I'm fabulous apparently

In case you couldn't tell, I've been busy. Here's one of the blog posts I planned on posting this week. Thanks to Ms. Mess for granting me with this accolade. 



 Here's the drill:
1. Post the rules.
2. Name five of your most fabulous moments, either in real life or in the blogosphere.
3. Name five things you love.
4. Name five things you hate.
5. Pass the ribbon on to five other bloggers. (Leave them a comment to notify them of their win.)







Fabulous Moments:
1. Henry's birth. By far the happiest day of my life. I had no idea if he was a boy or a girl, when he was coming, what he would look like, nothing. It was the biggest surprise I've ever had. I'll never forget asking, "What is it? What is it?" after he came out and Ryan shouted, "It's a penis! I mean, it's a boy!" Priceless.
2. When Ryan first said he loved me. Cue the awwwwws. Sorry to be sappy, but I had been crushing on him since I was fifteen. When the guy of your dreams tells you he loves you, it's surreal. I still pinch myself sometimes.
3. Losing weight. I'd always been athletic, but my last year of college I was under an unreal amount of stress. I had a lot of life changes and a crazy class schedule and really difficult student teaching assignment (five preps!). I turned to running and working out just to let it all go, and I ended up losing about 20 pounds. Running wasn't a chore; it was an outlet. I really want to tap into that energy again after I have this baby. 
4. Students telling me they learned something from me. I love it when a student tells me s/he knows something because I taught it to him/her. It is so fulfilling. I'm lucky to have taught high school too, so some students even tell me they are majoring in English or journalism because of me. I'm humbled by this. 
5. Getting a retweet from Ricki Lake. I was so excited about the arrival of More Business of Being Born, I tweeted something about it and she retweeted me. I know. I'm a nerd, but I feel like you knew this already.


Hates: (I'm putting this in the middle to end on a good note)
1. Status updates about going to the gym/working out. Your motives are transparent. Cut it out. Go buy a medal already.
2. Improper use of grammar, mechanics, and language. My biggest pet peeve is every day vs. everyday usage*. It's used wrong everywhere from Wendy's to Walgreen's. One thing I hate about the holidays is the cards that come in addressed to The Smith's** from The Miller's. Why the apostrophe? It's plural, not possessive. I'm really not trying to come off as a snob. If you see a grammar/mechanical/usage error frequently on my blog, PLEASE let me know. I love learning new stuff about grammar. This is not the case with everyone I have found.
3. Chosen ignorance on matters that affect you or your loved ones. It's your duty to be informed when your family's at stake, which is why, even though I hate politics, I am paying close attention to this election. Starting today, I swear. I try to make informed decisions on matters that will impact my family, which is why I don't use certain products, buy certain brands, or participate in some standards of living. It's why I consider myself a researcher, but it can feel overwhelming. I just aim for progress, not perfection. 
4. Politics. It's so contentious! It's hard to have a 'friendly' conversation about politics.
5. Comic Sans. Please stop using this font. Nails on a chalkboard.


Loves:
1. Sam Adams Seasonal Beers. I judge the changing of the seasons, not by the leaves or the weather, but by beer. I am so blessed to be having my baby at the start of football season when Sam Adams's Octoberfest beer will be sold. There is a God and he is merciful.
2. Reading late into the night. I love when you are so sucked into a book you can't put it down and to hell with the time. I'm currently reading the Game of Thrones series (judge me. go ahead) and am losing a lot of sleep. Don't care.
3. Naps with Henry. One of the blessings I have being at home with Henry is our ability to nap together. I don't do it often because I don't want him to expect it, but it's so great to wake up next to your little man who is drooling all over your sheets and snoring contentedly.
4. Field hockey. Oh, I miss it. I played on a fall league after college and loved it. There's nothing like the sound of a ball hitting the back of the goal after you've gotten it around a defender. 
5. Turquoise. I'm not talking that tacky 80's shade, but more Tiffany's shade. I've loved this color since I was little and pink was supposed to be the cool color. It looks great alone or paired with other colors like red (my fav) brown, coral, pink, you name it. I'm so mad that Pottery Barn Kids now has a white and turquoise sheet option for nurseries. I would've totally bought those sheets and added green accents when Henry was born. If this one's a girl, I would've added pink. Booooo. Spending $300 on bedding is not in the budget either.


Other Fabulous Blogs: (in no particular order)
1. JoJo at Design in Bloom
2. Casey and Leslie at Our Tale of Two Cities
3. Sarah at growing, laughing, and loving life
4. Joanna at Holistic Mothering Group
5. Katie at Moore from Katie




*Hint: every day is the same as using each day. If it doesn't make sense to say something like, "each day low savings", then you should be using everyday. If you can replace what you're saying with each day like, "each day I brush my teeth" you should be using every day.
**Not my real last name, creeper.

Catch up

What a week! Henry's birthday, working on the big boy room, preparing for friends and relatives to visit, and trips to the gym have completely sucked up my time. The one activity that I have spent three days working on, though, is our family budget.

I'm giving myself 15 minutes to write, so if this entry leaves much to be desired, sorry. I just need to mop my floors because my feet are starting to stick to the floor. True story.

