Highs and Lows

Lifelifelife. Infrequent blogging. Blahblahblah.

How about some recent highs and lows so you know the low-down? And the high-ups?

High: I have been walking during my lunch breaks most days. The weather has been bee-yoo-ti-fullll here, as we finally got some semblance of summer. I walk around the concourse at our minor league baseball stadium along with all the other sneaker-sporting office workers doing the same.

Low: 3-year-olds, amirite? I just can't even with this one. She's going through some definite three-nagerdom right now.

She's still pretty cute, though. I think I'll keep her.

High: Audrey is a dream baby. We moved her to her crib a few weeks back (which is upstairs while our master is downstairs), and it's like it wasn't even a thing to her. She's very close to crawling, and already does a creep-type thing. If I walk away for a few minutes, she's usually not all that close to where I left her. Childproofing may need to be a thing here again soon.

She's so happy!

 Low: I got suuuuper sick 2 weekends ago. It was a stomach bug thing that lasted about a day and a half (and no, I didn't even miss any work because that's just how I roll it seems). We had to miss out on going to the free day at the art museum. I guess there's always next year...

High: I had my first-ever review at work (I guess it's only annually around here?), and I got a raise! Hooray me. Insert "you like me, you really like me" meme here. There were some also some other long-term goals that my boss seems to be on board with that came up in that meeting. Like, things that could help my work/family balance actually be, well, balanced.

Low: My husband's courseload this semester is rough. We barely see each other because he's studying all the time. I also have to do Thursday nights all on my own since he has class until 9. (The Thursday thing was going to be a low, but those nights are going pretty well.) Our anniversary is next week so hopefully that will be a nice time to actually, y'know, talk to each other. If I wasn't nursing a baby, I was going to suggest a night at an (Amish!) inn about an hour away. Maybe next year. We're going to an indoor trampoline park instead (thanks, Groupon!). And then dinner or such.

High: Hubs got promoted to Lieutenant Commander last weekend! And I finally got to pin it on him (he had been at sea for his previous promotions). Another raise, too. :)

No more "railroad tracks" for this one!

And that's a wrap.

Thank you to Ana for the blog-spiration.

Rambling Life Update Post

When I started this blog 5 years ago, I promised I'd never start a post with "It's been a while." So hello. I am here. Sometimes. Let's get on with it.

:: This little one turned 4 months old half a month ago. She finally got to see the doc last week, and she is 14lbs, 11oz. She has rolled belly to back once (maybe twice), but now consistently rolls back to belly and basically hangs out like this during all waking hours:

Then she cries when she gets tired of it because she can't remember how to roll out of it. Sigh.

:: B has re-started school, and Cora has re-started daycare/preschool. She was wayyy more excited than this picture shows. (And I was trying to hold Audrey, who was spitting up as I was taking this pic with my other hand. Always an adventure.)

Cora is now in the Pioneers class. She has now asked both me and B what classes we are in. B is in the "Engineers" and I'm in the "Brokers." Whatever works, right?

:: Since Cora's daycare is for 18mo+, that means we had to figure out what to do with Audrey. Someone I met through online Catholic blogging circles stepped up. She's a homeschooling mom of 4, her husband is an attorney (and helped us write up a Childcare Agreement), she's crunchy enough to be willing to use cloth diapers for us, and her sister is a Sister.

Maybe you figured it out? Audrey is now in the care of Amelia at One Catholic Mama for 4 days a week! I think she likes it.

:: Our church directory pic came in. No apologies for this being a picture of a picture.

Yes, Audrey slept through the whole thing.


:: I got my hair cut super short and everyone likes it but me. We got headshots done at work last week, and I wish I'd just left it long. Sigh. But new LinkedIn pic will be coming anyway because my current one has been photo-shopped (by me) to death.

Okay but really.

This was a GOOD hair day. It's gone downhill since.

:: I made an ad for a charity event/auction's program. I'm pretty impressed with myself. My company has contracted most of our big ads out with an agency, but occasionally these little dinky things come along and usually have a quick turnaround time (I had one day's notice on this). It's exciting to me, though!

(I swear it had a top line in the high res version.)

:: Frugal win: I downloaded the McDonald's app and I'm getting a free sandwich. See for yourself.

I'll leave you with a another cute kid pic.

Camel Rides, Fat People Crying, and a New Belly Button (7QT)

--- 1 ---

Baby Audrey is 8 weeks old! Read her birth story if you're into that sorta thing.

So...the blog has been quiet other than the [video] House Tour I posted earlier this week. Enjoy these quick(ish) takes of how I spent my 2 months of maternity leave.

--- 2 ---

My husband did his annual "2-weeker" for the Navy Reserves back in May. That's in quotes because it actually was 19 days. I remained with both kids at home and only lost my ish a few times. I spent Memorial Day weekend at my in-laws' house to regain my sanity. (I basically just nursed baby, slept, and watched Netflix while my MIL handled Cora. It was glorious.)

Daddy and his Purple Ladies

B visited Pompeii during his time in Italy. His thoughts: "It's like going to the zoo, except if all the animals were dead."

