Well, Hello There...

Welcome February!

This month has definitely come in like a lion! I can only hope it goes out like a lamb, but it's not looking that way! I have a lot of post thoughts and ideas I want to share but finding the time is another story. One day here soon, I will put down the stuff on my "to-do" list and take a breather and type. I need to. For my memories. For my mind. For my heart.

For now, I'll leave you with a sneak pic of little girls Valentines/6 month pics!

Happy Monday!

Update on life

Busy is an understatement of what our life has been lately. Now that life has begun in full swing, it is crazy! I can't even describe it. My mind is constantly going a mile a minute and over all I'm just tired!

I wanted to do an update to what is going on in our lives since this blog is to document our life.

• Josh has to turn his thesis in in three weeks! I am so excited and so proud of him. We are both ready for this journey to be over. After he turns it in, he will have to defend it, and then he will graduate in May! This all means that he doesn't get home until 7:30-8:00 pm every night. He also works on it every Sunday. We eat dinner then collapse and do it all over the next day. We pray that a new degree will lead to a new job. Then he will start on his doctorate this fall! And so it begins again...
  
  
• Hadley is growing daily! I will post her 5 month update next week right after she turns 5 months! I cannot believe how fast time is flying. While I want her to stay this age, I'm so excited to be with her this summer and really watch her take everything in!
  
  
• I'm back at work and learning how to balance being a working mom. It's crazy! I'm so glad we prep as much as we can on the weekends but honestly it's still hard. I bring work home every night and try to go in on Saturday mornings. But I still don't feel caught up. I'm sure by the time summer rolls around I'll feel like I've got my act together again. Until then, I have a lot of work to do and just not enough time in the day to do it all.
  
  
• Our home is back on the market. We will not be taking it off until we sell it. We have no idea where we are going to move but we are ready.
  
  
• Oliver and Wembley are doing great! Wembley is still such a little sh*t and was locked in Hadley's room for three hours earlier this week...while she was sleeping. Of course I panic because I don't want him to hurt her, but luckily he is scared to death of her so would never jump in the crib. I finally went in her room to adjust her heating vent and he comes out meowing like crazy; almost yelling at me. Oh that cat! Oliver is still having a hard time adjusting to not being the main baby. We still give him so much attention and he's snuggled in our bed each night. But he gets upset when I hold Hadley and can't have him on my lap as well. But do worries, he totally tries to join us.
  
  
• Meal planning is still going very well! I need to get back on the ball and share on my Tasty Tuesdays. We were thrown a curve ball a few weeks ago. Josh has had a lot of stomach problems for over a year and I've been telling him that he needs to see the doctor because my instinct has always been a gluten problem. While he has not been tested yet, he has taken gluten out of his diet almost completely. Already he has done so much better. He hasn't been sick and feels better overall. This has changed how we eat. We've talked about how gluten free is a lifestyle change and, whether or not he has a gluten allergy or not, we know that it is a healthier choice.
  
  
• I haven't shared on here yet, and don't want to say a lot about it, but I'm still not recovered from my delivery with Hadley. I have an appointment with a surgeon on Friday so any prayers you could send my way would be very much appreciated. I'm hoping everything will heal on its own and surgery is not needed but whatever happens is for a reason.

Hadley: Four Weeks

Hadley turned 4 weeks old on September 23rd.
(I'm really late on this post)

Okay, stupid question...if she's 4 weeks on September 23rd, but her birthday is August 26th, does she turn one month on the 26th of September or on the 23rd? Get all that?

All about Hadley

Height/Weight

We haven't been to the doctor since August 30th and at that time she weighed 8lbs 3 oz. This made Mommy so happy since she left the hospital at 7lbs 15oz. She was still 20 inches long, like at birth. I'm excited to go back at the beginning of November to see how you've grown but that just means you're older!

Diapers

You were out of the newborn diapers around week 3. You are currently in size one. Thankfully we were able to use all of the newborn diapers! I have a feeling you'll be in size one for a while.

Clothes

I never thought you would wear newborn clothes but you worn them through week four and a little in to week five. We only had a few outfits for you but it worked! Now you're wearing 0-3 months or just 3 months. They're a little big but it really depends on the brand. I think you're going to be built like your Daddy with long legs, but I hope you have more of my height so you can wear pretty heels.

