Bi-Annual Sick Time

It's rare that I get sick (knock on wood). Yes, I may have the sniffles every once in a while but I don't consider a cold or allergies as being ill. I can't even remember the last time I was down for the count either. But the one bad thing about getting seasonal allergies is that once in a while, something is left over. This time being a nasty cough.

I finally took myself to the doctor yesterday and the verdict...drumroll, please...bronchitis. Yay. It really sucks (excuse the lack of better words) to have to cough so hard you throw up. They couldn't determine if it's bacterial or viral so I have an array of antibiotics to take over the next five days. I'm praying no one else gets the bug.

Before all the drama we did have a beautiful morning spending time as a family. It's the first official day of Texas Fall weather - 50 degrees - so we bundled Noah up and got out of the house. I must say, my little guy is super cute in his cold weather gear. I mean, really cute. We went to lunch and spent some time at the local gardens. I brought my camera but had I known we were going to the gardens I would have put Noah in a much more nicer outfit for pics but still ended up with some great shots.

We ended the afternoon by filing our taxes. Shame! Yes, I know! We needed Noah's SSN and all that to be able to claim him on our return which is why we filed for extension. We are definitely cutting it close.

Field Trip Saturday - Edition #9

I am so thankful for my husband! That is all.

No really. He has been such a trooper this weekend, stepping in to care for Noah while I traipsed about town. Several events that I had been planning on being a part of unfortunately all fell onto this one weekend. So for the past two nights, Daddy has picked Noah up from Grandma's and put him to bed while I attend our church's women's conference.

This morning, I was up bright an early to be at the softball fields by 8:30am for my former company's first annual softball tournament. I was playing as a "spouse". Three games later and we crushed our rivals from last year and took home the championship! The husband showed up with Noah toward the end to see our win and together we drove up to the local park to join in with the company picnic.

It took us a while to get settled with some BBQ and hotdogs since many people from the company wanted to see us and Noah (it's only been three weeks since I left). We didn't stay very long but it was nice to get out in the fresh air.

Today's Cuisine: BBQ from the Grill

Field Trip Saturday - Edition #8

Since Noah is growing way too big for his britches, I'm trying to keep up by consistently browsing through his outfits to see what's available for him to wear "now" before it's too late. Some good friends of mine from high school gave us the cutest Batman onesie for our shower that I just had to put him in! Needless to day, we're only going to get to wear it once because a.) he's growing and b.) our last cold day for long sleeves was really back in February.

Today's Cuisine: Central Market (seems to work best in our favor)

Field Trip Saturday - Edition #7

Before we had Noah, I tried to imagine how my kids' first Easter would be: Egg hunts, fancy clothes to wear Sunday morning, find a real bunny to take pictures with, etc. In reality, age has a lot to do with starting some traditions so this holiday weekend has been slightly non-eventful.

We attend what some people consider to be a "mega-church" (I don't like to think of it that way). So as most churches expect, Sunday morning Easter is usually packed. That's an understatement for our church. For special holidays, if you don't arrive at least 45 minutes early you can kiss a parking space goodbye, let alone childcare. Thankfully they offer the same service on Saturday nights, so we decided to skip maneuvering through the crowds tomorrow morning and we attended Easter service tonight. We may make that our own tradition, but I did miss out on that cute outfit for Noah. The egg hunts and bunnies can come next year.

Church was amazing as always. Instead of the flair and pomp and circumstance to entertain the congregation, we had one special song and our pastor spoke on the crucifixion and resurrection - the bare bones, if you will, of the reason we celebrate Easter.

This was also Noah's first time to go into the nursery. His class is called the Cuddle Bugs (so cute!). I was a good mom and did not cling to or worry about him. From what I've heard, all the childcare workers must have a background check and there are cameras in the rooms. Each class - even the babies - have their own little worship time and the workers pray over the children.

When we returned to pick up Noah, I was finally able to be that doting parent looking for her child to see how he/she coped without me. So we looked and there was Noah sharing an activity mat with another little boy and he was happily holding onto those toes, completely content. When the worker told us that he was a really good baby it just made me beam! I am still so amazed at how blessed we are with this little boy. Yes, he has his grumpy moments, but I will relish this "good baby" phase for as long as we have it and pray that it continues to be more than just a phase.

Of course, I cannot forget to mention our cuisine for today...a little Italian place nearby. We enjoyed a quiet meal - Noah just talking us from his car seat for most of the meal. He was really into talking with Daddy - who kept asking Noah if he'd met any girls today. Good grief! Haha.

We have dinner tomorrow with my family so maybe I'll get an official Easter picture out of it. There's a possibility we might take a road trip next weekend. Still thinking about it....lots to consider since we've never traveled with a baby.

Today's Cuisine: Italian

Field Trip Saturday - Edition #6

Today was Mom's field trip day!

Since I've been back to work for this week, and Noah being toted around everywhere, he stayed in the comfort of his own home with Daddy.

Tonight it was Mexican food, margaritas and a movie (The Hunger Games) with the girls!

Need I say more?

Field Trip Saturday - Edition #5

Honesty Hour: Today was not a good day for me. I promised myself I would not become one of those moms that smiles and puts on a front pretending to the world that life is just great. I'm thankful that we are only 13 weeks in with Noah and this is just now my first "bad day". Glad it's over.

