These Days….

There is so.much going on around here (always?!) and 101% of the time, I have no time to really even process all that is happening in our lives. I am going to give a quick rundown and I really, truly (honestly) hope to expand on most, if not all, of these things going forward.

* Gianna started FIRST GRADE last week. We ended up moving her from Catholic to public school after a really long debate. I think we made the choice that made the most sense. The first week went well for her, so that’s exciting for all of us!

* Aleesia is officially 2.5 and she is THE SPUNKIEST ball of energy I have ever met. I’m lucky she is mine, but also, wow – she makes me tired!

* Being a full-time work at home mom for the past 6 months has been so great. And so hard. And so many things. There are a few things I can say for certain though. This wouldn’t be possible without my village – our nanny, my sisters, my parents, cousins, so many people who help out when needed. Being at home has been so fun and the flexibility I have is wonderful. But it is HARD to be “on” all of the time.

* We are going to the beach in a few weeks! We are going to Hilton Head for the first time and really looking forward to it. If you’ve been there – tips, tricks, places not to miss are all greatly appreciated! We are planning on vising Savannah as well while we are there.

* Our new house! Oh my gosh, so much I can say about our new house. We have a pre-drywall meeting this week and we are looking forward to that. I have pictures of the whole process and will hopefully do a few posts related to our building process (which has been really great). Things are moving along and I am ALL OVER the Pinterest boards with updates and ideas for decorating a house that is significantly bigger than our previous home.

* Vivian is such a sweet baby! She finally started to sit up on her own and can go from laying/crawling to sitting. She’s been crawling for at least 2 months so she gets all over the place and flashes her amazing smile at us! She is a bit of a mommy’s girl and she doesn’t love to sleep without touching me. It has been hard to get her in a sleep routine, but we’ll get there. We started to give her some baby food a few weeks ago and she is just now really getting the hang of eating from a spoon.

* I ran a half marathon last weekend, it was a great race and I had a pretty huge PR. I’m looking forward to my next one in September. I also finished my 4th (or 5th?!?) MBA class last week. I’m looking forward to finding some good books to read on vacation – any ideas for me?

Overall, I’m not ready to give up summer yet but also ready for the routine the school year brings. We have fun plans that will get us through the end of September and then our fall plans (and moving!!) start up in October! I don’t feel like I am as organized and on top of life as usual right now which is frustrating but somehow we are all getting through our days!

Moving On

In May of 2010 I felt like a real grownup, we finally owned our own home!

It wasn’t very big and it wasn’t very fancy, yet at the same time it was just right.

We made the space work for us turning the rooms into a variety of bedrooms, playrooms, and offices as we needed to change the space to meet our needs. We grew our family in that house, quite literally, as since we moved in as a young Family of Three.

But as we expanded to our Party of Five – our small house, while it held us and all of our stuff and all of our memories relatively well, wasn’t going to hold us, our stuff, and our memories for too terribly long. It was time to get this little house sold.

Thankfully, we only had to endure about 3 weeks of keeping the house spotless and over a dozen showings before another young couple decided our house was just right for them.

We said goodbye to our small house, the white house according to Gianna, last week.

But now where do we go?

For now, we are going to have an extended sleepover at my parents house – which we are so incredibly thankful to be able to do.

And sometime before October, this beautiful plot of grass will become a beautiful new home for us!

We never EVER thought we would build, we had in fact, said we would definitely NOT build – but we are very excited for this adventure, for a home that checks all of the boxes on our wish list.

If I felt like a real grownup when we bought our first home, I can bet that I am going to feel like a really blessed grownup when our new house gets signed over to us.

room sharing

 

One of the things that has to happen before the new baby (I am still sort of in shock by this phrase!) arrives is moving Gianna and Aleesia into the same room. A very small room, may I add. We want to do this sooner than later to work out the kinks that I am sure are coming.

I’ve figured out the furniture arrangement for the room, when the time comes and I am sure the closet will be organized appropriately.

But what I haven’t figured out is how we are going to manage bedtime with two girls who have different bedtimes. Aleesia is typically in bed before 7:30 and goes down pretty easily. Gianna is typically stalling to go to bed from 8 until at least 9. She has been stalling even more than usual lately (thank you mr. sunshine for staying out so long, but also we need room darkening shades STAT!) and just generally not wanting to go to bed for.ev.er.

So for anyone who has gone through this before and for anyone who wants to offer their advise, here are my questions:

1. How do you manage bedtime with 2 kids in the same room when one is asleep much earlier than the other. What do I need to say or do to get it through the big one’s head that being quiet is very important when she goes to bed? I’ve already told her that if we have problems at bedtime she will have to go to bed before Aleesia, which she of course didn’t like.
2. What can we do to make the room feel special for Gianna? She says she’s excited about it, but I’m not buying it yet! I might need to post some pictures and get opinions in a different post!

