Thoughts For Thursday: Coffee Talk

It has been awhile since I did a good old fashioned brain dump. So grab your coffee, sit down, and let's chat!

Over coffee I would tell you...

 

I am so incredibly in love with spring this year. I have always liked the season, but for some reason it all just feels magical this year. Maybe it is because I finally have my own yard? Or because I am watching my children experience new things. Regardless, I just love spring.

 

I just cannot seem to get on the healthy eating train. For the past month, I have felt like every week I do well, and then my weekends cancel out any progress I made throughout the week. I should probably cut out the wine!

 

This week, I had a moment with my blog and social media that was just kind of one of those 'whoa' moments. I had an opportunity presented to me that I remember seeing other bloggers get when I first started, and wondered how they ever got to that place. It has been a lot of hard work, but it really was one of those moments that made me so proud of what has come of my little space.

 

Speaking of this space..I feel like my blog needs a facelift. Something a bit more clean and fresh. Simple. I would love to know who you have all used for your templates and design.

 

I finally went ahead and purchased these shorts that I have been eyeing for what literally feels like a year. And then I got roped into the amazing prices and scooped up these jeans, too. I have been running on approximately 2 pairs of jeans lately, so I am so excited to expand my options, especially for summer!

 

I have totally had writers block lately. I have plenty of ideas and things to write about, but I have just been struggling to sit down and put my fingers to the keyboard. I am wondering if creating a schedule to help me map things out may help.

 

Jackson is in the throes of the terrible twos. He is so sweet, but when he decides to act up, he is terrible. Kicking, hitting, screaming, upsetting his brother on purpose, and bedtime has once again become a nightmare. I am at a loss for what to do, but I am hoping it passes sooner rather than later.

 

Lincoln's hair has become curly, what seems like overnight. What is funny is at this age, Jackson's hair was almost exactly the same, except dark! I honestly never thought Lincoln would have the curls that he does, but I am dying over them and hope they stay forever!

 

What has been happening with you all lately!?

 

Linking up with Annie today.

 

 

 

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Confessions

It has been quite some time since I participated in a good ole 'fesh sesh over here. I swear life just always feels crazy and like it needs to slow down! I am linking up with Danielle to share what has been going on in this head over here!


I confess..


I am so sick of my kiddos getting sick. Dealing with one kiddo can be stressful enough, but I am kind of the designated 'stay home' parent when sickness happens, and we have been so slammed this year I swear I am blowing through all of my vacation days. We are battling what seems like influenza with Lincoln this week, and I am just feeling so out of it.


My Tuesday nights become a major source of depression on the weeks when This Is Us is not on. Like, what am I supposed to do with that hour of my night now???


I am ready for spring. Not really a big surprise, but after our major teaser with warm weather a week or two ago, I am SO ready. It is supposed to warm up again this weekend, and I cannot wait.


I despise making my toddler brush his teeth. So it doesn't happen nearly often enough. I would probably mind it less if he was excited to do it, but half of the time it is such a battle, I tell myself he didn't eat too much sugar, decide it isn't worth it, and just put him to bed with dirty teeth. I know, ick.


I also despise bath time. It really doesn't end up being that much of a process, but our weeknights are so busy with getting home, getting dinner on the table, sticking to bedtimes, that throwing baths in there just makes me cranky a lot of the time. We usually do baths every other day, but on weeks where we are extra worn down, sometimes that gets stretched out an extra day..


I confess that I realize this post is making me sound like a neglectful mother. My kids don't seem to mind, so I suppose that's what matters most ;-)


I am so obsessed with everything PINEAPPLE lately. There are so many cute items out there, whether it is for the home or apparel, and I am 100% onboard with this trend.


I am finally getting around to decorating our fireplace mantel, slowly but surely. We got a new TV and mounted it on the wall, and I have a plan, so I think it will get there and I cannot wait for it to look complete. In the meantime, I am really liking the few pieces I have added so far.

