Sunday Sunshine

1. Mike is HOME.  

Friday was Mike's last day at  ABM.  He is officially a stay at home dad for awhile.  Very excited.  It will be interesting to see how we fall into place with our new rolls and new routine.  I have already had to give myself some pep talks about not being worried.  

So to explain the picture below -- Last night after I pumped I put the bottle into the fridge and this was the shelf.  First, I pump WAY to much milk.  I am continuing to try and cut back and it is clearly not working well.  Second, when Mike was at the store our texting communication failed--I asked for no more than one bottle of white wine, if any at all -- he came home with four bottles of cold wine.  Last, three bottles of cream.  Clearly we have a love of coffee.  I thought that this picture described parenthood well.  

2. Menless Martini Night
We had another GREAT night last night.  It is so much fun to hang out with these ladies.  We laugh and laugh.  Last night we played Cards against Humanity.  With my family it is hilarious every time we play.

3. Max's bday party
This was the best set up for a birthday party that I have been to with children in years.  We went to a gymnastics academy for the afternoon.  The kids were on the floor with the teachers and the adults were up in the balcony talking with each other.  Smart. I had to add a picture of his penis birthday cake.

4. Toothpaste
This week the toothpaste issue went WAY out of control.  In our house the toothpaste issue is always a bit messed up.  But this week there was toothpaste all over the boys bathrooms.  Grateful that it is cheap.  Maybe I should buy stock.

5. Breathing treatments
When the twins were little my mom bought us a breathing treatment machine.  Owen has been sick the past few days so I pulled out our machine and put it to use.  Grateful that we have this at our fingertips.  Grateful that we have the medicine in our cabinet.  

 I was playing puppy with the kids at family dinner.  They were doing doggy jumping jacks in order to get treats.  Yes.  That is for real.

Spring

1. Jack needs to move

This little one is very similar to his parents.  He is happiest when he is moving.  

It has been fun to watch the boys figure this out about him and help him along the way.  Owen asked me the other day why does Jack need the car to move in order to stop crying.  And then Cameron tried to sooth him saying, "we are almost there Jack" in his sweet big, brother voice when we were sitting at the stop light close to home.  

The other day Owen said, "How do you get him to stop crying?"  I said that I didn't know.  Clearly I was struggling.  Owen said, "well maybe we should ask Cameron."  Usually Cameron gets right in Jack's face and smiles at him.  Jack loves it and smiles back.  

 I took this picture because I wanted to send him "to the moon" that night and he was doing the body language perfectly.

2. Playtime
Always something going on around here.  I am making an effort to stop with the chores and to play.  I am not going to lie, it has been hard around here being the only adult but I don't want to take that out on these three dudes.  Instead, I put my blinders up to the filth, sit down, and play.

3. Powersheets
This was my birthday present this year.  I started working through some of the sheets a few days ago. Today I NEED to get some chores done and hope to sit down and open them up again.

 4. My sister
I can't believe it has almost been a year.  Last night the last week of Erin's life, in the hospital, was playing over in my mind.  I want to write some of it down but I need sometime alone and not have to worry about anything else -- just some time to write.  I know that there is already so much I forget and I want to document some of it before I forget anymore.

Yesterday one of my sorority sisters passed away.  The week that Erin passed away she was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer.  At her treatment yesterday morning she coded and did not survive.  It is devastating and unexpected.  The news made my heart go into a million pieces and flooded me with memories of Erin's passing.  There are no real words of comfort and when I reached out to Kara yesterday I reminded her that Erin was already in heaven waiting for Jamie with open arms.  I am so grateful for that last week that I was able to hold Erin's hand and say goodbye.

5. Lawn Care
I ordered a lawn service for our huge ass lawn that has 8 million weeds.  They came today.  Yay!

Faces

1. Race for the Cure

On Saturday we walked the Race.  It was beautiful out.  Mike had never done the Race for the Cure and my mom has not gone in years.  This year we tagged along with the Ya-Ya's (like always) and it was great.  We even ran into Dr. Goulet and thanked him for helping us get to where we are today.  

2. Yesterday
On Friday morning Owen was telling me a story about something that happened Monday.  He said, "Not yesterday, not yesterday, not yesterday, but yesterday..." That got us to Monday.  I think it is amazing that his little mind remembers that something happened four days previously (not three or five) and he was correct -- it did happen on Monday.  His memory for events is insane.

