Taking Action in 2016

Let me start out by saying, yes, I do realize that I'm writing a post about "taking action" in 2016 when January is already almost over. Better late than never, folks. But even though the time for New Year's dreaming and goal setting has come and gone for most, I'd still like to take the time to reflect for a moment on 2015, and make some plans for 2016.

2015 was a very big year for us. We were blessed with our first child and she has filled our hearts with joy beyond measure. We became parents, and let's face it, nothing else compares to that. On the same token, nothing else creates upheaval in your life quite like it, either. I mean really, we might as well call 2015, "the year of Emerson." The first 6 months were dedicated to a healthy pregnancy and preparing for her, and the second 6 months were spent adjusting to having a baby in our house for the first time. Even though we were quite blessed with a pretty easygoing kiddo, having a baby still changes everything. Both pregnancy and nursing changes the way you eat and drink (or rather, don't drink); having a baby certainly changes how much sleep you get; and having a baby most definitely changes the time you have available to do, well, pretty much anything. So 2015 was all about Emmy. And we're okay with that.

However, a crazy 2015 is precisely why 2016 is about finding our new balance and, as I titled this post, Taking Action. Making changes. Doing instead of talking about doing. Taking action is an important theme to me specifically because, by nature, I am a planner. I can (and do) plan all day and night, right down to the last tiniest of tiny detail. But where I often fail is in the execution. That's where my husband usually comes in, and why we complement each other quite well. But there are many areas of my life where he can't execute for me, and it's time I stop waiting for the perfect plan, and start doing. 

So in lieu of setting lofty goals and resolutions that I once again will probably not complete (I once set a New Year's resolution of flossing my teeth every day because I thought that would be easy. I made it a week), I'm setting a theme for the year, and I'm making it the year of Taking Action. And to kick off all this upcoming action-taking, I'm starting the year off with a simple to-do list. A "Top 10 To-Dos for 2016" if you will. (Sounds far less daunting then 10 resolutions, no?).

In no particular order ...

1. MAKE HEALTH A PRIORITY

A new baby doesn't leave a lot of time to focus on oneself, and I've used that as an excuse to take it easy in this arena. I've worked out inconsistently since giving birth, and I haven't eaten particularly well (and I've depended on breastfeeding to make up for that for me). I've started 2016 off with a Whole 30 and I'm hoping this helps to set the tone for the year. I also need to get my workout on, on a consistent basis. 

2. BUILD MY FREELANCE CAREER  

I've been freelancing regularly for about two years now and I'm ready to take my business to the next level, which is both scary and exciting.

3. GIVE BACK  

... both financially and with our time. Step one was signing us up for a monthly donation to St. Jude's Research Hospital, but there's so much more that we could be doing.

4. TAKE A FAMILY VACATION

We already have this in the works for this summer, and I can't wait! 

5. DOCUMENT EMERSON

I take a lot of pictures of Emmy, but it's also important to me to remember to document all the little and big moments of the first year of her life, and I often forget to do so. I'd like to do a better job of that, whether it's scrapbooking or journaling, or something else entirely. The days go by too fast, and I want to be able to look back one day and remember this time.

6. LEARN A NEW SKILL

I absolutely love to learn (wow, that sounds nerdy) and often have CreativeLive classes playing all day while I work. I'd love to hone in on developing one new skill this year - calligraphy, hand lettering and illustration are all current contenders.

7. FINISH OUR HOME OFFICE

Our home office is the only room in the house that we haven't put any effort into. Since I'm putting more energy into my freelance this year, I'd like to create a comfortable and inspiring workspace for myself. 

8. STOP IGNORING THE EXTERIOR OF THE HOUSE

The inside of our house is in pretty good shape, but the outside is a hot mess. There's no landscaping in the front, weeds in the back, and our back patio leaks and needs to be completely rebuilt. It's time to stop ignoring the outside of the house, and give her a little TLC. 

9. FOCUS ON FAITH

We've been living here awhile now and still don't have a local church. I'd like to find a church we love and focus more on faith in our daily lives.

10. BLOG MORE

(Duh!) I really want to do a better job this year of posting. And maybe a blog makeover is on the horizon? 

So that's it friends. Nothing earth shattering here, but it's always good to sit down and remind yourself of what you want to focus on. Here's to taking action in 2016 ... I'll be checking in with progress updates throughout the year!

drink up: festive favorites

I have a pinterest board full of delicious looking drinks (mostly alcoholic, some not), but today I'm sharing a couple that I've tested and that have a big ol' stamp of approval from myself and all who've tried them. First up, she's not just tasty, she's also pretty: say hello to the appropriately festive Pomegranate Margarita.