I was going to do reds in our living room, but because all of our wood trim and cabinets are such a dark oak, I decided to brighten up the space and am instead going the route of whites, creams, and little pops of color in blue and green.


I felt so proud of myself yesterday for only drinking black coffee, as I am giving up buying any coffee from places like Starbucks or Caribou for Lent. It is really sad that I am as proud as I am.


I have barely enough thought about planning Lincoln's first birthday party, and I am quickly realizing it is only two months away, so I really need to get moving on some of the pieces!


I was out of the office the first half of the week at a training, but I am still SO glad we are coming up on the weekend! Friday is my favorite day of the week!

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Confession

It has been a while since I posted a good old 'fess sesh. Which is such a bummer, because some of my absolute favorite posts to write are mind dumps. So much is constantly going on, I love nothing better than getting a little bit off of my chest!

I confess..

I hate brushing my toddler's teeth. Like, HATE it. At least half of the time, he outright refuses to participate. If he is in the mood, he repeatedly asks for more toothpaste because he wants to eat it, and maybe, just maybe, with a little bit of force and crying, a few of those pearly whites get brushed. I hate it!

On a similar note, I also really do not like bath time! We have never given our kids daily baths, in part because living in Minnesota, their dry baby skin really does not need it. When we have those 'off' nights, the nights that the inevitable baths must happen feel cut short, and it just feels like work. This could be due to the fact that Lincoln screamed bloody murder for every single bath he had for the first six months of his life. During that time, not only did I dread bath time, but I truly feared it He loves it now (go figure), but I just do not have any fuzzy feelings around that little hygiene ritual.

January is far and away my least favorite month out of the year. February is also brutally cold, but at least it only has 28 days and March is right around the corner. March usually has tons of snow, but there are a few warm days mixed in there as a preview to spring. But January? Cold. Snow. So little sunlight. And no end in sight. I have been burning candles non stop and am decorating my mantle for Valentine's Day this week #sorrynotsorry just to help pull me through. Minnesota winters. They are not for the faint of heart.

I majorly fell off the wagon with my eating over the past six months or so. I dropped the baby weight, and with nursing just didn't feel the need to be very conscious of my eating. But even though I dropped the weight, I have just feel 'blegh'. I am hopeful to get back into working out when life allows me to, but in the meantime like every other person on the planet I used January 1st as an opportunity to eat better. I have chosen to not get Chick Fil A for lunch, have not ordered a coffee that wasn't black, and have eaten a good amount of veggies. And while three days is not much, I seriously feel SO much better already. I may be crazy, but I feel like in a matter of a few days my body has already gotten rid of so many toxins and junk.

The hardest part of eating healthy is pizza. Pizza is everything, and I will probably never fully quit it.

I want to start a boutique. I would love to have a small shop, sell fun fashion finds, and manage the inventory. But alas, I have a full time job that supports my family well, a new house to think about, and somehow I don't think it would be the best call to throw in the towel and invest in a new project. If I ever find a money tree though, I will totally quit my day job and pursue being a shop owner.

While I am watching my food and what I drink in things like coffee, when I do decide to treat myself, the salted caramel boudino from Caribou Coffee is the best. drink. ever. It is so ridiculously delicious, I could drink them every single day.

Christmas may be 11 months away, but my boys already have three pairs of jammies for next year. I am sure I will grab a new pair when next season rolls around, but I got them some from The Gap, originally nearly $50, and with discounts and my rewards they were only $10 a piece!

Linking up with Annie today!

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Confessions

Well, I was all set to have another post go today, but, you know, kids. I swear this has been one of those weeks where I do not stop moving until I lay down to go to bed. So, instead of my scheduled post (coming at you next week, so check back!) I figured this is a perfect week to dish out some Confessions with Danielle!

I confess..


