Five on Friday

Well, well, well. Its been a few weeks since I've shared my 5 Friday randoms with you. That's what happens when I don't work on Friday. I don't blog. Its hard to blog when you're snuggling a sweet little babe. But, here I am. At work on a Friday. Its an actual miracle.

1. The senior class at the high school graduates tonight. It's got me feeling all nostalgic and old. 5 years didn't seem like a big deal. But when you hit year 6, have a baby and a full time stressful big girl job, apparently that's when it hits ya. Here's me and my high school sweetheart after we graduated. Love that man! P.S. I had to find my Myspace to get this picture. Hilarious.

 

2. My favorite app at the moment is timehop. Have you seen or heard of it? It goes back through your social media pages and shows you what you've posted on that day 1, 2, or even 5 years ago. A year ago today Diesel told the world we were pregnant. I love going back through my Facebook and Twitter to see what I was thinking/posting so this app just makes me all sorts of happy. Life really is all about the little things people.

 

3. We're at the end of an era folks. The Great Holly said her good-bye's to the blog world this morning. Although I'm sad to see her go and will miss reading her hilarious posts, she is still pretty amazing. Go leave her some lovin, especially since she's probably the reason why you'll all here in the first place.

 

4. My sweet little babe has been waking up early the last 2 days, which throws my entire morning off and pumping schedule. Not real sure what is going on, but I believe there is formula in our very near, as in next week, future. I'm hoping its just a growth spurt or something and we get back to our regular routine here soon. I swear, as soon as I adapt to his new bed time and wake up time, he throws me a curve ball. I'm not really sure how to deal with this one, but we'll see what happens. He's totally worth it though, even if he does wake up at 5 ready to go, putting him in his jumper at 6 so mama can get ready for work. Hell the jumper is probably the issue. The kid loves that thing!

 

5. This will probably be my attitude for the day. Good luck to me actually getting shit done.

 

Hope you all have a good weekend! :)

 

Right this very second

You know what I love? When the lovely Holly takes a lot of effort out of blogging for me. I've seen these posts floating around and just never use them. I honestly don't know if this is a link up, if I'm suppose to come up with my own categories or what. All I know is I am jacking this straight from her page and using it today.

Wearing... an outfit that is all wrinkled to hell. I basically wadded the shorts up before I put them in my drawer the other day and my shirt has been sitting on our cedar chest since I pulled it out of the bag over the weekend. Before then it was in a heap in the Target sack in our dining room that lacks a dining table for over a week. Do I care that its wrinkled? Not an ounce.

Watching... nada. So I'll change this one to Drinking... butter toffee coffee. It really doesn't taste great. I drink coffee 75% for the caffeine, 20% for the smell, and 5% for the taste.

Wanting... A vacation, but who doesn't? October cannot come soon enough! Orange Beach, here we come. I can't wait to see Tuck on the beach and finally share the awesome-ness that is Orange Beach with Danny. I've talked about this place hundreds, maybe even thousands of times, since we've been together and he finally gets to experience it. I'm super duper excited and I'm sure I will be talking about it at least once a week.

Loving... The fact that I've become a night time shower-er. I've always been a morning shower person because it "wakes me up." That was a lie I told myself. Tucker has forced me to become a night shower person by moving his wake up time up a half hour. You know what I did in that last 30 minutes? Dried my hair, straightened it, did my make up and made my coffee. I contemplated cutting my hair because I thought that would help. I would have been pissed if it didn't work. So, I tried a night time shower and I love it. I get to use this nice body scrub, take my time, shave my legs more than once a week, and actually do something with my hair besides scrunch it and hope it turns out okay. Wearing my hair curly is such a crap shoot so I'm glad those gambling days are over. So, thanks for helpin mama out Tuck!

Testing... Running. The humidity and heat might kill me.

Laughing... My caffeine hasn't kicked in yet so I'm still a zombie. Zombies don't laugh.

Long Weekend Recap

"I really hate 3 day weekends" - Said no one EVER!

This weekend was just about perfect. We didn't do anything spectacular and I got enough crap done around the house to make me feel good enough. Perfect!

I took Friday off to go to the doctor and run a couple errands. Tuck joined me.  Its usually pretty slow at work the day before Memorial Day weekend since everyone is making the last big push to get their corn planted so I didn't want to sit in the office twirling my thumbs when I could be enjoying an extra day with my little dude. It was wonderful. We took a snooze in the morning before we left and slept a little bit more when we got home. We also put together his new toy, which he loooooves.

