on Pandora the other day, the ending theme song to The Lion Guard came on, and I actually listened to the words of the song. (Before then, I didn't know the words and only sang the, "Whoa oh oh oh oh"s when it came on.)  However, once I listened to the words, and Googled the rest, I realized how applicable these could be for our lives:

There's a time in life when you may get a great calling

And it seems so big at times, you feel like you may be falling

If you believe in who you are, there's no need to go runnin'

You find your place, and with your friends, the adventures keep on comin'

I'm sure many of us can think of a time where we've had a dream or idea we wanted to pursue, but the only outcome we could think of was fear or failure.  With any new situation, it's so much easier to list all the negatives rather than the positives.  And we let those negatives weigh heavily on our decision.  I'll give you my example: two summers ago, I had this crazy idea: "Hey, I should start selling LuLaRoe! I love the clothes so much anyway, so why not?" I knew this was a crazy idea, because I'd never done anything like it before.  I did think of every reason why I shouldn't do it, or what happens if I get stuck or fail.  I also knew it would be a big investment to get started (I hate spending money as it is, haha). But, once I told Matt the idea and he was on board too, it made it SO much easier to submit the paperwork and anxiously wait for my call.  I was so thankful to have the money (and a Disney credit card to build points on 😉) and I was able to put money into LuLaRoe so that now, we have a third income for our family.  Are there rocky times? Of course! But if there's anything I've learned through this experience, it's to believe that I can keep trucking along, and with the support of my husband, family, sponsor and team, I can keep on living this dream.

Chorus

Looking after the Pride Lands

Staying strong and united

And no matter where we stand

We'll never be divided

All the lions in the sky

Always keeping a watchful eye

Fierce, fast and brave and strong

Look out, here comes the Lion Guard!

I wrote this whole paragraph to go right here, then deleted it because all I wanted to say about the chorus is this:

I'm making it a life motto to live by.

Now how in the world did I come to realize how meaningful these lyrics are?  Well, when you're in the car with a crying kid, while your husband is in Qdoba picking up lunch, sometimes all you can do to block out the crying is listen to what's on the radio instead. #reallife

And, for those that may not know (what, you don't watch The Lion Guard, too?), the show is about Simba and Nala's son, Kion, who with his friends--the lion guard--protects the Pride Lands.

If you listen to this video, you're welcome for getting the "Whoa oh oh oh oh"s stuck in your head 😁

I'm Thankful For...

I'm thankful for Marshall's daycare.
I can't tell you how much time I spent this summer stressing and worrying over where Marshall would be once I went back to work.  We couldn't be happier with the daycare we found and we absolutely LOVE it! The owners and teachers truly love the kids and Marshall loves them! They take such good care of him and my favorite thing is when arts & crafts projects are sent home on Fridays so we can add them to the fridge ;)

I'm thankful for the LuLaRoe opportunity.
I've posted about it before on my LuLaRoe shopping page on Facebook, but I truly am thankful to have the opportunity to be a LuLaRoe Fashion Retailer! Coming from someone who used to dread shopping for clothes, LLR has been such a positive thing for several reasons: 1) I enjoy trying on clothes and getting new clothes!; 2) LLR has helped us SO much financially! We never have to worry about where the money is coming from to make my car payment each month which is SUCH a huge relief; 3) I've met so many awesome people through LLR! Whether we've met in person or just online, it's been great to make new friendships! (And I'm not even really a "people-person", except for LuLaRoe, haha)

I'm thankful for our family.
1) Well, you know the saying, "friends come and go, but family is forever." Family is always there for you and there to help you out.  Which leads me to #2... 2) We always have a babysitter. haha. I kid, I kid....but really.

