Half a year deep.

Life has formed into this predictable scattered beautiful mess. There are so many times I’m laying in bed playing out blog posts in my head and begging myself to carve out time to write and then I wake up and the thoughts have vanished. A benefit of working full time is that I used to have so much time to think; think in the quite of my office then quickly open up a document and write. And now? The most screen time I see is through my iPhone!

I used to think I’d have so much time to conquer ALL THE THINGS but some days when Davy asks me what we did I have to admit not much of anything. Not much of anything always includes throwing everyone together for preschool drop off, running errands, picking Moses up from preschool, making his lunch, making my lunch, eventually eating my lunch, rest time, nap time, cleaning the house, play time, cooking dinner, and then a dozen feedings and diaper changes in between. The day I just described I love but someday I get down on myself for not fitting in five more things on my to do list. I’m learning how to not regret living my life and sometimes that includes talking to my mom on her couch for two hours or strolling through Target.  I’m also learning what my priorities are for each season in my life. And also am I at my goal weight? No. Do my kids know I love them? You bet! Balance; so much strange balance.

Emery turned six months old on the 14^th and I really just hated it. With your first child it’s all about the milestones and the excitement their growth and development brings. With your second you’re literally begging for time to slow down and you know they will never ever be little again. He sits like a pro, would rather have a non toy over bright chew-friendly toy any day, and loves his Mamma. Oh boy does he love me; and I say this half heart happy and half oh my gosh I’ve created a monster! Seeing as we spend almost every waking hour together we’ve formed a rather tight bond and well lets just say if an hour goes by and I’m not back he’s not very happy about it! Thankfully Davy comes in close second and they do great together so I can slip away when needed. Another thing about milestones and second kids; you don’t really care! I’ve yet to look in a baby book and make sure he was hitting his marks yet at his 6 months appointment he was right on track. It took him a long time to roll over compared to Moses (Mo was a stomach sleeper and Em was a swaddled back sleeper) but there was not one part of me that thought what if he’s two and still can’t roll over!

He’s generally a very pleasant baby; he’ll sit and play for a while then fall over and play on his stomach then do the 360 turning scoot and play with whatever else he can find then maybe whine for me to come move him. The only small (okay huge) downside is his sleep or should I say lack of sleep. He was sleeping six hour stretches then they went to four to three and not it seems like we are up several times a night. I’ve started to dread bedtime and every few days I think I may loose it over the lack of sleep but then he wakes up with a big smile and all is well again. I know what we should be doing but yadda yadda excuses excuses neither of us sleep much (side note as I’m writing this he is laying on the floor talking up a storm of babble and smiling at me as if he knows I’m talking about him).

As you can see from the pictures he’s got a noggin fit for a toddler and eyes to match; oh those big brown eyes! 9 out of 10 times stranger mention how big and beautiful his eyes are and I happily agree. Funny how I used to wonder what he would look like and now I get to stare at him all day! My newest curiosities are what will he look like as a toddler, what will his personality be like, and can I handle it if I’ve got another goof troop on my hands.

And since we are talking about growth and development I’ll throw in an update on Big Brother Moses. The questions? They’ve never stopped and my guess is they won’t until he thinks he knows more than us (so what is that…9 more years?)! He loves school and learning but right now everything is a race to the finish. He’s hitting all his school milestones and his memory is still incredible; he can quickly spout off 1-100, months of the year, countdowns, school songs, and recall a moment we shared two years ago! Aside from milestones he is still such a social butterfly! I’ve talked about it on Instragram but he has a steady girlfriend at school and when I asked why she was a girlfriend and not just a friend girl he told me because he just loves her so much. He’s also into playing tag and wrestling dad and being a typical (almost) five year old.

I’ve have so much more I want to share, mostly about the last few months, but my slice of silence is over and I’ve got big brown eyes that won’t stop staring at me!

Here we are.