I've been meaning to get him a jumper for a while but just haven't. I'm so glad I did. He was so happy, but he looked like such a big boy that I literally shed some tears. I'm such a sap these days. We also went and picked out some more hanging baskets, the flowers for our Summers rock and got some tomato plants. I planted the tomatoes and flowers that evenings then we ordered Mexican take out and had dinner on the back porch. It was a lovely night. 

After Tuck went to bed, I got to try a new wine. Go get some.

Saturday we met my mom for lunch and to go look at an apartment with her. Gigi is movin closer! About 30 minutes closer too. And right around the corner from my go-to mall. Dangerous. 

He tries to eat/drink EVERYTHING

That night I went and had a couple beers for my friend Andrea's birthday. Danny was at work so his mom came and stayed with Tuck after he went to bed. She's wonderful!

Sunday we went to church and then to breakfast where I proceeded to make Tuck's thumb bleed while I was picking his nails. I don't cut them in fear of cutting him and making him bleed. Mission failed. Let me tell you, nothing bleeds more than a baby thumb. Holy shit. No amount of pressure or ice (Medic Danny says ice helps stop bleeding? I never knew that) could make that shit stop. It eventually did once we got home but I felt terrible. I also went to run at the high school. I normally go to the park but there was a graduation party for some family friends going on that we said "we couldn't make it too" so I had to find a new place to run so I didn't look like a complete asshat. After we ate dinner (I made these spare ribs in the crock pot) Danny had to complete a cold water challenge. Have you seen these going around on Facebook at all? You get challenged by someone to either jump in a pool/lake/some big thing of water, or donate money to a charity of that persons choice. If you accept the challenge (jump in the water) you can challenge 3 more people (I think 3 is the magic number) and pick a charity. Danny challenged people to donate to the Indy Honor Flight. It's pretty cool. I fully expected him to call my name out as he jumped off the diving board.

Monday was a pretty relaxed day. Danny worked so Tuck and I were on our own. We enjoyed the beautiful weather for a bit. We also watched a lot of Parenthood, paid bills, meal and grocery planned and then met my mom, brother and his girlfriend for a vacation planning dinner. The condo is booked and we are headed to Orange Beach in October! I cannot wait! 

So that is pretty much our weekend. It was pretty wonderful!

Being a Firefighter Wife

Danny has been a firefighter since 2007, during our senior year of high school. He was on a volunteer department at the time we started out relationship. I say relationship because it was a hang out with each other, then we dated, then we broke up, then we started hanging out again, then we broke up, then we got back together for good. High school relationships are complicated, ya know? Anyways. Basically being with Danny meant I would be a firefighter's girlfriend. Having known zero firefighters personally (with the exception of my HS softball coach, but we never talked about his real job)

Almost every time I get asked what Danny does for a living, the other person responds with "Doesn't that make you nervous?" My answer is always no. No, I don't get nervous that he willingly runs into burning buildings for a living. I just don't. He took the necessary classes and has mandatory training every so often. It doesn't scare me. Plus, I can't spend 24 hours, 3 days a week worrying about the possibility of my husband getting hurt. Because guess what? Just because he is at the fire station doesn't mean life stops. That is especially true now that we have a child. Now if we lived in Chicago, or New York, or California with the wildfires I might be singing a different tune. But we don't. Big fires don't happen that often around here, but they do happen. And I do get a little freaked out when he comes home and tells me how he was standing on an awning of a porch. I can't remember if he said it felt like it was going to fall, or it did end up falling, or what. I probably subconsciously chose to block that part out. Because like I said, life doesn't stop. And that is what this is about. All those little things that firefighter families have to get used too, think about and deal with.

1. You have to be ready for plans to change in the blink of an eye. A few years ago Danny and I had just gotten food from Taco Bell (because we've always been super healthy) and as soon as he grabbed the bag, his pager went off. Instead of having a parking lot date like we used too, I was unwrapping his food while he was shoveling it in his mouth and I ate my nachos at the table at the fire station. This happened more often when he was on the volunteer department, but it does still happen. That man loves his overtime. Let's not forget when that pager goes off at 3am.

