Cold, Ice and Snow

I have officially hit my wall of being sick and tired of the cold. It's 8 degrees currently here in St. Louis and I am OVER it! 

Friday -

It was well known in St. Louis that we were expecting to get some crummy weather all weekend long. The forecast was predicting freezing rain and snow sometime during Friday and into Saturday. I had lunch plans with Ali, but we decided to cancel due to the stupid winter weather, bummer. When I left work at 3:30 PM, the weather hadn't started yet (thankfully) and I met Andy over at the Toyota dealership to get the 10,000 mile maintenance done on the Prius. We chose to drop the car off overnight because who has time to sit in a dealership to get maintenance done on your car? Not this girl! We then picked Luke up at the daycare and headed home. The rest of the evening was filled with making and eating dinner and play with little dude. I fell asleep around 9 PM in bed with the TV on. Andy "woke" me up sometime later where I apologized in my sleep numerous times that I fell asleep with the TV on. Note: this isn't the first or last time I'll ever do that. Seriously, who apologizes multiple times in their sleep?!??!! LOL
Saturday - 

Little dude started stirring around 6 AM and the ever awesome husband of mine got up with Luke so that Mommy could sleep in a bit. Brownie points to Andy! :) I woke up around 7:30 that morning. I could have slept longer, but I just feel guilty sleeping in too much now. I'd rather spend that time with my family. Andy made us breakfast (pancakes and bacon) and we had fun just lounging around the house. 

Luke was getting sleepy and needed a nap and I decided that we start having Luke take his naps in his crib. As silly as that sounds, we just don't have him nap in the crib because we are either on the go all weekend long or he would just fall asleep in his bouncer or on top of me. The crib naps are going OK, it's just going to take him a little bit getting use to. I get it's tough on him because this only happens 2 days out of the week since he is at daycare the other 5 days. 

When he woke up from his nap we all got dressed and headed out to run a couple errands, grab some lunch at Freddie's Steakburgers and picked the Prius up. Thankfully Luke is a great car napper and took his second nap of the day during our errand runs. 

That night we decided to eat dinner after Luke went to sleep because we had eaten later than normal. Andy picked us up some Jimmy Johns and we watched a movie together. 

Sunday - 

I got up with little dude at 6:30 AM and Daddy wasn't too far behind at 7 AM. I watched a cheesy Hallmark movie, "So You Said Yes" and didn't do much besides moving laundry around. I loathe laundry by the way..... Around 10:30 AM I called my mom to find out if she was dressed and ready to go out. She laughed and said, "It's only 10:30 AM" I said, "Exactly, I've been up for 4 hours already!" Boy how have times changed!!

We went out to lunch at a mexican restaurant, and shopped at Kohl's and Dierbergs. I used my Kohl's cash plus a $10 off $30 purchase and picked up Luke 4 summer creepers/rompers (this (in blue), this (in blue monster and grey baseball), and this (in red) in size 18 months) to wear. All 4 of those for $14!! WINNING! Can I also mention HOW HARD it is to purchase clothes ahead of the time for this kid!?!! Seriously, he is wearing 9 AND 12 month clothing at 5 1/2 months old! He's going to be in 5T at his 1st Birthday.....this kid is so tall!  

That afternoon we spent cleaning up around the house, moving furniture around (living room reveal with new furniture to come once all the furniture comes in) and just getting ready for the week. We also made another batch of sweet potatoes for little dude. 2 bags of organic sweet potatoes from Trader Joe's, just for my little man! It took a lot of work (my wrist was killing me) but with the help of Andy, we got it all done. :) I took lots of photos and plan on posting about making your own baby food too!

I hope you all had a fantastic weekend and much luck that your week goes just as well! :) 

Second Cup o Coffee

It's SO SO cold out! I am over winter and ready for spring. Remember when I wanted some snow? Well we got it and I'm over it! Bring the spring temperatures and sunny days back!! I will say, I am pretty darn proud of myself for getting 3 posts out this week! My week started out pretty bad and is so far ending on a positive note. 

ONE

It really is cold out and has been for the past week. I think everyone in the US is dealing with bitter cold temperatures, even in Florida!! Today I wanted a second cup of coffee because I am just tired of being cold and wanted a little caffeine pick me up! I didn't have a rough night's sleep either. 

TWO

I've been a little bit of a shoe shopping addict this week......with the approval of the husband of course.  

On Tuesday, Zulily had their Tom's special and I was able to get me a new pair of Ballet Flats for half off! I love the pair of ballet flats I have now and am so excited to start wearing these one it get's warmer!

On Wednesday, Amazon had snow boots 56% off! I had two pairs of Bearpaw boots and my black pair bit the dust several weeks ago (the soles cracked and leaked water in my socks). I ordered a grey pair this time and cannot wait till they come in tomorrow!! Perfect timing with another winter storm expected.

