Last week, my mom came into town to watch the kids so we could be downtown from Wednesday - Sunday for a big industry association event. If you're part of the industry, you are there. Someone in your company shows up. Your fellow manufacturers, distributors and colleagues are there. Typically, I travel to the location (because it's usually awesome) with the kids and explore while the husband is out until early morning hours "networking" with industry folks.
He's been attending for the majority of his time with the company, but this was his first as president. Even more exciting, last year he was asked by the president of the association to be the chair of the planning committee for this year's industry summit. Conveniently located in Chicago and being a young and innovative guy in the industry, he happily accepted. Not a bad resume builder.
And so he planned his tush off. He changed the format of the entire summit and introduced a 3-speaker Ted Talk style event that led to breakout sessions to take in two of your favorites for a deeper dive into their talks. He was one of the speakers to introduce his speakers and be the voice of the association for this summit. One of the guys was an actual Ted speaker and artist, but the others were more on the economist side of things that the industry is used to. Reviews of the event (he planned) have been nothing short of excellent.
I was there for the whole thing. It was so awesome. In addition to matching faces with names, having a load of delicious food and cocktails, being there to take in all his hard work, and sleeping in a comfortable hotel bed without kids waking me each morning, I also got to go on a food tour of the Gold Coast and Old Town with other industry wives. I also stayed up way too late each night "networking" as well and wore heels the majority of the time (that I consider are absolutely without a doubt little torture devices for women). I feel like I'm too feminist for those stupid things. But oh do they look so good.
And guess what? We took our first Uber ride. Seriously, I'm so hip. They even sent me a summary of my first ride with a map, exact (to the hundredth of a mile!) mileage, cost, and a picture of my driver in an email invoice/receipt after. If you want to take an Uber and wanna save yourself $20 on your first ride, I'll go ahead and shamelessly share my code for you all: brandyw508ue and if you use, I get $20 to my account for future rides, too. Not a bad deal. And really, I am sold on the service and will probably never take a standard cab again.
The whole post was really to just praise my incredible husband and how awesome he was in planning a hospitality event for his company that absolutely showcased their products in the best light and shared their impressive history with their distributors. It was just awesomely cool to see him kill it at the whole thing.
Four days away from the kids also meant their Gawbee spoiled them rotten and the littlest is now totally struggling with separation anxiety. Sleep has been rough. Naps have been tough. Leaving her at the gym for that hour a couple times a week has actually gone smoother than expected, despite her reminding me "Mama, [comes] back" every single day for at least a dozen times thereafter. She's clearly anxious. Sleep regression at 21 months totally sucks. Benjamin was just never that attached to me.
We're back in the mix of things (sort of) and next week, plane flight. Savannah adventures await!
Friday, October 30, 2015
Friday, October 16, 2015
The Gym Dropoff
We joined the Y last week, primarily to keep Benjamin in the water over the winter. It had already been a month and he's pretty rusty (though still plenty daring).
It was the last day for a no joiner fee, so we figured we'd be saving a month's worth anyway since we planned to join in November. (...and now there's a no joiner fee from Oct. 23-25, go figure.)
I put on my Turkey Trot 5k shirt this morning and Benjamin noticed the big Y on the front. The Pittsburgh Turkey Trot is affiliated with their local YMCA, apparently. Benjamin told me he wanted to go back to "the Y place, that Y-M-C-day place again). Today, in fact. Perfect, because it turned out our plans were lining up quite nicely.
This morning, I dropped the husband off at work because his car is in the shop and we were on our way to the gym. I wanted to keep my streak of 5 days in a row workouts going. I usually run about 2 miles to Benjamin's school for pickup with Claire in the double stroller, but Benjamin doesn't have school on Fridays.
Claire is attached at the hip to me. I prefer she weren't, but she has other interests. Benjamin, on the other hand, probably wouldn't notice I left for about a week. When we approach places she's been left before briefly (i.e. friends' houses, church nursery), she clings to me like ferocious lions are at my feet.
Needless to say, I was a little nervous about leaving her at in the free gym daycare dropoff. I chose a Friday so Benjamin, one of her safe people (never thought I'd use those words!), would be with her. I was nervous that without him there, she would be more likely to scream her lungs out for the whole hour I left her. I just didn't feel right leaving her in the arms of poor gym daycare workers, knowing how busy they were and knowing it's really not their job to engage with my kids so much as keep them safe.
Because baby, you know if I get "free" childcare that doesn't have to be re-payed in any way, I'm using it.
She cried at dropoff. I showed her the babies and she was thrilled, but that didn't stop her from looking at me with betrayal eyes as I skated out.
