Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Christmas Tree Saga


1. Pulled out, set up, strung lights on (hate this part...), and decorated our old Christmas tree

2. Moved the already decorated, heavy, and awkward tree across the room since it blocked the TV :)

3. Decided we are OVER this tree and bought a new one on Black Friday

4. Set up and "floofed" the new tree

5. Accidentally cut a wire causing a section to DIE and obviously not light up anymore...

6. Strung a set of old lights on the new tree to cover the mess-up

7. Finished decorating new tree

8. I LOVE all these lights!!
Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree...

We're leaving you up until Valentine's Day.

Sunday, November 27, 2011

Blogging Hiatus

I have been slacking on posts lately and I thought I would just tell you that I'm planning to continue slacking. :) At least you know, right?

I'll be back later this week to catch you up on our lives.

I've also been terrible about keeping up with my google reader, so I've GOT to get caught up on that and see what is going on in all of your lives!!

Something SUPER cool is that this is my 700th post!!! Can you believe that?? I sure can't. 700. Wow.

Well, until 701 - have a great week! :)

Saturday, November 19, 2011

Carrot Head

Today was my first time eating carrots!! My first veggie! And I ate like a CHAMP!

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Full-Time Mommy, Part-Time Employee

I feel like I've done a good job of updating everyone on Jack (Duh, Sarah - ya think? The whole blog is about that kid.) but I've kind of neglected keeping you updated on me. I mean, obviously my whole world right now is pretty much centered around that sweet little baby, but I've just been posting "milestone" after "milestone" and not really the full picture of what is going on right now.

On October 3rd, I went back to work.

During my whole pregnancy, I struggled with whether or not I was going to go back to work. My heart was very much against the idea, but our bank account was for it. Jason and I prayed, discussed, talked, argued, prayed some more, and thought about how perfect it would be if I could just go back part-time. The thing is, my company doesn't really DO part-time. 

So we continued to pray about it and I formulated the perfect part-time scenario in my head: 2-3 days a week and maybe some from home? Anything to avoid 8 hours a day, 5 days a week... I wanted to present this to my bosses and get their thoughts, but I didn't want them to know I was struggling with whether or not to come back. At this point, all they knew was that after a 3 month maternity leave, I was for sure coming back. No question.

Except there was a question.

A few months before Jack was born, I got up the courage to talk to my bosses and let them know that I was not going to be coming back full time. If I came back, it would be part-time, and if we couldn't work it out, then I was not going to be coming back at all. 

Talk about the scariest conversation ever!!!! I prayed before I went in that I wouldn't cry, because, let's face it - if I'm nervous about something, I usually cry. Thank goodness I didn't, and honestly the whole situation just had God's fingerprints all over it because my bosses were fabulous. They were very appreciative that I came forward when I did, so that they wouldn't be left scrambling, if I had waited until the end of my maternity leave or something. And they were going to fight for me to come back, even if it was just part-time.

Now let me back up a second, because this part is important. I'm going to do my best not to confuse you, but I probably will. At the beginning of 2011, working in my position was R, T, and me. Then R got a promotion, so we planned to hire a new person to work with T and me. Then T moved to a different position within the company, so it was R as my immediate superior, then me and 2 open positions. So they had just filled one of the spots with K, and they were about to hire J when I told them I wanted to work part-time, so they went ahead and hired S to fill my full-time position. (Still with me at all?) 

Basically there were three BRAND NEW PEOPLE doing the job that I had been doing for 3 years. So as part of my spiel to get part-time approved, I said that I could help train the new employees and get everyone up to speed (as well as work on projects, brands, etc.). Long story short - well, long story LONG, actually - my bosses went to upper management and really stood behind me and fought for me to have the opportunity to come back. And it worked!!

On October 3rd, I went back to work.

I work two days a week, 7 1/2 hours a day, and I. love. it. It is the perfect balance of keeping my foot in the door at work and staying up to date on all that's going on, and spending all the time in the world with Jackson. My mom watches him on Mondays and he goes to a daycare REALLY close to work on Thursdays.

The Lord completely worked this situation out. I am so grateful. During the times when I struggled, I kept telling myself, "God already knows how this is going to work out."

I am a full-time mommy and a part-time employee. :)

UPDATE: As of January 2012, I am a full-time mommy, full-time mommy!

Saturday, November 12, 2011

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Feeding Jack Cereal

On Sunday we gave Jackson rice cereal for the first time! 
Annnnd... well, you can see how it goes in the video below. 

(If you are a certain sweet little girl who likes to 
watch "Jack-shun" make sure to watch to the end!)

And if you can't watch the video, or just decide that 4 minutes watching a kid NOT enjoy cereal is a slight waste of your time (gasp!); the first, second, and third attempts at rice cereal were pretty bad... Then yesterday we tried oatmeal cereal and he did much better!

