Friday night: then and now

Back in the good old college days, I would prep for a night out like it was my job. This past Friday night I again prepped all day to go out with the girls, but in a slightly different way (slightly would be typed in sarcasm font if possible).

Back then, I would contemplate attending a Friday class, probably opt out and sleep in...you know, til noon perhaps. By noon these days, I have been up for six hours.

Back then, I would wander down to the sorority house dining room where lunch was waiting. I'd complain if it was a less than perfect batch of home made ranch. Um, seriously? If someone had lunch waiting for me right now and I was allergic to it, I'd still eat the whole damn thing.

Back then, I would watch Days of Our Lives as Kristin was trying to break up John and Marlena . Oh wait, I guess that part is exactly the same ten plus years later.

Back then, I would putz around and finally decide to go work out, mainly to give me incentive to go tanning. Now I grab the towels off the exercise bike and throw them in the laundry. Spendy little drying rack we bought. And the tanning is out and the wearing what covers the most skin is in.

Back then, I would take an afternoon nap to prep for the evening, though I had just rolled out of bed hours prior. Now, I use Ethan's precious nap time to shower and get as ready as possible before he wakes.

Back then, I would hit up Subway to get a "good base" going for the evening. Now, I get the crockpot going early so dinner is ready and waiting for the Little Miss after school.

Back then, I had probably gone out the night before. Now, I haven't even left the house since Sunday, no joke.

Back then, I would hop in the car with a backseat full of friends, wondering who all would be out. Now, I hop in the car with a backseat full of car seats and know I won't recognize a soul besides the people at my table.

Back then, I would be out until all hours of the night and find my way to bed where I would remain for a solid twelve hours. And now, I get in bed and the minute my head hits the pillow there is a baby crying for a mid night snack.

And instead of crawling into a friend's bed in the morning to rehash the night's events, Emmie crawls into ours for some morning cartoons....I guess growing up does have some perks.

So big.

But so little! Ethan hearts the Bumbo, even though dad says he needs a blue one.

He's got a very strong little neck for under 3 months...he's getting a little help from the couch just in case.

It's about to get real.

1: week until I'm back at work.

19: pairs of dress pants dropped off at the dry cleaners. (Is it pair or pairs of pants? I'm too lazy to go search out the answer.)

6.08: dollars and cents per pant for dry cleaning. I find this to be a ridiculously over priced dollar amount for a single pair of pants.

XX: undisclosed number of new shirts hanging in the closet, patiently waiting to be worn, incentive to go back to work.

3: packages that are supposed to arrive this week. Online shopping has gotten the best of me this past week. Hence the undisclosed number of new shirts, the hubby doesn't need to know everything right? We'll restart the house tour once the new duvet arrives also.

2: projects completed last week during awesome nap times by this new non-fussy baby that took over Ethan's body.

12: muffins thrown out because I had a serious Pinterestfail. I think they had potential, just cooked too long even though I followed the directions. Well, I followed the cooking instructions part...note to self, read the recipe before you think about baking, even if you have all the ingredients. When have you ever had to soak oatmeal in milk for an hour? And who has time for that?

28: days Andy will be on paternity leave with Ethan. Just my two boys, hanging out at home, doing boy things.

7: more days to get a lot accomplished. A lot of projects, a lot of naps, a lot of sit ups.

Let's keep touring, shall we?*

The living room before:

 

 

And now:

the hunt will soon be on for the perfect sectional, wish me luck

 

first Christmas mantle attempt

 

Though I said Emmie's toys weren't going to cramp the living room, I think we all know that was a big fat lie. Obviously this is the clean version, you usually can't see the floor.

It's a pretty damn cute kitchen though.

We all know I'm a beige kind of gal, but I spiced up the shelves with colorful vases along with frames and other random stuff:

framed Emmie art, one of my faves.

A framed card from back in the dating days.
In all the world there is no heart for me like yours.
In all the world there is no love for you like mine.



*Sorry to bore those of you who have actually seen my house already.

Let's tour, shall we?

I guess we moved into this house a few months ago and I said I'd take you on a tour once decorated. Well, it's mostly decorated and I'm bored, so let's do it.  Did you know there is not much to blog about when you're on maternity leave? No emphasis on the leave part...because I don't ever leave the house actually. And I'm pretty much okay with it. I did get out last week to shop til I dropped while our favorite only non-nana babysitter was hanging out with Ethan. This is Emmie's favorite girl from daycare, who sadly decided to be a grown up and leave daycare to student teach...well student teaching is over and she's going back to the infant room...just in time to watch over Ethan all the live long day. So happy.

I digress.

Remember the photo collage wall from our old house?

I had the perfect spot for the frames at our new house:

BAM! 29 picture frames to be exact. Carefully placed first on the floor to get the set up just right, then hung by a 20 month pregnant gal and her mother. As each frame went up the placement shifted from the initial floor arrangement and by the end I was left with some space and some frames and nothing that matched up...eff. It sat unfinished for days and finally after shifting and swapping, it came together. And then I had to take them down to replace some Emmie photos with Ethan.