I'm thankful for the essentials that are needed for living (that we can easily forget how fortunate we are to have).
Our house, electricity, water, our cars, our jobs, food on the table everyday, the air we breathe (Dad, thanks for bringing that to Thanksgiving this year, haha!),

I'm thankful for ridiculously random things that still make me happy.
The TV show, Arrow, for finally being a show that Matt and I can watch together and enjoy (this is rare, but it's something we look forward to every week!); For always having some type of dessert in the house, because I like dessert. But nothing too sweet; For Christmas music, because everyone's always happier when listening to Christmas music.

I'm thankful for an awesome forgiving God.
Because we all mess up sometimes, right?
Psalm 18:30: As for God, his way is perfect: The Lord's word is flawless; he shields all who take refuge in him.

I'm thankful for all the things I forgot to mention, because it's after 9:00pm and my contacts are drying out and my brain is shutting off, so I simply can't list anything else tonight.

I hope you all have an amazing Turkey Day tomorrow!!

I'm baaaaack

It's been a while, hasn't it?

Between everything that life has thrown at us (both good and bad), my blog has been pushed to the burner farthest in the back.  Not only are we chasing a 1 year old around and snuggling with our favorite dog every chance we get, we also started a crazy fun adventure by selling LuLaRoe!  I say we because it is very much both of us now!  In the beginning, it was just me, but now Matt helps with going through inventory, live sales, setting up for pop-ups and events, etc.  He's a huge help, but I love that we do it together! And don't be mistaken...Marshall is very much involved too ;)  When we get new shipments in and before all the LuLa goodies are taken out of their packaging, Marshall loves carrying them from the box and putting the packages in piles while we're going through it.

So here we are, trying to start my blog back up again.  As you may (or may not) have noticed, there's now a new url link and a new blog title, so hopefully this will be more about us as a family.  I still had my original url (malloryloraine) and the blog title was The Noltes, with pictures of Matt and me.  I had every intention of updating that to include a picture of Maple, once we got her. HA. So you know I never got around to making one to include Maple AND Marshall, so here we are.  There's the title image for now, and maybe eventually we'll have a picture of the 4 of us to include ;)  Also, over on the right column is a slideshow of our family Instagram account (@thenoltefam).  There's only one picture so far, but we plan to share a lot!

I hope to finally get around to sharing pictures of Marshall's nursery. hahahaha. I really wanted to wait until after his 1st birthday, because that's when he was getting the final touch to his room.  His room is probably my favorite in our house, because all of the decor was so fun to find and receive! :) We have a couple new things to hang up, but then I'll take pics to share!

So, here's to hoping I get back in to blogging "regularly" and share exciting things with you guys! 

Weddings, Halloween, LuLaRoe, and Everything in Between

Matt got a fryer for his birthday from my parents, and it’s been used several times just in the past week. Sunday morning, we didn’t have power for a while, so Matt used it to heat up water to make coffee & then made french toast! Yum! Last week, he surprised me one night and made fried Oreos..double yum!! I didn’t get them at the fair like I usually do, because I just couldn’t bring myself to spend $5-$6 on 5 Oreos, haha.

My cousin, Brooke, got married this weekend and despite the rain, everything turned out great!!! We made the most of it and had a great time! We certainly have some fun memories to look back on :)

I am loving this fall weather! It finally feels like it’s October and Halloween is on the way! Speaking of Halloween, we’re going to have more outside decorations this year. So far, it’s looking awesome! Matt does such a good job making the outside of our house and yard look so festive for whichever holiday is coming up! And see, Matt’s been getting Marshall in the Halloween spirit, too ;)

I just took a HUGE step into my next endeavor--I’m officially a LuLaRoe consultant! I am so excited about this opportunity, and can’t wait to share some awesome clothes with everyone :) Be sure to join my LuLaRoe Facebook group so you won't miss out on the fun!

Fall TV is back!! I've already been watching Dancing with the Stars, but I'm SO excited for The Middle and Fresh off the Boat tonight. Love both of those shows! Gives me something to watch and pass the time while working on a Halloween project for Matt--I'll show the finished product once everything's finished!