2. Some holidays are spent alone. During Danny's probationary year after he got hired full time he worked the following holidays: Valentine's Day, Memorial Day, 4th of July, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, and New Years Day. This is part of why I like to make Valentine's Day a multiple day event to make it special. Our first Christmas together my gift to Danny was cooking his favorite dinner and making his favorite cake. I literally cooked and baked all. damn. day. What happened as soon as I set the plates on the table? His pager went off of course. Off he went and he was gone for 3 hours. Christmas got put on hold.
3. Even if those holidays aren't spent alone, that doesn't mean he will feel like participating. It was our second Christmas together and Danny worked Christmas Eve. They were up all night long. Literally, all night. Holidays are stressful enough as it is, but add in not sleeping? I had never dealt with him being up the entire night and having plans the next day. Rightfully so, he was grumpy and I got my feelings hurt. Now? I'll just go to Christmases and things without him. Its better for everyone :)
4. You gain some independence and you learn to love your "me" time. If you don't, you go nuts and the worrying that I talked about in the beginning will get to you. I always try to make my plans with my mom or my girlfriends on days/nights that Danny works so that when he is home we are free to do whatever. That doesn't always work out, but I generally try to do it that way. This also makes surprises easy. I made an entire scrapbook of every single call Danny went on his probationary year. It took me months, and he had no idea I was doing it.
5. As much as you have to learn to be independent, you also need to know when to ask for help. I shit you not, the last 3 times I've gotten the flu, Danny has been at work.  He doesn't do puke so it's probably for the best. I will never forget the first time I got it and I walked out into the kitchen and found Diesel standing on the kitchen table. Didn't just have his front paws on it looking to see what was up there. Literally, whole body, standing on all fours on the table. I gave no shits and knew that I needed to call Danny's mom. She walked in with Gatorade and out with the dog. Another time I needed help was when I had my cyst after Tucker was born. Danny had to go to work the first really bad day and I knew I wouldn't be able to make it a whole 24 hours (at the least) without someone else. I called my mama and she came running.
6. You're always thinking about plan B. This was especially on my mind towards the end of my pregnancy. "What happens if my water breaks and you're at work?" I could call the station directly. "What if you're on a call?" Call Dad or Deidre (his sister). "What if it's snowing. They'll be at the hospital already" (his dad worked for the hospital doing the outside work and his sister is the OB floor manager) Call David. Granted a lot of that thought process had to do with pregnancy hormones and worry, but still you get the idea.

Those are just a few of the things that I've learned or dealt with in the last 6 years. Sure there are days where I wish he had a regular old 9-5 and was home every night and on the weekends. But I wouldn't trade this set up for anything and being a firefighters wife is really special. The day Danny got sworn in, his dad, who retired from the same fire department, took me to dinner and looked me straight in the eye and said "Are you ready for this? It's not going to be easy" He was right that it wasn't going to be easy, and there are still days that it is hard as hell, but I still love it. It doesn't hurt that he looks pretty damn good in his bunker gear either.

Transformation Tuesday: Week 7

This past week was much better on the eating front, but not so much on the exercise part of it. But I did say that I wanted to focus on the eating part. Mother Nature and my health got in the way of my running last week.

I was able to pick up a couple things at the grocery last week to get me through the weekend and I've said before that I do really well in the days following.  That was the case again. I finished off the ice cream Saturday and am going to try to go a whole month without it. Lord help me. I won't cut the wine out though. It's crucial to getting through the week.

Sunday I stocked up on fruit and veggies to snack on and meal planned my little heart out. I made this egg bake to eat for breakfast a couple days this week. I threw in some turkey sausage crumbles so the hubs would be happy with it as well. Things are going well and will continue to as long as I get my ass to the grocery on a weekly basis. That's going to be time consuming, but now that Tucker can lean to the side sit in the cart, it frees up more opportunities to go. So yay for that!

Now the exercise. Remember that lovely cyst I had on my tailbone right after Tuck was born ? Well, I got another one that I discovered last Sunday. I decided to go ahead and run on Monday since it was still in the early stages and luckily it didn't bother me while I did that. So that was a good sign. I got a pack of Epsom salts and took a bath Monday night. Tuesday it was worse and I was pisssssed! I decided to take another bath Tuesday night and if it was worse Wednesday I would call the surgeon I saw in December. I woke up and it was about the same, maybe even a little better, but I called anyways. They said since it was improving then I was doing what I can for now and to call if it got worse and they would give me some antibiotics. I wanted to avoid antibiotics so I wouldn't have to worry about dealing with f'ing thrush again so I took baths the rest of the week. I am happy to report that the cyst is gone. I am so happy I caught it in time. The bad part? I think the glider was the culprit again. Last Friday (the one before Mother's Day) Tucker was up from 4a-6a and I sat in the glider for majority of that time. That's what  happened when we was born. Those first few sleepless nights, I sat in the glider with him I've gotta quit doing that. Sitting with him at bedtime on the spare nursing pillow is okay, but the marathon sessions will need to be moved to the couch.

Last night's C25K (run 5, walk 3, run 5, walk 3, run 5) went so much better than I anticipated. I was pretty much dreading it all day. Maybe this non-runner will be a runner after all?

Weekend Recap

Here we are again. Another Monday. I seriously feel like I blinked and last week was over. Time is flying by and it's killing me. The fact that Danny and I are running every which way, at opposite times mind you, isn't helping either. I  miss my hubby!

