The Difference Between Men & Women

Last night as our little family was eating dinner V says "I have something to talk to you about".  When he prefaces things this way it's not usually a great thing (for me anyway, it usually has something to do with him playing more video games or hunting/fishing more).  I have to admit I gave him the side eye before asking him to go on.

Since officially signing on to build our first ever home we've been thinking and planning much more into the future than usual.  Currently we're scheduled to move into our home two weeks after our 5th wedding anniversary, which is also two weeks before my 30th birthday and just less than 6 weeks before a half marathon I'm hoping to do out of state.....the timing is interesting.  It feels like we have a lot of balls in the air (hehe I just got a horrible mental picture, not those kind of balls!!!!)

With all that said V and I have been talking about our paid time off schedules, both of us accumulate a good amount each year but both of our employers have a "use it or lose it" policy.  I have carefully scheduled the hours I am required to use and I will hoard the rest for: the move, our get away (aka anniversary/my bday celebration/ half marathon trip) and heaven forbid one of us gets sick.  Then there is V, I love him-I really do.....but he doesn't see things anything in the same manner as I do.  He's decided to go almost broke on paid time off and start fresh at the beginning of the year.  Sigh.  While in some ways this is good, we'll save over a week in daycare cost BUT should Liam get sick (or the woman who watches him) it will all rest on me to take time off....me, the one who is hoarding my time off for other scheduled events.  Oh men.

I just couldn't help but laugh a little, we see things so differently.  And I get it, I do.  V just took a day off recently because work was so slow and spent the day with Liam, both of them had a blast!  I can see where V is coming from wanting to spend that time with Liam again, I just wish he'd carry over a little safety net.

Can I get an Amen?
Much Love,
Jen 

Building a Home: Selecting Our Lot

Last night after work V and I scurried over to a meeting with the developer of the subdivision where we plan to build our home.  Our realtor is out of town so one of his associates went with us, unfortunately we arrived before her.  BUT fortunately the developer was waiting for us and one of the nicest people I have ever encountered! He even shared with us a story about how he came up with the names of a few of the floor plans, the cheapest one was for his father and when he told his father about that he said "that was alright" with a smile....the floor plan we like is after his mother because she would have liked all the storage and the vaulted ceilings!

Once our stand-in-realtor arrived we began discussing all of our options.  V and I already knew what floor plan we want because it's the same as the home we made the unaccepted offer on.  We  will make a few changes to differentiate our home from that one.  Then we reviewed the upgrade options and were given a list of options for our lot.  We all agreed that V and I would drive out over the weekend and select our lot then we'd write up our buy-sell with a closing date roughly 120 days out.

This morning V let me sneak away for a workout, I got home just in time for Liam to snuggle and go down for a 3hr nap.   Once Liam finally woke up we all ate lunch and headed out to look at lots.  Since we had reviewed them the night before I *thought* I knew which one I liked but we both wanted to look and make sure.  I am SO glad we did!  We drove up and down the street, through the ally, parked and looked at the homes surrounding each lot and took into consideration distance to the park.....and we BOTH agreed on one.  Can we just take a minute to soak up the fact that we both agreed on something with ease?!  Whew!  I have a lot of peace about it, I really (REALLY) like our lot.

So now we just need our realtor to get home and write up our buy-sell agreement so they can break land!  Good thing he gets home tomorrow because it's snowing as we speak!

After that we'll have a million decisions to make on decor, so far V says it's all in my hands but I don't buy that for a minute, he's too opinionated! 

V Plays Stay at Home Dadda

Liam was acting off yesterday, we chalked it up to the time change.....but boy was he grumpy!  Flash to this morning, Liam woke up crying really hard.  This is not normal for him at all, usually he happily wakes and calls out to us (in mumble-y 18 month old chatter).  Not today, today was full of loud cries.  I hadn't gotten up for the day yet (my alarm was set to go off in another 5 mins at 6:10am), so I told V that I would change Liam's diaper.  When I picked poor little Liam up he was physically on fire, I laid him on the changing table and started about stripping off his pjs, changing his diaper and taking his temp...... 102.5, yikes!  V didn't miss a beat, he called off work to spend the day with Liam. 