We tried to do too much today. It was enjoyable but too much for Noah. We set out for lunch only to sit in traffic then arrive at our destination only to decide the long wait was not worthwhile. The husband whipped out his trusty Yelp app and we found a local Mexican restaurant we hadn't been to before. GREAT choice! The food was excellent and I think I need to go back for their margaritas. (Happy Hour anyone?)

We made a quick stop at Babies R Us and headed home. All this time, from when he first woke up until about 2pm, Noah had barely took two 20 minute naps. We only had a couple of hours to waste at home as we had been invited to dinner at someone's lake house.

The husband went early to help his friend with something and I was to join later. Poor Noah was so sleepy, he conked out roughly 30 minutes before we needed to leave. I felt terrible getting him up into the car seat and heading out - and yes, he cried his little eyes out for the first half of the trip. It's even worse when he cries now because his little tear ducts are working...so sad.

Once we arrived, everything was fine. Noah is totally an outside baby so he loved chilling on the porch looking over the lake.

It was a good ending to a rough day. But I'm ready for a full "good" day.

Field Trip Saturday - Edition #4

Today's trip ended in mommy not being so happy and having barely been able to eat lunch.

It's been a whirlwind, emotional week with the events surrounding my grandparents (see previous post here) and with my parents up to their necks in driving across town daily and unable to see Noah as often as usual, we offered to stop by for a short visit before heading to our regular lunch date.

The morning was full because prior to leaving, some good friends visiting from Nebraska were able to stop by to meet Noah for the first time. It was a short visit but very special as they have always been close friends to us. They were also one of the families we asked to write a recommendation letter for us back when we started the adoption process. So amidst their precious time with family they were able to stop by. I miss them and it seems like no time ever passes when we do get to hang out.

It's roughly a 20-30 minute drive to my parent's home so Noah was able to doze for a bit. He woke up shortly after arriving so I know "grandma" and "grandpa" were happy to interact with him and help with a feeding before they needed to head off to the hospital.

We ended up at a local family-owned Italian place the husband had been to once. The servings we enormous however I was only ever destined to enjoy the fried ravioli we had as appetizers. Noah does not appreciate being tied down to the car seat if the possibility exists for him to get out; and eating as part of multitasking does not work for me. By the time the husband was done eating, it was my preference to just box everything and leave as Noah was getting more and more tiresome to keep happy (it was nap time again).

I realize that not every trip out will be perfect but I try to not let it resolve my solution that the easy path is to just stay home.

Today's Cuisine: Italian (Enough food for three days!)

Field Trip Saturday - Edition #3

A little bit of practicality in our outing today: Home Depot. Yep...a certain guest bathroom toilet that has been out of order for a few months finally got the parts it needed!

I'm beginning to notice a horrible trend in our Saturdays, however. On a normal day, Noah takes his big 3-4 hour nap during lunch time. So the poor little guy is relegated to falling asleep in the car seat over and over again (he wakes up fairly easily once the car stops moving). Either we need to adjust our time out of the house or use it help Noah work on taking a good afternoon nap.

Today's Cuisine: Mongolian

Field Trip Saturday - Edition #2

Noah's first restaurant experience today called for Egyptian food. Come to find out this little local joint has been there for 20+ years and we've only just now begun to sample the cuisine. Food wasn't bad but not exactly at the top of my list.

For those of you who don't know me and the husband, he is an uber-foodie...meaning he refuses to eat at chain restaurants if he can help it. He also swears by Yelp. God forbid we go to a restaurant that doesn't have good ratings on Yelp! I'm not complaining. Most of the time his intuition and research are spot on and we have a great experience. And a lot of times he's already been there so he's able to tell me what I'll like when we go.

Back to today - Noah was perfect. As always, he doesn't like to stay in the car seat so he played/drooled quietly on our laps while we ate. The trip home was a little stressful (traffic and Noah too tired to fall asleep) but we survived the outing! Wasn't the first and definitely won't be the last.

Today's Cuisine: Egyptian

 

Field Trip Saturday - Edition #1

A new recurrence, if you will - Field Trip Saturdays! I have nothing more creative to call it than what it is right now. All credit to the husband for suggesting we get out as a family and make Saturday lunches our time to hit up a restaurant and do something else beside sit at home.

Most likely this series will be nothing more than a recall of our day but it will be good to look back and see what we've done and how this new tradition started.

The Mecca of all grocery stores - Central Market - was our destination today. While the husband waited for the butchers, Noah and I strolled around looking at goodies I should never buy but somehow manage to come home with a tasty treat. I love CM's "cafeteria", which the husband introduced to me earlier last year. They have anything imaginable you might want for a meal ready to be served. I couldn't resist the twice baked potato and of course a serving of grilled chicken.

The husband checked out while Noah and I found a table and started his bottle. During the process I happened to notice a table of teenage girls glancing frequently at us as he ate. I'm assuming it's because Noah is so darned cute, but it left me realizing how I'm now susceptible to "all" the experiences as a mom. When I used to babysit our nephews or friends' kids, if we were in public getting attention from others because of the kids felt foreign and unwelcome to me; frankly because they weren't my children. With Noah I feel such a sense of pride as his mom and it amazes how quickly I slipped into that role.

It was a good day.

Today's Cuisine: Central Market