I took the day off Friday. Let me rephrase that. I didn't go into the office on Friday. I stayed home in the morning to wait on the repair guy for our heating and air. I had mentioned last week that we were having trouble. By trouble I meant we had blown like 12 fuses in 6 days. We thought it was an electrical problem on the power company's side, but it did end up being a problem with our furnace. There was a little itty bitty teeny tiny knick in one of the wires. I'm going to choose to believe it was a ghost rather than a mouse that caused the knick. If I ever, ever find or see a mouse in my house, all 13 cats are being shipped elsewhere. (Unfortunately 13 is no exaggeration) After that was fixed, I ran my ass around town getting my hardworking husband lunch then my brother and I worked on cleaning out the garage at my Grammy's house so we can sell it. I spent the rest of the evening snuggling with my sweet baby, until hell broke loose from 8:30-11. He screeeeamed almost nonstop and we both cried. Danny was half popped so he took over for a bit while I said a prayer that it was teething. There aren't any teeth yet, but he's been chewing and drooling like its his j-o-b.

He's also been making out with his glo-worm

Saturday morning Tuck and I ate breakfast with my mom and her BFF from high school before it was time to work on the garage again. Saturday night was a much happier time for Tucker and I was so thankful for that since Danny was at work. After Tucker went to bed, I watched the Grey's finale and I'm not gonna lie I did cry. I'm so sad that Meredith lost her person. And I about shit myself when Yang's replacement started talking her mom. AH! I just need to know how many siblings Mer has out there?! I love that show and I really hope they bring their A game next season since a lot of people are pissed about Yang leaving.

Yesterday I woke up and decided I wasn't doing shit until it was time to go to a birthday party. And I didn't do anything but watch Parenthood and snuggle with Tucker and Diesel. We went to the birthday party and after that I took Tucker to the park to walk with me and to the grocery. I was supposed to run but Danny had been up since 3 am when he went out on a really bad wreck in the next town over and was exhausted by the time 5pm rolled around. After that I made dinner, washed bottles and got everything ready for today. 

Such a dude.

Our little fam at the birthday party

On the plus side of it being Monday, it's a 4 day week this week AND next week for me. Love it!

The only thing I miss about high school

From March until the end of May, the first thing I think about when I walk outside around after I leave work is if the weather is good softball weather. In March when it's still really cold out but about 40, I think "oh we'd definitely be practicing in this." Or last week when it was nearly 90 I think, "God I don't miss putting those God awful, flattering-on-no one, white pants on. But I also wish I could put them on." The softball team wore those same style of pants for at least 18 years. When they ordered new ones my junior or senior year, they ordered the same damn style. Of course the next year they ordered awesome black pants. I made sure the coach knew I was pissed.

See what I mean

I played softball from the time I was old enough for coaches pitch until I graduated. It was a HUGE part of my family and took up majority of our summer every year. When I say majority, I mean about 80-90% of our summer. We LIVED at the ball park. A lot of dinners consisted of nachos or McDonald's drive thru at 9:30 or 10pm. I think one summer between my brother and I, we had 90 games. Ninety. My parents were rock stars. One would go with me and one would go with my brother. The next weekend or night there was a conflict, they would switch.

Softball is the one and only thing I miss about high school. Sure, proms were fun and so were football and basketball games. But softball was the best. Even though it caused a lot of back pain (extra vertebrae, messed up tailbone. its a hot mess back there) and there was always some sort of drama (small town sport politics, anybody?) it was always my favorite part. Once March rolled around, I started getting anxious and ready to get rolling. Each season I played less and less because of my back, but I still got to hit. My favorite part.  I hated playing in the field so I didn't care. Even after playing softball for 13 years at the point I still couldn't judge a fly ball to save my life. . But stepping up to the plate and hearing the bat meet that  perfect pitch. The sweetest sound. Especially when it lands over the fence :)

I've been missing this part of my life lately. But it's that time of year. That time of year when the weather is perfect for a game, or you worry about the rain canceling a conference game. I loved going out to the barn at home after a game and recapping with my dad. The good, the bad and the ugly. I think that's another reason why I've been missing it so much. One of the first things people think of when they think about my dad is baseball. He was known for his pitching in the entire county. I honestly think there are still some grown men who are pissed.