I think my best advice for trying cereal for the first time, especially if you are a nursing mommy, is not to follow the exact directions at first. It says to mix 1 tablespoon of cereal with 4-5 tablespoons of milk, but don't!! They will probably only eat 1/2 of one bite and you will have wasted 5 tablespoons of precious milk!!! I "discovered" that 1T = 3t, so rather than doing the full 1T of cereal...
3t cereal + 12t of milk
1t cereal + 4t of milk 
OR 
1/4t cereal + 1t of milk
Yay!! Much less wasted milk! :)

Did your kiddos enjoy cereal from the beginning 
or did it take a bit to get used to it?

Monday, November 7, 2011

Gift Suggestions: For Her

Whew! What a fun weekend!! Brianne's wedding was on Saturday!!! It was so fun, and I didn't fall - we all wore these super cute glittery 4 INCH heels (I was 6'1"), so it is SERIOUSLY worth celebrating that I didn't fall! I didn't get any pictures at the wedding, so I will have to wait for someone else to post theirs to show you our dresses and fun shoes!

So I know you know this, but Christmas is going to be here before we know it. I mean, it's like RIGHT around the corner. I was thinking yesterday about some of my favorite gifts that I have received or given, and I wanted to tell you about two of them.

The first is the Travel Tote from Initials Inc.! I bought this when Emily Geyer first became a consultant for I.I., and I AM OBSESSED with it!!

It's my small overnight bag.
It's my large overnight bag.
It's my carry-on.
It was my HOSPITAL BAG for crying out loud.
And I used it this weekend to tote my stuff to get ready for Bri's wedding.

This is the GREATEST bag for all occassions, and the best part is that it is only $40!!! (full disclosure - tax & shipping will be added) I have given this as a gift to my sister-in-law Elizabeth, my mom, my mother-in-law... It comes in black or brown with your choice of fun ribbon at the top, and can be monogramed with initials, your name, etc. I have the black one with a black & white polka dot ribbon (that is no longer available - it's most like the Metro ribbon; I love the plum paisley and yellow daisy ribbons!). It has a zippered top, which immediately puts it at the top of my "which bag am I going to cram all my stuff in" list.

If I haven't convinced you to get this... I just don't know what else to tell you. :)
(email Emily @ emilylgeyer@gmail.com if you want to order one!)

The second place I love to get (& receive) gifts from is CurlyPearl on Etsy! The beautiful jewelry is designed by a friend of mine from college named Rachael. Her pieces are very well made and are SO REASONABLY PRICED!!! I mean, handmade earrings for $5-7? You can even have her custom make a piece if you like something but wish it were in different colors, etc.

I have a pair of  earrings (which are similar to these) and I always get complements on them.
And I totally want these... and these...
 Sale: Cascading Yellow Pearl Earrings
and thiiiiiis...
Colorful Modern Necklace - Red and Lime Green
Check out CurlyPearl on Etsy to order for yourself or a friend!

What are some other ideas for gifts to give for all the beautiful ladies in your life?

(I know I put "For Her" in the title, as if I'm going to do a "For Him" or something... which I'm probably not because I have no insight into what guys want. Anyone want to help out and be a guest blogger!? Guy or girl?)

P.S. I am not getting "perked" at all for giving you my opinion about these gifts. These are just some awesome products I love and wanted to share. :)

Friday, November 4, 2011

Brief Laughter

Aunt Jessica took this video for us on Tuesday of Jack laughing (a little bit) at Mommy. 
For some reason the sound is really soft, so you may have to turn it up to actually hear him. 
Silly boy!

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Baby Jack - Four Months

Birth: 7lbs 8oz, 21in long
1 Month: 9lbs 4oz, 22 3/4in long
2 Months: 11lbs 12 oz, 24in long
3 Months; 13lbs 6oz, 25 3/4in long
4 Months: 14lbs 6oz, 27 1/4in long





Here is what Jack is up to at four months:

  • He's sleeping about 6-7 hours at a time, then a few more after that, BUT last Monday he slept for 10.5 hours so I was FREAKING OUT excited that he would start sleeping all the way through the night for me. Then we found out...
  • Jack was sick with a cold and croup last week. (Hence the looooooong sleep.) Poor buddy had a barking cough for a few days and just wasn't his normal happy self, but he's feeling much better now!
  • He dressed up as "Smokey Manning" for his very first Halloween!
  • He did his first AWESOME tummy time last month and then even better at physical therapy.
  • He has been doing great with head control and sits in his Bumbo chair pretty well - give it another week and he'll be a champ.
  • He's rolling to his side if he's on his back or on his tummy.
  • He's still in some 0-3 month outfits, but he can't fit into any 0-3 sleepers because he's SO LONG!!! And to be honest, he's about to be too tall for the 3-6 month ones... 
  • Aunt Jessica got a great video of him laughing and smiling - I will be posting it soon!
  • We're going to get to feed him cereal for the first time really soon! (maybe Friday or Sunday?) As always, it will be well documented and you can expect to see it next week. :)

And now a video of Jackson for his four month "birthday":
(please enjoy his shiny chest from drool...)

Did you know that I have all the "mirthday" pictures on the "Our Baby" part of the blog? You can see the little stinker at 1, 2, and 3 months compared to now. His little cheeks and legs are getting chubbier! Love it!!

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