Thursday, February 18, 2016

Thursday Confessions

Lets get right too it!

1. I am crazy, crazy excited for this weekend. After an unprecedentedly, unbelievably busy month at work, I feel like I've seen my husband for about a total for 8 minutes in February. And Norah has probably seen him less. So we are pumped that Dad is taking off work tomorrow for a family day of FUN. Also, Nanny (my Mom), and Aunt Paige and Aunt Brooke (my sisters) are coming to visit on Saturday, so we are really in for a treat. Did I mention the weather will be in the 60's? #thankyouJesus

TBT to my wedding day. I find this picture hilariously unflattering. I am the poster child for resting b-word face. I swear I was having the best day of my life. Ha! Aunt Paige freezing to death and Aunt Brooke who couldn't wait to take off her shoes.



2. I haven't eaten a proper dinner all week. Triscuits? Sure. Leftovers from Norah's plate? Why not. I really need to get better about preparing toddler and mom friendly meals, but it's just so easy to throw something together for her at the last minute and forget about myself.

3. We've been making some progress with the reno plans and I am so, so ready for them to get started. Basement contractor has been found. Basement waterproofing scheduled. Kitchen cabinets, countertops, and layout is selected. Kitchen demo should begin this month, so fingers crossed that actually happens. The basement will be in March or April. Lord give my inpatient self strength to deal with all of these timelines that are completely out of my control!

4. I have been shopping like a crazy person. Not in abundance, but just this here, that there. In my defense, I have actually needed most of the items. Some of my favorite finds lately are my S'well water bottle (I have a ton of bottles and this is the best. I got bikini pink from the satin collection), this top, this toy we can't wait to give Norah, this bag to carry her things in (I'm over my huge diaper bag. Grabbing this and my small cross body purse [similar] will be so much easier), and this dress that is on it's way to my doorstep. Links included if you are in the market for something new and fun! Almost all of these things are on sale right now, too.


5. Last week marked our 5th Valentine's Day together. We celebrated with a lazy weekend, play time at the book store, and an awesome steak dinner with some friends and their daughter. 5 years sounds so short, but also so long to me at the same time. Here's to many, many more half decades!




insert laughing until you cry emoji

That's my girl.

Linking up with Jess.

Monday, February 15, 2016

a day in the life - norah (almost) 18 months.

Since Norah is almost 18 months, I decided this would be as good of a time as any to write another day in the life post. She is really changing and growing into her own person, and I feel like she's aged a decade in the past few weeks.

6:30am - 8:00am.

Your wake up times are still all over the board. Some mornings you're up and ready to party before 7:00am. Some nights you sleep in your crib until 8:00am. That one is rare, but it does happen. And some mornings, you end up in our bed in the middle of the night, and on those nights almost always sleep until 7:30am-8:00am.

8:00am.

Everyone gets fed. Mom gets coffee.

Regardless of what time we're up, by 8:00am the dogs have been let out, fed, watered, and given their medications. If Dad is in town, his lunch is made. Mom has coffee. Norah has breakfast. That breakfast generally consists of 2 or 3 of the following items: bowl of cheerios and milk, waffle with honey peanut butter, fruit, yogurt, and/or turkey sausage.

8:30am - 9:30am.

If we have morning plans, an activity, or errands, we will spend this time getting ready and getting out of the house. If we don't have morning plans, we'll spend this time cleaning up the kitchen from breakfast and the night before, watching the Today Show, and playing downstairs.


9:30am-12:00pm.

Morning play.

We almost always have a play date or some type of activity scheduled in the mornings. Lately though, we've had a lot of contractors and service people in and out that we've had to wait at home for, so we've had to be a little less social. Also contributing to our lack of activities are the freezing temperatures and snow. If we don't get out of the house, we'll spend the morning playing in your room, trying to clean or get laundry done, work on a small project for the house, and probably watch an episode of Mickey. We also have a small snack mid morning, like cheerios or crackers.


I'm really looking forward to Spring and Summer so we can spend this morning block of time taking advantage of our awesome new neighborhood. We have lots of neighbors to take walks with, several parks to explore, and we're going to join a club this year, with a pool and splash pad, which Mom is super excited about.

12:00pm-12:30pm.

Lunch time.

please disregard the futon and boxes. this picture is pre-furniture delivery/total unpack!

For lunch we usually have a vegetable pouch, some fruit, a sandwich, and veggie straws or bunny crackers. This is also the point in the day where I realize I'm starving and have probably eaten little aside from your leftovers. I'll eat at this time too, but usually dinner leftovers or something breakfast related.

12:30pm-2:30pm.

Nap.

At 12:30 we start winding down and playing quietly, andNorah is almost always out by 1:00pm. Naps vary a lot, but Norah usually wakes up around 2:30pm.

2:30pm-5:00pm.

