What's Up Wednesday!

Can I just say that this month has FLOW past me at 100 MPH! Suddenly I looked up and it's the 24th of the month already. Between getting ready to teach Compass, teaching it, doctor's appointments, the dentist, going to Portland and then illness....my month is over! 

So to do a quick catch-up, I figured it'd be easiest to just do a link up today.

Link up here!

1. What we're eating this week...

Thanks to illness, we are doing low key easy meals; no new recipes this week. I did a frozen pizza last night, am cooking tacos tonight, a whole chicken in the crock pot tomorrow, white fish on Friday, breakfast for dinner on Saturday and Sunday is TBD.

2. What I'm reminiscing About...

You're probably going to laugh....but I was getting to be a little "I know everything" Navy wife and then last week at Compass we had participants who were all very young/newly married spouses. It took me down a few notches and humbled me. Then I got teary and have been remembering how it is to be a young military spouse who really knows nothing. In some regards, I miss that time. 

3. What I'm loving...

My secret sis in my Catholic women's group. With illness raging through my household...getting a package & card from her this week was amazing! Women supporting women...I LOVE that!

4. What we've been up to...

After Compass ended on Thursday afternoon, I drove the kiddos down to Portland to see my Mom. We were having a great time until the stomach bug got us, then Julia came down with HFM (thankfully it seems to be a mild case) and now we're home just trying to be down with this round of illness.

5. What I'm dreading...

Moving again this year. The owners of our rental intend to sell so though we had always planned to buy this summer anyway...knowing that our potential buffer of another year of renting is gone means moving for sure. I am an expert at the moving business...but I still loathe it. 

6. What I'm working on...

I am doing the 40 bags for Lent thing, so I am again going thru the house deluttering. Plus there's a big Just Between Friends consignment sale going on in April here, so my craft room looks like kid/baby gear threw up in there.

7. What I'm excited about...

Sleeping?? Seriously that's all I care about right at the moment. Okay...I am also looking forward to Spring. Spring comes sooner to the PACNORWEST then where I grew up, which is excellent. 

8. What I'm watching/reading...

Reading: I just finished "The Warmth of Other Suns" by Isabel Wilkerson  I would not have picked it myself, but my Mom's book club was reading it so I read it too. It was a very interesting read about migration in this country. Definitely not a light read though.

Watching: The Bachelor. It's all I watch these days, besides kid shows. I tried keeping up with Downton Abbey, but couldn't so I will just have to borrow the DVDs.

9. What I'm listening to...

My favorite talk radio guy in Seattle, Dori Monson.  Love the guy. I don't agree with everything he says, but he's pretty much the most decent conservative talk radio guy in the city. 

10. What I'm wearing...

Nothing very exciting. Benjamin is a huge spitter upper so I think I change jeans & shirts daily. Today I wore a hat to cover my unwashed hair and prayed no one I know saw me at Fred Meyer while I quickly grocery shopped sans makeup. 

11. What I'm doing this weekend...

Low key, family time stuff. We are going to the Apple Store on Sunday, b/c my husband's brand new iPhone is having issues. 

12. What I'm looking forward to next month...

EASTER!!! I love Easter. Great season in the church and lillies and good stuff.  I got my kids the cutest reusable Easter bags on Etsy too. 

13. What else is new...

Nothing really. I like the status quo!

14. What is my favorite Easter tradition...

We are really traditional for Easter. We go to Mass, have brunch and then do Easter egg hunts at home or the week prior go to one at our church. It's low key, but fun.

Sorry for no pictures. That just isn't happening this week. 

Mundane Monday Ramblings!

I figured a short update was in order. I've been busy at home & around town.  Running errands daily I swear. I am sort of tired of shopping! (Can anyone who knows me believe I just said that???)

Benjamin and I went back to the Lactation Consultant on Friday. Pretty much just to weigh him and thank her for trying to help. Things didn't work out so our breastfeeding journey has come to an end. It's very bittersweet for a number of reasons. At least I made it 5 months with him. Longer then I did with Matthew. Julia I made to a year, but it was a tough year in regards to feeding. Anyway...I know I tried so I am okay with how things worked out.  The good news is that he has gained weight again & he overall seems happier, which relieves me.

Now I have been in full on Valentine mode. Which is truly comical, because I can't say that I really am in the mood for Valentine's Day this year.  However I've made some pinterest decor for the house and things for Matthew's class are coming together today. He's giving out Spider Man valentine cards I got 50% off last year and a box of crayons. No real pinterest creation from this Mom. Sorry folks!

