What I'm ...

I'm in the mood for a superficial phone-it-in type post.

What I'm Cooking This Week ... 
I've been craving warm, hearty, stick-to-your-sides casseroles lately which is weird. It's summertime! I should be jonseing for all things fresh and local because 'tis the season. Alas, we're actually eating Chicken Tenders with Sriracha Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce this week, along with Grilled Steak with Herb Butter and foil potatoes, Ranch Pork Chops with local green beans and Salmon with Avocado Salsa.

What I'm Reminiscing About ... 
Our Thailand honeymoon. Swoon! It was six years ago this week that Andi and I jet setted to Thailand for an unforgettable vacation. Last night, we re-read my old blog posts and reminisced about our experiences there. Interestingly enough, we both recalled so much about our trip -- exactly what we ate and how we felt while eating it; the endearing people we met; the sweltering humidity; Andi's feeling of near-death the last few days of our travels. Feels like it was just yesterday.

What I'm Loving ... 
A friend gave me a Birchbox subscription for my birthday this year and while I enjoyed receiving a fun gift in the mail for a few months, I wasn't particularly moved by any one product ... except! Yes To Cucumber Facial Wipes. I'm the worst at washing my face before bed (I know, I know. Ugh!) but these wipes have been my saving grace. They're easy to use, smell great, and cheap. [p.s. not sponsored, duh.]  

What I'm Dreading ... 
Later this month, Andi and I are going on a Canadian fly-in fishing trip without the kids. That's not the part I'm dreading, obviously. The idea of spending five glorious days in the beautiful outdoors with my husband sans technology sounds like heaven. Leaving Tory and Aden for almost a week, however, does not. I know they'll both be in good hands with Grandma while we're gone, but I've still got a pit in the bottom of my stomach just thinking about being away from them. Also, all the things I need to accomplish in the next few days to prepare for someone else watching them = ugh.

This is going to be me! WHUT.

source

What I'm Working On ... 
Tory turns 4 at the end of the month so I'm busy planning not one, but TWO, birthday parties for her. Go big or go home, right?

Tory requested a pink princess birthday party this year, complete with a princess cake and with her ECFE school friends in attendance. (Apparently, almost four-year-olds have very specific ideas about their birthdays. Party Planning Moms will have to get used to this.) The problem is, Tory's birthday falls over a weekend and we've always celebrated her special day at the lake cabin. I considered how I was going to meet Tory's party requests without missing a cabin weekend and decided to host two parties -- a princess party for friends (basically, a glorified play date at our house on a weekday morning) and a weekend watermelon-themed BBQ with family and cabin friends at the lake. This means I'm in full-on crafting mode to pull together two birthday party celebrations happening the week after our big fishing trip.

What I'm Watching ... 
Television isn't very high on my list of priorities, so I can only handle watching one show at a time. And, it takes me foreeeeever to finish something. This is the exact reason Andi and I dont watch TV together. Anyway, while he was traveling earlier this summer I got sucked into watching Scandal on Netflix and it's sooooo good. I'm only halfway through Season 2 so no spoiler alerts! It'll probably take me the rest of the year to finish the series.

What I'm Wearing ... 
I bought this Columbia Anytime Casual Skort at the beginning of the summer, and I wear it all the time. So comfortable (stretchable waist band - hello!) and the hidden shorts underneath make it fully-functional for mom-life. LOVE.

What I'm Looking Forward To ... 
Andi booked tickets for our family to visit my good friend Lindsey (and Tory's BFF Ashley) in Lexington, Kentucky this fall. I'm super excited to spend the weekend with our friends and to meet Lindsey's new baby born last month. The kids and I are also headed to Nebraska over Halloween to visit my family while Andi is on a work trip, so I'm excited about that trip too. So many things to look forward to in the coming weeks and months means the rest of this year is going to fly by in the blink of an eye. Fun times!

Quick Takes: Purging All The Things; Sleep; Hair; Summer & Milestones

1. I've devoted every ounce of my free time this week to The Great Purge of 2015. A huge spring cleaning bug bit me hard and nothing in our house is safe. I was tired of cringing each time I opened the storage room door, or my bedroom closet for that matter. Now, I'm riding the high of organization in our home.

Purging *stuff* comes easy for me. Don't need it. TOSS. Haven't worn this in a while. GONE. I purged at least 50% of the clothes in my closet, cleaned the refrigerator top-to-bottom and spent an entire afternoon sorting through 16 totes of girl's clothing in the past two weeks. (I still have 10 totes of boy's clothes to go through.) It feels amazing to see a space once cluttered with items now clean and orderly.

Though, I'm quickly learning finding a new home for all our unwanted clothing, household items and baby gadgets takes devotion. I equate it to doing laundry: washing, drying and even folding aren't the hard parts for me; it's the actual putting away of the laundry that takes the most effort. I could do load after load of laundry during the day but unless I put the clothes away in their correct places, it's only transferring chaos from the hamper to the top of the bedroom dresser.

Of course, dropping items off at a donation center is easy enough -- just drive up and toss everything in a bin -- but for some reason, knowing someone else would benefit and enjoy our gently used items (specifically baby things) made liquidating items a much easier pill to swallow.

First, I decided to give consignment stores and the local Facebook garage sale site a try and I'm here to proclaim -- those venues are a true test of time and patience. It's no easy feat loading up the car and driving to a consignment store, then hauling everything inside with two little kids in tow. Some stores let you come back the same day to collect your items and/or money earned, but that means 2+ trips in one day. As any parent knows, it's asking a lot to make multiple stops anywhere in one day with kids along. I can't decide if the Facebook garage sale site is much better. I can meet someone in a parking lot and transfer my sale items without removing the kids from their car seats, but all the back and forth with buyers about meeting times, price haggling and no-shows are quite maddening. A friend on Instagram suggested donating baby items to a pregnancy and family resource center in South Minneapolis, so I finally did. I love that my gently-used baby things will breathe new life with someone who really needs them. A much better solution than being piled up in our basement, that's for sure.

2. News flash -- Aden still wakes up most nights. Not breaking news? It's been on-going for 17 months now? Heh. Typically, he wakes up around 2:00am every night and if I give him a few ounces of milk he'll go right back to sleep. I know he's capable of sleeping through the night at his age, but it hurts my heart to hear him cry ... especially when I can so easily make him stop and everyone can go back to sleep.

Two nights ago, Aden cried at 9:30pm, 12:30am and 2:00am. Tory called out shortly thereafter to use the restroom. I'd set my phone's alarm for 3:30am when I mistakenly thought Andi requested the wake-up time for his 6:00am flight. The alarm woke us both up at 3:30am and Andi asked me to reset it again for his correct wake-up time of 4:30am. I woke up when the alarm went off at 4:30am, and once more when Andi left the house at 5:00am. I couldn't fall back asleep after that, so I finally got up for the day at 5:45am. I AM TIRED.

That night was my breaking point. This has got to stop! It's time to sleep train Aden. His poor sleep habits are wreaking havoc on our entire family's daily life. I'm wide awake after his "usual" 2:00am wake-up many nights, and I cannot keep functioning on such broken sleep. I mean I can, I've been doing it for years now, but I no longer want to. My husband's been singing that tune for years...

Andi dangled a trip to Paris (all the heart emojis! and croissants! and wine!) in front of me if I'll sleep training Aden while he's traveling one week. It sounds dramatic, but I think he's serious. And, I mean, Paris! For that, I guess I can do anything. (If only Andi had realized sooner I was so easily motivated by carbs and wine).

So, Operation: Teach Aden to Sleep starts now.

3. Semi-related -- Aden's walking! He's really, truly walking now! Aden's known how to walk for a while now (for 6 weeks at least?), but always defaulted to moving around on his knees. It was the safer and reliable choice, I think. In the last two days though, Aden's been standing up and actually walking from place to place. Indoors and outdoors; in public places like down the hallway of Tory's preschool and between furniture in the comforts of home. I'm so proud of him! (And secretly wiping the sweat off my brow; looks like he won't be knee-walking off to college someday.)

4. I started running outside again. It's only been two days so I'm not demanding a gold star or anything, but I'm proud of myself for getting out there and doing it. It's no small feat pushing 54 pounds of children + a 32 pound stroller while I do it! I never thought I'd say this, but I actually enjoy running outdoors. It's refreshing to be in the sunshine and fresh air, and it gives Tory, Aden and I something to do together. Tory calls them "fun runs" and we stop at the park afterwards so they can run off some wiggles of their own, and I can catch my breath (ha!). It's a win/win for everyone.