Get the full recipe here

I will say, removing seeds from a pomegranate was not the easiest thing I've ever done. And they are messy little suckers, so be careful! If you're making this for an event, do it before you put your party pants on. Also, I recommend making a pitcher, rather than one glass at a time. But even though it takes a little bit of work, this recipe is totally worth it.

Now, If you don't have the time to deal with removing pomegranate seeds and making your own simple syrup, I have something for you, too. Try this super-easy Pom Sangria:

1. Dump a bottle of red wine into a pitcher 
2. Add a cup of pomegranate juice
3. Pour in one shot glass of Grand Marnier 
4. Add sliced apples, oranges, limes, whatever fruit you have on hand
5. Serve cold

I've made this on many occasions.  It's so easy, and I'm almost always asked for the recipe. Can't beat that. Cheers! 

HOLIDAY DRESSING [for your little]

Happy Black Friday! Hope everyone had a fantastic Thanksgiving. We're celebrating with family on Sunday, so yesterday was a lazy day for me and the babe (as in the baby, not my husband - he was working). However, I already have the next big holiday in the back of my mind ... seeing that it's Emerson's first holiday season, one of the many things I've been looking forward to is picking out her first Christmas outfit. Since I'm a crazy over-analyzer, I went ahead and created style boards for my top 3 options before deciding. I love them all, so I figured I'd share in case anyone else is looking for a little outfit inspiration for their own baby girl. Which one did I pick? You'll see December 25!

Get the look:
Fair Isle Sweater |  Navy Dress | Red Ruffle Tights | Gold Shoes (similar) | Red Velvet Dress | Black Bow Shoes | Red Stripe Tights |  White Terry & Tulle Dress | All Bows from Splendid Bow Shop 

#EmersonMarieObsessed

I'm obsessed with this kid, I tell ya. Obsessed. At least for today.

Parenthood is a funny thing. One minute you're all "my kid is a lunatic. She won't sleep, she's refusing bottles, and she's so cranky. She must hate me." (This was me two weeks ago.) The next second it's rainbows and butterflies and you're all "my kid is the best! She smiles at me and coos, takes 3 hour naps, goes to sleep without being rocked, and is sleeping through the night!*" And it's wonderful and you walk around with a smile on your face, singing her praises. In the back of your mind, you know it won't last forever, and another stormy period is on the horizon. But that's okay. Because right now things are sunny and you're gonna enjoy, damnit! That's where I am right now.

Today was my first day back at work.  You'd think it would've been a rough day, right? It started out interesting. E woke me up 10 minutes before my alarm which made me unreasonably angry. But that's okay. After she ate, I cuddled with her for as long as she'd let me, thinking about how I was going to be away from her all day. Then I realized she pooped up her back. Moment ruined. Thankfully she made up for it by going right down for a nap when I needed to get ready. (This kid is practically leaping into her swing for naps right now. It's crazy.)

As I got ready, I wondered if I would cry on the way to work. I'm not a super emotional person. Rational is a better description. I didn't cry at our wedding, and I didn't cry when Emmy was born. Still, you don't know how you'll react to something until you're in it. When I left the house she was napping, and I was fine on my drive to work. I knew she was in good hands (our sitter has been with us part-time since she was 6 weeks old) and I was just going to enjoy being out of the house for once.

Work was fine. Pretty uneventful. When I got home she was napping again and I couldn't wait to see that big smile on her face when she woke up. Well, that didn't happen. She woke up cranky and hungry. Not what I envisioned for my big moment.

But later on, something happened. As I sat with her in my bed, putting lotion on her, and changing her into pajamas, she was full of smiles and sweet coos. I put her on her stomach for her usual tummy time, and out of nowhere she rolled over for the first time. Something I had tried to get her to do before but she had showed no interest in ... she just did it, all of the sudden. Even she seemed shocked. We stayed in the bed awhile longer, just hanging out together, and I stared at her, smiling at me in her 3 month pajamas that are waaaaay too tight on her and need to be retired but her 6 month pjs were in the wash (mind you, she's not even 3 months old yet), and it just hit me how fast she is growing up ... and I kinda started to cry. Just a teeny tiny bit ... but still. I told her not to grow up to fast and to stay my sweet baby forever. I hope she heard me. Working, not working, whatever I do, I just want to cherish every moment I have with my girl.