This day has been four and a half years in the making; it's consisted of many tears, pumping sessions, guilt, organization, frustration, and joy. When Moses was born there was no discussion because the possibility of making it work was zilch so six weeks post partum I was kissing him goodbye. We'd wake up early and get home late; I learned the art of cramming every errand into a lunch hour and meal planning with my crock pot became a necessity. When talks came of adding another child to our bunch I was adamant there was no way I could leave my baby again not to mention practically working just to pay the daycare fees (hello mortgage payment!). But months turned into years and the situation didn't look like it was ever going to change so we trusted the Lord knew better than us and we became pregnant. As you may recall this past year Davy also started The Worst Job Ever and there were many frustrating conversations along with the making of many spreadsheets and saying things like well we'll just never eat out again only to come to the conclusion this budget probably won't work. But then God made the impossible possible and provided a new incredible job for Davy and for the first time ever there was a glimmer of hope that we could make this work. This great job opportunity only got better and better and better so much so we would giggle and think how is this even possible... we are so blessed. As you may recall from the photo I posted on Instagram weeks ago saying I want to remember this moment forever and that's because it was my first day as a stay at home mom.

　
Even writing this weeks later it still brings bubbling tears because I'm so incredibly grateful.... I am a stay at home mom.

　
So that's life as of lately! People told me things like you're going to go stir crazy or it's so frustrating but honestly I'm still riding on cloud nine loving my new job. I'm finding it humorously strange to have all day to do house chores whereas I used to fit everything into two hours at night. On that same note sometimes with two kids it takes all day just to do a couple loads of laundry!

No real routine has been established yet and I am perfectly okay with that because we are just enjoying the summer: I still catch myself riding down the road on a Tuesday afternoon and thinking WOW normally I would be working but I'm not and won't be...this isn't maternity leave...this is life! As Emery has gotten older it has been easier to do a few play dates with friends and I can't wait to do more!

  
 

Emery's Birth Story

Something about going into our 41 week appointment Monday May 13th and hearing I was still 3 cm and nothing had changed made me relax. I wasn't happy to agree to an induction Friday and I wasn't too excited about spending another week twiddling my thumbs but somehow in our minds it calmed things. Monday night came around and I went to bed per usual only to be woken around 2:30am with a contraction. I'd been feeling contractions for weeks but I knew immediately this lower ab cramp like contraction was labor. I waited and sure enough another then another came. I shut my eyes and tried desperately to get rest because if this was going to be anything like Moses' birth I needed rest. Every 7 min I was back to concentrated breathing and then the bathroom trips started. Contractions bounced from 5 to 3 min apart for most of the morning. Around 5am I was on all fours in the bed trying a new position to work through a contraction when Davy rolls over and noticed; very excitedly he asked "are you in labor?!" and I couldn't lie "yes, but go back to sleep and relax"....yeah right. I could see his mind wheeling and we hugged and giggled and tried to chill out. My goal was for Moses to wake up naturally for school, get him out the door, and then head to the hospital.

Things started to pick up and by the time Moses woke I was hiding during contractions so he wasn't alarmed. By 7:15am I was asking Davy how much longer before they got out of the house aka how much longer before we can go to the hospital. Before Moses left we got to sit him down and share with him today was the day Baby Brother was coming; to say he was excited was an understatement. To be able to understand that when he got picked up from school he would get to meet him was so much fun for him to think about and made our hearts swell. 

At 8am we were checking into triage and by 8:30am I was hearing the nurse's surprising voice as she couldn't believe I was already 6cm and extremely favorable. At that time she asked about pain management and after a slight waiver of pure fear of the unknown I told her I wanted nothing. She left and I cried; cried because 1. this just got real 2. I was actually attempting unmedicated birth 3. finally.

Once we got settled into our room our nurse Joanna walked us through some checks that needed to be done and once we shared I wanted to go unmedicated she turned on her crunchy side and was 100% supportive the entire time. For the next two hours I labored in the shower, walked around, and sat on the birth ball.

 

I was surprised to find that during contractions I didn't want anyone to speak a word and the only comfort I needed was Davy's hand to squeeze. Between contractions I came back to earth fully aware and able to hold conversations, laugh, and feel normal; such a difference between last time when I felt so much was out of my control. I even fell asleep on the birth ball leaning onto the bed at 8cm during a set of contractions which I didn't even know was possible.

Around 11:30am Jane, my midwife, checked to find I was 8cm with a very bulging bag; we decided we could wait until it broke naturally or she could break it and most likely I could start pushing so I went for the 2nd option because at this point a few more intense contractions were worth the few minuets her breaking it would shave off. Once waters were broken she said I was welcome to start pushing on the next contraction. Wait a minuet, is this a joke? I was so surprised that we were here; we were to the pushing stage and I'd come this far is such a short time and more importantly I wasn't freaking out! Jane sat on the side of the bed with Davy to my left and the nurse on my right and I started pushing.

