me as a stay at home mom - part 2

Is the grass greener on the other side?

In case you missed part 1, I wrote about "me as a working mom".

Me as a stay at home mom:

It may seem weird, but during the course of my son's life I don't think I have ever spent 5 whole days in row, at home, with nothing else on my mind, except for "what will I do next". Even though I was at home sick, I got up every morning once my son left for school to clean the house. I ate breakfast in silence and took my time getting ready for the day. One day I walked to pick up babe from school and another day I drove and we decided to go to the park. Except I'm not familiar with his "favorite" park, so when I went to one, he INSISTED I go to another by "making a left at the corner". It was a little frustrating but I decided I had no other plans so I would try to find the park he was referring to.
During that week we did the following:
went to the park. went to the library. ate lunches and dinners together, at decent times, without any hassle. read everyday. worked on homework. I made a skirt. watched some DVR and didn't think about work.... not once. Babe seemed to listen more the first time and I didn't get as frustrated with him for taking SO long to decide when he was ready to take a bath.

So before I say what might be obvious, I want to make it very clear that I am super thankful for my job. I am thankful that I have a career that I am good at, and able to support my family with. My conclusion has nothing to do with my actual job itself (no matter how stressful) but more with my feelings about being a "working" mom and a "stay at home" mom.

So do I think the grass is greener on the other side?... In my personal opinion, I'm going to say Yes. No matter how great my job is, it absolutely does not compare to the thousands of moments I have already missed with my son. I can't get back those baby years, the most important learning and growing years before school. I would trade in the past 4 years as a working mom to be a stay at home mom in a heartbeat.

I know stay at home moms who would love to get away from their kids for a bit or are so stressed out from all the responsibilities that come with being a mom, trust me, I'm a mom, I know. So imagine that... PLUS all the extra added stress of a demanding 40 hour a week job. If my only worries during the day were those revolving around babe, I would be living a much happier life.

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rusty orange lace

How pretty is this lace dress?!

I love the blue and rusty orange together AND the fact that I only paid $8 for it.

 

I don't usually get very lucky while thrift shopping but when I get a chance to go with my mom I usually find at least one really great deal. I can take as much time as I want looking at everything and even trying stuff on. Unlike when I go with babe and he wants to leave after 5 minutes. On this trip I found a brand new Banana Republic blazer for $3!! ...and this dress, which you might notice is a tad big on me. But with my sewing skills lately, I think I can take it in a bit.... or not, if I get too lazy (it's not THAT big).

Any good thrift buys lately for anyone else?

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i ran a 10k...

...and it was a lot harder than I thought it would be. How the heck do people run marathon's?! It seems so impossible.
I had trained for about 8 weeks, never really running more than 2 or 3 miles, that might have been a mistake. Another mistake... running after NOT running at all for almost a week and a half because I was sick. And the 3rd mistake... running after not really getting over being sick.

My SIL drove me and my husband to a park over 6 miles away from our house. We stretched a little and then headed towards the sun setting (yeah, didn't do the sunrise run that I had planned). The first few miles seemed like a never ending path between the LA River and a Golf course. And once we made it to the streets, where street names were looking familiar, my husband pointed out that it would probably go a lot quicker. But then I "all of a sudden" kept getting this weird bubbly feeling in my throat, that felt kind of burning when it "popped" but not really popped... I can't explain it. But my husband knew what I was saying and he said "heartburn, silly". WTF, at of ALL the moments in my life to experience heartburn?! I seriously have never felt that before and it sucked.

Once we got close to mile 5 I was pretty sure I couldn't make it home. But my husband kept running and it was getting dark and I did NOT want to be so far behind him that someone would kidnap me... you never know. And 1 hour and 18 min after we started, we made it to our stopping point. When we got home I noticed a sign on the door that said Congratulations and I love? you! And when we opened the door to go inside my SIL and babe were standing and clapping. It was seriously the cutest, sweetest moment and so worth the 6.3 mile run. Of course the cause was also very worth the run as well. They must have known that I kept my commitment to run on/or before Oct. 27th and the next day they sent me my tote, with a few extra goodies.

