Bad Blogger

I'm such a bad blogger.

The thing is I want to blog, I just can't seem to find the time to blog lately. Throughout the day I think of a bunch of random things I want to write about, but then never get a chance to actually do it. Right now my life is on such a set schedule. I think I may need to actually schedule time for blogging.

As of now Monday - Friday my days look almost always like this:

I get up, get K and myself dressed and fed and ready for the day (Vince is usually already heading out the door by the time we get up). Drop her off at daycare on my way to work. Get done work and pick her up by 5.

Then go home, change her, put her in highchair and feed her dinner. Then let her hangout either there or in her bouncy seat while I make dinner for Vince and I (and talk and/or sing to her to keep her entertained).

Around 6 Vince gets home and we eat, then we spend the next 1-2 hours finally getting to play with Kaylee. This is by far the best part of my day. When Vince was still working nights I missed having him home for this part more than anything else.

By 8 (at the latest) it's time for her bath and bed. So by 8:30 I finally get to sit down and just relax. Before I would either blog or play on the computer to keep me busy while I waited for Vince to get home at 11. But now it's my time to just hangout and curl up with him on the couch for a little.

Then we head to bed and start the whole thing over the next day.

I'm honestly not complaining at all. I like this schedule, it works for us. I get to spend time every night as a family as well as just with my husband. For a year and half he wasn't around at nights, so I am so grateful that we now have this time together again. Heck we haven't even had a dinner together before 11pm in forever, and now we are usually asleep before then. It's a nice change :)

So, I do want to find time to blog, but right now it's just not so easy. I am going to work on it.

Those of you that are so good at keeping up with your blogs, please tell me how/when do you do it?? Obviously I could use a little advice ;)

Happy Friday!

TGIF!

Sorry I have been completely MIA, but it's just been on those weeks. I am very much looking forward to a weekend to relax and spend time with my family. Hope everyone has a good weekend! TGIF :)

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This week was the first official week of Vince working his new job. Which means it was the first week in a year and half that I had a husband home at night during the week. I don't think I realized how much I had missed having him there just to hangout with, help with Kaylee, and have dinner with. I actually made dinner every night and we were able to eat at a normal time instead of 11pm like we've gotten used to. To say it is a nice change, would be an extreme understatement.

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The lady who watches Kaylee during the week at daycare is also going to watch her for a couple of hours on Saturday night. Vince's parents are taking the family out for a nice dinner to celebrate Vince's new job and the place they picked isn't really a kid friendly type of restaurant. So, she said she would watch her for us. It's only a couple of hours and I am obviously comfortable leaving Kaylee with her (probably more comfortable with her than almost anyone else), but for whatever reason I still just don't like leaving her in the evenings like that. I wish we had earlier reservations so I could be home in time for her bath and to put her to bed. I know it will be nice to get out, but I also know I will be checking my watch constantly and wanting to get home to go get her. I hate being like that, and am hoping as she gets older I will learn to relax and enjoy my time out a little more.

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This weekend it's supposed to be sunny and in the 60s. Which is perfect fall weather. I love it. I want to find something for us to do outside on Sunday as a family. Last Sunday we went to a local pumpkin patch and just walked around and got a few things from the store there. Kaylee is obviously too little to really care, but she likes being in her stroller and being outside. Maybe we will just walk to the park and put her in the swings (which she loves).  Can't wait for next year when she is old enough to start enjoying hayrides and all those types of fall activities :)

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I forgot to add in Kaylee's 5 month post that she finally got her first tooth! It came in on Tuesday last week. I have tried multiple times to get a picture of it, but it's on the bottom and she keeps sticking her tongue out and covering it up haha. Thankfully she didn't get too fussy, if it weren't for the insane amounts of drool I wouldn't have known she was teething. I am wondering if part of her being sick this week has to do with her getting more teeth soon??

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The past few days I have heard people mention Christmas shopping. I haven't even thought about Christmas yet. I don't know what to get Vince for our anniversary in November, let alone what to get for Christmas. I guess I need start making lists for what to get for everyone, but seriously where did the year go?? Last Christmas I was finding out whether we were having a boy or a girl and this year I will have a 7 month old! Crazy how things change in a year!

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Happy Friday :)

5 months

I know I say this all of the time, but I feel like Kaylee is getting so big SO fast! I can't believe she is now 5 months old! (technically she was 5 months last week on the 6th)

 I don't normally do a post for each month, but this month I feel like I should at least document it somehow because she has just changed so much!

Each day I see her learning or doing something new.

