Stir Crazy

Here in cloudy, freezing Cleveland, Ohio we have been having one of the coldest winters in our record's history. Most of us are use to having bad weather between January and May. However, now that I have two children, I realize how horrific being trapped inside EVERY day can be. I'm searching Pinterest just to find ideas to occupy my 3 year old so he doesn't drive me insane. I set up car washes in the kitchen and I get a good 30 minutes to do the myriad of mom tasks that need to be done. We have made play dough, painted, played with snow inside, put up his tent indoors, made a fort with the kitchen table, watched dry ice,and taken a bath midday- just because. I am sooooo ready for spring!

Mommy Woes

Life moves by so fast that when the weekends come I need time to catch my breath. Here we are on Saturday night, it's 9:30 and my 2 1/2 year old is still up talking to himself in bed. (I gave him a bath, he had some milk, played with my phone, threw a tantrum, and then let me rock him for a bit.) My 4 month old had her bath and is drinking her bottle now with my husband. If all goes according to plan, she will fall asleep too. Now, pre-children, 9:30 would mean hours and hours of fun, a few drinks, maybe a movie or some "cuddling". Post children.... 9:30 looks like I have about a half hour before I am going to crash.  The good news is tomorrow is Sunday, the bad news is tomorrow is Sunday. 

As a working mother, Sunday means writing up lesson plans and organizing myself for the week. Grocery shopping and pre-packing the diaper bag. We may fit in a trip to the pumpkin patch but that's about it. Oh, I forgot taking the children to church by myself because my husband will be going into work (yes, into work on a Sunday). So, in reference to my post title, mommy woes means that the stars in the show (the kids) get all the love and attention and applause, while the people behind the scenes (mom) gets zero recognition. I mean most of the time I can go on and on and not think about it, but sometimes it just hits you. I really wanted to paint my nails, get a haircut, and start working out again but none of that happened. 

Here's to an eventful Sunday and then the start of another hectic, crazy week. To those of you who read my little blog....we still have not sold our condo (dying inside every day this place does not sell)

But here's what makes the mommy woes all worth it....

Finding the time, with two little ones, to make a blog post is getting harder and harder. I am finding that I need to always have things pre-packed, or pre-ready, or pre-planned because spur of the moment just does not work out for us. For example, trying to leave for church, is nearly impossible if I don't plan ahead. The last two Sundays we have arrived with about 10 minutes left in the service- totally infuriating, especially since we live 40 minutes away from church so we have to drive all the way there just to miss most of it- drives me nuts. So, I realize that the diaper bag needs to be packed the night before and outfits for the kids (an most importantly myself) need to be decided on and laid out the night before as well. The number one thing I have to remind myself...my husband is little to no help, so I must do everything myself or delegate to the"t". And when in the most hurried flurry to leave the house always remember,  " Can I feed em and change em" and that will about cover your most important items. 

Noah is getting a little more friendly with his little sister so that is an upside. I still have to watch him like a hawk, but he isn't trying to hurt her on purpose as much. Hopefully in a couple more months he will start to be more helpful than hurtful. 

Stella is 2 months old today!! Wow! time goes so fast. I have to remind myself that I have about 6 months to keep saying, "I just had a baby" before I can't really use that as my weight loss excuse. I'm working at it, but it is a slooooooowww process. 

Very Pregnant

There is a level of attention that you get when you are pregnant that is kind of nice. People who normally wouldn't talk to you, chat you up. Your friends, family, and coworkers ask how you are doing, call more, and worry more. Your husband ( at least he tries anyway)does more around the house to be helpful. However, the downside of people having no filter, is that they really will say anything to you without thinking that it might be rude. 

I have passed the point of "cute" pregnant. My stomach is so far forward I literally feel like it might fall off my body. The stretch marks resemble a shattered windshield or a road map. The boobs are droopy and no longer perky.  So when that stranger says, " Wow, you look like you could go any day." or " Are you sure you should be out by yourself." or "Whoa, when are you due?" or "Oh my gosh,  you are really huge." It makes you want to punch them right in the face. Pregnant people have feelings people... and for your safety you should remember that they have more intensified feelings because they are hormonal. So, just smile, say congratulations and move on.

I have a little less than 4 weeks left, if I carry until my due date, which is June 21st. I was late with my first and had to be induced, but for some reason, I do feel that I may go early this time.  I rarely post pics of myself pregnant because I do not feel cute or adorable, but I thought I would share just a couple. 

These pics were taken on May 9th so I had about six weeks left at this point.

Busy Busy

I have been pretty preoccupied and stressed lately. We have a lot going on and my mind races constantly.
1. We are having our first Open House on Sunday. Prepping for that has been taking up a lot of time. I'll sit with a box and try to decide what I should pack up and what I might need. My parents basement is our storage unit and let me just tell you, thank goodness it's big.
2. I am just shy of 30 weeks right now. The baby will be here before you know it and I'm starting to feel like we are not ready. Yes, we have all the baby equipment, but I still feel like I can't pull all that down yet until we know if we will be moving soon or not.
3. Tis the season for job postings in the teaching world. I started my resume and then have not finished it. Finding the time to sit at my computer and work on that is difficult. Even now, I should be working out and showering so I am not late to work. I have chosen to update the blog....priorities?
4. Not to mention, I have to update my teaching license and taking a class, with two kids, and possible new job in August....makes me feel like I might need meds just to get through it. 
5. Money is tight right now because we are trying to save everything for the down payment and closing costs of a new house. This is difficult because we are also trying to prep for the new baby and plan summer activities.