So guess what? I ran 5 miles on the treadmill. Sure, it was at zero incline, but I just kept running my buns off until I was left with little time for any more. I haven't run 5 miles ever in the state of Illinois. Seriously. I haven't ran that distance since living on the beach in LA about 6 years ago.
It felt good. It felt great. I could've kept going even. But alas, the clock was ticking.
When I clocked out and cleaned the machine, I went over and spied on Claire from the top railing (such a cool feature) and she and Benjamin were content playing with toys. I scooped them up, at which time Claire started her betrayal crying again, and we hit the pool, had nice warm showers and headed home for lunch.
That $79 a month is turning out to be well spent.
I'm now making tentative plans for spin classes on Saturday mornings with the hubs (I totally hate that nickname but it seems fitting for fancy moms with gym memberships) in our near future.
That kid play area just became my bee eff eff.
(After Andrew died, I would've never imagined being able to write this post. #feelinggrateful)
It was the last day for a no joiner fee, so we figured we'd be saving a month's worth anyway since we planned to join in November. (...and now there's a no joiner fee from Oct. 23-25, go figure.)
I put on my Turkey Trot 5k shirt this morning and Benjamin noticed the big Y on the front. The Pittsburgh Turkey Trot is affiliated with their local YMCA, apparently. Benjamin told me he wanted to go back to "the Y place, that Y-M-C-day place again). Today, in fact. Perfect, because it turned out our plans were lining up quite nicely.
This morning, I dropped the husband off at work because his car is in the shop and we were on our way to the gym. I wanted to keep my streak of 5 days in a row workouts going. I usually run about 2 miles to Benjamin's school for pickup with Claire in the double stroller, but Benjamin doesn't have school on Fridays.
Claire is attached at the hip to me. I prefer she weren't, but she has other interests. Benjamin, on the other hand, probably wouldn't notice I left for about a week. When we approach places she's been left before briefly (i.e. friends' houses, church nursery), she clings to me like ferocious lions are at my feet.
Needless to say, I was a little nervous about leaving her at in the free gym daycare dropoff. I chose a Friday so Benjamin, one of her safe people (never thought I'd use those words!), would be with her. I was nervous that without him there, she would be more likely to scream her lungs out for the whole hour I left her. I just didn't feel right leaving her in the arms of poor gym daycare workers, knowing how busy they were and knowing it's really not their job to engage with my kids so much as keep them safe.
Because baby, you know if I get "free" childcare that doesn't have to be re-payed in any way, I'm using it.
She cried at dropoff. I showed her the babies and she was thrilled, but that didn't stop her from looking at me with betrayal eyes as I skated out.
So guess what? I ran 5 miles on the treadmill. Sure, it was at zero incline, but I just kept running my buns off until I was left with little time for any more. I haven't run 5 miles ever in the state of Illinois. Seriously. I haven't ran that distance since living on the beach in LA about 6 years ago.
It felt good. It felt great. I could've kept going even. But alas, the clock was ticking.
When I clocked out and cleaned the machine, I went over and spied on Claire from the top railing (such a cool feature) and she and Benjamin were content playing with toys. I scooped them up, at which time Claire started her betrayal crying again, and we hit the pool, had nice warm showers and headed home for lunch.
That $79 a month is turning out to be well spent.
I'm now making tentative plans for spin classes on Saturday mornings with the hubs (I totally hate that nickname but it seems fitting for fancy moms with gym memberships) in our near future.
That kid play area just became my bee eff eff.
(After Andrew died, I would've never imagined being able to write this post. #feelinggrateful)
Wednesday, October 14, 2015
Claire's Dresser
Some months back, I visited my favorite local thrift shop and came out with a dresser for $45. It's solid wood and has tons of charm. And best of all, it was in really great condition. The only thing I hated about it was the huge oval and outdated, painted flowers that adorned the front. Easy, I could paint that, I thought.
I texted the picture to the husband and posted it on Instagram. Instagram response was a solid positive. The response from the husband wasn't negative. If you have been married awhile, you know any answer that isn't no is obviously yes. So I bought it. But, it didn't fit in my car. I called my friend (who has since moved to St. Louis!) and told her I needed to borrow her van. She asked if I was at that exact thrift store (she knows me...) and she told me she'd be by in 5 minutes because she was across the same street at the grocery store. She picks the dresser up and delivers it to my house. Boom.
It sat in the garage for a month or two. Gathering up the energy to get started took awhile, but I knew it had to be done before winter and no one likes working in a cold garage. So...