I don't know how to keep the house clean. I seriously come home, feed my children, bathe my children, do laundry, tidy up the kitchen, and it is somehow time for bed. When in the world do people find time for things like cleaning the floors and scrubbing toilets!? I feel like I am just constantly trying to keep my head above water. Keeping it real, we were kind of slobs in our old house. Now that we are in our new house, I want to keep things as clean and in as good of condition as possible, but I swear there aren't enough hours in the day!


I made a return at Old Navy, and found a dress in my size (Tall, so it was a return), marked an additional 75% off of its sale prize. You guys, I got it for five dollars. So I bought a dress instead of coffee. And felt like I won the lottery.


I am so tired. Like, ridiculously tired. I think about sleeping and get giddy with excitement, and then I quickly get super sad because I know that it won't happen. I seriously, seriously have debated every single day this week taking some PTO and going home while the kids are at daycare and just sleeping. But instead I just keep trucking along.


Echoing what Lindsay confessed last week, the follow/unfollow game on Instagram is so obnoxious. I would love to build my following, but personally just have no desire to follow a thousand random pages just so those people will follow me back. If you follow me because you expect a follow back, and then unfollow me the next day..just no. I love instagram, but sometimes it seems ridiculous!


I kind of fail at blogging lately. I have the best of intentions, but there just aren't enough hours in the day. Most days, when I find myself with a magical hour that I could actually punch out a good post, I find myself sitting on the couch, staring at the wall. And enjoying it, because there are no little hands clawing at my hair or demanding to be fed.


I need a vacation. I don't care where, but I need a vacation.


I realize these confessions basically turned into a declaration that I am overtired and a little burned out this week ;-) But that's what these are for, right!? Cheers to tomorrow being Friday!


Also linking up with Annie today!

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Confessions

It has been awhile since I linked up for some confessions, but now that life is finally (kind of sort of) settling down, I figured I would jump back in! I am a working mama, so you know I do plenty of things that should (or maybe shouldn't) be confessed!

I confess..




I make a TON of milk, and have to pump on top of feeding, not even for the sake of building a stash, but for my personal comfort. And sometimes I have gotten lazy and not bagged milk, it has gone bad, and I have dumped it. I AM SO SORRY OTHER MOMS!! I know so many ladies struggle to even produce enough to cover feedings, but I seriously make so much that I have come to not appreciate the 'liquid gold' and totally do not respect it the way I should. If anyone knows of an easy donation program or ways to put excess milk to good use, I am all ears because my freezer can only store so much.


I am having a hard time justifying buying ANYTHING for myself now that I have two kids and a new house. I wanted to buy this shirt something fierce, but every time I went to pull the trigger I just couldn't.


After deciding to not buy the shirt above, I went ahead and finally purchased Jackson this comforter in the red and blue stripe for his bed (that for the past six months has just gotten by with sheets and random quilts), and this crib skirt for Lincoln. Priorities, right?


I drink too much caffeine. Considering I am breastfeeding, I should still monitor my intake and limit it. But do I have two babies and half of the sleep that I should? Yep. Is caffeine necessary for my survival? Yup.


I have been beginning the hunt for a new mirror as well as jewelry organizer for our new bedroom, and came across this. Umm..is this genius or what!? I am dying to know if it is as great as it appears to be.


Jackson has a cold, and when I am sitting on the couch and comfortable, I will sometimes wipe his nose with his shirt, my shirt, or any random piece of clothing or blanket that is in the area. Because sometimes throwing things in the wash in a few hours sounds better than walking across the room for a tissue.


Unpacking makes me so anxious. I know it takes time and is a process, but I just want everything put away! We have all of our every day items in place, but even those need organization. I would love to just have everything in its place so I can really start decorating.


We have an entire house to furnish, as in my boys don't even have dressers in their rooms, but the day we moved in as soon as we had everything moved into the garage Mike and I ran to Best Buy and purchased this TV for our bathroom. And you better believe we had that baby hooked up by the end of the weekend. Because TV in bathroom is clearly more important than storage for clothes. AND it is white and matches the bathroom and is seriously a pretty TV. WIN.


