Happy Easter

Easter is such a special and spiritual holiday for me. We typically start our Easter day bright and early back home, by attending sunrise service. Sunrise service is always special... the message of Jesus rising from the dead is such a powerful one, and to celebrate that together with family, friends and fellow Christians completely fills the heart. Then we usually visit our loved ones who passed away, paying respects to our family at the break of dawn. For the past few years, we found a park that accommodates our huge family and allows us space to play sports, run on the playground, and hide Easter eggs for the little ones to collect. We love spending the entire day there, lounging, eating, laughing and watching the little ones play and dance together. It's GLORIOUS!

This year, we won't be home to join in on the festivities with the family... so we'll have to start our own Easter tradition as a little o'hana here in Nebraska. Fortunately, the community we live in hosts tons of different Easter festivities, beginning the week before Easter (last weekend). I took the LO to Michaels a few weeks ago to paint some eggs, which was a ball! We might partake in some Easter fun Saturday morning before the Husker Spring Game (WHOOP!)... then I think we'll set up a nice easy-peasy Easter egg hunt for the LO at our home. There's nothing cuter to see than the kiddos actually finding the eggs all around and putting them in their basket!

What are your plans for Easter weekend?

P.S. Isn't the shot above stunning?! Nebraska sunrises will make for another beautiful Easter indeed!

Husker Babies

As time ticks closer to July, things become more and more real about having another sweet little baby join our family. We are three months (and some change) out and much to get done before she arrives. I bought our first item for the nursery last week and it's motivated me to get a move on her nursery!

We also started to get cute little outfits and pink thangs for baby girl from dear family and friends. One of my FAVES by far has been baby's first ever game day attire... as you know how important game gear is for us! Our sweetest sitter, Claire, gifted Mata and baby girl the most adorable vintage Husker gear for the season. One of her good friends opened up a shop, where she makes and sells  cute Husker gear and also customizes based on what your heart desires.

I mean, how adorbs are these two fits?

Her shop is called H.Flynn based here in Lincoln, NE. Check out her website if your local or not!

We are STOKED for football season to begin later this year... and of course d-day!

Winter Faves with Baby

We're going on our third year of being in Nebraska, and I am still not able to embrace the cold winter months. Being cold just hurts my bones... I'm a true Cali girl who thinks anything below 70 calls for a sweater (borderline blanket!). Being at home with a LO because it's too cold outside to enjoy the park or mother nature can take cabin fever to another level. I just have to get ourselves out and about a few times a week, even if it means bundling up the both of us just to walk from the car to an entrance!

I thought I would share a few things the LO and I enjoy doing to escape our household throughout the week. If you have a baby at home in the winter months, I highly recommend checking out your local community for some of these hits:

// Indoor Gym or Play Area [MyGym is FAB!]
This is probably one of our faves to do during the week. MyGym is an amazing opportunity for kiddos to explore with various gym equipment and with other kids their age surrounding them. Once a week they have a structured class for one hour, where the instructor leads songs, specific activities to practice and a bit of separation time from the parents! They also host so many other events such as Free Play, where kids can play on their own time with parent supervision. Another event I love to take advantage of is Drop and Dash, where you can leave your child for up to 2 hours with the best of the best staff who keep them busy and active (oh, and best part is no appointment necessary!). Find an indoor play area that allows interactive play with others and that also can help strengthen the kiddos and explore new limits with their little bodies!

// Library Story Times [or Barnes and Noble Story Time]
Our local libraries offer various story times for infants, toddlers and older kiddos. They usually last about a half hour, and are extremely interactive. At our library, they have a sheet with all the songs they sing so you and the LO can follow along. Typically, they read a book, sing a song, read another book, sing a few more songs. They incorporate puppets, cars, colorful scarves, and of course books! It's a great opportunity to incorporate some song and dance into literature.

// Children's Museum
I've seen and heard of other cities having their own children's museum. We found one in our neck of the woods, and the LO loves it! This museum has 3 different floors, each having a variety of activities for kiddos to explore and partake in. One floor has all the local shops and destinations as you would see in Lincoln (from the post office to the local grocery store and even to the Husker football games!). Another floor has a huge play gym, a water playing area, sensory rooms, and a stage for theatre with costumes, wigs and spotlights! The third floor has all things arts and crafts, trains, airplanes and more. There is so much ground to cover here, that when we go and visit, my LO finds something new to fascinate over each time.

These are just a few ideas of things we enjoy doing, particularly in the cold winter months. I challenge you to bundle up and get out there so you can hurry up and get inside a heated area that your LO and you can enjoy!

What things do you and the kiddos enjoy doing that take place inside?

Football Begins

First (semi) week of Fall Camp in the books... well technically after this weekend. Husker nation kicked it off with Fan Day on Wednesday, which was pretty HOT and fun! I can't believe it was just a short year ago that I was there very pregnant, and in such great awe to see how the entire state of Nebraska are Husker Football fans.