5. I got a haircut last week, and I hate it.

My hair was the longest it'd been in a while, dusting past my shoulders. I scheduled a cut and color at the same salon I've gone to for years, but with a new-to-me stylist. She was the only slot available in the window of time I had available and how terrible could she really be I wondered?

I settled into the salon chair and showed her a picture of my vision. I asked for a new shade of color similar to my own, just a bit warmer, and an inverted bob haircut. It's a bit edgier than my usual style, but since my hair was longer than normal I thought it'd be a good time to go for it.

The lady worked on my hair forever. "A little bit more," I kept telling her. "No, more inverted like the picture," I repeated. Finally after a full three hours at the salon, I told her to wrap it up because I needed to relieve my babysitter. I knew the minute I walked out of the salon it wasn't my best cut, and that's an awful feeling when you a) spent a sizable chunk of money, and b) should walk out of any salon after an appointment feeling beautiful.

Later at home, I noticed an entire section of hair below my left ear was longer than the rest of the bob. I attempted to brush and style it a few different ways to see if the piece was truly longer or just some weird crimp. Nope - longer. A few days passed, real mom-life kicked in, and I went bug-eyed in the mirror every time I'd catch a glimpse of my hair. Not only was my hair a little longer in one spot, but the tips of the inverted bob looked like wings sticking out from my ears when I'd tuck my hair behind them. That was to no fault of the stylist; just the nature of the haircut I'd requested. I called the salon and asked for another appointment to fix the stylist's mistake in missing a section of my hair, and thought she could even out my inverted bob during the same visit.

She did, and now I have a regular / average / nothing special / short bob haircut. This Jenny McCarthy style is the cut I usually wear, but now my hair's length is too short to achieve it. Sigh. I think what I really wanted was an edgy, textured bob and now I have to wait a few weeks until my hair grows enough to get there.

Alright -- it doesn't look that bad in this photo, but trust me. It's very meh.

6. Summer's a few weeks away, and I'm excited! I know some parents stress about having their kids home every day, but I love the un-structure. I signed Tory and Aden up for swimming classes one weekday morning. Otherwise, I'm keeping our calendar open for plenty of play dates at the park, picnics, free summer concerts and trips to the zoo. The kids and I are traveling to Nebraska to visit my family one week, and I'd love to squeeze in a trip to Kentucky to visit my friend Lindsey if time allows. Andi's traveling a bunch this summer and even that isn't getting me down. Bring on the sunshine, warm weather and cabin life! It's my favorite time of the year.

Currently ...

Reading: "The Last Letter From Your Lover" by Jojo Moyes. I'm only a few pages into the book and keep falling asleep reading it before bed, so I essentially have to start over the next day. I tend to get hooked by a certain author and end up reading every one of their available books until I land on a dud and move onto someone else. I just finished "The Girl You Left Behind" and "One Plus One" which I loved, loved, loved.

Watching: Revenge, which is the only television show I've got a vested interest in following. It's got just the right amount of drama, romance and suspense for my taste.

Drinking: Apothic Red. I recently implemented a "one glass a night" rule for myself because I feel myself slipping down a dangerous slope of drinking too much wine in the evenings.

Writing: in a One Line a Day journal since the beginning of 2015. I'm only a few weeks in, but I hope I can keep up with it.

Thinking: about vacation plans; our trip to Sayulita next month, a girl's weekend with my sister-in-law Lindsay this spring, weekend visitors at the cabin in 2015, visiting the new babies I know being born this summer.

Listening to: "Saturday Morning Coffee" on Pandora. It's my new favorite.

Wondering: what 2015 will bring? I have this feeling lately like our family is floating to the top of a giant waterfall, ready to plunge down the other side. I'm not exactly sure what it means, but it's exhilarating and scary all at the same time.

inspired by The Daily Tay

7 Quick Takes: Sleep, Separation Anxiety, iPhone, Holiday Dinnerware

1. Yesterday was a good day. It should've been all sorts of crazy since it was our first day home after our trip to Nebraska, but it wasn't for some reason. One big factor, I suppose, was that I returned home with a suitcase full of clean laundry. Shouldn't every 33-year-old girl be so lucky to have parents who voluntarily wash her clothes during visits? I swear the minute a piece of clothing dropped to the floor, my mom and/or dad had it in the laundry. (Hello, amazing!) It saved me at least 24 hours in washing and folding laundry this week.

Speaking of laundry, Andi took the initiative to wash his own nasty sand-covered clothes after his work trip in Death Valley. I was dreading having two giant suitcases of laundry to plow through this week and instead, I have none. Nice!

2. We rolled right into our weekly routine yesterday with preschool for Tory. I worried she'd have trouble adjusting to school again after being absent for a week, but she did great. No tears! I'm crossing my fingers we've turned a corner in the separation anxiety she experienced there the first few weeks of school. I really enjoy the parent aspect of our ECFE class this year, and I'd be sad to lose it if I had to pull Tory from preschool. There's a great commodore amongst the parents this fall, and it's nice to have a weekly support system of peers. Tory seems to enjoy school these days (at least the last few sessions), so we'll continue to go for now.

I have a weekly babysitter scheduled on Wednesday mornings and unfortunately, Tory's separation anxiety rears its ugly head on those days. Whoo boy! This morning, for example, I had to pry a tearful Tory off my leg to get out the door. This is a new babysitter who started with us in September, and I am 100% confident Tory's meltdowns have nothing to do with the sitter. She's an older grandma-type person, and she's very sweet with the kids bringing them toys, books and puzzles to play together while she visits each week. Aden loves her, and squeals with delight when the babysitter walks in the door. Tory, on the other hand, bursts into hysterics. I don't know what to do with her! I have a lot of mommy guilt and anxiety as Wednesdays near, and it makes me question leaving for four hours a week in the first place. But then again, those four hours are my only alone time all week, especially with Andi's busy travel/work schedule lately. I need that time for my mental sanity. Gah. I hope Tory grows out of this phase soon. Anyone else's three-year-old have separation issues?      

3. I don't want to jinx things, but my kids adjusted fairly well to the end of Daylight Savings Time. Tory and Aden were in this sweet, sweet spot of (mostly) sleeping through the night and waking for the day around 7:30am. I cringed at the thought of DST messing with their sleep schedules but surprisingly, the adjustment hasn't been terrible. The first three days of this week, both kids automatically woke up an hour earlier in the morning (6:30am instead of 7:30am, which still isn't that bad) and today they both woke up at 7:30am. Seriously! Are these my kids?

4. Tory and Aden have (mostly) been sleeping through the night for the last month, which means I've finally started to get more sleep myself. Unfortunately, my body is trained to function on small amounts of sleep after waking up several times a night for the last 10ish months (and probably more if you factor in pregnancy and Tory's craptastic sleep record). I'm really struggling to stay asleep all night long and if one thing wakes me up (i.e.: a strange sound in the house; Tory having to use the bathroom), I cannot fall back asleep for the life of me. Some nights I'm awake for 2-3 hours. It stinks.

5. Andi came home from work last night and presented me with a brand new iPhone 6! Our contracts were up and he wanted to get us both onto a family plan, so he bought us new phones in the process. Wahoo! I'm not very demanding when it comes to the latest technology, so I'd been using the same iPhone 4s from my old working days two years ago. It worked fine, but the ringer was intermittent and I think Andi was tired of me never answering his calls. Ha ha :) The new iPhone 6 is crazy-fast compared to my old 4s; I didn't know what I was missing. It's got some updated features like a time lapse feature and podcasts, too. I'm excited.

6. It's happens every time: Whenever Andi works super long hours with a crazy travel schedule, he catches the vacation bug. Fine by me! We're kicking around the idea of taking a quick New Year's vacation sans kids, or maybe a longer week-long vacation with the kids and Andi's mom, Janie. Or, maybe we'll spend New Year's at the lake cabin and take a warm-weather vacation sometime in February. Decisions, decisions ...

7. I'm yearning for a holiday dinnerware set. I've wanted festive plates, bowls, and mugs to use all December long for several years now, and every year I tell myself to wait until after Christmas to find a set on sale. Except, it never happens. I search the stores for post-holiday deals, and every year the dinnerware sets are gone. Or, I see a set I like during the season with plates for $4.99/piece, but I can't make the justification. This year, though ... this is the year I will get my plate set. Here's a few I've been eyeing:

Winter's Wonder - Pier 1 Imports
I want holiday dinnerware that's festive and traditional ...

