Weekly Wins

Haaaaaaaappy Friday, friends! We made it to another end of the work week! 

I've had some wins this week (along with some losses, but we wont focus on those haha)

~I won my first week of my fantasy football league. Given, this was with a lot of help and guidance from MG, but it was fun. Hoping I have the same luck this week!

~My 90 minute massage was GLORIOUS on Wednesday after work. MG picked up Ella from the parking lot of the massage place so I didn't have to drive home and back, and took care of her while I was in massage bliss. It was one of the best massages I've ever had! (Oh and when I got home, MG was making dinner...maybe this is a separate win for the week all together) #keeper

~these Toms booties arrived this week and I love them! I have skinny ankles and am hoping they look ok on me, but they are so cute! I wasn't sure about the canvas in the online picture but in person, it's not even noticeable. And they are COMFY! Fall trend win!

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~I've been SO much better about making my way over to all of your little blog spaces now and am so happy to connect with you all again! I realized how much I missed you all, and this awesome network of friends!

~Our second youngest niece turned 12 this week. TWELVE! I knew this girl when she was 5 and now she's old enough to hold my baby...where is time going?

~I've now made it through 4 weeks of being back at work. I will say, I like the adult interaction throughout the day, and getting to work with my kids from last year again. I still miss my little peanut more than words, though. Working mom, SAHM...whatever the case, mom'ing ain't easy!

I know, I can't believe it either!!

Have a great weekend!!

Dear Thursday....

I'm SO glad that today is Thursday (although I'd be happier if it was Friday, but I'm not trying to wish my days away...just wanting those weekends with my little bear), and had some notes to write out today:

Dear Traffic, you suck! Taking me 50 minutes to get home from the dentist on Tuesday was NO JOKE! Also, thanks to my GPS for routing me into a service road that would have kept me in 20+ minutes MORE of backed up traffic if I hadn't taken a side street followed by back roads home. UGH!

Dear Massage, bless you for undoing the stress and tension I've been building up in my muscles for the past few weeks. Going back to work has had it's challenges and I've definitely been storing it up. A welcome surprise was that I booked a 90 minute massage instead of a 60 minute one so I got an extra 30 minutes of mushy muscle making!

Dear Below Deck and Bachelor in Paradise, you were/are both disappointing. I was so bored by BIP this season, that I was thankful for the fast forward button SO many times throughout. I found by the finale on Monday I really didn't really care about ANY of the couples/non-couples (I did enjoy #scallopfingers though hehe, and texting with Brittany throughout the episodes). Below Deck this season is a snoozefest. Why they decided to have a whole crew of newbies is beyond me but it's not entertaining. I fell asleep through Tuesdays episode and am not even going to go back and watch it.

Dear Ella bear, I'm ready for you to be done with this 4th leap. It's taken a bit for it to hit in full force but I think we are in it! Thankful that you should only have about another week of it before we get the "sunshine" again. I still love you and that smile though! 

Dear iPhoneX, whyyyyyyy do you cost $1,000??? When iPhones costed $700 I thought that was ridiculous but a GRAND??? I wonder what the monthly payments through Verizon are on that (since they no longer let you just buy the phone outright for a lesser price). My word....#butdangitlookscool

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Dear HS Teenagers, please do not choose to march your butts across the street from school into our development again after school so that you can watch 2 girls fight one another in the parking lot (I wish I was joking). There is NO NEED for this kind of behavior OR for 30-40 of you to be onlookers.  Also, when you get "caught" by an adult, the appropriate response is not to use racial slurs and cuss words. Be contributing members to society, not the scum of it. Disappointing. (Also, is this really what teenagers do these days??? I was disgusted, and quite frankly terrified seeing this happen). I hope the school officials find out who you are and put a stop to this nonsense.

Dear Florida and Texas friends, I'm praying for you all and am donating to support the relief efforts. I'm so sad to see the devastation that's left behind from these hurricanes, but so encouraged by people FINALLY coming together over something--just sad that it has to be over something like this.

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Gonna do my best to get my weekly wins together for tomorrow! Hope your Thursday is sunny and sweet!

{WHW}: Randoms

Happy hump day friends!

What's hap-"pinning" around these parts:

~My breast pump sounds like it's saying "wa-boom" which makes me think about the dude from Rachel's season on The Bachelorette. Which is not a fun thought while you're pumping.

