Friday Thoughts

If there is one thing I can't stand, it's internet trolls.  The kind of people who post offensive/disrespectful comments on anything - blogs, Facebook, news articles, etc.  The internet has given people a sense of anonymity and some take it as an opportunity to be rude, judgmental, and condescending.  And it's increased immensely since the election.  Hate speech and free speech are two very different things.  I'm fine with a difference of opinions (and believe me, I've partaken in many discussions on controversial subjects), but I'm not fine with disrespect.  Rant over.

Moving on...

W has been so funny lately.  I love his expressions... "Mommy, you are going to be so surprised when I tell you my snack today; you are not going to believe it!".  He occasionally calls A and I Mayor Daddy and Mayor Mommy.  "You look handsome today, mommy!"

Speaking of W, I said something really stupid to him the other day.  He fell at school and when I arrived to pick him up, he was sitting on a chair with his leg up, icing his knee.  I asked if he cried and he told me no.  I then said, "Well, you are very brave."  Immediately, I realized my mistake.  The next day he fell and started crying and between tears, he said, "I am not brave anymore!".  It broke my heart and I quickly explained that crying does not mean you are not brave and it's definitely ok to cry when you're hurt or upset.  I told him I thought he was VERY brave.  It was an important lesson in choosing my words carefully - especially around little ones who are always listening.

I follow a few different bloggers who share their Stitch Fix items among other great fashion finds and I always wonder if they continue wearing their Stitch Fix pieces after sharing them on the blog.  I can assure you that I wear my Stitch Fix clothing all the time.  Case in point (this was in one week)...

1.  Top from Stitch Fix 5

2.  Vest from Stitch Fix 11

3.  Jeans from Stitch Fix 11 (one of my favorite pairs of jeans EVER)

4.  Top from Stitch Fix 3

I also wore this outfit recently (top from Stitch Fix 3) and the black jeans I received in my most recent fix have become a wardrobe staple.

So YES, I love Stitch Fix and wear the clothing I've received very often.

Weekend Recap

First things first.  Shout out to Amanda at My Show.  I’ve been following her blog since I was pregnant with W.  Our kids are close in age and we both work full time so I feel like I can relate to her and I enjoy reading her perspective.  Anyway, she had a contest for a gift card and I won!!  I NEVER win anything.  EVER.  So that was super exciting.  Check out her blog!!

If I had to pick one word to describe the weekend it would be hectic.  I think S must be going through the terrible twos because whoa… he was challenging.  Saturday started out with swim lessons for W.  That went really well according to A and I’m so happy W is enjoying it.  After swimming, W and A met up with S and I at a local restaurant.   I ordered S an apple juice in a straw cup, which was a huge mistake.  He had a fit when A tried to help him hold the cup down (as opposed to his method  of tipping it so the juice spilled all over).  We didn’t realize how much juice he was actually drinking (on a somewhat empty stomach) so when I took W to the bathroom, S projectile spit up all the juice all over the table.  Yet another example of my kids puking more than anyone else. :|  During the course of lunch, W had to pee 3 different times and S had another fit when we told him to sit.  I ended up taking him to the lobby.  Luckily the restaurant was pretty empty and no one seemed to notice.  Not sure what was going on with him – he’s usually great and we’ve been to that restaurant many times.

I know he looks innocent, but don't be fooled!

After that fiasco, we decided that A would take S home for a nap and I would take W to the grocery store to do our weekly shopping.  Well, S screamed the entire way home and refused to nap.  W was great at the grocery store and so helpful.  I definitely got the better end of the deal. 

After shopping, W and I picked up S and A and headed to the salon.  Both boys really needed a haircut.  You can probably guess how that went.  For some reason, the lady kept trying to use clippers on S and he was terrified of them.  Not sure why she continued to try.  W proclaimed that he liked his hair the way it was and did not want a haircut.  He had the salon laughing at him.  All throughout his haircut (which was 15 minutes tops), he whined and fake cried.  I couldn’t wait to get out of there.