--- 3 ---

In other big news, Cora had surgery this past Wednesday. She has had an umbilical hernia since birth that never closed (and never will--it should have closed by 2 years old), and that's something that apparently is better to get fixed now before she starts school. My kid now has an innie belly button, but it still looks a little weird to us. :-/

The idea of surgery freaked me out since I've actually never done one. Even my wisdom teeth were taken out under just local anesthetic (it really wasn't bad!). So her surgery was probably harder for me than it was for her. It was a quick procedure and we were home for dinner that night. She's doing fine, and you would never even know it happened except that she's refusing to bend over sometimes. But for the most part, she's back to her semi-obnoxious 'threenager' ways.

--- 4 ---

I go back to work on Tuesday. I like my job, and boy do I neeeeeed a break from the 3-year-old, but I'll miss my little peanut. I was somehow handed the World's Easiest Baby. Seriously. She even sleeps for an 8-hour stretch at night right now. (I'm currently waiting for the other shoe to drop because this must be some sort of dream.)

B will be a stay-at-home dad this summer, and I'm hoping he can bring everyone for lunch some time. Food Truck Thursday picnic?

--- 5 ---

This past weekend our town hosted a [very] small Arab Fest, and I dragged B and the girls so they could get in touch with their heritage. (I'm half-Lebanese.) Cora rode a camel and made a bracelet and I ate kibbe.

--- 6 ---

One of my favorite summer shows is Extreme Weight Loss on ABC. B has dubbed this one (and all weight loss shows) as "Fat People Crying." Have I ever mentioned that B has a type of blunt honesty about him? It's not always endearing. But on the topic of weight loss, check out this awesome article at Patheos by Rebecca Frech on her weight loss and why she's ticked that people keep asking her what her husband thinks about it.

--- 7 ---

I celebrated my 31st birthday last week on the 1st! It was the day after B got back from Italy. Our original plan was to hit up a baseball game here, but it was too cold! (A June birthday should never be 'too cold' on this continent, but it was.) I did however to my annual birthday freebie spree, and I will be sharing my favorites with you soon. Here's a preview to tide you over.

For more Quick Takes, visit This Ain't the Lyceum

My Life Exhausts Me, But At Least My Daughter Is A Genius (7QT)

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Well, I think the title of this post says it all. I have way too much going on right now. I'm now 19 weeks pregnant, I'm still in the learning curve of my new job, my husband is a grad student who doesn't get home until after 6:30 four nights a week (so I have to get dinner cooking as soon as I get home), I'm dealing with a sometimes-ornery toddler, and I'm attempting to stay fit and healthy. Oh, I'm also a student taking classes 3 mornings a week to get my real estate license (required for my job), so I'm reading and studying (read: falling asleep in my textbook) every night. To top it all off, I ended up having a medical issue this Monday (unrelated to pregnancy and rather minor) that left me in a good bit of pain. I'm mostly recovered but still have a big bandage on my back.

At least I voted on Tuesday.

--- 2 ---

So, yeah, it's exhausting, but I'm enjoying my new job! It's a lot of different stuff every day, and I've gotten the chance to design two ads already. My portfolio is happy, and I'm learning lots of new stuff.

--- 3 ---

Cora is doing great at daycare. After about a month, they decided to move her up to the 3-year-old class, even though she doesn't turn 3 until late January. I was a bit skeptical, but it seems to be a good fit for her! Not to get too much into mommy wars territory here, but if we had waited until "3 and ready" to potty-train, this couldn't have happened. (She actually started at daycare in the 2.5-and-potty-trained class, instead of the 2.5-and-not class.) Also, it's $20 cheaper a month for us now! Win win.

She can spell her name aloud and count to 25 on a good day. She knows some numbers in Spanish (thanks, daycare!) and a handful of sign language. (Yeah, I'm bragging, but I'm also writing it somewhere so I can remember for later.)

--- 4 ---

Speaking of my little genius, here is a video of her putting together a 24-piece puzzle with no help last week. (I sped up a good chunk of it.)

--- 5 ---

Belly picture? You got it.

This was at 18 weeks even.

--- 6 ---

It snowed on Halloween here, just for the exact time we went trick-or-treating. We bundled up and hit about 7 houses. But I made sure Cora got to the one that gives out full-size candy bars! She enjoyed being Minnie Mouse.

--- 7 ---

And she is now prepared for winter, thanks to the snowsuit I just got her. (Burlington for the win.) She calls it the "Minnie Mouse coat" for obvious reason.

I'm thinking I might have to cave and buy a maternity coat this time around. Also, we can't put Cora in the car seat in that coat. What a pain in the butt. Can you tell I'm already dreading winter??

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

7 Quick Takes: Working for the Weekend

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I'm alive! (Always a good thing to celebrate, right?) I started my full-time big-girl job (career?) last week and have gotten into a bit of a groove with it. Still a lot to learn, but we at least have our daily family schedule working with few hiccups.