~I think I need a notepad by my bed so I can write down whatever things are running through my head in the middle of the night (or early morning). During the weekends I can sleep and not have a care in the world, but come Sunday through the work week, I'm up at 4 thinking about work and all the things I have to do. 

~Our pediatrician said that Ella can start trying foods now, including a little bit of peanut butter a couple of times a week. As excited as I am to try this out, I'm nervous too--especially about the peanut butter. What if she has an allergic reaction???

~When the fire alarm goes off while you're pumping in your office

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~helping Kindergarteners during the first week of school during dismissal was like trying to herd cats...it was like a comedy of errors. This one is crying because his backpack is making him too sweaty. Another one is saying their bag is too heavy, and then 3 others are laughing and not paying attention to the line that's leaving them.

~On Monday, MG made a new recipe: Cilantro lime Shrimp Foil Packets on the grill. My heavens they were delicious!! So sad we tried this so late in the season, but definitely adding it to the list come next Spring/Summer!

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~I go to help at a second school two afternoons a week. I've been doing this for the past several years because my caseload at my school isn't high enough and each year it's usually a different school than the previous ones. Well, the one I'm at this year, I'm working with a hoarder. I walk in there and there's no place for me to put my things down, or even sit. She has to clear off the main table for me to be able to work with kids. The kids are so distracted and hard to get to focus (and I can't blame them because it's hard for ME to focus!). I also have to pump here which gives me the heebie jeebies...look at these pics!

~Hypocrit copycats make me laugh...and eyeroll

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~Is there a problem that cupcakes can't solve? Maybe. Cupcakes and wine? Not likely :)

~I have a massage scheduled for after work today, and had a dentist appointment after work yesterday. The logistics of picking up Ella from daycare, getting her home, and myself to the massage (and the dentist) are stressful enough to have all kinds of extra knots for the therapist to work out #commutingsucks

Hoping the rest of the week goes quickly and smoothly! Link up with Jessi and I and share what's hap"pinning" with you!

Weekend Update

This weekend was relatively low key, but had some gorgeous weather with it here in Virginia (Florida friends, I know you were not so lucky. Still sending my thoughts and prayers that you all made it through these nasty hurricanes unscathed!!)

~Friday I left my second school right at dismissal and got stuck waiting for all of the kids to load up and the busses to leave. Then got stuck in traffic going to pick up Ella at daycare. It took me an hour to get home!

~My day was brightened by a friend/old coworker sending me and two other ladies I work with cupcakes from Georgetown Cupcakes! (Unfortunately I was at my 2nd school when they arrived, but they were kept safe for me over the weekend). I could have used those cupcakes in that traffic. Or a drink--but drinking and driving is frowned upon so the cupcake would have had to do lol

~Friday evening we went out to dinner with our neighbors and their two kids before they leave for Dubai (today)! This is the neighbor who brought us meals when I had Ella, has given us toys and books, etc. Not to mention she's just been a great source for me in my new-mom-ness. We are definitely sad to see them go, but was glad to get to go out with them and say our good-byes.

~Unfortunately the waiter took forever and a day to bring us the check (we are talking 30+ min) so Ella was hanging on by a thread since it was welllllll past her bedtime--she didn't fuss though. As soon as we got home, we tried bedtime with both arms unswaddled and she conked out!

~Saturday we went to Costco because we are old and that's what old people do on the weekends lol. Even more exciting? We picked up Cooper's seizure meds, some blueberries, chocolate covered pretzels (the highlight) and dental floss. Yep, we are living large over here!!! haha

~Saturday afternoon we went for a walk at a little park/wetlands by our house for a change of pace--we hadn't been there for about a year and it was fun to walk around and then came home and spent some more time outside on the deck. Ella LOVES being outside

~MG and I took Ella to grab some Mexican food at a restaurant that's close by and usually really fast. We sat outside since it was so nice out, but I think our waiter forgot to put in our order so we ended up being there much later than we'd anticipated (again!) and Ella had a hard time going to bed that night because her sleep schedule was all off. At least there was Mexican food haha

~Sunday morning we ran errands and Ella decided to take her first ever 1 hour and 45 minute nap....in her carseat! She sleeps 2 hours at daycare but never more than 45ish minutes with us. The fact that she did it in her carseat was even more impressive!

