Welcome to the Good Life!

a day in the life...

I have previously posted about what my day consists of when I was on maternity leave and when I had first started back to work.  Now that I am no longer nursing and we have a new house, my schedule is slightly different.  I love reading these posts from other people!

My alarm goes off at 6 AM and I push snooze twice...I try for just once, but it never works.  When I finally get up I take a quick shower before going to let our dogs outside.  I take our yorkie, Tobbie, on an individual walk most mornings in our backyard.  This morning the sky was so beautiful I had to get a picture!  The early mornings are honestly my favorite time of day--everything is so peaceful and quiet. :)

After the dogs are out, I am hurrying to get ready.  Now is about the time when I wish I hadn't pushed snooze twice!!  I have been wearing my hair curly lately which has drastically decreased the amount of time it takes me to get ready.  However, if I am being honest I like my hair better when it is straight.  I just need to get up a little earlier to make it happen. ;)  Rob comes into the bathroom while I am blowdrying my hair to kiss me goodbye before he starts his morning routine.  I quickly put on some makeup and I am out the door at 7:10.  I always set my GPS for work.  I know the way, but I like to watch how my ETA changes.  *Nerd alert* :)

My sister calls me every day around 7:20 when she is driving to work.  We both debate whether or not we are going to go to Starbucks to get a coffee.  I don't stop too often, but I do like to treat myself on a Friday, for sure!  

When I get to work, I immediately make a to do list.  Monday just kicked my butt and I know I need a good list to get through my day!  Once I see my list, I realize I need a cup of coffee to get through my morning.  Luckily, my cafeteria brews Starbucks coffee and while I would much rather have a soy chai latte, a black coffee will also do the trick!

I am able to really get to work on my to do list and knock off a few big things before lunchtime, but when my stomach starts growling and I see that it is 1 PM, I know it is time for lunch!  I love the salad bar at my work and add in a little bit of fresh fruit today.  I don't get a lot of time during the day to read, but I try to read at least 30 minutes every day on my lunch.  I'm currently reading "The City" By Dean Koontz and it is just OK.  I think I would make more time to read if I was really into what I was reading.  However, I am hoping this book will turnaround and be more interesting so I am sticking with it!

During the afternoon, I have a series of conference calls and meetings planned.  I get prety frustrated during one of my meetings when I realize the person I needed the most information from isn't on the call and was never planning to be.  I hate when people waste my time and this just seems to be status quo from this person.  I make a note to let my boss know that I am struggling with this particular team member.

At 3:30, I look at my Fitbit to check my progress and see that I've barely taken any steps all day!  I have basically been a slave to my computer, which is no good.  One of my goals is to take 10K steps a day, but now I am part of a walking challenge with some coworkers.  One of the girls in our group takes over 12K steps a day, so I am going to have to up my game!!  I take a break for a quick walk around the building and refresh my ice water.

I finish up a project around 4:15 and decide to head home a little early instead of working any longer. ;)  I pack up my stuff and head out the door.  It is SO hot and muggy that I immediately nix a walk with Henry and the dogs. I think we would all be miserable---I can't wait for a break in this weather!  I talk to Rob on the way home about his plans (going to work at the old house so we can list it soon), my friend Paige (to figure out what we are all bringing for a Girl's Night of watching Bachelor in Paradise), and my mom (who had asked me to edit something for her during the day).

I pick up Henry from the sitters and hear a little bit of a mixed review of his day.  He fell asleep at lunch, but then ended up not taking a very good nap.  Henry seems to be happy to see me and in a good mood as we pack up his stuff and head home.  

When we get home, I haul in my bags + Henry's and get started on a dessert for that evening.  I made this yummy Peanut Butter Cup Blondies  recipe.  I have been in a making mood and this was perfect to make!  While it is baking, I put together some dinner for Henry and start to feed H.  While I have some veggies out on his high chair, I send the dogs out to the backyard to play.  I feel bad they aren't getting more of my attention, but tonight is a busy evening! Rob comes home while I am feeding Henry.  He is right back out the door to work in our new yard--watering our grass seed, hauling dirt, etc.  Remember how I said it was so hot and muggy I didn't want to go on a walk?  Rob was working out in that heat--no thanks!

After dinnertime, Henry has become a pretty grumpy kid.  I try to entertain him with a few different toys, but he doesn't want any of it.  I make the decision that it's time for bathtime and bedtime tonight even though it is a little on the early side for him.  I take Henry upstairs and he has a great time playing in the bathtub---especially with his "quack quacks".  