The ring of fire is exactly how it sounds and ouch, it burned! Two contractions in they made it sound like he was practically out and I was able to feel the top of his head. Between the excitement, the adrenalin, and the burning I was able to push him out two contractions later.

At 11:52am our Emery Shepherd was here!
9 pounds 13 ounces 21 inches long!

 

It was surreal; he was here, perfectly healthy, sitting on my chest...all before lunchtime.

After we got settled into our room our first visitor was Big Brother Moses which is exactly how I wanted it. He came into the room and almost immediately wanted to know where the surprise was that Emery had mentioned in the letter "he wrote" to him that day. After opening his Big Brother present he started to become more interested and the rest is history. The touching, the kissing, the more kissing, the holding, the loving.

 

As first time parents there were lots of tears; fear of the unknown, fear he would die in his sleep, fear we weren't doing things right. This time around we were ol' pros and even found ourselves twiddling our thumbs Wednesday ready to go home. Here are a few more pictures of our hospital stay and our very chunky (who doesn't even look chunky today!) boy in his going home outfit.

 

God is so good and we are so blessed. To be given Moses to raise and love was enough to last a lifetime so to have Emery is like icing on the cake; our wonderful family of four.

At 2 weeks {a week late}

The birth story is written just waiting on some first pictures taken at the hospital to post everything at once. Until then I wanted to get share some things going on in the past two weeks. For the unforeseen future most things will be written in blip format because that's how my brain is functioning lately :)

He was down to 9lbs the night before leaving the hospital, 9.3lbs at his 3 day doctors apt and then at 10 days old back up to 9.11lbs. So it's safe to say he's probably 10 lbs today but surprisingly he doesn't seem big at all. He appears long and lean and I'm having a hard time dressing him in anything but newborn size clothes right now.

At exactly two weeks his umbilical cord fell off and he got his first bath. Much to our surprise he loved the water and didn't mind all of our hands in his tub. His skin has still been incredibly dry so we figured once he got a good scrub it would slightly exfoliate and pull of all the dead skin but nope, still flaky as ever!

He WAS staying pretty consistent with his nightly sleeping going from 2-6am then 6:30 until 8ish but as soon as we thought we had this covered he had other plans and has changed things up on us. Thankfully the only thing I have to do everyday is snuggle and love on this little guy so I'm not too worried about trying to figure out a schedule at this point.

At one week old I got a call from Davy that ended up landing him in the ER with a cracked rib. He dropped the weight bar on his chest during a workout (yes, he had a spot) and was breathless and in extreme pain. Living literally two blocks from the hospital it killed me that I couldn't be with him but the ER is no place for a newborn. Thankfully it was only a crack and he is doing better everyday but unfortunately it put him out of work and unable to pick up much of anything for days. Oy!

As parents of newborns, especially boys, it's no surprise to hear we've been peed on before however it was a bit of a shock when I got pooped on. And when I say pooped on I mean sprayed like a skunk with newborn poo! I was changing him on the ottoman when I lifted his legs and the next thing I know my legs, dress, couch, and anything else in sight was covered with yellow mustard muck. I took a picture because I didn't think Davy would believe me however they will never end up online. How's that for birth control?

And don't think we've forgot about Moses! He finished up baseball season and is loving life as a big brother! SUCH A GREAT BIG HELPER!

 

 

*He'll be 3 weeks old tomorrow and I'm a week late posting this....story of my life!

** These posts are mostly for my memory sake; some of the information most could care less about but since I use this blog as a life journal I wanted to write about them. I promise not every post will be a baby update :)

 

He's here! {ESW}

And just like that, in His most perfect timing, he's here!

  

Emery Shepherd Waldman

Born at 11:52am Tuesday May 15th

9 lbs 13 oz 21 inches long

 

A birth story is to come but I wanted to get out a few things about the last 5 days before they start running together.

Overall it's been an incredible experience; after a picture perfect birth we had excellent care throughout our stay at the hospital and the adjustment at home has been kind to me.