I have to say that running is one of favorite exercises (which hasn't always been the case) but I will definitely be sticking to shorter distances in the future.

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me as a working mom - part 1

Is the grass greener on the other side?

For the past few days this "saying" has been #1 in my thoughts. It stems from the fact that I am a full time working mom, (have been since my son was born, besides the first 3 months) and last week (even though I was sick) I was basically a stay at home mom for 5 whole days.

Me as a working mom:

Growing up I couldn't wait to have kids. I always thought I would have kids at a fairly young age, but life doesn't happen the way you think it will... and instead my younger brother started having kids before me. Becoming an aunt was the best thing in the world, I loved those kids so much and spoiled them to death. But after a day or a weekend with them, I was happy to be alone and continue on with my week at work.

Work was priority to me compared to everything and at some point I just decided that kids would happen when the time was right, heck, I never even thought I would get married, so kids were far away in my mind. I eventually did get married in 2007 and in 2009 we had our babe. Work was still super important, so important that there was no doubt, ever, that I would continue as soon as my paid leave was up.  We were very lucky that my husband would be able to stay home to raise our son.

Over the past 13 years I have worked my butt off, at the same company, to get to where I am today. But the thing is, I'm not exactly where I want to be. I have had SO many ups and downs throughout the years that I'm amazed I'm even still there. There have literally been moments that I want to scream... no words at all... just a scream, or walk out the door and never look back, or cry. Of course crying is the less dramatic of the 3 and so I have shed many tears. Work has given me so much more stress than any job should give a person (in my personal opinion). And then there are other times when everyone is so appreciative, or there are new people for me to find and mentor, or new big, exciting projects to work on. Work constantly has me thinking about every second of every day... I hope I get up on time. how bad will traffic be. deadlines. meetings to set up. work to pass on. emails to address. stuff to print/pdf/send out. will I get home before dark? what will be for dinner? will I have time to exercise? play with babe? read babe a story? watch a show on my DVR? take a shower? (yes, I question that. the answer always ends up being yes though, duh!) relax? and then it starts all over again, exactly In that same order.

That is my life in a nutshell. Every day is the same. Every day I am away from home for almost 12 hours. Every day, every second, I am constantly over thinking every action.

In part 2 I will write about "Me as a stay at home mom", it was brief, but eye opening.

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a few favorites

This week hasn't been the best because I "all of sudden" came down with cold on Tuesday night. I stayed home from work the rest of the week and so you can imagine there's not much that happened during my week to be favorite "noteworthy".... oh except for the fact that, even though I had a cold, I was able to pick up babe from pre-k all week. It's SO fun getting to see him right after class because he voluntarily points out his project's and tells me what he did for the past 2.5 hours..

- in case you missed it... I did make this super awesome skirt, which I can't wait to wear in public, not just my backyard.

- also, my favorite food is French Fries...

can you guess how excited I was to find this jumbo eye pencil called "French Fries", SO excited. Not only is the name perfect but it's the perfect color that I have been searching for, a bronze brown (which was why I had even picked it up to begin with).

What is your favorite thing this week?

 

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navajo. aztec. tribal. skirt

So, can someone please tell me... are Navajo, Aztec and Tribal prints all the same or similar? Or is there a difference? I just don't know. But I love the prints I picked up this past weekend and couldn't wait to sew something up. Unfortunately I thought I would have to wait until the weekend BUT then "unfortunately" I got sick and stayed home for the past 2 days. I spent most of yesterday with a ginormous headache and trying to rest as much as possible. And even though I was still sick today, I didn't have a headache and so I busted out the sewing machine and whipped up a skirt.

If you already own a similar skirt and want another one, this post is for you... because that's exactly what I did.