I quickly got ready then ran to the store for some juice and bananas (and bagels for V and I).  I'm so thankful to have a husband that is willing to stay home with our sick child. I know a lot of men wouldn't even consider staying home and some women who wouldn't let their husband stay home to care for an ill child.  I'm glad either of those things are true in my marriage.  (Even though V' boss thinks it's totally nuts that V will stay home with Liam he still allows Vic to use sick time to care for Liam.)  I called to check on Liam several times, each time V reassured me Liam was getting better and better.

Finally my work day was done, I rushes straight home and Liam was so very excited to see me!  V reported that Liam hadn't eatten great but was snacking and his temp had some down a little.  We spent a lovely evening of just chilling, eatting a little dinner and relaxing.  I gave Liam a second dose of infant IB profrin and now his temp is just slightly over 100 degrees.  A few minutes before we would have normally put Liam to bed he picked up a blanket off the floor and walked into his room, he was clearly ready!  We did our normal routine of; clean diaper, jammies, sippy of water and sit on my lap while Dadda reads and when we put Liam into his crib he rolled on his side and was out before we turned off the light!

Weekend Adventures

It's Sunday morning, Liam is napping and V is watching the Olympics.  This weekend has been amazing!  I mean no one doesn't love weekends but sometimes they are full of chores and obligations.  As I type this I realize there is no chance of us making it to church, again.  But ya know what?  God knows the content of our hearts and I'm not waking my baby to race out the door, not today.

Friday morning G'ma picked up Liam and brought him up to the lake where most of the family had been for a good week.  I was a bit hesitant at first because they wanted him to spend the night at the campsite but a chance for a date night after work and a little extra sleep on Saturday morning made the decision for me.  We are very blessed to be surrounded by V's family, they love all of us but especially Liam and can't get enough time with him.  I have been extra run down lately so letting Liam enjoy extra time with the family while I got extra sleep seemed like a win-win.  And it was!

V usually let's me choose where we eat so that night I let him decide, he chose a local place, it was pretty good.  I was just happy to have some time with my hubby!   We had a nice time then decided to check out a new game place that had just opened.  They have go-carts, games, lasertag and more but I can't remember it all, lol!  We played some games, laughed a ton and gave our tickets to a little boy who thought he won the lottery.  It was a wonderful time!  We got home just in time to watch some of the Olympic  Games opening  ceremony celebration.

A pic I took of the view on the trail. I love this place!

Sunday morning we got up, got ready and grabbed burritos from the healthy food store here and hit the open road (with V's sister in tow, oy).  After a mere hour and half we arrived to my happy little boy beaming with joy! I hadn't been to this lake a years and forgot how beautiful it is.  Liam needed a nap so the guys (plus V's sister) went fishing while MIL and I hung out.  Everyone got back just before Liam woke up, we all ate quickly and headed off on a hike to the waterfalls in the area.  I wore Liam in  his framed pack, boy is he getting heavy!  I was hoping to use this pack next summer but I think it's only going to make it though this one! Ek!  I'm proud to say I was able to pack him both in and out!  Go me for getting some cross training in! ;)  Liam did great, he loves hiking and being outdoors!  He even napped on the way out.

After we got back to the campsite we all snacked and hung out while for a while before Liam needed another nap (he was pooped!).  I waded into the lake, oh how I regret not bring my swimsuit!  The evening went by quickly and before we knew it the time to head home had come.  We packed up Liam and all our stuff (MIL had brought quite a bit up for him) and headed back home for showers and bed time.

Today I'm tan, sore and so content!  This is how all weekends should be!  I hope each of you had a great weekend as well!

Much Love,
Jen

Desiring Disconnection

I am no relationship expert.  Shocking? Nope.  I've been on my own since I was 16 years old, my "childhood"  was dysfunctional at best.  Sometimes managing relationships is exhausting to me.  Not all the time and not all relationships, my favorites are the one that just seem to work (like my bestie, E.)

