Weekend ramblings: March edition.

I have once again lagged on posting. But life, man. It does things to a person and, well, next thing you know, blogging is put on hold. Last week I was dealt a heavy blow and this weekend I attended a funeral. It has been a whirlwind of emotions to say the least.

Because I want this place to maintain some sort of semblance of consistency, I'm going to be diligent and post at least this one time for the week...but probably more. I do have something waiting in the wings that I started last week. Ok, without further ado here is a light smattering of my ramblings...

 

There were a lot of feels happening this weekend. Han also had a fever and was a major crank-butt the whole weekend. He did have moments of respite seen above. Actually, we both are - let me be fair, I was a major crank-butt too, although for different reasons. 

Han's Auntie Cray-Cray had a birthday, so we made sure to show her we cared via Facebook. This was photo was taking after we attempted to lift our spirits by breathing the fresh air and feeling the sun dapple our cheeks. Well, all was well and good until nature decided to bitch-slap me and I've been sneezing and blowing my nose ever since. I swear I've never had allergies until I got older.

And finally, here's an OOTD that sums up the end of our weekend pretty perfectly.

Weekend ramblings: March edition.

Saturday Danny, Han, and I traveled to Modesto to meet up with my mom, sister, and nephew. We hung out there for a few hours and had some fun. Han and Nae-Nae (real name Nathan) had a grand ol' time playing and exploring. It's so cute seeing them hang together.

My sister, Valerie practiced a hairstyle on me for my upcoming nuptials. She used a clampless curling iron and gave me this sideswept boho chic look. I loved it and knew immediately it was the hairstyle for me. I of course forgot to take a good photo of the hairstyle, but there's always my wedding day for that. It was nice to hang out with them. I sort of wish we could have stayed longer, but Danny had a show in Oakland and my mom and sister can get super loud and say super catty shit to each other. Hashtag: I'm out!

This what Han and I do while his Daddy is away. He was a bit of a cranky boy since we forwent his naps in order to hang in Modesto. We tried (unsuccessfully) to put him down in his cousin's room. Next time we need to come armed with his pack n' play, blankies, and sound machine. Hopefully with familiar sounds and scents he'll go down. It works at Danny's parents' house anyway.

And then this is what I had post-hell-of-a-time-putting-Han-down. He was not a happy camper. Again, bad decision on skipping those effing NAPS! Never. Again. My friend and her son (who is 18 months) came over to hang with us. All was going well, but then Han started being a drama queen due to over-tiredness, so I tried putting him down at his normal time and the beast wasn't having it! Ugh.

I had to ask my friend to go, which I felt bad about, but the stress of it all was starting to rattle me. After she left I relaxed, changed his diaper, gave him some baby Motrin (he felt very warm and he has a tooth cutting in), a watered down bottle, cradled him and just chillaxed with him in his room. He drank maybe an ounce and after five minutes of touching my face, he started to snuggle up close and I knew he'd actually go down and stay down this time. He did. Phew.

The whole ordeal only took an hour, but when you're in it, it feels like the friggin' Hundred Years War! My friend left me cookies which I devoured. That's unsweetened vanilla almond milk from Trader Joe's. It's so yummy! Am I the only one that thinks it tastes like the milk left in your bowl after eating Coco Puffs - but like a better, cleaner, colder version, obvs.

After last weekend's Austen lecture I attended, I've been reading this bio and plan on re-reading her novels once I finish. I find myself only reading teeny bits right before bed. I tend to get too distracted with my phone and the TV. Once we put Han down, I have 2 hours of free time. I really need to start dedicating a full hour to reading every night. Plus, I get to have regency-filled dreams - at least during this month's reading selection. My goal is to read 1 book per month. Golly that can't be that hard, right?! Netflix, I shake my fist out you! 

I took an On-Call Librarian shift at the Public Library on Sunday and couldn't wait to end this weekend. There was a lot going on. Some good, some not so good. Ok, well time to wrap this post of weekend ramblings up. To end, here's the OOTD segment - enjoy!

OOTD brought to you by Han Bonurrito! He likes to go shoe-less when he's home. This is my new favorite shirt on him. Damn, I love that kid. 

Yes, I want to wait 4 years before another one is ripped from my loins.

So, my kid is now 10 1/2 months old. Yeah, I know I'm due for a milestones update but for now I wanna talk about this bizarre phenomenon (ok, probably not that bizarre) where people like to tell parents with a child who may have another in 3 to 4 years that that's too far apart for siblings. Does that make sense? Well, just in case here's how it'd go in a play:

(Open on me sitting across from her in cafe. Clinking and light talking heard in background. I take a sip of black coffee as she starts talking)

Her: So you think you guys will have anymore?
Me: Yeah, maybe. (Takes sip of coffee) But not for like 3 or 4 years.
Her (aghast): No! That's too far apart.
Me: Well, I want Han to be able to pee without assistance and be able to listen and understand when I tell him he needs to go play in his room and stuff.
Her (said resolutely): Yeah, but it's so worth having them closer in age because then they'll be the best of friends and go play together and really be out of your hair.
Me: (Looks out at audience and takes a gulp of coffee with a look of derision)

And scene.