Danny has been encouraging me to get involved with coaching at the high school next year. A couple years ago a family friend asked me if I would be interested in a few years when she took over and drunk Erin that didn't have a baby yet said "SUUUURE!" not realizing how much I really have on my plate. Maybe that will be my motivation to clear some things off and do something for myself. We'll see. But for now, I'll keep thinking about all that sectional championship my senior year. (I sound like such a 40 year old man)

Transformation Tuesdsay: Week 6

Posting a little late this morning due to internet issues at the office. When you live and work in Podunk, IN, reliable internet is kind of hard to come by. And when it storms? You have to reset that shit and pray it comes back on like I just did.  If not, it would be difficult to work and blog. Such a first world problem I know, but that's what the world has come too. Being totally dependent on technology.

Anywho, onto the shedding of the baby weight. I guess the word hoarding would be more like it. I've got 2 main issues.
1. I'm using breastfeeding as a crutch. I keep telling myself that the milkshakes, bowls of ice cream, French fries and cheeseburgers are ok since I "need extra calories" and all. Extra calories is correct, but not in those delicious forms.
2. I've been very lazy in my meal planning. No meal plan = bad. I've said before that I do really well when I go to the grocery but after that first week its downhill. I'm currently going downhill.

My main goal this week is to get my eating back on track. I feel like a broken record, but the food part is hard. To me, its much more difficult than the exercise. My evenings are busy with Tuck, housework, and getting ready for the next day so making a healthy dinner seems very difficult.

Couch25K is going pretty well. I just finished Week 4 yesterday, and it wasn't as difficult as I thought. I'm hoping for the same reaction to Week 5. I read the plan yesterday and almost fell over. I can do it though! I need to add some better running jams to my phone though. All the ones I have on my workout play list are great for power walking, but only a couple are good for running. I need some running song suggestions... ready, GO!

Hope you all have a good Tuesday!

My 1st Mother's Day Weekend

Here we are again at a Monday morning and I am BEAT! My first Mother's Day as a mom to a human child (Diesel has always gotten me a card) was a really good one.

Tucker wanted as much mama time as he could get, so we partied from 4a-6a Saturday morning. Danny was in Indy getting ready to leave on the Indy Honor Flight so I was on my own. The kid refused to go to sleep. He wasn't angry or upset. Just awake. Wide awake. And it was exhausting. He eventually went to sleep for another hour and a half then we moved to the couch and got another hour and a half of sleep before the AC repair guy showed up to fix our air that had been out since Wednesday.  After all that, we got ready and met my mom for lunch and shopping.

Tucker and I needed some summers clothes and we found some great deals. Mine weren't so much deals as they were awesome, but Old Navy and Carters were having great sales. I need to be banned from Carters. I love their clothes! God help our bank account if we have a girl next time. Anyways, at Old Navy I found my new most favorite pair of shorts. These awesome linen shorts. They are pure perfection. I bought 3 pairs and put them on immediately after getting to my mom's apartment. Go get some now!

After a nap at my moms, we headed to meet Danny's family to pick him up and greet all the WWII vets coming home from the Honor Flight. The Honor Flight takes war veterans to Washington D.C. to visit the war memorial. The vets can take a family member as their "Guardian" or they are paired with a  volunteer Guardian, which is what Danny was. It was such a moving experience. I am so proud of my husband for being part of the flight. As the veterans were walking in, with their Guardian holding their photo from when they enlisted in their branch of the military, the crowd went nuts and tears were wiped from eyes. The vets and the crowd. I'm hoping I can sweet talk my husband into recapping his trip for you all this week! Stay tuned.

Sunday was another early day with the babe. We lounged, then took Danny's mom to breakfast, visited Danny's dad and stepmom, and then it was time for my 2nd Mother's Day gift: a nap! First gift was 2 hanging flower baskets from Tuck and Diesel and hooks to hang them on the front and back porches from Danny. While I napped, Tucker pooped twice. Perfect! After my nap we met my mom and brother at Hooter's for Mother's Day. We did the same last year and will probably for years to come. Mom's eat "free" up to a $10 value. That covers wings and most of the fries if you order them. Not a bad deal.

After we got home I got my picture with the boys and then we were planning on relaxing for the night. Then I realized it was hot as f'ing balls in the house. Our air was out. Again. We called the power company, thinking the problem is on their end, and they were out in a hurry to beat the torrential downpour. They couldn't figure out anything in the dark and rain, so Danny replaced a fuse which worked for about 30 minutes. We were quickly back to no air. There better be some good quality central air when this girl gets home or I will be an absolute bear. I don't do hot well. It makes me grumpy. Its almost worse than when I'm hungry.

Wish my husband luck if it's not fixed. Not that it would be his fault, but just because he will have to co-exist with me.

Breastfeeding Update

Check me out looking all blogger official with a blog design! Hubby Jack did an awesome job, especially since I gave him about NO ideas to work with other than a color palette. I got on his design list just in time though since he announced his farewell yesterday. Anyways, I love it!