We finally got home and I discovered that Addie had pooped in the house.  A went to unload the groceries and upon opening the trunk, the orange juice fell out and spilled all over the driveway.  Geesh.  At that point, I was ready to be done with the day.  I can’t even remember if we had dinner that night (pretty sure we did).

Sunday, church and Starbucks were great.  Both boys were awesome and S took an early nap.  That afternoon, we headed out for a get-together with A’s side of the family.  It took us an hour to get there and the boys do not do well when they’re in the car for a while (we could never handle a road trip!).  For the last 15 minutes, S was screaming and W was yelling because S was screaming.  It was awful.  And we seriously got every traffic light red.  When we finally made it, the boys were pretty good, but S just wanted to run around and climb the stairs.  Luckily, we had a room all to ourselves so it worked out pretty well (except for when S escaped to climb stairs).  The ride home was even worse.  We had to stop twice so that W could pee.  S screamed for at least half of the drive.  Maybe it’s just me, but I find kids crying in the car to be extremely stressful.  There was no way to make S feel better – he just wanted out and I felt helpless.  I offered snacks, drinks, my phone, sang to him – nothing worked.  And then W started up because he didn’t want to listen to S crying.  It was really bad.  No more long car rides any time soon.  On the bright side, no one puked.  So there’s that.

This picture has nothing to do with anything... Thursday was International Kiss a Ginger Day so I participated.

When we got home, we brought our things in and I basically collapsed in the chair.  Addie had to go out and A got his coat on and grabbed her leash.  She looked at him and walked over to me.  I said “Addie, aren’t you going out?”  She hopped on my lap, gave me a kiss, and then hopped off and headed out with A.  It was really cute.  Dogs always know how you’re feeling. :)  I think I’m actually happy to be at work today…

Friday Thoughts

The new year has brought a few challenges our way.  A’s car wouldn’t start one day and we had to call a tow truck.  It turned out to be the battery, as we suspected.  For some unknown reason, A was unable to jump start his car, hence the tow truck.  We also had to purchase new tires and A also needs new brakes.  He’s not the best at maintaining his car. :\  Then we received a call from the tenants in our townhouse.  Apparently one of the pipes to the toilet leaked and soaked through the floor so there is a large water mark on the ceiling below.  Seriously?!?  I know these are just inconveniences, but still very frustrating.  And I’m sure that will be a costly repair.  I look forward to the day we can sell that house.  Unfortunately, right now, I think we’d just break even on what we owe.  Damn housing market crash.  Oh, and did I mention our property taxes for the townhouse (which is hilarious because townhouse = NO PROPERTY) increased and we have to pay an extra $250/month?  What.the.heck??

Since our failed FET, there is a pregnant lady everywhere I go.  I’m not even joking.  Grocery store, restaurant, Starbucks, library, church...  On the day of my blood test, I was leaving work and a colleague stopped me in order to introduce me to his daughter who just so happens to be pregnant with twins.  Impeccable timing.  And why does she get two??  While I’m learning to accept our situation and I think I’m doing well all things considered, I’d be fine without the constant reminders that I am not having a baby and everyone else seemingly is.

So happy it’s Friday, but not so happy that we have a really busy weekend ahead.  Here’s hoping I can find some downtime.  Also hoping that A and I can catch up on This is Us.  Love, love that show!

How about something a bit more uplifting?  Both boys love when I pretend to be a monster and chase them around the house.  S has starting asking to be chased by yelling Ma!, grabbing my hand, and then running from me while looking back to make sure I’m in pursuit.  Their little legs move as fast as possible through the kitchen and living room, while laughing the entire time.  It’s something I never want to forget.

When I dropped W off at school today, two of his teachers asked how dinner was on Wednesday?  Apparently they had commented on W looking so dapper and inquired why he was dressed up.  He told them it was because he was having dinner at the country club.  I can’t stop laughing.  Technically we did have dinner at the country club, but it’s very casual, dinner is buffet style, and we are the only patrons under 80 years old.  We all love going because the people we meet are incredibly kind and dinner is delicious and cheap.  It does not require dressing up – we all wear jeans, but I love that W thought he should look the part.  Bahahaha!!  The truth is I love dressing up the boys.  I figure I only have so much time before they have their own opinions on what to wear.  Also I wish I was princess Kate and love dressing the boys like they’re ready for a play date with Prince George. ;)

Happy Friday!

