Thursday, July 31, 2014

Taco Bell Causes Mastitis (Only Kidding)

Tuesday Night....as in LAST Tuesday Night:

Taco Bell.  That's right.  I'm eatin' it.

And it's after midnight, too.  I'm officially on "fourthmeal" time.


AND I'm supposed to be working.  Like environmental contract work type of working.  And technically I DID work for a little bit.  I'm just not doing it right now.  Because I really just want to go to bed after the Aquarium bartending shift that I just had.  But I have to pump my boobs, so I'm pumping.  Therefore I can't go to bed just yet.  So here we are.  :)

So what I'm trying to say is.....that whole blog I wrote yesterday about fitness?  Yeah, I'm crapping all over that blog right about now with my Taco Bell and my Guinness.  Did I mention I was drinking a Guinness?

I DID run 4 miles last night after my bartending shift, though (while watching The Men Tell All episode of "The Bachelorette").  Does that cancel out tonight or cancel out stuff from before?  Do I need to cancel out tonight by working out tomorrow?  My friend Stacie did mention going running together with our double joggers in the morning.  Hmmm.......


Totally what Stacie and I look like while pushing our double joggers.

P.S.  I totally can't wait for the new show, "Bachelor In Paradise".  Talk about trash TV.  That show is going to be REALITY GARBAGE SERVED STRAIGHT-UP ON A PLATTER and I CAN'T WAIT.

A lot of bodily fluids and bits of "crazy" are going to be passed around this cast.

Lucas would rather stab himself in the eye with a fork than watch something like that.  I don't blame him, but I still eat it up when I can.  What can I say - it's a guilty pleasure.

So besides losing baby weight (which I AM working on despite tonight's poor choices), I've also been working towards paying off some bills, so I've been working my bartending jobs quite a bit lately.  Ever since I joined up as a bartender with the aquarium, I've been working probably 3x as much as before.  There are more aquarium shifts than Hunter shifts, because there are only two official bartenders to fill the event shifts, though there are other staff members who can also do it if/when needed.  It's good because I enjoy what I do and bartending shifts mean money in my pocket, but it's bad because it can be exhausting going back and forth between the two facility schedules when you've got two little ones at home.  Toss in one or two environmental contracting gigs in on top of that, and it means you're not sleeping for at least a week.  This next week is one of those weeks for me.

There were almost two straight weeks a short time ago where I had NOTHING.......no bartending gigs, no environmental projects, no appointments or engagements of any kind......and it was pure bliss.  The kids and I hung out with my mom a lot, I heavy-duty cleaned the house, I organized things and I took care of things that normally get put on the backburner.  I even think I took a power nap in there at least once.  And I could actually live that way all the time if I wanted to......no bartending shifts or environmental projects ever again.....but that would also mean I would be BROKE.  Lucas makes plenty of money for the two of us, but he's also extremely responsible with his money.  Aka he doesn't indulge on things, at least not often.  He's not cheap, just level-headed and really super responsible and reliable.  Very unlike me, who buys things on a whim or on a good vibe. Or just because it's food.

Thursday.....over a week later:

Remember how I said the next week was going to be busy for me?  Well it WAS for sure.  I spent every spare moment working on my environmental project, which meant staying up until 2am most nights.  And then on Monday-Tuesday-Wednesday, I spent the entire day at my mom's house with my laptop so that I could work while having an extra hand watching the kids.  I sent everything out yesterday evening and just had a little tweak to do today, but now it's OUT and I've submitted my invoice.  BOOM.


Not so boomerific........I have mastitis!  UGH!!  For those who don't know:   

Mastitis is an infection of the breast tissue that results in breast pain, swelling, warmth and redness of the breast. If you have mastitis, you might also experience fever and chills.  

