2015… When did that happen?!?

Yeah it's been like 4 months since I last blogged, but that's not so bad, right?  Oh well, I am back and going to attempt to be much better about this going forward.

So here is the year in review…

We had a strong Winter and Spring last year, till we hit the ridiculous month of May that handed us a flooded preschool and hand, foot and mouth disease… And ended with us toasting to having NO MORE KIDS.  It was a rough month, things were said that left us all wanting to be left alone.  But we made it through.  Oh and I did my first Whole 30 challenge, which was tough but super good.

Then summer brought us Cory and Corey's reception, our summer vacation and me gaining back all the weight that I had lost on the Whole 30.  A win for all.  Our vacation was actually a good time for us, even with a couple nights of me being super sick to start it off.  Went to San Diego, visited the zoo, hung out at the beach and then headed to Palm Springs for a couple nights, that we extended cause we were having so much fun.  We will definitely be doing that trip again this year.

And then the fall was rather uneventful, thank goodness.

And by the winter, I was back on the "we need to have a second kid" conversation, but sadly my partner thought that had been canned… I mean I can change my mind, right?  Maybe not.  I guess that one in still up in the air at this time.  We had a good Thanksgiving and even better Christmas.  Good to be able to be with family and friends, even if most of what we did was eat and drink too much… Making me ready for another Whole 30 in January.

And so here we are on January 1 of 2015 and I think I am excited about the year to come.  I turn 35 this year, and we have so much to look forward to.  Olivia is now 2 and a half and talking all the time, growing up so fast, we can't keep up.  She is a delight.  And though this life can be hard, it is amazing.  I am a very lucky woman with a lot of love around me.  And I plan on focusing on that this year.  No resolutions this year, just me working on the life that I have and enjoying the people around me.

Happy 2015 everyone… Or to the 3 people that actually ready this thing!

Good days… With some bad!

Having a toddler is like living with a gremlin at times.  Olivia is having some pretty rough moments, where there is just all out screaming and crying and no real desire to do anything other than that.  And then there are some really fantastic moments, where she is very caring and loving and wants to sit real close and watch movies.  So we are trying to live for those moments, and push through the less than fun ones.

This was last night.  Upset for God knows what reason… And this is sort of what we deal with most days.

Lots of selfies… Which are adorable when they are actually her face and not the ground.

Fun with Auntie and Uncle.  She really loves her some Katie and Rodger.  And has taken in some her more upset moments to crying out for one or the other.  Sweet and sad all at the same time.

Swimming.  My favorite thing.  Working on it being hers as well.  She does like the floaty so that is a win.  Now just need her to want to stay in the water for longer than 3 minutes.

And when all else fails, there are naps.  I have to remind myself that she is a little person that is doing a lot of growing, body, mind and soul.  And sometimes the world can be too much and you just want to cry and scream.  I know I would like to do that more often than not, so I guess I shouldn't blame her.

PS - Thank goodness we are going on vacation next week.  We need some down time without work and the usual stress.  Will be nice to turn off the electronics and just enjoy time together.

Switching it up a bit!

Decided that we needed to move some stuff around in Olivia's room.  I get like this.  I need to change things, but now that I live with someone I can't just start moving the whole house around, so I do it in small phases.  And for the most part, just cleaning my closet out or the kitchen will handle the need to rearrange the whole house.  But today, I moved around the furniture in Olivia's room, and I love it.

Not so sure that Paul is a fan, but change can be good… Whether you wanted it or not.

A Little Perspective

This somehow struck me as the perfect statement for how I have been feeling lately.  I get caught up on how things should be, how I wish that they were and all the little things in between.  I am not a perfect person, I have my faults and yet, I still have a hard time not calling them out in others.  I need to work on accepting people and situations for what they are, not what I wish that they were.


* Side note: I have actually blogged more than once in 3 months… Yeah for me.

Olivia is Two!

Olivia is now two!  Who said that could happen?  Well no matter, it did and it was a great birthday and an even more wonderful year.  

We decided that it would be better to keep it low key this year, forgo a party and just have a couple small gatherings with family, as time permits.  So on Friday, the fourth, we spent the morning celebrating just the three of us at home.  And it was totally fun.  We surprised Olivia with a little outside play house, that she loves.  It is so funny to see her going in and out of that thing, pretending that she is actually at home.  So adorable.

