The One with the Thursday Thoughts

Happy Friday Eve people!

How is everyone's week going?

Mine feels endless and I am so very happy that tomorrow is Friday.

The following thoroughly unimportant thoughts have been swirling in my brain...

• I just whacked my elbow on the chair in the kitchen when I was walking by.  Of all the places on my body to hit, I choose the one place that has not an ounce of fat or flab.  There are certainly plenty of other cushy places that wouldn't have hurt as much, but somehow I managed to hit straight bone.

• I have a shopping date this weekend with myself.  I need some retail therapy big time.  Even if I just browse, I need to get out and look at some pretty things (who am I kidding, I can't "just browse").

• I need a Starbucks caramel apple spice in my life very soon.  I've managed to survive thus far this fall without one, but it is definitely in the plans this weekend.

• As I was typing this post, I dropped my laptop on the floor while reaching for the baby monitor.  When I tried to stop it from falling, I somehow managed to smash/scrape my finger into the side of the screen and cut my skin enough to bleed.  Blogging injury?  I am a hot mess sometimes.

• L is days away from rolling over from back to belly.  He apparently wants to defy all norms and go this way first.  He has no desire to go from belly to back.

• This crazy beast is curled up next to me on the couch keeping my company until Hubs finally gets home from work.

• My view from the shower the other morning (please excuse the mess of a bathroom).  Cannot handle his open-mouthed smile.

• I realized the other day that I have no fall scented candles in the house.  Clearly my shopping trip this weekend will include a trip to Bath and Body Works.  While I'm not into the pumpkin, I can definitely get behind all the apple scented candles this year.

• Several friends/acquaintances/blogging peeps are pregnant or just had babies.  I am already thinking about when we can do a FET (frozen embryo transfer).  We only have one frobaby and the chances of it leading to a successful pregnancy aren't great, but I feel like we have to try.  My IF brain is already preparing for the worst and we haven't even planned if/when we are going to do this.  That feeling of failure and disappointment is always there.

• I need some new songs for my iPod.  What is everyone listening to these days?

(My finger and elbow are throbbing by the way)

• This weekend will hopefully involve some of these apple fritters so I can use up some of the apples from our trip to the orchard last weekend.

I'm off to try to catch up on a few DVRed shows.  Keeping up with fall TV is tough this year with work and a baby!

The One with the Thursday Thoughts (on a Friday)

I got a little behind this week.

First full week of school.
Open House.
Being a full time teacher and a full time mom.
Having quite the class of little hellions.

Life is a little hectic to say the least.

• I'm exhausted.  L is definitely experiencing the 4-5 month sleep regression issues.  They are minor compared to other stories I have heard, but he is definitely having some weird sleep situations going on.  Like wide awake at 1 am and ready to play.  Or making tons of noises at 4 am and causing Max to keep getting up from his sleep and going over to check on him.  Or really ready to start his day at 5:15 on a day when Mommy was going to sleep in just a little.  The pacifier will lull him back to sleep in the real middle of the night.  But those times at 4 or 5, he's pretty much awake and therefore so is Mama.  Hopefully, he goes back to his blissful 11-12 hours soon.

• I'm kinda over school already.  Is that bad?

• I cannot get on the pumpkin train.  I think it's gross

• I can, however, get on the other fall tastes, smells, and activities train.  I am looking forward to a weekend at the apple orchard with Hubs and the little man very soon. 

• The cost of formula sucks.  I really wished my boobs worked correctly.

• I have had a few meltdowns this week once I got home from school.  I feel like I can barely keep my head above water right now with school and the pressures to be the perfect teacher (I know I never will be, but I still want to try my absolute hardest to be awesome at my job) while dealing with a challenging class and being "present" once I'm home with my family.  I really think this whole working out of the house thing blows.

•  I put L in his highchair the other day just for fun.  Holy hell he looks like a stinkin toddler in it!  And I must say he loves it.  I was wheeling him from room to room and he thought that was just so much fun.