I find the most challenging to be those of "family", specifically V's family.  I have no personal experience to compare them to and while I love them dearly they can be utterly exhausting.  Sometimes I just want to disconnect from it.  I just want a break, I don't want to have to work so hard to manage these relationships.  No I'm not going to throw my hands and walk off into the sunset with V and Liam (although sometimes I do daydream of it).  I just find it so challenging sometimes, I mean I have my mother-in-law on my facebook, cell phone, work and personal email.  There is no breathing room!  Oh yeah did I ever mention that V's family owns our home! (we rent from them) Essentially everyone has a key to our house, they are good about not just coming over (that wasn't always the case).  I just feel like they are a little too interlaced in every aspect of my being.  I need room people!

Am I just being hormonal, am I the only one that goes through this? Is it just me?  (someone say no!)

Much Love-
Jen

Motion Sickness

I have never actually been motion sick however with the rate at which life is moving I'm starting to think I might!

I feel like every time I turn around another day/week/month has come and gone!  This week I had to travel out of town over night for the first time since Liam was born.  Ek!  Not only that I was gone TWO nights.  I know for some that might now be a big deal but for me it was.  I attended and presented at my regions annual meeting.  Thankfully it was so insanely busy the days flew by despite being 12-14+ hour days, by the time I got to my room each night I literally fell into the bed and asleep....seriously it was a struggle to undress myself and take off my make up! 

Back on the home-front, V was rocking it single-dad style.  I won't lie to you I was nervous.  Like most moms (working or not) I think of and take care of 95% of Liam's needs.  I did a lot of prep for V but the execution was all on him....and he did great!  Unfortunately Liam developed a cold while I was gone which meant he slept worse than usual (he typically wakes up once per night, while I was gone it was 3-4 times minimum).  I may sound like a bad wife here but I have to say a part of me really looked forward to this time away....not the part of being away from Liam but the part where V would gain a deep understanding of all I do every single day.  Boy did he ever! 

I don't want to give the impression that V isn't a good Dad because he is a very good one, however I do far more than him everyday.  Just by the sheer natural of our working hours and jobs I take Liam to daycare and pick him up, before V even gets home I have fed Liam and started our dinner (I don't always cook, I will admit that).  Essentially I spend an extra hour a day just taking Liam to and from daycare.  Once V is home he needs to shower, often Liam needs a bath....you know, all the normal things.  V typically puts Liam to bed and I read to him.  But I digress, V got a real hands on understanding of all I do and is very appreciative. :)

Hopefully I won't have to make too many over night trips in the near future, being away from my little guy was hard....I have so enjoyed all the extra snuggle time! :)  Next up are Liam's One Year Pictures, then his First Birthday......(he'll be 11 months next week!)...please time slow down!

Much Love,
Jen

Torn Between Nana & G'ma pt 2

You may recall that I recently wrote about being torn between Nana (who watches Liam 4x/week) and G'ma wanting to retire and watch Liam full time.  Essentially I wanted Liam to stay with Nanna and V wanted the opposite.....

V and I finally found time to sit down and have a long and thoughtful discussion on the topic.  Parenting isn't always easy, for me a vast majority of it comes naturally but some discussions seem like mountains, this was one of them....and as usual V and I had differing opinions.  I pride myself on being able to see both sides of most things most of the time, V is a little more black and white.  My train of thought was; while Liam would benefit from the extended amount of time with G'ma & family ultimately he would benefit more from staying with Nanna at least 3 days/week.  It important for G'ma to stay G'ma and not become our employee, I want her to enjoy and look forward to her time with Liam and additionally if she is able to work from home it will not be realistic to get work done and watch a toddler.  Nanna is family to me, not only does Liam love her and the two girls Nanna watches but at this point he's going to be an only child and it's important for him to have the exposure to other children.  I was a bit amazed when V agreed.  We decided on: Nanna watching Liam 3 days per week and G'ma could watch him 2 day/week, those days must be consecutive because we believe it's important for Liam to have consistency.  Right now G'ma hasn't made a firm decision on when she will retire so we are just going to leave things where they are and when her decision is made we'll advise her of ours.  Whew, one more decision down now only like 4 million more to go! :)

Much Love,
Jen

Anniversary Celebration {sneak peak}

The concert we're going to.......three more days!

Bad Blogger

I feel like I've neglected my blog lately. I have been so caught up in my whole "situation" with insurance that it's taken a vast majority of my spare energy. And let's face it, who wants to hear about that all the time? No one, not even me some days.