We started wearing our valentine gear... Eligible bachelors in the house! :)

W at 4

W’s latest obsession is time.  His favorite time is 7:11 and he makes an effort to see both 7:11am and 7:11pm.  He checks the time throughout the day and has begun to tell us when there are 5 minutes until 7:11, 4 minutes until 7:11, and so on.  He still loves building neighborhoods and towns and is really into pretend play these days.  He still wants to be a garbage man when he grows up and looks forward to greeting our recycling truck driver with treats any time he doesn’t have school.  W seems to prefer spending time with adults to spending time with kids and people often comment that he speaks like an adult.  His teacher told us that she loves having conversations with him.  W is not very interested in sports with the exception of swimming (though much to our dismay, he tells us he’s a Packers fan).  He’s excited for his upcoming swim lessons, but still doesn’t like going under water.  He’s gotten much better with S over the past few months.  There are many times W likes to help S by bringing over snacks, toys, or S’s dinner plate.  He’ll sing to S when S is crying, which is oh so sweet.  He will also help S take off his coat and opens his apple sauce for him.  And then there are many times W tells us he doesn’t like S and gets mad at S for taking toys.  I think their relationship will always be a work in progress, but it has improved. J  W is very good with letters and numbers.  He knows all letters, most letter sounds, and can identify numbers through 100.  I’m hoping to work on learning to read soon.  One thing he is not interested in and struggles with is writing.  Despite our efforts, he does not hold a pencil or crayon correctly and gets frustrated when we correct him.  He’s still a picky eater, but we’ve seen some improvement.  His favorite show is Bubble Guppies and his favorite “movie” is Charlie Brown Christmas.  Poor S has been called a block head many times thanks to Charlie Brown.  W loves to help and is really great at it.  I’ve mentioned this before, but he loves to help with dinner, feeds Addie, brings up garbage cans, wipes up spills, cleans windows, etc.  I love that about him.  He is still very much obsessed with owls and his Mommy Owl remains his favorite.  He makes us laugh daily with the things he says.  He has a bed time spiel that he repeats every night: “Goodnight and sleep tight and don’t let the bed bugs bite.  And if you get cold, mommy, look for a little blanket.  And if you can’t find one, you can knock on my door or talk through the re-monitor (baby monitor) to me and I will bring you a blanket.  I love you forever.  I love everyone in this family forever.  I hope you have good dreams.  And I’ll see you in the morning.  Goodnight.  Bye bye.”  I really need to record it!  The other day, he told A: “You need to make me breakfast or I will get a tummy ache and we don’t want that.”  We were sitting in the armchair and I asked him if he’d still cuddle with me when he was older.  His response: “Yes.  But we might need to move to the couch because my butt will be bigger.”  I love this boy so much.

Weekend Recap

Not much to report about our weekend.  W started swim class on Saturday morning.  He and A go together.  I like that it’s a good opportunity for them to bond and I also appreciate that A is nearby to keep a close eye on W.  I get nervous thinking about him in the water.  S and I headed out to run a couple errands and then met up with A at the tire shop so A could purchase new tires for his car.  Exciting stuff.  We grabbed lunch while we were out and spent the remainder of the day playing at home.

Sunday was our usual.

This week is going to be a long one.  First full week back.  Usually, I work from home Wednesday and Friday, but I have to come into the office this Wednesday.  Boo.  I’m also ready to be done with single digit temperatures, but we still have about 2 months of that. :P

Did anyone see Meryl Streep’s speech at the Golden Globes last night?  Love her!!

Stitch Fix #13

I think the photos are especially bad this time.  Do I say that every Stitch Fix post?  Probably.  But I attempted to take photos right after Christmas and the house looked like a toy explosion.  This was pretty much the only spot that wasn’t a complete disaster and the lighting was horrible.  My apologies.