Before painting, there was sanding. If anyone who has ever refinished furniture knows, the prep is the worst part. It wasn't much different than the rest of my refinishing projects except NAPTIME. I did my major dresser project for our master bedroom when B was napping. Not just napping, but two times a day for 3-4 hours total. I had gobs of time. Now, I'm lucky to get a single hour to knock anything out because B doesn't nap at all (and therefore wants books and mom time) and C naps much shorter than B did at her age (1.5-2hrs a day total). By the time I would read a few books to B, set him up with a movie, drag out all my supplies, and get myself prepped and ready, I had almost no time to actually work.
Chipped away slowly and it's done. It's not perfect and there are some things I'm disappointed about, but it's done and I'm mostly happy with the results. It will look a whole lot cuter with the picture frames of colorful, artsy cards I've been collecting above it in Claire's "big girl" room, but here's the before and after:
Total cost of the project = ~$100
Dresser: $45
Sanding/Painting Supplies: $20-$30 (overspent here, clearly)
Knobs: $20
Blast from the past, 2.5 years ago:
First dresser project
Second dresser project
I texted the picture to the husband and posted it on Instagram. Instagram response was a solid positive. The response from the husband wasn't negative. If you have been married awhile, you know any answer that isn't no is obviously yes. So I bought it. But, it didn't fit in my car. I called my friend (who has since moved to St. Louis!) and told her I needed to borrow her van. She asked if I was at that exact thrift store (she knows me...) and she told me she'd be by in 5 minutes because she was across the same street at the grocery store. She picks the dresser up and delivers it to my house. Boom.
It sat in the garage for a month or two. Gathering up the energy to get started took awhile, but I knew it had to be done before winter and no one likes working in a cold garage. So...
Before painting, there was sanding. If anyone who has ever refinished furniture knows, the prep is the worst part. It wasn't much different than the rest of my refinishing projects except NAPTIME. I did my major dresser project for our master bedroom when B was napping. Not just napping, but two times a day for 3-4 hours total. I had gobs of time. Now, I'm lucky to get a single hour to knock anything out because B doesn't nap at all (and therefore wants books and mom time) and C naps much shorter than B did at her age (1.5-2hrs a day total). By the time I would read a few books to B, set him up with a movie, drag out all my supplies, and get myself prepped and ready, I had almost no time to actually work.
Chipped away slowly and it's done. It's not perfect and there are some things I'm disappointed about, but it's done and I'm mostly happy with the results. It will look a whole lot cuter with the picture frames of colorful, artsy cards I've been collecting above it in Claire's "big girl" room, but here's the before and after:
 |
| Notice: great big oval in the middle. Be gone, painted flowers and random oval! |
 |
| Detailed projects are my favorite pieces and also the hardest to work with. So. much. sanding and cleaning in grooves. |
 |
| Crystal knobs were purchased on Ebay for about $20 and sold the old ones on Ebay as well. I ordered two sizes: top small drawers and big bottom drawers |
 |
| I also took a picture of the top piece unattached (and covered the bottom in adhesive felt in case Claire happens to dislike it--easy removal). |
Dresser: $45
Sanding/Painting Supplies: $20-$30 (overspent here, clearly)
Knobs: $20
Blast from the past, 2.5 years ago:
First dresser project
Second dresser project
Wednesday, September 30, 2015
Empathy Brownie
Claire typically has storytime at our local library Wednesday mornings while Benjamin is in school. The session just ended, so I invited over a mom who lives in my neighborhood for a playdate this morning.
Just as she was leaving and I was grabbing my things for preschool pickup, the phone rang. The school nurse called to inform me Benjamin had fallen and scraped his forehead, been cleaned up, given a bandage and an ice pack. Paperwork was added to his backpack about his fall and signs to look for in case of a concussion.
As he walked out of the school, I could tell he wasn't himself. He definitely had a goose egg and a scratch along with that bandage and ice pack. His backpack had the routine paperwork. We go to the park in front of his school every single day after school. Today, he said he wanted to go home. He reluctantly allowed Claire a few minutes of swing time and we were off. He didn't appear to have a concussion and no spoilers here (he didn't!). I assume he was both feeling a headache from his small head injury and also in an uncomfortable funk because he just hurt himself for the first time without Mommy present, had another (likely stranger) adult console him and another stranger (nurse) caring for him. He also probably felt embarrassed for having hurt himself at all and needing this attention.
Instead of going home so early, I figured we'd head to one of our favorite pizza places for a few slices. They love this place, especially because they have lollipops for the kids that they always choose as a treat when the meal is over.
We ordered and sat outside like we always do. Claire began to throw a fit. She was crawling on the table and screaming. And at that point, the wind was so strong that it was blowing our cups down. I schlepped our pizza and cups and napkins and stuff and two kids inside the restaurant and plopped down in a booth. Phew.