I also plan to make rice krispie treats for the NWCA gals...since I am once again "lazy" with gift giving!

Today is a beautiful sunny day in the PACNORWEST. I took the kiddos to a meeting and then we went to the commissary where Julia had a fit over Mommy helping her out of the car. Oops! Miss Independent....where'd she get that from?! ;)  At least Matthew still lets me help him.

You know those days where you just love the way you look? I am having that day today. I've got my favorite skinny jeans on, a new blue shirt, my nude flats and my hair is amazing! I didn't have time for any make-up, but I actually am looking alright without it. Getting sleep sure helps!

Friday Favorites...life is better!

Go here to link up!

After the stress of last week. I am back. This week began very stressfully (not a word...I don't care) and is thankfully ending much better!  So what better way to finish it up then to join in on this blog link-up. I love this one b/c it's simple & fun!

1. Essie Nail Polish in Cabana Boy.

I'd been wanting a grey nail polish for ages and then I went to Ulta and found this bad boy. 

2. TONY MOLY Magic Food Banana Hand Milk

This was a last second find at Ulta in the check out line. I didn't even know the price. I just liked the packaging so I bought it and it's actually nice!! And of course my girly girl daughter is enthralled that we have it!

3. Dr. Brown's Options Bottles

Littlest Boy (aka Benjamin) has decided these are the bottles he likes best! To the point that I need to buy more. Or maybe I shouldn't buy more so I am forced to wash the bottles every night (so far I am 3 for 3 on this!)

4. Valentine Pictures!

I can't share yet, since they are a surprise for the Grandparents..but a friend here is setting up a photography business and she took free pictures for Valentine's Day of the kiddos. They are so cute and the kiddos loved getting their pictures taken, well 2 of the 3 kiddos did. 

5. Killing Reagan

Bill O'Reilly does it again! Another fantastic book in his killing series. I couldn't get enough of this book and read it in 3 days.  I love how his books come from all sides, aren't really political and are so well researched. They fascinate me!

Stress!

I had really truly planned to blog 3 times this week and then Monday we got hit with the unexpected. Matthew went in for his 4 year well child check up and Benjamin also had an appointment. Honestly at first the medical assistant and I were sort of confused as to why Benjamin was being seen. The substitute pediatrician had just said in December to bring him back in a month b/c he'd missed a few well baby exams during our life transition while we had no insurance. We were just going to say forget it when the medical assistant suggested we just have him weighed & let our new pediatrician meet him. 

The sh*t sort of hit the fan then. He'd lost weight. A half a pound. Which for most people is no big deal, but for a little baby is really bad news.  For some completely unknown reason my milk supply just has slowly declined. It is incredibly frustrating. 

Today I saw a Lactation Consultant and she was great. She got us a great plan to put in place. 

It makes me sad. I've been so tired, anxious and crying over this. I know for some people this is probably silly. I really love this bond with my baby. I am praying we can get this to work out better. 

I am tired!

Pray for us or send good thoughts! 

On a random side note: Matthew is doing great. He was 40 inches tall and 36 pounds at age 4. For a kid who struggled to put on the weight himself, that is pretty darn awesome! Our once Little Dude is a big dude now!

Matthew is 4 today!!

Can you believe my Little Dude is 4 years old today? I seriously cannot! 4 years doesn't seem that long in the grand scheme of life, but wow has it passed by quickly. I've been a Mommy for 4 years! :-)

With his presents this morning

At 4 years old: Matthew is average size I'd say. In his preschool class he's not the shortest, but not the tallest.  (His 4 year well child exam is on Monday, so we'll get exact stats then!)
He is finally making his way into the rest of the 3T clothes (and I am starting to stock up on 4T)...I thought 2T was going to last forever! He wears size 8 & 9 kid shoes. 

He loves school, firemen, trucks, Spider-Man & Batman (really any super heroes), and helping Mom.

