J's Nursery

I know, I know. I am a little late to the game here. Little man is far from a 'newborn', and we are much closer to his first birthday than the day he was born and started putting this nursery to use. Honestly, sharing it just slipped my mind. I have snapped pictures of it from time to time, but it just never occurred to me to share it on here. A picture I shared on his 10 month blog post got some attention, and it was then that I realized I hadn't shared his sweet little room. So, without further ado, Jax's 'nautical nursery'.

As those who know me are aware, little man arrived four weeks early. Despite my constant nagging of everyone involved, his room was not ready when we brought him home. If it were up to me, everything would have been set up and perfect a solid two months before my due date. Everyone pushed things off, and we finally even purchased his dresser two whole weeks before he arrived. Putting that baby together occurred a whopping 7 days before his arrival.

Oh, and did I mention he was born the day of my baby shower? The one that I had a bad gut feeling might be cutting it short from the day it was scheduled? I did? Ok, good. I am going to venture to guess that when our next baby comes around, people won't treat me like such a nag for wanting things done sooner rather than later. My next hospital bag will be packed a solid 5 weeks before the next due date, just sayin.

The first step was to paint the room. Lots of Pinterest, internet research, and discussions were had before finally settling on a pale gray/blue with a navy and white stripe. It was quite a bit of work to get that stripe done, but well worth it. It makes his room so much more fun!

After much research and debating, we settled on the Hemnes dresser from Ikea. It is seriously wonderful. It is super spacious, has a large enough top that it doubles as our changing table, and the drawers roll in and out so smooth. I am so glad this was the dresser we went with, I would 100% recommend it.

Our crib is a basic crib from Target, the Delta series crib. Combined with the baby sale and coupons, I'm pretty sure we got this baby for right around $100. And we have had no complaints or issues. It also converts to a day bed and finally a full bed. Speaking of which, I should probably get on top of ordering a conversion kit if that's the route we decide to go.

I found the drapes on amazon after much searching, and am super happy with them. They are 'blackout' drapes, which are coming in extra handy now that the sun doesn't set until well after baby's bedtime. The colors match just perfectly with the 'nautical' theme.

Please excuse the terrible lighting. I could not get a good shot of the window! The drapes are navy on top and a deep red on the bottom.

The chalkboard I made myself. It consists of an old picture frame from Goodwill, a chalkboard slab from Home Depot, and white Annie Sloan chalk paint. I love love love my chalkboard. I regularly debate where else I can put a chalkboard in my house, I am totally itching to make another one.

His crib quilt and skirt are from Pottery Barn. I seriously struggled finding bedding that wasn't overly cartoony, and matched what I was going for. This was clearanced out online and I literally got the last one, so unfortunately it is long gone. The bumpers are breathable mesh. I know that bumpers are super debatable and some consider them dangerous, and after quite a bit of going back and forth I did settle on these, because even if baby pushes his face up against them, they let air through. And, now that he is super mobile and rolls around, these really are helpful in keeping him from sticking his limbs through spaces and out of the crib.

My decor was found all over the place, ranging from Home Goods, to hand me downs, to Amazon..usually Amazon. If there was a certain product I dreamed up that I wanted for his room, Amazon usually delivered. They seriously have everything.

For anyone looking into a nautical themed room, whether it be a nursery, kids room, guest room, or living room, stores are majorly delivering this summer. I feel like everywhere I go, nautical is the first thing I see on the shelves. Only a year late, as this time last year I had to search high and low for a navy blue anchor, and now I swear I could probably pick one up in the grocery store if I really wanted to. Sigh..I just tell myself it means I was ahead of trend!

This nursery truly is my favorite room in the house. It turned out exactly how I wanted it to, and is the perfect place for my little man to sleep through the night.

Linking up with Holly today!

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Our Weekend

Despite Monday rolling around way too fast (really, why does it always have to be like that?), this weekend was so nice and refreshing after our last weekend that was plagued with sickness. We went into this weekend with literally nothing on the calendar, and it was a great weekend to recoup and get ready for another week. Speaking of the new week, I have purchased a kiddie pool and highs are in the high 80's the next few days. Did someone say baby swim time!? Seriously, not sure if I will be able to handle all of the cuteness.

On Friday, I worked a half day, and was able to sneak out of the office around 1. After picking up my little man, we ran over to the mall to get a few errands in. Dry Goods was finally open, do any of you have one of those in your area!? Super cute stuff. Unfortunately, every purchase I make lately must pass the 'is this professional enough for work' test, and the stuff in Dry Goods just didn't quite make the cut. Perhaps if the day ever comes that I am happy and satisfied with my work wardrobe, I will do some major damage in that store. It was super fun to look around though, everything was really nice and would be great for getting dressed up for a girls night out.