I know that's right.  Yesterday afternoon I started to notice that my left boob was sore.  I also noticed I was REALLY thirsty all day and REALLY tired when bedtime rolled around.  I figured I had a slightly clogged duct (since my boob didn't have any hard spots to indicate a super clogged duct) and that I was just overtired from my week.  NOPE.  This morning I woke up to flu-like symptoms and a boob that felt like razor blades and fire demons were trying to escape.  And it kind of looks like fire demons are trying to escape, as red as it is.  I had planned on cleaning the house this morning since I've neglected it the past two weeks, but since I felt AWFUL I loaded up the kids and headed to my mom's instead.  I called the doc and got an antibiotic called in, which I started right away.  My fever has gone down (I'm at 99.1 now) and I feel better than I did this morning, but I still feel like crap.  This is when pre-kids, I would lay on the couch in my PJs all day and watch chick flicks.  But alas, that hasn't happened!

I have to let Lucy nurse from it at least every two hours (or else pump) to try to help it heal.  OMG.  Nothing like handing a boob that hurts with the slightest touch to a baby who's going to suck on it, pull on it, push on it, kick it and dramatically pop off of it by yanking her head to the side.  HOLY BATMAN.

My boob looks NOTHING like this, just feels like this.  But HOLY HELL THAT POOR WOMAN.

This isn't my first rodeo with searing pain while breastfeeding, though it is for a new reason.  For those who have been following my blog since I started it two years ago, you'll remember how I was puzzled about some pain I was having while breastfeeding, and how I thought I'd hit the jackpot by internet-diagnosing Delano with a posterior tongue tie.  It all worked out in the end, and I know this too will pass.  But crap.

So I've managed to maintain my weight at 132 pounds lately, which means I've only got three more pounds to go before I'm back in the 120s!  I was going to start running again today (I haven't been running due to work) but there's NO WAY I'm bouncing this boob on a treadmill.  So MAYBE tomorrow and hopefully FOR SURE this weekend.  I was told I'd be feeling better in 24-48 hours, so let's aim for 24!

I hear Delano in his room, awake from his nap.  Guess I'll go get him.  Lucy napped all of 20 minutes this afternoon, so she's been swinging around in my lap this whole time.  Oh and she turned 7 months old yesterday, y'all!


Monday, July 21, 2014

Weight Loss And Running, Because It's Been A While.

When I started blogging in September 2012, I posted 23 blogs between September 8th and December 31st.  In 2013, I posted 87 blogs.  It's now July 21st of 2014 and I have written a grand total of 16 blogs this year.

SIXTEEN???  I had posted 17 blogs by MARCH of last year.

Crazy what two kids will do to your free time, especially compared to what I thought just ONE did to my free time.

They're awfully cute, though! (Love Heidi Burks Photography - she does all of our photo shoots!)

I wanted to talk about my current fitness/running/weight loss status, since I haven't talked about it in quite a while.  Back in April, 4 months post-Lucy, I ran the Nashville Rock n' Roll Country Music (Half) Marathon.  It was my first half marathon in over a year, as I had been pregnant that previous year and not worked out AT ALL while preggo with Lucy.  The half marathon was hard for me - I walked quite a bit (though I did run a lot more than I walked) and clocked my worst personal half marathon finish time to date.  I just wasn't ready for it, and I knew I wasn't ready.  But I wanted to do it anyway, so I did.  And I DID enjoy it, as I always enjoy running races.  It was the jump start I needed to lean towards getting back into shape.

As soon as we got back from our beach wedding trip in May, I joined Weight Watchers online.  I also started running on a regular basis again.  Weight Watchers gave me meal ideas and recipes to help keep me in check, while encouraging me to track what I ate to make me accountable.  Weight Watchers tracks food based on a point system, so there's no counting calories, just adding up daily points (so kind of the same thing, but different).  As for running, I made sure I was getting in three runs a week when possible, with the runs being at least a mile long.

Over the past almost two months, I've done pretty well.  I have days where I screw the plan and eat whatever I want (or whatever's available) and I've become a super slacker on tracking my foods......but for the most part I stick to "low point" foods for breakfast and lunch, and occasionally eat a salad for dinner to really up my game.  I'm up to 3-4 miles on the treadmill (though sometimes I still only clock 1 mile) and even ran 5 days out of 7 a few weeks ago.  And I've lost about 7 pounds.