Linking up with Annie for Thoughts on Thursday and Danielle for Confessions today!

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Confessions

Happy Thursday all! This one is bittersweet for me; I always look forward to weekends, but next week is my last week of maternity leave, so there's that. I am soaking up these final days off, and am joining in with Danielle for confessions today.

I confess..

I hate Human Resources. I work for what has become a really large company over the past ten years or so. And while there are advantages, there are also a good number of disadvantages. Everything is by the book, and this can really result in feeling like you don't have a voice.

My kids don't sleep. A lot of friends/bloggers had babies very close in time to when I had Lincoln, as as they all are posting about how 'yay!' my baby slept through the night, I'm over here like 'hey my kid was up three times and to add the cherry on top my toddler was up twice'. Ladies I love you, but I hate you :-)

The final weeks of building a house feels a lot like the final weeks of pregnancy. Neverending. Can I just move, already?

We are in a heat advisory with a high of 99 today. I can't deal. You southerners are probably laughing at me, but I am Midwestern through and through. I am built for the frigid cold, gimme all the boots and warm sweaters. Me and the heat don't mesh well.

I really want to pull the trigger on the AE girlfriend shorts, but $45 just seems steep for a pair of shorts, even if they get rave reviews. Any sales you guys know of to get that price down?!

The Nordstrom sale makes me want to cry, because all my money is going towards house things. Don't get me wrong, I am loving buying curtains and a new kitchen table and blinds for my bathroom, but mama wants the Kate Spade earrings and some fun new dresses. #homebuilderproblems

My sweet baby is fussy, and sometimes I choose not to eat because I get so upset that I have to put down my bowl of ice cream halfway through to tend to his crying. Or I have to shovel the food I'm so quickly to do mom things that I think 'these calories aren't worth it'. Don't worry, I more than make up for it at other times. 

Speaking of which, I may have eaten a total of SIX chocolate chip cookies during the middle of the night when I was awake feeding Lincoln. Anything to make me feel better when all I want to be doing is sleeping!

When I am stressed or overwhelmed, I bake. Some people come home after a bad day and desperately want the bottle of wine; I desperately want to make the brownies and lick the bowl. It's becoming a problem because life lately is stressful! Mama can't have cookies and brownies around ALL the time.

With that, happy Friday eve, we are almost to another weekend!

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Confessions

I  am linking up with Danielle for some confessions today. And it has been a challenging week, parent-wise, so bear with me!

When people talk about all the books they read I am amazed and also want to laugh out loud. I can barely take a shower, let alone read a book. When I do have down time, I prefer to sit in silence and stare at the wall, marveling in the quiet. Hopefully one day I can actually get back into reading, but that day is not today.

This week I have definitely had some poor me moments of REALLY wanting my own space. I know we are so close to moving, and really I have gotten used to our current arrangement. But oh how I can't wait to have a house without a dog in it.

Speaking of dogs, one of Jackson's current favorite things to do is to poke, prod, and hit dogs, as if he is thinking 'bite me PLEASE!' And both of our parents have indoor dogs. Some days it is hard to know that no matter where I go, I will have to be on doggy duty to make sure Jackson doesn't get himself into trouble.

Yesterday I was quickly trying to pump so I had milk for Lincoln for when I took Jackson to swim lessons. As I was starting, Jackson did what he usually does and put his full body weight in Lincoln in the swing to give him 'kisses'. Cute, but obviously results in Lincoln crying. I yelled no at Jackson, who stopped, went to pick up a toy truck, and went back to bang it on his brothers head. Pump parts went flying, my poor baby was hysterical, and I locked Jackson in the bedroom for timeout which he has never had. And he spent the entire time playing and talking to himself. I am at my wits end with that kid, because he is not afraid of anything and no punishment that we have tried actually seems to bother him in the slightest.

Also this week, my husband put his hand on my back in bed. And the baby's 6th sense kicked in and he started crying. We can cuddle again when we're dead, I guess.