What is with the bedtime stalling, anyway? tonight Gianna told me she couldn’t sleep because she had an itch in her ear! I give her 10 points for creativity on that one, at least!

Managing Expectations

I have felt like I pretty much spend each day running around like a chicken with its head cut off since approximately January 31st of this year.

Tiny babies have a way of throwing your regularly scheduled life/routine/sanity out the window as fast as they make their debut into the world.  And our newest tiny baby is no exception to that rule.  Add in a handful of mild medical drama to the mix and this train nearly de-railed itself.

I am a schedule person. I LOVE a good routine.  I love even more than that a good list. On paper. That I can physically cross things off on.  We had a good little routine for ourselves over here prior to our littlest peanut joining us on the outside.  I KNEW that was all going to change, but I really, honest to goodness, was not prepared with the MAGNITUDE of the change. 

Things were not clean.  Dishes not done.  Lucky if the laundry was washed AND dried in the same day, forget about having it folded and put away. Extra lucky if everyone ate 3 meals a day that did not consist of pop-tarts and frozen waffles (with peanut butter!). But then I figured that all out – things started to even out despite the crying baby who didn’t sleep all day.

Then! I went back to work. Again, wrench – thrown across the room.  The schedule we had, was gone.  Life was back to chaos and almost 3 months later, it is only mildly better.  The baby cries (a little bit) less, smiles (a lot) more and sleeps (mostly) better.  The preschooler is well, a stubborn italian girl who makes us laugh, but is also super helpful when she wants to be. But they each have their schedules and NEED to be in bed by certain time to avoid horrific meltdowns – so we work around them and then comes the rest!

But the cause of the chaos is probably more mental than anything else – I have a really hard time managing my own expectations.  I expect that I will be able to: sleep all night, clean a little before work in the morning, work all day, have dinner, clean up after dinner, clean up the girls after dinner, get the girls to bed, work out, clean whatever is dirty, clean myself, do laundry, take care of LIFE (bills/plans/blog/etc.) and still see my husband. 

I also apparently expect that each day is no shorter than 28 hours because guess what – all of those things? They do not happen each day! They can’t.  And I need to be better at just dealing with that. 

My house? It is in desperate need of a deep-cleaning, but I need to accept that picking up the toys, sweeping the floor and if I instill help from my favorite 4 year old helper, dusting – is all that there is time for.  The laundry? Is forever in progress and I just need to be able to remember which basket has clean clothes in it. The dishes? Are usually done (I can’t go to bed with dishes in the sink, I just can’t do it!) but some nights the WHOLE kitchen isn’t perfectly clean. I can’t work out every night – there just isn’t enough time, so 3x a week has to be enough for now.

There is so much more that goes along with this idea of managing my expectations – the idea that not everyone does everything just like I do.  Mike might not load the dishwasher like I do, but he still does it and it needs to just be good enough.  I need to be okay with giving up time to do household things to just hang out with the people who created the beautiful mess I live in – some days, I have to really focus on that and just let the rest go! 

probably the thing I need to keep in my brain at all times that I think will help with this whole management deal – is that this is MY Life, not anyone else’s – so good for you if your house is always spotless, or if you can work out 3x a day, or if your kid takes awesome naps so you can be crafty or whatever – sometimes the internet has a way of creating these crazy thoughts in our heads that we have to do XYZ to be cool.   I KNOW that isn’t true – if the 4 people who live under this roof are happy, the rest doesn’t really matter in the end – and I KNOW that in my head.  But I have a really hard time letting go/changing what I expect to accomplish in a day/week/month/year etc. – it’s getting easier as I get more comfortable giving up that unnecessary expectations I tend to create for myself – but still a daily challenge!  Right now actually, I am working on just being able to cut myself some slack if everything isn’t done every night – some nights are easier than others (usually when I am extra tired!) but I am working on it so that counts for something, right?

Wordless Wednesday

someplace to lay your little head

prints by the awesome  Alison of ten tiny toes designs

come out, my sweet girl – we are ready to meet you!

Overwhelmed and Underprepared

There are less than 16 15 weeks until we have a new person living in our house. A new little tiny itty bitty person.

FIFTEEN WEEKS!

And when you think about what is going to happen in those 15 weeks (lots of packed weekends, bradley classes, halloween, thanksgiving, christmas, new years, family birthdays, work, etc. etc. etc.) they are going to FLY right past us just like the last twenty something weeks have.