Although we lose some precious time with the Hubs when the festivities begin, it's such a bitter sweet moment for me every single year because HELLO... FOOTBALL SEASON IS HEAAAAA!! There's no other rush like it to be in the crowd, cheering on your boys, and witnessing the fruits of the Hubs' hard labor! This season, I have the pleasure of sharing this excitement with my LO. Hubs and I tripped over how he jumped right in with both feet in the weight room... crawling all over the turf... then discovering the platforms and how amazing the shiny red N was painted on there... discovering how orange shields are not just for sprinting but also for tasting. Last season, my sweet boy was so tiny and brand new-brand new. BUT this season, he'll be one year brand new (wahhhhh!!!) and more attentive to the loud noises, cheers, and historic red balloon release for the first touchdown!

What are some of your fave college teams to root for?

June Gloom

It is no joke when I say- June was a tough month for this household! Nebraska Huskers reported back for workouts the first of June... Nebraska coaches hosted Friday Night Lights every Friday eve which had coaches at the school until 10-11pm... Then it was right back to campus first thing Saturday morning for them to host recruits and how em' how the Huskers roll. It was a rough one on the Hubs... which translated to a rough one for myself and my LO.

We were only able to enjoy breakfast together as a family on Sunday mornings. When the Hubs got off from work, baby would be showered and in bed majority of the time. Yes, we've had minimal time with Coach Hubs in the midst of the season and well after, but June felt like a super long month without him around much.

Though being a coach has many rewards, there are also quite a bit of substantial sacrifices that come with the job. One of which is the lack of time available to be a family. This is a HUGE one for us, as it may be with other coach's wives! I miss having the Hubs around the house, or just going to dinner with him to catch up on life. I especially miss him when I witness so many different milestones and moments I am SO blessed to have with baby.

As I embrace these rough patches as a coach's wife and mommy, I can't help but think about how it must be to be a coach working towards work-life balance... working hard (and some!) for the love of the game, but also spending some good QT with the family and oneself. This article that was posted on Football Scoop put it into perspective in such a clear cut way for me. [It could have been because they compared the coach's life to a consultant's life- my kinda' language!]. They discussed a study that was conducted comparing the number of hours of work and actual productivity. Turns out that you don't have to put in 23482734 hours of work just to be productive... you can work less hours IF you learn to manage your time and utilize the minutes in a day to accomplish meaningful tasks. High pressure (indeed)... high rewards!

Needless to say, June is over and we're working on life in July. I refuse to let this month be as rough, especially since we have the weekends with Hubs around! These sacrifices that WE make helps us become stronger and closer. I, myself, definitely feel even more blessed to be where I am and be who I'm with. I appreciate our time together even more, and cherish all the memories we make together as if time is at a standstill.

Oh What Fun

This past weekend, we got the Christmas decor out (of the boxes since they've technically been out in my living room for over a week!), and had a jolly time painting our home red and green! One of my dearest friends and her sweet daughter were in town for the weekend, so it totally helped to have a few extra pair of hands and hearts to help give us a little push with the decor. We ate good, baked great, and expressed our creative beings by decorating gingerbread men.

One of the many things I love about this time of the year are the memories that are made with your loved ones. This is the first Christmas while in Nebraska, the first Christmas with our sweet baby boy, and the first Christmas getting our own decor up (including a Christmas tree!). Tis the time to celebrate joy and happiness!

Huskers to a Bowl

Tis' the season of bowling! As the football season comes near to an end (wahhhh), coaches and players begin to bask in their eligibility of playing in a bowl. 'Which bowl? What state? Against who?' are some of the popular questions that pop up in the football world.

Sadly, the Nebraska Cornhuskers ended their season last weekend with a 5-7 record. The numbers certainly don't tell the story of the season, but rather the game film and the score of each game we lost. I honestly feel that this season was meant for the new coaching staff and players to get acquainted with one another, from the play calling to the execution of each play. We can only rise up from this point!

Anyhoot, if you know a thing or two about football, you know that with a record of 5-7, it doesn't necessarily constitute us as being bowl eligible. According to NCAA rules, a school must have at least 6 wins to secure a spot in a bowl game. BUT this year, they fell short of the 80 schools to play in a bowl game. Only 75 schools won six games (or more), which means they are short 5 teams to play. After this weekend, they will have a better sense of who is playing where since there are still a few major games to play.

What does this mean for our Huskers? WELP, it means that NCAA will now look at each school's APR (Academic Progress Rates) to determine how players stand in their academia. Since Nebraska is at the top of that APR list (WOOOOOP!!), we will be bowl eligible even with our 5-7 record!

Morale of the story? Academics play a huge part in student-athletes' lives... from start to finish. This is only one of the many rewards student-athletes can bask in, especially if you prioritize your classes and school work. I am proud to say that our Husker players have rose to the occasion and should take great pride in stellar performance on AND off the field!