Emery surprised us all with his dark hair and complexion! We still can't get over his long fingers and mirror image feet of his Daddy's. His nose is just like Moses' which is just like mine but his head shape and chin are all his own. He had lots of built up mucus the days following birth so there was lots of burping, choking, and congestion but on day 5 we are down to just a little snoring and heavy breathing. On thing to note about his complexion is the almost non existent jaundice this boy has; not 1 but 3 nurses and our pediatrician told us they've never seen someone with such low bilirubin levels!

Moses is handling things really well. We knew taking him to school Tuesday that he would have a baby brother by nightfall and we're able to share that with him before he left which made him very excited. I had a note written from Emery to Moses telling him how excited he was to meet him and that he had a surprise waiting when he got to the hospital so needless to stay after a brief hello to Emery he was looking for the special surprise! After that he warmed up to him, help him, and has given about 85 kisses since then.

I just heard poop from the swing so that's all for now!

PS. We are so head over heels crazy in love.

{His} time.

Alot has been going on lately that I haven’t shared because it wasn’t time. Now it’s time. The thing is we’ve been praying and trusting and praying and wearily trusting and praying some more on what God’s plan and direction would be in our lives. For a several months Davy has not been in a good job situation and it was not only taking him away from the family having to work 10 hour days and most Saturdays but it was also eating away at his easy going fun loving personality. It became a daily struggle to overcome the unethical immoral situations that were arising and it felt like weekly we were being tested with another issue. He had been applying for jobs, going to interviews, and even got an offer but every single thing fell through. We trusted that the Lord had a plan for us even if it meant staying put at this job which was a very hard thing to understand. To be honest I didn’t understand; why would we be stuck here? Why wasn’t anything working out? We were committed to Him yet here we stood month after month in the same spot. We were anxiously waiting what His plan for our live would be this coming year with the baby and if or when the job would ever change.

And then it happened. And in His most perfect timing it came by way of something completely out of the blue and 100% not our doing. See what He did there….made sure we knew He and only He was in control (oh so totally God!). A few phone calls and a meeting later Davy is now in a new job. A wonderful job. Eight weeks before my due date I’m on the phone with insurance companies swapping everything around and smiling knowing His timing really was perfect because the cherry on top is we will no longer be paying an arm & leg (and possibly the other arm) to have this baby. The timing is so perfect and we had absolutely no idea it was until it happened. We feel so blessed for His deliverance, so soaked in His love and protection, and overwhelmingly excited about this year.

Davy’s only just begun and I’m already excited about the new things we’re experiencing. We all wake up within the same hour now and get to see each other before work! We pulled out of the coffee maker last night and I dreamed of being that couple who enjoys a cup of coffee before work together (or at least wakes up to the smell of coffee in the house). And the very best part is his cheerfulness; it’s contagious!

Bounce out the silly! {4th Birthday Party}

This year he really got it. He counted down and eagerly awaited January 5th because "THAT’S MY BIRTHDAY AND I’LL BE FOUR YEARS OLD". In true Davy fashion a few days leading up to his special day he started making comments like "because I’m the birthday boy I’d like…" or "please let’s get a treat because it’s my birthday" and of course we ate it up. For his party we did his most favorite thing to do; go wild. We had all the friends and family get together for lunch then headed over to a bounce house and arcade to jump out all the sillies. I love seeing year after year the same gang of kids growing up and those who used to be fearful of jumping on the trampoline were now flipping off the top of the bouncy slides. Moses tends to think a lot of teenagers and adults are just as much his friends as they are ours and he absolutely loved having everyone he knew in one place. We are so thankful for the love and support these people have shown us since day one!

 

 

 

 

Thanks to smallfry.com I was inspired to do a birthday art project that he could enjoy for years to come and I love the way it turned out! Finger prints of most of our guest to make up a big bunch of balloons!

Zooooooo

This one will be filed back where it belongs (cough January cough) but for now I wanted to share one of my favorite memories of 2013 so far and it happen to take place on the very first day of the year. We are not much for impromptu trips due to work schedules and money and my over planning mind but this weekend was different; we both had the day off and Saturday afternoon I found myself calling to make sure the Zoo was open and H&M was open. Jacksonville, here we come.

We didn’t tell Moses this morning car ride was turning into an adventure until we hit I10 which made it all the more fun; we sang and talked and sang and talked and eventually pulled into the mall parking lot to load up on toddler H&M clothes. In and out as fast as we could because we had lions and tigers and bears to see!

