Keep it in Perspective

Things have been super stressful lately - I'm really busy at work, taking work home with me every night, and Conrad was REALLY fussy and sick this past week. It turns out our sweet baby had what is commonly known as "Hand, Foot, and Mouth" disease. A virus that is apparently common in babies but causes uncomfortable blisters in their mouth/throat, feet, and hands. Our little guy just wouldn't eat, was fussy, and seemed listless and tired. Sean took him to the doctor, and although there is no medication and he's already seeming better, at least we knew what was wrong. As most moms can probably agree, its HORRIBLE not knowing what is wrong with your little one.

I was thinking as I was driving home how stressed I was - with work, a sick child, money (we have a beautiful home but this area is EXPENSIVE to live in!), keeping the house clean, relationship stuff...you name it. Then as I was browsing Pinterest, I came across this:

Hello!!!! First world problems I have - a job I love that pays me well, a lovely little "small town" in the midst of crazy busy suburbs, a beautiful home (and our second home at that! we were fortunate that we bought our first house very young), and friends and family that love me. Plus, despite him being sick, I have these precious moments with this amazing little one:

So, I slapped myself and said "Wake up, Elizabeth!" And be thankful for what you have. Sure, money is tight, but freaking cut back on your Starbucks!!!!!! Sure, your house is a mess, but hey, you'd rather spend time with your baby, and as mom always said "No one was ever killed by a dust bunny". Sure work is busy but YOU HAVE A JOB. As I said, first world problems.

So, I am now trying to be thankful every day for what I have and keep in perspective all my issues. And you know what? It's helped!

 I highly recommend it.

Attempting to keep it together 24/7,

Elizabeth

Thankful Thursday

It's that time of the week again - can you believe it's already Thursday? Work has been SUPER busy lately so that makes time fly by. Speaking of work: having a full time job as well as being a mom makes those precious moments that I get to have to myself (and not doing laundry, cleaning, or organizing) extra enjoyable. So this Thursday I'm thankful for FREE TIME!

Whenever I do get those precious moments I love 

 

Reading

 

Drinks with Girlfriends

 

Running outdoors

 

Writing

And much to my wallet's dismay...shopping!

These moments of free time are all too fleeting but are so important. It's nice to be able to focus on things that are not so serious every now and then and to relieve some stress. It's great to have a partner in Sean that realizes this too and so he'll watch Conrad for me so I can make time for myself. And vice-versa. Before I'm a mom, wife, daughter, sister, or friend, I'm ME, Elizabeth, and it's good to spend time on myself every once in a while. What do other moms like to do in your (if you have it) free time?

Attempting to keep it together 24/7,

Elizabeth

Is this real life?

There's a phrase that is thrown out that I've heard a lot of lately that I don't agree with: "Perception is Reality". That whatever you put out there is how people will read you. Sure, if you're meeting someone for the first time and you don't make a great impression (maybe you had a bad morning, have a headache, have a lot on your plate), people will judge you based on that initial meeting. Sure, we all put out there what we want people to see: the beautiful home, the great marriage, the perfect baby, the great style. Sure, we can act composed, put together, and "above it all" when we want to.

But if people actually believe our lives are like that all the time or judge us based on initial meetings, then I think that's their fault, not ours. So we've all heard the phrase "perception is reality" but how about "don't judge a book by it's cover"? Who knows what has led someone to act the way they do or respond to situations in a certain way? Here's another one: "put yourself in another person's shoes."

One of the most frustrating things about being a new mom is that people don't talk about the "real" stuff. The screaming for four hours straight at 2am stuff, the breast feeding is hard as shit stuff. The acid reflux, the ear infections, the mom guilt, the difficulty losing that last 5 (ok 15) pounds. The babies cost a fortune stuff! I sat back and thought, ok, women don't want to talk about that stuff for a reason. Why? Are we afraid it will make us seem weak, like not good moms?  Am I the only mother out there whose Christmas card experience was like this:

Perception

Reality

If I meet a mom and her kid is screaming, her hair's a mess, she's forgotten her diaper bag, she's wearing last night's sweats with boob milk all over (wait, is this me?), am I going to judge her? No way. Same with the mom who has her hair perfectly coiffed, smashing outfit, and a week's worth of baby arsenal in her Gucci diaper bag (although I will ask, what's your secret, who's your nanny, and how did you invent the 36 hour day?). Not going to do it. Or at least, I'll try. Unless either one of them is a complete brat...then maybe I'll chalk it up to a bad day...or headache. Because who knows?! That could be me (no, not the one with the perfect hair, the one with the 2 day old outfit on). And I've realized its ok to not be perfect all the time. If people perceive me as not having my shit together, it may be true. But like most new moms out there, I'm trying my best to juggle a career, a house, a marriage, family, friends - and oh yeah, a baby. While somewhere in there throwing in a minute or two to myself.

So how about it moms, please tell me that this motherhood stuff is HARD and that I'm not the only one who thinks so!

Attempting to keep it together 24/7,

Elizabeth

Run for Your Life!

So, yes, as mentioned in this post I am a perfectionist and can be slightly OCD sometimes. However, when it comes to working out and eating right I'm lazy. Oxy moron, hypocritical, whatever you want to call it - that's me. I think it's because I spend so much time worrying about other things that I am just too exhausted to take care of myself. That's where running comes in. No, I'm not necessarily one of those people who runs to "relieve stress" or "clear their minds" or "have me time or time to think". Nope, I run because I have to. And because for me, it's easy. And I hate the gym. H-A-T-E it. Wish I loved it, I've tried to make myself love it. But: no sparks. Me+Gym = Dull romance.