Feeding

You have been nursing like a champ from day one. I'm so happy and proud of you! Daddy has been giving you a bottle about once a day to make sure we are prepared when going to the sitters. You've been doing excellent with it. I still make sure we nurse most of the time, especially when we're out and about because honestly, it's easier! I'm so thankful nursing has gone well. For us it's really important that you get these nutrients to help you grow big and strong (and it's free)! I also love our time together...even at 3am :)


Sleep

Sleep has been an interesting topic around the house. You slept like a champ up every 3 hours at night the first month. The past week (week 5 going in to 6) have been rough. You're still up every three hours at night, which isn't bad, but you don't want to nap during the day. It's also been really hard to get you down at night. Glammy thinks it's gas related and rubbed your tummy a lot the other day when you were screaming. Mommy is going to watch what she eats just to make sure but it doesn't seem like that would be the problem. We have been giving you tummy drops and really need to make sure you're burping like a champ! Other than that sleep is good. Hoping you start making it to every 4 hours at night...or at least when I go back to work in December.


Other Changes

Hadders I'm worried about your hair. You're quite the bald baby, especially at the top. And your widows peak...omg. I hope that changes otherwise half of your hair is going to be bangs! I'm sure you will have beautiful long locks and we will look back and laugh at this.

I love that you're starting to smile at us and recognize us. It's such a great feeling. You think we're quite funny too.

You love your swing but not a huge fan of your bouncy seat.

You also love to look outside. I can put you in front of the window and you're good for at least 30 minutes. You also love Sesame Street. I'm sure it's just because of the colors and sounds but you are entranced by it. I do want to limit your tv as you get older, but we are all for educational shows and Sesame has come even more educational from when your daddy and I used to watch it.


Since you've been born you've gone to Target a few times, attended two weddings and skyped with your family in Arizona

You're changing every day our sweet girl and as much as I want you to stay little forever, we are so very excited to watch you grow and see you change. I know daddy cannot wait to take you on daddy-daughter dates and I can't wait until we can have lunch at my favorite tea room. Until then I'm going to take in every minute with you because even when I need a short break, I miss you.

We are so thankful you are in our lives and we couldn't imagine living without you!

2012: A Year in Review

Our little blog started up again in February 2012. I had currently been blogging for myself on another blog but decided to open it up to family and friends. We had had this blog for a while and really decided to go for it. We shared what our life was like and how we were boring and basically consumed with grad school.

March came along and there were so many things to look forward to including spring break and finishing up grad school for me! J and I were both crazy busy in March and didn't blog much. I promise, you missed nothing. We were quite boring.

Wembley's favorite part about Ikea

In April we took a weekend trip to Cincinnati where we had our first Ikea extravaganza and found a new favorite bar/restaurant Arnolds! I can't wait to go back!! Our blog got this fabulous makeover by Jumping Jax Designs, which we still adore!

May was an exciting month for us because we had so much going on! First, May is melanoma awareness month, which is near and dear to my heart. I can't tell you enough: don't tan, wear sunscreen, and be careful of who you donate your money to. By the time May was half way over, I had officially graduated from grad school, my sister went to prom, and we had so much more to go! At the end of May, I found out that I had gotten the 5th grade position at my school and my sister graduated from high school--both bittersweet. Finally, J had a wonderful 29th birthday!

In June, I said goodbye to teaching 4th grade and hello to 5th grade. I also posted pictures of my sister's graduation party, which turned out beautifully. She had everything from a candy bar to a wishing tree. It was a success! School was over, but there was still a lot to do with moving into a new grade and new curriculum. I had a list of goals that I successfully accomplished during the summer months. We also vacationed to OBX, which I guess I never blogged about--oops!

July was very low key. The Olympics were in full force as we reminisced about the Magnificent Seven at the 1996 Olympics. The 4th of July has always had a special place in my heart because it's when we became a free country. It's amazing to think how our standards have changed since that time. Adoption holds another special place in my heart and Amy wrote an amazing post about the adoption tax credit that would help so many. At the end of August I had a little fun and joined in with some other bloggers blogging about "if you really knew me".  July was a slow month.

August started out rocky in the blog world. I was able to get into my new classroom and I had to unpack everything that was moved. It was a lot of work but wonderful to clean out and throw junk away! I talked about my unhealthy obsession with my Crock-Pot and how I basically can't cook anything unless it's in there! Emily and I went to Chicago and had a wonderful girls weekend. Yes, I slacked again and didn't blog about that either...I blame school starting again.School started at the end of August and it felt like Groundhog day. When you have the same kids two years in a row it's challenging to separate the two years. It just feels like one really long year!