Until the next stormy period. Then she's off to grandma's!

*if you count sleeping through night as putting her in bed with you so you can pop the pacifier in her mouth as quickly as possible each time she wakes up. Then yeah, she's sleeping through the night. 

My time as a stay-at-home mom

Otherwise known as my 3 month long ride on an emotional roller coaster. 

As I sit here the night before returning to work, I'm reflecting back on the last three months I've spent at home with my baby girl, and it's true what they say; time really does fly.

Never in my life have I had so many ups and downs. From the first blissful week at home, where I dreamed of having a hundred more cuddly little babies just as perfect as this one, to the second week, that for some reason seemed to stretch on forever, to now ... 12 (some long, some short) weeks later. I can't believe my time with her is already up.

It wasn't the most traditional maternity leave, given that I returned to part-time freelancing (from home) when she was 2 weeks old. At 6 weeks we hired a nanny to come over for about 12 hours a week so that I could get my work done uninterrupted. At first I was excited about it, and then I was hit with my first wave of mom guilt. Did I really need a nanny already? Just 6 weeks in? None of my SAHM friends have help. But the thing is, mom guilt is just another part of the job. I'm always going to find something to feel guilty about, so I just need to do what works for me. And it ended up being the best thing ever. The freelance I do more than pays for her time, and it gives me a couple of hours a day to do something other than mother, which makes me a better momma when I am spending time with her (instead of wishing she would take a nap so I can get work done). At about 8 weeks, the nanny proved invaluable when E stopped taking naps altogether. I couldn't have gotten my work done without her. Hey, it takes a village.

Now that the time has come to really return to work (my full-time, out-of-the-house job, not just the freelance I do on the side), I have such mixed feelings. On the one hand, I can't imagine not spending my days with Emmy. And I can't imagine someone else spending all of that time with her instead. There's a part of me that wants to be her sole caregiver, to soak up every single last moment that I can with her. On the other hand, there are days when I go absolutely crazy staying home with her all day. Days where I just need a break from having this tiny, needy little human attached to me at all times. So what's a momma to do? And why does it have to be all or nothing?

For now, I'm lucky, as I'm transitioning back into the workplace. I knew I wasn't ready to be full-time again, and I let my employer know that during my maternity leave. I'll be going back into the office for 3 days a week for the next 60 days. But eventually they'll want me back in the office full-time, and we'll have to decide if that's what's right for our family or not. It's a shame it has to be so cut and dry. "Will you be going back to work?," everyone asks. What if it's not that easy? What if I want to work, and want to have some part of my day that's mine, but maybe not for 40 hours a week? What if I want to spend more time with my baby girl than just an hour in the morning and an hour at night, if that? What if I want more? What if I want it all? Then what? I guess we'll just have to wait and see ...

Some of the moments I'll miss with her:

Don't grow up too fast baby girl!

The Arrival of Emerson Marie

On June 30th, 2015, one week and one day before her due date, we welcomed our sweet, little Emerson Marie into the world. She arrived at 10:15 pm, weighing in at 7 lbs 14 oz and measuring 21.25" long.

Throughout the pregnancy I had maintained that she would come early (as a favor to me, perhaps?!), even though I knew it was unlikely for a first time pregnancy. At around 37 weeks I started walking, swimming, eating pineapple (?) ... basically anything that google said would help me go into labor. Every time I got up in the middle of the night to pee, I would hope my water broke, but it never did. Finally, at almost 39 weeks, with only three days left of work before I started my maternity leave, I resigned myself to thinking I'd be better off if I just made it through the week and went into labor closer to my due date.

And then ...

It happened. Only I didn't know it happened. At 38 weeks and 6 days, my water broke at around 9 am in the morning. But instead of a break and a noticeable leak, like I was expecting, it was more of a reeaaallly slow trickle (sorry, TMI). I wasn't sure if my water had broken at all. I stayed home from work and moved up my doctor appointment for that day, just in case my water had indeed broken. But I really didn't think it did.

At 1pm I went to the doctor and described the morning's events. She checked out the goods and then stated so calmly and matter-of-factly that yes, my water had broken, and that I was going to have a baby today. WHAT?! I was instructed to go straight to the hospital, I couldn't even grab my bags from home on the way. Alexis was working so he would have to meet me there with our stuff. The whole thing was surreal.

