A Case of Opposites

We had a wonderful visit in Charlotte. It went by way too fast as usual but was lots of fun. We walked on the greenway close to Derrell and Lindsay's (rental) house, went to see their new house that they are buying, had a cookout with the Clark family, had brunch with our friends Steve and Darcy and their baby, Chloe, and Sawyer got to go see Derrell's work truck. Pictures below!

Yesterday, we drove to Charlotte. Since we've moved to Atlanta we've gone back to Charlotte for three of the last four Fourth of July holidays. Carey was supposed to come with us this time, but he got a subpoena for the 5th and wasn't able to make it. Admittedly, I was incredibly nervous about making a 250 miles drive with Sawyer and Oscar by myself. But, it turned out actually to be a really easy trip. Yes, it took almost 5 hours instead of 4. Since I'd fed Oscar right before we left and he'd been up and playing for an hour and a half, he fell asleep before we'd even made it to the highway. I brought our portable DVD player and let Sawyer watch a movie for the first half of the trip. He was quiet, Oscar was sleeping, and I got to talk to my friend Jarrod for an hour and a half. He lives in San Diego and was able to spend the early morning drinking coffee and chatting with me while I drove. Shockingly, we didn't encounter any traffic so I drove until we hi

This week has blown by. I made Carey go to Marietta Wednesday on his last day off to get me a new military ID. Mine was expired. Sawyer was just a little younger than Oscar when I got my last one and my hair was also in the same rough stage. I felt a sense of deja vu, like I was starting to repeat the last four years. Say it isn't so. :) My espresso machine has been broken since just before Oscar was born and the only place in Atlanta that I could find that was willing to see if they could repair it was also in Marietta so we dropped that off while we were there too. Then Carey and I went out to lunch. Lunch dates are a little different with a babe, but it was nice not to have Sawyer out with us too and worry about him. We picked Sawyer up early and took both boys to see Carey's grandparents. They hadn't met Oscar yet and as his middle name is after Carey's grandfather's, we thought it high time they meet. I hung out inside with Oscar and Grandad and Audrey and

It was a weekend full of parties. After the pool party Friday night, we spent Saturday relaxing and hanging around the house. There were many storms, and I was tired and just didn't feel like venturing out. Both Sawyer and Oscar were being cranky and Sawyer was being rather sassy. So I figured it best not to test my patience and go anywhere. Sunday, however, we had two birthday parties. One was a "grown-up" birthday party for a neighbor. The do a birthday brunch every year. Sawyer had tons of fun playing with all the other kids and I got to catch up with some neighbors and friends. We came home for nap and then left right after for a birthday party of one of Sawyer's classmates. They had a bounce house, a slip n slide, and pizza. So in Sawyer's mind it was a great success! It's really funny because, until this year, he wouldn't go anywhere near a bounce house. But suddenly he is fine with them. Sunday evening we got home and Carey was back! Earlie

I am the co-chair of the parenting committee in our neighborhood (see previous post about over-functioning). We had some funds leftover from our Easter Egg Hunt Social and thought it would be fun to do a pool/pizza party playdate one evening. So last night about 20 families came up to the pool for an afternoon. It was great fun. There were kids from 4 weeks up to 6 years old. It truly takes a village. Kids had no problem coming up to random parents asking for things. Oscar got squished by many mamas and I fed more than one kid who wasn't mine. :) As much as I complain about how "suburban" our neighborhood truly is one of a kind. I managed to get in a short walk yesterday and some work done. I still haven't gotten everything on my to-do list taken care of, but I am trying to be happy about small accomplishments. A friend of a friend is making a new dining table for us. He and his wife came over last night to show us samples of wood stain. We decided on one

We haven't had an eventful week. After the craziness of last week, I am incredibly happy about that. Oscar was 10 weeks old yesterday. It's unbelievable how fast time is passing. One of the things I tried to focus on this pregnancy and maternity leave, differently than last time, is to make sure that I am focused on being healthy and not so much on weight and body shape. Ten weeks postpartum, I am only eight pounds away from my pre-pregnancy weight. However, my body is much softer and hips are much wider. I am still having trouble fitting into pre-pregnancy clothes. I decided to pick up my workouts in addition to the stepbet that I am already doing. However, those two things can sometimes be in conflict with each other. My body definitely needs the strength workouts, but I am not able to squeeze in a walk in addition to the workout, so in order to make my steps, I am having to get creative. This week I started a new Nike Training Club plan. NTC is a free app that I use to giv