First, I want to apologize for how all over this place this post is about to get. Our AC went out yesterday and I ended up not going to bed until 11:30 after I watched Danny deal with that and then pumped and got bottles ready. THEN, my sweet baby has decided to wake up between 3-4a the last 2 nights. Here I am at 6:30 and I'm already 30 minutes into my day.

Now to the goods, which is how breastfeeding it going.
(If you're new here, I posted about how bad things were HERE and then how things got a little itty bit better and I just decided to let Tucker be the boss of it all HERE)

I mentioned before that I was going to give nursing a try until 3 months and if I had seem some improvement then I would give it until 4 to have it down. If he didn't have it figured out by then, I was going to switch to exclusively pumping and see how far that took me. Well, it was a good thing I waited until the 3-4 month mark because it has been smooth sailing since the end of March!

How did we get to this point: After almost a month of letting Tucker do his thing and trying when he seemed like he wanted to nurse, we got it down. That's really my only "trick."  I guess the other trick would be when we would attempt to nurse. Since I work full-time, I only had evenings and weekends. For a few weeks we would just nurse in the evenings before his bedtime bottle, then occasionally on the weekend. I didn't want to rely on nursing before bed during February and March because I had a busy time at work during those months.  Once I felt like he had grasped the concept of nursing, I let him nurse at bedtime. And he continued to sleep through the night. That is when I knew we had had a breakthrough. When him and I are together, he just nurses. I've given him maybe 3 bottles in the last month and that's just because we were out and about and he was hungry. Even then if we're in between stores or stops, I'll nurse him in the car. This mama won't be whippin the boob out in the middle of the grocery store or restaurant. I have no beef with any woman who does, but I just won't be.

Here's my message to my future self when there is a baby #2 (or #3): Have patience. Don't be so hard on yourself. Let that baby do his/her thing.

I have learned sooooo freakin' much during the last 5 months. The one thing that sticks out is every situation is different. I've realized that before about almost everything. I don't see things black and white. I can almost always see the grey area. Life would be a lot easier if I did see black and white and I probably wouldn't go bat shit crazy sometimes worry or stress about things so much. But then I would categorize Tuck and I's breastfeeding journey as the grey area. The area the isn't covered in a textbook or a breastfeeding class.  Ours was the situation that we just had to do what worked for us. And it eventually did.

People keep asking me how long I'm going to breastfeed. I don't know. I can't imagine trying so hard to get it figured out for 4 months, then stop 2 months later when he turns 6 months. I can't decide if I want to let him self-wean or wean him myself at some point. I'm sure I'll decide one thing and then he'll be all "I'm the boss mom" and completely switch it up on me. Or he'll get teeth and as soon as he bites I'll be waving my white flag. So, my answer to that question is, I have no idea. I don't know when I'll know or if I will know. He might just wake up one day and decide he's over it. I could do the same thing.

I told you this post would be a hot mess :)

Transformation Tuesday: Week 5

This week was better, but there is still some improvement to be made.

Like most trying to lose weight, I did well all week and then came the weekend. My cleaning marathon didn't help and neither did the birthday cake I ate on Saturday. And let's not forget date night. That margarita was worth every calorie. I still don't want to know how many calories were in it, but it was still worth it. This week will be better though. I'm headed to the grocery during my lunch hour and a half and that'll be a restart on my healthy eating. I think I'm just going to have to face the music that I need to go every week in order to eat the way I need too. I try to stretch it out to 2 weeks and it just doesn't work. But it's better than me relying on fast food and take out. True story: I went to McDonald's last night because I didn't have enough brain power or energy to think of something to make with minimal food in our house. I ordered 2 salads. For me. It had been nearly 8 hours since I had eaten and I was starving! I figured 2 salads was better than a salad and a sandwich or fries. That shit was expensive though! Almost $11. No thanks!

Workouts. Those were pretty good. I got 3 C25K's in and I did pretty well on them I think. I didn't hate them at all, but my monitor said I burnt less calories than I normally do. Whatever. I didn't do any of it this weekend though since I was cleaning. I ate biscuits and gravy instead.

I'm not sure where I stand as far as the number on the damn scale though. I do know that yesterday I felt like a busted can of biscuits as a result of my poor weekend eating. Clothes fit about the same. And milk has stayed the same. I'm afraid I'm one of those people that don't lose weight while breastfeeding and actually hold onto weight until they are done. Yayyyyy me!

I think I've figured out my next move though: T25. Christi @ A Full Time Keller has been raving about it for a few weeks and has told me she is seeing awesome results. I need awesome results. I also need quick, effective workouts. T25 is made up of different 25 minute workouts. Sign me up! That's usually about all I have in me before I get bored, or tired, or worried about the 73 other things I have to do. I just need to figure out when I want to start.