~We watched the first NFL football game of the season with a friend (was supposed to be more but one guy came down with Hand Foot and Mouth and we decided to let him stay home lol) where MG's Eagles took on my dumpy Redskins and won. Ella's first football experience:

At least my fantasy football team got a Win this week!

~We took a late afternoon walk after the game, made dinner, and then put a sleepy/semi-cranky baby to bed and I proceeded to pass out on the couch around 8:45 because I can't stay up until 10 anymore apparently haha

Hoping your weekend was nice, and that all of my Florida and Texas friends (and everyone else in the hurricane's path) stayed safe!

My Weekly Wins

Happppppy Friday! I dunno about you, but even with Monday off this week, it still felt like a LONG week (but thank goodness for 3 day weekends and could we pretty please have them EVERY weekend??)

Even though this week felt a little long, there were still some things to put in the win column:

~MG took my car in to get an oil change so that I wouldn't have to and I appreciate not having to take on that task after a work day (or spending the time doing it on the weekend). #actsofservice

~The Ella love fest at daycare has continued into this week. Every morning when I drop Ella off, the oldest boy gets so excited and tells Ella how much he loves her. He started preschool yesterday and kept saying how Ella was going to come with him. Also, this picture of them snuggling basically makes my heart melt:

her head looks massive here lol

~Ella bear had her first giggle last weekend and has had some smaller ones throughout the week. It's now my mission to get smiles and laughter on the daily.

~MG and I inherited an iPad from my SIL whose company was upgrading theirs. So we got a relatively new one, in great condition, for $75. I've been using it when I cook (to look at recipes) and to play with in general. My laptop hasn't been touched in about a week lol.

~MG and I have dinner plans tonight with some neighbor friends who are going to be moving to Dubai. I'm not happy that they're leaving because she has been such a good friend and SO helpful in the first weeks and months of being a new mom. I'm glad we're getting to spend some extra time together before they leave on their adventure. Hoping it's not goodbye forever!

~I got to spend time with my mom on Wednesday after work. She came down before traffic got bad and was there when I got home from work. We had dinner together, and she got in some time with Ella. Even though it was shorter than the time we'd spent together during the summer, it was still nice getting to spend the few hours together.

~I joined a girl's fantasy football league with some of our friends. MG has been a huge help since I have little to no idea about what I'm doing, but apparently I/we drafted a pretty decent team. It's been fun being a small part of the fantasy football world with MG--and who knows, maybe I'll get good at it!

~MG's coworker gave us a TON of toys that his daughters no longer use. An activity block, a standing activity table, a walker with toys...Ella is definitely going to be in stock with activities once she's a little older to use them. The cutest part: the coworker told his daughter (5 years old) that the toys would be going to another little girl who would get to love and enjoy them and she apparently got so happy that she started helping to "clean" the toys before packing them up.

~Ella has been falling asleep without needing a pacifier the past 3 nights (she actually pulls it out of her mouth when I've tried to put it in). Tonight we're gonna try unswaddling both arms and hope that she's still able to put herself to sleep. We've been doing one arm for a couple of weeks, in anticipation of her being able to roll from back to tummy (which she's showing signs of doing soon), so hopefully this works in our favor!

The biggest win is that we made it to another Friday and have some really nice weather days ahead of us this weekend! Bring on allllllll of the baby snuggles!

Hope your weekend is fab and you've got some wins this week, too!

For all of my Florida friends...please stay safe! These hurricanes are super scary and I hope it doesn't make landfall, but if it does, be safe!!

{WHW}: Labor Daying

I'm a little late with my weekend recap because well, life. But for what's hap-"pinning" Wednesday I'm recapping our Labor day weekend:

~Got home with Ella and started packing to head up to Philly. Unfortunately, my in-laws came down with some cold/sickness that they were recovering from but we didn't want to risk staying with them, so we had to stay at my two SIL's places. 

~Getting packed up after a full work week (and the idea of being nomads for the weekend) got me into a bit of an anxiety attack because I just feel like I've been going and going non-stop, then the prospect of packing and moving around the whole weekend was just overwhelming to me. We decided to still go up to PA, but to come home Sunday night so we'd have a full day at home.

~We made it up to New Jersey to my SIL's house without any traffic and miss Ella slept the whole ride, and then went down to sleep as soon as we got to their house.