This scene brought to by...

Egads, I can only imagine what the folks who concretely plan on only having the one have to go through.

More often than not this conversation is prompted by a non-parent or a parent whose kids are in their thirties. And hey, I know they mean well. It's just a funny situation I've found myself in more than once. Obviously peeps can pop 'em out as close together or as far apart as they like, but for Danny and me we wanna wait until Han can pretty much fend for himself or well as much as a 3.5/4-year-old can fend for himself. Plus at that age, dude can help a mutha out! Amirite?! This is where my thinking goes.

And then there's cost. Kids ain't cheap! Having 2 attending daycare even if Danny and I both work, makes my head spin. Living on one salary was always a temporary solution for us, so having entire paychecks going to daycare scares the bejesus outta me. No thanks. By the time we have another one Han will be old enough to attend public preschool. For free. F-R-E-E. So we'd only have to pay for 1 kid at a time to attend daycare.

Anyway, who's to say they won't be the best of friends?! 4 years isn't that far apart. I'm very close to my youngest sister who, you guessed it, is 4 years younger than me. Danny and his sister are 3 years apart and get along extremely well. Am I crazy to think 3-4 years is like nothing?! 

WTHeck! Our baby is just that: A FRIGGIN' BABY! We have time to plan and think and even decide ONE is enough for us. That being said, yes I'm a bit of a control freak so (as seen in the paragraphs above) I do have a loose plan running in my head. For our family waiting a few years is what's gonna work.

For now, I'm just focusing on watching my lil' dude grow and develop. Yesterday, he just started petting Monpetit "gently" after I showed him how. The pride that came shooting out of my eyes could cut marble! Please, you lovely, well-meaning folks, allow me to relish on these moments for a few more years. Your first kid is only your first the once.

What about you? Have you dealt with a situation like this? What was your reaction?

Weekend ramblings: February edition.

In an effort to post more regularly, I'm going to start every week with a little rundown of what my weekend consisted of - even it it consisted of me in pjs binge watching Netflix while Han hobbles around hootin' and howlerin' with glee.

Well, I was actually quite productive this weekend. I'll wait for your applause...Thank you, thank you. So, although Han's closet is not completely finished it's pretty darn near.

I painted a second a coat whilst listening to power ballads by the incomparable Florence and the Machine. All we need to do now is decide on what colors to paint the mountains and then have at it! This closet should be finished my next weekend. Again, although not completely finished I must say I'm very happy at it's progress. And for posterity's sake, here's a few snapshots of how the office/nursery is shaping up (finally!).

Danny's changing Han, who of course is wriggling around. I sort of long for those immobile days of the newborn phase...but then I don't. Hated that newborn phase. Anyhoots, we just purchased that side table to add next to the rocker. Danny and I also cleaned, cleared, and organized Han's jank (clothes, toys, etc.)! Felt so good. The green boxes in the closet hold 18-24 month clothes, 2T+, and sheets/blankets. Currently we have post-its noting what's in what, but soon we'll add cooler labels. 

You may also notice the 3 puttied areas where a bookshelf once hung. A week or so ago in the middle of the night the shelf fell. Molly bolts were ripped out of the wall and everything. It scared the poopadoops out of all 5 of us! Han was wailing, I was paralyzed in fear thinking someone tried to break in, the cats leapt off the bed, and Danny mumbled in confusion. It was a hectic night to say the least. We plan on painting over those puttied spots and rehanging the shelf. This time we will find the stud and only place light, decorative items on it instead of books (see them piled in the corner). We'll actually place the books in the various spaces on the IKEA Expedit. 

Here's Danny's side of our dual desk. Yes, it's cluttery but it was WAY worse - trust me. As for the bookshelves (which these ones are in studs), I plan on organizing the books by color. I used to have them arranged that way and decided to arrange them by genre. Well, I'm over that phase and want to go by color again. 

There's my side. I want to hide all that tech/cord stuff with some tips I found here. Once we get Han's side finished, we'll fine-tune our desk area. I'd also like to hang this print behind the door. We've had it now for 3 years. 

So that's the closet round-up. Basically it's how we spent our Saturday. Well, Danny and I. Han hung out with his grandparents. On Sunday we hit up IKEA (where we got that white side table). Love IKEA days. I also attended the Notable Books program at the Sacramento Public Library where an old professor of mine along with another instructor defended and celebrated Jane Austen's novel Mansfield Park.

It was delightful. Jane Austen is my favorite author and I highly enjoyed both David Bell's and Rachel Dodge's literary criticism. Now I want to re-read all her novels again. I must admit, Mansfield Park wasn't a favorite of mine, but after hearing the discussion yesterday I'd say it's definitely one of my tops now. Sense and Sensibility will always be my fave though. But who am I kidding, I ♥ all of her works for various reasons.

