Growing up is Hard to Do

I know, I know. It's been too long. I've been reading lots of blogs and decided I'm probably going to be doing all things I love. That includes makeup, clothes, shoes, my baby, anything really. And I want to thank you for your patience and for reading!

The hardest thing about growing up is the responsibility. Managing finances is probably the worst part. I love being a part time stay at home mom, but less money stinks. Keeping myself on a budget is difficult. Actually browsing blogs is bad for me. It makes me want want want!

Also I wish that I could be back in elementary school doing crafts and going to recess. As much as I act like a kid, at the end of the day I am 25 and have a husband and a baby. Don't get me wrong, I love them both and wouldn't change it even if I could. But I miss when the simple things were amazing.

But there's no use dwelling in the past, so let's look to the future!


Daily tidbits...

• I was actually thankful to be at work today. It was somewhere near 100 degrees and the hospital stays nice and air conditioned. 
• My lips were really chapped from the dryness-my Korres Lip Butter seems to be doing the trick today.
• Today I put in some time off for September and November. Where has the year gone?!

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Packing List for a 6 Month Old

I was planning on taking pictures of my packing adventure but the view screen of my camera is broke and I didn't feel like taking 100 pictures to make sure I got a few good shots. So instead I'm just going to make a list with categories for personal reference. Feel free to use my list as reference for your own summer trips!

We are taking a 5 day trip up north, which we will spend half the time at my parents cabin and half the time in town with Ben's folks. It's also going to be chilly the first few days and then really nice so I'll have a wide variety of things packed.

Clothes

• Cooler weather outfits X5
• Pants X5
• Short sleeve shirts X3
• Long sleeve shirts X2
• Warmer weather outfits X5
• Shorts X5
• Short sleeve shirts X5
• Short sleeve onesie X1
• Long sleeve onesie X1
• Socks X7
• Swim trunks and rash guard
• PJ's X3
• Jackets X2
• Sandals 
• Hat

Feeding

• Bottles X8
• Formula
• Travel bottle warmer
• Paci with clip X2
• Bibs X4
• Baby food X10
• Sippy cup
• Spoons X2
• Distilled water X2 gallons
• Burp rags X3
• Teething ring

Diapering

• Half a large box of diapers. Will buy more when we get there to save space.
• Diaper bag (has rash cream, tylenol, travel formula, extra set of clothes)
• Wipes
• forgot to add: swim diapers

Misc

• 2 small toys
• Blanket 
• Thin X1
• Thick X1
• Sunglasses
• Ergo carrier
• Hiking backpack/carrier
• Pack N' Play
• Umbrella Stroller
• Sunblock
• Shampoo/wash
• Eczema lotion
• Camera
• Batteries
• Video camera

A Typical Day

A typical day in our life

Wake up to E crying or babbling in the crib. Get a bottle ready and eat.  Change him out of pj’s and into his 1^st (and probably not last) set of clothes. While he plays, make coffee and eat cereal (check emails and facebook). Then it’s E’s turn to eat breakfast. At his first nap, get myself ready for the day by showering, do hair and makeup (if motivated).

E wakes up from nap and eats another bottle. On Fridays, if he is awake we go to the library for babies and books and a book for mama. Midmornings, I try and get things done because E is happiest and will play. So I use this time to clean bottles and do any chores I have assigned myself that day. I know I can’t clean the whole house every day, so I have broken it up so I can get the whole house done throughout the week.

The next nap, I water the flowers, eat lunch, and browse the internet. Afternoons I typically do any errands that need to be done outside the house; we practically live at Target. E will take another nap and eat again. Daddy wakes up and they play together. I try and feed E his dinner before I start getting dinner together.  This is where it gets tricky: E usually gets grumpy in the afternoon. And at the same time I’m trying to get dinner ready. It’s helpful if Ben’s awake because he can keep him company, but if grumpy time comes before he wakes up, I cannot get ANYTHING done, he demands one on one attention.

Currently, in the evenings we try and take a walk before it gets too hot and the bugs are out. If we don’t, we play, we hang out, and wind down for the night. E gets a bath every other night because of his sensitive skin. After his last bottle, we don’t do any more play time. This signals his brain that it’s bedtime. When E finally goes to sleep, I check facebook again, read, and go to bed. Then the next day we do it all over again. 

What I hope to improve on for the day: drink more water! Especially before the 1^st cup of coffee or else I don’t want to eat any food until noon. I would also like to get a workout at least 3 times a week. Once things get a little less crazy at work for Ben, I will hopefully have the chance. 