Anyways, since our air conditioning crisis, I've realized how mindless I've been with money. I feel like in a home, you can pick a clean house, happy/clean/healthy kids, an in-shape mom, a stocked fridge and pantry, or a balanced budget, but you are never going to have it all. (There's a pin for that floating on pinterest, but I just wasted five minutes looking for it to no avail). I've been so focused on the rest, that I've totally let the budget slide because I'm not Wonder Mom, and I really shouldn't be drinking that much caffeine.

Ryan and I took Dave Ramsey's 13 week money course and made such great headway, but we drifted away from our budget once Ryan switched jobs because it was so confusing to budget during that in between time. We never really got back on. It took me THREE DAYS-- no naps, all my free time-- to get back on track. Thankfully, we'll be ready to go once Ryan gets paid again and the mama bear in me can calm down.

The bad news is, during those three days, I did no laundry. No vacuuming. No sweeping/mopping-- nada. My house is embarrassing at the moment. I love Gretchen Rubin's saying that "outer order contributes to inner calm", but right now, my house is a shit show. No wonder I'm so stressed out; everywhere I turn I have something that needs to be swept/wiped down/put away/thrown out. On top of everything else, I am really starting to feel this baby's weight, and I feel downright unwieldy. I am constantly exhausted, and I still have three months to go! WEEE!

My time is almost up, so I'm going to give you a little preview of what's to come in this next week's posts, which is a lot of catch-up posts: Henry's Yo Gabba Gabba birthday, Henry's list of favorite things for June, Big Boy room progress, Summer Docket update, Fabulous Blogger Ribbon, and a pinterest challenge.

Now to tackle my floors. WOOF.

Summertime Pregnancy

In case you haven't noticed, we're having a heat wave. It's hotter here than it is in Hawaii; my parents just informed me of that. For pregnant women, whose body temperatures are already higher, this is plain cruel because we are sweating like whores in church AND because we are not in Hawaii. Unless of course you are.

In an effort to see the silver lining, I've compiled a list of reasons it's actually nice to be pregnant in the summer. Yes. There are reasons. Plural. Not many, so don't get too excited.

1.) The clothes are cuter- I'm a firm believer that spring and summer clothes are cuter in general anyway, but especially on a pregnant woman. It's easier to look pulled together with a pod growing out of your abdomen while wearing a summer dress than wearing a chunky sweater, cords, and boots (I actually cringed at the thought of wearing that because it's 7:30 and 101 degrees out). My summer pregnancy uniform is shorts (tangerine ones are my fav), sleeveless tank, and Toms/flops. No stuffing swollen feet into socks and boots!

 


2.) You can be tan!- Granted, I do not let the sun touch my face-- I get ugly splotches when I'm pregnant-- but, the rest of my body is tan, which makes me feel healthy rather than fat and pasty--very easy to feel when you're pregnant in January. I loathe burning, so I'm a Nazi about sunscreen, and am proud of the glow I've attained despite wearing SPF 30 religiously.

That's me. Pfff! 

3.) The food is better- for you, I suppose. There are so many delicious fruits and vegetables in season like:  cherries, watermelon, strawberries, summer squash, corn on the cob, etc. I know you can still gorge yourself on hamburgers on the 4th of July and ice cream at the pool, but I don't tend to feel hungry when I'm sweating buckets.

4.) Fewer gluttonous holidays- If you are due after the terrible triumvirate (Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas), expect a few extra pounds than normal. It's really hard to deprive yourself when that cute little bump seems to hide everything. Over the summer, you catch a break. The food at get togethers is less carby and more fruit and vegetabley.

Would you like some butter with that Christmas ham?

5.) Time flies- Vacations, reunions, cookouts, and weddings seem to come charging at you like an unstoppable rebel force. Once you hit September and the kids are back to school, time seems to slow down a bit as does your social calendar. (Keep in mind this is relative--if you just got pregnant, I can imagine nothing worse than being a nauseous, sweaty, vomity mess in 101 degree heat. I'm sure you feel every milisecond of summer and would gladly cut me for making light of summer. In which case, I'll gladly hand you my nail file should we meet at Target).

6.) There's always air conditioning- unless there's not, like this past weekend. I'm thankful that every where I really need to go, has air conditioning. My house, my car, where I shop. Unless it's the pool, I do not need to associate with places that don't have air conditioning, thankyouverymuch. Ms. Mess enlightened me when we were both pregnant with our first children. I was due in July, she was due in September. I said, "I'm so sorry you have to endure the rest of the summer". She said, "Why? Everywhere I need to be has air conditioning". Duh!

7.) The weather will be nicer when the baby gets here-  Unless you give birth tomorrow (like I did two years ago), the weather will be nicer when the baby arrives and you are ready to get out of the house. When I had Henry two years ago almost to the day, I was so annoyed that it was too hot to take him out for a walk. Even if I stripped him down to a diaper, it was to damn hot out. I had horrible cabin fever and didn't feel like I could handle taking him to the mall by myself. If you're due anywhere from September-May in this area, I feel like you can always bundle yourselves up and get some fresh air. Right now, the air is neither fresh nor air. It is odious steam.