3. Lawns are DONE
Our neighbors are really sick so I volunteered us to cut their lawn.  I actually like mowing the lawn so it didn't feel like such a daunting task. Well their lawn is plush, full, amazing and HUGE.  Doing both of our lawns took a long time.  Glad they are done for a few days.

4. The shed is clean and organized
Saturday after the race while I mowed our lawn Mike emptied out, cleaned and then reorganized the shed.  It looks so much better.

5. One week left
That's it.  I only have four more nights of Mike on the road.  Plan A was not working for our family so we did lots of thought and moved onto plan B. This is Mike's last week with ABM.  I am thrilled.

Enjoy some snapshots of our week.  It was wild and FULL.  I even snapped a picture of the boys watching TV on Thursday evening.  We sat for a few minutes to decompress for the week.  ....then we went outside and played.  It was crazy, wonderful and exhausting.

Exhaustion

1. Evening activities

I try to make sure that we keep our lives full.  I don't mean by going to lots of different practices but I do think that active kids create good kids.  They don't get bored and start whining and they usually go to bed exhausted and happy. Monday night we went to Chuck E. Cheese for Henry's birthday party and last night we stopped at the library after school and then went back for an art fair.  It completely wore me out but I know that the boys had a blast.  

 I carried Jack for almost 3 hours.  My back is still hurting today.

2. Interaction with Jack

Over the past two days Jack has changed so much.  Maybe he was doing it this weekend too but I was too busy to notice..... He is interacting and smiling.  It is so sweet and melts my heart.  I pulled my phone out yesterday morning and he stopped smiling.  I had to move to the side so he could smile at me and I could sneak and snap a picture.  He reminds me of Cameron so much.

3. My husband
This was my TimeHop a few days ago.  This was our first adventure.  Looking forward to planning our next!  Obsessed.

4. Nap time
Last night I was melting pretty quickly because I am not getting enough sleep.  I decided to call my parents to see if someone could come sit this morning while I took a short nap.  That means in an hour I will be back in bed.  I am going to quickly finish this blog, pump, feed Jack and then I am out. YAY!!  That also means I only had a few sips of coffee this morning.  I am a bit rough.

5. Brothers
The boys have been playing well together lately.  They have also been arguing with each other lately. Glad that they have each other.

Ohio Tour

Before Jack was born we had discussed taking a trip to Ohio so that Jack and the twins could meet most of Mike's cousins and family.  Mike's uncle Terry had also not been doing well with progression on his melanoma so we wanted to make sure to get a visit in with Jack just incase he made a turn for the worse.  On Friday afternoon we packed up the car and headed to Cleveland.  It was a whirlwind of a trip to say the least.  We did LOTS of driving.  All three boys did amazing and we all had a great time.  I don't have any interest in long car trips in the near future but for this weekend...I am grateful.

In order to stick with the theme, I am still going to do some random things that I am grateful for that happened on our road tour in Ohio.

1. Naps

Saturday and Sunday we turned off the movie and had the boys nap.  They never argued, complained, or disagreed.  They closed the TV, turned off their headphones and fell asleep.  WHAT??!!!  It was amazing.

2. Taco Bell & Starbucks
We are trying to save money so we were doing this adventure on as little as possible.  Basically we just wanted to buy gas.  On the way home on Sunday we made a stop at Starbucks and then lunch at TacoBell.  So besides the gas we spent less than $25!  Yes, we went into Taco Bell in our pajamas.  That is how we roll.

3. The car arrangement
It took us awhile to figure out that both boys needed to sit in back and then we could keep the seat open to feed Jack if necessary.  Once we figured that out we were golden.  Here is Mike doing a picture of all four boys and then I snapped one when everyone fell asleep.

3. Terry

In Cleveland we were able to visit with Terry and Sue for a few hours.  We found out that his scans looked FABULOUS.  

4. The Jarret's
On Saturday we stayed the Rob and Judy.  Mike absolutely loves this family and I can see why.  I originally met them two years ago when we stayed and partied on their boat.  Judy also came to help around Erin's funeral.  She reminds me so much of Pat and we have such a great time when we are with them.  I think that Mike feels completely comfortable, safe, and happy when he is with Rob and Judy.  I think that it awakens his creativity and inspires him.  It was a great stay and Jack slept for 9 hours.