Pet Peeves

10 Pet Peeves

I have a feeling that I might offend someone. BUT let's be real people, will any of this actually make you change your ways? Probably not. And we all know that I am annoying about 70% of the time; that includes the time I spend sleeping. 

1. People who scrape the bottom of their yogurt cups with a spoon. It drives me insane!! All that scraping and noise just to get one last tiny lick of yogurt. 

2. "People" who take the last thing from the box but leave the empty box in the pantry. I only personally know one person who does this. He lives with me... and his name is Ben. I'm contemplating saving all the boxes he leaves and burning something of his using the boxes to start the fire. 

3. Owners letting their dogs poop and leaving it on a trail, in a park, on my lawn, etc.

4. The drivers in this town. OK not every one sucks. But when did it become OK not to participate in a 4 way stop, keep going on a red light, take a left turn when traffic is coming, and pass around a motorcycle that just literally got in an accident right before your eyes... on Christmas day?! 

5. My mom constantly miss pronouncing things, over and over again. 

6. Putting very vague and/or shocking facebook statuses but not responding when people ask "are you ok?"

7. People who ask for advice but refuse to accept it unless they hear the answer they were wanting all along. Hey, I actually do this. Especially when I ask for Ben's opinion on an outfit. But I mean for really important decisions. 

8. Men adjusting themselves in public. I don't need to see that. 

9. Leaving a public restroom dirty and disgusting. Not flushing, leaving toilet paper and paper towels all over. Gross.

10. This one is just recent-that there aren't very cute baby/little boys clothes. The "stylish" clothes I've seen are insanely expensive. But you can always find adorable, inexpensive little girls clothes. 

My Most Embarrassing Moment

OK so this one is WAAAAY easy.

Have you ever seen that movie "It's Pat"? It's based off of a Saturday Night Live character where no one really knows if the character is a guy or a girl. I'm not sure if I ever actually watched the movie or just saw the previews for it but when I did, I was maybe 6 years old? The only thing I remember from the movie was the line "Is that a banana in your pocked, or are you just happy to see me?".

As a 6 year old, I obviously didn't know what this meant. And I never really thought about it much growing up. Fast forward to 7th grade. My best friend's father who happened to be our Social Studies teacher Mr. Roseberry is talking to a group of us before class starts. I was one of those annoying kids who gets caught up in the moment, says stupid stuff, and talks way too loud. In all the excitement of the moment, guess what  I ask my teacher..... just guess.... please don't make me say it again. Yep, I said the above line from the movie "It's Pat".

And it's not until my classmates laugh hilariously at me and Mr. Roseberry says "Geni!!" do I realize what this means.

Here's what I'm thankful for. I am thankful that I've learned to think before I speak (most of the time). And I'm REALLY thankful that I didn't get suspended. Mr. Roseberry luckily knew my personality and I think he knew that I had no idea what I was saying.

So yeah, that's my most embarrassing moment... ever... to date at least.

Influences

People who have influenced me and why.

Let’s just say all of you have influenced me in one way or another. This is just a quick list for Everett to look back on.

Dad-I can’t say enough about this guy. He is what I want to be for Everett as a parent. My dad always had the confidence in me that I could be who I wanted to be. He took to the time to get to know me at every age. And he still does.

Mom-We have had the biggest fights, and I think it’s because we are a lot alike. She has a tough exterior but sensitive and wants her kids to love her. Watching my dad tease her and get under her skin, then her shout back at him is so funny!

Ben-How could this man not be one of the biggest influences on me? He challenges me and is my best friend.

Senior year volleyball team-These are pretty much the girls I grew up with. We were a great team together. We fought a lot, we laughed a lot, and we were very competitive. In junior high, we were undefeated. Our senior year, we won state. And I should mention our coach Doug Hayes really melded us together and cared about each one of us as individuals.

Mark Roseberry-A coach, a mentor, a teacher. He baptized me and challenged me a lot. His family is so close. I can only hope to have a family that loves each other and is that close even as the years go by.

Donna Miller-My high school English teacher. She wasn’t really one of those people who shaped my personality, but the skills she taught me has gotten me college scholarships and I swear helped me get jobs.

Danielle Barton-my BFF. I feel like we have similar spirits. As long as we have each other, we won’t be lonely. Actually if I go too long without her, I get really sad and really miss her.  She is my role model. She can do about a million things at a time and still perform exceptionally! For all of this I guess I forgive her for forgetting that I was in her lifeguarding class.