Bonjour Yuletide Garland - Target
Or, something timelessly classic ...

Silver Snowflake - Target

Or, maybe something clean and simple to let the food be the star of the show ...

I'm thinking about asking my in-laws to buy me a dinnerware set for an (early) Christmas present. It might be sad not to have much to open on Christmas Day, but I know these plates will make me so happy for holidays to come.

Is This Thing On?

Ahem.

I feel like an entertainer back on stage after a really long hiatus. It wasn't too many days ago since I wrote here, but it sure feels like a lifetime.

First things first, everyone is healthy in our house again. The kids and I survived The Great Battle of Hand, Foot and Mouth and Andi's home from his big work event in Tennessee. He doesn't travel again for a few weeks, so all is right in our world again.

Reunited (from their quarantined sections of the house) and it feels so good!

Okay, last bit about Hand, Foot and Mouth and then I'll stop talking about it for good. In hindsight, I realize Aden had a pretty mild case of Hand, Foot and Mouth. He ran a fever and had a few spots, but didn't seem too affected. Tory, on the other hand, got hit big time with itchy bumps on her hands, feet and buttocks. Nine days later, the skin on her feet is peeling (gross, I know) and she still complains about them itching occasionally, though I think that's due to skin healing.

We blew through two cans of anti-itch spray, three tubes of hydrocortisone cream, one box of Domeboro solution, 1/2 a bottle of children's Benedryl and 1/2 a bottle of children's Ibuprofen ... and I wouldn't say any of the medicine was particular effective in relieving Tory's discomfort. The feeling of helplessness is the absolute worst when a child is sick. Last week was just awful. I think I have HFM PTSD and I hope we never have to deal with that nasty virus again. *shudder*

Monday, the kids and I made an impromptu stop for lunch at Chipolte because we were out buying a new dryer (ours went kaput Sunday - great timing!) and we had to pick up Andi when he got back into town. We never go out to lunch (Tory and I have maybe gone twice? Never w/ Aden) so it was a special treat. Tory was obviously excited as she exclaimed, "Best day ever!" when her kids quesadilla arrived.

Andi travels again next month over Halloween, so I've decided to take the kids to Nebraska while he's gone. There's no way I'm solo parenting on Halloween and not because I'm scared to be alone, but because I can't imagine anything more depressing than taking Tory and Aden trick-or-treating by myself and then coming home to an empty house. No, thank-you. Now that we'll be with my family, I'm head-over-heels excited for Halloween to arrive. It's going to be like old times! My mom already said she'll make chili and cinnamon rolls that night, and we'll trick-or-treat around the neighborhood with my nieces. Fun times.

Let's see, what else? Andi and I are taking the kids to Bayfield, WI this weekend for a mini family getaway. Our cabin is being remodeled right now, so we thought it was the perfect chance to do something different on a weekend. Fall colors are at their peak up North and the weather is suppose to be beautiful. I can't wait.

I'm hoping some family time will bring me out of the funk I'm in this week. I think it's a combination of tiredness and the sad fact my dear friend, Lindsey, is moving away next week. We've been trying to coordinate a time to get together for a glass of wine before she leaves town and between finding babysitters and her crazy life right before their move, it just isn't happening. I know we'll remain friends after she leaves town and we even have plans to vacation together this winter, but it's not the same as having one of your best friends right down the road. Bummed to say the least.

This little dude is still trying to figure out this crawling thing ...

He's changing so much lately, and really starting to look like a little boy. I think it's the hair.

Okay, off to whip up some dinner before Andi arrives home from work. I meal-planned a bunch of healthy "clean" recipes before sickness took hold of our house, and now all I feel like eating are cookies and Cheeto-s. So, let's see what I can throw together that won't sound like cardboard.

It's Been One Heck of a Week

Can't sleep, so I might as well blog. Staying up so late will be a bad idea when my kids wake up in 3, 2, 1 ...

Alright. Still sleeping ... for now.

It has been one heck of a week around here. A very long 7 days of solo parenting + little sleep + sickness = oof. Man, the days just drag when no one walks through the door in the evening to break up the monotony of our day. Wake-ups, breakfasts, lunches, nap times, snacks, dinners, baths, bedtime. REPEAT.

I loaded the kids into the car at 4 o'clock today to make a liquor store run because I was out of wine and couldn't possibly fathom another night of solo parenting without my vice. To shake the disgusting feeling of hauling my children to the liquor store with me, I went to the one attached to the grocery store and bought bread and yogurt to make it look like I'd come there for necessities other than wine. A lady in the check-out behind me said, "WOW, you've got your hands full" to which I responded, "Why do you think I need the wine?"

I love being a mom more than anything in the world but ... the 5 o'clock hour is a hard one for me. Make that the 4 o'clock to 6 o'clock hours. So much whining and crying from my children all at once and unfortunately, my patience are just shot by that time in the day. Wine helps, don't judge.

I filled our Andi-less days with lots of playdates and activities, as per usual. It helped, until we all came down with a variety of sicknesses. I battled a head cold all week long and pouned Airbornne and cold meds to nip my cold in the bud. It stinks caring for other people when you feel like garbage.

What's worse is when the children become ill. On Wednesday, Tory woke up cranky and whiny, and just wasn't herself. My mid-day, she spiked a 103 degree fever, had body aches and was throwing up. My poor girlie.

I cared for her the best I could with Aden there, and was thankful when he took a long nap in the afternoon so I could snuggle Tory and dote on her as much as she needed. By dinnertime, Tory's fever broke and she was feeling much better. I kept her home from preschool today just to play it safe. She was back to her spunky self all day.

All better!

Later today, Aden was diagnosed with Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease. I guess it started on Monday when I noticed a spot - almost like a pimple - on his cheek. His cheeks have been red from teething anyway, so I didn't think much of it. I put some lotion on his dry, chapped face and kept my eye on it. The next day (Tuesday), I noticed a few spots on his leg right where his diaper rests. I classified it as diaper rash because I had a few random Huggies in the closet I switched to using that day. Aden has super sensitive skin anyway, so I figured the new diapers must've irritated his skin. I slathered on some diaper cream, but noticed later the rash never went away. Yesterday (Wednesday), I noticed two spots on Aden's ear lobe and a few spots on the tips of his fingers and toes. Hmm?? Now I started to question the other spots on his body. After more investigating, I found a few tiny spots on the palms of his hands, too. He seemed happy and was still eating and drinking formula fine, but I decided something wasn't right. I called the Baby Line this afternoon and as I described the symptoms over the phone to the nurse I knew right away what it was: Hand, Foot and Mouth. Ugh. Aden was a bit fussy on Monday and was running a low fever (which I attributed to teething), so I gave him a dose of Tylenol and he's seemed fine ever since. No sores in his mouth that I can see, or trouble eating so I hope (hope, hope, hope!) we're through the worst of it. I was surprised to hear the nurse say he can be around other children so long as he isn't running a fever. I guess it's a common illness for kids? We'd never experienced it before.

Happy guy learning to crawl, with one spot on his left cheek ...

It couldn't be worse timing, of course, because I'm leaving for the weekend to join Andi at his work event in Tennessee. We planned my visit months ago when Andi mentioned he'd booked Dierks Bentley to play in concert for the Saturday night finale of the ATV event he's producing. I joked that his lovely wife wouldn't mind seeing Dierks in concert and he could fly me in for stuff like that whenever he liked ... and, well, my gracious husband did just that.

I leave tomorrow night and fly (by myself!) to Knoxville. I can't even remember the last time I flew without my children. What will I do with my my free time?! (Drink Starbucks. Read a magazine. Blog. I think I'll be able to come up with a few things). Andi's producing the event Saturday so I won't spend much time with him that day, but that's okay. I'll ... sit. Or go for ATV rides with other people. Or sit. Or drink coffee. Or DO WHATEVER I WANT. And Sunday, Andi will be done with the event and we can hang as a couple for 24 glorious hours before flying home Monday.

I am really excited for the weekend, but I'm also way nervous to leave my kids. Especially when they've been sick. They'll be in the very capable hands of my mother-in-law and our favorite babysitter so I know they'll be just fine ... but ack. Time away is HARD.

Don't even get me started on the fact that Aden is thisclose to crawling and if he figures it out for the first time when I'm not there I'm going to be SO BUMMED. We've been practicing tummy time and crawling moves so much this week. I think I'll tell Janie to keep a lid on it if Aden becomes mobile over the weekend, so I'll be surprised for myself come Monday.