She has discovered the world of toys. She used to just stare and swat at toys on her play mat. Then a couple months ago she started holding rattles or small toys, but now she is actually playing with toys. She has a bunch that light up and play music that can keep her entertained for awhile. Her favorite right now is this caterpillar that when she hit it's legs different sounds or songs play. I love watching how excited she gets while she plays.

Over the past couple of weeks she has started sitting up and rolling over. She isn't rolling all over the room yet, just flipping from front to back (she's still not a fan of being on her stomach) and then occasionally back to front when there's a toy or something she is reaching for. I'm sure it's just a matter of time before I lay her on the floor and come back and can't find her because she has rolled to the other side of the room ;)

Every night she eats solids for dinner. We mix some kind of fruit or veggies with a little rice cereal. When she first started about a month ago she wouldn't eat too much, but now she usually eats an entire jar of food. She has tried bananas, apples, carrots, green beans, sweet potatoes, and peas. So far I haven't found anything she won't eat, but green beans seem to be her favorite for now.

The first few months of sleeping were a challenge, but since then she has been pretty good.  I give her a bath at 8 and by 8:30 (at the latest) she is asleep. She usually sleeps straight through until morning now. There are still times where she wakes up in middle of the night, but if she does she is up for about 15 minutes and then goes back to sleep pretty easily. Typically she wakes up between 6 and 6:30am, but everyday can be different. Sometimes it's as early as 5am and other times (like today) it's as late as 7:30am. I prefer the latter of the two.

I'm not sure her exact weight right now since we didn't have an appointment this month, but at 4 months she was 15lbs and 25 1/2 inches. She was in the 80th percentile for weight and 90th for height, so she's a big little girl ;)

Overall Vince and I are proud to see her thriving and growing constantly, but mostly we just love that she is so happy now. As I've mentioned before she was colicy in the beginning and then around 3 months started medicine for acid reflux so it took awhile to get everything sorted out. But now she is feeling better and is filling our days with lots of smiles and laughing constantly.

Can't wait to see what the next few months bring once she starts getting more mobile and able to really start exploring ;)

Love that smile.

The many faces of Miss Kaylee Rae

Happy Friday :)

The Big Debate

As I mentioned yesterday I have been extremely indecisive about what I want to do with work. I have been debating back and forth about whether I want to stay home or if I want to continue to work? (I'm not saying that staying home isn't work)

If you had asked me this quetsion last year while I was pregnant my answer would have always been I want to work. Not that I didn't want to be home with my daughter, but I liked working and wasn't ready to give that up.

Then if you asked me that question while I was on maternity leave after my daughter was home I would have always answered that I wanted to stay home. At that point I would cry anytime someone mentioned me having to go back to work.

I considered switching to part time (thankfully that was an option for me) or possibly even staying home, but in the end decided to go back to work full time and just see how things went.

Now that I've been back at work for about 3 months I'm not sure what my answer is to that question anymore. We are at a place now that I could stay home, it's just whether or not it's what's best for us.

I miss Kaylee like crazy everyday when I am not home with her. I hate that I only get a few hours with her at night during the week and I worry I'm going to miss it the first time she crawls or says her first words. Plus even though I'm working outside of our home, I still have work at home. Like everyone else I have cooking, cleaning, laundry, etc. that still needs to get done everyday. It was hard trying to figure out the right way to balance both working and being a mom and a wife. But lately I feel like I have finally started to get the hang of it.

We have a good schedule and routine that works for us. Kaylee is doing amazingly well at daycare. I had been so worried about it before, but it has worked out better than I could have imagined. I think it's actually a really good thing for her. I am enjoy getting back to work and getting a little bit of me time even if it is while working. I like the feeling I get every day at 5 when I can rush out the doors and go pick her up. There is nothing better than the smile I get as soon as she sees me. It makes my day, every single day.

Then there's always an option of going part time. My boss had mentioned it awhile ago, before I was even on maternity leave, but there are some things that would still need to be figured out to see how that would really work.

So now I'm stuck on what to do. Not just what I want to do, but what is best for us. If I decide to quit and stay home I wonder what I will do in a few years when she starts preschool or later when she's in elementary school all day. Will I then try to go back to work? Or will we have more kids by then? (we go back and forth about that decision too) Am I ready at 26 to never work again? I don't know.

But on the other hand, I know I would love staying home. It would give me so much more time with her and I would be able to sign her up for classes when she's older like swimming or mommy and me dance classes (yes I used to dance and have already looked at these classes for her lol). I also wonder am I going to look back in 20 years and wish I had stayed home and not missed a second of her growing up. Then again having the extra money is nice and means we can provide even more for Kaylee or any future children. So even though we can afford for me to stay home, is that what's best for our future? Again, I don't know.