Claire continues the battle with no end. She's pulling me this way and that, grabbing at things, knocking down other things and insisting we move tables again. I helped her carry over her slice of pizza to another table and put it down. Then she promptly swoops it up and chucks it on the floor, face down, obviously. Luckily the cheese wasn't super melty, as it had plenty of time to cool off and coagulate at this point. It remained fully intact and the seemingly clean floor showed no signs of the fall.
I try to maintain some peace while tables of other patrons are eating their lunches, assuming they might get a break from the noise of the day. It wasn't so. I threw up the white flag and started grabbing our things, stacking our pizza for a quick exit, throwing away our full water cups, putting back condiments, stuffing excess stuff into the crevices of my purse and schlepping kids outside.
Another mom with her two kids stops me and hands me something (I had seen her purchasing at the counter). It was wrapped in a bag and she said, "You're doing great. I know those days. This is for you."
She handed me an empathy brownie.
And so we went home with a screaming baby who continued to tantrum for another half hour and throw food all over the (home) kitchen multiple times. And what happened to that pizza that landed face down? I peeled off and discarded the cheese (that touched the ground) that revealed the (untouched and buried) sausage and saucy crust of which I cut it into tiny pieces and fed to that angry baby. It's cleaner than the majority of the world has for lunch, I guess. #judgeme #goahead
Terrible twos, we welcome you again. Please be kind.
Just as she was leaving and I was grabbing my things for preschool pickup, the phone rang. The school nurse called to inform me Benjamin had fallen and scraped his forehead, been cleaned up, given a bandage and an ice pack. Paperwork was added to his backpack about his fall and signs to look for in case of a concussion.
As he walked out of the school, I could tell he wasn't himself. He definitely had a goose egg and a scratch along with that bandage and ice pack. His backpack had the routine paperwork. We go to the park in front of his school every single day after school. Today, he said he wanted to go home. He reluctantly allowed Claire a few minutes of swing time and we were off. He didn't appear to have a concussion and no spoilers here (he didn't!). I assume he was both feeling a headache from his small head injury and also in an uncomfortable funk because he just hurt himself for the first time without Mommy present, had another (likely stranger) adult console him and another stranger (nurse) caring for him. He also probably felt embarrassed for having hurt himself at all and needing this attention.
Instead of going home so early, I figured we'd head to one of our favorite pizza places for a few slices. They love this place, especially because they have lollipops for the kids that they always choose as a treat when the meal is over.
We ordered and sat outside like we always do. Claire began to throw a fit. She was crawling on the table and screaming. And at that point, the wind was so strong that it was blowing our cups down. I schlepped our pizza and cups and napkins and stuff and two kids inside the restaurant and plopped down in a booth. Phew.
Claire continues the battle with no end. She's pulling me this way and that, grabbing at things, knocking down other things and insisting we move tables again. I helped her carry over her slice of pizza to another table and put it down. Then she promptly swoops it up and chucks it on the floor, face down, obviously. Luckily the cheese wasn't super melty, as it had plenty of time to cool off and coagulate at this point. It remained fully intact and the seemingly clean floor showed no signs of the fall.
I try to maintain some peace while tables of other patrons are eating their lunches, assuming they might get a break from the noise of the day. It wasn't so. I threw up the white flag and started grabbing our things, stacking our pizza for a quick exit, throwing away our full water cups, putting back condiments, stuffing excess stuff into the crevices of my purse and schlepping kids outside.
Another mom with her two kids stops me and hands me something (I had seen her purchasing at the counter). It was wrapped in a bag and she said, "You're doing great. I know those days. This is for you."
She handed me an empathy brownie.
And so we went home with a screaming baby who continued to tantrum for another half hour and throw food all over the (home) kitchen multiple times. And what happened to that pizza that landed face down? I peeled off and discarded the cheese (that touched the ground) that revealed the (untouched and buried) sausage and saucy crust of which I cut it into tiny pieces and fed to that angry baby. It's cleaner than the majority of the world has for lunch, I guess. #judgeme #goahead
Terrible twos, we welcome you again. Please be kind.
Monday, September 28, 2015
The Here and Now
It's been almost a month since I've come to this space. I haven't had much time to read blogs, let alone write them. My head has been in so many places and this post is barely scratching the surface.
We had some good friends move yesterday. They're only 4 hours away, but they were a family who totally rallied around us when Andrew died. They were good (new) friends before, but morphed into great friends after. It's rare that loss can bring friendships closer, especially with those who haven't experienced any child loss themselves. They defied the odds on that one and we're abundantly grateful. They stayed with us the final five nights here in Illinois and it was so nice.