Well, enough rambling. Tory's crying out for the third time tonight and it's 10:30pm. Long night ahead, I'm sure. TTYL.

Hits and Misses

Friday, Saturday and Sunday were full of hits and misses:

HIT: We stayed in town this weekend, so I messaged Andi Friday afternoon asking if he'd like to go swimming with the kids after work. I'd heard good things about a splash pad not far from his office, so we agreed to meet at 5:15pm. Turns out, the place I was thinking of was a regular swimming pool, but we took Tory and Aden anyway and had a fun time together. Bonus points for the front desk worker who let us in for free since we arrived an hour before the pool's closing time!

MISS: We stayed in town this weekend so I could attend Andi's sister Lindsay's bachelorette party on Saturday night and because Andi had to leave for a work trip early Sunday morning. Any weekend we're not at the lake cabin is disappointing, especially a gorgeous summer weather weekend. Our family dynamic is "off" when we're at home on the weekends. It seems like a weekday when I usually do the fair share of parenting, and the kids default to me for every request. When Andi jumps in to assist, I inadvertendly shun him for doing things differently than our normal routine. We went to the Minneapolis farmer's market Saturday morning and after we arrived, we realized Tory wasn't wearing any shoes. I never forget to put shoes on her when I'm loading the kids out of the house for an outing by myself, but for some reason having Andi there to help clouded my focus in getting out the door. Anyway, our family mojo was off all weekend. Ugh.

HIT: So, Lindsay's bachelorette party was fun! She has such a lovely group of girlfriends and I never realized how many of them I've gotten to know over the years through her. We socialized at a friend's house over cocktails and gifts first, then headed to Cooks of Crocus Hill for a private cooking class. What a fun, non-traditional way to celebrate the bride-to-be!

MISS: I was very ready for a cocktail when I arrived to the party because Tory was in a terrible mood all day Saturday. There's a methodology we talked about in Tory's preschool classes last year that essentially says children function in a spiral of development. For several months, a child may be agreeable, pleasant, obediant, and even keel (equilibrium), then at some point turn a curve to disobey, act out, test boundaries, etc. (disequilibrium) in the areas of living such as eating, sleeping, and behaving. I noticed a positive swing in Tory's behavior around age 2 1/2 and partly attributed her change in attitude to a better adjustment to life with Aden. Lately, I've noticed a swing in the other direction -- more whining, tantrums, a sassy attitude. Saturday was a tough day with Tory.    

HIT: Andi left bright and early Sunday morning for a work trip so on the upside, Sunday was basically a regular ol' day around here. It felt like Monday to me, so I got jump-start on laundry, grocery shopping and meal prep for the week. In turn, our "real" Monday morning (today) was a lot less chaotic.

MISS: I gave the kids baths last night after dinner and Aden wet on me for the first time ever! Note to self: never remove the baby's diaper in his highchair after dinner because he will whiz allllll over the place and create even more mess to clean up. Then, a few minutes later Aden pooped in the bathtub and I have even more mess to clean up and disinfect. Yuck!

HIT: Meal time with Aden is really throwing me to for a loop since I'm discovering his many food sensitivities. More on this in a separate post because I have plenty of thoughts floating around in my head on the topic, but simply put - feeding him isn't as simple as tossing food on his tray and letting him try it. I have to be very mindful of the foods I give him, read labels, etc. So, even though I wasn't going to make my own baby food this time around, I ended up steaming, baking and freezing various fruits and vegetables for him to eat in an attempt to make meal times less hectic for myself.

MISS: It's been a long couple of days around here with a baby boy who prefers not to sleep all of a sudden. It seems just when Aden gets a sleep schedule down pat, he changes it up again. For the last week or so, he's waking up WIDE AWAKE at 5:00am. Luckily, he's in a good mood. I've tried to leave him in his crib for a while to roll around and coo, but the silly boy is so noisy! He wakes me up and I definitely don't want him waking Tory up at 5:00am (gosh, no! There's hell to pay if the princess of the house doesn't get enough sleep) so, I've been getting up with him around 5:00am. It makes for some seriously loooong days of parenting.

HIT: Since Andi was home Saturday morning and Aden woke me up so freaking early, I plopped Aden in the jogging stroller and went for a morning run. The weather was gorgeous and so peaceful that early in the morning. Sometimes when I run, it feels like I'm floating on a cloud and other days like I have lead in my shoes. This was one of those awesome days where it felt so good to be outdoors with my thoughts. And, I loved having my workout done before 7:00am!

MISS: Unfortunately, Miss Tory woke up prematurely when I left for my run and that's what started her incredibly bad mood on Saturday. Big mistake to (accidentally) wake the princess. Big. HUGE.

---

We've got good friends joining us at the lake cabin this Friday, so I know the weekend ahead will be a good one. Looking forward to good company, many drinks by the bonfire, belly laughs playing Cards Against Humanity, boating, drinking and floating in the lake. Crossing my fingers for beautiful weather!

7 Quick Takes: Life Lately

1.  It's Week 3 of solo parenting while Andi is away producing a photo shoot in Montana. The kids and I've had a good few weeks, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't ready for this week to be over. Mostly, I miss my husband who I've barely spoken with in 17 days. So looking forward to Friday!

2. Two weeks ago, Tory, Aden and I flew to Nebraska to spend time with my family. This is one of the greatest benefits to being a stay-at-home-mom to little kids with no concrete schedule and a husband who travels a fair amount for work (why, yes honey, we'd love to burn a few of your frequent flyer miles on flights to America's hottest tourist destination -- good ol' Nebraska!) There was no big reason for our visit other than seeing my parents, my siblings and my extended family. Our visit was very low key compared to our whirlwind road trip over Easter weekend. Both Tory and Aden were excellent travelers, as per usual. I always feel like a supermom after successfully hauling two kids, two car seats, one big suitcase and a diaper bag through the airport by myself. It takes a lot of organization and patience, but it's worth it!

While we were in Nebraska, we celebrated my nephew Caleb's 16th birthday and my dad's birthday, went to my niece Brooke's softball game and sat around my parents house for countless hours. I went to use my point-and-shoot camera the first day we arrived and realized the battery was dead, so I barely took any photos of our trip. #fail

3. One day during our time in Nebraska, my weather-bug of a mother let me know Minnesota was receiving some heavy rain. I made an off-handed comment about how I hoped our sump pump was still working back home as our yard tends to turn into a swampy lake whenever it rains a considerable amount. My mom suggested I call my mother-in-law and kindly ask her to stop by our house to make sure everything was okay and for some reason, I felt like maybe I should. Janie checked on our house later that evening and sure enough, our sump pump had failed and water was leaking in our basement! Luckily, Janie caught the mess early. I alerted Andi who was working in the middle of nowhere and he called a plumber to remedy the issue. My wonderful in-laws stayed up all night long sopping up water with towels, pulling up carpet, running fans and handling the plumber at our house. Many, many dollars later, we have a new sump pump and all is well again. Isn't homeownership fun?! (Ugh.)

4. The morning we left Nebraska, I woke up with a bit of a gurgly stomach. I felt fine - just off, but I made it through the day and Tory, Aden and I flew back to Minnesota without incident. By bedtime that evening, I felt absolutely horrible. I think I had the flu, or a virus or something. I quickly ran through a list of local friends and family who might be around to help with the kids while I was ill and almost everyone I could think of was either working, out of town or busy. Crap! Andi's parents to the rescue ... again. The next morning, I called Andi's dad who is retired and he came to my rescue a few hours later. Grandpa Jim watched Tory all day while I laid in bed. Luckily, Aden was content to play toys and snooze beside me throughout the day. That night, Tory ended up staying at Grandma and Grandpa's house so I only had Aden to care for. So grateful for my in-laws and all they do for us. (Also? I might have to get the flu more often. I rested more in those 24 hours than I have since Aden was born and it felt pretty darn nice.)

5. Last year, I worked to find the perfect Father's Day present for Andi. He is the most difficult person to buy for, so usually I don't even try to surprise him - I just ask him what he wants and I buy it. (Okay, together we decide on a gift idea and he usually buys it for himself). Anyway, I thought long and hard and ended up creating a custom flag to fly on our flag pole at the lake cabin. I was so proud of my idea until ... the old cabin owners randomly took back their flag pole two weeks later and we were left flag pole-less.

