Crazy-Headed

You know that scene at the end of the Twilight: Breaking Dawn – Part One movie where Bella is sleeping on the surface (or seems like it) and she is screaming and writhing in pain in her head? I’m going through a similar situation. Okay, so it’s not painful, and I’m not sleeping, but on the surface I look like I do any other day (at least I think) but in my head I’m flailing my arms around and making unrecognizable gibberish noises. I have too much going on in real life and in my head to be sane anymore. I’m going to lose it. At any moment. Any. Second.

I have no idea how to calm myself. I can’t even stay up long enough after Emma goes to bed to have some wine and relax. I try to get some R&R when Emma is up and playing on her own, but after 30 seconds I usually get “Momma! Momma! Get up!” Ugh. How can I say no to my child wanting me? So I go from watching less than a minute of Peppa Pig (I didn’t say I get to watch anything for myself while relaxing), to sitting on the floor watching Emma pull apart the wooden train tracks I just put together for the twenty-second time in four days. [insert eye roll and sigh here]

At work, while I am in the one department now, I still have a huge chunk of another. I manage my time well. I’m a fast-paced worker. I can learn things quickly or take enough notes to where you never have to show me again. What I can’t do, is take two 30-40 hour demanding jobs and squeeze them into one 40-45 hour work week. Stuff is falling through the cracks and I’m losing my cool. I’m not good at handling confrontation, so I don’t like to disappoint. But it’s on the verge because it’s all growing, and I’m still one person. *Man, I hope upper management doesn’t read this and think I can’t do the job… I just need the authority to start holding people responsible or something. Or an assistant. ;-)

My “Super-Mom” friend Alyssa does about a million things with her kiddo, so I saw the need to start doing more activities with Emma. So, I signed her up for swim lessons. They don’t really teach you how to swim on your own, it’s all about basic water introduction and minor swimming approaches. I’m two weeks in and I’m exhausted. I’m sore. Literally, sore. The first week went fantastic! Emma was thrilled. She was in awe. She loved the water, loved the songs, loved the exercises and most of all loved watching the other kids. I was relieved. The second week, Grandma and PawPaw came to watch. Oy vey. It was fine at first, but I told my Mom to come down from the upper seating to get better pictures, and boy, was that a mistake. The rest of the time it was all “want out” or “wanna’ go up there.” Even when my Mom left the area (she noticed Emma wanted to play with her instead) Emma knew Grandma was still there so it didn’t stop. I really hope next week isn’t that bad because it might just be my breaking point.

Church is going well. We are in the book of Nehemiah through the summer. I can honestly say that besides the name, I can’t remember a darned thing about this book. I need to read it completely before next Sunday because I find myself losing my focus because I’m wondering what he’s going to do next. What’s funny is that this past sermon, Pastor Noah talked about the “Nehemiah Overflow.” It’s just a nickname really, but it’s that moment when you just can’t hide your emotion any longer, but it’s unintentional. You’ve probably all seen it at work for sure. Think of that one person who seems to just be so unhappy in their position that they are constantly wearing a scowl even though they act as if everything is okay. That scowl, that frown that they can’t hide, that’s the “Nehemiah Overflow.” Sometimes I wonder if there’s a look of crazy on my face at work. Hahaha.

Anyway, there are a few things with the church that have been tugging at me for a while (besides the fact that Emma doesn’t want me to leave her in toddler Sunday school). They’re stuck in my mind all the time (one more thing to fill my thoughts). I really want to get my foot in the church more, but I feel like Gene isn’t in it whole-heartedly like I am. I want to be more involved, but I just don’t see him getting into it because I think he’s still in the mindset of “we go because we are supposed to go, not because we want to go.” I want to go. I actually want to go Wednesdays too. What I don’t want to do is volunteer my time if my husband doesn’t want me to. Another is that I feel bad for people watching my child when I don’t take a turn and watch theirs. I have no idea who to talk to about this, but I would totally take a shift of Sunday School a time or two so that they can enjoy the sermon as well. Lastly, and this is probably just me trying to put icing on the cake here, but I wish the church was more… fun, for lack of a better word. Maybe the last church I went to was just that good, or maybe it was because I was young and got to do all the fun stuff, but I remember there being dinners afterwards. Or Mom-and-Me events. An Easter egg hunt, a play, a Halloween party, etc. This church is newer, and there aren’t nearly as many goers as the last church I was at, but I think a good church community is how you get it to grow. But I don’t think I’m the person who can make those changes happen.  Maybe I'm just needy.