Rivalry Week

 

I'm loving this week and it's only Tuesday! Although it's Rivalry week in the world of college football, there is still a lot of love and thankfulness to celebrate throughout! Here's a sneak peak at our list of events:

// RIVALRY WEEK [Nebraska vs. Iowa]
This week, Nebraska plays the undefeated Iowa! We are looking for another big upset, just like when we beat Michigan State just a few short weeks ago. Iowa is a great team and they typically dominate in their run game (from my perspective)... but Nebraska is also a dominate team. We are coming off of a bye week this past weekend, which is a great thing that our players and coaches had much needed rest to recover from the Rutgers game. We need to win this game in order to be bowl eligible, so I'm just gonna keep some positive and happy thoughts in my mind. I am totally looking forward to this game on Friday afternoon... hopefully we'll burn some calories jumping and screaming!

I'm also excited to watch some good ol' rivalry football on Saturday. Another game that I'll be rootin' on is the one and only Trojans! I know we have an excellent shot at beating the Bruins, as we'll be looking for some payback after our 'fluke' loss last year.

// FAMILY
I love last minute planning, especially when it entails family coming to town for the holiday! I am so excited to be hosting during a special time, and I am so THANKFUL for this time that our baby boy gets to spend with our family!

// THANKSGIVING
This holiday is probably one of my faves... of course the eating is a bonus, but I love the act of cooking and prepping while enjoying some family laughter. Growing up, we made it a custom to give thanks to each other and speak about what we were most thankful for that year. I may be far away from home, but I will ensure that my son is exposed to many of our family customs, especially this one on Thanksgiving!

// BLACK FRIDAY
I appreciate that many stores are publicising their steal of a deal promotions online. In previous Thanksgiving nights, we would spend the night waiting in line right after Thanksgiving dinner in hopes of snatching TV's, laptops, clothes and other things we really didn't need but were too good to pass by. This year, I'll be watching sales online from the comfort of my own home (or stadium because you know that our big game is on this very day)!

Any plans in store for the short work-week ahead of you?

Roca Berry Farm

The Hubs and I wanted to take our son to his very own pumpkin patch this year for Halloween, not because we thought he would have the time of his life only being 7 weeks old, but because I selfishly wanted to snap a few of those cute little pictures of him lying against those huge pumpkins. Needless to say it was 32 degrees that Friday morning, and you had to take a tractor ride to the pumpkin patch because it was sort of a distance to walk... yea... we opted to skip out on the pumpkins that day [it also didn't help that baby was nice a toasty warm against Daddy in his Boba wrap and slept the entire time we walked around]!

Instead we walked around what ended up being a cute little Halloween landmark, full of haunted houses, bikerides, a jumbo air-jumper, and many other things to keep the little ones occupied! This place, Roca Berry Farm, was a hit for the little ones, and definitely a place I can see our son running around and having a grand ol' time in the years to come!

Who would've thought that a real deal pumpkin patch was lying in the backyard of this cornfield state of Nebraska?!

Cornhusker Season Opener

So our first kick off for the season was against BYU last Saturday. It was an amazing (sold out) game that was HEATED... in the actual game AND the weather! I was happy to catch a game before baby arrives, so I can't complain too much.

In the end, it came to the very last second on the game clock... like it literally read :01 on the clock. We were up 28-24 all the way to this last second... when suddenly BYU throws a hail mary which was actually caught in the end zone. THE END. BYU took the victory 33-28 and we had officially lost our 2015 season opener.

I must say that these Husker players kept their composure and their heads were held high all the way to the locker room. I was certainly proud of them all... AND the coaching staff!

That made me think of how many teams suffer a loss (since there is one team who loses every single game), and how many fellas have to deal with that loss in and out of the locker room. They may be having thoughts of self-doubt... of weakness... or even lack of confidence in their coaches or players. That's where we (as parents... as a society... as fellow athletes) can play a crucial role in how these student-athletes proceed to work hard for the next game.

We MUST remind these players that every game is an opportunity to get better. Every time they suffer a loss (or even a win!) is an opportunity to course correct and fail FORWARD. Some of the most strongest times I've had in my own performance have been after a failing moment. You can't get better if you don't know what to work on... and you must be willing to take the feedback!

So here's to another great game tomorrow for the Huskers. Let us stay positive for teams... and celebrate each moment throughout all four quarters and be proud of our guys!

Husker Baby Shower

Popped my diaper cake cherry

Cutest slice of soap pie that smelt DELISH!

Shower-happy at 37 weeks

The football wives of our Cornhusker team threw such a lovely breakfast shower for my sweet little boy! It was so lovely and I enjoyed the intimate setting we had with our little football family.

My hubs and I are so overwhelmed with all the love and support we've had since moving out here to Nebraska. Being that we worked with this football staff before when we were at Oregon State has helped SO much in feeling that we're back with family. We've even met some awesome NEW coaches and their families who joined us in Husker Nation.

Being around these ladies means so much to me. We all experience the long days and nights without our husbands as Fall Camp began... we all love going to practices and scrimmages just so we can spend time in the same vicinity as our husbands... we will all be with each other through the season, and well after. There's a bond amongst football wives that I am so blessed to share with this group of women!

Another celebration in the books for my love!If you missed the other shower I had with my family and friends back home, you can see those gorgeous photos here.