Thankful November

Yay! November is finally here again which means so is Christmas music, cocoa, sweaters & boots, Holiday Cheer and my obsession with creating a warm cozy home full of memories for the season :)

I've already started making out my Christmas lists last month- so this month is devoted to finalizing them and getting a plan in action. This year will obviously be incredibly different as I will have to order/ship presents to their desired location. Being the crafty and sentimental gift giver that I am-mixed with the inability to go to the Post Office when needed,  this could pose a larger problem than I'm even thinking. I'm always looking for new 'cute' gifts to make/give people, so obviously I'm dying to know---what was your most memorable/favorite/heartfelt Christmas gift you've received??? No really- please share with me :)

We've had a pretty chill weekend, Audrey is veering back towards a head cold and I have also been feeling pretty 'under the weather'. Daddy and I had a Gym date yesterday while Audrey ran around at the Y daycare. While it was nice, and will probably become a regular adventure- I was struggling! I couldn't believe how awful I felt- and we didn't even do anything for Halloween! We didn't even buy candy! I couldn't wait to bounce from the Gym, but I admit- I mentally felt great afterwards.

So, when we moved to St. Louis, I knew I was going to have to come out of my shell a bit. I joined a TON of 'St. Louis Mommy' groups- I'm not even kidding, I joined like 10-15 groups on Facebook- and they have been INCREDIBLY helpful! I was able to find a Pediatrician within hours, have had a ton of offers to help navigate my way around, etc. I've really loved it. But one thing I've also noticed (and I've noticed it on my Cleveland Mommy groups as well) is that there are a handful of unfortunate families out there. I see so many negative posts about Husbands/Daddys and it breaks my heart. So I've decided to make a nice post about my awesomely average husband today :)

Now don't get me wrong- Rob isn't one to go out of his way to do nice things. He isn't a hopeless romantic, he doesn't wake up with Audrey overnight, he doesn't do laundry, he doesn't draw my baths or lay his coat down over puddles for me to walk over, he doesn't do gifts 'just because', he doesn't clean the house if it's messy and he doesn't do 'surprises'.....

You know what he does do?

He taught me about Football, so that I could be included in his favorite activity- and now I love it. He cooks us dinner almost every night. Anytime he gets up to get his own drink- he makes sure I'm set too. He reads the same book 10 times in a row to Audrey because it's her favorite. He fills up my gas tank because he knows it's my least favorite thing to do. He wakes up an hour early everyday to go to the Gym so that he can spend the most time with us when he gets off of work. He asks me to go with him to the range so that we can spend our time together. He tries to find a handful of MY shows interesting so that we aren't only watching sports constantly. He doesn't make fun of either A or myself for weird or funny things that we do or like. He has no problem rocking a diaper bag so that I don't have to manage everything when we go out. He works his butt off- and lets me stay home to enjoy every minute I have with Audrey.

To me, my husband is the best. He's the best for me. He's exactly what I signed up for- and what I knew I was getting. Far before we had Audrey- we knew we wanted the same things for our kids which I guess has made parenting pretty OK! I promise, Rob has the ability to irritate me more than anyone- he knows every button to push, and exactly how to push it for the most anger...... but I would rather be infuriated with him, then be with anyone else.

I hope this inspires some other wives and mommies out there to just take a step back and really take notice to the small things your men do for you! There just seems to be this crazy unbalanced view of either 'out of this world extraordinary men' or 'lazy un-thoughtful little jerks'. I think we should raise a glass to those average men who love their sports, their beer AND their families!

On that note- have a fab Sunday; I'm going to go enjoy ours to the fullest as the Dolphins have just shutout the Chargers and I have a happy husband to socialize with :)

XOXO

Happy Halloween!

Hope you all got your fair share of Ghouls and Goblins this year!! We sure didn't. Although I'm certain it could have been a much worse holiday---I heard it rained in CLE, and even snowed in some other locations???--- it simply didn't feel like a Holiday to us. I suppose this is something we will have to adjust to for a little while.

Audrey looks ridiculously adorbs in her Wonder Woman costume- I'm thrilled to say that as of 8:41pm (CST) I still haven't seen another Wonder Woman costume!!! We love being unique :) Daddy was a gem and only worked a half day so that we could take part in Audrey's Halloween Party at Daycare. I was pretty stoked- super antsy to meet other parents, dare I even say potential friends? WRONG! I love A's teachers- but they totally mis-lead me. We weren't just the only 2 who showed up in costume.....We were the only 2 who showed up. Apparently it's not that big of a shindig. So after 20 awkward minutes, we finally packed A up and left.

Our Apartment complex e-mailed everyone yesterday (yesterday) and informed us they were going to host some Pizza and Goodies in the clubhouse for us neighbors. We decided to hit that up- Auds loved it! She was running around- and running up to everyone. She tried to steal several beverages and countless boxes of candy being left unattended. She snagged her first full sized adult cookie and demolished it! She was quite a riot. We didn't stay too long, not a whole ton of kids- especially not her age.