5. 9 Hours
Yes, you read that correctly, Jack slept for 9 hours.  I slept with Cameron and Owen on an air mattress and Mike slept on the couch.  At one point in the night I went over to Jack and touched his head to make sure he was still alive.  It was absolutely insane.  Clearly the weekend of traveling and being on a different schedule wore him out.

On a side note:  To those parents who sleep in the same bed as their kids,  I feel sorry for you.

6. Katie Nainieger
On Saturday we stopped at Jonathan's birthday party (we invited ourselves) for a few hours.   It was great to catch up with Katie who is also married into the family.  She is so much fun and I wish that she lived closer.  I also wish that the party was at night so we could chat over wine.

During this afternoon shin-dig we forgot to change Jack.  Yes, we completely didn't think about how being in the car for an hour, then at the party for a few hours, and back into the car....would turn is diaper into a giant bomb.  We learned quickly. Ooopps.

Night Out

1. Jack is 2 months old

We have all survived another month.  We are starting to be in a routine and I am able to figure out a bit better what Jack needs.  This morning as I type I feel refreshed and hopeful.  It is such a different feeling than I had as I typed up a report when he turned a month old.  He is still a sweet, easy baby who loves to be held.  

2. First night out
This was our first official night out alone.  It was so great to reconnect with Mike.  It was much needed and well worth the day long hangover.  With Mike on the road the past 5 months I find myself getting into my own grove.  I tackle the week and then hand Jack over on the weekend.  It starts to wear on the soul.  It started to feel like our relationship was all business.  On Saturday we headed out.  We talked for hours and it was wonderful.  We took Uber to Blend, walked to Harry and Izzy's, walked back to Blend, and then took Uber home.  Yes--we went all out.  I feel so grateful to have such a fun man in my life.   We are going through some family changes in the next few months/years so I don't think we will have a big night out like this again for awhile.

Also - the reason we picked Blend was because Mike won the NCAA bracket bet AGAIN.  We bet every year on our brackets and his win included a trip to Blend.

3. Twins are coming home
It has been a nice spring break to spend some time with Jack alone but goodness it will be wonderful to feel the little arms of Cameron and Owen around my neck.

4. New Tire
This weekend my tire went all the way flat.  Right now my unbelievable mother in law is getting it fixed for me as I stay at home with Jack.

5. Hair Stylist
I have had a hard time finding someone to do my hair who I enjoy.  I was spoiled for years because Emily did my hair.  Once she stopped I eventually found someone at Lifetime.  That was awesome because of the free childcare.  Then she moved to Kansas so I tried to find someone new again.  Now I am back at Ciao Bella and with someone who I think is great.  She is so easy to talk to and I love my hair.  

Clean

1. My mother in-law

When Jack was born Pat had planned on Merry Maids coming to the house to surprise us while we were in the hospital.  I ended up leaving a day early so we decided to save the cleaning.  I cashed in today.  Holy hell it was amazing.  Last year at this time for my birthday I asked for some cleanings and they were pretty wonderful but today was AWESOME.  My house is unbelievably clean and there is no one here to mess it up except me, Nash and sweet baby Jack.  

2. Business Plan

It is happening this month.  Hopefully within the next week.  I have a lot to learn and a lot to do and it makes me pretty excited.  Scared and excited.

3. The crew
With the boys at Greg's all week and then Mike is in Chicago this week we have been down to a pretty small crew in our house.  The three of us are usually all in the same room at the same time...even when I shower.  

4. Morning Walks
This is a 9-5, working mom's dream.  I feel pretty spoiled and pretty blessed to take long morning walks.

5.  Bedtime

I stayed up an extra few minutes to make sure to do the blog post tonight.  I was getting ready for bed at 730 (no joke) and then I started doing extra work and answering a million texts and calls.  I am not popular at all so it was a strange night.  I was also organizing stuff for Team Erin.  Anyways, now I am typing in my bed with Jack in my lap.  I will be putting him over to the bassinet in 3 minutes and hopefully I fall asleep quickly.