When I am overwhelmed I make lists. And the other day at work, after I started freaking out and having myself a very quiet little pity party/cry fest at my desk, that’s what I did. And I emailed it to Mike, who thought I was just a little bit crazy but also started to feel a little of my OHMYGAWD we have a lot of shit to do-ness that I have been feeling. 

We got rid of a lot of things after we had Gianna/moved/got pissed at not getting pregnant (okay, that part was all me) but also – a lot of things were just worn out (or were second hand to begin with). and some things, this new baby gets fresh!

I present to you, the list (not in any order of importance) ((complete with my stream of consciousness notes to mike!)) (((we are very not prepared))):

Things to buy sooner (for the girls):

• New bottles (we got rid of ours)
• New pacifiers (again, got rid of)
• warmer clothes in newborn & 0-3 months
• Size newborn & size 1 diapers & wipes (maybe re-sign up for amazon mom?)
• heavier weight swaddle-me/swaddling blankets (do we really need this??)
• lovie for baby (from Gianna)
• humidifier
• sound / white noise machine (bear??)
• Changing pad for dresser. (something for upstairs too???)
• diaper genie & refills
• Big sister gift (what to get????)
• boppy & cover (did i let someone borrow ours??)
• baby meds 
• rock & play (or borrow)
• more baby hangers
• burp clothes, bibs, baby wash rags, towels, changing pad covers
• I have no idea what else we need…….

Things to buy soon-ish (for me/mike/house)

• glider/rocker for the nursery
• feminine hygiene stuff (yay…)
• nursing stuff (what the heck do i need???)
• wine for when the baby comes home.... beer for mike.... (joking. sort of. not really)
• pump??
• nursing cover
• moby or something like that? (or borrow??)
• living room storage solution (where are we going to put everything??)

Things to pull out of storage/wash

• All newborn and 0-3 month clothing (determine if everything is seasonally appropriate and make new clothes list for any gaps – add to buy list….)
• Car seat base, cover, bundle me
• Big Stroller
• See if cloth parts of bouncer can come off to be washed (make sure bouncer works!)
• Play mat and toys
• Teethers, rings, and other 0-6 month toys (find a good place to keep baby toys)
• Crib bedding, sheets, blankets, burp rags, etc. etc. etc.

Things to put into storage

• G's outgrown clothes & toys.....
• lightweight stroller

Rooms to Tackle: Gianna's Room

• fix up dress up area how I want it
• Paint???
• Buy artwork for walls/print pictures/frame/etc.

Rooms to Tackle: Baby's Room

• find someone to fix window/wall ASAP
• paint, clean, rearrange as necessary
• Raise crib 
• Get/hang up artwork
• clean carpet

Rooms to Tackle: The rest of the upstairs!

• touch up paint (where baby gate was)
• try to come up with better playroom storage/arrangement (ha!)
• figure out where baby stuff will go upstairs
• Clear out cupboard space for bottles, etc.

Other

• Pick a name for the baby…….
• Maternity photo shoot (when?!!)
• hospital packing list/bag (figure out what diaper bag to use....)
• Maternity leave & STD paperwork
• Pre-register at hospital (no idea if we have to do this??)
• sign G up for big sister classes
• Figure out main plan (plus 2 back up plans) for what to do with Gianna when the baby comes
• Take/Finish bradley classes
• Try not to freak out
• Holy shit we are having another baby

There it is kids. My lovely, scary, really freaking long, list of shit that needs done sooner than later.  I KNOW it will all be fine, and that all the really important stuff will get done. But goodness I am just overwhelmed with THINGS to do and also, the TIRED from all of the other stuff going on every day.

Operation Organization

Katherine and Alison inspired me to jump on this opportunity to CLEAN UP MY HOUSE!

so I am jumping on the Operation Organization bandwagon. (a few days late, but still – ON.IT!)

Here’s our hot mess express of a house (I totally SPED through the house, and it was night time, so I didn’t get the outside. or Gianna’s room.  So, ya…here it is.

don’t judge me by the state of my house, okay!

I think I will do some combination of videos/pictures for before/after shots.  But it’s time to get this place in shape!

Intrigued? Want in? 