Of course I had to grab an iced coffee, and baby enjoyed his milk at the same time. He is all about cruising in comfort and thinks he is hot stuff with his legs and bottle up.

Friday night Mike was out golfing, so baby and I watched cartoons, little man had a bath, and we lounged in front of the TV. Nothing beats a lazy Friday night in!

Friday night was a .nightmare!. We are working to not wake up with Jax, who has been up multiple times a night lately, so Friday night we let him cry a bit, and would then just go in, lay him back down, tuck him in, and give him a kiss and say goodnight. When this didn't work, we would rub his back for a few minutes to try and get him to sleep. Basically, we were up every. single. hour. on Friday night and it was horrible. Just one of those times where you wonder how much more you can take before you just collapse in exhaustion. We survived..barely.

Saturday we were pretty lazy, needless to say. We did venture into town and had a 'lunch date', including baby. He was super well behaved and even got his own meal, which just kills me. But that's what happens when I don't have the option to order him a side of mashed potatoes or applesauce! Really though, he was digging his Mac n cheese.

Saturday night we did more relaxing and recovering from our sleepless Friday, and baby played and played until finally giving into sleep after an hour of top notch fighting. Sigh.

On Sunday I woke up to a noisy baby..at 6am! He FINALLY went straight through the night, and we were both thrilled and felt like a million bucks after finally getting to sleep like normal. Baby and I snuck out on a run bright and early before heading to church, and then of course a Target stop. Is any weekend complete without a trip (or three) to Target?

The rest of the afternoon was spent hanging with his grandma and getting some chores done around the house, and sneaking outside again to soak up the beautiful weather on a walk.

Some pictures I look at and just about die. My baby looks like a little boy, and sometimes it takes everything in me to not break down and cry. I am so proud of the sweet, charming boy he is becoming. 

I hope you all had a fantastic weekend and are enjoying the start to summer!

Linking up with Meg, Biana, and Ashley today!

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Friday Favorites

It is finally Friday! With that, it is the first 'full work week' I have put in for three weeks, so I am more than ready to say hello to the weekend and enjoy some time off! We really have no plans for the weekend, which is fine by me. Things always seem to pop up, but sometimes going into a weekend knowing that you aren't obligated to anything is so refreshing and much needed! And after last night, where my ten month old was up as much as a newborn baby, I desperately need some down time. If that time happens to be alone without a baby for a few hours,  I won't argue..this nightmare of a sleep cycle is just about to break this mama.
I will say, I have been digging a lot of new things lately, and can't wait to share.

1. Tall Clothing
Any other 6 foot ladies out there!? If so, I know you can 100% relate to the struggle to find clothing that fits.The struggle is real. I feel like I have literally grown up with the internet, and am so thankful for the abundance of options it provides. Long gone are the days of only being able to find a pair of jeans long enough at the Buckle. And, online 'tall shops' mean that not only are pants long enough, but so are skirts, dresses, and even the sleeves on shirts. I cannot say enough how much it warms my heart to buy a tall shirt and actually have the sleeves make it down to my wrists. It's the little things.

2. Christmas Crafts
I know, I know. It's June. And that means the holiday season is still 6 months away, but it also means the holiday season is only 6 months away!! I have already ordered some supplies and am plotting gifts I will be making. DIY makes my heart happy. I can't wait to share what I end up making!

3. Wedge Sandals
Yet another tall girl problem is typically finding cute shoes that don't make you tower over every man in the room. I ordered these from dsw and am so excited to get them. I have been lookig and looking for some wedges, but for good reason I have a hard time with your standard 3-4 inch heel.And the are less than 2 inches. Tall girls say what!?

4. Rhubarb

Is there anything better than all of the new fruits that come into play during the summer!? Berries are sooo cheap after the grocery stores after a winter of high prices and poor quality, and we have strawberries in our house on the regular. And does anything go better with strawberries than rhubarb!? I think not. I am so happy I have family and friends with rhubarb plants, I have some chopped and prepped and can't wait to try out this recipe this weekend.

