Friday Already

Happy Friday friends! For some reasons the weeks just keep going by and before I know it summer is going to be here and life is going to be totally different. If we could just Mother Nature the memo that it is supposed to be spring not winter I think I could start smelling the BBQ grill, see the breeze ripple papers on our island with the windows open and see my kids running thru the yard as the sun starts its slow descent for the night. Here are some of the million thoughts racing in my head as the week ends.

~I am questioning what is up with Cate right now. She is fussy. Really fussy. She is 19 months old. She shouldn’t be right? Why? Why does she cry all of the time? Why does she want to be held all of the time? Why are simple things like brushing her teeth resulting in full blown tears and screaming? What is she needing or not getting at some point each day? My original instinct questioned if she was sick or not. Could be. But something just doesn’t seem right. Yes, she is strong willed and verbal.  Am I struggling with this because we never dealt with until now? I will take any suggestions or things to try.  Is it something we should take her to the doctor for? Is it normal? Looking for anything here people which could include a 12 pack of beer.

~ I am contemplating change. Change for me. Vague I know. But, I keep thinking about what change means for me, for my husband and for my kids. We are finding things are barely but starting to get easier. And with a change comes uncertainty, new routines, new roles and a new life.  I have spent a lot of time this week lying awake at night trying to decide at my core what I want, what I need and what I risks I am willing to take and I am just not sure. 

~ Do you sell things on Craigslist? I do. I get in these moods to sell all things in our house and I do. I sell anything I can and secretly do the touchdown dance the minute I have the cash in my hand from a sale. I buy nothing to this point on Craigslist but I just keep thinking that we have nice stuff in our house and even though I don’t want it anymore someone might.   Am I wrong? Is there something I should be buying off Craigslist?

~Lastly, this is TMI for some of you but I learned an important lesson yesterday when I was conditioning with the freshmen softball team. After two kids, jump roping just doesn’t work. It just doesn’t. Use your imagination and then know I sprinted to the bathroom….

Have a great weekend. We have no plans other than a dinner date tomorrow night. Hoping for some spring cleaning, relaxing, good food and some sleep! How about you? 

Wednesday {My Monday}

Normally, Wednesday is hump day. That day of the week, where you start to see the weekend in the distance and if you are like me you give yourself a pep talk reminding yourself how much you have accomplished in the week, have left to get done and how good it feels to leave school on a Friday with everything in place for Monday.

Except this week, we didn't have school Monday or Tuesday. So, here we are with it feeling like a Monday where drop offs take longer than usual, we are running late as we usually do on Monday and my to do list is just as long with less time to accomplish everything on it.  

So, I thought I would give you a good laugh, at my expense,  to start my week or get you through hump day. 

Some background information, our house has two heaters or zone heating as some people call it- a unit for our second floor and a unit for our main floor and basement. It is a luxury… I know especially since the wind chill this morning was -15 degrees. For the record, zone heat and A/C was a must on my list when we were looking for a house. 

For the past couple of weeks, I have been complaining that it is just plain cold in our upstairs.  My feet are cold when I walk across the hardwood floor; the toilet seat is cold in the middle of the night (tmi right?) and when you walk up our stairs you can just feel the air getting colder. 

The thermostat was set on a program from the previous homeowner.  We went with it because it was pretty much perfect.  But when I started complaining, Glenn would try to raise the temperature to 70, 71, 72 yet the thermostat would not go higher than 67 even if the heat ran 24 hours a day. Brrrr…. So, I was initially convinced it was our thermostat. So, I called the company four times in 24 hours and got nowhere. I did four different “fixes” and it was doing nothing but sitting on 67.  Glenn and I decided, really Glenn did, that  it was time to call a professional.  I think he was just tired of listening to me but of course it was now Sunday on a holiday weekend and the first time we had really frigid temperatures.  So, needless to say between the colds we all had which capped off seven days of ridiculous sickness in our house and the temperature upstairs I was grumpy.

Enter my mother in law.   We start to tell her our problems as we are researching companies that service our brands of heaters when she arrives on Sunday. And she asks a simple question, “Have you changed your filter?”  I look at Glenn who OF COURSE blames me and says, “She was supposed to call to have them maintenanced and didn't this fall so no.”  Of course I was.

