Oh what a day . . . .

Do you ever have one of those days . . . . . . I had every intention of writing a few different posts over the last few days and nothing.

But today, today took the cake. . . . .

• I forgot to bring a pacifier for Alex to daycare (took it home yesterday because he was fussy).
• Today was bring your favorite book day to daycare and I forgot that also.
• Then, I get there to pick him up and he's wearing something I've never seen.  Turns out he only had 1 spare outfit in his cubby and wet through/messed on the one he was wearing and the spare one. 
• Then, we planned to stop at the store after work/pick-up and we get inside and I realize, I have no diaper bag/nothing - no diapers, no pacifier, no blanket, no toys.  It's not something I normally bring with me every day and I didn't think of it today. 

But, luckily . . . .

• They said he was fine at daycare and they sterilized an extra one and he used that if he really needed it.  Not ideal but ok.
• Doesn't look like any other kids brought in books today.  At least we weren't the only ones.
• They had some extra pj's at daycare that he was able to wear.  Thankfully he didn't have to wear just a diaper all day (Ok, I know they wouldn't have left him in a diaper, but still).
• We made it through 2 stores with no meltdown, dirty diaper and the weather wasn't too cold so a blanket wasn't needed (He did have a jacket on).  He's so laid back and such a good kid.

So, I'll wallow in my fails/oopsies for the rest of the evening. 

Tomorrow brush it off, and start over again, it's a new day, right?  Happy hump day!

Christmas Traditions

 Picture from here

Christmas is quickly approaching and it's one of my favorite times of year!  When we were kids our traditions consisted of Christmas Eve mass and then going to grandma and grandpa's.  We got to come home and usually got a new pair of PJ's.  Then my sister and I would sleep together in the same bed.  She'd wake up early, and I'd ignore her for as long as possible.  Christmas morning we'd open gifts, and my mom would make a nice big breakfast!  We'd get together with my extended family again and play with my cousins most of the day.  I can't remember any other traditions but I'm going to ask my mom when I visit with her over Thanksgiving.

With all that said, I was trying to start some Christmas traditions with Alex.  I realize that he's young this year and won't really remember much/participate this year.  I was trying to come up with some traditions to start.  Here are some ideas that I've seen.

1. Elf on the Shelf - I've seen this all over the blog world and I think that this is a great idea once Alex is old enough!
2. Yearly Ornament - My parents didn't do this for us but I really like the idea of buying an ornament each year.  Then when they move away they have ornaments to bring with them for their tree. 
3. Cookie Baking - I love making Christmas cookies.  The season always seems to pass to quickly, but I really want to at least have an afternoon of baking each year.
4. Christmas books Advent Calendar - I initially saw this blogged about here.  I think I'll buy books after Christmas this year (get some on sale) to start next year.  Though, maybe I'll only buy 12 books this year for next and then 12 new ones the year after and do an every other day kind of thing.  I'm sure we'll get some books this year.
5. Christmas Tree - Making a special day out of putting up the Christmas tree and other decorations.
6. Christmas Movies - I LOVE watching Christmas movies on TV.  Maybe watching a Christmas movie once a week in December.  (i.e. Elf, The Grinch)
7. Visiting Santa - Actually I'm kind of on the fence about this one.  Maybe this sounds silly but I don't want him to think that Christmas is just about getting gifts and for some reason standing in the mall forever in lines to tell Santa what you want just doesn't appeal to me.  Call me crazy.
8. Sleigh Ride/Riding around looking at lights - One thing I like about the season is looking at all of the lights and decorations that people put up.  Here in the south not as many people put up as many lights/decorations as they do in the north (at least in my opinion), but it's still fun to drive around.  And I know that there are lots of Lights on the Lake/Park, etc type places that would be cool too.  The sleigh ride is something I used to do in NY, though that doesn't work as well here in the south.
9. Giving/Volunteering - I really, really want to stress to Alex (and any other kids we have) that Christmas isn't about getting gifts but it's about giving to people too.  Helping those that are less fortunate (though why does this come up the most during Christmas, we should be doing this all year round!) and just helping the community in general.  Kurt and I have found ways to give over the last few years, we purchase gifts for the kids on the trees at the mall or volunteer at the Food Banks.
10. Meaning of the Season - With all that said, it's not about Santa or any of that for the true meaning of Christmas.  I don't usually blog about religion, but Christmas is really about the birth of Jesus Christ and that's what we're truly celebrating and we need to remember this the whole season long, not just by going to church on Christmas/Christmas Eve.