As always, my referral code:  stitchfix.com/referral/5478084

I actually opened up my Fix at my mom’s house because she loves seeing what I receive and I was anxious to see too.  Upon opening the box, I really liked everything, however the Lada Cowl Neck Sweater looked enormous.  I knew that was intentional and it was the style of the sweater, but I thought it would overwhelm me.  And I was wrong.  While it was big, it was also so soft and warm and I loved the oversized look (especially since I’ve gained weight)!!  I thought the color looked great on me too.  It looked adorable with the Black Cordelia Skinny Jeans I requested and booties and I think I’ll get a lot of use out of this considering our temperatures are supposed to be in the teens for the next few days.  And these jeans were awesome.  I have no black skinny jeans so I requested a pair and Kate delivered.  KEEP and KEEP

Ok, just ignore the print - I was trying to remember the lipstick shades I was wearing.  But this gives a close up of the beautiful colors in the sweater.

Next, the La Roda Pullover Sweater (also paired with my black skinny jeans and my awesome slippers).  I had this pinned and I love that Kate checked out my Pinterest board.  The sweater is a pretty dark blue.  I wore this the day after Christmas when my side of the family came over for brunch and it seemed perfect for the occasion.  Cozy and casual.  The photos don’t do it justice, but I liked that this was a longer length and somewhat fitted without being too clingy. KEEP

Then it was time for the Novah Elbow Patch Textured Cardigan.  I also had this (or something similar) pinned.  I wear long gray cardigans all the time because I’m always cold and gray goes with just about everything.  This is the softest cardigan I’ve ever encountered and I loved the elbow patches.  I’ve had this for about 10 days and have probably put it on 5 of those 10 days.  It’s that soft and comfortable.  KEEP

My other pair of awesome slippers.

Finally, the Sylvester Split Neck Blouse.  Do you like how S is trying to pull me away?  He was very neglected for the 5 seconds it took to take these two photos. :)  This is one of my absolute favorite colors to wear and I liked that the blouse had a little stretch to it.  Blouses like this are great for work and I love that you can layer them under a cardigan (see previous always cold statement).  I would not recommend wearing this to the movies because I somehow ended up with several popcorn kernals down my shirt… classy. ;)  KEEP

I thought each of these pieces was great for work or a day at home.  Once again, Kate nailed it.  Now if only I could get some decent photos… ;)

Time Off

My goodness, it was hard to come into work today.  I’m so thankful for time off, spent with family.  I was off for 11 days straight.  It was just what I needed to recharge and it definitely helped my heart heal.  I still have no idea what our future holds and maybe we’ll find another way to grow our family, but I do know that my boys are my everything and when life gets me down, a few days with them will definitely lift my spirits.  So what did we do for those 11 days?  Well, the first 4 were all about Christmas – preparing for it and then experiencing it. 

Tuesday morning, I headed out to visit a friend and her new baby.  It was a bit difficult given our situation, but there was no way I was going to miss out on meeting this sweet baby boy.  Emily and I have been friends since middle school and she was in my wedding.  It took a long time for this little guy to make an appearance – Em had wanted a baby for years.  And then it happened and I was overjoyed for her.  Happy I got to snuggle her little one who just so happens to share his name with my dear husband.  A and I planned to see a movie that afternoon.  We hadn’t been to the movie theater in a long time – like over a year.  So while I was visiting Emily, she asked if we had reserved tickets.  My response: huh??  So I got home and told A that people were reserving tickets these days.  We had no idea.  And sure enough, our movie was sold out.  We had the wonderful Jane coming over to watch the boys so we went out for lunch instead.  It was great to have time to ourselves.  I really enjoy talking to A and it was so nice to do that without being interrupted 1429 times. ;)

Wednesday, A and I took the boys to the local library.  They had fun playing with legos, going to story time, and working on magnetic puzzles.  We let W choose our lunch destination and he picked Chili’s.  The boys did great and after lunch, we headed home so that S could nap.  That evening, we met my mom for dinner at Bonnie Brook.  Definitely a fun day.