Boon highchair

• I'm quite excited for the new fall shows and my old shows coming back.  I don't have a chance in hell of being able to find the time to watch any of them, but I'm excited nonetheless.

Okay, I'm off to indulge in pizza and beer.  Hope everyone has a great weekend!
 

The One with the Thursday Thoughts

School is officially back in session as of today.  I truly don't know where the summer (plus the 7 weeks I had off before that) went.  I feel like it has all flown by and I cannot believe I am starting a new school year with new kids with a kid of my own at home.

Onto the Thursday thoughts...

• Fall is upon us and I must say I'm excited.  While I would have loved more time off with the munchkin, if I have to go back to work, I want the weather to cool off a little.  Just enough for sweaters and warm drinks...not enough for snow and arctic temperatures.

• Speaking of fall, I am enjoying my last few lightings of my summer candles and scent bulbs before I switch everything over.  

• And more fall things, I cannot wait to go apple and pumpkin picking with Liam this year.  Obviously he won't be able to participate, but the whole process is just so exciting to me.  And after fall comes CHRISTMAS!  Don't even get me started on how ecstatic I am about the holiday season now that I have a child.  It's like normal excitement times a jillion!

• Am I the only one who finds immense satisfaction out of using the booger sucker on my kid?  It feels like a great accomplishment when we get a good one out.  ::crickets::  Yeah, I was pretty sure it was just me.

• I have a slight obsession with bibs for Liam right now.  I try to match them to his outfit every morning.  Any recommendations for good ones from a store or an Etsy shop?  We have the teething ones from Carter's and I like those.  Normal velcro irritates Liam's neck so it needs to have that soft, flat velcro or a snap.  I picked up these ones from Carter's the other day.

• The beginning of the school year makes me feel like a CD set to repeat.  There are so many routines to teach them at the beginning.  It's all worth it in the end once they learn them, but boy is it tedious in the beginning.

• We borrowed a Bumbo seat from a friend this week and L seems to really like it.  I didn't originally register for it because I felt like we really didn't need another piece of baby junk, but this is nice for my always curious and nosy little boy.  He can do some more sitting up in it, although he isn't loving that he can't move his legs as much.  I also need to pick up or have a cover made for it because his chubby thighs get stuck to the seat!

And yes, I know the risks of putting him up on the counter on the seat.  He is never unsupervised in it.  Ever.

• I am a self-diagnosed hater of Halloween, but I must admit I am a little more excited about it this year.  I have already started looking at costumes for Liam.  I know he's only going to wear it for like a split second but I am already imagining the cute pictures.  I am thinking an elephant or a lobster.

• Going back to work has been really tough, but I already appreciate every single second I do get with L even more than before.  But damn it would be really nice to be a SAH mom.

Off to enlighten more minds...or at least teach them how to stand in a line quietly!

The One with the Thursday Thoughts

Two days in a row with a post?  Who the hell is this blogger and what did you do with Jessica?

So life has been pretty uneventful lately (other than the whole getting ready to go back to school...more on that below) and I am soaking up every last second with the little man before I start working.

• I have not tried on any of my capris or pants with zippers and buttons since I had Liam.  I don't have the slightest idea what I am going to wear once school starts if when they don't fit.

• We had a few trial run days this week where I left for school around the time I would like to leave once school starts.  Obviously my mom and Liam were fine and I was a wreck.  The only thing that saved me was that I knew I could leave whenever I wanted and come home.  Next week will suck.

• I really despise doing bulletin boards.  It's just one more thing to add to the list of things to get accomplished every month.  But it did turn out cute.

• I've been trying to add a Pinterest hover button over my pictures.  All the instructions I can find tell me to find </body> in my blogging template.  I don't have </body> anywhere in my template.  Any ideas blogging friends?  I'm getting frustrated.

• Today I spent an insane amount of hours reorganizing my classroom books.  It was quite the mess in there and it's definitely not done.  Maybe I'll just tell the kids they can't touch any of the books yet!

Hot effin mess.  And there are some many more books that aren't in this picture.