That's it on the weight loss front for this week.

Weekend Recap

I've been getting bored with my weekend recaps this year, but this one deserves some talking about.

Friday I called my mom to see if she wanted to come up and watch Tucker while Danny and I went out to dinner and then she could just stay all night to go to my brother's girlfriends graduation. She happily jumped on that opportunity.

Danny and I had such a good time on our date.  It had been almost 2 months since we went to dinner just the 2 of us. We went to a restaurant neither of us had been too in at least 6 years, Lone Star Steakhouse.  The food wasn't very good, but they had $2.99 margaritas and those were to die for! Danny usually doesn't like margaritas but one sip and he was regretting not getting one. With cheap and delicious margaritas, your food doesn't have to be good. I can't wait to take my BFF Shelby there when she stays with me for a few days in August when she's home for a wedding. We formed our friendship on 2 kinds of girl dates: Buffalo Wild Wings take out/Grey's Anatomy and cheap margaritas/cheese fries. It'll be great!

Saturday started the cleaning marathon. I was on my own this day so I picked easier tasks from the list I posted Friday. Things I could do with Tucker in the carrier if need be. He was perfect all day though! My mom's dog was here too and him and Diesel were awesome as well. The dogs just slept and Tucker was content on his play mat listening to Pandora. I got the microwave cleaned, all the windows washed, my closet floor cleaned, under bed storage pulled out, our dressers cleaned off and all curtains washed. Not much actual cleaning was done, but our bedroom was at least prepped and ready to go. I took a break to go to a birthday party with Danny and I never really did anything else once we got home. Which was okay since I had gotten a few things done and I had some babysitting lined up for Sunday. My mom got back from the graduation and visited for a little bit before she headed home.


Sunday. The major cleaning day. Like work up a sweat cleaning. Thank the Lord above that I arranged for Tucker to go to Danny's brother's for the day. He was not having any part of just laying on the floor playing by himself. The only thing I got done between 9 and 1 was start a load of laundry and dust/polish our bedroom furniture. I dropped Tucker off and it was on. I swept up the equivalent of a small dog from under our bed, put our room back together and then got to work on the living room. I cleared the whole bookshelf, cleaned our entertainment center, cleaned end tables and the coffee table moved those to another room and swept underneath, swept the couches and then the floor. And I may have had 2 Summer Shandy's while I did that.

cleaning the Dan Overman way. Drink in hand.

 

While I worked on all of that, Danny cleaned the bathroom. We were done after that though. The kitchen will be a week long project, hopefully between the 2 of us, and our dining room/future play area will require a whole other day and a 6 pack. There is a lot of clutter on my desk that I have never sat at since living in this house. It will require some thought as to how that's going to be fixed.

OH! Big news. Those pesky craft supplies that keep ending up in my monthly goals? Yeah, they've been organized. For god knows how long. I forgot that I had actually went through the storage drawers and cleaned out what I didn't want anymore. Well, Danny got the shelves hung up in our spare closet so I rolled those bad boys in there and let out a huge sigh of relief that they are no longer being a complete eye sore in our living room. FINALLY!

Now that it's Monday, I want another Sunday and the cleaning habits of Monica Gellar so next year spring cleaning isn't so hard. And I must have done something right this weekend if my posts contains 2 separate beverage pics.

Five on Friday

Friday is finally here. Thank the LOOOORD! Monday was a long one so that made Friday seem like it was ages away. It's date night and a weekend with a 2 page long to-do list. I'm ready to get started. It's going to be one of those weekends where I wake up on Monday wishing for another Sunday! For now its time to join in on the Five on Friday fun with Darci @ The Good Life Blog. And let me just say my 5 are super random. What else is new though, right?

1. First and foremost. Grey's Anatomy last night. I have NOT watched it yet so I'm not sure how it went. All I know is Christina is gone, which luckily I knew that at the beginning of the season otherwise I would have had a heart attack. The second thing I know is my BFF Shelby texted me saying she was crying happy tears. This is huge for her since she rarely shows she has a heart. I told her not to say another word since I can't watch it until today. We are obsessed with this show and it is how we became best friends.

 I'm kind of worried about the future of Grey's Anatomy. After the plane crash it's been kind of so-so to everyone I talk to. I've still been loving it with all my heart. Except for the teeny tiny fact that they killed off 2 of my very favorites.

2. Like I mentioned up there, I've got a to-do list that's 2 pages long for this weekend. It's spring cleaning weekend in the Summers home and I have so many feels about it. I'm ready to get started because I'm excited about having a super clean house but at the same time I'm dreading it because that's a lot of cleaning. I've got my tasks mapped out and I've chosen which ones I'm doing tomorrow and which ones I'm doing Sunday when Danny is here and we've hopefully pawned our kid off on a family member.