At this moment it appears I have a chance of winning the battle with insurance. It boils down to the other doctor only has hours one day a week that I can see her (her restrictions, not mine)....since my auto immune disease can be dangerous if not well monitored my insurance might be willing to allow me a temporary continuance of care (~1 year). I'll let you know what comes of it; hopefully I'll have answers on Tuesday.

In other news work is going well, my boss had hired a woman in our department that turned out to be a lazy pos. I'm not so great at hiding my feelings (imagine that, lol) and it was rough sailing for a while there because of it. Well the new woman finally quit. My boss was too prideful to admit she had made a bad hire, and with two other open roles on our team I can understand to an extent. I've stepped up and have created some training documents and will be doing some traveling to train members of our team. I've also held down the fort with the now 3 open roles (two of which should be filled shortly). Thankfully my boss has seen this. She can be a handful, but when things are good they are really good. I found out last week I'm scheduled to get my third raise in 1.5 years so I must be doing something right. These aren't huge raises, I'm certainly not breaking the bank, I took a 10% pay cut to leave my old very stressful job...I'm almost back at that wage which was a decent income.

On the marriage home front....V and I are getting ready to celebrate four years of marriage. Not a very long time in the grand scheme of things but with all we've been through I really wanted to close the book on year four and welcome year five with a trip away. Liam is slated to sleep over at G'ma and G'pa's house while V and I travel 3 hours away to spend a night in a fancy hotel, attend a concert, shop a little, enjoy new restaurants and take a little time for ourselves. V isn't terribly excited about the concert, which is typical, but I know he'll have a good time once we are there. This will be really good for us.

Then there is Liam, the reason my world spins. My gosh, he's amazing! He is a professional grasper now, I can put virtually anything sorta near him and he will bend completely over and get it. He loves feeding himself little treats! Today the three of us just stayed home in our jammies, it was glorious to just play with him, nap and snack....I wish today didn't have to end!

So there you have it, all the goings-on of my little world. I hope each of you is well!

Much Love,
Jen

Ode to V.

I've done one of these posts before but I have such a great hubby I just can't help but do another!  I  have a pretty amazing husband, I certainly won the husband lottery!  He's not perfect but neither am I, however we both work hard at our relationship and what more could a girl ask for?  He's been pretty darn incredible during my pregnancy and while it has taken him some time to figure a few things out or see my perspective he always makes an effort.  And for that I give him major kudos, I mean the guy was 34 when we got married, he was pretty set in his ways!  He makes a serious effort, and while I certainly don't win all the battles (nor should I) he always tries to see my side even if he never agrees! :)

As you may remember our house had to undergo some construction before little guy arrives.  At first I was super excited, the house does need some love (we rent from V's family, looooong story).  But then the months drug on and now I find myself in my 9th month of pregnancy living in a construction zone, it's not easy to say the least.  I'm thankful that I married such a handy guy but I wish the others would step up and help instead of just relying on him knowing how handy he is.  I may not have mentioned V loves working with his hands, he's done many jobs over the years I've known him but they are always making/building things, he just isn't a "sit at a desk" kind of guy and that is fine by me.  So for the last ~3 years V has been installing hardwood floors, he enjoys it (for the most part) and it's a new skill for him.  So last night V's dad and uncle arrived before V got off work to begin the roof work, V (who had already put in a good 10 hours at work) pulls up to the house, gets out of his truck, climbs the latter to our roof and goes straight to work.  Wow! I thought to myself out loud "what a guy!" As I sat there watching the guys work I began rubbing my belly just feeling so blessed to have the love of this man who would work so hard for little guy and I.

It means so much to me that my son will grow up with strong male role models around him.  While I realize no one is perfect they are, in my eyes, role models of what a good man is (especially compared to my father, a far cry from a role model for anything).  I often survey my life and wonder how I got so lucky...I have a wonderful husband, in-laws and friends, not to mention good health and good health for my son.  V and I may not have "it all" in the world's eyes but we are beyond wealthy in love and have an abundance to give this baby.

My cup does not over-flow, it's sunken in a ocean of love and blessings!