This year for his gift, Andi and I decided to buy a new flag pole to mount to the dock at the lake. I don't really know which one to get so I'm leaving it up to Andi to order it, but I felt guilty showing up to Father's Day on Sunday empty-handed. Yesterday, I saw something I thought Andi might like at COSTCO, so I picked it up for him. (If I think he'll like it, he probably won't ... that's how that usually goes). I also bought myself a new one-piece swimming suit during the same COSTCO shopping trip and I ate a piece of pizza while waiting in line to pay for my many bottles of wine. Who am I anymore? I guess convenience trumps all these days.

6. Since Andi's been gone, Tory's taken two steps backwards in learning to sleep in her own bed all night / every night. I put her to bed in her own room every night, but I've been very lax about making her stay there. My excuses are: I'm tired; I'm still waking up several times a night with Aden; I'm tired (did I say that one already?). I'm a little nervous to hear Andi's reaction when he returns home from his travels. (Hi honey! Don't be mad, ok?)

7. For the most part, the weather has been absolutely gorgeous. With a lighter calendar this summer, the kids and I have been spending lots of time outdoors. Today, we met a few of Tory's ECFE preschool class at the park for a play date and it was really fun catching up with all of them. As I drove home, I thought to myself how much I really enjoy this season of my life. I love being a mom to my kids; love being a wife (and can't wait to squeeze my husband tightly on Friday!); love being a suburbanite; love summertime.

Life is good.

7 Quick Takes - A Few of My Favorite Things

1. Ever since Tory moved out of the high chair and onto the family table during meals, I've racked my brain for a way to protect the quality of my dining room table. Our wooden table was a gift from my in-laws when Andi and I moved into our first house together. I love everything about it, and we've taken very good care of it over the years ... until Little Miss Messy joined the party. Dried food is forever stuck in the cracks of the table and the wood is turning dull at her spot where I continually wipe up after her meals. Don't get me started on how many table runners have met the trash can after being stained with grape jelly, yogurt and wine (okay, so the last one wasn't her fault).

I bought a placemat for Tory to use and it helped a little bit, but she'd smear food outside the covered area. I thought about using a cloth tablecloth, but it'd be stained and need washing after every single meal. I even considered purchasing a plastic tablecloth that could be wiped down after every meal, but I hated the idea of covering up my beautiful dark wood table. Then, one day I had an idea and it's been the solution to all my table woes. I moved Tory's toddler play table from her bedroom to the kitchen and started feeding her meals there. What purpose was the little table serving in her bedroom anyway, other than to look cute with tea cups and plates set up for a doll party? Tory enjoys eating meals at her little table and believe it or not, she actually sits down and eats there vs. standing on the wooden bench or getting up and down from the big table 50 gazillion times per meal. I do end up stumbling around that little table while I'm cooking in the kitchen or unloading the dishwasher, but it's saving my nice dining room table from destruction, so WIN.

2. A while back, someone left a comment on my blog suggesting I purchase baby mittens on Etsy to prevent Aden from scratching his head. I did just that, and to you I say -- thank you! I ended up buying two pairs of these waterproof baby mittens for him, and they're so wonderful. The size fits Aden's hands better than the cloth newborn ones available in stores, they're waterproof so the material isn't soaked within seconds of putting them on his hands and best of all, Aden's head and neck look so much better now they're not scratched all over. One of the many reasons I love the blog-o-sphere so much. People helping people. Thank you!

3. Andi bought a rotisserie attachment for our grill at the cabin and we're ... kinda obsessed with it. I rolled my eyes like I always do when another Amazon box showed up on my doorstep one day, but then we used it and now I think it's the most awesome cooking accessory we've purchased in a long time. (One point for Andi.) So far, we've made a few roasts and whole chickens on the grill and they were so delicious. Cooking with the rotisserie is easy too, especially for me because I don't have to do a thing. Last weekend, I planned to have rotisserie chicken for a meal at the cabin and asked Andi to shred the leftovers to use later in the week for recipes. (See what I did there? Weaseled my way out of preparing multiple meals.) For some reason, those rotisserie chickens in the grocery store deli always yuck me out and while it seems like such a convenient thing to pick up for dinner, I can never bring myself to do it. Now, problem solved. We make our own!

4. Let's talk about flax - another one of my new favorite things. Tory had some (ahem) bathroom issues a while back, which is understandable considering Girlfriend lives on yogurt, toast and cheese -- not exactly the most balanced diet. We bought some Pedia-Lax for desperate measures, but I also knew I needed to improve Tory's overall diet. Though, getting a toddler to eat something she doesn't want to is easier said than done. We've started offering Tory a larger variety of food and have had a bit of success. I also started sprinkling ground flax onto her toast every morning and it's been the best thing ever. She's none the wiser and it's really seemed to regulate things, if you know what I mean. With this big win, I've started sprinkling ground flax into other things, like homemade cookies and granola bars, ground beef for enchiladas, etc. You seriously cannot tell it's in there and it works magic.

5. I discovered mini-size bobby pins in the beauty aisle the other day, and I love them. At first I wasn't so sure because the small-sized pins were a little tricky to place in my hair but now I've got the hang of grasping them, they stay in place so much better. I use the little bobby pins on Tory's hair too, and they're perfect to pin her wisp of bangs off to the side.

6. Andi got me hooked on a series of books about families who travel around the world. So far, I've read A Life Without Borders (which I loved), Freeways to Flip-flops: A Family's Year of Gusty Living on a Tropical Island (which was just OK) and One Year Off: Leaving It All Behind for a Round-the-World Journey with Our Children (which was interesting). These books are easy, happy reads and have me wishing we could drop everything and travel the world with our kids. Someday, I hope.

7. This girl turns THREE at the end of the summer and man, I'm going to miss Age Two something fierce.

Mostly, this year of Tory's life has been so much fun - many, many laughs (and a few frustrated tears). It may very well be my favorite age yet. Tory's requested a "pink" birthday party, so I've got my crafty wheels rolling to dream up something adorable for her big day. Lately when you ask Tory if you can come to her birthday party, she'll sweetly say, "if you bring me presents." Ha.

Currently ...

... still in my pajamas (well, I was until about 11:00 this morning). I'm loving our new, not-so-busy schedule. Tory's Tuesday preschool class is finished, Wednesdays are typically my "housework" day of the week, and I'm keeping Fridays open this summer so we can scoot off to the cabin as early as possible. Today is a slow-moving day and we haven't accomplished much more than meals, books and snuggles. Love days where there's nothing pressing on the calendar. It's one of my favorite things about being a stay-at-home mom.

Morning coloring session

... thinking about tackling the massive pile of dirty clothes in the laundry room. I swear, every week I devote so much time and effort to sorting, soaking stains, washing, drying, folding and putting away everyone's laundry and the next thing I know, it's all right back where it started. Ugh. A full suitcase from our weekend getaway to Des Moines + two suitcases of Andi's dirty clothes from his work trip last week => means I should be doing laundry instead of sitting here writing this blog post.

... wishing it would warm up enough to play outdoors. It was so, so beautiful in Des Moines over the weekend and now back in the Twin Cities, it's gloomy and cold(er). Springtime is such a tease. The kids have so many cute, springy outfits I'm dying for them to wear if the weather would ever consistently stay over 60 degrees.

... loving the spring blooms on trees and flowers in my yard. After all the rain we've had lately, our grass is bright green and there's new sprouts of leaves on the bushes that separate our backyard from the nosiest neighbors on the planet. (YES!) Grow, plants, grow, and block out all the chaos happening just over the fence.

... dreaming of remodeling ideas for our lake cabin. It seems like cabin remodeling projects are all Andi and I talk about these days and it's so fun to brainstorm, imagine and see our ideas come to life. Turns out, we're heading to the lake this weekend after all, and I am dying to see our new granite counter tops, flooring and outdoor patio in person.

... gearing up for a long stretch of solo parenting. Sunday, Andi leaves for several weeks of photo shoots and I'm mentally preparing myself for being "on" 24/7. He'll be back Memorial Day weekend, which is nice, but [understandably] will be exhausted from working so many grueling hours on the road. More photo shoots and solo parenting stretches resume in June. I suppose I don't mind doing everything on my own if I have to (though, I'd obviously rather Andi were here). The hardest part is gearing up to do everything myself / doing it all solo / and then learning to let go when Andi returns home as he re-acclimates into our home life. It's always a bit of an adjustment on both sides of the departure and return.

