Book Report #2 Grace, not Perfection

       

           So I'm currently sitting in my lunch room at work, 15 min before my shift starts, sipping my coffee and JUST finished this book. Let me start by saying this was on my reading list, but not nessecarily in cue. I was looking for a different book when I was having my me time (glorious glorious me time). This was in the discount area, and since it was on my list, I scooped it up. I absolutely devoured this book. I absolutely love it, and it's not like a read it once type book. It's one that I will definitely fall back on again and again.

          The book is written by an entrepreneur, mother/wife, Christian, and is basically exactly what I needed in my life in the season I was in (book lingo te he). I feel like the very best time to read this book is when you become a mom, or are about to. The book gets you to stop chasing the unobtainable goal of perfection, and embrace the chaos. It has interactive points too, that I plan on going back to do now that I have read the book. It may have even made me think of renaming this blog and starting a new project as well.

            Not for a second do I think this book is for all. I feel like there are things that you can relate to, but better as a mother. Also there is a lot of faith along the way, so if that's not your cup of tea, you may find yourself rolling your eyes. 

          I found comfort, peace, and contentment in this book, and absolutely love it. Book report complete.

          K, Luv ya, Bye!

          Nancy

         So, we just went clothes shopping for Jake. There were some great sales on for the long weekend, and we had some fun. Here's why this is relevant. #1, It is actually one of the first times we've had to. We have been exceptionally blessed by friends and family who have come bearing gifts and kept us escorting a sharp dressed little man out of the house. I sat down and gave it some thought what I wanted his summer wardrobe to look like and found awesome deals.

         #2 He's got his own personality and tastes now, so when I show him an article of clothing, I get a reaction...the shorts weren't terribly exciting to him, however there was a real hoodie that got a big reaction, and the paw patrol t shirts? Forget about it.

         So this was our exciting adventure today. How are you enjoying  your long weekend?

       K, luv ya, bye!
     
       Nancy

       

Now I'm not stealing his thunder

     

  I have wanted to do this post for about a month. I have waited because my husband has changed jobs, and I wanted to just gush about him, but I left it so he could announce it first. Now that he has, let's open the floodgates.

          Let me start by saying he worked his Las job for almost 12 years. In that time he played the role of the steady paycheck. Meanwhile I worked toward my career, got my career, fought for my career, got laid off, started a new career, went on maternity leave and have since returned to work...it's his turn ( not to say I'm not still moving forward with what I'm doing,  but this isn't about me).

         My husband recognized the hamster wheel we were stuck in, and put himself out there to improve our lives. What's more, he genuinely seems happy, exhausted, but happy. I can't begin to express how proud and thankful I am for him and all his hard work and love he has for our little family.

         Cale is my person, in every sense of the term, and I am incredibly blessed to have him in such a pivotal role in my life.

       K, Luv ya, bye!
       Nancy

Biggest Mistake I Made on Maternity Leave

         

          It's confession time. Since hindsight is 20/20, I can now look back on my maternity leave and realize what my BIGGEST mistake was.

          So, I feel like I'm not alone in what my expectations where. I thought I'd be on leave, I would accomplish so much around my house, I could do some of the things I wanted to do for me, and it would be great. At first, this was all true...then Jake was born. Suddenly, I'm trying to get stuff done, get enough sleep, successfully breastfeed, successfully get him to sleep, and it was overwhelming and exhausting, and I gave up on accomplishing ANYTHING. THAT was my biggest mistake.

          So absolutely, in the beginning, I should have taken a deep breath, and accepted that my laundry was piling up, clean, but not folded, and napped when I needed to. But, I fell complacent, and house bound and thought how much effort it would take to get stuff done and keep Jake happy, or god forbid, leave the house with the baby solo. I rarely left the house without Cale, and drive? NOPE! I think up until about a month ago, I drove maybe 7 times in 2 years.