Here’s the scoop:

Just focus on each of these areas for a week and then post our accomplishments on Sundays. Here's the schedule:

• March 4:
• Kitchen
• Dining Room
• Living Room
• March 11:
• Play Room
• Main Bathroom 
• Linen Closet/Storage Closet
• March 18
• Master Bedroom (beginning – this will require some Ikea wonderfulness to complete)
• Gianna’s Room   (again, beginning because there is a LOT to do here)
• March 25
• Laundry Room
• Half bathroom
• Storage Room
• April 1:
• Front of House
• Backyard
• Anything else you didn't have time to finish up in the previous weeks
• April 8thish (since that’s easter!) [I added this week because I needed it]
• Office

My house is set up a little different (but you just saw it so you know that) so what I am going to focus on is different than what is listed in Katherine’s post – so go with what works for you!  I’ll try to put some organizational tips – and you know I’ll be consulting my BFF Pinterest for some organizational inspiration.

Link up to Katherine (and tell me too so I can check out your house and organizational skillz) and get to it, friends!

Clean house?

I was doing some internet reading (i.e. blogs and message boards) and I discovered something.

I need a maid.

Or to hire one of the mom’s out there who deep cleans their house on the regular.

You guys, I am going to admit something here.  I hate cleaning almost as much as I hate doing laundry. Although I do laundry about 600x more often than I clean….can’t go around with dirty underwear.  The last time I deep cleaned my house? When we moved into it. In MAY!

Sure, I have mopped the floors since then, but washing walls, baseboards and really scrubbing things down? No. Hasn’t really even crossed my mind, if I am being honest.

My house is pretty much always surface clean. You know, things picked up and in order, counters/toilets/sinks wiped down. I try not to go to bed with the the house cluttered because it puts me in a bad mood when I wake up.

You are pretty much guaranteed to find dust in places, crumbs on the floor and other such nonsense though.  For goodness sakes, today I vacuumed the floors in our bedrooms for the first time in far too long.

I realize that things need to be kept tidy and sometimes beyond just tidy, but WHEN? It seems pointless to clean during naptime and after the little one goes to bed there is usually a list 20 feet long that still needs tackled.  Again, if I am being honest – I would rather sit on my butt eating oreos and/or drinking wine than wash the walls at 9pm. And the thought of washing walls does not ever even enter my mind, literally. Never. Unless I see something spilled on it.

How clean is YOUR house? Do you have a routine – like wash bathroom on Sunday, laundry on Monday? (Monday is my laundry day, no real reason, it just is).

Or are you awesome and have a maid to do all the dirty work like cleaning tile grout, washing windows and polishing silverware?

Controller of the house

One of the things I have realized since losing my job and being home full time is how freaking hard it is to get it all done.

By all I mean: entertain the toddler, cook and clean the kitchen what feels like 58x a day, keep the living room kept, floors swept and toys picked up, getting the laundry done and showering. Not to mention getting my school work completed, articles written, meetings scheduled, job applications completed and turned in.

For some reason when I worked all day I just let some of it go, since I wasn’t here, I couldn’t do it.  Now that I AM here? I feel like I HAVE to do it.  Maybe that is a stupid idea, but the other day I tried to let the mess “go”, and I turned into a raging bitch because THE COUNTERS ARE DIRTY. Stupid, but again, control freak over here.

The other control issue? Our checkbook. I am the CFO of this house and am having a very hard time implementing the changes I KNOW MUST HAPPEN (like, not getting chik-fil-a for lunch) so that bills can get paid and I don’t have a freaking coronary.  We CAN make it. We WILL make it.  But going from having some spending money (no matter how little) each week to having none? That is a big change for us.  And? We have some things we need to be saving for/paying off and we can’t. And I hate it. Because it just seems so unfair. (um, because it is I guess)  I think we could qualify for assistance on some things, but I am going to be brave and admit this – but I am scared to apply.  I know it would help, but I can’t seem to call or go to the website or whatever.  I don’t know why, I just can’t do it right now.  Stupid, I know. But not ONLY am I a control freak – I HATE admitting defeat, or that I need help and can’t do it ALL.BY.MYSELF. 

So I am actually devoting this week to taking control of my house. Whatever that means, however I have to do it.  The office needs organized, the items in piles in the basement need donated/sold/trashed, the checkbook needs balanced and the laundry needs done.  And I am doing it with the help of my lovely lists. And my awesome husband (whether he knows it or not!) and the entertainment of my cute girl.

Never say Never

We all know that Never is a word we should not use in the context of life, motherhood and all things growing up.

Except I am sure we all HAVE said it.

And here is where I insert foot into mouth because I am guilty as charged on the never say never front.