... feeling the itch to be crafty. My fingers are twitching to create something -- like cute summertime decorations for the cabin, re-painting our dining / living room walls at home (though, this is too big of a project to tackle by myself so I'll just dream about it), starting to plan Tory's 3rd birthday party, or pulling together ideas for the family wedding shower I'd like to host for my sister-in-law Lindsay. To Pinterest I go for inspiration!

7 Quick Takes: Sleep, Wine and Valentines

1. Last night was another sleepless night in our house, bouncing between both kids' cries from the hours of 11:00pm - 6:00am. I'm amazed at how well I'm operating on no sleep. I used to be someone who required at least 8-10 hours every night and now I'm lucky if I get 2-3 hours in a row. I see no light at the end of the tunnel and accepting that fact has helped my mental state immensely. This isn't getting any better! Get used to it, lady! When my mom visited a few weeks ago, she asked me when I thought Tory would finally start sleeping through the night. "She has to sleep eventually, don't you think?" Honestly, no, I don't. I've given up on trying to crack the case of sleep with that girl. (It should be noted my awareness of Starbucks drive-thru's in a 20-mile radius of my house has increased vastly in the last two months. God bless liquid energy.)

2. On a related note, last night was Aden's first time sleeping in his crib. My big boy has nearly outgrown the baby bassinet and as I mentioned in my Day In The Life post earlier this week, I think Tory's waking him prematurely in the mornings with her loud yogurt-demanding, tantrum-throwing ways. Part of the reason I slept like such crap last night was because he was in his own room. We have a video monitor and I could see him sleeping peacefully in his crib, but I still felt nervous about him being so far away from me. The good news is, I think he'll transition to sleeping in his crib just fine. He was still up to eat every three hours regardless of where he slept. I, on the other hand, was more awake having to physically get out of bed every few hours (x2 because I was already doing that with Tory). Also, it breaks my heart a little bit that my baby boy is already sleeping in his own room. If I could, I'd probably let him sleep next to my bed forever. Okay, that's a bit of an over-statement; more like, a few more months.

3. A dear friend made us a meal after Aden was born and included these homemade chewy granola bars. I've made a few batches myself since then, and it's safe to say I'm addicted to them. They are so good and the recipe's almost impossible to mess up. I used almonds and dried cranberries in one batch, chocolate nibs and raisins in another. One time I used honey and another time I used maple syrup. I want to make some with coconut flakes and pistachios next time (not necessarily together). These granola bars are the only breakfast I can fit in some days and are almost always my go-to snack mid-afternoon. I've been using the Pampered Chef brownie pan my mom and dad gave me for Christmas and it works perfectly for this recipe. I decreased the cooking time to 15 minutes because the surface area is much smaller than the pan suggested in the original recipe.

4. Yesterday, Tory and I made Valentine's Day cards. We painted her hands red and stamped them on construction paper and I did the same to Aden's feet. Surprisingly, he was a really good sport about it! Later, I assembled the hand and footprints into cards and made one for myself to save in my scrapbook of stuff from the kids. (Yes, I made my own valentine. Ain't no shame in my game and if I don't do it, who will?) The card to "Mom and Dad" (aka: me) was sitting on my nightstand last night and Tory picked it up. "I make this for you?" she asked. I told her she did and we recapped how we'd painted her hands earlier in the day. She opened the card, held it up close to her nose and read, "Happy Valentine's Mommy." I nearly died from the cuteness.

5. My birthday's coming up next month and I've decided to ask for a Sonicare toothbrush. I feel super old requesting such a lame birthday gift, but I think I'd really like it. I'm also going to ask for a new iPhone (just because) and an imaginary gift card for babysitting time from my in-laws. My most cherished thing lately (aside from my husband and kids, obviously) is to hole up in a quiet corner of a coffee shop and just be by myself for a while. The mental recharge is gold.

6. Nine weeks: nine weeks is how long it took Tory to take a chill pill with Aden. Things are by no means perfect around here, but all of my advisements to "be gentle" have finally started to sink into her brain. Sometimes, Tory still pesters Aden on purpose just to get a rise out of me but 80% of the time now, she's being more gentle with him. I hope (hope, hope, hope!) this means his allure is wearing off. Aden's becoming more tolerant, too, and the other day I even caught him smiling at Tory. Big improvement over shrieking at her very sight. Because of this, Tory and I have had the best few days. It's such a breath of fresh air to not be constantly calling her down all the time. Prayers for patience = answered.

7. Andi joined a wine club last month and it's been something new and fun to do. We already drink plenty of wine, so at least this helps me creatively step outside my Apothic Red comfort zone. This club's different in that you get a minimum of three bottles of wine a month. You rate them based on your liking and by the sixth month or so, supposedly you're only receiving wines you absolutely love because the palate profile is refined to your personal taste. So far, we loved two of the three wines we tried last month and I'm excited to see what shows up on our doorstep for February.

7 Quick Takes: I Wrote this Post at 4:00am

1. I write the best blog posts in the middle of the night. Well, I can't say if this is "great blog post" worthy just yet because I haven't actually typed anything, but my brain seems to free-flow words when all is quiet and that's what I'm saying. At 3:30am this morning, I was jolted awake by a killer charley horse in my left leg. Anyone else get those when you're pregnant? THE WORST. I finally got out of bed to walk it off and had a major coughing attack in the process. My noise woke Tory up, which woke Andi up, and then we were all up from 4:00am - 6:00am. Fun times. The good news is, I thought about lots of things to blog about while I was snuggling Tory back to sleep.

2. Did I mention all three of us are sick this week? I'd like to say Tory and I caught a summer cold from my little niece, Brooke, last week (because she had a cold and repeatedly kept drinking out of my water bottle despite my requests for her not to do so), but honestly we could've picked up a bug from a variety of places including the germy airport, a restaurant, or from someone else. I started to feel crummy last Saturday at the cabin while Andi's sister and her boyfriend were visiting and I felt super guilty for being a lousy host but I just did not feel up to extra cooking, cleaning up, bonfires, etc. Judging by Tory's constant meltdowns, insistence on me carrying her at all times and her poor sleep, she obviously wasn't feeling up to snuff either. There's nothing worse than being sick when you're pregnant - nothing. (Ok, well maybe those charley horses....) Andi came down with the same cold on Monday and well, it's no barrel of monkeys when we're all sick.

3. I'm 24 weeks pregnant this week which is just crazy to me. SIX MONTHS PREGNANT?! When did that happen? Aside from the leg cramps and occasional heartburn, I'm feeling pretty good lately. Baby Boy is moving around more everyday and it's comforting to know he's doing okay in there. Hard to believe he'll be here in 16-ish more weeks.

4. Six months pregnant must be the beginning of the nesting phase. I've been on a mission this week to start the big "play musical chairs with all the rooms in our house" project which eventually equals the completion of Aden's nursery. First up, our home office which we hardly ever use is getting the boot and will become the kids new playroom. Once the new playroom is complete, I can move all the toys to that room which will empty our current play room (which is Aden's future nursery) and then I can start decorating his room. Andi and I decided to use our existing crib and changing table/dresser for Aden which means Tory will need a new big girl bed in her room. She's about two shakes away from learning how to climb out of her crib, so this change is inevitable but I'm dreading it nonetheless. I am 100% confident we'll have a difficult time keeping her in bed as the girl climbs EVERYTHING. She can climb in and out of our fairly-high queen-size bed with no issue whatsoever.

So, in simple terms: home office become future play room // old play room become future nursery with Tory's baby furniture // Tory moves to a big girl bedroom set. That should be no problem to knock out in the next 16 weeks, right?

5. Andi and I have been going back and forth about what type of bedroom furniture to get for Tory. Toddler bed or twin? That is the question. A toddler bed is obviously the cheaper option, but Tory will only be able to use it for a short time. A cheap toddler bed doesn't include a dresser, so we'll have to pick up one of those as well or move all her things inside the closet. On the other hand, it might make more sense to just buy her a twin bed with rails that includes a dresser and night stand. I like the looks of those options better than the cheap toddler beds. Plus, let's face it, there will be many solo parenting nights ahead where I'm putting Tory to bed with a newborn in my arms so it'd be convenient to lay down with her to read stories, etc. We have a few more weeks to decide, I guess.

6. I made this trail mix for the cabin a few weeks ago, and it was so tasty and easy. I love that you just toss various items together without any real baking and there's something for everyone (salty and sweet) included. I'm planning to make it again for this weekend at the cabin when my best friends Ashley, Val and their families come to visit.