5. Work events

Ok, I just had my first work event that required looking semi put together, mingling, and fed me appetizers and cocktails. I felt overwhelmed, but I also felt empowered. I am just so excited to have a job that I feel really is contributing to others and is also appreciated by others. And awesome new coworkers. It says a lot when two weeks in I can sit down to lunch with these ladies and not have a single awkward pause. I'm feeling super grateful for my new opportunity and can't wait to see where it takes me.

I hope everyone has a great weekend, around here we will be enjoying our first sunny weekend in awhile and getting in some outside time! I am linking up with these ladies today!

Five on Friday // Oh Hey Friday! // Friday Favorites // Friday Favorites

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Ten Months.

We are officially kicking off our first summer with a little one. Ok, correction. We are kicking off our first summer with a little one that doesn't sleep 18 hours a day and who can actually play and get into all sorts of trouble. We are now the proud parents of a ten month old, and while I am sure I say this every month, I truly think we have gone through the most changes in this past month, and we probably have the gray hairs to prove it!

Age: 10 months

Height: 31 inches 

Weight: 24 pounds. 

Milestones: He crawled the day after he turned 9 months, probably because he didn't want me to post about it on my last monthly update! Within days of crawling, he was pulling himself to standing, and now he stands anywhere, anytime, as long as he has something to pull himself up on. Unfortunately, this usually means the couch and the coffee table (which I should point out is NOT baby safe). He also loves to stand and then chew on the edge of the table or couch, which is both icky and scary, because he falls so often we are terrified he is going to break his teeth!
He literally busts his little booty down the hallway so quickly now, he is hard to escape. He loves to join me in the bathroom (no matter WHAT I am doing), crawl into the bedroom to play with anything he can find on the floor, and stand at the top of the stairs and beg for attention over his baby gate. We can't let him out of our sight, and it is fantastic and terrible all at once. I have been feeling pretty nostalgic for the days when he was a 'blob' that couldn't crawl, stand, or even roll. Long gone are the days of turning my back and finding him exactly where I left him. Kid dynamite is a mover and a shaker, and we can barely keep up!

Sleep: OMG. I just want to cry thinking about it. He has turned into an absolutely terrible sleeper and ends up in our bed at least every other night lately. Due to our 'worst moment', we have decided it might be time to do some crying it out. Now that he can stand, it is heartbreaking to walk into his room and see him up in his crib, looking like he is in jail and just so, so sad. He has to learn to put himself to sleep, though. I'm hoping we are able to stick to our guns and break these bad habits this month.

Best Moment: I took him to the mall to get out of the house once he was feeling a bit better last weekend, and bought a coffee and cookie for myself. I decided to share (the cookie, not the coffee, what kind of mother do you think I am?) and he was just loving it. He had his foot propped up on the front of his cart, and I kept pretending to sniff his feet, which for whatever reason he has always found hilarious. Between bites of cookies, he kept letting out the sweetest little giggles and the biggest smiles. It was one of those random moments that is almost too much to handle, and you realize your love for your little person cannot be described or contained. This little boy has my whole heart.

Worst Moment: Well, he may have been in our bed because he was once again acting like a party monster at 2am, and around 4am there was a THUMP and no baby to be found in my bed. He promptly started crying, but I was able to nurse and snuggle him back to sleep. He escaped injury free, almost..I would deem this his first battle wound.

Health: I came down with a cold this past week, which meant that so did daddy and baby. He has a very runny nose and some congestion, and he is finally getting over it. This has affected his appetite a bit; I can't blame him, trying to eat with a stuffy nose is hard work!

Eating: About 75% table foods at this point. We still do fruit and oatmeal for breakfast, but besides that we eat a ton of berries, mandarins, string cheese, chicken nuggets, hotdishes, avocados, greek yogurt, and the list goes on.

Teeth: 4.5. I can say this because he has both top and bottom teeth, and his top left tooth is so close to popping through that it LOOKS like he has another tooth. It isn't able to tear apart the leather on the furniture just yet, but that baby is there.

We are having so much fun watching our baby turn into a little boy. He is just the sweetest, silliest, full of personality child, whose newest favorite thing is sitting by himself and laughing hysterically at who knows what. We love you little man!

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Show and Tell: When I Grow Up

Today I am linking up with Andrea for Show and Tell Tuesday! On today's agenda..what I wanted to be when I grew up. Is it strange that I still find it surreal that I am actually living my 'grown up' life? I swear when I look in the mirror I am still 19. Time goes too fast!

1. This man's wife.

Cliff Pantone from Bring It On. Swooooon. I watched that movie over, and over, and over, and truly believed he was the one. Even in my youth I had a thing for the guy who marched to the beat of his own drum. I just stumbled upon a 'then and now' pic of him, and my heart broke a little to realize he was now a grown man my 12 year old self wouldn't have liked quite so much.