I’m contemplating putting Emma in daycare. It's a tough internal struggle with this one. Some of you know the back story for this, but I recently had a need to get her into a daycare. I put it off out of fear, and things are kind of okay how they are right now. However, I can’t lose the thought for some reason. Something just keeps telling me to check out daycares and get her into one. Maybe it’s “momtuition” telling me that she could learn a lot about life and behavior from the environment. So, I’m making lists and Gene and I will be checking out some places on vacation next month.

Okay, I guess I’m done putting my burdens on you. Besides the crazy hectic life going on, everything is great! Emma is wonderful; getting bigger and smarter by the day. Gene and I are still employed, roof over our heads, cars that work, great kid, cute dog, etc. Family is good. Life is good. Hectic and crazy, but good. Now, here’s hoping I don’t lose my mind so I can keep watching it all happen!

Product Review: Ozeri Green Earth Textured Ceramic Nonstick Frying Pan (8”)

I was lucky enough to get the opportunity to review an awesome product by Ozeri!

Ozeri Green Earth Textured Ceramic Nonstick Frying Pan (8”)

I didn’t know much about this product when the opportunity presented itself to try it out and give it a review, and I’m not a cooking expert by any means, so I was worried that I’d screw it all up. However, this pan pretty much does everything for you! I was pleasantly surprised.

I racked my brain for over 24 hours trying to figure out what to cook. I could do eggs, but I bet everyone tries eggs on a non-stick skillet. I thought about grilled cheese or pancakes (my specialties), but would that even showcase anything? Then I figured it out. Mushrooms. I stink at sautéing just about everything, but mushrooms prove to be the hardest for me. I think the biggest challenge when it came to getting them just right was simply that my crappy skillets wouldn’t distribute the heat evenly, so I’d end up with some burnt, and some not done enough.

So, I bought a package of mushrooms and sliced them myself. I then realized that my small package of mushrooms was A LOT once you sliced them. No way would they fit into this 8” pan. So after I seasoned the pan I put half of the mushrooms in.

Low and behold, the mushrooms started to cook evenly, and FAST! Within a couple minutes I realized that I could in fact put the entire container of them in the pan to be cooked all together. So I did.

Here are my bullet-points:

- The walls of the pan are nice and steep; I didn’t lose a single mushroom. 

- The weight of the pan is heavier, so I do feel like this pan can stand up to our household. 

- The bottom of the pan is completely flat, which was nice because it didn’t teeter or spin around. 

- The handle provided an excellent resting spot for my spatula. 

- It was the easiest clean-up ever! There wasn’t even any leftover oil from seasoning the pan!

Here are Ozeri’s bullet-points:

• Unlike other ceramic pans,the Ozeri Green Earth Pan utilizes GREBLON - an ultra-safe ceramic coating from Germany which is 100% PTFE and PFOA free.
• Innovative textured pan surface delivers enhanced heat distribution and superior non-stick performance without ever releasing harmful fumes or toxins.
• Features a scratch-resistant 100 percent ceramic coating that is super easy to clean.
• Made out of durable heavy-gauge die-cast aluminum with no heavy metals or harmful chemicals.
• Boasts a comfortable heat resistant silicon coated handle and a magnetized induction stove safe base for rapid heat transfer.

One more bonus, it’s super affordable. The pan and lid both are $39.41 total on Amazon (I love a matching lid for any pan). Did I mention that they have different sizes too?