7. Our fourth wedding anniversary is next Wednesday and Andi's going to be out of town for it. I bounce between feeling super bummed he'll be out of town on our anniversary and completely understanding he has to work. Gone are the days we jet-setted to Vancouver or Vail, right? We're a grown-up old married couple now. We are planning to go out to dinner somewhere here in town in mid-August to celebrate and visiting the gardens where we were married. Guess we'll have to save up all our adventurous juices for the big FIVE next year.

7 Quick Takes About Mom Stuff

1. So, the blog creeper is back. This time, the jerk is violating the comments section of my Baby Blog. So, I took that blog private again which is super sucky. I really enjoy sharing every personal detail about my pregnancy with the world! I've talked to several blog friends and none of these gross comments every happen to their sites, so I'm not sure why I'm the lucky winner here. I like sharing my thoughts with the Internet and I've made some great in-real-life friends through my blog. But ... those comments just ick me out and make Andi go very Protective Husband on the situation. So, private blog Baby In My Bubble is now. If the comments start happening here, I'll go underground altogether which means my poor mom will never be able to follow my life (she never can figure out how to access my blogs when they're private). Sigh.

2. So, hey! It was 98 degrees here yesterday! That's right, it was just sleeting at the lake cabin on Saturday and now it's full-on summertime. Minnesota weather, you're drunk. (But stay right here, we love your warm, sunshine-y days). Tory and I played outside for much of the afternoon. We were both a sweaty, sunscreened mess by the end of the day and we loved every minute of it. I bought her a new, bigger pool for the summer but I didn't have the energy to blow it up yesterday so I dug out the old baby one for her to play with instead. She had an absolute ball. Never mind there were Teddy Grahams and rice from her sand table floating at the bottom by the end of the day. That's what summertime is all about, right?

3. I'm back on the wagon for involvement in my neighborhood mom's group. The ladies meet once a month at someone's house and yesterday, I offered to host the gathering here. Attendance was low since the weather was so nice outside (can't blame people for wanting to stay home and enjoy it with their families) and one of the coordinators just had a baby last week. In any event, I had a really fun time chatting with the other neighborhood moms about life and kids and events around our 'hood.  Every year the group organizes a Neighborhood Parade in August, complete with a kid's bike parade, firetrucks, police cars and a visit from the Mayor. One of the ladies said it probably wasn't going to happen this year since no one wanted to take on the planning aspect or stuffing fliers into neighborhood mailboxes ... so, I kind of volunteered to do it! I think it'll be fun (and maybe a lot of extra work) but I just couldn't see the parade NOT happening this year -- it's the 25th year! So, I'm now scouring the Internet for block party ideas and making calls to our local service providers. Wish me luck!

4. I posted a job description on Care.com (the site we used to find our nannies) for a part-time babysitter once a week. Our current babysitter, Taylor, is moving off to college this fall and I'm 100% sure I'll need help with Tory once Baby #2 enters the picture. Once again, I'm floored by the number of applicants I received within 24 hours of posting the job. Once again, I am also floored by the email etiquette of other people. "Dear Family: I would like to apply for your job." NOPE. If you can't address me by name or read the job description correctly and respond accordingly, you are not suitable to oversee the care of my child. There were also some really promising candidates and I've got a few phone interviews scheduled for this week. I know I'll have no trouble finding someone great to babysit Tory this fall.

5. I'm taking Tory on my first solo road trip this weekend to Des Moines, Iowa. I'm so excited to meet up with my family there, but a little nervous (okay, a lot nervous) to drive in a car with Tory for four hours by myself. I know she'll be fine watching the iPad (I'm just not sure who will re-start her episodes of Bubble Guppies over and over again) and I'm hoping she takes a nap at some point during the drive. I think I'll load up the front console of my car with lots of snacks and several sippy cups to toss back to her when she drops them. I'm also left wondering why someone with technological experience hasn't invented a way for 20 minute shows to play continuously on the iPad without manually re-starting a new episode every time. A movie would be the logical solution, but unfortunately Tory won't watch anything but Bubble Guppies. First world problem, clearly.

6. I'm thinking about signing Tory up for Preschool this fall. I finally found a school that accepts two year olds (vs. three year old starting age) in our area that's not just a glorified day care. I don't really need the child care so much as I'd like Tory to have some structure for a few hours a week in a school-like setting, make some friends and have something lined up in her day other than watching me nurse a baby every two hours. The school's requirement is students must be two years old by September 1 and Tory will be two on August 30 (she'll make the cut-off by just two days). At quick glance, I thought she wouldn't make the cut-out by two days for some reason and I emailed the teacher asking if they'd make an exception. Then, almost instantly after I sent the email, I realized my mistake -- that Tory will, in fact, be of age by two days. Then I felt like a complete idiot (see Quick Take #4 - read first, you dummy!) so I sent another email to the teacher explaining my mistake and asking for a tour. They'll probably reject us just because I'm such a fool. GAH. Embarrassing.

7. Speaking of my smarts, I've had several instances in the last few weeks where my husband looked at me like I was a complete idiot because something of common knowledge is just making it into my brain sphere. Like, did you know ducks have bird duck houses? Big bird houses that are made for ducks. Did you know this? Apparently, we have them all over the cabin and I never knew that's what they were for until I saw a duck fly into one this weekend. Also, did you know ducks FLY?

A Whole New World

Last Thursday, Tory and I started our day as we always do: breakfast and The Today Show. I'm a creature of routine and I like to watch the news first thing in the morning, otherwise I have this weird feeling like I don't know what's happening around me. I flipped on the television as I scrambled to pull some breakfast together for Tory and was greeted with an automated message from our cable service provider. Apparently we were due for a digital equipment upgrade and none of our five basic channels would work until we got it. I was not happy.

Of course Andi was traveling, as is always the case when anything goes wrong around here, so I decided to take care of the issue myself. "Look at me go!" I thought. Andi has been urging to take on more responsibility around the house since I began a SAHM so I thought I'd call up the provider and take care of this minor issue without bothering him. By the way, I was super annoyed the cable provider didn't notify us before our cable service was interrupted. Hmmph.

I called the telephone number on the TV screen and the customer service employee who spoke very bad English promptly told me he would not talk to me about the issue because I was not the primary account holder. WTF. Apparently, Andi was the only one listed on our account and he'd have to call to get the FREE equipment upgrade. The FREE upgrade could not be given to me for my safety, the man explained. Thank you for your concern, annoying cable service provider. I was pissed. I mean, I get account privacy and all that, and technically it wasn't the dude's fault I wasn't listed on our account, ... but still, PISSED. Apparently the cable service provider had also sent about fifty-million emails, left phone messages, and mailed letters to notify Andi of the equipment update issue, but that's neither here nor there.

Anyway, I did what any seething-red wife would do: I sent Andi a 911 email urging him to call the cable service provider at his earliest convenience (read: immediately) because I was without television. Dire straights, obviously.

In between meetings, he called the cable service provider to solve the issue. I'm not exactly sure what happened during that conversation but in the end, Andi canceled our service with this very-expensive-for-five-channels cable company and signed us up with a satellite TV company instead.

A few days later, the satellite provider came over to bless us with 150 television channels, some free movie channels and DVR recording capabilities. It's been TWO YEARS since we had real-deal TV and oh my goodness, it is glorious. I thought it was no big deal that we only had five basic channels and Netflix before but no, 150 channels for our entertainment is wonderful. On Tuesday, our first evening with real TV, Andi and I fell into a rabbit hole of Duck Dynasty. A&E kept airing episode after episode and we just kept watching it. It was captivating.

Even better than Duck Dynasty is the endless supply of Bubble Guppies episodes. We don't let Tory watch a ton of TV, but we do watch an episode of Bubble Guppies on some very early mornings or I'd probably fall over and die by 10:00am. We also let her watch Bubble Guppies on the iPad to and from the cabin or she'd scream the entire drive. We purchased about five episodes of Bubble Guppies on iTunes and have been watching those same five episodes over and over and over a gazillion times. I am so sick of those five episodes I practically throw up at the sound of them. Now we have a new DVR full of BG episodes. It's heavenly.

Bottom line, I feel like Andi and I moved to a world where rednecks, Snooki and dance moms reign supreme. We may never leave home again.

