Five on Friday

 

1. Our family photo shoot got rained out last week so we are doing them tomorrow and I'm really hoping that we get at least a few good ones but with a wild toddler that doesn't like to sit still or smile for pictures this should be interesting.

 

2. Of all the new shows on t.v. the only one I've gotten into is The Blacklist, partly because I really like James Spader. Other than that I haven't added any new shows to my line up and I'm still completely obsessed with Scandal.

 

3. I have not decorated the house for Fall/Halloween other than a few decorations my MIL brought over and put out. We'll get a couple pumpkins for outside but I really have little desire to decorate for any holiday other than Christmas. It's just more work/money than it's really worth in my opinion, especially when we are the only ones who see it.

 

4. I've mentioned my sleep problems before, well I've tried taking Melatonin a few times and so far that shit ain't working for me, in fact I think I toss and turn even more the nights I take it. The only thing that really seems to knock me out is Benedryl and I'm not going to take that every night. Oh and the nights I get the bed all to myself (like when Kristian was on his hunting trip), I sleep great! But I really don't want to be one of those married couples that sleep in separate rooms.

 

5. One of my good friends is due to give birth any day now and I can't wait to get my hands on a squishy newborn. Hopefully it will help settle down my baby fever (or make it worse). 

SWW

 

This week I'm saying So What if:

 

-I still don't have my sons Halloween costume. We know what he's going to be, we just have to get everything for it. Maybe this weekend.

 

-Saturday and Sunday morning Hunter and I hung out in bed for an hour while he watched videos on the iPad and I dozed off. It was rainy outside and Kristian wasn't home so we had a lazy morning both days.

 

-I can't ever walk out of Target without buying something for my child.

 

-I was a little glad that we had to cancel our family photos on Sunday due to the rain because Kristian decided to spend an extra day on his hunting trip and we probably would have had to postpone them anyway (since it rained, I couldn't really be mad at him for not getting home in time).

 

-I sort of miss my husbands beard that he grew for his trip (he shaved when he got home), I had kind of gotten used to it.

 

-I'm so sick of constantly having to buy my son new shoes because he literally wears holes in his. He drags his feet on the sidewalk when he's playing on his riding toys and it ruins his shoes.

 

-My kid went poop in the potty for the first time yesterday and I'm not upset that I missed it (he did it at daycare). I would have no problem if daycare takes the credit for a majority of his potty training.

 

Puddle Jumper

After a solid four days of rain from Thursday - Sunday we were starting to go a bit stir crazy this past weekend. It didn't help that Kristian was gone on his hunting trip for all four days so I was on solo mommy duty. It just reaffirmed that I never want to have to be a single mother and I give single parents all the credit in the world.

Fortunately my child was actually very well behaved all weekend, with only minimal tantrums and didn't seem to mind being stuck inside as much as I thought. But I did still try to get him some fresh air in between rain storms. On Sunday, the rain let up for a couple hours and we both desperately needed some fresh air so outside we went. It wasn't long before Hunter was running through and jumping in the puddles. My first instinct was to tell him no, that I didn't want him wet and dirty, then I remembered he's just a little boy full of energy and jumping in puddles is one of those little joys in life that I didn't want to take away from him. So jump away he did, until he was a soaking, muddy mess. But he had the best time, and really, what else is there to do after days of rain?!

The face of pure joy!

My beautiful boy. This kid owns my heart.

Five on Friday

I've spent most of this week battling a pesky stomach bug so needless to say I'm very happy it's Friday!
 

 

  

 

1. As I mentioned I've been dealing with a stomach bug all week. Wednesday night was a BAD night in my house for both me and Kristian and all I can say is thank God we have two bathrooms. But despite the fact that he had been up puking all night he still went on his hunting trip yesterday (and puked 3 times on the way down to the cabin). Not sure if that's dedication or stupidity.

 

2. I cried last night watching the Glee tribute episode. Watching Lea Michele sing a farewell song to her on and offscreen love was just heartbreaking. That wasn't acting, that was real life for her.

 

3. I finally figured out our family photo ensembles for this weekend, too bad it looks like our session may get rained out.

 

4. My husbands birthday is in less than two weeks and I have no idea what to get him. Maybe the fact that I not only let him go on this trip but I helped set it up can be considered my birthday gift to him. Yeah that should work :) In fact, I think he owes ME a gift for doing the solo parent duty while I'm sick.

 

5. I've mentioned before how I don't sleep well, well last night I actually slept straight through from 10pm - 4am without waking up once which is huge! It could be because I had the bed to myself since both my husband and dog were gone. Or it could be because I spent the night before in the bathroom and didn't get much sleep, but I'm going with my first theory.

SWW

 

This week I'm saying So What if:

 

-I still don't know for sure what we are wearing for our family photos this weekend. I spent my entire drive home yesterday mentally going through all our closets. First world problems right?

