Best Job Ever

I love my job.

In fact, just last week as my husband stopped home briefly from work,

I yelled up to him,

"I have the best job in the entire world!!"

I truly believe that I do.

I've had jobs where I made actual money.

I started babysitting at a young age.

I worked for my father at his hardware store starting when I was 15.

I worked summers there every year up until I turned 21.

I bussed tables at a local small town restaurant.

I made espressos, lattes and wraps at a tiny coffee shop.

I wiped noses and played with toddlers at a day care during college.

{short lived--I got wayyyy too sick to keep up with my school work!}

I got my first "Big Girl" job when I was 22.

I held that position until I chose to leave at 29.

I really loved that job.

Teaching Jr. High, that is.

I felt that I had found my 'calling'

But as the years progressed,

teaching changed,

and well,

that's just another blog post entirely.

But I loved my students...

Fortunately I married an "old school Italian man"

and we decided to run our house like it was 1950.

You see, 

Joe's grandparents are right from Calabria Italy,

and Joe has had it in his mind that he'd marry a woman

and he would be the breadwinner
and she'd take care of him, the home, and the kids.

At first I scoffed at the idea,

What kind of woman would I be if I chose to stay home?

Just be a housewife??

Absurd.
I can only imagine what people say behind my back.

The only one who voiced an opinion to my face,

was my father.
I completely understood why;

I was his oldest daughter,

but I'll always be his little girl.
He taught me to be strong, independent and work hard.

I think he was afraid if something were to happen,

with Joe and I,

where would I be?

I just spent the last 9 years getting my undergraduate and graduate degree.

He was nervous.

Well, he got to know my husband better.

He now sees how we work;

keeping a house clean, maintained, three full meals a day..

I don't sit around watching soap operas.

{I barely watch RHO...wherever!}

I take it seriously.

So, as summer 2011 approached 

and I was becoming increasingly miserable

 at my once upon a time 'dream job,'

Joe kept saying,

 "Just quit. Don't go back. Stay home."

Well, I did.

It didn't help that with budget cuts, 

it looked like my position would be eliminated eventually...

And besides, we wanted me to stay home and raise our family.

So I did it. 

In 2011, I decided to be a housewife.
Best. Decision. Ever.

I haven't slept in past 7am on a weekday in so long.

Why?
I take good care of my hubby.

Ironing work shirts.

Letting dogs out/feed them.

Preparing a breakfast of eggs, juice and fresh fruit.

Laying out our daily assortment of vitamins to maintain health.

Walking him to the door, 

kissing him goodbye.

It took some getting used to,

you know,

being self-employed.

There are days where I don't feel motivated...

I just want to be a bum.

I reeeeeeeally wanted to lay around and read yesterday.

But I always get up and shower

word to the wise: the earlier the better!

It takes self-control and discipline to clean.

All the time.

Two crazy furballs in the middle of winter make for a lot of vacuuming!

Before I had Brooke I felt a little funny if someone asked me,

"What do you do for a living?"
Because it seems a lot more acceptable to be a "stay at home mom"

vs.

"stay at home wife"

But at the end of the day,

I always know that Joe and I are doing what's best for us.

And you know what?

I'm happy I had a year under my belt to 

just be a housewife.

I learned a lot more about the two of us,

and in my gut, I have a feeling that since I was not stressed out,

driving 45 minutes to and 45 minutes from work,

coming home to make dinner,

grade English papers,

clean the house,

find time for friends,

family,

and my man...

I got pregnant.

Naturally.

We, not just as women, but humans,

cannot do it all.

So?
Choose what makes you happy and figure it out.

Just like any job,

there will be annoyances and I will want to vent.

#thatswhatgirlfriendsarefor

But it's about perspective and choosing to be happy.

Yesterday I spent most of my day buried in our 

crap room  I mean craft room/office.

I have been avoiding that room like the plague.

I finally tackled it and I feel great.

I actually love sitting in it as I write this!

I'm grateful that we have this lifestyle.
I couldn't imagine it any other way.
My man works so hard to provide for us financially,
it makes me want to work hard to keep this house a happy home.
My reward to myself for cleaning this messy room:
Playing dress up with my little doll.

 Waking up to this precious little angel
and knowing that she's mine to take care of all day...and night.
Makes me the happiest and luckiest girl in the world.
I love being a mommy!!

Enjoy your day!

A Small Triumph: Tales of Mommyhood

It's 5:00 on Monday afternoon.

Mondays are long, as the husband works until 8 or 9 pm

after leaving the house by no later than 8:10 am.

I just "closed my eyes for a minute" 

at 3:20 and before I knew it,

the clock was rounding 5.

I knew I had to pick up the dry cleaning;

Joe's work pants were there!

The annoying part about our cleaners,

is that they will tell you it's ready at 5pm for pick up,

but they're only open until 6. 

It's not usually a problem,

but when you're a little sleep deprived,

and fell asleep for a nap while baby slept.

This one hour window seemed a tad unlikely!

Since baby was still asleep, I chose to pump.