I'm very happy to report that she just finally is starting to get back to our baby girl tonight :) The other night- when we put her down to nap at 4:00pm? She didn't wake up until 7:16am the following morning! I only brought her to daycare for 1/2 day, when she got home- she went down for another 3 hour nap! The amount of sleep she has been consuming this week has had us really nervous, especially because she's been SO moody when she actually is awake. But this afternoon- she refused a 2nd nap, and was an absolute joy to be around again! YAY!!! I always feel like I should get a merit badge or something when we successfully accomplish yet another barrier with that munchkin of ours. A Badge of honor or something, right?

I have a rather funny story to share. This past Wednesday morning, I discovered my ID was not in its specified location. It is now Friday night- I have turned the apartment and BOTH our cars inside out (several times) in desperate search for it. I very VERY rarely do anything to which my license is needed. I don't get drinks when if we go out to dinner, I am usually not the one to buy any alcohol for the house, and I typically have my receipts when I make a return- so trying to think of the last time I used it has been an absolute nightmare. After clearing through the apartment again tonight, I gave up. I did my research on all the hoops I would have to jump through to avoid having to re-take the driving test to get another license; I had everything mapped out for Monday......

..... then BAM...

... As if hit by lightening- I had a vision of myself handing my ID to a woman at Target. 'There is no way...' I thought to myself- but since I had checked everywhere else, I gave them a call. Sure enough, they've had it.... for TWO WEEKS! How did I manage to not have my license for 2 weeks and have no clue?! My grandmother would be proud though- only about an hour before I had this epiphany, I said a little prayer to St. Anthony; so I really shouldn't be surprised about this discovery. What a putz I am.

On that note- Rob and I are going to try to ignite some Holiday Spirit with a little scary movie; House at the End of the Street.

XOXO

It's time

Yep, that's right- it's time!! Time for me to get into shape--and NOT the round shape I've become accustomed to.

I was blessed when Audrey was born. I lost every pound except TWO within 1-2 weeks of A being born. I know, I know- some of you Mommies out there probably want to kill me. Well, I took that gift- and threw it far FAR away. When A was born- we would go on daily walks and take naps together all day; if we weren't doing either of those, I was tending to my wifely duties of dishes, laundry and cleaning.

Then Winter came.

Winter came, and I started watching Conor as well. Do you know how easily it is to eat when you are watching TWO infants on entirely different schedules? It's not! Parents of multiples--KUDOS... especially single parents of multiples. Heavens to Betsy. So I resorted to snacking. What a horrible mistake. Majority of my day spent sitting/laying on a floor with babies- and snacking on all my favs (which are all the absolute worst foods for you). Imagine my surprise when my jeans started feeling snug? Imagine my surprise when I started to only feel comfortable in yoga pants, leggings, baggy shirts and hoodies. IMAGINE MY SURPRISE! I could kick myself for not focusing on the need to take care of myself. It got to a point where I didn't even want to go out with Rob because I didn't want to put real clothes on. I just felt so uncomfortable with myself and my body.

Now here we are- in St Louis, all alone and the chilly weather is around the corner. What better way to spend any extra time, than at the Gym?! Added Bonus? Our Gym has a daycare so I can drop A off for an hour of playtime while Mommy tries to bust her butt! The offer a crazy amount of classes which are my fav- because it would be so embarrassing to walk out in the middle of it (for me! It would be embarrassing if I did it). They also have a lot more 'Family swim time' for us to do all together.

So, with the help of our good friend, and Beachbody Coach, Courtney Bell- I have invested in some Shakeoloy (which are shockingly DELICIOUS!) and am a determined to turn this hefty frown of mine, upside down :) Wish me luck! If you try a new workout, let me know; If you ever have a delicious healthy dinner- send the recipe my way; because my husband is on his own path of healthy happiness, so we are in this together! Half the reason I am posting this to help my accountability. How mortifying would it be to post this publicly- then see a handful of ya'll at the Holidays and I still look like a pudgy pancake? If only you could use Instagram filters on your real life image, ugh.

In other news- our poor A is yet again under the weather! How do you working parents handle babes in Daycare? She got another ear infection, then last week she started throwing up her meals, then stopped eating her meals, but kept throwing up; she finally kept her food down starting Friday night, but ever since Friday morning- we can't get her to stay up longer than 2 hours at a time! And when she IS up, she is rather unhappy. She's very clingy which I love (if you remember, I mentioned a bit ago that she won't cuddle us anymore)- now she loves to cuddle! TONS OF CUDDLES! But it's so evident she's unhappy/uncomfortable. I'm chucking it up to growing pains (for you non-parents, it's a legit thing, not just an epic vintage TV show). I brought her home from daycare today at 4, put her down for a nap because she was so clearly exhausted; and with advice from my trusty mommy friends- I'm letting her sleep. I changed her-as she slept- into her nighttime needs and she didn't move. She has officially slept through playtime, dinner and-in 3 minutes- bath time. Cross your fingers this wont result in a cranky, hungry baby waking up at 2am wanting dinner, lol.