8.) You'll get to drink when it REALLY counts- This one is a little debatable, and I'm not afraid to admit I'm grasping for straws here, but football season and the holidays are when I want to drink. I LOVE drinking a Corona with a lime on the beach, but I adore drinking Sam Adams Octoberfest during a Redskins game or having a glass of red wine by the fire at Christmas. I also love drinking a glass of champagne (or ten) on New Year's Eve, but that's neither here nor there. The jury's out on this one since drinking Coronas on the beach is exquisite, but I'd like to think that drinking during football season trumps all. My apologies to the ladies who are due after the season ends. If it's any consolation I think we're in for a doozy with the mess the Saints left us in the NFL and the BCS play-offs in college football.

I'm waiting my friend. See you soon.

Boy or Girl? Update!

I mentioned in a previous post that I wanted to consult the woman who does my nails about the sex of this baby since she was right with Henry. When I'd gone by a few weeks ago, she wasn't working (of course), so I stopped by on my way to the store today.

After lifting up my shirt and examining my belly, she predicted a baby girl. On the way out, a woman getting her toes done confirmed the prediction, claiming she's never been wrong.

So here's the rundown:

Mother's Intuition: GIRL

Chinese Gender Predictor: GIRL

Parents Quiz: BOY

BabyZone Quiz: GIRL

Beverly at Costco (who was right with Henry): GIRL

Aesthetician at Sara Nail* (who was right with Henry): GIRL

Random Woman at Sara Nail: GIRL

I'm not going to lie, lately I've been getting boy vibes and getting super nervous since Ryan and I have had the hardest time finding a boy name, but I did the same thing with Henry. I was convinced I was having a boy until the last trimester came around. I started second guessing myself. Maybe I'm doing it again?

I've decided not to splurge on the boy or girl detectors you can buy at CVS because with our recent air conditioning debacle, I can't justify spending $40 on a test that, according to reviews on Amazon, isn't even accurate. I'll just wait three months and see. 

*Just to be clear, that is not a typo. It is Sara Nail. Just one. 

Getting it Together

I mentioned in my last post that we needed all the energy we could muster for what faced us when we came home from the beach. Here's why:

We were all smug for getting on the road by 6 a.m. and making it home in 4 hours. What we didn't realize, though, was that there was a MAJOR storm in the DC metro area. 80 mph winds major. 1.5 million people out of power major. 5 deaths major. When we walked in the door, it took me five minutes to decide we needed to get back in the car and find a hotel. Our power was out and the thermostat read 89 degrees, and it was only 10 a.m.; it was only going to get hotter. Unfortunately, everyone had the same idea as us and the hotels were either full or out of power. After three hours of driving around, we finally found a friend who had power and was willing to let us stay.

When our power finally came back on late Sunday, we realized that our air conditioning was broken. Again. I was ready to cry. We had all our stuff from the beach still packed up. Our belongings were scattered between our hot house and my parents' house, which had gained power Saturday evening. I couldn't unpack anything, I couldn't clean out my fridge. I was just frustrated because I was desperate to get settled.

Just as I was about to have a meltdown, I saw on the news a woman crying. Turns out her husband was coming home from class late Friday night when a tree hit an electrical transformer/transmitter box, which then fell on his car, killing him instantly. She is now a single mother of two kids. Suddenly life didn't seem so bad.

I had no idea when I took these pictures that this is where the tree fell on the father of two.

Yes, we weren't able to move back into our house until Tuesday. Yes, we had to throw out pretty much the entire contents of our fridge. Yes, it was really stressful living in someone else's house. Yes, I am freaking out because we are going to have to buy a new heating/cooling unit at a cool cost of $5000. But, I know that woman-- who lives less than 2 miles from me-- would trade with me if it meant her husband could be with her. Gulp.

I'm done unpacking and focusing on making and following a budget so that we don't have to finance this unexpected expense. My dreams of having a pimped out swagger wagon with flames on the side are going to have to be put on hold for the time being, but I'm really lucky that that's the only thing I lost from this storm.

Beach Highlights

We've been back from the beach for three days now, and I'm already wanting to go back. Ryan, Henry, and I had a blast when the house was at its peak occupancy of 15, but also liked the quiet when there were just 6 of us. I did wish everyone could have stayed the whole week, though. Without further ado, here are some pictures from the trip: 

This tray was definitely worth the $15. Henry seemed to like it too!

Finger painting in the car? Heck, yes. Even with the slipping tray. 

Splashing with Mommy and Aunt Ree Ree

Pool Party complete with floating beer pong.

Henry is going to be an awesome big brother. Look how he helped Lyla put her pacifier back in her mouth.

Ducky lounging in Lyla's bouncy seat.

Mason helping us get ready for our Taboo game that night.

Perfect size. Too bad we had no room for that in our car.

Henry eating a Duck Donut.

Dancing at the outdoor concert

My favorite picture. Henry and Daddy chilling on the beach.

 We had such a great vacation. It totally recharged our batteries, which was good because little did we know we'd be needing all the energy we could muster when we arrived home...