After bathtime, I dry Henry off and get him ready for bed.  I love putting on his little pajamas and giving him a night time bottle.  Tonight he is very cuddly and sweet.  I trim his fingernails while we're snuggling together.  After he finishes his bottle we pray together and I put Henry down in his crib.  He looks like he is almost asleep by the time I get to the door!

I cut a big piece of the blondies out to leave for Rob and then head out the door to watch Bachelor in Paradise with my girlfriends about 15 minutes away.  On the way there, I realize I am almost out of gas.  Yikes! Glad I caught that before my early morning drive to work.  

Our Girl's Night is just as fun as I thought it would be and I leave laughing.  I call my mom back about some further editing comments for her and then I am home!  Rob is half asleep, but I make him get up and talk to me a little bit.  I have barely seen him all day!!  He falls asleep before me and I spend some time shopping on my phone--isn't this such a cute wreath?  I take a picture so I can try to figure out how to make it. :)

Finally, my eyes are no longer staying open and I set my alarm and go to sleep---much later than I anticipated. :)

weekend recap

This weekend just made me happy. :)  There was plenty of friends and family time in the mix and I even had time to deep clean our house and take a long soak in the tub.  Just about perfect!

Friday evening, Henry was absolutely worn out from his week.  He passed out at 6 PM--in his clothes, without a bottle, just worn out.  Rob's cousin, Katie, was coming over to babysit so we let him sleep awhile and then she woke him up for a quick dinner before he passed back out again.  He is definitely a growing boy and needs his rest!!  We had a babysitter because it was our fantasy football draft with our friends!  My friend Sarah drove up from Cincinnati and we all met at my friend's house to eat together and do our draft.  It was weird for me to draft different players than what I had last year, but I am still excited about my team. :)

Saturday morning we all got to sleep in a little bit, which was amazing.  I didn't get out of bed until after 9 and I honestly can't tell you the last time that happened.  If I am thinking back even 2 years ago, I would never have considered 9 AM sleeping in, but I will tell you that sleeping that late now is glorious!  I was in the mood to cook a big breakfast for us so I put in cinnamon rolls before I got Henry up and ready for the day.  Henry LOVES a good cinnamon roll (and he actually ate 3!!), so he was pretty happy.  I also made scrambled eggs and sausage.  Great start to our day!  

Rob and his high school friends have a band together and so he left pretty soon after breakfast to go play with them.  Henry and I played together putting coins in a piggy bank.  This is randomly one of his most favorite activities and I know it is so good for his motor skills!! I don't know if it was his fully belly or still being worn out from his week, but Henry went back down to sleep around 11:30 which left me lots of time to get cleaning!  I try to pick up/clean daily, but I secretly love the opportunity to really get in and clean something well.  This Saturday I detailed our laundry room + pet room, as well as all of our bathrooms.  Our kitchen was starting to get a lot of clutter in it so I was able to clear that out as well.  I spent about 4 hours cleaning and it was awesome. When I finished sweeping/mopping our floors I was so proud of the way our house looked and felt!

I grabbed a quick shower before Henry woke up from his nap.  We were having Rob's friends over for a cookout that evening, so I worked on some homemade salsa and a great nutella dip I love for fresh fruit.  It was pretty hot outside when everyone came over, but we were still able to spend some time out on our deck.  Henry played in his water table until he ate dinner and was ready for bed.  After he went to bed, I came back downstairs and was able to participate a little bit more in the adult conversations. ;)  I LOVED being able to be home with Henry, but still have friends over and feel like an adult.  To me, entertaining in your own home is just one of the best feelings.

Sunday morning we all woke up for church and actually made it out the door in time for Starbucks!!  Such a win in my book.  I had been asked to share a prayer for all of the kids going back to school and I was so nervous!! I think everything went OK and Henry even did a great job in the nursery.  I snuck out when he wasn't looking so we were able to avoid the tears.  He sat on one of the nursery worker's laps the whole time and evidently had a great morning too! I know I have said this several times before, but honestly being in church with your family is the best feeling and it is something that I do not take for granted at all.  I was so grateful Rob was able to join us.

The only blip in our otherwise great weekend came when we came home from church and found that both our black lab and yorkie had gotten loose from their pen and had been running around the house!!  They had several messes we had to clean up--which put such a damper on our day.  Rob took the upstairs, while I cleaned the downstairs.  It took about 30 minutes, but we had to get it all taken care of before we could eat lunch.  The hardest part was keeping Henry entertained, but not near where we were cleaning!!  After lunch (which was Chipotle that we picked up on the way home!), we went outside to plant our grass seed.  This has been SUCH  long time coming and I am so so excited it is finally finished.  Rob's dad has a huge tractor that he used to till up our yard and then Rob and I were able to follow behind to plant the grass seed.  The whole process didn't take nearly as long as I thought it would and it wasn't as terrible as I had imagined either. :)  Now it is just time for these little baby grass seeds to grow and grow!!