THREE

I am seriously becoming obsessed with Trader Joe's. I was able to pick up this organic haul on Tuesday for $17! This includes baby spinach, bananas, romaine lettuce, baby carrots, and 2 bags of sweet potatoes (I plan on making Luke some more baby food). The Frosted Flakes and Pub Cheese were for Andy. He loved the cheese and hasn't tried the cereal yet.

FOUR

Lately I've been a Pandora addict and listen to the 80's Pop Radio on a daily basis at work and even in the car on the ride home. I also love the 90's Pop Radio and the 'NSync channel. 

FIVE

Ending this Five on Friday with my cutie patootie!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He LOVES bathtime! I was able to get a couple good shots of him the other night. He was pretty tired here but still enjoys the heck out of his nightly bath!

Luke Andrew - 5 Months Old

Month - 5 Months Old, February 12th, 2015

Height - unknown, but I'm sure he's grown at least another inch or two

Weight - 17 pounds, 11 ounces (up 1 pound 6.5 ounces from last month)

Diaper Size - 3 and I hope we stay in the size 3 for a little bit and this little dude slows down in the growth department. 

Clothing Size - between 9 and 12 months clothing! His 9 month onesies are starting to get tights....what else is new. LOL! 

Sleep - HA! What's that? Gets up once a night, sometimes twice a night to eat. I really dislike feeding him twice a night, but sometimes he is just so stubborn and won't go back to sleep.

Eating - 6 ounces of formula, 6-7 bottles daily. Oatmeal in the morning with 4 ounces of formula and a veggie or rice cereal in the evening (5pm) with 4 ounces of formula. Veggies tried: sweet potato and summer squash. Veggies up next: avocado, carrots, peas and green beans.

Firsts - solids (oatmeal, sweet potato, summer squash)

This is the first month where Andy and I have noticed a big change in Luke. The afternoon/evening use to be a tough one for us and Luke. He would be fussy and tired but we would be trying to keep him awake so that he would sleep longer for us. Now, we is super happy until around 6 PM. He "knows" when it's 6 and is ready for the 3 B's (bath, bottle, bed). Car rides were tough there for a little bit because Luke just didn't want to be confined to the car seat. Now he knows that he won't be in there long and is pretty content. Luke has discovered his hands and feet. He is getting better everyday at using his hands to put items in his mouth to "eat" and is even getting the hang of putting his "bink" in his mouth by himself. Sometimes it's not in correctly (upside down or even half way in) but he doesn't mind. He absolutely LOVES his jumperoo and can spend a good hour in there bouncing away. He also likes to watch TV....in fact if he doesn't hear the sound of the TV on, he is looking at it like, why isn't the TV on? Sometimes we will put on Baby Einstein's for him on the TV and if we are in the car and he is crabby we will YouTube Baby Einsteins and he instantly quiets down. That show is magical. :) Daycare has been going well and he loves it there. His teachers are amazing and I wouldn't wish for anyone else to be in there with him. Sickies are here and there. It's almost like he is dealing with a sickness every other week. The middle of January a big flu bug went around and Luke got it also. Diarrhea and throwing up were the main culprit and I swear the exorcist came out of him when he was throwing up. I have never seen someone throw up like that....OK that's enough details. Thankfully (only thankful for the fact that I didn't have to take time off of work) the bug really hit him late Friday night so we spent the entire weekend cuddling and changing outfits and sheets. 

Work Environment: Men vs. Women

The title of this post probably sounds like it's going to be very feminist, but in all actuality, it's no where near it. In fact, I am going to just point blank say it: I work better with men than women. It's taken me 16 years to figure this out, but seriously, I can work with men so much better than women. I don't know if it's me or them, but I just have a hard time with it. 

I've worked many jobs since the age of 16 years old and every job where I have had a male boss, my work quality is better, my work relationship with that boss is better and my happiness level is better. With women I've always had issues working with and for them. In fact every job I've had, all of my women bosses (except one) and I have not worked as best as I did with a male boss. But I just keep trucking on and working, because there's nothing I can do. Just grin, bear it and go home. I always say, "I just do my job and then go home". 

My mom taught me at a very young age to be respectful, say please and thank you, and work hard and in return you shall be rewarded (it doesn't always happen....). The one important thing I have learned and still struggle with is, "Leave your work at work and your home at home". Especially now with having Luke, I want to leave my work at home (I'm not talking about actual work either). I don't want to bring my drama or bad mood home and effect that quality time I have with Luke.

Yesterday while driving home I was in a bad mood because of work. I tried to shake it but my brain wouldn't stop. My bad mood was brought into the house and effected me. While eating dinner Luke kept staring at me and smiling. I am talking hard core staring at me and wouldn't stop until I looked at him. The minute I looked at him, he would smile. That right there snapped me out of my bad mood and reminded me, "LEAVE YOUR BAD MOOD AT WORK"!!

Where's the Caffeine?!??

Seriously, where is the caffeine? Why does my child not like to sleep? What did I do to deserve these sleepless nights? UGH!!!! 