It's been a whole week. Normally I wouldn't have waited so long to post, but...life. I'm gonna make this a bullet post with lots of pictures to catch us up. • Monday - We had Oscar's 2 month doctor visit. He got a vaccine. :( He weighs almost 12 lbs now and is 22.5 inches. The doctor noticed (I'd noticed it a few days before) a flat spot on the right side of his head. He always lays that way. So now we have to try to prop him on his left side to even it out. Otherwise he'll need a helmet. I kicked an ottoman and broke my toe. It's still swollen and bruised. Made for a rough week. • Tuesday and Wednesday - We went to Calloway Gardens so I could speak at a conference. Mom came with us to corral the boys. We managed to get some time to walk through the gardens and the butterfly house before we left. • Thursday and Friday -  I got hit with a terrible bout of mastitis. I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy. Those days are pretty much a

I'm thinking about going back and putting a line from the song that I've used in the blog title on each post to sum it all up. But then again, I might not. :) Oscar doesn't follow normal sleeping patterns. Apparently he is not going to do anything like a normal baby. Although Sawyer didn't get on a regular sleeping schedule until he was 3-4 months old, he still had periods of being awake and periods of being asleep each day. Oscar doesn't do that. He has "awake days" and "asleep days". Saturday was an "awake day". He basically would fall asleep while nursing and then second I put him down would wake up and be ready to play or be held. He wouldn't sleep all day. The parents of a classmate of Sawyer's invited us and two other families over for afternoon play and dinner. The kids played outside and in the hot tub (which was set to lukewarm). There, of course, was some issues between the kids regarding sharing and accidental h

It's finally the weekend. Although these days, I think the weekends are as exhausting as the week days. I have both boys all day and we've somehow managed to pack the days full. Last night we were able to play outside for a little bit before dinner. Sawyer is getting pretty good with this toy that our friends the Flaggs gave us. I don't even know what it's called but you roll around on it. He really wanted to play yard hockey but Oscar wouldn't sleep or lay on a blanket, he just wanted to nurse and be held. Initially Sawyer did really well with the fact that the baby needed so much. I don't know if it is because Carey is gone or because it's been two months, but Sawyer seems to have less and less patience with me and Oscar. I have to keep reminding myself that he is four. And when you are tired, hungry, and four, patience is not a strong suit. Then again, when you are tired, hungry and thirty-four, patience isn't much of a strong suit either. :)

Technically I started back to work part time last week. I didn't realize how hard it was going to be to get anything done with Oscar's schedule so wildly unpredictable. I feel like I have a thousand unfinished things. But every little bit helps. At this point I am basically working to fund my FSA, Dependent Care account, and 401K. I'm not actually working enough to take home anything after that. But at least I won't be behind on those things when I start back to work. We've started a walking group here in the neighborhood and are calling ourselves the ESW Stroller Brigade. It's made up of moms who are stay-at-home moms, work-from-home moms, teachers out for the summer, and some like me who are on maternity leave. It's been great for accountability and company. I did 3.25 miles yesterday and ended up with over 12,000 steps! I might've gone a little overboard in my excitement about it and I joined a StepBet yesterday. You put money in a pot with others

This week is only half over and has already been so wonderfully full. Last night a neighbor friend, Amy, came over after the boys were in bed and hung out until way too late. She kept saying she could go home and I was like "No! Stay and hang out." The adult conversation after being without it all day is so nice. This morning was a little rough but Oscar made it easier by sleeping in 3 hour stretches last night. It's amazing how your perspective changes as to what constitutes good sleep. 3 hours? Amazing. After getting Sawyer to school this morning, my friend Kaitlyn and her daughter Hadley came over to catch up and play. Hadley is two so she had a good time exploring all of Sawyer's toys. Conversations with a toddler around are always incredibly broken. But we managed to catch up on her life which was great. Oscar slept for a few hours after they left and I caught up on some work and emails. I'd managed to catch up on the 750+ emails in my work inbox las