Of course I have heard everyones opinions. The good and bad for both sides. But I need to make the right decision for my family, not for anyone else. I don't judge what other people choose to do so I would hope other people don't judge me that way.

So now that I just finished writing all of that out and reading it over, I think it's clear to see that I am just too indecisive to make a decision either way. I think I need to take some time and sort it all out. For now I should just be grateful that I have options and can take the time to decide.

*just to clarify this is in no way saying I think one decision is better than the other. I think everyone makes the right choice for them. this is just me trying to figure out which choice that is.

All Over the Place

My head is all over the place today, so as a result you get a very random post with a little bit of everything. Enjoy ;)

I have been so tired the past few days and just can't seem to shake it. My daughter actually sleeps most nights (knock on wood), so I can't really blame her anymore but I feel like a walking zombie.

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This past weekend Vince went to Missouri to do something for my dad so Kaylee and I stayed home all weekend long. It was kind of nice to be at home with nothing we had to do, we could just in comfy clothes and lounge around all weekend. (we may have done just a little shopping too ;))

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I jumped on the bandwagon and bought season 1 of Friday Night Lights and started that while Vince was away. I have to say it really is a good show, definitely sad at times but still so good. I only have 2 episodes left (I stayed up way too late watching this show.. maybe that's why I've been so tired..)in this season and will be going to go pick up season 2 right away. (yes I know I could just get it through netflix, but for some reason I almost always buy dvds. I like having a large movie collection. Plus both my mom and sister want me to pass these on to them when I'm done so they will definitely get used)

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Speaking of TV shows, I think I have a serious addiction. I watch way too many shows. Plus with the addition of all of the new shows this season my DVR is now always full. I can't help it, after Kaylee's in bed I love to just relax and watch all the stupid drama.  My new favorites are Heart of Dixie (LOVE this show! Plus for you FNL fans Jason Street is the main guy in the show) and Secret Circle. My older favorites are still Gossip Girl and Grey's, Vince actually watches these ones with me which is nice. Not to mention all of the reality shows like Project Runway, Dance Moms, and anything with the Kardashians. See? I told you I have a problem.

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Lately I keep going back and forth about what I want to do with work. I don't want to get too into this right now, but long story short I got a job offer which would have involved us moving about 15 hours away. Before the offer came we had discussed the possibility of moving and both agreed we wanted to, but then the day before I got the offer Vince got a new position at work. So we went back and forth on which was better for us and decided to stay here.

I wasn't actually looking for a new job before I was informed about that position, but now I'm not sure what I want to do. Do I want to stay where I am and go part time? Or just continue with what I am doing and stay full time? Should I look for something new all together or try to stay home instead? Ahh.. I'm not normally this indecisive, but I literally change my mind every single day. Oh well, guess I will eventually figure it out.

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On a more exciting note.. My mom and dad are in Vegas right now. (he has a convention for work and she tagged along to go to the spa.. yes I am jealous of her life right now..) Anyways, she called me last night and said she told my dad she wants to take a girls trip with just me, her and my sister to Vegas later this year for her 50th birthday. Hells yes. I have been to Vegas a few times in the past for work, but never for a vacation. Plus a trip with my mom and sister anywhere sounds fabulous to me. So hopefully we can figure out a time between my sisters college schedule and my work schedule to actually make it happen, because it sounds like a perfect idea ;) 

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This weekend 2 of my best friends from college are coming to visit and I can't wait! It's been too long and we have SO much to catch up on. I think a girls weekend is just what the Doctor ordered ;)

Alright well that's it for now.. hope you all are having a good week so far!

11 years already?!

Tomorrow Vince and I will have been together for 11 years.

Sometimes I'm not even sure how that's possible. Where did the time go?

Looking back to when I was 15, I never could have imagined just how far we would have come.

Starting off as kids just trying to survive those crazy high school years. Then somehow managing to make a long distance relationship work while living in different states for 4 years during college. To finally graduating, moving home, finding jobs, getting engaged and then married. My family moving away. Buying our first house, then choosing to sell it. Me starting a new job. Buying our second home just to have the builder go bankrupt and take half of our money. Getting pregnant! Finally settling the house issues and looking for a new place (after a year of legal battles). Having our beautiful baby girl and learning the joys (and at times stress) of being first time parents. Moving into our new home. Vince finally getting the job he wanted (after having to work part time at night for a year and a half to get it). All the while still trying to figure out life, love, marriage, and all of the things in between.