         Well life recently smacked me in the face and reminded me to wake up! I'm an adult, and need to get my crap done. Does it take longer to clean my house? Absolutely, I have a 1yr old to keep checking on if I don't hear his baby shark toy singing, or I'm being chased hearing "mum mum mum" behind me. But I CAN do it. Driving? I'm driving the car and taking the car to work, which sounds small, but it was like NEVER parked in my work parking lot before. I also drive with the most precious cargo to me giving me stink eye from the backseat (no pressure).

         All of this may sound SO small and insignificant to some, but I feel like I'm starting to be my own human again, not exclusively a caregiver (a role I love, but not the only role I want to play). So in conclusion, biggest mistake I made was under estimating myself.

        K, Luv ya, Bye!

        Nancy

Jake is independent, but is Mommy?

   

    I can't begin to tell you how many times I've thought to myself, " if I had just a little time at home without Jake around I could get stuff done". Well I dropped Jake off at the sitter about 2 hours ago, so I didn't mess with his schedule...know what I've done? Miss Jake! Seriously, there are times where I groan and say, "dude, 5 min, please"...I had 2 hours, and actually cried at one point. I would say, this is probably the first time I've been alone in the house (excluding miss independent, Alice) since he was born...and it's blowing my mind.

         I suddenly felt like I took our time together for granted, and I would love to tell you, this experience will change me, and I will treasure every last second, but let's be real here. It does make me smile, because it shows me I genuinely adore being around the kid, so much, I can't even Express. I do have to say, yes he loves being with me too, but I love his independence too. When I dropped him off this morning, he sat smiling and waving for me to leave. I guess this is a gushing post really. There you have it, I love my kid, and his personality is incredible.

         It's seriously a good thing I've figured out how to do stuff WITH him, because I'm way less productive without.

       K, luv ya, bye!
       Nancy

Date Night

       

         Can I just say how ridiculous the price of going to the movies is? I remember being told how crazy it was when I was a kid...but if I had $10, I got in and got my large refillable popcorn. That doesn't cover my ticket now. This said, between my scene points, and a Christmas gift card, we saw Captain Marvel last night and had a medium pop and a small popcorn. Why is this blog worthy? Well for one, I haven't blogged in a while. Between going back to work and Jake's first Birthday party, blogging has disappeared a tad. The second reason, Cale and I got our first date since Jake was born. Our last one was just before he was born and we saw Black Panther.

         Captain Marvel was awesome  and the soundtrack was a huge dose of nostalgia, especially if you were a girl in the 90's. My Brother and Sister in-law have been visiting, and stayed with and put Jake to bed last night (first time anyone outside of us has done bedtime) and in true Jake fashion, everything was fine. Makes me hope we don't go another year before another date night.

A Morning Routine

     

           A week from today I return to work, and I'm attempting to get myself into a routine. Long gone are the days of getting up a half hour before I have to leave. I may have mentioned I was trying before, but honestly I had more desire to sleep than get up and get ready, so I 100% spent days in my pajamas. Today however I reminded myself of when I used to cover the morning show at the radio station and how I needed a week to get used to this. So after laying in bed wanting to go back to sleep after my alarm, I got my butt out of bed.

          I did zero of my night before prep work that I 100% intend to do to make my life easier when I go back, which is part of why I'm focused on just me today...in the coming weeks, Jake will be up at this point (7am). What sucks SO much is he used to always get up at 6am, and then in the last month, he started sleeping past 7:30. I did 3 years of high school where I was supposed to be up at 6, and it was a struggle every day for 3 years...who knew having a kid could get me used to a 6am alarm...and now he sleeps in later than me. Honestly though I'm thankful for the consistency, because I feel more comfortable when I'm on a routine.

       This morning I was able to workout, get makeup and hair done get dressed and have a HOT coffee...that doesn't happen.

        The sleeping prince wakes early today! Gotta go!

        K, Luv Ya, Bye!

         Nancy