 

The zoo had visitors but was never busy. The weather was cool but hot at the same time. We were kicking ourselves for not having enough time only to find out we had plenty of time. The experience was new and glorious.

My most favorite memory was the giraffe exhibit; as we walked up the ramp we were overwhelmed with the several very large creatures standing so close by. I was thrilled we had some vacation cash on hand to be able to feed the giraffes and I may have been more excited than Moses. We savored the few seconds it took for that long purple tongue to wrap around the branches and swallow them whole and I think both of us had smiles plastered on our faces long after it was over.

We started off the New Year right and to be honest it’s been going pretty great ever since!

My favorite moment of 2013 {wordless wednesday}

{file box}

One time my Mom and I drove from California to Las Vegas with my Aunt to visit my Cousin for a mini girl’s getaway. We didn’t have an agenda because when you’re under 21 in Vegas the best thing to do is eat and sight sees. My Cousin, who formally worked at MGM Grand, knew all the best places to see the free side shows and which hotels would really wow us. For dinner we went to Kahunaville located inside Treasure Island and had incredibly expensive virgin pina coladas and massive tropical dinner plates. My Mom had over half her meal left by the time we were all stuffed but she refused a To Go box after stating it was some of the best hibachi she’s ever tasted. She told me it would take too long to walk it back to the car and she didn’t want to carry it around; as silly as it sounds I felt sad for her knowing she’d never eat there again.

After we left dinner we were strolling around Treasure Island (or TI as they call it now to make it sound not so kid friendly) when we stopped and started talking about what we should do but being 19 years old at the time I had no clue. Walk some more? My Mom then casually mentioned we were standing in front of the Cirque du Soleil entrance and we should see the show; she knew I desperately wanted to see one but we both knew how expensive tickets were and passed on them months ago while planning the trip. I laughed and said “I wish but there is no way” then as cool as a cucumber she pulled out of her purse 4 tickets to the show. My mouth dropped…why did she have those? How did she have those? They were in her purse meaning she’s known we were going all along. The hotel, the dinner, the entrance…they knew all along. To say I was excited would be an understatement and to see they were center stage row 7 was the cherry on top. She gave up her dinner for me. She put out all that money for me. She planned it out and kept it a secret all for me.

I love this memory and hope it reminds me to never stop surprising my kids.

This is joy.

Being attacked by a toddler while wrapped in my husband’s arms with our second little bundle growing away inside me and feeling so incredibly genuinely happy.

 

I am so undeserving of this beautiful life I live in and thankful everyday for those that are in it.

So much joy.

(read: life)

Can we just call it a summer break and pretend I’m not the worst blogger ever? Remember how I used to post once, twice, three times a week? Ha! To be fair I have typed out a few blogs, then lost one, then the second one didn’t make sense without the first one, and then I’ve left the walls bare for far too long.

This silence isn’t due to depression or a new jet setting life—it’s due to a heck of a lot of changes both literally, emotionally, mentally, and all those gray areas in between.

Here’s a recap because at this point I need to stop feeling like crap I’ve abandoned my space on the internets and move on.

June—we find out mid June we need to find a new place to live in 5 weeks. We freak out. Money’s tight. It’s about to get tighter. We freak out some more, have little “what are we doing with our life” crisis, and decide to move 2 weeks later. We decide living simpler is not that big of a deal as long as we have each other (read: we move into a place with no yard and that is literally half the size of our old place). In the end we are about 2 miles from our old place and saving money—who would have thought, certainly not us.

July- I take a 6 day road trip with my mom and younger sister all the way up to Philadelphia for a family reunion. Favorite driving memories: eating, talking, listening to The Wedding on CD, eating, visiting Raleigh for the 4^th, eating, visiting Trader Joes for the first time and understand why people are kookoo for those Hawaiian shirt hippies, and eating. I loved seeing family, I hated driving through a hail storm on the Capital Beltway, and I missed my boys about day 4.

Get home to a house that isn’t mine and have a mini freak out again; what I’m I doing here. We seriously consider a lifelong dream of moving to France for year only to find out that’s going to be highly unlikely until we buckle down on the books for a few years or save enough money to not work the entire time we’re there (read: win the lottery).  

Emotional and internal start to change around our house and this becomes my new mantra: this is the day that the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it. Boom.