I started out at about 140-143 lbs, which is where my body decided to "settle" after having Lucy.  I'm now right at 133 lbs, which was my first weight loss goal.  It just felt so good not to be crossing into the 140s anymore, even on crappy days!  So now that I've managed to maintain 133 lbs, my next goal is 129 lbs.


I'm averaging a pound a week at the moment, which is right in line with the healthy weight loss standard of losing only 1-2 lbs per week.  Could I be doing a better job trying to lose closer to 2 lbs per week?  Of course I could.  I could be following Weight Watchers more closely and I could be running more days and farther distances by now.  Losing only a pound a week is tough mentally.......you feel like you're just BARELY succeeding.  And when I have an off day where I eat crap and don't run and then I step on the scale the following morning and it jumps up a few pounds from the morning before, I feel like I'm not succeeding at all.  But I just have to remind myself that it's all just a temporary setback.  As soon as hit the treadmill once or twice and eat more consciously again, the scale dips back down to where it was before and sometimes less.

Getting down to 123 lbs (my ultimate goal) by eating well and running isn't going to eliminate my fluffy belly, so I'm going to have to do some extra stuff to help with that.  I've been following Diary of a Fit Mommy on Facebook, and plan to use her 10 Week Workout Plan to help tone myself up once I get down into the 120s.


She also has a daily booty workout I really should give a go.  This butt could use it.


She has a bunch of other workout routines on her page, as well as recipes and diet plans and what not.  I haven't decided if I think she's awesome or if I hate her.  Her baby turns 6 months old today and her body is RIDICULOUS for just having had a baby 6 months ago.  In fact, here's her profile picture 5 days after having her son:

Crazy.
And here's her body today:

Ridonk-ulous.

Granted, she was a fitness-aholic pre-baby, and was working out like a mad woman up until the day her son was born, so she has had that advantage.  Plus she only has one baby instead of two, AND she works out in her own home gym while her baby naps.  Another advantage she has is that she LIKES working out.  She wouldn't be a famous fitness blogger otherwise!  I like to run, but I HATE anything else workout-wise.  I just don't ever stick to anything.  So attempting her 10-week workout plan is going to be a definite challenge.  We'll just have to see how that goes.

Besides slowly losing this baby weight, I'm also slowly increasing my mileage on the treadmill.  I've been moving TOO slow in that department, so I definitely need to up my game in that area!  Not only will it help the weight fall off quicker, but it will help prepare me for the races I have coming up, which I'll talk about in another blog post!

Love it.

Saturday, July 19, 2014

It's Almost August, Y'all.

My blog posts just keep getting farther and farther apart.  It's not because I don't like blogging.  I LOVE blogging.  It's just that with two kids under age two in my life (and in my FACE) 24/7, there is always something else more important to do when I do get a moment of "free time".

Aka, both kids are napping.

I figured I'd give a mid-year update since there's no telling when I'll sit down and write again.  Maybe tonight, maybe a month from now.  Ok so not tonight for sure.  I feel like crap (sore throat/earache thing) and we're driving to Nashville for the day tomorrow.  So I shall choose to sleep this evening.

Anyways.....so Delano turns 23 months old on Wednesday and Lucy is 6 1/2 months old already!  CRAZY!!  They just keep growing and growing and growing.

Big Stuff.
Big Stuff #2.

Delano is talking up a storm, though nobody but me, Lucas and my mom can understand him (and even then it's often questionable).  I stopped teaching him sign language once he started forming words, but I'm beginning to realize it was WAY easier to understand him back when he was just signing.  So I'm thinking I'm going to start tossing in new signs again for the words he likes to say to help avoid frustration.  For the signs he knows, if he realizes we're not understanding the word that's coming out of his mouth, he'll sign it and THEN we'll get it.  Or I'll ask him if he can say it with his hands and if he knows it he'll do it.  But most often we resort to "show me" to get him to point to whatever the hell he's talking about.