Sunday evening we met our friends out for dinner,  My friend Bird is having a baby this coming weekend and it was wonderful to get to have one last dinner out together before she becomes a momma!  When we came home it was bedtime for Henry and then I packed his lunch for the next day.  I was able to get a good soak in the tub with a Lush bath bomb (Have you ever used these? They're pricy but amazing!!) before going to bed a little earlier than normal.  

All in all, it was an amazing weekend!! How was yours?

first weekend in august

We left the beach a day early because bad weather was coming through.  We ended up driving through a lot of it, and I am SO thankful we weren't stuck in a condo for the storms!  We left pretty early on Friday morning and made it home in the early afternoon.  This gave us time to unpack, do laundry, grocery shop, and all of the fun things that you get to do when you come home! ;)

The first thing Henry did was run up to his room and love on it.  He was SO funny.  Here he is loving on a new box of diapers and his favorite kitty, Beatrice.  Henry always puts his thumb in his mouth and leans over on something when he is loving on it.  When I am the object of his affection I am so happy, of course!!
Saturday morning we all slept in which was fantastic.  I don't know if I have shared on here, but we have a Tempur Pedic mattress and it is just amazing.  The only bad thing is that when we travel, nothing else compares!!  Our big sleeping in fiesta was just what we all needed and Henry agreed.  When he finally woke up at 9:45, we headed to brunch with some of our friends and Henry's favorite girl.  They both showed off a bunch--Henry ate his weight in food and Millie tried to do gymnastics to get out of her high chair.  :)  I LOVE this picture of Henry's bedhead.

Sunday morning Henry and I made it to church together.  This was the first time I left him in the nursery (previously Rob has taken him!) and I was just a mess.   I cried through part of the service and was SO happy to be reunited with my baby face after the service.  I am definitely going to make Rob take care of that from now on--I just don't have the heart for it.  

However, I did think henry looked so so cute in his outfit! :)

 

weekend recap

While I work on catching up from the summer on blog posts, I wanted to recap our weekend!  We headed to Kentucky to see my family.  After our beach trip a few weeks ago, I have been feeling increasingly homesick so a visit to Kentucky was definitely in order!

We headed to Kentucky on Friday after work and had a pretty good trip down.  Henry really only got anxious the last 15 minutes of our trip, but at that point we were almost there!  My mom had a party for all of our family on her new deck (her house is getting remodeled and it is so so pretty!) and we had a great time.  Henry played with one of his little cousins visiting from Texas and had the best time!  I have a great relationship with my cousins and always looked forward to playing with them when I was little.  I am so thankful Henry has this same opportunity!!

Saturday morning, my mom and I went to finish picking out her vanity/shower to make sure it matches some tile she picked out.  Rob was golfing, so Henry went with us.  You can tell he was very serious about his shopping!

Afterwards, my sister and I headed to the park to do a few laps while my mom took Henry to my granny's to visit and eat some lunch.  I have a fitbit and am SO much more aware of my activity levels throughout the week.  I find that I do so much better during my workdays when there is more structure, but on weekends I tend to still be active, but not necessarily taking steps.  Scrubbing floors and bathrooms does not equal steps! :)

Anyways, while Henry was napping my sister and I went to the pool with my cousins. While we were only there a short time, we had a great time watching them go off the high dive while we were soaking up some sun.  I don't have a great tan this year, but I have a lot more color than I have the past two summers!

Henry is really into his stuffed animals right now--as you can tell from this picture.  His little butt up in the air cracks me up so much.  He sleeps in a pack and play at my mom's house and it is just hilarious how worn out he gets from playing and showing off.

Saturday evening my mom watched Henry (again--notice a theme? :) ) so Rob and I could go on a double date with my sister and her husband.  We had a great dinner out together before heading to the movies.  We saw Guardians of the Galaxy which definitely would not have been my choice of movie, but it ended up being pretty funny.  

Sunday morning brought church at my home congregation--something I always look forward to when I go home!!  Henry did such an awesome job of sitting still through the service.  We did feed him lots of grapes and goldfish, but I was still so proud of him!  

The drive home seemed a little long, but I think it was because we didn't want to leave and I knew I had lots of chores waiting for me when I came home.  Rob is working hard to get our old house ready to sell, so Henry and I did laundry, grocery shopping, etc. to get ready for the work week.

I hope you all had a good weekend too--and I am so looking forward to blogging again! :)