•  L does this hysterical eyebrow raising thing.  His eyebrows are so blonde you can barely see them, but he is getting so expressive with them.

• I have been reading other blogs but have been slacking on my commenting because I usually read them on my phone while feeding L. So I promise I am still reading and will try to be better about commenting. 

• Sophie the giraffe is definitely laced with crack.

• Max chomped huge bites into a bunch of papers that were in a bag on a chair that should have been out of his reach.  He got in big trouble.  Sometimes this dog drives me insane.

• I need to decide on a fall bag.  I have been using the diaper bag as my purse since L was born but I guess I need a real bag again now that I am going back to work and am pretty sure I won't need diapers and butt paste while I'm there.  I think I'll pull out my fabulous polka-dot Kate Spade.

• It's time for meal planning and lunch making again.  I am looking for some new dinner recipes and plan on spending some time with my Pinterest board this weekend.

L and I are off to run some errands while I can still go out in the middle of the day on a Thursday.

The One with the Thursday Thoughts

Liam and I are back from North Carolina and trying to get back into a routine.  We had a really nice time visiting family and L even tried out the pool for the first time.  I'll do a separate post about that soon.

In the meantime, onto the Thursday thoughts...

• L's baptism is in a few weeks.  I have about eleventy jillion things to do between now and then.  Least of which is getting this house organized.  There is stuff everywhere.  We are really running out of room here.

• I made banana bread yesterday with some too ripe to eat bananas.  It turned out pretty well and I just had some for breakfast.

• I turn 31 tomorrow.  Last year, I was writing about turning 30 and having to stab myself with needles.  My how a year can change everything.

• I am already thinking about when I am going to go into my classroom to start getting organized.  I hate this feeling every summer, but I am finding myself really dreading it this summer.  It's going to mean going back to work and leaving Liam.  I could seriously burst into tears just about any time I think about this.

• I downloaded a book on my Nook and have read almost 300 pages.  I still cannot figure out if I've read it before.  The premise and some of the story are so familiar but I'm still not sure.

• I participated in a children's book exchange with some friends.  I sent out one children's book and Liam is supposed to get 36 in return.  He's gotten quite a few so far from all over the country.  It's been a great way to build up his library.

• I just realized I have no pictures in this post.  I'm too lazy to plug in my phone or camera to transfer pictures.

• The moms' group we joined is a lot of fun.  I've met some really great moms and babies and it's so nice to get out of the house every Monday.  We've even made other plans to walk in the park and go to the mall.

• Liam has started to swat at the toys above him on his playmat.  It's so amazing to watch him develop these skills.  He's still not a fan of tummy time.

• Since I got back from vacation on Tuesday afternoon, I've done 5 loads of laundry.  I feel like I'm living in the laundry room!  

Little man is waking up from his morning snooze so I'm off to entertain him and decide if we are leaving the house today.

Happy Thursday!

The One with the Thursday Thoughts

Hello blogging world!

Hope everyone had a good 4th of July weekend and your week is going well so far.

Here are some of the things that have been floating around in my head lately...

• I wish the weather would make up its mind.  It's hot and muggy, it's raining and cloudy, it's windy and cool.  Uh, I know it's New England, but I'm done with this craziness.

• I went to Old Navy yesterday and was pleasantly surprised when I saw that it was Stuff and Save Day!  I picked up some shorts (Mommy's hips have definitely spread and she needed to go up a size...boo!) and some super cute shirts and tanks.

 These have little lobsters on them.  In love.

From here.

 Totally not a blouse type person but this one is super comfy and cute.

From here.

• We have a party to go to this weekend and I am whipping up some ramen noodle salad.  It's super easy to make and only has a few ingredients.  It's so yummy!  I tried to find my recipe online, but other people seem to put weird shit in it (uh balsamic vinegar in this sounds gross) so I'll share my recipe.  The key is to make this the night before you serve it so it has time to soak up all the juices overnight.  It's one package of cole slaw mix, 2-3 scallions (chopped), 2 packages of Ramen noodles (beef or Oriental flavor, crushed), 1 cup of sliced almonds, 1 cup of vegetable oil, 1/3 cup rice wine vinegar, 1/2 cup sugar, and the Ramen noodle flavor packets.  Mix everything together and refrigerate overnight.