Lucy is almost sitting up by herself (though not quite) and is almost crawling (though not quite).  She's now sleeping in a Pack N Play by our bed instead of the Rock N Play, but I still have to swaddle her lower half since she can't yet sleep when her legs are free to do what they want.  I recently bought her a crib for the guest room, but I need to call the piano movers to come move the piano out of that room and into the den, and I need to buy a crib mattress.  As soon as all that gets done we'll be back to having our bedroom to ourselves!  Delano was in our room until he was seven months old, so she's right on schedule.


I still cloth diaper both kiddos.  Lucy is currently in the Size Small gDiapers, but it won't be long before she'll be moving into the Mediums.  And I anticipate having the exact same problem with Lucy as I had with Delano: the jump from Small to Medium is just a little too big.  When I made the switch with Delano, he was leaking in the Smalls (because they were too small and sitting too low) and leaking in the Mediums (because they would gap at the leg openings) so I played around with other diapers and different insert combinations and what not until he grew just a little more.  The whole diaper transition debacle didn't last that long and we were soon fitting into the Mediums like a glove, but I do see the whole thing happening again soon with #2.

Delano has his own potty sitting in the bathroom and he will sit on it (clothed) and play with it, but has shown ZERO interest in actually pottying in it.  So I'm just waiting for the day that he wants to go.  I'm not going to force it, plus he's not even two yet.  But it would definitely be awesome if he wanted to do it!


Tuesday:

Obviously I finished this post up right on time.

So what else has been going on?  I talked about the beach vowel renewal a little, though not much, so let's talk about that!

Here comes the bride!  That's my brother on guitar.

The wedding happened down in Miramar Beach, Florida on May 10th, our one-year anniversary as well as my 35th birthday.  There was a threat of thunderstorms all day so it was a little windy, but it turned out to be perfect for the wedding because it wasn't too hot or too sunny.....nor did it ever rain....so it was perfect!  The dress that I wore was not AT ALL the style of dress I envisioned myself in on the beach, but it turned out to be pretty perfect for the mom of a 4-month-old baby (it covered my lingering baby belly and held in my giganto milk udders like a glove).  I told Lucas that next May, on our 2nd anniversary/my birthday/Mother's Day when I'm all skinny again, I want to wear something sexy and formfitting and do another photo shoot on the beach. :)

Anyways, a few of us girls practiced (via a homemade video shared on Facebook) a little song and dance number for the start of the ceremony.  We sang "Going to the Chapel" but replaced the word "Chapel" with "Beachfront". 

Sangin' and Dancin'
Our ceremony was short and sweet, but it definitely had its "oops" moments.  Amanda and I had not practiced hair and makeup beforehand for various reasons and so everything was a one-shot deal with no time for changes and then we were still almost late to the wedding anyway (and I almost arrived with REALLY BRIGHT lipstick stuck to my lips).  Lucas and I had written haikus for each other to read, but I left them in the car.  But the biggest "oops" was during the sand ceremony.  At the last minute Lucas and I decided to toss our sand instead of pouring it into the vase.  I tossed my sand with a little too much gumption, it caught the wind (remember that wind I mentioned earlier?), and then caught a few bystanders in the process - worst of all my 4-month-old daughter who started WAILING.  Oops.

The exact moment when the s*** hit the fan.  The sand, that is.

After the ceremony all 40-50 of us went to Pompano Joe's for dinner, drinks, cake and conversation.  Then after that we put the kids to bed and after-partied at our rental house.  We spent the next two full days eating a whole lot of seafood and being a whole lot of lazy.  On the 5th day of vacation, we had brunch with the remaining members of Lucas's extended family that was in town, and then hit the road to head home.  It was a vacation that ended way too early!

It was hard to tell in the beach photos, but my dress did have a train.