My overall thought: If you are looking for a frying pan, pick this one. You won’t regret it!

*I received this product at no charge in exchange for my honest opinion.

Amazon Link Above:  http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005470CB6       

Friday's Fifteen

Almost every morning when I’m driving to work I think about awesome things to blog about! However, as you’ve probably already guessed where I’m going with this, I forget before I have the time to write (which is almost never these days anyway). So what do I blog about? There are a few bloggers out there who do “Five on Friday” to recap the week’s events and such, but I don’t want to steal that idea from them, so maybe I will start my own thing and call it “Friday’s Fifteen.” I mean, how hard can it be to come up with 15 things from the week? Let’s try it…

1.  Emma acted strange all week. Extremely tired, clingy, low appetite, mood swings, and even a fever at times. She still has the sneezes, and a cough after she wakes up. I was thinking either allergies or walking pneumonia (kidding, but not kidding), but now I’m just thinking it might be allergies and/or teething.

2.  Gene went out with a friend on Wednesday night, so I picked up dinner from KFC on my way to my parents’ house, for me, Emma and my Dad. The drive-thru guy said “here are your two sweet teas,” to which I replied “one is unsweet right?” And do you know he had the nerve to say “yeah, that’s what I meant to say.” No. It was sweet. Then, I get back into Missouri, and realize that my green beans aren’t in there! I was going to deal with the tea, but I paid extra for Emma’s green beans! I turned around and went back and got my stuff straightened out. But they didn’t even give me a free cookie for wasting my time! Nice customer service. Bummer.

3.  I am going to look for an outdoor playset for Emma. She plays outside all the time at my parents’ house, but hardly ever at home bc we don’t have anything fun. I need to change that in a hurry.

4.  With Mother’s Day fast approaching I realize how little time I actually get to spend with my Mom. I’m over-the-moon happy that Emma gets to spend almost every day with her, but I miss my Mom.

5.  I finally got up the nerve to sing at church in front of Gene. Gene can be the most judgmental and awkward person, and being married to him doesn’t change that. Most of the time I can’t even be myself around him.

6.  I feel bad that the people who watch Emma while we are at church, during service, don’t get to be a part of the service. Do you think they stay for both and just watch the kids through one? What happens in the summer when it’s one service then? I want to volunteer for a day, but I’ve never watched someone else’s kid before, let alone a bunch!

7.  I am in dire need of Spring/Summer clothes. Either I change my ideas on fashion yearly, or I dressed like a slob last year! Or both. Either way, my options are limited and I’m not digging it.

8.  I didn’t have a good shopping trip at Target. They were out of the diapers I needed, they were out of the “free item with purchase,” I couldn’t find any clothes with Miss Emma running everywhere, and I forgot gift receipts, dog food and greeting cards. Oy.

9.  Work has been stressful. Better than my previous position, but stressful right now. Let’s just leave it at that.

10.  Some moms and I are trying to get a Supper Club started. I say moms, but they’re not all Emma’s friends’ moms. Anyway, a supper club seems like so much fun, so I really hope we do it!

11.  I’ve got baby fever!

12.  I asked my Dad if he’d want to take Emma to a swim class each week. They would only be able to do it if the time was just right, but Emma is usually all about my Mom, so I bet this would be something fun for her and her Pawpaw to do.

13.  I need to get the ball going on Emma’s birthday party. It’s two months away and if I keep putting it off I’ll be all stressed when it gets here. I found a funny ecard recently; it said: “You know those moms out there who seem to be able to do it all? I need to hire one of them to do some stuff for me!” Haha.

14.  I keep getting this tugging feeling to be a stay-at-home-mom. I have no idea why, because I like having money, but it just keeps resurfacing. Something keeps making me contemplate it.

15.  Emma is getting better by the day! She communicates so well now that we can have the best time! I know what she wants because she tells me, she understands what I ask her or what I tell her to do, and she can help decide the events of the day! I love it. I love her!

There you go! Fifteen things from the week. Thoughts and all. :-)

If I have enough hits, I might have to continue the post weekly!

