Home Away From Home

Monday, May 19, 2014

Currently.

Hey there and welcome to Currently, where we talk about what we are Currently up to and also let you share your own through the link-up below. We’d love for you to join us and add a link to your own Currently. post! It’s a great way to make new friends and build community.

Thinking about: Our house, finally going on the market last night! Woohooo! I've been trying really hard not to complain, but it has been a rough few weeks. Ray has spent every weekend and even some nights after work over there fixing, cleaning, and perfecting that house (he's amazing), so we miss him and are ready to have him back. I'm looking forward to having our weekends back too.

I spend a lot of time at home alone with Emmett, so on the weekends, I really need some adult interaction and some fun, preferably outside the house. I'm looking forward to more of that in the coming weeks.

Now, we just have to sell the place.

This is our friend Paul and I "helping" Ray paint/i.e. taking selfies.

Thankful for: Emmett's sleep habits of late. When he stopped nursing, he started sleeping through the night. Or vice versa. But that wasn't until he was about 17 months, so we spent many a night over the first year and a half wide awake wishing he'd sleep better. Now that he sleeps through the night, I am not taking it for granted. He goes to bed at 7:30 and doesn't wake up until morning. Morning can be anywhere from 5:30 on, but lately, he's sleeping until 8:00. Yes, 8:00! It's incredible. This weekend Ray and I slept in right along with him, and it was glorious.

Anxious about: Work. I started a new job last week, working from home, so I'm in the midst of figuring out how to make it all work. It feels like a lot- I have three email accounts to juggle, which is a bit of a nightmare for me. I like my email to be really organized (weirdo), so three accounts to manage is stressing me out a bit.

I laughed at myself a few times this weekend when I started to get anxious about juggling two jobs and new responsibility on top of everything else going on. When I worked full time, my job was incredibly stressful and I managed it just fine, on top of being a mom and wife and everything else. So it's funny to me now that two part time jobs is stressing me out. And I feel silly for being anxious because HELLO! I'm living my dream! I'm staying home with my boy full time, and these two jobs are making that possible. But still, it's new and I'm figuring it out and so for now, it's stressful.

Also, I feel like I've signed away my nap times and evenings and even free time on the weekends. Working from home, you don't get to just leave work behind. It's always there, and this new job is the sort of thing that I can do as much or as little of as I want. Which means I will always feel like when I'm sitting down to watch TV or going to bed early, I should really be working. I guess I just need to set some boundaries, schedule time to work each day, and allow myself free time the rest of the time. I'll figure it out. Any of you mamas who work from home have advice for me?

Looking forward to: Swimming! We took Emmett swimming for the first time this year yesterday. Ray's parents have a pool so we can pop over whenever we want. I'm so excited to get him in the water and teach him how to swim on his own. He's an adventurous little thing, but he also loves holding on to his mama, so I hope I can get him feeling comfortable enough to want to swim on his own. So fun!

I hope you had a lovely weekend as well! As always, I am joining with A Mama Collective to bring you this week's installment of Currently.

Thinking about:

Reading:

Listening to:

Watching:

Thankful for:

Wishing: (goals for the week)

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Thursday, May 15, 2014

19/52

"A portrait of my Emmett boy, once a week, every week in 2014."

Our boy is developing quite the personality these days. He's asserting himself, even beginning to dress himself, and his little imagination has started to show. He wears tutus when we visit his little girl friend, and isn't afraid to don a pretty pink tiara either. He loves socks, and is happy to wear them with sandals, even when we can only find one of the pair. He's silly, and funny, and smart. He surprises me every day with new words I had no idea he could say, like penguin and hummingbird and "God bless you" when I sneeze.

The other day I asked him to stand by that white wall so that I could take his picture. Instead, he did this. If he was going to pose, he was going to do it his way. I can respect that! He really is quite a character, and I can't wait to see what silly things he does next. This week, I want to remember his funny personality, and that silly look on his face as he poses for a photo. I love that little kid so much.

Monday, May 12, 2014

Currently. Mother's Day

Thinking about: Expectations/anticipation vs. Reality. This always gets me. I build things up in my mind, both good and bad, and reality never quite meets my expectations. This weekend, that was a good thing.

On Friday, Emmett and I were restless so we rode our bikes to the local library and museum. We had so much fun running around, riding old police motorcycles and fire trucks and playing with crates of plastic fruit. We came home and I got his lunch ready, but instead of eating he sat in his highchair staring into space and shivering. I snatched him up once I realized something was wrong and he was burning with fever. So awful.

We juuuust got over a terrible, everlasting case of croup like a week ago, so I was worried it was back and we'd be sick again for another two weeks. The fever reached 103.6 in the evening, so I got in a warm bath with him and pumped him full of tylenol and ibuprofen to bring it down. After a while he started talking and playing again and was able to eat some dinner. The fever lasted all through the night, and then broke around 5:00 a.m.

We took him to the doctor on Saturday, and left with a diagnosis of hand, foot and mouth disease. The doc told me his fever would last at least 5 days and I immediately melted into a puddle of tears and defeat. I thought we'd never make it. After the croup episode, I didn't think I could handle another week of fevers. And it was Mother's Day weekend!

But you know, it wasn't so bad. His fever hasn't come back, and he's been mostly happy. Every few hours he'll remember that his throat really hurts and it's all I can do to calm him down with popsicles and tylenol, but we spent most of yesterday snuggling, and that's all I ever want to do anyway. :)

Watching: I finished Nashville. What should I watch next???

Listening to: Emmett playing in the bath. He's in a great mood this morning! He keeps telling me he's swimming and he's a whale, then I say "a whale!?" and he says, "no whayal, Emmett hairplane!"

Thankful for: My husband. He helped me make the best of what could have been a really hard day yesterday. He got up with Emmett and I at 5:30 after a rough night, and ran out for breakfast and mimosas at 6:00 a.m. He came home with flowers and made my favorite breakfast, biscuits and gravy. He kept Emmett happy so I could shower (it had been daaaaays). When I wanted to go visit Oliver out of the blue, he made that happen too.

He stayed home from work this morning so I could work since Emmett can't go to school, and he's currently cleaning out our garage. Bless him!

I married a really good man. He centers me and keeps me sane, and loves me well. Yesterday at the cemetery I watched him holding Emmett's little hand and I was overcome with gratitude. For Ray, for Emmett, for the little family we have together. That it's him I'm going through this life with.