Supplies:
lightweight knit fabric // 3/4" elastic // sewing machine // scissors // and hopefully an existing skirt as a template.

- fold fabric over and place existing skirt on top. you will notice my existing skirt tappers in at the top (waist), but I decided to cut an exact rectangle.

- add an extra 2.5 inches (for top and bottom) to allow 1 inch fold for the waist and a 1.5 inch hem. and about a 1/4" vertically to sew the skirt closed. 

- sew up the side.

- fold over the waist 1", BUT do not close it completely.

- measure your waist exactly and subtract about a 1/4" (depending on how tight or loose you would like the elastic to be on your waist)

- feed the elastic through the opening you left. you can do a quick hand stitch to close or use the sewing machine.

- fold over and sew your 1.5 inch hem

I'm really loving my sewing machine right now.

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a family weekend

a baby, pretty fabric and babe's happiness!

How cute is my new nephew... he is so tiny, so cute and I could just hold him forever.

I had the BEST time at JoAnns this past weekend, I could literally be in there for hours... and walk out with 2 items. I have a growing list of sewing items that will one day fill my imaginary sewing room.

Babe had the best weekend with his grandpa and cousins. My FIL came to see the new baby and so our house was filled with some of babe's favorite people. I love to see that smile on his face.

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i hate change

For the past few months our office has been waiting for our current lease to expire and ultimately decide if we would renew our lease or move to a completely different office building. We were finally informed that we would be staying in our current location but downsizing our space. With the downsize, it was decided that a huge chunk of the employees would be moving seats. Moving seats is always a big deal because the way we choose is by seniority, so the longer you have been there, the better the seat you will get... and everybody wants the best seat... by a window.

I am 2nd in line within our group (and in the top 10 within the office) and have been having a really hard time deciding where I want to sit. It seems so silly and so ridiculous but I have been coming up with excuses for all the options I have available to me. And THEN I realized, it isn't the actual seat itself at all... it's the fact that I have been sitting in the same spot for almost 7 years and I like my current spot and I don't want to move to the other side of the office. (Yeah, I just stomped my foot a little, like a 5 year old).

I hate change. Even when it's good change. It will take me forever to get use to the idea. I don't know why but I like consistency... familiarity. You would think I was 80 years old or something. I don't know why it took me all week to realize it was the change that was affecting my decision but now that I have realized it, I'm ready to just pick a seat using Eeny, meeny, miny, moe... because in comparison to the seat I have now, all the other seats in the office suck. Also, people are starting to give me dirty looks.... adults can be crazy!

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purple monster

Growing up I hated the color pink. I hated the little pink dresses, pink bows, pink ribbons, pink lace... I hated pink. So If I was ever given an option between pink and purple, I always picked purple. I wouldn't go as far as saying it was my favorite color but anything was better than pink, and my birthstone is an amethyst.
A few years ago for a wedding I had bought a purple dress. When I told my cousin what color I bought, she said "so your going to be a purple monster?!" and laughed. I gave her a funny look and asked what she meant by it and she said "oh, it's just what I think of when people wear purple". So every time I wear purple, I think of that comment and second guess the color.

 

However, I realize that I have worn purple quite a bit in the past few weeks and have decided the color is gorgeous and definitely doesn't make me look like a monster. What is the most random comment someone has made to you?

p.s. I have long gotten over my pink phobia.

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a peaceful moment & simplicity

I had a whole post written about my weekend but then realized that I really only wanted to share my absolute favorite moment. It was late afternoon on Sunday. Babe was outside playing in the dirt (literally, drawing roads in the dirt with his finger!) My husband and I were on the couch (him on his Ipad, me laying down), with the doors open. The sun was shining through with just the perfect amount of light, the air flowing through the living room was so relaxing, the neighborhood was SO quiet... no birds, no barking, not even babe running around screaming. It was surreal and peaceful, and for just a few minutes I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep.