September started on a clean slate. We got new carpet in the family room, a new dishwasher, cleaned out the basement, and my sister headed to college. We felt very accomplished! I found this amazing classroom library book organizer that is seriously the best thing ever! I know exactly which books of mine the kids are reading. It was a lot of work to set up, but totally work it! I also linked up with Kelly for Show Us Your Singles. I put my sweet friend Emily on there! She's still single boys!! School was crazy busy but never too busy for some fall fashion! On September 27th, I started my twenty-eight random acts of kindness in 28 days for my 28th birthday!

In the beginning of October, sad news hit the blog world but many were around to help. I was introduced to Voki, which is a great tool to use in the classroom. Wembley helped me check it out! Two of my favorite bloggers {and friends} Emily and Sam guest posted for me. Be sure to check out their posts if you haven't already. I also completed my twenty-eight random acts of kindness in 28 days on my 28th birthday. It was a success! Finally I shared with you my favorite Halloween costumes, following in Whitney's blog steps.

November started with a great guest post from Pam all about holiday crafts. I talked about how my mother did not prepare me to cook a Thanksgiving feast but thankfully we all survived Thanksgiving dinner this year {thanks to my inlaws}.  I shared some glammor shots of my fur babies because who can get enough of them. I also taught you about the dirty dozen and how to eat cleaner, which has been near and dear to our hearts lately. I also shared with you the most hysterical story that I had heard in a while. It was so funny that I couldn't even tell people because I would start cracking up. Seriously. If you click any link on this recap, click this one.

This was a month I will truly never forget. At the beginning of the month, I showed you my hoarder side with my mountain of tupperware  . I also talked about our holiday traditions which are very special to us and I can not wait to add more. Christmas was bittersweet this year because it was the last year at my parent's house that I grew up in. They are currently moving in to their new home as we speak.

2012 had it's ups and downs. There were a lot of things I didn't blog about that were not so happy but for my own personal memories. There were many stressful times for our family but I hope when everything is done and over not only can I share with you but it will have a wonderful outcome.

I'm so excited to bring in the new year. Odd years always make me nervous for some reason. But my age is an even number so I think it evens out :) I'm sure 2013 is going to be the best year yet. Stay tuned!

Happy Monday!

I am so relieved that this week is finally here. I'm ready for some down time and for a break from the craziness! We have two days of school this week and then we're on break! I've been struggling with a head cold that has made be miserable but hopefully it won't last too much longer.

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Things I'm looking forward to this week:

• 2 days of school
• Winter party with the kids
• Pie in the face on Tuesday {I'm actually looking forward to this, more for it to be over}
• Lunch with J and friends at an Indian restaurant {I've never had Indian food-kind of nervous}
• Visit with a good friend and her little ones

I can't believe the year is almost over! Working on my 2012 update to post very soon!

Have a great Monday!

Slacking...

I've totally been slacking in the blog world not just with posting but with reading too {enter major sad face here}. I have about 8473809475 things on my plate and by the time I get home, pick things up, finish school work (at home), make dinner, I'm ready to crash.

I don't have a lot of updates but here a few things that I'm excited to share!

1) We got new carpet!! I've never been so excited! I will be sure to post pics of it as well has the hundreds of other pictures I've been meaning to post. I love it and it just makes our house feel so much cleaner (J thinks I'm crazy).

2) We got a new dishwasher!! We are just in full force around here! It's so nice to have a new dishwasher that works properly...and is black. Now we just have to replace the fridge to match (it's still white and we want stainless) but we're not in a huge hurry.

3) IT'S SEPTEMBER!!! This is amazing! Now if the weather could take the hint, we'd be all set! I adore the fall and am even more excited for October!

4) My sister is officially a college student and is going to rushing! I'm super shocked (I never saw her joining a sorority--never) but I'm very excited for her! I wish my sorority was at her college, but unfortunately it is not. There are other great ones for her to join.

5) This past weekend was the best long weekend ever. It seriously felt like 5 days rather than 3. We got so much done! We cleaned out the basement, cleaned the house really well, put up fall decorations, and worked in my classroom for a bit. I wish every weekend was a long weekend!

Goals for this weekend: update blog and post pics! Let's see if I can do it!