Day Off Shenanigans

On Monday, Jeff and I both had the day off and I had these great plans of getting a ton done and going downtown for ArtPrize and maybe even dinner outside.  Then Jeff had to sleep in extra since he got home late from work, Noah was being a pain in my butt and of course woke up early since he always does when he knows I'm home.  I was so grumpy by the time Jeff got up I didn't want to do anything.

I'm pretty sure the fertility medicine I'm taking is making me a total mess.  This is month four and every single month while I take my medicine I'm so grumpy and moody and I just don't feel like myself.  There are times I emotionally feel out of control and just want to cry, like everything is so terrible even though I know in my head there is nothing wrong.  The feeling you get when  you're under so much pressure and stress; except I know I'm not...it just feels like it.  Sometimes I feel like I can handle not being able to get pregnant just fine.  I go about my day not really thinking about it much,  but some days, especially when I'm feeling a little extra grumpy and sad I wonder why it always seems like everyone else has such an easy time and I got stuck with all this extra work to have a little baby.

Lucky for me, I have an amazing husband who takes such good care of me. He never gets mad when I'm having a bad day and always wants to know how he can help.  Monday wasn't any different.  He hugged me, and asked me what he could do and he gave me a million options of activities for the day and told me we could do whatever I wanted to make me feel better.   So I took a shower, got myself together and went on with our day.

We stopped by a new doughnut place first that Jeff found with Noah on his daddy daycare adventures, then we ran some errands. Noah after only taking an hour nap was a total mess pretty much the whole time we were out.  Not that you would ever know that from these pictures, but there was a point in the middle of Lowes where Noah decided to lay in the middle of the floor and pound his little hands and feet in the ground because he was angry he couldn't push the cart when we didn't need it, and he couldn't bring the Halloween mickey home that they had set up, and I wouldn't pick his thirty five pound body for twenty minutes around the store.  Then I had to pick him up of the floor anyway and throw him over my shoulder like a sack of potatoes to the check out lane...which of course was the sloo-wweeest lane ever.  Noah took full advantage trying to sneak out of the store and getting into do not enter areas... *sigh*

We finally made it home after a whirlwind day.  We put Noah to bed, and Jeff and I finally sat on the couch watching some TV.  Then we only talked about how great Noah is and how funny he's been and repeating all the funny words he says. Makes me think maybe this is why we had such a hard time getting Noah; so we could really appreciate all the great things he brings into our lives.   This second baby seems to be taking even more effort than the last... but maybe that's because when he's finally here we'll really appreciate having two kids and we'll be able to forget the crappy parts of parenting.

Fall Favorites

It's starting to cool down here in the evenings, high fifties, low sixties and that's making me so excited for fall.  I've been holding of taking out the fall tub because when it's warm, who wants to put out pumpkins?

I bought some felt balls to make some festive garlands for the house and I'm anxiously waiting for a fun little project for Noah and I.  It'll be perfect to work on our colors as he hands them to me.  Plus it's always cheaper when you make it yourself. Bonus.

The front door needs some decorating.  We've already got a massive mum plant which bloomed so awesome and big.  Now we needs a couple of pumpkins and a wreath and we'll be all set!  Pinterest has me all "goggle eyed", as Noah would put it, with all the fall front door inspiration.  I'm especially loving the one below.

via pinterest

For another small project that only takes a second I'm planning on putting our old flower vases to good use and filling them with some mini pumpkins.  They have all sorts of fun colors at the green house right now.  Fun side note story.  We went to pick up some new trees for our landscaping adventures this week and as soon as Noah pulls in he yells, "Red House!" because of course, it looks like a giant house painted red.  Then I murmured, "It's actually a green house", quietly... "Great job buddy!" =)  The rest of the day he would not stop talking about the big red house and how we almost got "all wedt" when the wind blew the rain water into the red house and we had to run out so as not to get wet.

Now, I better stop Pinteresting so much and just go pull out the fall tub and get to decorating.

Zoo Trip, Grandma Time & Lamb for Dinner

Here is the most random update of all time.  We've been doing lots of things but time keeps passing by and with work being so busy it's been tough to update.

Last week we stopped by the zoo on our day off work and let Noah run around.  He wasn't super impressed with the animals but he did enjoy the freedom to go wherever he wanted.  On the other hand, Aunt Molly and I were loving the animals.   Especially the monkeys.  Who doesn't love watching the monkeys?

We've been trying to spend as much time together as possible this last week.  Sneaking in a couple of hours here and there.   Jeff worked all day Saturday so Noah and I stopped by Grandmas house for the day to get some cuddles and grandma snacks.

We finally finished out our weekend stopping at the GR Downtown Market and picking up some rack of lamb for dinner on Sunday.  I love lamb and I always try to get it when we go to a nice restaurant but we were a little worried how we would cook it at home.   It turned out perfect though.  We served it with some cauliflower mash and it was delicious.

These fall weeks, They're so busy and they go so fast.  Noah is just growing up so quick.  We try to do as much as possible as a family when we can and really just soak in every moment.  I've been struggling lately with the transition of summer and lots of family time to piecing together time when we can.  I love set schedules and repetition; I know, boring, but I like knowing what's coming and the fall always throws that out the window.  So many changing schedules and overtime.  Daycare and babysitters cover a lot for us when we're working and things are changing.  To those parents that work 9-5... sometimes I wonder if they know how easy they really have it. Being at work all day and then coming home together as a family. I hope that some day we'll get to do that too and by then I'll probably forget how not cool it is now.  But I hope I don't forget too much because I'll need to remember how grateful I will be for having two parents at home taking care of life together.