I DON"T sleep during the day, ever... (ok, maybe once a year) and only during moments like this one. When the world is so silent and I have absolutely nothing on my list that has to be done at that very moment. I wish all weekend's had at least one moment like this. Quiet, Peaceful... Simple.

I'm not superstitious but I think this fortune is trying to tell me something. It's definitely a reminder that there is less than 3 months in the year and one of my new year resolutions was to live a more simple life. As hard as I have tried, I just don't feel like I have come even close to being satisfied with this goal. The good things is I still have some time. So I plan on making a list of the things I really want to simplify and hopefully cross a few off before 2014.

Any suggestions/advice?

 

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a few favorites

Can you believe it has been almost a month since I wrote a favorites post?! It seems impossible to me since I really enjoy jotting things down during the week to share with you all on Saturday, but somehow every Saturday just seems to pass me by.

Babe had picture day on Thursday. I can't wait to see his VERY 1st official school picture. I might cry.

Lately I have been listening to A LOT of Britney. In case you missed it: I'm going to see her in Vegas and I couldn't be more excited. Countdown - 4 months 7 days!

 

I came across this blog a few weeks ago called "Surviving and Thriving in the first year of my Divorce". On one hand, a divorce is tough for anyone. On the other hand, this girl's story is so interesting to read through, she can seriously write a book.

 

Merrick shared this pinterest board that her SIL came across and I can not stop laughing at the commentary. I haven't had a chance to look at this lady's blog but I'm so curious to know if there is some random story behind the board when she created it or what?! I mean she has a book coming out. I don't even know if this stuff is meant to be funny (obviously it is), it definitely makes me laugh. Seriously, you should spend your morning reading through it.

 

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Pumpkin Spice Coffee & Strawberry Dessert

As much as I love starbucks pumpkin spice lattes, sometimes they are just too much... too much pumpkin and too much money. I mean $4 for a tall?! I have seen a few recipe's for pumpkin spice syrups/creamers/coffee and they all seem a little too complicated for me. So today I wanted to share a super simple toned down pumpkin spice coffee ... and a dessert to go along with it, because what's coffee without a dessert.  

pumpkin spice coffee, you will need:
a nutty coffee (I love almond) // pumpkin spice // whipped cream

For 1 big cup (2 small cups in my coffee machine), add 1 teaspoon of pumpkin spice to the coffee grounds before brewing (a nice little trick I learned from Kristin). Fix your cup of coffee as you normally would (I like a teaspoon of raw sugar and sweet cream coffee creamer) and top with whipped cream.

strawberry dessert, you will need:
a handful of strawberries (about 7), Sliced // 1 full graham cracker. crushed  // whipped cream

In a small cup or bowl layer all ingredients twice. Strawberries, cracker's, whipped cream.  

 

Enjoy!

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i heart scarves

I have a slight obsession with the pretty pieces of fabric that keep my neck warm and cozy during the colder temp's. Between buying them myself, receiving them as gifts or having my mom make them for me... I have well over 30 scarves! (and that's after getting rid of some when we moved). I have one of those really cute scarf hangers but it only holds 15! I think I might have to do another purge so that they are not just piled up in a basket in the corner of my room.

 scarf: swap gift from Amy // top: Q // jeans: h&m // boots: ross

 (btw, I hate that it's getting dark earlier. I had to use a flash for my picture's *sad face*.
my husband thinks it's so weird that I hate the flash on a camera)

The best thing about scarves is that it makes a pretty boring outfit seem a little more put together, or is it just me thinking this outfit doesn't look as boring with a scarf around my neck?

a quick scarf tip...

 

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weekend goodness

this past weekend we celebrated a birthday at Menchies ...

 

...and the birth of a baby girl named Ariana.

 

I was lucky enough to be visiting my parents on Sunday and got a chance to visit with my cousin and her new baby.  And now I will be day dreaming about a little baby girl of my own... but it's just that... day dreaming. For now anyway.