Big girl room!

I finally finished Emmie's room! And when I say finished I really mean started. I've only had the idea since we moved out of our last house and told myself every night we lived in the apartment I was going to get started on painting...and months later with the end of maternity leave in sight, I finally did it this week. Procrastination much?

I allowed the procrastination to drag on because I thought sooner than later Emmie would be in her big girl bed and the crib would be outskies and the furniture would move around. Well, we're still procrastinating that as well, so I decided to bite the bullet and get out the hammer and nails.

Emmie's nursery was simple and elegant. These words do not describe my little one's personality at all. She is a crazy ass little toddler that needed a room to match. Andy asked me what color I was going to do Emmie's room...to which I replied: all of them.

Emmie's new room is a lot of bang for not a lot of buck. From the refinished dresser and revamped curtains to a garage sale rocking chair with Nana-made cushions and wall décor that I found around the house and painted...this room was one huge craft fest. Eat your heart out Pinterest.

hot.pink.ruffles.

love me a wall collage. the owl picture was the only thing i didn't pull from the previously hung elsewhere box.

cheapo canvas + paint + thick sticker letters = love!

framed thumbprint caterpillar

perfect hobby lobby fabric to tie it all together

ruffles and flowers and stripes oh my.

 

plant holder by trade, book holder by desire







for funsies, this is what it all looked like in its previous life.

 

There you have it! I am so in love with this colorful space for my girl to grow into! I did hype up the room a bit when she got home from school. And if you tell a two year old to get excited for a surprise, it doesn't matter what the surprise is, they're amped for it! And she of course loved it. And then jumped on her bed, gave her star a kiss and tried to touch everything. Damn, didn't think of that. We're working on the look, don't touch part.

2 and 2

So. I have a two year old and a two month old.

The two month old had his check up today...1 foot 11 inches and 11 pounds 11 ounces. He's healthy and actually took his shots like a little champ.

The two year old...she got home from daycare, immediately took off all of her clothes and started saying "shake your booty mama." Um, what the hell is that? Like where did she learn that? I was literally crying from laughing so hard.  She is quite possibly the funniest little person I know.

The two kid thing...a bit harder than expected. I have no idea how you people that have three do it and maintain sanity. We are getting ourselves into a little routine and dare I say a calmness has come over the house while settle in to this new life.

I never realized what two kids would do for me. The busyness, the tiredness, the happiness. It has made me appreciate my one on one time with each little person so much. A family trip to Target used to be a bit annoying, now there is nothing more fun than whisking Emmie out of the house and running errands with just my girl. And when the whirlwind leaves the house every morning, I get my time with Ethan. (He has had a few good days and I'm appreciating our time together so much more.)

It might be tough and as cliché as it is to say, it is true that it's so worth it.

2 months!

Here he is, in all his two month glory.

Thanks everyone for the emails, comments and texts following the last post. I think it helps just knowing there are other fussies out there and everyone has survived! And perhaps Ethan heard me talking about him, because he's had a good few days...hopefully many more to come!

I was thinking that maybe Ethan was mad at me because I haven't taken enough photos of him...so here you go...we had some fun with Emmie's Aquadoodle. (We as in I, of course)

 

 

I hate you mom.

 

If you can't say something nice...

(And I post with hesitation because we all know what a blessing this baby boy is and I don't want anyone to think that I take him for granted.)

It seems like I never blog about Ethan...and well, read the title.

No that's not true.

He's a wonderful boy. So handsome and sweet.

But most of the time...he's...umm...how do I say...he's...how should I put this...challenging. 

Don't get me wrong, he is so much better than weeks ago. There are no more hours on end of screaming at the top of his lungs, but there are still wig out sessions.  He sleeps well at night, but getting him there is a process. And his day times are hit or miss unless you're holding him for hours on end. I also never thought we'd be those people that packed up their kid in the car seat and went for a drive just to get them to sleep.

Did I mention he is now a formula baby? I think it has helped. Breastfeeding was going so-so, as I blogged before, but more often than not feeding consisted of wriggling and fussing and back arching and lots of milk in the face moments. He also had a lot of tummy trouble and though I had already cut out dairy, I just didn't have it in me to figure out every other food I needed to eliminate. I'm okay with the decision mainly because he seems better and I can drink caffeine without hesitation.

So, we're here. And I'm not giving up (we slept in this morning and nothing gets me back in the game like sleep). We're going to move forward and not look back. For his sake, for my sake. I think I needed to get it off my chest and write about it just to feel a bit better about the situation. To hear that it's not just me with a second baby fusser, to feel a little less guilty about not being able to get it right right off the bat, and to know that it will get better! Thank you in advance for your support.

(And I was able to write this post while I put Ethan in his swing drowsy and I didn't jump at every cry and he put himself to sleep.)