I drove in the direction of their former house today while running errands and was saddened by it all. We've lived here almost exactly 5.5 years and I'd be lying if I said I didn't feel the itch to go. There's a lot in that statement, but mostly it's just being a nomad at heart and loving the adventure in life. Surely stability is immensely important for children and I get that. I married an adventurer and we love to explore. Having great friends move on to their new adventure doesn't help tame that spirit.
I've been working on a dresser for Claire's big girl room that's been painted white. I added crystal knobs and it's about 99% done. I just need to get a little sandpaper out for the drawers to fit just right. Blog reveal to come.
Benjamin's school is going incredibly well. We love his teacher and I attended his curriculum night a week ago. I had to fight back tears a number of times for so many reasons: Andrew, missing my career in the classroom and also because I was just so at ease that Benjamin was in the perfect place for him. We made the right choice.
We stay after school every day to play at the park in front of his school. It's convenient because I can bring a lunch, there are similar-aged school friends available to play, Claire can partake and I can get a little social time in with other adults. If we went straight home, we'd be isolated at home having lunch and there'd just be more crumbs in the dining room. One mom often shows up from across town to take her youngest just to the park because this particular park has a firetruck that he loves. (He even wears his firetruck shirt each time.) She's come enough times now that they starting packing a lunch just to eat with us. We either walk home with the stroller or drive home. If walking, we have a routine of stopping by at this disc swing on our way home that's hanging in one of my neighbor's side yard. And then it's off for home and nap and afternoon adventuring. This will all change when the cold weather sets in.
That's probably part of my interest to adventure and run; winter. I hate winter and I especially hate December. After August and the end of summer comes the -ber months of which start out nice and end cold and painful.
With this summer being so incredibly awesome having a perfect vacation, Benjamin growing out of his terrible-two-three-ness, Claire being big enough to walk and rally, Benjamin learning to swim, and taking advantage of the outdoors at every chance we can get, we're just not ready for it to end.
We decorated for Halloween a bit today and Benjamin ran around for a few hours in a costume I picked up this morning on a whim. At least October is looking promising.
We had some good friends move yesterday. They're only 4 hours away, but they were a family who totally rallied around us when Andrew died. They were good (new) friends before, but morphed into great friends after. It's rare that loss can bring friendships closer, especially with those who haven't experienced any child loss themselves. They defied the odds on that one and we're abundantly grateful. They stayed with us the final five nights here in Illinois and it was so nice.
I drove in the direction of their former house today while running errands and was saddened by it all. We've lived here almost exactly 5.5 years and I'd be lying if I said I didn't feel the itch to go. There's a lot in that statement, but mostly it's just being a nomad at heart and loving the adventure in life. Surely stability is immensely important for children and I get that. I married an adventurer and we love to explore. Having great friends move on to their new adventure doesn't help tame that spirit.
I've been working on a dresser for Claire's big girl room that's been painted white. I added crystal knobs and it's about 99% done. I just need to get a little sandpaper out for the drawers to fit just right. Blog reveal to come.
Benjamin's school is going incredibly well. We love his teacher and I attended his curriculum night a week ago. I had to fight back tears a number of times for so many reasons: Andrew, missing my career in the classroom and also because I was just so at ease that Benjamin was in the perfect place for him. We made the right choice.
We stay after school every day to play at the park in front of his school. It's convenient because I can bring a lunch, there are similar-aged school friends available to play, Claire can partake and I can get a little social time in with other adults. If we went straight home, we'd be isolated at home having lunch and there'd just be more crumbs in the dining room. One mom often shows up from across town to take her youngest just to the park because this particular park has a firetruck that he loves. (He even wears his firetruck shirt each time.) She's come enough times now that they starting packing a lunch just to eat with us. We either walk home with the stroller or drive home. If walking, we have a routine of stopping by at this disc swing on our way home that's hanging in one of my neighbor's side yard. And then it's off for home and nap and afternoon adventuring. This will all change when the cold weather sets in.
That's probably part of my interest to adventure and run; winter. I hate winter and I especially hate December. After August and the end of summer comes the -ber months of which start out nice and end cold and painful.
With this summer being so incredibly awesome having a perfect vacation, Benjamin growing out of his terrible-two-three-ness, Claire being big enough to walk and rally, Benjamin learning to swim, and taking advantage of the outdoors at every chance we can get, we're just not ready for it to end.
We decorated for Halloween a bit today and Benjamin ran around for a few hours in a costume I picked up this morning on a whim. At least October is looking promising.
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