Getting Good with Myself

There are a lot of things I wish I was better at. Or that I felt/thought differently about. Like photography. I really wish I could take photos like my friend Andrea. You can see some of her work at her Facebook Page, Maddie B Photography. Seriously amazing. And she's going to help me get better, but I will never get to that level.

I get lucky every once in a while, usually with shots of Finn. But once in a while isn't what I'm going for.

I wish I had more compassion. I wish I didn't judge others. I wish I had more patience. But the reality is I have what I have, I am what I am. I need to deal with that. I need to be OK with that. Because the second I am, I will be more at peace and probably be more successful at improving myself in the areas I want to improve.

The good news lately is I'm getting there. Just going back to work full time has really helped. I find myself to be more attentive and involved at home, both with the other members of my family and when it comes to housework, etc. That's great! I just was not built to be a stay at home mom. It makes me become slovenly and a much bigger procrastinator than I would like.

Maternity leave will be interesting, just because I've gotten used to being out of the house all day in a few short weeks. I'll have to adjust. And then adjust again when I go back. The good news is that Monkey will continue to go to daycare part time while I'm home with our new arrival...good for him, good for me, good for baby brother.

Here Comes Another New Year!

Well, our vacation to see family over the holidays was a whirlwind, but totally worth it! Monkey got to meet his other Great-Grandfather for the first time, which was wonderful! We drove up to Carson City, NV to see "Mimi" (aka Ben's mom), Ben's Great-Aunt and Grandfather. Spent 2 nights and then had to be on the road. But, Monkey got to play in snow for the first time!

 Little guy wouldn't keep his hat on!

And got to go sledding, which was hilarious.

Then off to Portland! We went to see Santa, which Finn (Monkey) still isn't too sure about. He REALLY didn't like the Easter Bunny last year, and this year Santa got the same reaction as he did the first time around...confusion. I don't have pictures uploaded of the Santa visit yet, but trust me, it wasn't super happy smiles. 

The thing about Portland that Ben and I *conveniently* forget is that it rains. A LOT. Especially in December. So a lot of our plans went bust. We really need to make a trip in the summer, when we have a better chance of staying dry. We got COMPLETELY soaked at Zoo Lights in the Oregon Zoo, and no one was very happy. 

Monkey cried the entire time we were on the train. You try to do something nice, and that's the reaction :)

After a few days there, up to Washington to see my family...Nana, Papa, and Honey (my grandmother) were all excited to see us. Finn wasn't too upset either. He's spent more time there than at Ben's parents' house, so it's a little more comfortable for him. AND he slept in Auntie Rawr's (my sister) queen sized bed...which had me nervous but he did great!

This was the first year he's kind of gotten the idea of unwrapping presents, so it was more fun than last year. The big hits were his train, his Rody, and my dad's new tripod.

This thing is great...a truly classic "Santa toy"

He still can't really bounce on Rody without falling over, but he's getting close!

And he had no idea what to make of the tripod

All in all, it was a successful trip, even if my big pregnant butt, back and hips were KILLING me every time we got out of the car! Finn did great on our 8 and 10 hour days (and that was just the driving part), so what more can you ask for? Now to get baby preparations seriously under way so that when boy #2 decides to make his appearance, we'll be ready!

I am horrible at Elf on the Shelf

The elf is supposed to move every night. The fun for most of us is thinking of fun little things for him to be doing, and in theory it's all fun and easy, and a way for us to get the whimsy back into our houses. Except for in those houses where we SUCK at Elf on the Shelf.

This is funny and creative. This is not our house.

Our elf's name is Rosco.  He has been in the Christmas tree for 3 days now, mainly because I forget to move him and Monkey doesn't really understand to look for him yet. I figure I'm OK...until next year.

I really wish I could get good at this. I want to make the holidays fun for my kids (and for the adults, it's never a bad thing to bring some of the magic back!). So why am I having such a hard time with this?

I think it would help if Ben were more into it, but he doesn't seem to be. OK, fine. Maybe if I could get my head in the game he would see the fun in it. But I'm in a funk...and I'm horrible at Elf on the Shelf. Maybe next year, when Monkey understands the concept more, I'll get better? One can only hope.

It's Thanksgiving Already?

I can't believe that Thanksgiving is in a week. We have so much to be thankful for this year, and so much to look forward to.

I am thankful for my husband and son. They may drive me crazy sometimes, and there are times I may not like them so much (even though I love them to death) and that's OK. They are still my family, they still bring joy to my days, and I would not be who I am without them.

I am thankful for our life. I mean, there are so many people out there who don't have nearly as much as we do...a home, food, steady income, ability to afford new clothes and the feeling of safety and security. We take it for granted way too much that we have all of these things, and that we come by them honestly.

