Hello Charlotte

Yesterday may have been my favorite day of the year. The only time we left the house was to buy our tree and then we spent the rest of the day relaxing, decorating, and eating Thanksgiving leftovers.

 We picked a tree that was already opened. I highly recommend it. In and Out. Also our biggest one yet - 8 ft!

She has an endless amount of hugs for inanimate objects. 

She's our biggest tree ever and I am in love with her. Charlotte if you were wondering - so regal, perfect, and beautiful.

And this morning, early, early, I turned her little tree on before I picked her up, before the sun was up and the day got going, before everything..and we were silent together. Staring. Taking it all in. Soaking it all up.

I love Christmas.

Land of Restraint and Resolve

I love hate Land of Nod this time of year. Their toy makers are genius. It's like when Pixar started making movies that were just as entertaining for adults as they were for children. These toys are like that too. When I think about them in my head I call them the Land of Restraint and Resolve. That'll show 'em, right?  

We stopped in last weekend and I was crushing on practically the entire store. Which kinda is a kick to my gut aka resolve since we decided not to buy Emerson anything for Christmas. (Doesn't that sound like just the most evil thing in the whole world?) But it's true. We are just that evil.

These six items were my temptation in the desert though. ;)

A dollhouse classic. She would die. I would die. Josh would die..okay, maybe not Josh. :p

Cottage Dollhouse

 She loves to help me cook. And while I also love it in theory, it would make my mornings, afternoons, and evenings easier if she had a little felt stove set up on the counter near me fake cooking way.

Felt Gourmet Plush Cooking Set

A little chair to put next to her books? Yes.

Furry Animal Nod Chair (Sheep)

 She doesn't know it yet, but something like this is coming in 2016. Muhahaha.

Gobs of Jobs Activity Chart

Clear bookshelf. Because her favorite 'toys' are books and ultimately we are drowning in them and yet still that's really the only thing we buy her on a continuous basis.

Publishers Clear House Bookcase

And I may just have to buy this for her when her brother lands. She loves to play make believe and I can just see her copying mama and carrying her little baby around.

Solly Dolly Wrap

I am looking forward to this short work week and holiday kick off. My mouth is watering at the thought of my Mother-In-Law's juicy turkey, my sister's Mother-In-Law's stuffing, and my Uncle Mark's homemade desserts.

Plus my mind is on all things thankful. More on that soon.

LOL Are You Kitten Me?

Where have you been, you ask? Wellllllllll, Monday - Wednesday Josh had some big wigs in town at work so he had to be in early and out late. Then on Wednesday Josh got food poisoning while at a work dinner. 

Thankfully my parents were already planning on spending the night with us on Thursday. Little did they know I had dubbed them my reinforcements. Emerson became quite attached to my dad and basically didn't want mom or me for 24 hours. I accepted the defeat graciously and enjoyed being the bag carrier, diaper changer, and meal preparer. 

By today we were back to normal as if nothing unusual happened this week. Someone thought they'd play a silly joke on us but the jokes on them because we are back on top baby. 

This is Emerson's fake smile. The one she pulls out when I ask for a smile.

Here is the real deal.

Her preferred reader. :p

Happy (healthy) weekend to you all. 

My Fear of Having Another Baby

I stumbled on this article today, "To moms of one or two children, from a mother of five".

Have a second to read it? Please do, otherwise the following babble will only seem like exactly that, lots of babble.

So here's the thing. I think many parents who are going from 1 to 2 often worry about how the first will do, how they will handle having to share time, how they will adapt. All valid concerns. But that is not what is gnawing away at my mind during the 2am, 4am, 5am bathroom trips. My biggest concern is that I won't be able to do it well. As it is, I feel stretched to the limit. I'm tired, all the time. Following through with washing my hair every other day is a struggle people. Yoga pants are my staple. Are you getting a clear picture? I kinda hope not. :p

If I have managed to end up with a clean house on top of pushing out three nutritious meals for three people every day, that is a successful day. 

By 9pm I am ready to get into bed. 

I look at other moms who have more kids than me and who seem to have energy and I always wonder how they do it. And then I look at myself and see just one little [albeit beautiful and perfect] kiddo. But still, just one. Can I do it? Am I just going to be one big crabby ball of unwashed, unshaved, emotional mess? 

So this Sarah Short and her infinite wisdom helped me to shift my mentality back to my God. In my weakness, He is strong. Yes. It can get easier, if I let God get bigger.

It was a good weekend.

Blue Apron Farewell

This week concludes our Blue Apron gift. It was wonderfully different and fun. The best thing is eating/cooking food you'd never eat and finding you enjoy it. Josh's favorite meal was an Indian Spiced Chicken Curry with Brown Rice and Tahini Sauce.

Tasty looking right? GAH.

I know it looks disgusting but it was delicious. 

Josh and I both felt that overall the price didn't justify continuing the subscription. Don't get me wrong, if you get this as a gift it is the best gift in the world. But I found the meal prep to be more time consuming than my normal dinners (most likely correlated with taste haha) and I was still grocery shopping for the little and the other nights of the week. 

Still, it was quite a treat for us and we enjoyed it immensely. I learned some new techniques and gained several recipes. We loved the different meals and can see how people could easily get addicted to the service. 

So that's a wrap on one of the best birthday gifts I've ever been given.

Momdamonium

Today had a most epic moment of Momdamonium.

Emerson had just woken up from her nap and was unusually clingy and cryie. She just wanted to be held which would normally be just fine except this six month preggo lady HAD to go to the bathroom immediately. Like, real bathroom people. So I explained to Emerson that I needed to go hoping she would take to rationale but alas as soon as I put her down an epic crydown ensued. So I did what any other mom would have done and took her with me. It may have been my most momshameful moment yet because while I was going, and holding her limp frame, she kept repeating in between tears, "mommy, peeeyeeww. pee-yew."

I share this with you because I know I'm not the only one. I can't be. Right?

All the mama's out there be like.

via GIPHY