See you next time!

We Went to Church!!!

I went to church.

Let me rephrase that… I WENT TO CHURCH!!!!

Okay, WE went to church. Haha.

Wait, let me get this right... WE WENT TO CHURCH!!!!

If you’ve been keeping up with my blog, you’ll know why that’s such a big deal to me. If you are new - first of all welcome - it’s a big deal because I have been yearning to go back to church for quite some time now. To spare everyone a repeat of all the details, you can catch up here if need be.

Our friends Cayla and Brandon moved back to the Lou from Florida recently. They came back for multiple reasons, but the main being that they are going to start a church in the city. I’m fuzzy on the details, but the main point to this is that they are back, and wherever they are, is where I want to be. Okay, that sounds so funny to me now. I should clarify. I say that I want to be where they are because I had no idea where Gene and I (and Emma) would fit in since we are not from the same religious background. I was so confused that I just put it off and we never went as a couple or as a family. I always knew that our best bet in finding a church home would be to follow the Smothermans. And they’re back, so we can!

So, with their invitation, we went to their church on Easter Sunday. August Gate.

August Gate (South City) is not in a well-known area to most. Some may even say that it’s not in the friendliest area – although the area is very updated and recently built-up, so yes, it is “friendly.” But, when you drive up, it is BEAUTIFUL! Seriously, in the middle, of a random neighborhood, you’re just driving along and there it is, in all its glory. Lol. I sound so sappy. But looking back now, I may have heard the choir sing as the sun was hitting it. “Aaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh.” Haha. I laugh, but it’s no joke. It was magical. I wish that there were pictures on their website because just the outside is inviting. Even the inside is pretty. The windows, the ceiling, everything. It’s. Just. Beautiful.

Anyway, moving on.

We walked in and while we didn’t know anyone there, everyone said their hello to us. I noticed that there was a coffee bar right there in front. That’s so nice. I love how relaxed they are. I can drink my coffee as we listen to the sermon! We saw the signs for the kids area and we headed that way. Emma was a concern of mine when it came to going to church. I know some don’t have “daycare” and some do. August Gate does, thank goodness. However, Gene and I have never left Emma with someone other than immediate family. We found the area, and it’s so great. So many toys, so much to do. I filled out a form and asked a few questions and Emma couldn’t care less that I was walking away from her, leaving her with people that I forgot to introduce myself to. Oops. It turns out that if she has a meltdown they will text me. Awesome!

Not only is that awesome, but looking around at the people there, it’s all families (well, mostly). It’s a lot of people like Gene and I; 20s or 30s and most starting a family. I think the reason I noticed that so quickly is simply because most of the time, Gene and I are hanging out with people in their 50s and 60s. It was refreshing actually. It was just the thing I needed to get Gene onboard. :-)

Having previously been a member of a Christian church, I knew that Gene was in for a culture shock (for lack of a better term). He’s catholic, and I’m sure everyone knows how uneventful Catholic Church is. I’m not saying it’s a bad thing, I’m just pointing out the difference. Anyway, August Gate had a pretty great band. The guy on the guitar in the back right corner of the stage was wonderfully into the song that they were playing. The man and woman who did the most singing were great! While Gene didn’t really tap his foot, or dance, or show much emotion, he seemed to enjoy it (even though he had this look to him like he felt awkward). In fact, at one point he grabbed my hand and held it. Nothing huge, but to me it meant that he didn’t dislike or disapprove.

Now, the sermon? It was heart-wrenching. It hit home. We went on Easter Sunday, so it was all about the resurrection. “He is Risen. He is Risen, Indeed!” I’ve read the Bible front-to-back in my younger years, but I think that I just wasn’t into it then. I knew the stories, I could recite scriptures, but I guess I had other things on the brain back then. Who knows. Either way, when Pastor Noah read verses from Luke, it hit me. I wouldn’t have believed. The women who went to tend to Jesus’ body in the tomb ran back to town to say that He had risen. The town people did not believe. They may have even followed Jesus while He was alive, but when He died they changed their minds. Even when those women told them what they had seen, they still didn’t believe. If I was there then, I don’t think I would have believed. And I’m ashamed.