What traditions do you and your families have?  Any that you would suggest adding/doing, etc?  What are your favorite Christmas books/movies?

Thankful . . . . . .

For the 2 boys in my life who I can't imagine being without




Hope you and your family are having a fantastic Thanksgiving!

Giggles!

Not much going on today! We're visiting family for the Thanksgiving holiday but I couldn't resist sharing this cute video of Alex giggling while playing peek-a-boo with my mom!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Day in the Life

I thought it'd be fun to do a day-in-the-life post.  I've got a few pictures (some are from different days) too!  This is pretty much how it has gone since I went back to work (except for Alex's wake-up time), so months 4 and 5, though I know it'll change frequently in the future... 

5:45AM - Alarm goes off.  I try to hit the snooze, but know that I shouldn't and I get up.  I pump and hop in the shower, get ready for the day.

7:00AM - Downstairs to make some breakfast, bottles for the day (if I haven't the night before) and pack up my bag for work, as well as anything that the babe needs for the day.  (Note, I used to bring 3-4 different bags to work - laptop bag, pump bag, purse and lunch bag and had to put the ka-bash on that.  I found this huge one from Lands End that holds everything!)  Depending on if Alex is awake, I might get to do a little laundry too.

7:45AM - 8:00AM - Lately Alex has been sleeping in until past 8:00, so on work days I try to let him go as long as possibly but I have to wake him by 8:00.  The morning is usually greeted with a smile and some loud squeals, it's always fun to have a happy baby in the morning.  I feed Alex and watch some news.

8:15AM - 8:30AM - Everybody packs up and out the door we go.  Luckily Kurt takes Alex to daycare so I head straight to work.  When I started back at work he was getting up around 7:00, so I was going to work much earlier.

8:45AMish - Time to work.  E-mail, e-mail, conference call, meeting etc.

9:30AM - Quick break to check the cameras and check in to see how the little guy is doing at daycare.  I usually open them up about this time during the day and check them randomly depending on what's going on.

10:00AM - First pumping session of the day.  I have to head down to a separate room, which is so annoying.  Sometimes there is another woman in there pumping.  Sometimes there are people using it as a conference room.  I generally am not pleasant if it's the latter and kick them out ASAP.

10:30AM - Back to my desk, more e-mail and conference calls/meetings.

12:15PM - Lunch!  I've pushed my lunch back much later now.  When I was pregnant I used to eat at 11:00 and no later!  I try to bring my lunch, but I'm terrible at remembering, so I usually just head to the cafeteria to get something quick and work right through lunch.  Definitely check-in during lunch time.  Score - nap time today (did I mention Alex doesn't like taking naps at daycare)! 

1:00PM - Second pumping session of the day.

1:30PM - Back to my desk, more e-mail and conference calls/meetings.

4:00PM - Last pumping session at work.

5:00PM - Out the door!  I try to leave as early as possible.  Some days it's 5:00, some days a little bit after.

5:30PM - I'm usually there to pick up Alex by 5:30.  I chat with his teachers to see how his day was while I'm getting him ready to go.

6:00PM - We're home and spending some time together.  Depending on the night we just hang out and play with Alex.  Some nights we eat dinner and he plays in his high chair while we eat, some nights we wait until after he goes to bed to eat dinner.  We have a 'loose' no technology rule during this time.  We are generally not on the computer during this time, though we sometimes have the TV on in the background.  We also try to stay off our phones during this time.  We play on the floor, play with Maya.

7:00PM - We start bath and bedtime routine.  We give him a bath every other day usually (Kid LOVES bathtime!).  He eats, and we read a book and then it's time for bed.  Most nights he is in bed at 7:30.

7:30PM - It's usually a scramble and different every night.  This is a variety of laundry, some nights work (I have weekly conference calls on Tuesdays at 9pm - the joys of working for a global company), tv/dvr catch-up, dinner (if we didn't eat earlier), blogging.  Time to wash bottles and pump parts too.

10:30PM - Last pumping session for the day. 

11:00PM - Bedtime.  I honestly have no idea why we stay up so late.  It just seems to happen.  We look up and it's 11:00 already!  Where did the night go.  I wish I could go to bed earlier but it never seems to happen!