House Tour - Living Room Reveal

As I mentioned last week, we took an impromptu tip to ikea to pick up a couple of things I have had on my wish list for a while.  We picked up some new bedside tables for the master bedroom, some stools for the pantry and closet and a couple of other little things.  While we were there I also picked up some new things for the shelves in the living room which was last on my to-do list, and now that it's finished I can finally show it off. 

Not sure if I should keep calling them reveals though,  it's not like I don't show my house on the blog anyway, and really, it's always a work in progress.  I must say though it does feel "complete" at this point and we're moving on to other parts of the house, so I suppose I must document.

27 Months

I figured since we're a quarter way through Noah's third year it would be a great time to document some changes.  Most notable is that he finally talks!  There is no way on his second birthday that I thought he would be talking as much as he is today.  We have conversations! We knew that although he was slower at picking up speech he would eventually learn, but I don't think we thought it would happen so quickly!

He's really stretched out and really not gained much at all since his two year appointment.  It's a good thing though because the doctor told us he was overweight and we "needed to talk about food habits and exercise..." Not fun to hear as parents.  We do live a healthy life though, eating and playing outside a ton so we knew that wasn't the issue and we just needed to give him a little more time, but still hard to hear. Sure enough he's gained a couple of inches the last three months and I'm sure the doctor would be much happier if we went in for a checkup today.  

• Stats: Size 6 Diapers | 3T-4T clothing
• Size: 35 lbs
• Random Notes: Like I said above his speech has made a ton of progress.  He uses sentences and can clearly communicate most of the time.  Sometimes though he says things that sound like words and I'm sure he's saying something specific but we have to ask him to show us so we know what he's talking about.  One of the most surprising things I've noticed is his memory.  He's so great at recalling things that we've talked about and will repeat them over and over and tell you about them. We've found that most of his terrible sleeping is most likely due to daycare as those nights we're mostly the nights he slept bad.  Since switching to only two days a week now that school has started he's been sleeping much better and only getting up once in a while. I'm really hoping this continues.
• Mom Check-In: This was one of the most fun summers I've had in a while.  Jeff and I had a pretty good work schedule set up and with Noah in daycare some days we were able to get a little extra sleep time and a little extra alone time to get things done.  It seemed that when we were together we really were about to enjoy our time instead of worrying about the million things we had to do.  I'm glad the school year has started for us because work is busier and more fun but the busy times also means less family time and less sleep.  The older Noah gets, the more fun we have together and although I still have times where I'm overwhelmed and under rested I'm definitely enjoying motherhood a little bit more. 
• Looking Forward To: I'm really interested how this winter will be with Noah.  It scares me a little that we wont have as many options to spend time outside.  The weekends that Jeff works are long and we're going to need to find new activities to do.  As Noah gets older and is able to do more things I'm hoping we can do some art projects; maybe something we can put around the house.  This winter we'll be looking for the final decorating pieces for the house so there might be some shopping trips ahead for Noah and I.

Labor Day Weekend Recap

I love long weekends so much.  Especially those where both parents are home and not working.  Jeff surprised me Friday night and said he had taken Saturday off AND gotten a babysitter to watch Noah while we spent the day at ikea.  Best husband ever?  We spent most of the day on Saturday shopping and dinner dating and hanging out.  We touched every single thing in the store which is so great without kids.  We stared at the other parents during the super long lines and smiled because we didn't have grumpy, hungry, tired kids to take care of.  Sometimes it's just nice to get away and do things on our own.

Of course, there are not many trips to ikea that don't lead with hours of work afterwards, so on Sunday Jeff spent all morning putting furniture together while Noah and I hung around for entertainment. After nap time we headed out to the beach 'till dinner and enjoyed what the weather channel said will probably be the last really warm weather weekend of the year. 

We finished out the weekend with a long walk around Grand Valley to check out the new construction and let Noah run around.  It's been seven years since I graduated and so many things change every year.  They're always building new housing or classroom buildings and it just keeps getting nicer and nicer.  It's great that we live so close so we can visit and see all the changes.

Sickies all Around and No Sleep

Let me tell you, the last month has been exhausting for me.  First of, these allergies these year are out of control.  I can't seem to get them figured out.  I got a prescription for them with only little success.  I've been popping over the counter allergy medicine and decongestants none stop.  Add in my vitamins and daily aspirin I feel like an old lady taking so much junk.  Especially since I've always been so anti-medicine.  I'm more of a suck-it-up type of person. Also, do you know that allergy medicine and decongestants have a side effect of restlessness? Would have been great if I knew that since I've been taking them right before bedtime.  The amount of sleepless nights in the month of August are ridiculous. 

On top of that, Noah has been refusing to sleep through the night waking up once of twice.  Missing mommy and daddy and not wanting to go back down, for pretty much the last six months; give or take a few days.  Jeff wouldn't admit we had a problem. That is until I started making a calendar of when Noah was waking up. Being the stat-man that Jeff is, he finally realized how not cool these wake ups were. 

But good news guys.  Now that google helped me clear up the medicine issue, like, maybe take them in the morning and not at night. Duh. I'm sleeping like a baby once again.  The best part though is we are on day five of Noah sleeping completely through the night.  Thank Goodness! And lets be real, when mommy sleeps, the world is happier. So on that note, I'm going to try and be much less crabby this month and enjoy the time I get at home with my little family...and hopefully Noah continues to sleep through the night. *fingers crossed*