5:04

As soon as I started pumping, I could hear her little cries.

I finished up, started my truck

5:13

it's 29 degrees today

 fed her, burped, fed and burped some more

 and checked the clock:

5:32

Took note that the truck was no longer running...

I quickly rush up to her nursery to change her diaper,

only to discover she pooed through it.

Onto the cute onesie.

Oh yes, up the back.

I can't get mad since she smiles away and coos so loudly.

But seriously, how come they only poop through the clothes when 

you actually have some place to go??
I put another onesie on

{not her favorite thing in the world, chubby arms into a thin sleeve!}

I run to put on some acceptable pants,

check the clock again:

5:41

bring her downstairs and tell my dogs 

"Crate!"
They rush down to the door to our basement,

Sadie banging her nose against it,

grab small doggie treats

and we trot down there to enclose them.

{This is to ensure no harm is done to our home or dogs while gone}

Run back up the stairs,

buckle baby in, cover in blankets.

Slip into Uggs

soooo over these, and the white ground they walk on!

Put on my puffer vest,

grab my grocery list,

my phone,

my purse.
Check that clock:

5:49

Pick up the heavy car seat with heavier by the day baby,

trudge through the snowy driveway,

place baby in the backseat, 

click it in,

strap it in.

Hop into the front seat,

off I go.

Luckily we live right down the road from the cleaners.

Pull into the parking lot:
5:56

Unbuckle baby,

carry her into the cleaners,

pick up husband's work pants,

and head back to the truck.

Drive through the parking lot, just to park again...

I pick a spot near the grocery carts,

thinking it'll be easier to just set her on the cart

and push.

This is the first attempt at grocery shopping

just me

and little B.

I don't know why,

but I always get nervous about things I have never done before.
I've been really spoiled with grandmas and my husband

wanting to watch our little girl.

Joe and I have gone shopping with her and she was fine.

This time was absolutely no different!
She was so curious to look around at all the bright and shiny lights,

and by the end of our shopping tour,

she was fast asleep at checkout.

Now I know there will be days of screaming ahead,

but for my first solo trip for groceries?
It was perfect.

And I am so proud of both of us!

I even managed to whip up Giada's Turkey meatloaf,

had sweet potato fries in the oven,

threw a side salad together

and bathed baby all before Joe came home.

The mountains of laundry didn't all get folded and put away,

the guest room/my closet is still a mess--

transitioning into clothes pre- pregnancy 

{by the time I'll fit into my winter attire, it'll be Spring, doh!}

Tossing all my maternity wear into a bin for later use...

The office is still in the works.
Why is it so hard to get rid of books?!?

I'll never read them again.

And the living room doesn't look like I vacuumed since I did first thing in the morning

#doghaireverywhereughhhhh

But I can at least gloat at my small triumphs and 

there's always tomorrow.

Are you a Bad Fish too?

Yay for Tuesday!

It's sunny.

My husband gets out of work "early" [5pm.]

My little girl is sweetly sleeping in her swing.

Life is good!

I just wanted to share a quick song that 

has been playing in our home as of late.

I had not heard it until I started listening to my 

"Jack Johnson" station on Pandora during my nursing sessions.
#latetothepartyagain
I listened to this station during labor
before the pushing
and I think Brooke likes the laid back tunes as I rock her to sleep. 

My husband randomly started playing it too

{he listens to Red Hot Chili Pepper station I think?}
It's funny how, when you've been with a person for five years,
you continue to find yourselves more connected each and every day.
This baby has most definitely brought us closer together,
and I'm beyond happy with the family we've become.
Anyway, this song is so catchy and has such a fun beat.
If you walk by our house,
and are creepin looking through our windows...
you'll see us bopping around with baby Brooke to this jam.
We just love dancing with our little girl,
and this song is one of our favorites.
It's quirky and odd.
The lyrics are a little wacky.
Well, so are we.
I guess.

So here's the original version:

And of course,

Jack Johnson did a re-make...

love love love

That is all.
Have a lovely day, all of you bad fish!

Weekend Family Fun

Hello, last week of February!?!

How was your weekend?
Our was awesome.

Friday started with my 6 week postpartum check up.

Old Navy has some amazing clothes lately!

Leggings, long tank, and an over sized long sleeved shirt are my bffs.

I did get the "Go ahead" from my doctor.

However, as for my pelvic pain,

he said it may take 3 months to completely heal.

He suggests walking for my 'workouts'.

 Take advil and baths for pain.

And listen to my body.

Well, after walking in Target and the grocery store

I could feel it getting aggravated, so basically that just sucks.

I'll try a chiropractor this week (even though the dr said it probably won't help)

Moving along...

Daddy babysat while I was out and about, so that was great!

When I got home it was time for cuddles

We had a fun little evening in.

Eating sushi and leftovers.

And loving this one.

Saturday I cleaned the house.

We also had our first play date!

My friend Jamie brought her son Blake {3 weeks older} over

In typical baby fashion, they played a little,

ate some more,

and slept a lot!

It was great to catch up with another new mommy!!