Fruity pebble Oreos are dangerous and I  should not be allowed to have them. The package Mike bought me on Sunday is definitely long gone.

Some days I actually want to go back to work. Which is terrible to even say because when the time to go back to work is actually here I will likely cry. But drinking coffee in silence at my desk doesn't sound too terrible some mornings!

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Talk About It Tuesday [Linkup]

Hello ladies, and happy Tuesday! Jenn and I are back at it for another 'Talk About It Tuesday' linkup, and do hope you will join in!

Today, I am simply here for a little rant. I try not to get too carried away with my rants, but sometimes, a lady just needs to complain, right!?

So about six months ago or so, my husband finally upgraded his cell phone. He had a smart phone, but the thing was so old he was still grandfathered in under Verizon's 'unlimited' data plan. I had grown accustomed to my 2GB plan, and really had never had any issues with it. I tap into Wi-Fi all the time, and if I ever approached my limit I just turned off my cellular data until the cycle ended. With Mike's upgrade, though, he had to change his plan, and we ended up going with a 6GB plan. Nothing to complain about, as our costs actually went down a bit and I mean, if you split it 50/50, I was actually getting more data than I was used to! Except..

My husband actually uses a good chunk of data. He is not in the habit of tapping into Wifi, and it shows when I look at our breakdown of usage. Every single month, he has used more data than me. Not a big deal, because as long as I am not being told I can't use my phone because of his overuse, what does it matter, right? ;-)

Well, last week we got a text saying we had used 90% of our data. This has happened once before, but it has always been at the very end of our cycle. This time was no different, as we had two days remaining on our month. Or so I thought. Somewhere in those two days, one of us (or both of us, who really knows) managed to use up that remaining 10%. At 8pm on Friday, less than four hours before our cycle closed, we both received a text saying we had hit our data max for the month. So, we both immediately put down our phones for the remainder of the evening, and I even went into my settings to turn off my cellular data so I didn't get charged usage for a random e-mail or something.

Of course, I received our beautiful bill a day or two later, and we were charged $15 for overages, as apparently data was backtracked from earlier in the day Friday, accumulating to a whopping 0.01 GB of data used. They don't charge for the amount you use once you are on overage, but rather they just charge you for the whole darn extra GB. So, despite not being notified until 8pm on Friday, in those remaining 3.5 hours they went and automatically tacked on an entire additional GB, which in the amount of time we had remaining I don't know if we could have used up, even if we tried! I hopped on the phone with customer service, and was basically told once a billing cycle has ended there is nothing they can do. I expected this, as customer service for cell use has never been something I have been impressed by, but COME ON! If overage charges are going to be charged, shouldn't it not kick in until AFTER we are notified? If we both immediately turn off our data once receiving the text, shouldn't we be in the clear? Nope. I guess not. If it weren't a minimal $15 I would probably have complained a lot more, but am entirely unimpressed by the fact that I was charged for something, and three hours later I was onto a new cycle and that data I was just forced into purchasing is now obsolete and no longer available for use (because Verizon is cool and doesn't allow you to carry over unused data).

Long story short, I am watching our data usage way more closely, and my dear husband is going to have to adjust his habits and start using Wifi data at home, or a tablet. And for all that is good and holy, if you get that 90% used notification, just turn the data off. You will be glad you did!

Hope you ladies have things to talk about that are a bit more fun this week, I can't wait to see what you have to share!

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Confessions

Another week, another Thursday. Nothing beats when Thursday rolls around. While Friday will always be my favorite day of the week, I love Thursdays, especially Thursday night, when you know you basically survived the week and can coast through one more day before a whole weekend of relaxation is before you! Of course, with the work week comes annoyances, funnies, and lots of random, so it is the perfect day to confess with my girls Caitlin and Jess.

I confess..

I never knew how gross reflux was until I became seven months pregnant and eating a moderately sized dinner and then laying down would result in food coming back up. I am now becoming afraid to eat because I know there could be potential consequences.