• Oh, speaking of refrigerators...ours shit the bed this weekend.  Hubs came home quite late on Friday night and we discovered not so cold milk and melting ice cubes.  Luckily, we have a big freezer downstairs so I was able to save all the food that was in there.  All the stuff in the refrigerator went into coolers in the kitchen and we crossed our fingers that we would be able to save everything.  And then we went shopping for a fridge.  Holy goodness those things cost a lot of money!  Didn't exactly budget for that!  We were able to pick one up on Saturday and it was quite the project to get it in the house.  Fortunately, we saved most of the food and Hubs was able to hook everything up successfully.

This gives me agita.  I mean my kitchen was such a flippin mess!

That marine cooler came in quite handy.

• We are embarking on another very long road trip next week.  Let the packing of all the things begin yet again.

• The postpartum hair loss has begun.  I may be bald by the time L is 6 months old.

• Liam stretches like a grown man.  With full arched back and groans.  It's hysterical to watch.

• My first day of birth control to start our IVF process was one year ago Monday.  It blows my mind that it has been an entire year...

Hope you are having a fabulous Thursday!

The One with the Thursday Thoughts

How is it Thursday already?  I feel like this week has flown by.  That is most definitely because I am not working.  If I were stuck in school, it would be the longest.week.ever.  They are all like that in June.

Here's what's floating around in my head today...

• I went into school yesterday to go over a few things with my sub.  She has been doing an awesome job with the kids and they seem to be learning everything they are supposed to.  However, my anal, controlling, OCD self couldn't stand that there were no extra sharpened pencils in the bucket for extra sharpened pencils.  In fact, I sharpened a whole bunch when I was there last Thursday after school because there weren't any then either.  So in less than a week, my hoarding students went through eleventy jillion pencils and there are no more.  Good thing school is almost done because apparently no more pencils will be sharpened.  So stupid, I know.  But these are the things that bug me.

• I started the massive project entitled, "Pack for a week-long road trip with your newborn and your mother including clothes and the like for a wedding you are in."  It is overwhelming to say the least.  Liam's crib is currently the place that all things that are being packed have landed.  Good thing he doesn't sleep in it yet.

This is like 4 things out of the 6 million more that need to be packed.  I have lists all over the house.

• If Max steals one more pillow off the couch or sock or towel or blanket, I may kill him.  He's been warned.

• I am really craving a Passion Tea Lemonade from Starbucks.  And also the Fuji Apple Chicken Salad from Panera.  And some chocolate.  There will definitely be a food stop or two when L and I go out to run errands in a bit.

• Hubs is on a "we are moving" kick.  I have been on that kick for a while for space and school reasons, but now he is suddenly on the bandwagon because he wants a new car.  Do not even ask how making a huge purchase like a house would mean that he could get a new car.  His logic baffles me.

• I am working on this project for my best friend's wedding shower gift.  She already knows about it, so it's not like I'm ruining the secret or anything.  Relax.  It is also getting packed for the road trip next week.

• My kid is the loudest freaking waker-upper ever.  He stretches, grunts, groans, farts, and makes all these ridiculous noises for like an hour before he actually wakes up.  It's hysterical to listen to.  Unless it starts at 4 am.  Then it's terrible.  But still kinda hysterical and definitely still adorable.

• Big Father's Day plans in the works for this weekend.  Recap post coming next week.

• After taking an hour and a half to wake up this morning, I leaned over and saw this.  ::melt my heart::

Off to run those errands.  Have a wonderful Thursday!

The One with the Thursday Thoughts

1. Tomorrow is my last day of work until September.  Not sure how I got to this point already, but I can't believe I am walking out of my classroom tomorrow and won't teach again until September.  I have obsessively left way too many plans for my substitute and the most detailed explanations of routines and procedures.  I know she is perfectly capable.  I am just a control freak.

