Weekend

This weekend was really nice in that we didn't have a whole lot going on.

I started my weekend on Friday because my children were out to get me Thursday night. I literally texted my brother and the guy that works for us and said "Not coming in. My kids are trying to kill me." Multiple wake ups, sleeping in the recliner, dog needing out, and Tucker getting a bloody nose at 3am-ish. I seriously don't know what time things happen most nights because both kids are either up zero times or 4 times. We are an all or nothing family apparently. Thank God for FitBits and their ability to let you see how bad it really was!

I bought Tucker's silence with YouTube kids and we all hung out in Danny and I's bed Friday afternoon for a bit.

The kids and I went to a wedding Friday night. We've officially lost our date night babysitter since she's a married and full-time working woman now. She got married in my mother-in-law's barn, my sister-in-law decorated for the reception at a different location and I hauled my kids and my niece's around since they were part of the reception. Charlee was super cooperative and Tucker thought the wedding was too long... it lasted all of 10 minutes haha.  Danny worked Friday night so I got a glimpse of life with 4 kids. No thank you haha.

Saturday was cleaning, laundry and playing until we went to Chuy's for lunch and did a bit of shopping at Old Navy with my mom. Chuy's was super accommodating for both kids. They brought me a plastic spoon when they saw me trying to carefully feed Charlee avocado with the tip of my fork and then when they realized the plate of nachos were for Tucker they took them back to the kitchen and put them on a plate that wasn't hot. I never asked for either so it was really nice.

Sunday was a pretty typical day except that I TOOK A NAP! We didn't have much going on and I could tell Charlee was getting tired so her and I went and laid down while Danny and Tucker kept themselves busy. I slept for an hour and 12 minutes. That is a rarity that happens like 3 times a year. After we went to visit Danny's dad and stepmom then for a drive so Tucker could sleep off some attitude. It did not work.

Or let you you eat 28 pieces of candy, put your shoes on the 3rd time I ask... 

Now it's time for a busy week that I'm not entirely sure I'm ready for!

Life.

I blinked and it went from 4th of July weekend to practically Labor Day up  in here. I was talking to a family member yesterday and he said "life is happening, isn't it?" Yes, it is. It is flying by. I swear they need to warn you when you leave the hospital that with every baby time speeds up. I have never experienced a quicker 5 1/2 months in my life. But here we are.

Time is flying by and I'm sitting here, for the 837th time, reminding myself that I'm going to want to look back on these days and really remember them.

So, July. July is notorious for being busy. Between my busy season for work, Danny's rotating schedule, plus the 4H fair, it's a whirlwind month. We don't even have any kids in 4H but it ends up being busy for us so I can't imagine what it will be like in a few years when we start that chapter of our lives.

This girl turned 4 months old.

We went to the fair. Tucker wanted to ride this despite his face saying otherwise. We're bad parents and only let him ride one single ride lol. If Danny had it his way Tucker and Charlee would never know there is a ride portion of the fair.

Danny and I went on a date to watch one of my dad's good friends sing. He was home from Nashville for a week and performed at a local bar. The show didn't start until 8pm so I had to drink coffee at 6:45pm to make my attendance possible. It's a struggle.

We made a spur of the moment trip to the Ft. Wayne zoo. I mean, it still took 45 minutes to get ready to leave for this spur of the moment trip but thats about as spontaneous as you can get when you have to take all the things with you.

We ended the month, and summer, with a camping trip to a Jellystone campground in Bloomington. We had such a great time. Well, Tucker and I did at least. We both played on the water slides for a few hours each day.

The trip got off to a rocky start when we pulled over to change Tucker's clothes because he peed his pants and we found that he didn't actually have any clothes. His bag was still sitting on the floor in his room at home. Whoops. I did my best to laugh it off and only beat myself up over it a little. Tucker got a few outfits out of it and Danny enjoyed buying new clothes for him since that's something I usually take care of. Trying to see the good in it haha.

That was pretty much it. I felt like we didn't do much until just now but no wonder I felt like July went fast. We were constantly doing stuff!