7 Quick Takes about Nothing, Really

1. It occurred to me over lunch yesterday, I've eaten Mexican for nearly every meal in the last seven days. No joke. This happens to me every time Andi travels for an extended period of time. I make all my favorite meals, the ones I couldn't get away with serving days in a row if he were home. It just so happens those meals include crock pot chicken tortilla soup (which freezes well and makes awesome leftovers), this new crock pot enchilada soup recipe I tried, loved and ate for several meals afterwards, enchiladas which both Tory and I dig so I had to make them, a Chipotle burrito bowl I ate last Friday and a Qdoba taco salad I had on Sunday. One of those days, I just ate leftover queso dip as a meal. The inside of my body must look awesome right about now.

2. I feel most at peace when I'm a blog post ahead. There's a little fun fact about me. It's like a weight is lifted off my chest when I've got a pending post ready to be published. I hate how I feel when days slip by and I haven't written anything about our life, new things Tory's been up to or the latest topic rolling around in my brain. When there's one post waiting to be published, I feel free and new blog post ideas seem to roll out of my head and onto the keyboard. Today I'm one blog post ahead. Yes!

3. Andi and I leave for Mexico in a few weeks and normally I'd be worried about how I'll look in a bathing suit. But, this time? Not one bit. It's mostly because I'm down 10 pounds since leaving my job in November. I no longer have 35 food courts and coffee shops at my disposal, so I think that might have something to do with it. The other morning I made a bowl of oatmeal for breakfast, then spent the next 30 minutes running around the kitchen like a crazy lady, making breakfast for Tory, starting laundry and unloading the dishwasher. I walked through the kitchen later and noticed my bowl of untouched, cold oatmeal sitting on the counter. That's probably the other reason I've lost weight. (Mom, if you're reading this: yes, I do eat). Anyway, not nervous at all for flaunting myself in a bikini on the beaches of Mexico. I haven't been this thin since Andi and I started dating in 2006 and I have to admit, it feels good to be back in my old body again.

4. Speaking of work, the other day I remembered the university where I was employed started their second semester of classes. It used to be the second busiest time of the year for me and now that date just passed me on the calendar like any other. I felt a huge whoosh of relief wash over me. I've been fairly indifferent about leaving my job until this realization, and now I'm just so thankful to be home with Tory everyday and doing something I love. Being a SAHM is work, but it's mostly physically exhausting for me. Mentally, my brain has never been more relaxed and unstressed. (On the days when Tory isn't teething or screaming at me 24/7, of course). Anyway, I feel blessed.

5. Andi's been staying in St. Paul since Saturday, prepping for his big work event happening this weekend. It's a little weird having him in town, but barely talking to him for eight days. I know he's super busy, so usually we don't chat much while he's working. Anyway, on Tuesday during my few hours of "mommy" time, I met Andi in St. Paul to say hey. We had a mid-day cocktail and I forced myself to talk about topics other than Tory. If I only had an hour of his time, I wanted it to be about us - not our little girl, not bills, not what needs fixing around the house - just us. Time to reconnect. It felt very scandalous meeting at his hotel room on a Tuesday afternoon. We might need to do that more often. Ha.

6. One thing I love about being a SAHM is the indifference between weekdays and weekends. The weekends when Andi worked used to be the loneliest times because everyone else already had plans with their families. Now, Tuesdays could just as easily be Saturdays. I kind of like it, actually. Sometimes being a SAHM feels like being on a really long vacation. A vacation without the relaxation or beach part, of course.

7. Does your UPS guy ring the doorbell? Mine does and it really has me fired up. This has been going on for some time now, so we posted a cute little plaque by our doorbell requesting people not ring the bell because the baby is sleeping. This doesn't stop the delivery drivers though, who feel the need to toss packages on our stoop, ring the doorbell and briskly walk away. They don't even wait for me to answer the door! We've even tried personally asking the drivers not to ring the doorbell, but it continues to happen anyway. Yesterday, I about lost it. Tory was 40 minutes into a nap she desperately needed. While she was sleeping, I busted through all my usual chores of cleaning up and laundry and was in the middle of prepping dinner when the doorbell rang. The dog went ballistic and Tory started crying. I was seething mad. I hadn't even got to the part of nap time where I get to sit down! If it hadn't been two degrees outside, I would've seriously run after the UPS truck to give that driver a piece of my mind. STOP RINGING THE DOORBELL! JUST DROP THE DANG PACKAGE AND LEAVE! I finally crawled up on the countertop and disabled our doorbell for good. I haven't figured out how I'll silence the dog yet, but a muzzle might be in order. What was in the package that was so darn important, you ask? A pair of work gloves for Andi. GRRRR. And, this is the story of why you'll have to call ahead when visiting my house because I won't be answering our non-functioning doorbell.

The End.

Thankful

By now, I'm sure you've seen the daily posts of gratitude people are sharing on Facebook this month. I'm not one to jump on the bandwagon for this sort of thing, but it has sparked a bit of thanksgiving reflection in my own life as I prepare for the upcoming holiday. Aside from the obvious things like fantastic friends and family and the opportunity to be a stay-at-home-mama (of which I am very grateful for), lately I'm also thankful for the blessing of life and some of the simplest pleasures.

My very best friend, Ashley, gave birth to her first child yesterday and I'm absolutely over the moon about the news of her baby boy's arrival. Not only does this mean I have another little one to love and spoil to pieces, but now I'm also connected to my best friend on a whole new level. I'm trying reeeally hard to give her space to adjust and learn her new role as a mother but I'm just so stinkin' excited I could burst right through the phone and squeeze her! Tory and I are flying down to Nebraska to visit them in December and I can hardly wait to hold him and give my friend a giant hug. God is so GOOD. What a blessing.

I'm thankful for new friendships, like those I made in New Orleans this past weekend or local ones like Raising Snowpeas. This year I've worked to develop new friendships and it's paying off. At 31 and after living in this city for six years, I finally feel like I'm hitting my groove and coming into the woman I'm suppose to be. It feels good to grow in new ways.

Sometimes it's the small things and lately I'm thankful for Starbucks. Maybe it's a true reflection of my adulthood, but I'm grateful for coffee every single day. I NEED IT. It gives me the get-up-and-go to be a better mom, smarter employee and kinder person. Thank you, caffeine. You really are the best.

As my final day at work draws closer, I'm thankful for the relationships I made there with people I would have likely otherwise never crossed paths. Today as I shared my news of departure with some of my colleagues, everyone thanked me for my efforts and contributions in a lovely, genuine way. It made me feel really special. Appreciated, even. I'm leaving that place on a good note with far more positive memories than the opposite.

I'm thankful my kiddo is sleeping through the night. 'Nuff said.

I'm grateful for technology which allows me to capture memories forever and keep me connected to those far away. Today I was digging through old photos of Andi and I in the early days of our relationships and I was just so glad I had those tangible mementos to hold onto forever.

Life happens so quickly that it's easy to zero in on what's happening right before you. I'm thankful for moments of clarity when I can step back and see all the wonderful things happening around me. I AM SO FORTUNATE and I want to give thanks for life's biggest and smallest blessings.

Nature vs. Nurture?

(I wrote this post a few days ago, but it performed a magical disappearing act. Here it is again ...)

Sometimes I'm shocked at the comments people make to one another. Like a friend-of-a-friend stranger this past weekend who commented how "personable" Tory was for having an in-home nanny. I'm sure she didn't mean it offensively, but seriously lady? I was a little annoyed. Does my child really need to attend a daycare with other children to avoid being raised as an introvert?

This isn't the first time some one's said this to me, and I'd venture to guess stay-at-home-moms have fielded like comments. A few months ago, a woman made a similar remark at the Wal-greens pharmacy counter. It's true, Tory doesn't have built-in friends to play with every day at our house but we have her involved in a variety of activities to maintain a level of social engagement (swimming, story time at the library and play dates to name a few). Someday I hope she has a sibling or two to interact with, but until then I'm not worried about it. She's only 10 months old, for goodness sake.

The personable baby comment has me wondering, is an outgoing personality nature or nurture?

I believe it's nature all the way. Getting children involved in activities with others their own age can be very nurturing to their development and I'm sure having a pen of babies playing together daily does foster some friendships between them. However, I don't understand why people would think that because Tory is at home without that social environment, she's lacking in advantage. In fact, she's one of the most bubbly, outgoing 10-month-olds I know. It doesn't matter where we are - the post office, the grocery store or the library - Tory waves and says "hi" to every person she sees, both young and old alike. She loves people and I can only believe her energetic personality is a direct reflection of Andi and I.