 

 

While visiting my parents, me, babe and my mom had a chance to hit up a few thrift stores before she started work, and I was happy that I found 2 tops and a dress for $10. I was also happy that babe was such a trooper while we were shopping, not a single peep or complaint out of his mouth the whole time. I don't usually like to take him shopping because he usually lasts about 10 minutes before stating he wants to go home. Of course this good behavior just makes my mom thinks he's a saint ALL the time, but whatever. All in all, it was a great weekend.

 

This morning hasn't started out very well, but keeping this post in mind I'm pushing past it and looking forward to a few things this week:

1. heading to the library tonight. hoping to check out an audio book for my commute to work (a suggestion from my BFF for the past decade!).

2. still training for my run10.feed10, hoping to hit 2.5 miles twice this week (it's hard! for me.) 

3. having my cousin and her new "fiancé" over for dinner (hopefully this week)

 

what are you looking forward to this week?

 

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arguing about pasta sauce

Before I get into the whole ridiculousness of the pasta sauce I have to say something about my husband. He isn't one for arguing, he will walk away from any situation in which my voice or attitude changes in the slightest opposite direction from which it was just in. On one hand this is a good thing, because when I was growing up my parents argued about all the big things that every couple argues about, and I don't want us to be like that in front of my son. On the other hand, it drives me crazy because then when we do argue... it's about pasta sauce!

I text my husband before leaving work:

me: what's for dinner? I'm SO hungry, I had a boring salad for lunch
him: pasta sauce to last for the next 2 days. and there is bacon. whatever you want to make.
me: do you think ground beef is cheap at vons. plain pasta sounds boring.
him: it is, but I was going to go to vons tomorrow.
me: ok, maybe I'll just make myself a pizza.

So I get home an hour later and the house smells like bacon.

me: what are you doing. I thought we were going to use the sauce for pasta and pizza.
him: yeah, we're going to have breakfast pizza
me: with "pasta sauce"?... no thanks. that's not how they show it on pinterest.
him:  it's a PIZZA... just put the sauce on it!
me: yeah, on a "regular" pizza. not with bacon and eggs.
him: fine just make your own pizza then.

As I change into some sweats, I'm thinking, "not fair that he decides to make a breakfast pizza, I have been wanting to try one for months!" (side note: my husband is not a fan of breakfast food! boring right.)  So I google a pizza breakfast recipe to see if it says to add sauce... and of course it doesn't. I head back into the kitchen and proceed to make myself a breakfast pizza, minus the sauce.

As he makes a pizza for himself:

him: you didn't use the sauce did you?!
me: Nope. I googled it, and the recipe I found didn't have sauce
him: oh but you can put tomato's on it, it's the same thing! Now we have to eat pasta sauce every day for the rest of the week!
me: even if I did want to put sauce on it, to match the one teaspoon of sauce that you used, it still wouldn't make a dent in the jar, so get over it the sauce already!

What is the most ridiculous thing you have argued about?

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casual in ikat

there are seriously no words to describe how relaxed and comfy this outfit makes me feel

top: super old // jeans: kohls //necklace: macys

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trying to appreciate my weekday time

I read this Weekday Awareness post a few weeks ago (actually a MONTH ago!) about how we shouldn't wish our entire week away. I have been thinking about this a lot because I am definitely one of those people that just DREADS a Monday morning and everything that happens in between until Friday night. I only realized it last night though when I told my husband "what happened to my weekend?" and he replied, "you say that every weekend".

I know how valuable time is, I'm always wishing I had more of it. But just because the time between Monday and Friday usually sucks doesn't mean I should wish that time away, but instead try to make the most of it and enjoy the good things planned during the week days. And so every Monday I will be thinking ahead to the positive, even if it means "making" a positive, so that way I enjoy all the time that is given to me.

This week we are having a commuter BBQ at the park across the street at work... free lunch!... always something to look forward to. And at the end of the week all of our associates and principals will be out of town for a business meeting, which means some office quiet time.