4th of July

My favorite holiday has come and gone. There is just something about the 4th of July that makes me happy. I don't know if its the fireworks or the cookouts or what, but I love it. Always have. This year was no different. If anything I  loved it more. This holiday is the beginning of another year of holidays that Danny and I have spent together and we just started our 10th year of holidays. This was the 3rd time we've spent this particular holiday together. It's the holiday that we've spent apart the most so to get to enjoy it with him was really special. Especially since it was our first as a family of 4.

We started the festivities at his sister's for a cookout. Tucker had a blast playing with his favorite cousin and it was nice to sit and relax for a bit while Charlee was passed around. She obviously didn't mind.

Next was a cookout at my brother's house with my mom and my brother's friends. Tucker enjoyed running around, riding his bike and blowing bubbles.

After stuffing ourselves we headed up to our traditional fireworks show. This is the one Danny used to help put on, so it's always weird for him to watch them. I told him this was the first time the Last Call tribute to fallen firefighters hasn't gotten to me and I think it was because he was there this time.

We got home around 11 with some very tired babies. Tucker slept through a car to bed transfer and Charlee had no problems falling asleep once she nursed a little bit. Everyone but mama slept until at least 7:45 this morning. I got up at 5:20 so I could pump and get ready for the day. I was able to eat breakfast, drink coffee, and watch Friends in peace. I even priced some items for a rummage I'm doing this weekend.

Now it feels like we are on the downward slope of summer and I'm not ready for it to end!

Recapping: April

April brought the real world, aka Danny's time off was over and we started finding our normal. Which is really anything but.

Really though, April 1st was my first full day flying solo with both kids. I was still fighting off the cyst so we spent a lot of the day watching TV so I could sit on the heating pad and feed Charlee. We survived and it went a little too well. I even took them to the park by myself.

Bath time becomes a family affair when Daddy is at work. Almost 3 months later this is still what happens. Everyone that is in the house crams into the smallest part of our bathroom.

I took Tucker to an Easter party while my mom watched Charlee. It was the first time I left her. It was nice to get some one on one time with my first baby. This was also the day I discovered I was allergic to the antibiotic so I was soooooooo itchy.

Then Charlee turned a month old! She was so tiny!

Easter was our first holiday with 2 kids. 2 cute kids if I do say so myself.

Tucker had a blast hunting for eggs. That is actually what we do for fun. We play Easter Egg hunt in our house. We only have one picture of the entire family from that day and its a selfie.

Tucker started tee ball and I about died from the cuteness when he put his uniform on for the first time for pictures. Also, check out all that real life in the background... halloween costume, stray clothes and legos, an open umbrella, a pillow. April was back to real life and also survival mode.

At the end of the month is when I finally accepted that I had more than just the typical Baby Blues after having a baby. The reality of having 2 kids and solo parenting 3 days a week had set in, I came down off the happiness high and the somewhat tough pregnancy had caught up with me despite having a perfect labor and delivery. I still can't get over how "easy" it was. I AM going to get into this more later. Postpartum depression cannot be talked about enough.

That was it for April. May was much better for us.

Recapping: March

Let's see how well I can remember life between March 14th and March 31st. Thank God for social media since the last few weeks of March felt like one long day.

We made a few outings those first few weeks after Charlee was born. Her weigh-in's at the hospital went so well. Getting out of the house helped and I think I cried happy tears when she ate almost 2 ounces at the second one when she was a week old. After Tucker's dramatic weight loss and first couple weeks home, this was the one part about having a new baby that I was really nervous about. Here she is at a week old. Sooooo tiny! It's already hard to believe she was just a teeny baby too small for newborn clothes.

Charlee and I watched a lot of tv. What else is new haha. Parks and Recreation, Gilmore Girls, and Boston Legal were all playing when Tucker wasn't home or awake. Danny's mom kept Tucker during the day like normal. We wanted to keep his routine pretty much the same since life as he knew it was different. I don't think he really cared though since he was obsessed with her.

I ventured out of the house with both kids. By myself! We all survived with minimal crying from Charlee.

After Tucker was born, I had a pilonidal cyst on my tailbone. It was my second one. I had one in high school that I had surgically removed, which is the best way to remove it with the smallest chance of recurrence. Well, apparently I'm just really lucky because I got another one after Charlee was born. Despite me trying to not put so much pressure on my tailbone, I just couldn't prevent it. I caught it early though. So early there was nothing the doctor at MedCheck would do besides prescribe an antibiotic. I spent the next week taking baths whenever possible (which was rare since by the time I got done feeding Charlee I had about 45 minutes to do anything), sitting on a heating pad, and taking probiotics and eating yogurt to prevent any thrush issues like I had with Tucker after I had the cyst. About 3 days before I was finished with my antibiotic, I got a rash all over my body. I was so itchy. It was keeping me awake at night more so than my newborn. How ridiculous is that? It was then I found out I was allergic to Keflex.