Has anyone else started their Christmas shopping yet?! I was so happy to waltz into Target today and see their Xmas display up! I was in such a jolly spirit that I picked up 2 new Santa jammies for A (forgetting that I already have 3 at home.... so please- no more, haha). I cannot believe Halloween is this upcoming weekend. We had a great little homemade costume ready for A, but we don't really have anywhere to trick-or-treat, so we are going to hold off until next year when we are in a neighborhood and she can go around. There is nothing going on at our Complex; but Rob is going to take a half day so we can attend Audrey's daycare Halloween part, then take her to the mall for some 'safe trick or treating'. When you see her costume next year, you'll understand why it just wouldn't work this year. But I ran out today and was able to grab the cutest little Wonder Woman costume today- and even picked up some Superman Tees (with capes!) for Dad and I. I'm excited she's going to be Wonder Woman-- her Great Aunt, Mary Jo, is a huge fan of the Wonder Woman costume!! HUGE- In fact, I think I can remember several different occasions where it has been worn! Aunt Mimi, if you're reading this, I would love a pic of each time you wore it. No, seriously, I really would.

Alright ya'll- time to call it a night.

XOXO

** BEWARE: Snuggles overload below **

Tearing up the Doctor's Office

Shame on me

I'm so sorry, it's been 11 days- how dare I. I'm not going to sugar coat this, I've been embarrassed to update you all on what has been going on over here. Remember that job that I was a little too excited about? Turned out to be nothing that I thought it would be. I felt (and still feel) like such a fool. I thought it would be so great stepping out of my 'hospitality' comfort zone that I've grown to love over the last ELEVEN years- biiiiig mistake.

I think at the end of the day, they mean well. Selling final expense insurance to Senior citizens; during the training- they told us heartwarming stories, I choked up on several occasions. I was so excited to make sure families were taken care of- to be that person who would look out for the elderly. And I was good at it- really good at it, actually. But that's what kept sending up the red flag; I was really good at this job- but I didn't love it, something didn't feel right. My part was to basically read thru a script, connect with them, then 'patch in' an actually Insurance salesman. Sounds easy enough. But after making a few calls, and receiving some feedback; I started to realize they wanted me to be pushy and deceiving. 'Make up a story...' , 'Pretend to connect to them....', 'They only need to think that you care about them....'. That last comment was the response to me when I told my 'team leader' I was really having a hard time with these calls morally. One of the questions we were supposed to ask was if they had been diagnosed with Dementia or Alzheimers-- having gone thru that with my grandfather, I asked 'what if they don't realize/understand/remember that they have been' and I was told 'That's not our problem'. Now I'm sure there is some background they run-- but all I could picture was my poor sweet Grandpa picking up one of these calls and getting suckered into dishing out more money than he even realized because I was distracting him with sweet talk. I came home crying that night. Luckily, I have the amazing husband that I do; he knows me, he knows that job was not for me. So I stayed home the next day with my sick babe, then dropped off my stuff.

This all happened last week (Friday). Since then, I've been keeping busy with the fam, the apartment and sending out a bazillion applications....However, Rob and I finally had a 'sit down discussion' - ya'll know when it's a 'sit down', that means business! Anyway, with the holidays coming up- our need to be able to head back to Ohio to see family, and have enough time to hopefully meet up with the Buffalo folk too.... and with the thought of expanding the family again at some point; getting a job for me right now is just an absurd idea. Maybe for the holiday season? Lord knows I can't control my spending for Christmas- but we'll limit my availability to only evenings and weekends until we fly home.

Poor Audrey, that kid is obsessed with her Daycare. When I go to drop her off, she gets all smiley and starts bouncing in my arms to see her teachers. It's going to kill me to tell her that she's stuck with me again--luckily she has no idea what I'm saying still (I hope!). On the other hand- this kid has been to the Dr weekly since she's started (yes, that is only 3 times, but still). Daycare has given us 2 ear infections, a virus and a stomach bug--in only 3 weeks!! I've done laundry three times since last night so that the apartment doesn't have random vom stained items laying around ..... I do really love the snuggles though ;-)

On a good note- we went to Trucktober last weekend. A gather of a ton of Food Trucks, and our pal Kelly joined us. It was a B-E-A-utiful day! Perfect amount of sun mixed with a crisp chill breeze. I'm disappointed that we only tried 1 truck (tacos...shock!!!) but that 1 truck was seriously devine. Next year I am determine to expand my horizon!

Audrey is walking now- she literally came home 1 day, took her first steps and then was running the next day! We've decided she refuses to do anything until she's perfected it, haha.

Rob and I have been entertaining ourselves with Jeopardy episodes and playing Blokus- I know, we are gonna have a ton of friends in no time, right? lol. I am determined to get out there now that I am officially back to SAHM and get into some mommy groups.

Ok- now that I've overcome my fear of broadcasting my huge 2 week mistake...I promise to be back more regularly :) I've missed ya'll!

XOXO

My lil' craft project. Do I have a problem?

BIG GIRL car seat!!