Lunchtime Productivity, Adorableness, and Jealousy

Lunchtime Productivity

At lunch I finally got to hang my red star sconces. On to the next thing on the list of unpacking and organizing of the house!

Adorableness

Nothing else needs to be said!

Jealousy

Very jealous about this new table finished by my sister in the country primitive look we both LOVE!  I wish I had the time and energy to be so crafty these days! 

Angry Baby

Last night I tried getting some cute pictures of Noah but it was unsatisfactory at best.  I started thinking of reasons why he was so grumpy and uncooperative.

1.) Maybe he made this sour face because the patriots lost to the Giants AGAIN

2.) Maybe he was tired and sick of the flash of mommy's camera...Or crying because the Patriots lost.

3.) Maybe he was hungry and the only thing he had to eat were his fists.  This would cause him to try and shove both fists in his mouth which lead to a massive amount of drool all over his patriots shirt.  Maybe this maximized his anger about the Patriot's losing.

4.) This could also be the face of pure anger which lead to the intense angry fist biting because mommy didn't wear Patriot's attire which of course lead to the Patriot's losing. (Notice my somewhat amused face)

(Biting his fist because of teething would have been too simple)

5.) Or lastly it could've been a combination of reasons.  Such as his cousin constantly grabing his shirt and kicking him which was completely annoying him.  Add the fact that his shirt was soaked because of his drool from eating his fist because he was mad at mommy for not wearing anything Patriots and wouldn't get him food.  But she was insistant on continually annoying him with flashes from the camera and he was just tired of it all.  The cherry to top it all off was the fact that THE PATRIOT'S LOST TO THE GIANTS AGAIN!

Overall Andy seemed pretty cheerful throughout the photos.  But don't let that fool you, he too was very disappointed over the loss as well!

 Maybe next yeat Pats!

5 Day Moving Party?...Yeah Not Really

The past 5 days have been a little hectic and when I say hectic I mean CRAZY! When I made my big move up here in 2009 I figured we would stay with Andy's sister for a while until we had our own place and then once we found our own place that we would stay for a few years.  That DEFINITELY did not happen.  We stayed at his sister's, then moved to the apartment on the hill as we called it because it was up a GIGANTIC curvy hill which was horrible during the winter.  We then moved to a house which we thought was huge compared to our apartment.  Once Noah arrived, the 3BR 2Bath house seemed about as big as a voltswagen bug.  We stayed there about a year and a half and then we moved again.  This time it's right across from where Andy works which means cheaper gas usage a month.  Plus it's in Danville which is where the rest of his entire immediate family lives.  Anywho...we FINALLY got everthing to the new house.  Meanwhile, the house is piled with boxes and what not.  It's going to be a task to get everything organized.

Our kitchen has been taken over but that's not the worst.

What will be Andy's "man cave" is consumed and I'm still trying to figure out how we will be able to walk in there to get things out.

The rest of the house is loaded too but these two rooms are the worst.  We have been sleeping on the couches for the past few nights since our bed and baby D's crib have not been put together yet.  Lots of work left to do!  I will definitely have to show our progress of organization once our house becomes recongnizable so more to come regarding "new house"

The move was so tiring that baby D did this throughout the entire move.  Well maybe not the entire time but he did very well and seems to be adjusting quite well.
 

He found company with his Elephant named Ellie in between eating and sleeping.

On a side note, in between all of the moving, my sister sent me some flashback photos of us from my Sophomore year.

My sis, niece Caitlynn and I before one of my sophomore dances.  She lives in PA and I miss her a lot but I get to see her and the rest of my family for Easter! yay!

Finger Sucker

Who needs a thumb when you've got a perfectly good finger?

A BIG Happy Birthday!

To my dear sweet daddy or "The Monopoly Man" as Andy called him the first time he met him.  He turns 58 years young today!

AND...

To this sweet little girl who turns 7, Andy's little sis Destiny.

Happy Birthday!!!!!

An Epidemic Has Taken Over the In Laws BUT...

This past Saturday the annual routine of Andy's family getting a stomach bug, which spreads like dominos through his family members, started with his youngest brother.  As expected it spread to 2 more members Sunday, then 2 or more members after Monday and I believe there's only 1 left in the household yet to be infected.  Andy talked to his dad and learned that his dad doesn't know if he's getting sick too or if he's sick from the horrid smell of vomit and the nasty d word (aka number 3ariah) which have taken over their house!  Since this is Noah's current daycare facility and my husband is a fanatic germaphobe who hand sanatizes even after washing his hands with soap and warm water, we are not bringing Noah to nana and papa's this week (at least not unil Friday if the evil germs are gone).  Which means, Andy is working a half day today (so only half a pay for today) until I get off work. Who knows what's going on tomorrow. Thursday I'm sneaking and working from home since my boss will be out of town, and hopefully Friday will be disinfected enough for Noah's return.

BUT...on a few positive notes:

1.) The Patriots are headed to the Super Bowl to face the Giants once again and will hopefully get their revenge!  This makes daddy and Noah vey happy (although they only look mildy happy in this photo)

2.) Our house is currently stomach bug free! :)

3.) We officially move this coming weekend and I get a 5 day weekend for the purpose of moving

4.) Noah and mommy had a great and lazy Saturday morning watching reruns of Extreme Makeover Home Edition (which ALWAYS leaves me in tears)

He was interested for a whole 5 minutes or so until...

Sleep consumed him.  But I still got lots of cute baby cudde time!

5.) Finally, last night we came to the realization that Noah is truely happiest when stripped naked, laying on his playmat looking at his reflection while talking and laughing at himself!  I love this little boy!

The Working MaMa!

I have to say that one of the biggest challenges I've faced since becoming a mommy is the dreaded day I had to go back to work.  Going from spending every waking moment with your little one to leaving them for an extended number of hours at a time is very tough.  Hopefully one day it will be in our plans to allow me to be home, if not for good, at least be home more.  That is, once all of our unecessary debt is paid off.  I have found some ways to help cope with leaving, although it will always be difficult.

1. Since I'm breastfeeding, I've been given a private place to allow me to pump when needed everyday.  This gives me time to relax and while there I usually give my sweet hubby (who stays home with baby D every Monday and until 1 Tues through Fri) a phone call.  This for one gives me a chance to talk to Andy, who I also miss dearly, but also lets me hear Noah make his cute little coos which are his great attempt at talking to mama! 

2. When I'm back at my desk, I have a little family shrine of photos.  Whenever I get to missing them I just look over at my photos of some great memories I have with them.

My computer's desktop background is our family but what you don't see is the hundreds of pictures that flash by on my sceen saver.  It's a big incentive to let me stop working for a few minutes so I can see them!

I didn't forget my dear old ma and pa and my sweet little doggy, Derby, back in Ohio.  They are also there to keep me company.

3.  Since I work fairly close to home and I get an hour lunch, I always make a much enjoyed trip back home for lunch with my boys!  I get to nurse Noah which gives me much needed quality time. I also enjoy a bite with Andy.  And even though leaving Noah for a second time during the day is also tough, it definitely helps break up the day and gives me something else to look forward to along with leaving work for the day at 5 to pick up my little pumpkin!

These have helped me cope but let's face it, not everyone is able make a trip home for lunch or is able to make random personal calls during work.  But anytime you do have a break, reconnecting to that sweet little bundle you love oh so much will help.  If you don't have a desk to personalize, maybe there's something else.  Or if not, then maybe having something which reminds you of your baby love, such as a photo or keepsake, will give you something to smile at during the day until you are back at your favorite place, home, and with your favorite people, family!

THERE'S DEFINITELY NO PLACE LIKE HOME!