We also had pictures done of Tucker and Charlee. Charlee would not sleep so she is awake in nearly every single one. You can just see how much Tucker loves her. He is going to be the best big brother to her.

That was March. It was certainly eventful but boring at the same time haha.

What's Up Wednesday

One day I'll get this blogging thing worked back into my routine. I need to do that with a lot of things: blogging, working out, flossing my teeth, get togethers with friends, etc. This season of life that I'm in is such a juggling act and I feel like balls keep getting thrown into the mix without any warning. But, I keep trying at all of those things and one day they will stick and I'll feel like I'm handling this season like the bad ass I know I can be.

Per usual, the entire month flew by in the blink of an eye. There is a direct correlation between age and the speed of time. The older you get the faster it goes. With that being said, it's time for What's Up Wednesday.

What we're eating this week... 21 day fix still, kind of. We did 18 days straight, took a break for Father's Day weekend and the following week since Danny worked Monday, Wednesday and Friday then had class the days in between with no way to keep food cold or cook it. I still followed the plan loosely then the wheels came off again this past weekend. We are both really enjoying it. I've found it easier to just have breakfast and lunch be the exact same every single day then dinner gets the variation. The structure of the containers is also the same for an entire week. That has really helped the meal planning process since the first week I spent like 5 hours just trying to come up with a plan since it requires me coming up with easy meals for Danny to make at work if they aren't already prepared. Okay, enough of that.

What I'm reminiscing about... Danny's broken foot unfortunately. A picture of Tucker popped up on my Timehop today and I remembered it was from the day his foot broke. I mean, this season of life is hard but that is one I prefer to never relive, even if it means I get this sweet curly haired boy back.

What I'm loving... rewatching Friends (again) and Justin's Vanilla Almond Butter. I'm not hard to please.

What we've been up too... working too much and relaxing too little. Tee ball is over. It was a lot of fun and even Danny enjoyed it. He enjoyed it so much he wanted to go eat dinner at the ball park one night when we didn't even have a game. My heart fluttered a little bit because he used to very passionately hate baseball.

What I'm dreading.... July 5th through the 15th. It's been a bad spring for my clients which has delayed my busy season so I'll have to cram it all into a less than 2 week period. I'll survive but it won't be pretty!

What I'm working on... decluttering my house and preparing for a rummage. I swear I just did this in October but I some how managed to still take out almost half of my clothes from my closet.

What I'm excited about... July 4th. It is my favorite holiday and wait for it.... my firefighter doesn't have to work! This will be our 10th 4th of July together and we've spent it together 2 times. One of those times was because of the broken foot. The other was in 2012. We were 11 months into our first year of marriage and 4 years into our relationship. Absolute babies!

What I'm watching/reading... I don't read, but I'm really good at watching tv. I watch Friends almost exclusively and Pretty Little Liars. I'm trying to find a time to get together with one of my BFF's and watch the PLL finale. I can't believe it's over!

What I'm listening too.... song of the month is I Can Fix a Drink by Chris Jansen. So catchy and I can really relate lol.

What I'm wearing... Real. Jeans!

What I'm doing this weekend... I have a girls night planned with a few of my girlfriends. We haven't gotten together since January which is absurd. Sunday is Danny's family reunion which is always fun. Monday and Tuesday are part of the weekend so we're going to try to take Tucker swimming Monday. He's been asking to go but we've been too busy, which is not fair to him.

What I'm looking forward to next month... The 4-H fair. It's so fun watching my husband in his element. Anything farm related is his happy place. I think it's his mini-me's too!

What else is new... I am officially not a landlord anymore! My brother and I sold our last rental house last week and I couldn't be more relieved.

Bonus question this month: WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE JULY 4TH TRADITION? Going to fireworks in a small town near us. I've got every year except for 1 since I was a little girl. We have talked about mixing it up and going somewhere new, but I don't know if we will. I guess I'll find out next week haha. I also took Tucker and my niece to fireworks in our town last year in their pj's. They both had a blast and I think I might do it again this year. 