Saturday night my husband was going to grill...

but then at the store stumbled upon another idea.

We are not huge lamb lovers,

but they had these organic ones and Joe saw the recipe:

Pesto & Panko.

Yup, that's it!
I whipped up my own pesto and he slathered it on,

sprinkled panko and baked it in the oven.

It was pretty good!
A totally different taste than other meats,

but a nice little treat nonetheless.

We watched the movie Argo and thought it was great!
Sunday brought family fun day!

We packed up and headed out to my dad's for the day.

It was the first time my niece met my daughter.

We didn't get to give our niece her Christmas presents

or her birthday gifts {hers is the day after Brooke's!}

So she had fun opening lots of gifts!

 

BTW when did Barbie get to be such a hoochie? 

Has she always been?! haha

 Nana & Papa with Brooke

 Uncle Joey having a picnic with Adri

We went outside to see my husband fly his helicopter...

It was cold!

We devoured "Family Steak" and mashed potatoes.

It was delicious.

And before we knew it,

it was time to go.

I only wished we lived closer than 45 minutes away!

I love family weekends.

It's so hard to get a lot of great pictures...

I'm having so much fun just enjoying the time!
I need to get better at that.

Here's to a great week ahead.

Post Pregnancy Workouts

Happy Thursday!

This post may come off as vain,

but I really value health.
More than ever, I want to be in the best shape of my life.

Why?
Well I do want to look good,

feel good,

but I want to keep up with this little one,

once she starts running around!!

I've got a whole lot to live for, especially now.

Tomorrow marks the 6 week mark post-partum.
I have my check up at 11:30 and I really hope I get the "all is clear" signal!

I'm soooo ready to workout {mentally}

but I'm a tad nervous physically.

I am certainly going to talk about this potential Pelvic Girdle Pain

I have experienced since about 7 months on...

but I think it's getting better?

I don't know why, but I've always been one that "cracks"

Literally, my feet, toes, ankles, shoulders, hips, knees, neck...

I just make a whole lotta noise!
It drives Joe crazy.

During pregnancy, I'm pretty certain due to the lovely hormones,

relaxin

I really haven't 'cracked' much these last months...

until the last few days.
I feel like that's a great sign!

Anyway, assuming I get the "green light" tomorrow,

I really don't know where to start working out.

I walk the dogs here and there,

I do my pelvic floor exercises,

{constantly workin on those kegels}

keeping this house clean,

going up and down our stairs a million times to change B's diaper

-seriously, my legs feel great-

But my biggest problem is when I used to workout,

I was never very good at "taking it easy"

which is why I stopped doing Zumba and Jillian Michaels videos.

Do I start with Yoga again?

I did that up until 7 1/2 months pregnant.

Do I do half of a video?

Do I just workout 10 minutes a day at first?

 I know above all,
I just need to start moving.

Any suggestions from you post-baby mamas?

I cannot wait to attend a Zumba class,

I just hope I don't overdo it!

I am confident as long as I continue to eat healthy,

my milk supply will not drop

and I will get back into my normal jeans!

I have lost 38 pounds without even trying.

I have 20 left to get to a 'normal'

but of course I'd like to lose an extra 10 on top of that.

Yes, I gained that much.

My baby is healthy and that is all I care about!

My goal:

Do something every day 

and keep it logged here under my "healthy tab"

A few sites I found that may be helpful:

Moms into Fitness

Get Fit and Yummy

Post Partum Workout Plan

 I am still working on the hubs to get a treadmill for our house.

It hasn't helped that it hurts to walk, so I hope once I feel better we will get one!

 If I write out my goals, it will happen.

I'll focus on healthy eating another post,

for now, let's get moving!

Until then my plan for this upcoming week:

The links are on you tube and only 10-15 minutes long.

I think that will be best rather than trying to a long workout all at once.

{I'll stretch after each 'workout'}

As I get stronger, I'll do more each week.
I just don't want to injure myself.

Friday: Tracy Anderson's Post Pregnancy Workout Part I

Saturday:Tracy Anderson's Post Pregnancy Workout Part II

Sunday: Rest

Monday: Yoga DVD

Tuesday: Hip Hop class (30 mins)

Wednesday: Tracy Anderson's Post Pregnancy Workout Part III

Thursday: Pilates

Friday: Tracy Anderson's Post Pregnancy Workout Part IV

Walk dogs as much as I can.

It may seem lame,

but I just want to start small and work my way up.

This way there are NO excuses!

I will be doing burpees soon enough...
I want to look like this again--

 My 30th Birthday

2011

Or even this...

Our Cruise May 2011.

I was eating a lot of salads and working out a lot!

 And of course back in July of 2010 I was in awesome shape

for our wedding.

 Look at my hubs...so handsome!

 I figure my own photos are more inspirational than random strangers.

I've looked like this before,

I can look even hotter, right?!

Baha.

#stayingpositive

I know it will take time

and I cannot get frustrated.

If I do?
I'll just go pick up my little girl and steal some hugs and kisses.

She was worth every extra pound.

How did you lose the baby weight???