This is by far, my LEAST favorite part of the day. After being up and at em for 8 hours, I start to get Mommy fatigue. Norah is usually a little cranky due to being bored, sick, teething, or who knows what lately. She's begging to watch TV. I'm saying no. We're out of games to play. Meh. In the warm months, I think I will love this time because we can get back to the park or the pool. But in the winter, I've usually already used up all my tricks. We might bundle up and walk anyway. Or just play inside and try to find new ways to pass the time. On days I need to grocery shop, this is when it gets done. If I'm desperate for something to do or we really need a change of scenery, the library is a always a hit. Sometimes we will watch our first or a second episode of Mickey. Since Norah is literally obsessed with it, I try to keep it to 0-30 min a day of "screen time", but sometimes I'm weak, and it is what it is.


5:00pm-6:30pm.

Prepare and eat dinner. Sometimes this includes Dad and dinner is more elaborate. If it's just us girls, dinner is a closer reflection of lunch, just with pasta or a protein instead of a sandwich.

6:30pm-7:15pm.

Occasionally we have evening plans or go out to eat, but most nights we're home, and this is our "wind down" time. Read books. Play in Norah's room. Take a bath. Just general end of the day stuff. We try to be in pajamas by 7:00pm and are usually in the crib shortly after, but it's flexible depending on what's going on.

And that's that.

Obviously the grown ups don't go to bed at 7:15pm, but honestly we are generally so beat from the day, not much happens after that worth mentioning. A little clean up, a lot of laying on the couch, checking emails, taking care of any bills or correspondence, and watching a show or three.

I'm almost always in bed by 10:00pm, then the next day, we're back at it.

This stage is difficult because we are in the throws of "separation anxiety", where N wants me to be holding her or next to her almost all the time, but most of the time, I actually enjoy that :) The days are long and stay at home parenting is not for the weary, but I cannot imagine it any other way.

Favorite Toys: little people, step 2 slide, mickey mouse clubhouse figurines.

Favorite Books: lady bug girl and her momma, where is baby's belly button, spot books

Favorite Activities: library, park, our mom + baby "school" program (basically preschool but the parent stays), thursday morning play group, museum center

Our activities and play groups have been my saving grace. I recommend all parents, especially stay at home parents, find a network of parents with kids in a similar stage of life. It's been great for my sanity, Norah's social skills, and I've met some of the most wonderful friends.

Tuesday, February 9, 2016

a moving update

And just like that, its been over a month. Yikes. I was really hoping to post about each and every step of our move, but turns out there was just no time for that.

2016 has been off to a great, but also challenging start. Mom is busy coordinating everyone schedule, visiting pre schools, working with contractors, and still trying to keep N in our routine. Dad has been working hard. And Little Bit has been teething and wishing it was warmer so we could actually go outdoors, but thriving besides that. Getting into everything just like a toddler does.

Life in our new house has been great. Since it's winter, we haven't been able to walk to as many places as I'd like, but the few nice days we had this month did allow us to get in some good walks around the new town, to Starbucks, shopping, etc. I've tried to sneak in work on at least on project a day, but that doesn't always happen. We still have to cook, eat, and clean up three meals a day. We still pray daily nap time and bedtime will go well. We still have our usual play dates and activities. I think the biggest change so far has been having much more around us/shorter drive times places, and having to adjust to a smaller house. Living space here is perfect, as I thought it would be. But the storage is definitely going to be an adjustment. We are getting creative though and I have high hopes that we will soon forget about the abundance of walk in closets at our old house. We'll see!


So far, on the "project" side of things, we've managed to:

-Select and install a new mailbox | here
-Update the light fixtures in the entry way and dining area | here and here
-Paint the entry way, living + dining area, back hall area, bathroom, Norah's room, Norah's bathroom, and start painting our bedroom. We went with all Benjamin Moore paints. Silver Satin for the main spaces. Baby Green for the kid spaces. Serenata for the bedroom spaces. Simply White for the bathroom. I will eventually post before and afters.
-Buy and build wardrobes to make up for our lack of closet space
-Decorate approximately 70% of the house
-Unpack everything besides kitchen items and maybe 2-3 small boxes


We are hoping to soon be able to :

-Finish paining which includes finishing our room, and starting and finishing the second downstairs bedroom, all the trim in the house, and maybe the doors
-Possibly paint the mantle
-Update shelving in the front closet
-Replace the bedroom closet doors
-Finish decorating
-Touch up some dings in the bathtubs

A lot of this has been mildly on hold because we're still waiting on our couch, living room chairs, a rug, and a sideboard to be delivered. Thankfully, the sideboard and couch should be here this or next week. After several weeks of waiting, this is music to my ears.

The kitchen details I think I will save for another post, but long story short, demo isn't even schedule yet. Insert eye roll emoji. We're hoping that will begin at some point this month.

And that's that! I've moved a lot in my life but moving with a toddler is a whole other ballgame. 

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