• I swore I would never give my child a nickname. But I did.
• I swore I would never use a list when I went grocery shopping. But I have no choice unless I want to go back to the store 3 more times to get what I forgot.
• I swore I would never change her diaper anywhere besides a designated changing area. But I do. All the time.
• I swore I would never wash my clothes together. But I am lucky to get them into the washer so I can’t mess with the whole division of colors stuff.
• I swore I would never make separate meals for my kids. But if I don’t, she would probably starve 6/7 days a week.
• I swore I would never let her go in public with dirt on her face. But somehow, that dirt just jumps on there when I am not looking.
• I swore I would have all of our boxes unpacked by now. Living in a new house for 3 months still counts as just moving in, right?
• I swore my pictures would be edited/uploaded/shared/printed on a regular basis. I am currently working on the end of June through present. And I discovered I haven’t ordered prints since March. Oops.
• I swore I would never let my child eat anywhere but the kitchen table. But if I don’t let her have snacks during the day, we get back to that not eating thing.

So spill it friends, what do/have you had to insert your foot in your mouth for?

Wordless Wednesday

what is the cause of this mischievous look?

that pink blur is so excited to finally have a couch!

see? I told you she was excited!

big, green & hairy

I have had a visitor lately that I could seriously do without.

It’s a big, green, hairy, envious jealousy monster.  It has taken on a lot of forms and I really don’t know why.  Don’t get me wrong, I am overall very happy with things right now, but there are a few things that could be different/better/etc.

Job envy:  I have been unhappy with my current place of employment for some time.  It is just not where I want to be professionally and their goals and mine do not align at all.  I see/hear about positions I think I would love but am having trouble finding said positions near where I live!  Also? job hunting takes a lot of time and energy, neither of which I have currently.

House envy: Okay, maybe it’s more like decorating envy.  I am really happy with our new little house but there are so many things I want to do, paint, buy.  Again, these things take time and energy which we know is on short supply.  I am tired of our couch being made up of 2 pillows and a blanket on the ground!

Uterus envy: The obvious question to ask anyone with a one year old is obviously “when are you going to have another?”.  It is also the most obnoxious.  I have been surrounded by a lot of pregnant bellies lately, pregnant bellies that got there “on accident”, “on the first try” and otherwise without stress.  And it’s frustrating because while I would love to get on that bandwagon, it’s not time for us right now.  But it freaks me out too because it was not easy for us to get pregnant (although not as hard as it was for others). 

Wardrobe envy: Why is that when you specifically look for something, you can never find it?  I have been hunting for new summer clothes for months without fail since I am a cool 6 sizes smaller than last summer (yet 1 size bigger than before baby).  I have found a few pieces, but I have been really underwhelmed by what I see in stores.  However I am very overwhelmed by what I see on other people! Where do they get this stuff?

Not trying to sound ridiculous here, but some days I just need to feed the monster and satisfy it for a while.  I know it’s perfectly normal to like what others have, the grass is always greener blah blah blah. 

So much to say, so little time

yet another whoa-is-me post from yours truly about how I have so much to say and so little time to say it in.

But GUYS! I do have such little time. And so.many.things.to.do.

I just edited lots of adorable pictures. I need to upload them, soon.

Also, I need to make a cute “we moved” announcement to email to our family/friends. What are the etiquette rules on that?

And, my house? Looks like an episode of Hoarders. Seriously, it may be considered a fire hazard.

But, the school is taking over my life. My 2 classes right now are more time consuming than pretty much all of the ones from the last 2 semesters combined. And I don’t like it. It is summer. I want sunshine. (which I got this weekend, along with a flipping sunburn. I forgot just how much those hurt….) 

It will all be okay soon, I am sure.  I have a handle on the school work, for today. It is a lot, but it will all get done.  The unpacking will happen, eventually.  Once our upstairs is all the way painted some things can finally go on the walls and organization can take place.

I have been trying hard to make time for my happy, giggly, defiant daughter (more to come on the defiant part) and my helpful, handsome husband in between all of the things above. And time for you of course, my bestest internets.

Stay tuned Friday for a book giveaway! A kids book, actually, very fun. Very rock star like.

Welcome Home!

we are signed. sealed. delivered.

and ready to move!

If you are from ICLW - HAAIII!!

Check out my about me section.

Birthday Month

May is the best month of the year.

Because it’s my birthday month! (and my sister’s, renee, danifred, jj and a few other fun people!)
Also because it’s the beginning of warm weather. Sunshine. Almost summer.

I have been pretty blessed when it comes to birthday months, they have pretty much rocked for my whole life. And, since my birthday is at the end of the month I get to celebrate longer!
This year, my birthday month is even better. Because the big thing I told you about here, is happening. It’s the biggest, best birthday present ever.
Approximately 1400 square feet big.

After what felt like forever, we finally found a house.  I can’t begin to tell you how excited we are about this. 
What I am not excited about, is packing.  I hate packing. A lot. There will be many bitch sessions posts regarding this topic, I am sure.