I arrived at the hospital at around 1:30 pm and got settled while waiting for Alexis, who arrived a couple of hours later. I started to have some contractions and was put on pitocin to get them going even more. Once the contractions started getting stronger and more frequent, I opted for an epidural and instantly felt more relaxed (best. decision. ever.) The doctor eventually came into break my water even more, and the nurses continued to monitor my contractions for the next couple of hours. Most importantly, I asked Alexis to order Jimmy Johns, just in case the cafeteria was closed once the baby was born (this was my worst fear; hours of labor and nothing to eat when it was over. Also, I wanted my first Turkey Tom in 9 months).

When I was almost about ready to push, the doctor was busy delivering another baby via C-section, so we waited and shifted position to get the baby to move down even further. Finally, at around 9:30 pm, we got the okay to start pushing, and 45 minutes later, the doctor was holding up little Emmy for me to see, much like Rafiki held up Simba in the Lion King. I just remember thinking, even at almost 8 lbs, she looked so long and lanky. She was laid on top of me for skin to skin contact, and everything still just felt so surreal. There was no crazy roller coaster of emotions, just a sense of peace, like "we did it. That's our baby."

She was a blonde-haired, blue-eyed little beauty, which neither of us was expecting. I was so worried that she would look nothing like me, and instead she very much resembles the baby pictures of myself and my brother. I can't wait to see what features she gets from her father as she gets older.

I still can't believe the whole process was as easy as it was. Not that there's anything easy about labor, but I had prepared myself for the worst, and at the end of the day, my experience was so relaxed and peaceful, and (thanks to the epidural), far less painful that I had imagined. I feel extremely fortunate to have had such a healthy pregnancy, a safe labor, and a beautiful little girl. Not to mention, a husband that is such a natural at being a father, it blows me away. I simply couldn't be happier with our little family.

The Second Trimester (a look back)

Ahhh, the second trimester ... the easy one, where you just walk around glowing and can't get enough of those little baby flutters in your belly, right? riiiight.

Yes, it was way better than the first trimester, I'll give you that. The nausea and sickness had totally subsided. I could eat normal, healthy foods again, which was great. And I wasn't yet as big as a house, so there's that. But I also found the second trimester to be the surprisingly stressful trimester. Once we found out what we were having (a girl!), we actually had to start thinking about all of those things that we'd been putting off ... like names, and nursery colors, and what the eff stroller are we going to register for?

I'm not a good decision maker. I've always been a chronic over-analyzer and it can be stressful and paralyzing. All of the things I had been looking forward to, like designing a nursery and registering for baby gear, suddenly scared the shiz out of me. I spent hours and hours researching, and then changing my mind over and over and over. I found myself getting angry at my husband because he wasn't helping, but let's face it, I'm so type A that I wouldn't have let him anyway. Luckily there were a few helpful resources that I turned to on a regular basis, and I highly recommend them:

• Cricket's Circle was usually my first stop for a product recommendation because it's just so simple. They only offer up their top 3 picks for each category, and no more. They also give bulleted lists of pros and cons for each. Some of their picks tend to be a bit pricey, but I found the site very helpful. I also love their blog.

• Lucie's List was another favorite, and great when you wanted a second opinion, another option or a little more explanation. You also get timely emails based on where you are in your pregnancy, and I actually found them worth reading.

• My Registry took my registries from Pottery Barn Kids, Land of Nod and Amazon, and combined them all into one list. For me, this made it much easier to manage. I also kept a separate registry with Target, because for some reason I could never get that one to sync. BabyList does the same thing and is probably worth checking out as well.

• And of course Pinterest, for nursery inspiration. Duh.

And with that, somehow we made it. Thank goodness for the internet, no?

And now my friends, I leave you with some parting advice to keep in mind if you happen to be in your second trimester, or will be soon, because there's nothing better than learning from someone else's experience ...


1. Don't eat snacks during meetings at work, unless you want to look down and see said snack all over your (large) boobs and belly. And you probably don't.

2. Don't think you can squeeze into pre-pregnancy spanx just because they "fit" standing up.
I did this, and then upon getting to work, quickly faced the realization that I needed to get those things off, like now. The big question was, attempt to peel them off under my desk, or do it in the bathroom and then have to walk across the office with balled-up spanx in my hand? After failing at getting them to budge under my desk, I opted for the bathroom and nervously attempted to hide them behind a large pad of paper as I walked back. So, just don't. And do yourself a favor and buy some pregnancy spanx, they are the best things ever.

4. Go do things, lots of things, while you still can. Because once you get halfway through the third trimester, you won't want to do much of anything. Trust me.