Despite the reflux, and general badness of it all, I have been enjoying Diet Pepsi and just don't care. While I truly want what is best for my baby, we have so many things going on lately that if a cool, crisp, bubbly drink is what I'm craving..I'm going for it. I don't see this one changing throughout the remainder of my pregnancy.

I totally break dress code for work. My dresses are probably an inch or two too short, I have been rocking leggings, and some of my shoes are dangerously casual. And I'm preggo. Who is going to tell the pregnant lady she has to go home and change? No one.

My husband's snoring is out of control lately. I have debated waking him up and asking that he move to the couch on multiple occasions. And a few times, I have possibly kicked and woken him enough that he voluntarily has moved. Hey, I would move myself but this pregnant lady's back just can't handle the couch or floor. All I know is the man may need to invest in some nasal strips.

Speaking of my husband, for reasons I cannot begin to understand, he is growing out his hair. He is so handsome with a nice short cut, but the more I tell him I hate his hair, the more likely he will be to never cut it. Stubborn. Since the man is apparently only capable of giving me sons and not daughters, I at least now have someone to practice my hair braiding skills on.

This weekend, the hubs and I ashamedly both admitted we are digging the new music by Justin Bieber. It is kind of like Taylor Swift's music..resist as I might, I find myself stopping on a station and telling my car to go love itself whenever his new song comes on. Props to the guy on winning over the biggest anti-beliebers on the planet.

I bought Jackson an Easter outfit. And then I saw a picture of the cutest outfit EVER on Gap Factory and got my code for an additional 40% off of everything this weekend. So I obviously bought it. But I am rational enough to know he doesn't need fifty dress shirts so I will be returning the original outfit.

I also bought myself t-shirt dresses when buying said outfit. I have a problem.

I justify my clothing purchases by reminding myself I have stopped eating out at lunch during the work day, and that dress was only $8.99 which is what lunch would cost me anyway. And if I can wear it to work, it automatically becomes a more legitimate expense. Right?...

With that, I am off to stare at the clock while impatiently awaiting the arrival of Friday afternoon.  

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Confessions

Ahhh what is becoming my favorite time of the week, my opportunity to get some things off of my chest and be honest. I am back at it with Jess and Caitlin for some confessions, and am ready to dive right in.

I confess..

My back is getting achy already in this pregnancy, and I am NOT happy about it. I really didn't have back pain until 34-35 weeks the first time, and don't want to imagine dealing with this for the next 2.5 months. Nope, nope, nope.

Some people are so difficult to work with that it truly makes it unbearable going into the office some days. When you purposely schedule meetings to avoid having to drive places together, and sneak away to lunch so that you can eat alone, you know you don't like a person. #micromanager

I could eat an entire pan of brownies in one sitting. This is the best recipe I have ever found and I have to restrain myself from making them weekly. It is a problem.

I love when my candles get low and sometimes I light them all the time just do they burn so low the flames go out. 

There are two Targets in my town but only one of them has a Starbucks. Sometimes I drive five extra miles to the one that is further away so I can drink while I shop.

I bought two pairs of jeans from Old Navy last week even though I am 7 months pregnant. I got both these and these for $22 and just told myself I would absolutely keep the weight gain in check so I can fit into them right away.

I am on the hunt for a nail polish that is brighter than hot pink but less bright than neon pink. I think I might be crazy, but the color in my head is 'Barbie pink' and I am determined to find it.

My impulse shopping has resulted in me immediately regretting purchases lately, emailing the seller and saying I had the items in my cart but didn't mean to hit 'order'. So far I have gotten every order canceled and refunded.

My son plays with my husbands Xbox and game controllers. I hate video games and think it's my husbands fault for not storing these precious things out of reach, so sometimes I let the kid just do his thing and hope it doesn't result in the machine exploding.

I'll leave it off with that. Happy hump day everyone, congratulations on making it halfway to the weekend!

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