2. We had our growth ultrasound for baby boy last night.  Turns out he's weighing in at an estimated 8lb 3oz.  These ultrasounds are notorious for being off, so I am hoping he is actually smaller than that at this point.  I go back to the doctor on Monday so we'll see what he says then.

3. At the u/s we got to see some great pictures of the little man.  He looks like he's going to have chubby cheeks.  I can't wait to see this kid!

4. I am loving all the fun new summer country songs that have come out.  Like this one by Hootie (I will always refer to him as such).  And this super catchy number from BP.  Oh and this Lady A one makes me want to get up and dance waddle every time I hear it.

5. The weather has been unbelievable here lately.  Gorgeous sunshine with warm temps and no rain in sight.  Makes me blast those songs mentioned in number 4 even louder.

6. I have been craving me some Diet Coke lately.  Definitely one of the first things I am having post delivery.

7. My feet look like sausages.  I hate it and being on my feet all day long doesn't help.  But the mani/pedi I got today does at least make my toes look cute.

Oh, ankles.  Those are a thing of the past.

8. Anyone watch Hannibal?  I still can't decide if I like it or not.  I mean it's thoroughly creepy and holds my attention for the most part, but I'm not sure if I can fully commit enough add it to my list of DVRed shows.

9. We started getting deliveries from the local dairy about a month ago.  The milk tastes so much better in those adorable glass bottles and I love waking up to the cow truck on Friday mornings.

10. Speaking of milk, the cookies and ice cold milk are calling my name.

The One with the Thursday Thoughts

Happy Pre-Friday!

During the summer, I started doing a Wednesday posts with random thoughts and ramblings about life, food, and everything in between.  I clearly stopped doing those and slacked on the blogging throughout the week mostly because of time constraints.  I'd like to get back into some sort of a blogging rhythm and I'm going to try a Thursday post that is similar to the ones I was doing on Wednesdays.  So, here goes nothing...

• My list of Pinterest projects grows exponentially every day.  I really want to stay home and cook all day long.
• I did make this Man-Pleasing Maple Mustard Chicken a few weeks ago and it was quite good.  It was pretty easy and didn't require much work.  I let it marinate overnight and I think that definitely helped intensify the flavor.

• These Marshmallow Reese's Brownies literally make my mouth water every time I look at them.  I have a package of the Reese's eggs in my freezer downstairs so I'm thinking these are going to need to be made very soon.

• I am beyond ready for spring weather all the time.  We had a brief taste of it for the past two days, but today it's chilly again and tomorrow is supposed to be rainy and raw.  I just want it to warm up and stay warm. 

• April vacation is next week and I can.not.wait.  I need a break from this classroom and teaching every day and I know the kids need it too.  Hubs is on vaca too and we are hoping to finish up some things around the house to get ready for the little man.  Hubs also needs to finish splitting and stacking his wood and there are some outside yardwork jobs that also need to get done.  

• I am hoping to make some freezer meals next week to make life easier once the baby arrives.  I have a few pinned that I want to try.  Anyone have any good ones that I should add to my list?

• I just went through my Style Board on Pinterest and every other thing is polka-dotted.  Obsession much?

• I have been trying to think of a relatively inexpensive push present Hubs can get for me.  He wants to get something but we don't want to break the bank here.  I am thinking something with the little man's initials or name...a necklace or bracelet maybe?  I was also thinking a right hand ring might work too.  Any good Etsy shops out there for something like this?

• We pulled our car seat out of the box yesterday and shit got real.  As I wrote on Instagram yesterday, #omgwearehavingababy

• I have to go pick the littles up from library in about 5 minutes and I just don't feel like walking down the hallway.

• My DVR is stressing me out right now.  I have so many shows that I need to watch and I cannot seem to find the time to sit down and watch them.  It seriously gives me agita.

Alright, I'm done rambling.  Off to walk to the library and send these kids home.