It has not always been easy. We've had our fair share of ups and downs along the way and we have things we still need to work on, but at the end of the day we're happy. He's my best friend, an amazing father, and my partner in everything. There are a ton of things we want to accomplish and dreams we hope to reach one day, but for now I am just proud of where we are. 

So Vince, while we may not celebrate our dating anniversary anymore I want you to know that you mean everything to me and on October 8th I will always love looking back and remembering just how far we've come.  I love you always and forever.

Things I'm Loving Right Now

The fall/halloween decorations in and outside my house that I finally put out this weekend. I wasn't able to decorate last year since we had already sold our other home and weren't in the new one yet, so it's nice to be able to do it again :)

Catching up with a good friend through numerous emails (all of which had me laughing about something) and making plans to get together. Yes, Michelle I am talking about you... I know you read this, now it's time to start your own blog so I can stalk you ;) lol

This protein pack from WaWa. I don't normally eat breakfast, but the other day happened to stop in to get tea at WaWa and found this. It's the perfect little breakfast. It's not something I plan to get daily, but once in awhile when I need an extra boost in the morning this seems to do the trick.

Speaking of food, I am also really liking these McCormick Grill Mates Marinades. You just mix them with oil and water and marinade the meat for like 20 minutes.. super easy! Last night I used the mojito lime one and it was SO good. I broiled the chicken instead of baking it so it was done in less than 15 minutes. Quick, easy dinners are always a good thing around here.

That I did my hair for $20 as opposed to the normal $150 I spend. It actually would have only cost $10, but since my hairs pretty long right now I needed 2 boxes of dye. I still plan on going to get it done, but every once in awhile it's nice to save the extra cash and do it at home instead.

That we only have 2 more weeks of Vince working nights. It has been a very long 18 months with him working 15 hour days and I am SO excited to have my husband home again. Kaylee is of course excited to see more of her daddy too ;)

And last but definitely not least.. I'm loving lots of things about Kaylee. Like adorable fall clothes and tutus, watching her learn how to do new things like rolling over and sitting up (it looks like I am holding her in the picture, I'm actually just sitting there in case she decided to topple over.. which she did haha), and of course those adorable chubby cheeks of hers that I can't help but to kiss all of the time.

(and yes they are all iphone pictures.. I know I said I wanted to start using my real camera more, but apparently it's something I'm still working on haha)

Dinner in or out?

If you asked me that question last year I would have most definitely said OUT.

Vince and I used to go out to dinner all of the time. Now, we hardly ever go out.

When I was pregnant I thought I would miss being able to go out whenever. And of course at times I do, but to be honest I now love staying in.

I like staying home and making dinner together. We eat early, spend time playing on the floor with Kaylee, give her a bath and rock her to sleep. Then on the weekends we usually end up sharing a bottle of wine and watching a movie.

When we stay home it's easy. We don't have to pack bottles, diapers, and toys. We don't have to rush and  try to keep her entertained long enough to finish our meals before she starts squirming to get out of her seat.  At home we can relax.

She has her all of things there and is always so content. We don't have to worry about her getting fussy and annoying other customers. She's just happier at home. So we have become happier at home too.

Don't get me wrong we still go out and she is usually pretty good while we're there, but I just don't ever feel like I can sit back and enjoy dinner. I know it's more in my head than anything else, but I'm always nervous she's might start screaming for no reason (which she doesn't) so I want to order, eat and get home.

So these days when given the option I almost always choose to stay home. A year ago I probably would have thought it would be boring, but these days? I really enjoy it. A weekend at home with my family is perfection. Plus as an added bonus we save some money and I'm learning to cook more ;)

Internet Detox

My mom flew in to visit on Thursday and went back home this afternoon. While she was here I decided to spend the 4 days without getting on twitter, facebook, blogger, etc. I needed a little social media detox, and I must say it was kind of nice. 

The past couple weeks have been kind of like a roller coaster for me and I really just needed some quality mom time without the constant interruption of the internet or my phone to sort some things out. Just a few days to clear my head and breathe a little.

We spent time playing with Kaylee a ton, shopping, cooking, dying our hair, watching movies, and just relaxing. My phone was on this weekend, but other than to talk to my sister (who just finished rush this weekend and is now a Pi Beta Phi at Ole Miss.. yay!), and to take a few pics of K it really wasn't used at all.

Before my mom got here I was feeling overwhelmed and really stressed and after only 4 days of just hanging out I feel so much better. I feel like my normal self again. It was just what the Doctor ordered.

It's amazing what a mom can do ;)