20 questions answered by Matthew
(As found on this blog)
1. What is your favorite color? Yellow
2. What is your favorite toy? Lawn mower (he just got this for his birthday after asking for it for months)
3. What is your favorite fruit? Strawberries
4. What is your favorite tv show? Fireman Sam
5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? Fried Chicken
6. What is your favorite outfit? Construction Site Outfit (Dress up outfit from Melissa & Doug)
7. What is your favorite game? Angry Birds (Not sure where we got this from...we don't own this game.)
8. What is your favorite snack? Tortilla Chips
9. What is your favorite animal? Kitty Cats
10. What is your favorite song? Go Make a Difference
11. What is your favorite book? Comic Books
12. Who is your best friend? Dylan
13. What is your favorite cereal? I don't like cereal.
14. What is your favorite thing to do outside? Playing with the pool
15. What is your favorite drink? Lemonade
16. What is your favorite holiday? Halloween
17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? Lambies
18. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? Cinnamon Sugar Toast
19. What do you want for dinner on your birthday? Cheeseburger 
20. What do you want to be when you grow up? Construction Worker

Plans for his birthday include dinner at Red Robin and a birthday party tomorrow with some friends. (His party theme is dump trucks/construction.)

Friday Favorites 1/15/2016

Link up via here

After prompts for November & December and then sort of flailing around to start the year blogging, I figured "why not do a link up??" Seems simple enough. And I love the blogs who do this one. They all seem like amazing women!

1. These dashboards I made for my Erin Condren planner & for my planner buddy's planner. They turned out so nicely!

2. Compass! I am so thankful I can mentor Navy spouses and hopefully make life a little brighter for them.

3. This Chicken recipe! I'm sure I've mentioned it before, but man is it simple & delicious!

Not my picture...as taken from the recipe link above.

4.  The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo

I bought it in August and have slowly read through it and started implementing many of her strategies into my house. If you hate clutter like I do, this lady has the right ideas.  She's also written a new book called "Spark Joy" that shows you and I do mean literally shows you how to do some of her strategies. As a semi-perfectionist....I may have to get this new book too.

5. My tribe! 

By tribe I mean the people in my life who help me out all the time. The women who help by holding one of my kids when I'm teaching or just need to pray during Mass. The ladies at MOPS who let me eat breakfast. The adoptive grandparents in our lives who step in when I can't pick up all 3 kids at one time. My mom who picks up the phone when I call frantically at bedtime.

Mothering is hard and I'm so grateful for my tribe. They are my favorite!

Thursday Random Ramblings!

Has it really been a week since I last blogged?? Yikes! No blog prompts really do let me slack off on this I guess!  This week I was busy teaching Compass (a Navy spouse mentoring program) and on Compass weeks things just do not get done on the regular schedule. I managed to grocery shop on Tuesday like normal, but then the kiddos skipped nap that day. Laundry however has not gotten done...at all! Thankfully we own plenty of clothes.

I know a lot of people don't like being busy, but for me...I need to have things to do or I just sit here wondering what to do with myself.  Then once the busy stuff is done, I can have a low key day and be happy. Low key days more than once or twice a week though is too much for me. It feels lazy. (BTW, not judging anyone who can do a lot of low key days...it's just not for me.)  I am a get dressed and do something kind of person. I like action! To the point that I cannot be productive if I am wearing pajamas or lounge clothes.

Matthew will be 4 really soon. Can we really have a 4 year old?? Wow has time flown by! On Tuesday he asked me when he gets to wear a red sweater to school (the K-8 kids wear a uniform and a red sweatshirt/sweater is part of that) and I may have felt a little sad.  Then I went to answer him and realized we're about 18 months away from starting Kindergarten. WOW!!

Julia....well I've gotten a ton of undies, pull-ups and I have plans to make a chart tomorrow. Potty training will be commencing after her brother's birthday (I'd start sooner, but I won't make my Mom who is coming to visit potty train my kid...that seems unfair.)

Benjamin is growing too fast. I got the jumperoo out of the garage and he's not so sure he likes it. His siblings call it their space ship. Hmm!!!

I finished my first book of 2016! And am now attempting to get through a continued education book. Since I am not really using my degree I try to read a book or 2 on health & human service topics just to feel like I am doing something. The book is dry...I am bored.

My Woodland Cottage planner cover for my Erin Condren planner that my Mom got me for Christmas supposedly has a shipping label created, so I am hoping that it gets to her house before she comes here next week. I really want to see what she picked out....she's hinted, but won't tell me specifically.  One thing I dislike about Etsy is they will say that an item has shipped, but when you really read the tracking it may only be that the label was created. A label doesn't mean that it got to the post office.

Gotta go...the littlest boy is awake from nap!