 

-Even though they've started potty training Hunter at daycare this week I have no desire to do it at home. He already has a potty that he likes to sit on (fully clothed) but has never actually gone on it and I don't feel like pushing him since personally I don't think he's ready. If daycare is able to get him to actually go on a regular basis then I will probably start at home too.

 

-Kristian sweet talked the assistant director of the daycare into letting Hunter go yesterday even though he had had 3 diarrhea poops the day before and technically wasn't allowed back for 24 hours. But we both have SUPER busy weeks at work and he promised we would come get him if he had even one bad poop yesterday. And guess what he didn't! So it just proves that sometimes that 24 hour rule isn't necessary. We knew he wasn't actually sick. My kid just shits a lot sometimes.

 

-The last two nights instead of putting away laundry or something else productive after Hunter went to bed I also went to bed at 8:30pm. I haven't felt well, work is kicking my ass and all I've wanted to do is be lazy and lay in bed.

 

-I have an urge to cut all my hair off (okay maybe just to my shoulders) even though I know I will regret it later because I always regret it later.

 

-I finally used the vacuum seal bags I bought a while ago for some old comforters and old Hunter clothes and now I want to vacuum seal my whole house.

 

-I had wanted to go to the pumpkin patch this past weekend but decided not to because it was too damn hot and I didn't want us all to be wearing shorts in our pictures at the pumpkin patch. Again first world problems right?

 

 

Reunions and Introductions

On Saturday, I was able to visit with one of my oldest and dearest friends Kristen who had flown up from Florida for a wedding. Since she was staying up in MD about an hour away from where I live I threw Hunter in the car and we drove up to have lunch with her, Kent and little Mr. Smith.

I haven't seen Kristen in person since she came to visit when Hunter was about 5 weeks old. Needless to say he's changed a bit. We were so excited to get our little guys together and watch them play and interact and they ended up doing really well together. We had lunch at Olive Garden and both boys were well behaved, no major tantrums or meltdowns to embarrass us. There were only a few minor disagreements over wanting the same toy car but nothing too dramatic.

I think they liked checking out each others toy stash.

 

After lunch, they still had some time to kill before they had to get ready for the wedding so we all went back to the hotel to hang out by the indoor pool and indoor mini golf where the boys could just run around and burn some energy and Kristen and I could finally talk and catch up a bit.

This is what we got when we tried to get them to sit next to each other for a photo.

 

 

We've been friends for 15 years! Ever since AOII Bid Day way back in 1998. Man do I feel old!

It's amazing how far we've come. Two little boys and twins on the way! (For Kristen, not me!)

 

Even though we only got to spend a few short hours together it was totally worth the drive up to not only see my pretty friend in person (and rub her twin filled belly) but to finally get our boys together. Now we just have to figure out a way to make FL closer to VA!

 

 

Lions and Tigers and well you get the point

One of the things on my mental "summer bucket list" was taking Hunter to the zoo for the first time. Well the summer sort of got away from us and I knew we were quickly running out of nice weekends to do this. So last Sunday I insisted we take advantage of the perfect weather and head down to the National Zoo.

I've been so excited to see Hunters reaction to seeing these animals in person. He can now recognize and say most of the bigger animals and I figured he would get so excited seeing them in the flesh rather than in his books and flash cards. Well to my surprise he didn't seem to be that impressed. He pretty much kept a look of part confusion and part concern the whole time. He did smile and laugh a few times, mainly at the little monkeys swinging around. But to be honest he got the most excited when he saw a police motorcycle parked on the sidewalk. I think next year he will hopefully get more out of it.

The weather really was perfect and I've decided the fall is the best time to go, when it's sunny and 75 rather than in the middle of July when it's 90 degrees and packed with tourists. Hunter did really well taking turns between riding in his stroller and walking while holding our hand. He only got fussy as we were leaving because it was naptime and he saw a toy car on a table that someone was selling that we refused to buy him.

Family photo in front of the turtle pond. This was pretty much his expression the whole time.

Checking out the Lions. He kept saying "Cat" and "Roar"

I always insist on seeing the Pandas. We weren't able to go into the Panda house because of the new baby panda but I did get to see on of the bigger ones relaxing outside.

The elephants were pretty cool.

Hunter enjoyed the Small Mammal House because he could go right up to the glass and see the little animals running around much better.

They have wires going across part of the zoo so that the Orangutans can cross from one yard to another and we got there just in time to see one climb the ladder and walk across. It was pretty exciting and slightly nerve wracking.

It looks like a monster!

 

I loved this elephant display and was happy we got a decent picture together.

Checking out the lions.

Towards the end of the day he was getting sick of his stroller and insisted on walking. He actually did really well holding our hands and not moving at such a slow pace. It helped that the zoo wasn't super crowded.

 

Even though Hunter wasn't quite as excited about the trip as I had hoped we really did have a wonderful time together. I've always loved the zoo and have been going since I was a kid and it was such a special thing to finally be able to bring my own child. I know we will be going back many more times as he gets older.