Thursday was spent at home.  It was Addie’s last day at doggy day care.  We’re still sad that this place closed after Addie’s been going for 7 years, but we did find a new place.  More on that coming up.  A and the boys dropped her off and then brought home Starbucks.  I had a haircut scheduled for the afternoon and I was really nervous about it.  I’ve been going to the same stylist for about 15 years and a few days prior, the salon called to say that my stylist would be out for a couple weeks because her mom was very ill.  They had rescheduled me with someone else.  I have bad hair and things hadn’t exactly been going my way lately so I was sure the appointment would be a disaster, but I told myself to give this girl a chance.  It was just hair and could be fixed if necessary.  Well, the new girl was amazing!  My hair looked great and she did some scalp massage thing while washing my hair that was awesome.  And she was cheaper!!  I was so impressed!  And relieved!! :)

Friday, I asked my mom if she would mind watching the boys for a couple hours.  A is such a movie person and I am not.  I knew he was really disappointed that we didn’t get to see a movie on Tuesday so we decided to try again and actually reserved tickets this time around.  We saw La La Land and we both really liked it.  Also what the heck happened to movie theaters??  The theater looked more like a stadium.  We had reclining seats and the chair arms moved up so that you could basically create a couch.  I’m not complaining, but geesh, you don’t go to a movie in a year and everything changes!!  Anyway, we enjoyed the movie and then picked up the boys and headed to one of our favorite pizza restaurants.  After that, W had a sleepover at Nani and Papa’s house.  I think he enjoyed some one on one time and so did S.  And S slept until 7:30 the next morning!!  It was glorious!!

Saturday, I went and got a pedicure.  I hadn’t had one in years.  A was planning to see the new Star Wars movie with a friend (not my thing) so I asked if he’d mind if I did something for myself.  I so enjoyed it and chose glittery purple since it’s W’s favorite color.  Then it was off to lunch to meet up with W, Nani, and Papa.  We finished off the day with W helping me make my “famous” mac and cheese.

Sunday, everyone was just a bit off.  S woke during the night.  Our alarm didn’t go off and we had to scramble to get ready for church.  Both boys were just in a bad mood.  W didn’t want to get dressed for church and we were already running really late.  At church, S started crying and we had to go to the lobby.  W loudly announced that he didn’t want S to be in our family and the people behind us started laughing.  Starbucks was ok, until it was time to leave.  W didn’t want to wear a coat despite it being 26 degrees outside and proceeded to have a full on meltdown.  At that exact moment, S also started having a tantrum because he wanted to hold a ceramic ornament and I wouldn’t let him.  I actually started laughing because they were both a mess.  Sorry, Starbucks patrons!!  One of the baristas came over and picked up S and he was so surprised that he stopped crying so that was cute.  Once we got home, A went to the Star Wars movie and both boys remained cranky until we started coloring 2017 calendars.  After that, things were better.

Monday, W’s friend was supposed to come over for a play date, but she wasn’t feeling well.  W requested pizza for lunch so we had that.  Afterwards, I had a headache and wasn’t feeling great so I laid on the couch and fell asleep!  I actually took a nap and the boys were quiet enough!!  Craziness.  When I woke up, on a whim, we decided to take the boys bowling.  It was so much fun!!  S was adorable and any time it was his turn, he would very enthusiastically run to the lane and push his ball.  W was great too.  Also, on this day, Addie tried out a new doggy day care.  We found one down the road, but were nervous about how Addie would do at a new place, with different dogs.  She’s a rescue dog and we absolutely love her, but she can be a little difficult and is leash aggressive.  This place also didn’t open until 7am, which was too late for A to drop her off.  I already bring W to school 3 days per week, so wasn’t thrilled to have another drop off added to my schedule, but would make it work if I had to.  Anyway, the owner was super nice and said he had no concerns.  If Addie was used to going to the other day care for several years, she’d be fine at the new one and he said that A could drop her off at 6:45am, which is a tremendous help.  He posted photos of Addie on their FB page and she looked to be having a great time.  As an added bonus, they have day care on Saturdays, which is awesome.  I’m so relieved.  Monday was such a great day and a great start to the new year. If vacation had to end, I’m happy it ended on a positive note. :)

Back to the grind!