Cooper gets the front seat all to himself these days

~my BIL was having his fantasy football draft and ended up going out with his guy friends and MG got peer pressured into going too, so my SIL and I just stayed home and sat out on the porch drinking wine, eating and catching up until after midnight. We called it #porchtherapy haha

~Saturday morning was super crappy--overcast, cold and rainy. We decided to go to a local indoor farmers market which ended up being kind of a bust because it was insanely crowded barely any room to maneuver a stroller, and no place to sit and eat any of the goodies that they were selling. Boo!

~Early afternoon we packed up and headed to PA to my other SIL's house where we unpacked (again) and just hung out for the afternoon.

~Ella giggled for the first time which was amaaaaaaaaazing! She's done little laughs here and there but the giggle was the best!

~My SIL's friend's surprise party was Saturday night so we got Ella down, my MIL and niece watched Ella (while she slept basically) and we headed out to have some adult time which was so much fun!

~Sunday was a laze around the house kind of morning and then getting ready for a cook out where a ton of people came over. None of which was conducive to a baby napping lol

~Around 7 we packed up the car and baby and made our way home with no traffic and a sleeping baby--got home and put her to bed and she slept until 5 when I fed her and then she went back down until 745. ALLLLLLL the praise hands because mama needed that sleep!

~Monday we ran errands and little miss was so good. She loves looking around at everything even from her car seat in the stroller--she's so alert now that I think everything is super stimulating for her

~Got in some snuggles with Ella bear while she napped in my arms

~MG and I made pesto grilled cheeses for lunch which were heavenly and then we took a walk down/around the lake by our house and picked up a cold brew on the way.

~Ella was super tired around 6 because she didn't get a third nap in for the day so we got her ready for bed early and she was down and out by 6:30pm

It was definitely nice, and much needed, to have a full day at home and to wake up in our own beds instead of spending a good chunk of the day driving and hitting traffic. Thankfully this is a short work week too, so the weekend is that much closer!

Now it's your turn to link up and share what's hap-"pinning" with you!

Weekly Wins: It's Already September

Haaaaaaappy Friday! And Friday before a long weekend makes it THAT much better and sweet!!

I'm coming at you with some wins from this week!

~Ella and I both survived our first full week of daycare with minimal crying. I only teared up a bit on Monday when I drove her. Not to say I like dropping her off, but knowing she's being loved and well taken care of by my friend has given me such a sense of peace. Plus, she is getting so much interaction from her two boys (getting the big brother experience), and the other girl she watches. Which has also made bedtime really easy because sister girl is tiiiiiiiired come bed time.

~Speaking of bed time, Ella slept through the night, with no wake ups three times this week in her crib in her own room. And I've gotten myself down to only checking on her 400 times a night instead of 4 million. #progress :)

~I managed to put together a therapy schedule for my kids that also included two pumping breaks during the days. I'm seeing kids right up until dismissal, but I made it work #flexibility

(Now we'll see if it actually works when I go to implement it next week! ha!)

~We are heading to PA this weekend to see MG's family who haven't seen Ella in about a month since we left the shore. It's always nice to have extra helping hands, and to just get to spend time with the fam since we live far enough away that get togethers just don't happen frequently enough. 

Also on the agenda--going out for a surprise birthday night out for a friend up there--she totally doesn't know and I'm super excited to see her reaction!

~I managed to get out of the house on time every single day this week--something that's not normally an issue for me but because MG leaves for work early, I'm the one responsible for getting myself together, Ella up, changed, and have all of her things packed and put in the car. It's a lot and the mornings go SO fast, but we've got a routine. I'm sure some off days are in our future, but for the first full week, I'm happy with how we've done!

babies in PJ's are simply the cutest thing ever!

~Everyone I know in/around Houston seems to be safe and sound which makes me so relieved. I still can't believe what's going on there and almost feel like the scenes I see are fake because it's SO devastating. Praying for Texas, and sending money to help!

Before I go, can I just rant for a second?

I can't stand when people who you haven't talked to/heard from in YEARS all of a sudden reach out to you via social media (facebook, instagram, etc), feigning an interest in your life ("Congratulations on Ella, you guys look happy...."), to follow it up with:

"I started representing Rodan and Fields...." or whatever other company, etc. 

I had a girl from grad school do this recently and I just didn't respond. You haven't taken an interest in my life in the past 10 years, but NOW that you want to make some money, I'm good enough to talk to? Thanks, but no thanks. 

Ok, rant over....let's get to the weekend! Happy Friday friends!