Now if only I can figure out how to wake up on time every morning.

This is something that definitely sets the tone for the entire day.

Any suggestions? (besides the obvious alarm clock).

And, what are you looking forward to this week?



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Britney in Vegas... i'm going!!

Just in case you haven't heard... Britney will have a show in Vegas, at Planet Hollywood for the next 2 years!! And guess who is going to one... ME! If you don't know me personally, you don't know that I'm a huge fan. I don't care what people say or think, although I once tried to pass off my CDs as my husband's but I wasn't fooling anyone.

This week, when it was announced, I quickly tried to search for tickets and saw that one of her shows would be right around my birthday in Feb. Unfortunately the tickets were only available to American Express card holders. So what's a girl to do without an American Express card... oh, you know, blast a post on FB to her family asking if ANYONE has an American Express card to buy me tickets before they go on sale to everyone in the world. Luckily 1 out of my 20+ cousins has American Express and hours later I was in!
 
I asked my husband if he would go with me, and I made it very clear that It was "not a joke". He said he didn't want to be like those dads that take their young daughters to concerts and spend the entire time looking at their phone. So I asked one of my cousin's to go with me (her birthday is the day after mine) and she said yes. So we will be celebrating our birthday's with Britney this coming Feb.! I am over the top excited and look forward to one of the best b-days ever.

And of course what would our drive be like without all my Britney CDs.

I started rounding them up but I'm sure I'm missing at least 2.
So looking forward to my birthday... countdown 4 months, 21 days.



wearing white

"don't wear white after labor day "... such a strange thing right?! Does anyone actually listen to that fashion rule? I didn't think so. I was curious though, and so I googled it.
The best answer I found was this: "This fashion "rule" came about when heat was provided by burning coal and other ash producing items. Lots of soot and ash does not wear well with white."
And so it makes sense that back in the day the girls didn't want to get their prairie dresses dirty. Good thing we all have heaters now and we can wear white all we want.

necklace: XXI // top: target // jeans: h&m // shoes: payless // nails: sally xtreme-perfect pairing

 

 

And on a different "color" note, every time I look at my nails this week I think of mint-n-chip ice cream.

 

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movies, baking and a pool party

This past Saturday my husband and I spent at least 7 hours in front of the T.V. We watched "the descendants", "7 psychopaths" and a few episodes of Game of Thrones (such an addicting show). We decided at some point to go to the store for food and get a few things for a cake and cupcakes I was baking for a party the next day. The entire day just flew by SO fast, and besides the baking that I did, I felt like I accomplished nothing.

On Sunday I cleaned and decorated my baked goods before heading to a pool party.
A little tip: short on cake décor or sprinkles, just add some curling ribbon around the cake.

Babe was eager to get in the pool the second we got there. He put on his little arm floaties and started swimming like he just swam the day before (when in reality it has been at least a month and half). I hope he is a natural swimmer and not afraid of the water like me!

My Aunt made the CUTEST power ranger Pinata... all the younger kids looked so cute trying to break it open because they were almost the same height. Babe got in a few good hits and looked so serious while doing so.

 

 

We are definitely trying to enjoy the last few weeks of summer here...

yes, I am slowly facing the fact that it will be over soon.

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diy phone sleeve

I have a hard case cover for my phone but sometimes I feel like it could use some extra protection. Especially when it gets tossed in my purse with my car and work keys. On our recent trip to the fair I had one of those flimsy drawstring backpacks and was SO worried about something happening to it, so I finally decided to make a little phone sleeve.

supplies needed:
vinyl
scrap fabric
embroidery thread and needle

I used plain notebook paper to make a simple template.
I cut the Vinyl to match the template exactly. For the fabric I cut the bottom and 2 sides a tad smaller than the template, and the top 1/4" bigger than the template. Fold over and press the top fabric. Stitch the 2 pieces together and then closed.
This was so quick and easy to make, I wish I would have done it sooner.

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