There is another page. Ugh.

3. When I cook dinner on nights that Danny is working, I like to bring Tucker in the kitchen with me and set him on the counter in a seat. I put him in his chair and almost started crying. How much of a little man does he look like? He will be 5 months old on Sunday. Hell he looks like he's pushing 1. His hair makes him look like such a big dude! Everyone keeps joking with me that I should cut it and I tell them "no, over my dead body" every time. I love it and its what makes him Tucker.

4. I almost let the blog cat out of the bag the other day. One of my friends sisters just had a baby on Monday and was starting to get really discouraged about breastfeeding.  She was telling me that they were dealing with a sleepy, lazy eating baby with high bilirubin levels. I started having flashbacks to Tuck's first week on the outside world and wanted to help prevent those rough, awful, guilty feelings I had when he lost over a pound of his birth weight. Her sister is in the same lactation consultant hands that I was in and I told her what they had me do. I didn't have to expose my double life just yet :) If you're new here, I've talked about Tuck's first week HERE and our uphill breastfeeding battle HERE. Next week I'll post an update on how things have been going since. It's pretty amazing really.

5. Since it is officially May, as made away by Justin Timberlake, it's time for my summer hair. Bringing the blonde back. I'm a natural blonde but I've been highlighting my hair since I was about 14. Such a vicious cycle those highlights. And changing hair color is so addicting. I remember when I lived with a few girls from high school I was on my way to a hair appointment in November and one of them asked "are you getting your winter hair done" and this was before I had named them. So she's where the Summer and Winter hair come from. Anyways, its been the darker, more natural

looking blonde for a while. It's time. Also around this time I usually get a hair in my ass to cut it. It's at a length now that I would consider it long but its not too much to handle. I just have to prevent myself from chopping it like I did in the fall. I'm a medium length with layers kind of girl, but I'm digging the length it is now. Although, if I trusted my hair abilities to be able to style my hair like this, I'd totally do it.

 

That's it for today. God help me get through this spring cleaning. I have a feeling I'll be polishing off the 12 pack of Summer Shandy.

May Goals

Another month has come and gone for 2014. How in the F are we 1/3 the way through the year already? The only thing that makes it slightly funny is seeing this picture for the last few days.

Anywho, with the 1st of the month being today, it is time to talk about how I failed at most of my April goals and come up with some new ones for May. Lets get started.

April goals were...
1. Organize craft supplies - Nope. I can make excuses for this one all day long, but in all honesty it just didn't get done.
2. Nag my husband enough to put shelves in our spare closet - I nagged him enough that the shelves were purchased! He says he was going to put them up last weekend but I didn't remind him. I don't believe that for a second. I've begged for them to be put up tomorrow because that will be vital to the spring cleaning that is happening this weekend.
3. Stick to my workouts - I feel like I can say I did this 3 out of the 4 weeks. I'll call that a win.
4. Meal prep - I made some egg white muffins on Sunday and earlier in the month I had prepped some fruit. I'll call this one a win too.
5. Map out spring cleaning - Did this last night with 2 hours of April to spare. This weekend its on!
6. Plan our garden - Ehhh, sorta happened. By sorta I mean Danny moved it closer to the house and made the area about 1/4 of the size of the old one.

April goals weren't as bad as I thought! Now for what I'm planning on for May.
1. Again, organize craft supplies - Baby toys are taking over our living room and we need to get a jumperoo for Tucker. My craft shit is sitting right in a perfect spot for one of those to go. I think if I don't get this one done this month, I'm just going to have to throw it away. That'll solve the problem now won't it!
2. Spring cleaning - This is on the agenda for this weekend. I hope and pray I get at least half of it done. I'm going to see about shipping Tucker off to his aunt and uncles on Sunday so Danny and I can focus on it.
3. Come up with a weekly cleaning schedule - I see those perfect little "20 minutes a day" schedules on Pinterest all the time. I've got some Heritage Makers points stock piled and I think I might be able to make a cute little weekly checklist that can be framed. Danny isn't thrilled of the idea because its too much like a to-do list, but its happening. Plus I love crossing things off a list.
4. Finish C25K - Week 4 Day 1 is my next one. Hopefully I can get this one done.
5. Get one of the rentals ready to sell - My brother and I have decided to sell the house that my dad bought for our Grammy. It won't require much physical work to get ready, just a lot of other things like getting property lines redone and talking with our accountant and realtor.
6. Plant the garden - I still need to figure out what we are planting but that shouldn't be too difficult.