{Yes, I was in charge of this in our old house but I didn't realize I was in charge going forward of all heat and air conditioning things.}

Glenn laughed the suggestion off but I was willing to try anything for warm night's sleep. I felt so guilty that it was cold in our upstairs while our kids slept with colds, footed pajamas and big blankets.  So, as soon as they woke up, I climbed up the ladder in our sitting room (in our master suite) up to the attic.  I saw a filter.  So, I started to remove the old one and the dust was forming a cloud in the space. I put the new one in and I maybe said a quiet prayer for this to work. 

I threw the filter away, set the thermostat to 70 and went back to playing with the kids. We left and came home and BAM 70 degrees upstairs. It worked.  Who knew? Let this be the first of many lessons in home ownership I learn the hard way. And further proof that some days I am still not convinced I am old enough to own a home.

Happy Hump Day!

Tidbits of Talk {Volume 1}

Happy Wednesday! Sometimes when I write I realize I don't have enough to write an entire blog post on something but I still feel compelled to "put things out there". So begins what I am hoping is a weekly series called Tidbits of Talk.

~ I have worked last the last two nights and it is taking a toll on me. Between getting up with Cate (still, yes, I know, it’s BRUTAL), getting up extra early to pump and being “on” from 5am to 9pm, my body is really weary. I can feel it in between my shoulders and see it in my eyes. There is a silver lining…this is actually one of those times I appreciate the daycare at my high school. I stayed a little later yesterday morning and snuggled Cate then I stopped by while Brady was on the playground for one more kiss. Did it make my morning more chaotic with fewer minutes to spare? Yes. Was it worth it? 100%



~ I was starting to think things were getting easier. But really, they aren’t. I keep thinking we are adjusting and then we have a rough morning, terse words, tears, or a late start and I spend the minutes in the car wondering if and when life will ever get easier. I question if a move will really solve some of these things. There is just no down time. Seriously, the only time I sit down is when I am pumping or feeding Cate. Otherwise, I am washing bottles, making bottles, getting dinner ready, and laying out clothes, washing clothes or packing bags. There is no time for us, me or him and it continues to take its toll. It is life right now but it doesn’t mean I have to like it.


~ The weather has been unseasonably warm for Chicago. We are talking highs in the 50’s this week. I am itching, craving, begging and hoping my running shoes will somehow end up on my feet so I can get moving. Yet tomorrow snow is in the forecast … major snow. Cue the insanity of commuting with two kids. But as I drive, I am going to remember the warm temperatures of today and the excitement bubbling inside of me to bust out the Bob Revolution, my running shoes and my favorite girl once spring hits Chicago in a few months for those daily jogs I crave.



~We have 8 wedding in 2012. I really thought we were past the “phase” of rocking out to Bon Jovi on the dance floor at a reception hall with a Coors Light in hand but clearly we aren’t. But you know what? I am looking forward to it and ready to buy some new party dresses.


~ I love being organized but with that being said I feel like I actually have too much technology right now and my paper planner has left me feeling lost. I can’t decide where I want to menu plan, keep family info, write the grocery list etc…so I am left with one thing on my ipad, one thing in my MomAgenda and everything else in my head. Sigh…


~ I went to church on Christmas Eve and this weekend for Cate’s baptism. It felt really good, really right to be back in that space. I realized that I miss worshipping. I miss the hour I have to clear my mind and recharge. I need to get back in church. It’s important to me and I have decided it’s time. So, I vow this weekend, I will take a child (probably Cate) and go. I would like to take Brady. He didn’t really sit still at Cate’s baptism but I realized it’s because we have not taken him to church, taught him how to act in that setting or space. Maybe I will try both once I master taking Cate.


Happy Hump Day Friends! Do you have any tidbits you would like to share?

Guest Posting and Other Thoughts...

Today, I had the privilege of guest posting over at Back to the Basics! Go over and give Julie and her blog some love! The post is all about my commuting with a toddler at the end of the school year! I have to tell you reading my own post, makes me laugh...I think that's a good sign?

A baby was born yesterday... one of my bestie's welcomed a sweet boy on her mama's birthday and Glenn and I's wedding anniversary. Coincidence? No way! I am just so happy for her family as they start the amazing journey of parenthood.

Another one of my dear friends is in crisis with her family. I don't want to say much more but know that our hearts are heavy with worry and sadness and we are praying her family comes through this.

I am 33 weeks and starting to freak. (I try to take deep breaths but it doesn't work.) We have so much crap to do. The good news is that my parents are home from Colorado so things will get done. Pretty pathetic it takes my mama to get my butt moving. I am 32.

Brady's cast is off. Still got a ways to go...we need to be patient with him and his leg. More on that later...

Happy Weekend! Started off with a trip to the Shedd today and family time tomorrow.