Thursday:

Ugh.  I cannot stay on task long enough to even finish this dang blog.  I could have wrapped it up days ago, but I just didn't feel like it was "finished".  But right now my hound dog is barking like crazy downstairs and I have to go see what her problem is before she makes me crazy.  I think it's just because she knows I'm up and doesn't like the fact that I already put her (and the others) to bed.  I'll pause the TV for now to see if she stops..........

She did.  She can hear the TV so now she thinks I went to bed.  ;)

Anyways......what else has been going on?  Let's see.....I've been bartending special events at the Hunter Art Museum for the past seven (SEVEN!!!) years, but just got hired on by the Tennessee Aquarium as a special events bartender this past May!  So now I've got a relatively busy schedule with both venues, which is awesome.  Gives me a little extra money in my pocket, gives Mommy some time away from the kiddos (even though I'm working) and gives Daddy some time to rock the kiddo-gig all by his lonesome. 

I still do contract work as an environmental scientist and actually completed two overlapping projects a few weeks ago, but I don't have anything else in the books as of now for environmental work.  I'd definitely be okay with seeing a few more of those projects come in, though! (That's where my big money comes from.)  Mama needs to pay off her school loan!

Saturday:

I swear, no more days of adding to this blog after today.  This is just getting ridiculous.  And I'm only going to write a short bit today and then I'M DONE I SWEAR.

So for the past few weeks I've been keeping the secret of my plans to trash the dress.  If you don't know what I mean by "trash the dress", then I should explain that I mean trash my wedding dress.  Years ago I had decided that I wanted to do this, but I had forgotten all about it until my friend Nikki mentioned that I would be the perfect person to trash a wedding dress.  Then I was like, OH YEAH! THAT'S RIGHT, I AM!!!. The typical trash-the-dress photos anyone sees out there usually involve either paint or water (see below).

A water-related trash-the-dress shot.  Completely awesome, but typical.
Cute as a button, but again, pretty typical.
I forgot about mud.  But I guess that kind of goes right alongside water.
And then there's also fire, but that's pretty much either a photoshop effect (so not a real trash) or a definite one-shot deal.  Can you imagine if your photog didn't get a good shot? "Umm....can we do that again?"

I had been following the story regarding the Wall of Doughnuts in Chattanooga, a mural on the side of the Koch's Bakery storage building that has been placed under fire by the City of Chattanooga as being "illegal advertising".  The bakery is defending the $11,000 mural as art and wants it to stay......the City wants to paint over it.  As I was reading about the mural, it hit me that it would be the PERFECT location to trash my dress!  So I scheduled some hair and makeup, scheduled my photographer, bought some doughnuts (and chocolate sauce and whipped cream and sprinkles) and planned to trash my dress!  It was raining during most of the session, so I borrowed my FSIL's clear umbrella (that she and my brother had used in some of their engagement photos) to use in the shoot as well.  Here's a sneak peek:





I'll share more pictures (along with pictures from our recent family photo shoot) in my next blog post.  For now, though, I'm pulling the plug on this one.  It has taken me way too long to write, and I've got crap to do anyway.  :)

Sunday, July 13, 2014

When Kids Happen.

**Sidenote:  I wrote this blog about two or three weeks ago (but just needed to revise it for posting), but have had conversations with several friends who must have been reading my mind because this topic has been a BIG ONE lately!  So here you go.....

I love my kids to the moon and back (as the sappies say), but my social life has gone to crap.  To CRAP, I tell ya.

Pre-kids, I did all sorts of cool stuff.  I was a total social butterfly.

I got up in the mornings and I went either downtown or to the Riverwalk and went running.  For an hour or two.  I trained for a 5k, and then for a half marathon.  I considered training for a full marathon.  I entered races left and right, from local races to out of town races, from 5ks to 10ks to half marathons.  I planned a trip to Orlando just so that I could run the Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon.  I drove by myself to Jackson, Mississippi and Mobile, Alabama just to add those two states as "notches" on my race belt (and up my "level" with the Half Fanatics).  I had (correction: HAVE) a list of races I still REALLY want to do.  I was in the best shape ever in my adult life during my pre-kids race days.