And to end these ramblings and because I just found out what OOTD stands for (outfit of the day), I thought I'd participate. Here's my OOTD from yesterday.

dress, sweater, & leggings from Target (I'm a Target addict); boots from Sears; necklace/earrings from Forever 21

And now that I'm dabbling with make-up, here's a close-up shot that shows off my mad make-up artistry skills. Just kidding! Yeah, right - haha. But I was pretty pleased with my look. I have to admit, it feels good to feel pretty every so often; especially when your body wobbles in places it never wobbled before, you find a new white hair on the daily, and your winded after climbing a flight of stairs...but I digress. ;)

lips: Revlon ColorBurst Blam Stain in Rendezvous; face/cheeks: tarte Amazonian Clay Foundation in medium honey, e.l.f. blush & bronzer in St. Lucia; eyes: The Balm Put a Lid On It & Big Kahuna shadow from Balmsai palette, Neutrogena Nourishing Eyeliner, L'Oreal Voluminous Mascara

   

  

Mansfield Park cover image

The closet's progress: slow, but in the works.

Poor Han. His room is a straight up mess! I guess, generally speaking, new mamas tend to have the whole nursery business under wraps pre-baby. I'd like to think I'm going against the grain, but really I'm just f-ing lazy. And by the time I get home from work, all I want to do is hang with my lil' beasty and watch him Franken-baby walk to me with a goofy grin and let him crawl all over me. Talk about a great way to decompress from a day at the office. Ah.

Danny and I are trying to tackle it on the weekends, but it's hard to paint a closet when you have a baby who needs to take naps in that room. We managed to get the ball rolling though last weekend. We painted a first coat, which is the same color as his room even though it looks darker.

We also need to patch a couple of holes in there. Hopefully by Saturday the second coat will be finished. It took us maybe an hour to paint, but that's only because we had to prep. We did debate on which color to paint the closet. Originally we were going to do something darker - see blue swatches below:

Behr's Harbor was what the room originally was pre-Han Bon (one of our nicknames for him). It's a great color. I miss it actually. Maybe when we own a home I can incorporate it somewhere. We decided on Benjamin Moore's Blue Macaw, but then I saw this:

And I thought, we could do that! All they used was painter's tape. How hard is it to paint a triangle? Well, we'll see this weekend - ha! I just want to do the mountains. A circular sun/moon sitch just adds too much stress; plus, the space is rather small. We'll probably only paint 3 mountains close together. I'm thinking the one in the foreground will be Blue Macaw, the one mid-background will be Clearspring Green, which is the same as Han's crib color, and the one in the way back will be Revere Pewter...maybe. Funny side note, we chose Han's crib color by using the Benjamin Moore Color Capture app. That app is awesome! Anyhoots, we matched the color to the print below.

Gotta love Boba Fett. It's a print we have yet to hang in his room. Baby steps, folks. Ok, back to the closet. Not sure if we'll do snow-caps. I think we'll paint the first mountain and see how it goes. I think if we do snow-caps it'd be better to paint them Clearspring Green as an accent and the mid-background mountain Rockport Gray. Although, we have a ton of leftover paint so the possibilities are almost endless. It would be kinda fun to do a hot pink like the one above, but we don't have that in our arsenal of paints. Here's hoping we get it done this weekend! 

It's starting to make me twitch that we haven't finished that room yet. I guess that means I should kick my booty into gear and crack it out this weekend! 

Mountain nursery image | Boba Fett print image

Stuff I wanna get my kid.

I'm in better spirits today! Yay! Just an off day on Tuesday. My apologies, folks. Anyhoots, lately I've been thinking about all the cool stuff I wish I could get my kid. You know, if money wasn't an hindrance and all. So for funsies, I created a mood board collage of some stuff I'd like to get my kid to either wear, play with, or decorate his side of the room with (since he shares it with our office jank).

And in case your interested, here's a "stuff" list in a semi-left-to-right break down:

Ukelele | eco-dough | Electron Pendant | Hape Puzzle | Rug | Vilac car | Animal Shaker | Teepee | Star Wars Alphabet Print | Tres Cool Sweater | Shoes | Mustard Yellow Pants | Viking Pillow | Cat Piggy Bank | Storage Ottoman | Side Table

Some things on that list are pretty attainable (re: pants=bought), but other things are bit ridiculous price wise (re: storage ottoman). At any rate, it's fun thinking up things to get my kid. There's so much fun, cute, and absurd (re: totes our family-style) stuff out there! 

What kind of things do you wanna get your kid?

Moody days still happen even when you're a parent.

Today is one of those days where my perk-level is pretty low and I have no idea why. Could it be due to the movie popcorn I ate by the handfuls yesterday? Or the gluten-free cake? Or maybe it's because I haven't got my fitness on in a few days? Maybe all the above?

Danny and I successfully sent off our wedding invites, so you'd think I'd be pretty ecstatic. Well, I was over the weekend but perhaps I'm coming down off that high? At any rate, I didn't want to go without blogging for so long and although I'd rather this be a lighthearted, giggle-fest there are going to be some days where that just ain't happening.

Thankfully, seeing Han, I know, will brighten my spirits. Maybe not completely but at least when I'm around him.

For now, I'm looking forward to tomorrow and I'm trying to lift my spirits by looking at the images below.