August- I turn crappy Saturdays Davy has to work into Adventure Days for Moses and I and we gallivant around town spending money on crack (read: Starbucks) and doing fun things together. Even the days Davy is home we still like to get out of the house and live. Davy’s work situation is at an all time awfulness and I’ve gained back a few pounds for simply pretending food consumption doesn’t count during the summer but oddly we’re finding so my joy. Our marriage is stronger than ever, my love for Moses is an oozy overflowing mess, and amongst muck there is joy, so much joy!

Imagine a small fort with flames being thrown toward it and evil people banging on the walls trying to knock them over. Inside that fort is us, our little family of 3, just skipping around having a good time. Occasionally a fire ball gets over the wall and knocks us down; turns our mood all mucky and we have a lapse in faith.  If we let it manifest on the inside and grow bigger and bigger then forget about it, our fort would fall apart and things would turn to crap—so instead we’re trusting God (you know, the one who built the fort walls out of steel) to take care of us.  

This is the day that the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it.

May {The 25}

I never wanted this to be a reason I avoided blogging or to ever feel overwhelming by the tasks; it’s supposed to be fun. It has been fun. Just because I miss a few things on the list that were intended to be monthly doesn’t mean I just need to push the entire list aside, right? Right? Right.

#3 Lose 20 pounds.

Check.

…..

...

WEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!! Check Check Check Mark! This was the hardest most farfetched thing on my list because I was sitting at a weight I was extremely uncomfortable at yet I let it ride out for months and months without doing a thing about it. How was I going to lose 5? 8? 12 pounds? 20…gone!

#6 Write a friend a letter at least once a month (12)

Finally sent out a few letters! I knew who the first person on my letter list would be and she continued to sit at #1 for the past few months while I avoided pulling out stationary. Then one day, out of the blue, I get a letter from her in the mail! A sweet letter of encouragement and it made my day! Then I thought to myself, if this made my day why the heck am I not sending out a letter to someone every week! It feels great to get something personal in the mail and I have to remember these letters aren’t for me but to encourage the person who receives them.

#12 Entertain friends/ family at least once a month at our house (12)

It was last minute but we had my mother in law over one night for dinner before she watched Moses so we could date. This happens almost every time we do something alone with Davy’s mom; we think “Gee that was nice, let’s remember to hang out with her alone more often” and then we never do! She lives alone and keeps busy by shopping and working on her house and loving on her grandkids but it’s nice have her over. Next up we must invite my parents over because sadly we never have had them for dinner. Weird, right?

And welp, that’s it! I have a few things planned out which will help tackle the list that I’m pretty excited about considering only 3 things got done last month it’s time to get out of my bubble and live a little more!

My Week: Monday

If you're sick of hearing about exercising, eating right, and losing weight, then press the back button and run away! While my Weight Watcher journey has sort of taken over the blog these last few months it doesn’t mean that’s all I’m focused on; my boys, house, work, family, and social life are still very much a part of the daily happenings. I thought it would be fun to share a glimpse into my week and how I’m juggling (not mastering) it all.

Monday

7am- waking up to the alarm; Davy is already gone for work.

7:15-8:15- laying out clothes for Moses, doing my makeup & hair, and figuring out what to wear and what to pack for lunch. I bring my bathroom box into the living room to get ready so I have time to talk with Moses and be present in his morning. He of course is eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich while watching a movie. If we have a banana he will ask for that first and breakfast is always accompanied with a glass of milk.

Food: I had time to make a fried egg and a slice of toast w/ 1 tsp of butter; it was a 5 point breakfast but very satisfying and tasty!

9am- At work I get a cup of coffee w/1 point of creamer.

10:30- I’m hungry but I’m busy so I just keep working

12:00- I’m too hungry to focus and I hate that I’ve waited this long…mistake! I’m staying in for lunch but realize throwing off my normal Monday lunchtime grocery shopping routine was a bad idea. I like to get out for lunch but today I’ll just sit around.

Food: I eat a Smart Ones quesadilla for 5 pts with a side of sliced bell peppers.  I finish and I’m still hungry and I know it’s because I didn’t have a snack. I decide to eat my 3 pt Greek yogurt too then its back to work.