Believe it or not, I am thankful for my 2 dogs. They taught me how to care for another living being long before Monkey ever showed up. Although they may not get the level of attention they used to, they are still my first babies, and without them our household would not feel complete.

I am thankful that this pregnancy (although a bit of a surprise) happened easily and has thus far gone smoothly. After everything we went through to have Monkey, how horrible I felt most of the time, all the Doctor's appointments, needles, and monitoring, it is truly amazing that this one seems like any other normal pregnancy. I'm so happy I get to experience that side of it.

On the flip side, I'm thankful that I had a hard, high-risk pregnancy with Monkey. It made me so much more empathetic to women and families who struggle with infertility and difficult pregnancies. That only makes me a better person.

I am thankful that we are going to be able to visit family for a longer period of time over the holidays. Although I really wanted to be working full time, that would not have allowed me to take 3 weeks for visiting, and we really need that. Especially since Ben has not been back to our parents' houses since February.

Last but not least, I'm thankful that I do NOT have to cook a whole Thanksgiving Dinner next Thursday!Last year I cooked the full deal for the 3 of us, and it was a LOT of work for VERY little getting eaten. I think we threw most of the leftovers away. So, this year, we are doing Boeuf Bourguignon, Homemade Artisan Bread, and some form of dessert. Nothing big (OK, it's still a lot of work, but hey, it's Thanksgiving), something everyone will eat (mostly, Monkey's going through a picky phase) and we are comfortable at home without feeling the need to entertain.

Now...off to try to convince Monkey to eat something other than bread and cheese.

So glad tomorrow is election day.

Because then it will be over and Television, radio, internet, facebook, ETC will stop being FLOODED with political blah blah. It's not that I don't care about the election and the state of the country. I do. But there comes a point where enough is enough. It's like the little girl who cried because of Bronco Bama and Mitt Romney...

She's about 5 and even she's heard enough (my thinking is most 5 year olds don't really pay enough attention to get upset about things like politics).

Regardless of which side of the fence you are on, or if you're on the fence...I just want life to go back to normal, where a politician does something dumb or something great, we hear about it, laugh about it, and move on. I am over being completely bombarded with it. Well...until 2016 at least.

Wow, it's been a month!

I don't update this like a good little blogger...but then again, I never pretended to be a good little blogger, did I? In the past month, I have finished trainings for my new job, gotten passed over for full time at said job (not super happy about that, but that's how the dice fell), and .............drumroll please.....................we found out that

In case your screen is weird, as my dad's is, the cheesecake is blue. We're having another boy. The big dilemma now is a name. We fell in love with Monkey's name after MONTHS of searching online and in books. Now I'm just having difficulty finding another name that is as unique (but not weird) and that I love as much. Ugh. At least we have a little over 4 months (give or take) to think about it.

I'm also working on Halloween Costumes. Mine is easy...a little bit of bleaching/dying clothes, sew a quick sash, and I'm done. Monkey's is more involved, but if I would just get my butt to work I could have it done tonight. It's Ben's that has me nervous. It's involved, it's a lot of fabric, and, well...kind of ugly. Our whole family is themed, so they all go together and will make sense when they are put that way, but for now it just looks like a big mess in my dining/craft room. Yay for me.

So much happening!

Well, folks, we have a climber. Monkey is on the verge of being able to climb out of his crib. It's a little scary, because I know he's not ready for a toddler bed quite yet, but I don't want him to hurt himself either!

In the past few weeks, I have found him on top of the dining room table, on the coffee table, trying to climb out of his crib, and on the back of the couch. Oh, and did I mention that through all of that, he has also developed a taste for coloring on the walls? Luckily the crayons are washable and wipe right off. Although we've received lots of suggestions, such as giving him chalk or designating a "space" on the wall where it's OK to color, ultimately we don't want him doing it. For a 19 month old I think that designating times/places where it's OK and others where it is not is just confusing. So, he's not allowed to do it, and when he does there are consequences, such as...

...time outs. We were hoping to wait until he was a bit more verbal, but he's just not taking us seriously when we tell him no, so something had to be done. He's still getting the hang of staying where we put him, so a 1-minute time out usually takes about 20-30 minutes to complete, and by the end we have a tearful child who won't so much as look at us. Oh well. He also has to clean the wall where he colored, if that was the offense.

Now for the biggest news...

#2 is on the way! Due 10 days after Monkey was born, so there is a chance they could share a birthday. I didn't really love the thought of having kids with the same birth month, but that's what happened. We're thrilled, and we *think* we're ready. Of course, that means nothing at all...