Disney Wine & Dine 2011

I volunteered (on average) every other Saturday morning at the Humane Society helping to get dogs walked and prepped and loaded for PetSmart.  I volunteered at the Humane Society to clean kennels every holiday that I was in town.  I helped with animal transfer runs for a group called OTRA.  I participated in fundraiser events, such as Paws In the Park, Paws for a Cause and the bi-annual Adopt-A-Thon.  All of the dogs I currently have fell into my lap during my last few years in animal rescue.  I actually drove to Charlotte, NC round trip to pick up my dog Ollie from a bully rescue that was having to close its doors. 

Some of my companions during one of my dog transports.  :)

I went to the movies.  Lucas and I would have "Movie Sunday", where we would pay for one movie but watch three in a row and then go to dinner.  I went to concerts, both big and small.  I bought tickets to super-fun events, such as Wine Over Water and Brewfest and the Whiskey Festival and the Beer, Bourbon & BBQ Festival and Taste (a foodie event put on by The Kidney Foundation).  We went to adult parties (not THAT kind.....I just mean no kids!).

Photo booth pic from a wedding several years ago.  I may or may not have been a teensy bit intoxicated.
New Years Eve 2011 with Laura in Nashville.  Cracks me up every time.  What you can't see is the open bottle of champagne in her lap.  PARTY LADIES.  She now has a daughter, btw.  WHO WILL SEE THIS, OH YES.

I bar hopped.  I would stay out way too late and drink way too much and wake up hungover (even though I hate being hungover).  I actually saw friends of mine in the flesh, instead of just on Facebook.  We would actually make plans.  We would go to lunch.  Or we would go out to dinner.  And then we would hit a bar.  Or a movie.  Or both.  I would sneak cigarettes into my night if Lucas wasn't around (I quit smoking over six years ago, and he has never smoked so he is definitely NOT a fan).  I would drink on patios in the summertime ALL AFTERNOON because I could.  Sometimes my butt didn't leave a patio chair for hours, except maybe to pee.

I borrowed Betty from the Humane Society one afternoon for adoption exposure.  We walked around downtown and then met up with friends (both human and doggy) at Hair of the Dog.

I went on trips from my bucket list.  I went to Gatlinburg almost every year over New Year's.  Lucas and I traveled to Savannah and Los Angeles and Philly and Austin and Denver and Charleston and all sorts of places in between.  We would just plan the trip and go.  There wasn't much else to it.  We would take a week's vacation to go wherever we wanted 2-3 times a year.

And this is just stuff from the last six-ish years.  My early twenties also included loads of karaoke and cigarettes and high heels and boys and dancing at clubs.  Dance clubs, gay clubs, strip clubs, bars, bars, bars.......lots of RIDICULOUSNESS happened in my early twenties that was fun times but can STAY PACKED AWAY WITH MY EARLY TWENTIES.  We will not go any further into my early twenties, for my own sake.  ;)

At the Sky Tower in Chicago.  That's some scary standin' right there.
But then this happened (on purpose, but it still happened):

Delano was maybe 3 or 4 days old.  I like this pic of the hubs.  :)
And then this happened:

I think Lucy was about 6 weeks old here.  You know, when we realized we didn't have a family picture yet.  Sorry, Kid #2.

And this happened in there, too, but it wasn't a social life-changer, just a life detail:

Beach vow renewal this past May.  We eloped between Delano and Lucy, and decided to do an easy-peasy beach wedding for our one year anniversary.
These two.  :)

I love my kids and my husband and my pets and my house and my jobs and my town and my family and my in-laws and my friends and my life more than anything in this world, and I wouldn't change a thing.

BUT WITH ALL THAT BEING SAID......us moms know how we see/hear about people doing their own awesome non-committed-to-kids thing and we're all like, dang, we'd love to be doing that - whatever "that" is.  We know what it's like to sigh at the outside world from inside the doors of our minivans, with kids either sleeping or screaming or barking demands in the back.  There's no getting up in the morning and just leaving for an early run.  There's no hopping in the car to volunteer for a dog transport that will take 2-3 hours of your time.  There are no summer days spent parked on a patio with a pack of cigarettes and the continued pouring of beers or cocktails.  There are no days spent at the movie theater.  There are no unplanned "let's go out!" phone calls from friends.  There are no impromptu trips flying all over the country.  There are no impromptu trips to the hair salon or nail salon or clothing store to buy a new pair of jeans.