Jesse Bradford now, however, completely appeals to twenty-something me. I knew I had good taste.

2. Mary Kate and Ashley

Like most girls of the 90's, I owned every. single. one. of their movies. I tried to replicate their mystery solving outfits. I wrote Mary Kate and Ashley 'books', aka drew pictures of what they did in the movies on paper. I wanted to be them. To this day, I have them to thank for my bucket list vacation of going to the Atlantis in the Bahamas. They epitomized what every young girl wanted and wanted to be. Witness protection program in Australia? Sign me up! Forced to spend a week in Paris with a cranky grandpa? I'll take it! A school competition in London? Seriously, it just isn't fair. Once I found out my 6 foot tall self wouldn't mix in very well with the 5'1 twins, I finally accepted the reality that I was not, in fact, an Olsen twin.

3. An anesthesiologist

This one is easy. We read a book in middle school breaking down salaries. This one topped the list. I was one of the smartest kids in my class at the time, so I figured it made sense to get the 'smartest person job'. In some ways, I miss and admire the high hopes and expectations we have when we are young. Of course, none of us know at that age what life has in store for us, or what experiences we will go through. On that note, how exactly did I get to where I am today?..

I did go to college with the intention of being pre-med. I got accepted into a prestigious science class of my university, and thought I was set. And then I took earth biology. And calculus. And organic chemistry. I realized almost immediately that I despised all of these classes, and I also wasn't that great at them. To this day, calculus is foreign to me. I just couldn't picture spending the next 8 years of my life studying subjects that I hated. In retrospect, could I have pushed through those rough classes? Perhaps. However, any science class dissections also brought me to a swift realization that I had no desire to work in cadaver labs, or really just ever be required to touch people. And so there ended the dream of being a doctor.

4. Public Health Educator

I realized I loved wellness and nutrition, and after some soul searching and research, I ended up finishing out my last two years of college at home and majoring in community health. My new dream became working to affect people at home, impacting their decision making and lifestyle choices to prevent future health issues. I started my career as an injury prevention specialist with a trauma department, in part because it was a job in my field..and well, that's why basically. I did enjoy the job, but it also pointed out quickly the areas I did and did not want to work in. Working with young children and teens to impact smart decision making? Sign me up! Fall prevention for the elderly? Important, but just not my thing.

Just this month, I finally accepted and started a new job with a local childhood obesity initiative, working to affect policy change and promote active and healthy lifestyles in children. It is some of the most rewarding, fulfilling work I could ever imagine doing. I am also in school to get my MBA, so really, I don't know what I am going to be when I grow up. I have an idea of where I want to end up, but since entering the public health sector, I have realized the opportunities and types of work that you can do are endless.

5. A mom

This has always been number one on my list, and never a question in my mind as to whether or not I would have kids. I am amazed by how fast it is already flying by, but I am loving every minute of it, and it is by far the most rewarding job there is.

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Our Weekend: A Sick House

Some weekends are action packed and fly by. Others..are weekends you don't mind ending or forgetting. I realize they can't all be winners, but sometimes after a few days like we have had, going to work and starting a fresh week doesn't seem so bad.

Friday, I adjusted to working my new job, where people actually work on Fridays. I have been very spoiled, and due to freedom with my hours, I was rarely in the office later than noon on a Friday. And, all other days I worked early so that I was off by 2:30pm. So, to be in the office at 4pm on a Friday was strange to me. I was also essentially the last person in the office, so there was some relief going on at the realization that my new coworkers all were out of the office earlier than normal. Still, it was an adjustment to actually work a full day on Friday like, you know, a normal person. And, aside from working my first full Friday in ages, I also came down with a cold out of absolutely nowhere. It started with a runny nose on Thursday afternoon, and by Friday morning I couldn't breathe out of either side of my nose. A coworker ran out and got Jimmy John's for the office, and I gasped for air between bites of my #6, and didn't taste one delicious bite. Is there really anything worse than wanting to taste your food and not being able to!?
After work, my little man and I had a low key night at home while his dad went out to his grandparents farm to butcher (fun, right?) We did enjoy a few episodes of Gilmore Girls, though. New Netflix series to get into perhaps!?