After nap time, we headed over to Aunt Katie and Uncle Rodger's house for a little Fourth of July celebrating.  We had a great time hanging out in the back yard, running through the slip and slide and playing in the pool.  And Olivia is so fond of both Rodger and Katie, that I am pretty sure we could have left and she would never have known… Especially if Kona is there.  Her first full sentenced happened at Katie and Rodger's.  They were playing in the play house and Olivia came over to Kona and told her "Kona, Come in there".  Love it… That kid definitely belongs to Paul and I.  After a great time of playing, eating and gifts we sat down for some cupcakes and Jeopardy (not sure how they mix) and she dove into her dessert.  

Saturday we heading to the Jump N Jamming at the Arcadia Mall and then lunch at The Cheescake Factory.  She may have been the smallest kid at the indoor gym, but that did not stop her at all.  She loved it.  And after a long morning, we headed home, saw Grandpa in the afternoon and then had a nice relaxing night at home.  Just what we, Mom and Dad, needed after a long couple of days.

And then on Sunday we went down to Murrieta to see Grandma Kathy and Uncle Rob, otherwise known as Uncle Awesome.  Olivia had a great time.  She loves seeing them, and says their names the whole way down there and home.  We are so super lucky to have such loving people in our lives.  Rob got her this super cool teepee, which she loves.  I sort of wish that I had one in my size to hide out in, or read or hide out in… 

All in all, I have to say that this was a good year.  Our baby is now a toddler and has such a strong personality and knows what she wants and when she wants it.  I love her more than I could ever imagine was possible and I welcome all the amazing times ahead.

Love you my little lady.  Happiest of birthdays to you!

 

Enough Already

Sometimes there is just way too much to take on at once.  It gets to a point where you feel like you only have two options: drown in all that is happening around you, or run.  I am picking the drowning option, mainly because I guess I really can't run away.  This last month seems to have been one thing after another.  The preschool had a flood, which left us with little options for where to send Olivia each day and inevitably she stayed home with either Paul, myself or her guardian angels, my mother and Peggy.   And what was supposed to be a couple weeks out, has turned into a month.  Then work went from 40 hours a week, plus to who knows what when a colleague gave notice and a portion of her job responsibilities became mine.  And I am not certain I can handle it.  Maybe under normal circumstances, I would welcome the challenge, but right now I feel like I am setting myself up for failure.

And now Olivia has hand, foot and mouth disease, which is really the worst name.  Just call it "The rash that takes over your entire body and makes you absolutely miserable" disease.  Cause that is what it is.  And I can't make it better for her.  All we can do is load her up on pain medication, which is Motrin and Tylenol, and give her lots of liquids.  I would be dying if I had what she had. The rash is all over and looks like it would itch me to death and the diaper rash is unsightly.  And all I want to do is make it better, but I can't.  And all she wants is her dad, which honestly hurts.  I know it shouldn't bother me, since she is a toddler and feels bad, but it does.  All that being said I have now cried more than I care to admit and am in serious need of some sleep, which won't be happening any time soon.

And I know that many people have it much harder than we do right now, and that makes me feel better and worse all at the same time.  I am very grateful that this is the worse thing to happen to Olivia thus far, but it makes it very clear to me that I am not so sure I could handle very much more.  How do people do it?  And why? I know that is harsh, but we only have one and I can't even imagine how we would handle more than that at this time.  Maybe that is just not who we are.  I don't know, or maybe this is the right fit for us.  Or maybe, just maybe I am going out of my mind because of lack of sleep, that I will totally forget all this in a month and be back on track once we are all better.

Lets hope its the latter.

Blogging… Blah!

I don't know why, but I am so not into this right now.  I know I should be, and I know that we have a lot going on to report, but somehow I cannot find it in me to sit and do it.  I blame Instagram and Facebook.  They are easy and quick ways to post a quick pic or mention something funny going on in our lives, and they require very little thought or direction.  Blogging on the other hand, well you know.

With that being said, I am working on doing this more.  Making it purposeful and adding a little more direction… Cause let's face it, my blog has ADHD.

Happy Easter to All!

PS - More to come, I promise this time.