**Noah got his big boy bed and we have been working on that transition as well. He "helped" Daddy put it together. Today we take down the crib :( :) happy and sad. Happy my little man is growing up, but sad that he is growing up. We have to put a baby gate in his doorway because he can now get up and out whenever he wants, but I think he will get use to it soon. 

Baby Sampson is a......

So super excited and just shocked that baby number 2 is a.....

GIRL!!!!!!!

Adding a Little Baby Cheer

Due to my slight addiction to Pinterest, I have become a little obsessed with being extra ordinarily creative. No longer is is okay to just say you are pregnant...there are a multiple of much more creative ways to go about telling the world that you are going to have another child. 

I found out I was pregnant very quickly this time around (we were trying) so at Halloween I told my parents with the pumpkin idea below. At Thanksgiving we were ready to tell our close friends and family and I sent an email with the other photos you see. I, of course, told my closest friends and family in person, because I love to see their reactions. 

If you saw my last post, that is how I announced to the "public" that I am pregnant!!

Wide Open Internet

I am clearly aware that you can find just about anything on the Internet. I am also aware that not everything you read is true. And I am also aware that whatever you put out there in digital form can and will travel through the Internet at an alarming rate. I just had my own personal experience with the latter. I know, being a blogger, that I should not have been caught by surprise, but I was. 

I was browsing through Pinterest when I came across this photo....

And I was like, "Oh My God, wait a minute....that's my baby!! Those are my husbands hands!!" It was one of those moments where you have to stare at it for awhile, just to make sure you are in fact seeing what you are seeing.  Even though I have seen images from blogs I follow on Pinterest, seeing my own baby was weird. Especially since I did not post it originally.  Needless to say, I contacted our photographer and decided to order more pictures because we never originally ordered this one (is that crazy?) I don't care, I did it anyway. 

Noah will be 18 months on the 23rd of this month and it really feels like a long time since he was only 2 weeks old (that's when this picture was taken). If anything it brought back some memories. I can't believe how fast time has gone.

Lesson: if you don't want it out there, don't put it anywhere.

Let's Get Physical!

I signed Noah up for a summer session at the Little Gym. They run gymnastic type classes for babies all the way up to older school age children. Noah just had his first "Birds" class with 10-19 month old toddlers. He had so much fun (until he tripped on a mat and smashed his forehead into a pole) but even after that he had fun. I can't wait to take him to class next week. I only saw one other mom with her camera out, so I don't know if I was a weirdo or not, but I couldn't NOT take any pictures. 


BACK STORY: these classes are not cheap and I really wanted to spend time doing fun things with Noah over the summer  since I work during the school year. My husband would probably have a coronary if he knew how much the class was, but I felt like it was so unfair that he couldn't do a fun class that would strengthen his motor development just because we don't have a lot of money right now so...... I asked my mom for money. Now you have to understand, I don't ask anyone for money, ever. So I sucked it up and asked my mother to loan me the $187 it would cost for the class and membership and told her I would pay her back as soon as I could. I waited until Noah had his first class, so I could show my husband pictures of him having fun, before I told him what I did. I know many of you probably don't condone this, but after 10 years together I have learned it is better to ask for forgiveness than permission.

First Time at a Park

This weekend was the first time Noah was at a park where he was old enough to go down a slide or swing in a swing. We have taken walks in parks before but were never able to actually do anything else.

At the bottom of the slide was sand. It took every once of "cool mom" in me to let him explore the disgusting public sand without looking like a hypocondriach. He had a great time and passed out in the car on the way home. Here are some of the best pics (modified of course with instagram, follow me at sincerelys)

It's very rare if I post a picture of myself with the baby and that's for two reasons. 1. I'm always the one taking the pictures 2. I don't feel like me since I still haven't lost this saggy tummy so I don't like people to see me in pictures. The pic below though turned out nice and is waist up. We were on our way to church for Palm Sunday.



Happy Birthday, Noah!

Happy 1st Birthday to my sweet little boy! I don't know how this....

 Grew into this amazing, sweet little boy. It just seemed to happen so fast. One day you wake up and they aren't that little floppy infant you brought home.



Every month since Noah was 3 months old I have been writing him letters and sealing them. I plan on giving them to him some time when he is grown up, I'm not sure when yet. I write to him (and I know this will sound sad) in case something were to happen to me, I could still tell him all I want to say, even if I'm not with him. So for his 1 year letter, I am including the song, "Forever Young" by Rod Stewart. It just says everything I feel.

"Forever Young" Rod Stewart

May the good Lord be with you down every road you roam.

And may sunshine and happiness surround  you when you're far from home.

And may you grow to be proud, dignified, and true.

And do unto others as you'd have done to you.

Be courageous and be brave and in my heart you'll always stay

Forever young, forever young, forever young, forever young.

May good fortune be with you, may your guiding light be strong.

Build a stairway to heaven with a prince or a vagabond.

And may you never love in vain, and in my heart you'll always remain

forever young, forever young, forever young, forever young, forever young.

And when  you finally fly away, I'll be hoping that I served you well.

For all the wisdom of a lifetime no one can ever tell.

But whatever road you choose. I'm right behind you, win or lose,

Forever young!

Hear Rod sing the song here