However, as I said, I'm lazy. So I need some motivation to run. Here's where races come in - thank the good Lord for races. And races for charity fundraisers - a double whammy! If I've signed up for a race, and in some cases, on top of that agreed to fund-raise for it, you'd better believe I'll be out there training! It gives me something to work toward, I feel proud of my accomplishment when I'm done, and I help people along the way. Win-win for all!

First Marathon Ever!

Running to cure cancer!

Bless Sean's heart - he meets me at every finish line no matter how early in the morning.

 A freezing cold start to the 2011 Marine Corps Marathon - running for The Lupus Foundation!

I think my tally is 3 marathons, 3 half marathons, a 20k, 2-3 10ks, a Tough Mudder, and countless 5ks. As long as I keep signing up (which, by the way is an expensive hobby!) then I'll stay in shape. However, with the little one now in tow, it’s much more difficult to find the time to train. I’m thinking of signing up for the 2013 Marine Corps Marathon through the American Cancer Society to motivate myself to run, although again, finding the time may be difficult. But that’s where motivation like this comes in handy:

Ain't it the truth?!  

Sean, you up for some babysitting (ahem, approximately 3 hours every Saturday during training season)?

Old School or Old Soul?

Let me tell you a little bit more about myself.

 

The person on the left is me on the outside, the person on the right is me on the inside:

  

Eh? What? Ok, so the person on my right is actually my grandmother (aka "Gampi") - my mom's mom whom I love to death. She is actually only 4' 10" so I'm kinda hunched over to be at her level in this picture - too cute.

Anyway, last night as we were getting ready to go to bed I was watching a movie on Turner Classic Movies (TCM - my favorite channel!) and my husband was making fun of me because I love so many "old school" things. He said I actually have an 80 year old inside my body. And he's not the first one to tell me this! My friends and family have said the same thing before. Why's that? Let me elaborate:

1. I love old movies. As stated, TCM is my favorite channel. I LOVE classic movies. Whether it's dramas and mysteries from the 1940s to musicals (yes, musicals), to Doris Day/Rock Hudson/Marilyn Monroe flicks - I'm there!

2. I love old music. And I'm not talking just Frank Sinatra. I'm talking my XM radio in my car has these two stations among my favorites: "Singers & Standards" and "40s on 4". And I'm admitting it. That’s not to say I don’t love music in other genres (bluegrass, rock, country, pop – you name it) but the old stuff is my fav.

4. My favorite cocktail is a Gibson. Or pretty much anything with Gin!

5. I drive a Cadillac. I don't see too many other people my age driving one but I love it!! Most comfortable car ever.

6. I love old TV shows. I Love Lucy is my favorite!

7. At all the parties I host I break out my silver and china from my family - why not use it even for BBQs? I always set a proper table down to the individual pepper and salt cellars.

So, these things may or may not make me old fashioned but I love them! I think I really am in a time warp and I'm supposed to be living in another decade  :)

Attempting to keep it together 24/7,

Elizabeth

Red Front Door

Well, we did it: we sold, closed, and moved out of our old house on July 16^th! What a ride these past 6 months have been. From preparing the house for sale, putting it on the market, then selling it, then trying to find a new one, it’s been a whirlwind for sure! Unfortunately, we were not able to find a new house in time to have coinciding settlements so we are in storage and staying with friends.

Little did we know that someone was watching out for us. After an emotional roller coaster of putting in three offers on three different homes and being outbid, our prayers were answered – and in a big way. The house we ended up offering on and winning is better than we could have imagined; so I suppose that all the heartache of not getting the others was worth it. Our dream home is bigger, has a front porch, a red front door, a hot tub, and a huge lot – all the little things we could want but didn’t imagine having. We have driven by this house before when looking at others but thought we could never afford it. But thanks to some financial advice from our realtor and the sellers lowering their price, our dreams were realized!

So, on August 31^st, as long as everything goes according to plan, we will close on our new house and move in to begin prepping for our new baby boy! I say “goes according to plan” because you just never know what can happen. So while we are extremely excited, we are trying to keep it subdued until we have those keys in hand and are walking through that red front door.

I have always wanted a red front door. Don’t ask me why – I didn’t have one growing up, I don’t know anyone who has one, and our old house didn’t have one. I think to me it symbolized the ideal home – colonial in a nice neighborhood with lots of trees, kids playing in the yard.  A welcoming sight, something different that said “that house is mine”. Of course, I’m sure there are plenty of red front doors on crappy houses in not-so-great neighborhoods, but to me, for some unnameable reason, it signifies home. A place we’ll bring our baby boy, where we’ll have Christmas and birthday parties, first steps, family dinners, playing catch in the backyard, and more babies!

So while we still have about 6 weeks ago, we are quietly celebrating the thought of moving in to what will hopefully be our “forever home” - dreaming about the day we’ll bring our baby boy through that red front door.

Attempting to keep it together 24/7,

Elizabeth

CH-CH-CH-CH-CHANGES!

Hi! I'm Elizabeth! Soon-to-be mom, wife, daughter, sister, and friend. I am starting this blog to keep our family and friends informed of all the goings-on in our household and as a sort of memory book to track all of life's adventures, happenings, and constant changes - yes changes!

And LOTS of them in this household! The first and foremost is that we are now EXPECTING! Yep, you read correctly!

Sean and I found out on February 14, 2012 that we are pregnant. Now a couple doctors’ visits later we have heard the heartbeat, taken lots of tests, seen him or her squirming for the camera and know that Baby M will be expected to arrive on (or around) October 17^th!

We’ve been trying to relax and take it all in, but unfortunately, this is also the time that we picked to sell our house and move! That’s right - we are putting our townhouse on the market next month in hopes of selling and buying a single family home. Perfect timing to grow for this new bambino. Now let’s hope that we can do this before I become as big as a house!

Attempting to keep it together 24/7,

Elizabeth