That's it for June! I still can't believe June is almost over. It's ridiculous!

What's Up Wednesday

My favorite link-up comes at a perfect time with me jumping back into blogging in the middle of a month. It's going to really test my memory too since I don't know what I'm supposed to be doing half the time let alone remembering what I've already done. Such is life with a  newborn and threenager.

What we're eating this week...
If you ask Danny he'll probably say we are hardly eating but that's not the case. We started 21 Day Fix yesterday. We're both going from eating whatever we can get our hands on and how ever much we want so it's going to feel like we're eating less. I was pretty excited to do Whole30, but I'm more excited to do this. I love the idea of not eliminating whole food groups and everything in moderation.

What I'm reminiscing about...
This picture showed up on my Timehop yesterday. Our senior picnic.

I feel like I'm always reminiscing about the days when we were dating when these posts come around. All the girl in that picture wanted was to marry that boy someday. Nine years later we are married with 2 kids and a dog. I've loved every second and wouldn't change a single thing.

What I'm loving...
After a month, I am loving my new phone. I made the switch from Team iPhone to Team Android. I'm sure the Cloud was the easiest thing to understand but I could never force myself to remember how to get into mine lol. Working with all things Google has definitely been easier. From backing up my photos to using the calendar. Yep, I've even ditched the paper planner. Jury is still out on that one, but time will tell since meeting season is upon me. That will be the true test.

What we've been up to...
Tee ball. That's been interesting. We've made so much improvement though. Not so much skill wise. We've just gone from this...

To actually paying attention. I'm pretty sure there was a batter up when he was sitting in the base path picking at his bandaid on his knee. It's been a lot more fun. Corralling 6 3 year olds and 4 4 year olds is harder than herding cats though. I mean, I've never tried to herd cats but surely it's easier.

What I'm dreading...
Meeting season. Due to all the rain in my area, my meetings are going to be delayed but the deadline to report acres will remain the same. On top of that, I have to deal with pumping on the road which requires leaving earlier so I can build in time to pump before since some can take up to 2 hours plus having to pack all the things to make sure it stays cold. It's worth it but dang breastfeeding is a lot of work.

Also dreading moving Charlee to her crib. I'm going to not talk about it though because I'm in denial that I need to do it soon.

What I'm working on...
Surviving. That's enough right?

What I'm excited about..
On Father's Day we are paying a visit to Fair Oaks Farms in Northern Indiana.

This farm is featured in one of the Fun on the Farm movies that Tucker watches and was super obsessed with. He has been asking when we are going to go and since Danny has Father's Day off that's what we are doing. I love taking Tucker to do things like this. It's so fun to watch him get so excited.

What I'm watching/reading...
Still watching Pretty Little Liars. I'm kind of sad that it's going to be completely over soon.
The Chicago Fire season finale was a doozy. Being a firefighters wife, it was a little rough.
The Greys finale was also huge. That felt like the old Grey's to me.

What I'm listening to...
Old CD's I made in high school! I haven't put my music on the new phone yet, so I've had to pull out my CD case. I found so many great CDs and have had the best time remembering all the fun I had listening to those songs with my girlfriends.

What I'm wearing...
Maternity jeans still. I won't lie and don't even feel bad about myself for it. They are comfy. The ones I bought this time around were styling as hell. My shirt game is struggling but I'm fine with my pants situation for now.

What I'm doing this weekend...
I get to work in the concession stand Friday night. I think this officially makes me a baseball mom. Saturday Tuck has a game and Danny works. There's a girls night listed for Saturday night but I haven't heard any more on that.

What I'm looking forward to next month...
The trip to Fair Oaks Farms. Danny's training burn will be done.

What else is new...
We are wanting to move. Hopefully into a house that we have built. We had plans to buy my Grammy's house next to my brother but it felt through. Now we are trying to figure out when to make this move happen and where we want to build. We don't want to move towns. Our village is here and we need them haha.

Bonus: Favorite vacation spot
Orange Beach, Alabama. We are going with my mom, brother and his wife in October and I can't wait! It's an easy drive from Indiana and it doesn't get too crowded. I love it.