--- 2 ---

Cora is absolutely LOVING daycare! This child is very social, so I never had any worries about her. We both went to drop her off on the first day last week, and she just marched right up to the breakfast table, pulled out a chair, and sat right down. Hardly looked back at either of us. Her teacher said it would be okay to call them to check in that first day, and that most parents do. B and I looked at each other and both said, "Yeah, we probably won't."

We didn't.

--- 3 ---

First day of school picture? Yeah, I took one.

That's her "daycare bear." She still does not know how to name things.

--- 4 ---

And here's my first day of work selfie, in my car because I got there a bit too early:

And my building:

I'm in the top floor of the building on the left.
The smaller building on the right is a long-standing novelty shop/Fort Wayne institution called Stoner's.

--- 5 ---

This downtown-working thing is . . . quite interesting. We had a bomb threat in the building the other day and had to evacuate. There was a gas leak evacuation last week that I somehow just missed having to deal with. My parking is about a block away. Fine for now, but we have really long and snowy winters here, so I will have to wear boots and tights and bundles, and then change and look presentable once I get in the building. Can't wait. (Except that I can.)

The good news is that I work 8-5 and most of my co-workers are 8:30-5:30, giving me a full half-hour to shake the snow off. But then if I want to go out for lunch? Suit up again and hike it around town to get some food. This is probably why Waiter on the Way is so successful around here, now that I think about it.

--- 6 ---

Okay, enough about work. My brain is too mushy to think of anything else halfway-interesting to say, so please enjoy this silly song about pants:

--- 7 ---

I got nothin'. If I think too hard about this, I'll never hit the Publish button.

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

Pick Two

I remember an old saying from my college days: Sleep, party, study: pick two. Of course I did all three, but I would say partying was pretty light for me. And only existed on weekends.

I have realized that in other parts of my life it's sorta like picking 2 out of 3.

Planning your dinner? cheap, fast, healthy: pick two (no, going to Subway is not considered 'cheap' in my realm). Finding a place to live? cost, location, safety: pick two.

Now that I'm trying to figure out the balance of being a working (outside the home) mom, I have a new dilemma: see/take care of your family, take care of yourself, take care of your house: pick two?

Of course I would love to do all three, but I know the difficulty of that. I was raised by two working parents, and they did a great job of taking care of us. However, we had a cleaning lady for the house part  (it still was pretty messy on those off-weeks), and I really don't think either of my parents did a great job of taking care of themselves. My dad now goes to the gym every morning bright and early, but it was long overdue and he has more health issues to overcome now.

I know I will put my family first, but I feel like I need to choose the second piece. It wasn't that hard to decide, but it may be harder to execute. I will put my health above having a clean house. Let me repeat: my health is more important than a clean house.

When you really think about it, someone else can come clean my house (if we have the money or I beg my MIL or whatever), but nobody else can run 3 miles for me. This will involve more sacrifices on my part, either getting up to get to the gym when it opens at 5am or staying up later to work out after Cora is in bed. Working out was easy when I was a full-time SAHM because it was part of our routine. Every Monday, Thursday, and Saturday at 9am, like clockwork. Hopefully I can get into some sort of groove with a schedule and not burn myself out.

Have you ever had to pick two?

Sidenote: I just found out there is a word for this, and it is called a trilemma. Mind = blown.

Re-Joining the Rat Race

For a long time, the little blurb about me on the right sidebar of this page claimed I was an "escapee of cubicle life, faking my way through domesticity."

The latter part is still mostly true, but I am officially un-escaping office life! I just accepted an offer for a full-time, Monday-through-Friday, during waking hours, honest-to-goodness-put-your-big-girl-pants-back-on JAY OH BEE. Nay, a career. My official title (for the curious): Brokerage Assistant.

After B left his job back in May with sights set on grad school, we mutually decided I should start looking for work. I was hoping to get a few temp gigs here and there, maybe some part-time work, who really knew. Well, nothing of that sort was panning out. Don't get me wrong, I still love the idea of part-time work, but it was all selling myself short, and I knew it. This one position kicked up on monster.com, and it almost seemed tailor-made for my experience and education. Luckily, the company saw that as well. After 2 rounds of interviews (I somehow dazzled them with my winning personality in that 2nd one!), I got an offer the next day.

And I'm excited! I'm energized by the company, and I know it will be tough. But being a SAHM is tough, and I'm not sure if I really ever quite got the hang of it. The truth is, I never fully desired to be a SAHM, but instead fell into it after we moved here to Fort Wayne. So here I am, just shy of 2 years later, joining the ranks of the WOTHMs (work-outside-the-home-moms). Sure, I was raised by one, but that doesn't mean I'm not scared to death of it. It's all about finding balance, and I'm not sure I ever even achieved that when staying home.

For those of you who worrying about the 'gap' from staying at home, fear not. At least in this town, it was never frowned upon. I usually didn't bring up the fact I have a child in interviews (they can't discriminate based on it, so they usually don't ask), but I think it was often inferred. My previous experience, even from 5 years ago, did most of the talking for me, and I just led them back to that.

I have no idea where this path is going to take me, but I'm fired up and ready to start the journey. Here's to new beginnings!