I started to think more about why I wouldn’t have believed, and I keep thinking that I still have doubt today. How could I doubt God? I remember learning when I was younger that even the strongest of men can be swayed by Satan. Is Satan why the “what if” is in my head? I pray all the time, I talk to Jesus and God like they were walking beside me throughout my day, so why would I think “what if?” It’s like I’m saying “I believe in God, I love Jesus, but WHAT IF it’s all made up?”

That brings me to my next point… the movie The Invention of Lying ruined me. I can almost guarantee you that many, many people were slightly doubtful after that movie. I think it’s the reason I have doubt.

Getting back to my point of the sermon. Pastor Noah did a fantastic job. Have you ever noticed how no matter what the sermon is about, it’s always about you? By the end of the service I was crying. And I was relieved. Pastor Noah told me what I needed to hear. And he prayed with us (of course). I have been happy ever since. Seriously. It has been so long since I was truly happy, and I am now.

That being said, I’m hooked. I want to go back every Sunday. And on Wednesday nights they have gospel community so we can talk on a more personal level about what the sermon meant to you. Right now, just typing this out to you, I am getting teary because this is what I have been longing for, for so long. However, I’m trying to hold back. I don’t want to scare Cayla and Brandon with my obsessive need, and I don’t want to scare Gene away from wanting to go back (he’s from a town where church is just church and not fun). How do I squeeze my way into this without scaring people away?

If you’re wondering how Emma did in her hour and twenty minutes of “daycare,” we had to bribe her to leave. She didn’t want to leave with us, and she wanted to stay there with them. Lol. Makes me giggle thinking back to how I was luring her out with goldfish.

We chit-chatted a little bit with Cayla and Brandon (and their kiddos) before we left; Gene ended up having to go to work Easter Sunday so we couldn’t hang out longer. We did get a CD from the church for being a new member (so we can sing along next time, yay!), but I haven’t gotten to listen to it yet because it’s always either Elmo in the CD player, or I’m talking to Mom on the way home from work.

Every day I’ve been wondering when I get to go back. I’m one of those people that gets obsessed and paranoid at the same time. So in my head I’m saying to myself “What if Cayla and Brandon want it to be THEIR church and they were just being nice for the sake of Easter?” Or, “What if Gene isn’t going to want to go back? Am I going to go without him? If he does go, will he ever open up and get into it? Is it weird for him for us to do this together?” Oy. It’s like my brain just won’t stop.

I’ll pray about it, of course, and maybe you can too. :-)

Thanks for checking in… and if you have time, check out AugustGate. You’ll like it!

Jenni

Spring Ramble

It’s funny how a little goes a long way. A little smile can make me just beam inside. A little sniffle can make me worry all day. A little dance makes me want to quit my job and stay home every day. Yes, you’ve guessed it; I’m talking about my Emma. I seem to be infatuated these days. I am beyond happy to have her, and I just can’t get enough! She is now at the stage where she wants me around (granted, it’s ALL THE TIME) and I love that she does! Life is good. :-)

Okay, now that I’ve gotten that out of the way…….

Are you as excited for Easter as I am?!?! Not only will Emma really appreciate her Easter basket this year, and actually be able to help dye eggs, but we are going to church Easter morning! It’s a new church, so I’m sure we will all have jitters about it come Sunday, but I haven’t been in so long and I desperately want to get back. So, keep your fingers crossed that we are comfortable there as a family. :-) I’m already daydreaming about vacation Bible school for Emma, and church camp, and Sunday School. Lol. A solid church community is something I think everyone needs. It’s even in the laundry list of “things that will make you happy in life.” I’m excited.