3pm- I’m hungry, as I always am at this time. Today I know the plan is to work out hard so I want something that’s going to satisfy. I eat an individual cottage cheese (2%) an individual unsweetened pure applesauce (0 pts!) and a Dove mini chocolate. This week I discovered all of the Dove bites are 5 for 6 points (around 1 point each) so I’ve picked up the caramel filled milk chocolate ones as well as my traditional dark! I love BOGO; thanks for the heads up Tamera!

4:30pm- my mouth is bored therefore I’m “hungry”; I fill up my 24 oz cup with yet another glass of cold water and chew a piece of gum. I look over my points and get excited that I have enough points to have a good dinner and maybe another Dove; I remind myself that I don’t need to eat. Chill out Caroline, its just food.

6:15pm- I walk in the door to find my boys aren’t home so I slowly get ready for the gym and look over my new magazine (Women’s Health) that’s just arrived. I scored an entire year subscription for $4 and it’s a fun treat to have around the house. I hate that I don’t see the boys before the gym because we normally have this time together.

6:45pm- I hate you conditioning class, but I love ya! This class is non stop weight lifting, squats, leg lifts, pushups, blah blah blah I hate it! BUT the instructor is crazy awesome and I push through knowing it’s doing my body good.

7:45pm- Hello Zumba! The happiest workout you will ever do; my instructor is a few inches short of five feet tall with a personality everyone needs on a Monday. We dance, get a little dirty, and sweat! I normally never do the classes back to back so today I’m exhausted and leave the class a few minutes early.

9pm- Hello Hubs and hello evening! Davy is about to start his working at home and I find something QUICK to eat.

Food: 2 slices of bread (4 pts which I don’t think is worth it but I have 9 points for dinner and so I splurge) I fried egg, ¼ an avocado, a slice of tomato, and just enough honey mustard to wet my bread. If it wasn’t so late I may want chocolate or more food but this was a fuel dinner, not really an enjoyable meal time.

9:40- 10:45 Time for a shower because I stink!! I’m tired today and I know Davy is not too far behind me to bed. I read over my magazine and wait for Davy to get in bed. I love that there is no distractions in bed except each other so we talk and catch up on our day then catch up on our dreams.

The most important thing for me is that I’m fitting exercising and eating healthy into my life, not letting it take over. It’s now more of a priority but it doesn’t mean that’s all I am; having a perfect body but no one to share the weekends with simply isn’t worth it to me! Today will be the longest amount of time I spend away from the boys all week. Tuesday, I’m ready for you!

{glorious} birthday.

The only reason I’m sharing about my birthday before Moses’ is that after reviewing the 100’s of photos my sister took of the birthday party I still had over 50 I wanted to share. And uploading 50 photos takes a heck of a lot of time. And that is not something I have a lot of. I promise to narrow it down and I might even get crazy and post a FB album because there are just too many worth sharing. But alas, my special day. Or shall I say days.

Overwhelming love. Thanks to Davy, Moses, and my Mom I feel loved every single day of my life; this particular week it’s been extra special. Starting last Monday I have been showered with special treats, small gifts, sweet cards, more treats, celebrations, and love. By Friday I felt like my birthday had already been celebrated and in reality it had just begun kicking off with a delicious lunch with my office family. 

I cannot say enough about how glorious my night out with my very favorite girlfriends was. We all piled into one car and took the 30 mile trip to Thomasville to eat at my most favorite restaurant, Jonah’s. It’s a small, quaint little place off the main street that is Christian owned and serves the best food. I can proudly say I’ve never had a bad experience when going there and this was no exception. To add to the wonderful food was my wonderful girlfriends; whom each I treasure in their own special way and made the night unforgettable. 

The next day the boys and I woke up early and decided to drive to the Jr. Museum for family time. The trip started off right with perfect Starbucks orders and a happy little boy. The weather was perfect, there was only a handful of people there, and we had a blast. We took our time exploring the animals, old farm houses, and the beautiful natural scenery in north Florida. Am I making you sick yet with how wonderful this weekend was? I promise I’m not trying to…it really was just that wonderful!

The afternoon we played volleyball at my mom’s followed by a home cooked meal of all my favorites; steak, scallops, shrimp, harvest salad, baked potatoes, and cake. Oh my gosh can a person really eat all this? Yes. It also felts great being the birthday girl and just laying around not lifting a finger; truly enjoying my special day(s).

 

All the gifts and activities were great but it would not have been the same without all the wonderful Birthday wishes and friends and family giving up their time to celebrate me. Overwhelming love.