Now it's an ear infection keeping him up and screwing up the nighttime sleep and I am about at wits end. I love you Luke but can you just pllllllleeeeeassssseeeeee sleep! We have a "conversation" every night where I talk to Luke and say, "Ok buddy, tonight you are going to sleep the whole night through and not wake up once until it's time to get up. Right buddy?" But our "conversations" are useless right now because he just "isn't listening". I know, he will sleep eventually. I'm still hoping for sooner, rather than later! 

When the alarm goes off and you go get your squishy little one from their bed and they give you a big gummy smile; your heart melts and you immediately forget that you are frustrated at the lack of sleep. Trust me though, once you're at work, you don't forget and struggle with keeping those eyes open all day. That gummy smile is what keeps me going through the day. So keep up those smiles Luke. Those smiles are worth a night of crappy sleep.

 

Andy asked me yesterday, "So you seriously want another one?" My answer is still of course a yes. If you asked me while I was pregnant, my answer was "We will see". Now that Luke is here, I totally want another one. I want to give Luke a sibling, even though siblings can be overrated at times. If I could, I'd have another one right now and get the sleepless nights over with, but it's just not in the cards for us right now money wise. Daycare alone costs us $189 A WEEK! Can you imagine 2 in daycare at that price! We simply just cannot afford that right now. Am I crazy? You betcha!

High Chair Smiles

What a week and boy am I glad it is almost over! Luke is finally on the mend from his sickies, my boss is back from being on vacation, and we received a tiny amount of snow/ice on Wednesday. I realllllllly wish we would get a good blizzard this year, but so far it's a no go with the white stuff. In fact tomorrow' high temp is suppose to be in the 60's. Any normal person would be excited about that, but to be honest I am not. Any time in the winter when the weather does this (changes from 20's to 60's and then back down to the 20's) you can almost bet that sickies will be right around the corner again. BOO! 

ONE - 

Hey there cute kid! Luke yesterday was in a great mood (for a good 5 minutes in the high chair) until Mommy took too long in making his sweet potatoes and he became increasingly hangry. Obviously this photo was taken before the hangry stage. :) 

TWO -

Oh the romance from Andy.....I did laugh though when I received these funny "card" from Andy via text. The "lie in bed and look at my phone next too" is us every night in bed. HA!

 THREE - 

Lowe's Anatolia Tile Alaskan White Mixed Material Mosaic Wall Tile

I am wanting to do some new things to our home and one of the key things I'd like to do this year is put up a back splash in our kitchen. I found this one a couple weeks ago and fell in love! Just wish it was cheaper than $11.98 a piece! Good thing we don't need too much to make our kitchen purdy!

FOUR -  

Has anyone tried Trader Joe's pizza dough? We did a couple weeks ago and I LOVED it! Not only was the price on par ($1.99), but the taste was pretty good too. The only complaint I had was how hard it was to get it rolled out onto the pan. It took forever and we had to "patch" several holes with dough from the edges. We used Imo's cheese and sauce to compliment our pizza. 

FIVE - 

Classic Ivory - 120

Classic Ivory - 120

New makeup time!  I've been eyeing this Maybelline brand because I had heard nothing but good reviews from it. I picked these up at CVS this week. They are on sale for buy 1, get 1 half off, plus I had a $3 manufactures coupon and $5 in store cash from CVS! I practically walked away with these for free. I cannot believe that I am using the color "classic ivory" but this girl hasn't been in the sun much at all the last couple of years. 

In a rut

I've been in a blah mood lately. I'm not depressed, I'm not sad, I'm just in a place where I feel stuck. It probably stems from the winter weather and it being cold out. When it's cold out, you don't want to go anywhere. When you have a baby, you REALLY don't want to go anywhere because you are lugging your baby around too. You don't want to get sick and your baby is bound to catch any and ALL sicknesses out there, so going out isn't much of an option either. 

The last 2 month's we have been dealing with a sickness every other week, no joke! Of course Luke picks up all sicknesses from being at daycare. He handles it all like a champ, so I can't really complain there. I just have to keep reminding myself that he is building up his immunity to all these illnesses. 

Then you hear about the measles outbreak and it's scaring the living crap out of me because my son is too young to receive the measles vaccine. I'm not here to preach about if you should or shouldn't get the vaccine, however; I am going to be PISSED if my son get the measles because you chose to not get your child vaccinated and now you have your child with measles and mine!  

I'm also in a rut with working out. I'm a slacker. I have no desire to get on the treadmill that's in my own house. My evenings are already short as they are and getting on the treadmill or working out with a video just doesn't sound like a good time to me. Literally when we get home it's: play with Luke, make dinner, eat dinner really fast, play with Luke more until he can no longer handle being awake, bath, bottle, baby to bed, and then I finally get to relax around 7 PM. I just need to suck it up and workout. 

So there you go and that is where my head is at. At least I have this adorable baby, that is what makes my world go round!