My Mom and I took Emma to Purina Farms last weekend for an Easter event. It was great to see Emma’s reaction to everything! Baby animals to watch and pet, a dog show, sand layering, a wagon ride, etc. It was only a two hour thing for us because we were starving and she was getting tired, but it was great! I’m so glad we went. And I’m so glad that my Mom went with us. I hate to admit this, but I almost like it more when she goes with us instead of Gene. Haha. No offense to Gene, but I don’t think he’d pick up on the cute factor since he’s a male. And that whole morning was cuuuuuuute!

Here are some pictures from that morning:

That same day, but in the afternoon, I took her to The Little Gym for their open house. There was to be balloon animals, face painting, jamberry nails, etc. Well, I’m not sure what happened, but all that we saw was balloon animals. So, we played in the extremely-crowded gym for about ten minutes, and then we waited in line for 40 minutes for a balloon animal that turned out to just be a balloon shaker/rattle because she was done at 5 and our 40 minute wait took us to 5:20. Emma did get a cookie and lemonade on top of a goodie bag, so all wasn’t lost. :-) It was a good time. I may have even stopped for a tropical snocone on the way home for us to share. Mommy-and-me time to the fullest. By the way, I learned while we were at the gym that Miss Emma can now do flips on the bars with a little help. She’s obsessed with it too. My big girl.

I’m actually contemplating not renewing Emma at the Little Gym for the summer. The hours don’t work well for us since my Mom goes on Days, and Gene isn’t the greatest at handling her by himself, so I’m just not sure if I should or not. The only reason I’m still on the fence about it instead of just saying no, is simply because she absolutely loves it. It’s hard to tell your baby “no” when they get such innocent joy from it.  

I’m already behind on Emma’s birthday party. Haha. I know it’s not until July, but I’m so paranoid about picking the wrong venue that I just keep putting it off. Sky Zone would be fun, but for $400, is it really worth it at 2 years old? The Little Gym is a possibility, but also $200. Jaycee park is only $50 and would be great since it has a splash pad, but we’d be against the odds with Mother Nature (not to mention they’re booked already). So now I’m thinking our only options are at my house or my parents house, or The Little Gym. Ugh. I can’t decide.

Emma’s vocabulary is intense. She has full conversations now and it’s delightful and sad at the same time. How did she get so smart?!?! Where did my baby go?!?! Just this morning she kept on about how Pawpaw was asleep, and she wanted him to wake up, but since Gramma won’t let her she will play with his hat instead. Seriously?!?!?! It was more like “Momma! Momma! Pawpaw’s seepin, Emma wake, Gramma says no-no, Emma play Pawpaw’s hat too.” But still, a whole scenario all played out by Emma. It’s insane. She also counts to twelve now (that’s how high Sesame Street usually goes) and knows lots of letters (not in order though).

Oh, yeah. With her new knowledge comes a new phase. The “scared” phase. So, going back to the beginning… The bad Momma that I am, I vacuumed while Emma was home. I had no idea it panicked her so much, so when I was done with my one minute vacuum job I found her cowering in a corner of the dining room screaming and crying so hard that her shirt was soaked. In. One. Minute… Soaked! I was able to calm her down and I thought everything was okay, but that night she had a dream about the vacuum (I’m assuming) and it was non-stop blood-curdling screaming like she was dying for close to 10 minutes. It was bad. Really bad. We’ve had bedtime issues since, and now she understands the word “scared.” So, anytime she’s remotely scared or nervous, she cries and says she’s scared. When we rode the wagon, when we walked to the car, when we left Gramma and Pawpaws, when she doesn’t want to go to bed at night, and when Thomas the Train (toy) moves. Is this a phase that will pass? Is anyone else’s child dealing with this? Are there any tricks? I’ve tried a lot of talking and hand-holding, but it only goes so far. I scarred her for life with the vacuum!