Saturday, we had an open house scheduled for our home, so we were up early to clean and get everything in order. I took Jax to my parents to avoid having him terrorize and make a mess of our clean house, where he promptly threw a fit before finally crashing for a nap. Once he woke up, we went to the mall to kill time, and as I approached Caribou coffee to grab an iced mocha, I realized I left my wallet in the car. If ever there was a sign telling me to not spend money! So I hauled back to the car, and conceded to just get in my Target shopping. At least Target always makes my heart happy.
We spent a good portion of the afternoon at my in laws,  and just got in some nice catching up and relaxing. I also got a notification from our open house that no one came. It is what it is, but I think we will stick to scheduled showings where we know people will show up from now on. All that cleaning and prep for nothing was frustrating.

Once we got home Saturday night, Jackson was clearly rocking the same runny nose that I started out with, and the night just went downhill. He was in bed early, but woke up around 11 crying hysterically, and was not calming down. And with a cold, the more he cried, the more he coughed up all of the good stuff that goes with a cold and couldn't breathe. He really struggles with working himself up when he is congested, which is both scary and frustrating. What finally calmed him down was watching some cartoons, and crawling around on the clean bathroom floor while I ran a steamy shower. Eventually Mike (who has now officially come down with the cold) moved to the couch so I could wrangle our monster for the night, and eventually around midnight I did get him to fall asleep, which he did until his little eyes popped open awake and ready to play prompty at 5am.

Poor little buddy, crashed for a long nap

Needless to say, Sunday was a lazy day with little going on. After our entire house spent their morning napping, little man and I got out of the house for a bit and hit up old navy so I could use my super cash, and got Jax a few pairs of jammies to add to his collection. Then we wandered the mall and I finally got my caribou coffee and shared a cookie with my man.

 

Mall cruising

After washing the cookie down with some milk, he promptly fell asleep and rested while I made the rounds through Target.

 

How sweet is my boy. Just love him.

After our shopping trip, we grabbed dinner to bring home, and spent the rest of the night relaxing, and watched some Game of Thrones once baby was in bed. That last scene..wow! That show keeps me on my toes..I never know what is going to happen next!

The bright side of this weekend aside from my t-shirt turning into one giant kleenex for a runny nosed baby, is the little guy seemed happy as can be as long as he is allowed free roam of the house and access to all of his toys (and the remote control). For that I am thankful, because there is nothing worse than a sick, sad baby. Here's to hoping everyone in our house feels better soon and this week starts off on a good note!

Linking up with Meg, Biana, and Ashley today!

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Friday Favorites

Finally, another Friday is here. Having Monday off made this a short week, and it really did fly by, but it always seems that Friday just can't come soon enough. I am linking up for Friday Favorites today and sharing some of my favorite happenings lately.

1. This cardigan. I love the asymmetrical design, that it is loose, and such a pretty color. I checked it out in the store and it is also super lightweight. You can get it now for 30% off!

2. Getting my mornings back. I had gotten in the habit of working at 6am. The mornings were rough, but being out of the office at 2:30 was incredible. Starting a new job had me a little stressed about needing to 'work late', aka until 4:30 or normal people time. However, because of baby's internal clock, we have still been waking up early, allowing me to enjoy the quiet of the morning, take my time, and play with my little man. I have forgotten how much I love the peace of early mornings. I am adjusting to needing to be at work lately, but it might not be too terrible!

3. Home showings. We have put our house on the market and have multiple showings this week. This has meant a house that needs to be spotless every day when I leave for work. It is a bit of a pain, but is also sooo nice to come home to a perfectly clean house!

4. Summer weather. We had a decent spring, but never really hit those warm temps everyone looks forward to. These last few days have been in the 80s for the first time all year, and I conveniently had to work an outdoor event all day yesterday. Darn. It was just terrible I swear.

5. Being famous. This week, I was out at a local elementary school to do helmet fittings and education for the kids. While adjusting the helmet of one little girl, she pointed to my name badge and asked me who the person in the picture was. I explained that it was a picture of me, and it was just a badge I wore when I was working. Very matter of factly, she looked at me and said 'I've seen her in a movie'. Of course I tried my best not to laugh and just replied, 'oh, no. It's just me!' To which she shrugged her shoulders, repeated 'I saw her in a movie', and walked away. I still don't know which movie I starred in, but apparently I made an impression. Sometimes kids can brighten your entire day with one adorable and out of left field comment!

After a busy week, I cannot wait to spend this weekend relaxing, spending time with family, and enjoying my first weekend of no homework since December! Linking up with the fabulous ladies below today!

Five on Friday // Oh Hey Friday! // Friday Favorites // Friday Favorites

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