For a bit of adult talk, granted I’m not sure if I should be talking about this publicly - some of you know this already, and some of you don’t… As of April 1^st I took over a new role at Crown Vision Center (full-time). I am now the Product Assistant (previously the Managed Care Administrator). I went from handling insurance matrixes, training stores on submission, answering help-desk calls, etc., to ordering and transferring product, meeting with vendors to pick product, etc. Do I like it? Yes. Let me rephrase that… YES!!!!! I no longer have the stiff neck and shoulders from the stress of being unhappy and I have a bit more freedom (which is hard to adjust to). I enjoy it a lot. However, with the enjoyment comes a lot more work. I work longer hours (which in all honesty I wanted fewer hours), I don’t take breaks like I used to, I sometimes eat at my desk, and I don’t get to make small talk “at the water cooler” anymore. But, I guess you have to take the bad with the good, right? It’s definitely a keeper.

With spring here (although you can’t really tell right now) I keep getting the urge to do things like fishing, camping, etc. None of which Gene has the slightest interest in. I’d go fishing by myself sometime, but I can’t take the fish off the hook. I’m too scared of getting “finned.” And he would probably go camping with some coaxing, but he’s not the manly type so I don’t think he’d be much help with putting up the tent or fire-building. It’s hard to do one-off things like that when your husband doesn’t care for the outdoors unless he’s at a baseball game. :-/

Speaking of baseball games, we haven’t been to a single one yet. I know, it’s nuts! If you know us, you’ll know that we are huge baseball fans (Gene more than me obviously). This year though, we didn’t buy our 10-game pack so we missed out on the Home Opener. In fact, we didn’t even watch the game. I took off work for Gene and I to go downtown, but it rained so I played with Em in the morning, Gene and I met Holli and Russ for drinks at the start of the game, but we left in the 2^nd inning to run errands and go pick up Emma. Am I upset? No. I had a great extra day with Emma! I also haven’t watched any part of a game since. Crazy, right? However, I am craving Busch Stadium and my Cardinals, so I need to go soon.

Back to spring though, the Farmer’s Markets are opening up. We stopped by one on Sunday, but because we already had plenty of food we didn’t buy much. If you know me, I’m a diehard Schnucks shopper, so I buy all fruits and veggies there. However, I’m going to try my hardest to buy from the locals because while I want to support my hubs and the company he works for, I also want to support our communities. I want to go down to the Soulard Farmers’ Market soon too. I keep seeing my Aunt Vicki post that she’s going, so I may just have to invite myself!

We did attempt to do something fun last night… we went to “Food Trucks in the Park.” It was cold. Haha. It was at Frontier Park in St. Charles, and it wasn’t as crowded (which we were hoping for) so we were super stoked, until it kept getting colder and colder. After two trucks we decided it was time to go. We got some cupcakes and went home to finish our food. Did you know that I want to own a food truck? I already have it all planned out in my head what I want it to be, but I stink at cooking and it’s a lot of work starting something like that. Not to mention that I have no idea if it’s even worth my time profit-wise. I guess it’ll have to stay a dream.

So that’s just some of the stuff that’s been going on. As you can probably tell from my jumbled mess of a post, this took me three days to complete. I just don’t seem to have the time to blog right now. I really need to get a better schedule going and give up some of my sleep time because I can’t seem to get much done. Who am I kidding though, I love my sleep. More wishful thinking I guess.

TTYL!!!

Too Busy to Blog - The Gist of My Current Life

Seriously guys, I have been so busy that I completely forgot about blogging. I know, how could that be?!?! Well, I know everyone has been busy lately, but let me just tell you that my busy schedule was doubled and my “busy-ness” is to the extreme. Side note - I wish I lived in Italy where it is okay to go slow and take time to enjoy the world and life happening around you!

For those of you that don’t know, I got a new job! Same company, but sometime around the beginning of February I became the Product Assistant; my previous title being Managed Care Administrator. Major shift! I haven't a clue what I'm doing in the product world. Lol. While I don’t have the time for a detailed post about it (like I would have liked), I did want to say a few things about what life is like for me right now.

As of right now there is no replacement for my old position. Whether they refill it or not is up in the air and I’m sure there’s a grand plan for it all, but as of right now there isn’t anyone. Well a few of my old responsibilities are not able to sit idle, and for the time being I am still doing those. So my weeks are split in half between the jobs (temporarily). On top of that, a friend/co-worker went on maternity leave just a couple weeks after I took my new position. She had a boy! He's so precious too. Anyway, while she is not in the Managed Care department, she did something that I am familiar with, so therefore while she is out I need to do parts of her job as well.

The stress is getting to me. My neck, shoulders and back are all feeling the pain and I am now seeing two different chiropractors until I can determine which one is better suited to fix me. I went to the doctor last week for pains and headaches – I need to have blood work done for him, but when am I going to fit that in?!?! I’ve had to cancel and reschedule appointments for doctors left and right because I just don’t have the time. I also need to get in to see the dentist because I broke a filling and I think I need a root canal (on top of my bi-annual cleaning). It’s seemingly too difficult for me to get in to fix my ailments though, so I guess I’ll hold off on that.

This past weekend I had the flu (I’m thinking that my tired and stressed out body was too weak to fend it off). Friday I went home from work sick. By the time I got home, my fever had spiked and I had some serious chills. I was delirious. It lasted for three days. By the end of the day Sunday, I couldn’t tell you what was real and what was in my head. Even Monday was foggy. I went back to work and it was like I was in a haze. I actually was clear-headed at the time, but like the weekend, I couldn’t tell you much of what happened that day. Clear-headed as I was though, I left early to go get a strep test, and sure enough I had strep throat. I took off Tuesday so I didn’t get anyone else sick. Thank goodness for antibiotics though because I had also developed a slight sinus infection and a bladder infection as well, and everything is slowly going away.

Anyway, I’m basically covering 2.5 positions at the moment, my hours are a bit longer, and by the time I get home from work I am beyond exhausted. I am jam packed on the weekends, and if you add in the flu this past weekend, I really don’t have any time to spare. I have gone to the grocery store maybe once since the beginning of February. I made my first Target trip last night. I send Gene to pick up random things we need when he leaves work. We get take-out way too much.

I’m spent. I’ve had no time for blogging. My home life is so routine now. I go home, we do dinner (whatever it may be), we play with Emma and do chores, we do Emma’s bedtime, then I sit on the couch to rest and fall asleep within 15 minutes. I mean, I’m fine with routine and all, but I can’t seem to fit anything else in. Not with this cold weather anyway.

To vent a second about my sleep, since I mentioned I fall asleep right after Emma does... I sleep about nine hours every night, but when I wake it’s like I slept three. I’m tired all day. Why? Do I need a new bed? Is my neck causing me to wake? I’ve tried to set my alarm to be up at 5am, but I’m miserable. I tried to stay up later and only get 6 hours of sleep, 7 hours, 8 hours… none are enough. The only time that I can honestly say I was okay with my sleep schedule since having Emma, was from the time she was about one month, until she was between eight and nine months. In that time frame I would wake in the middle of the night a couple times to feed her and put her back to sleep. I’d get about 6 hours of sleep a night and felt great. It was interrupted, it wasn’t sound sleep, but I felt great the entire day. I just have no idea why I am so tired all the time now. It’s frustrating.

Well, that’s the gist of my life right now. You know, besides the little details. :-)

I’m looking forward to warmer weather. For Emma to play in the back yard; to get outside and let her explore the world. I’m anxious for BBQs and pool time. I think we might even take a vacation this year. Each spring I am filled with endless thoughts of possibilities for the summer. Having a child is the most fun and rewarding thing ever. I can’t wait to see what she learns, what she does, her reactions, etc.

I’m also looking forward to the little things. My friend Liz is having her second child soon and I can’t wait to meet him. My friend Alyssa and I already have plans set this month and I’m sure we will have tons more with the kiddos when the weather cooperates. I turn 30 at the end of this month so there will be festivities. Gene and I are going to the Lake next weekend for a short getaway (Spring Break).

Life is busy, but it’s exciting. I just hope I can keep up!