Someone posted this gem as a #tbt pic on Facebook recently.  This was in my earlier twenties.  The three of us were at the store getting supplies for a party.  I don't even remember that store trip.  Or the party.  Or that hair.

**All three of us above are now married with kids.  Natalie has one child, I have two, and Kyle has three (and two step-children as well, I believe)..

Granted, I try to do as much fun stuff as a mom as I can master.  I love to put the kids in the stroller and go walking around downtown or along the Riverwalk, or even around my parents' neighborhood with my mom.  In the wintertime, we walk the mall a lot.  I've taken Delano down to Coolidge Park to play in the water fountain, and we usually stop for ice cream on a hot day (or any day, really).  I'm a member of the Aquarium and can take the kids anytime.  I was a member of the Creative Discovery Museum as well, though I've opted to hold off on renewing that membership until the kids are a little older.  I still run, but nineteen times out of twenty it's on my treadmill in the basement while the kids are napping.  When Delano was six months old we took a trip to New Orleans so that I could run a half marathon (another state notch in the race belt!), though it was definitely not an easy run for me.  I've still been able to show up for a few Humane Society events, sometimes with a baby strapped to my chest.  I've crawled inside dog crates to clean them while wearing a Moby.  I actually attended Brewfest the past two years since kids have been around.....the first time Delano was nine days old and the second time I was about five months pregnant with Lucy.  I didn't drink like I would have pre-kids of course but I did get to very slowly sip a beer each time (I think I had two beers the first time!).  We went to the Whiskey Festival last fall for a couple of hours while my parents watched Delano.....though I was pregnant so Lucas did all the drinking (but I got a glass!).  And we're considering flying to California as a family in August for a wedding, though that hasn't been ultimately decided yet.

New Orleans or bust!  It was cold one day.....
And warm and sunny the next!

I do see my BFF from high school in the flesh a lot, as her daughter is six months younger than Delano and so we're at the same "stage" in life right now.  We run errands and go to lunch and hang out with our kids during the week on a pretty regular basis, which is awesome.  I also see my mom several times a week (sometimes every day), and she helps out A LOT with watching the kids so that I can get a haircut or run to the store or go to the dentist or work a bartending shift or whatever else.  And even though Lucas and I typically take the kids everywhere we go, my parents have watched them a few times over the last two years so that we could do something child-free, like go to a 21+ birthday party.

I can't say that I sit around the house 24/7 and don't do anything anymore......I definitely DO things......but they now revolve around kid-friendly options and nap times.  It's a big fun day for me if the kiddos and I are meeting someone for lunch (YAY LUNCH!!!).  But the "social" aspect of my life got flushed down the toilet the second Delano popped out.  I would say it was when I was pregnant, but that's only partly true.  Yeah, I stopped drinking and started avoiding smoky bars (my old hangouts), which in turn meant I stopped hanging out with a bunch of my old friends, but I still had my free will then.  It was when Delano popped out that my free will and I parted ways.



I wouldn't trade my life for the world.  But dang it would be nice to just be able to GO.  Just GO.  Somewhere.  Anywhere.  With grownups.  While I sit a little too long and drink a little too much and stay out a little too late and sleep a little too hard. 

But for now, you'll see me with kids in tow.  I'll be thirty minutes late because even though I gave myself half an hour to load up the diaper bag and get the kids in the car, it took me an hour.  I'll be wearing jeans and a t-shirt because my high heels are covered in dust and my cute clothes don't fit anymore.  I'll order fried okra and mac & cheese as my side items not because that's what I would have chosen for myself, but because my oldest might want some of them.  I'll smell like maple syrup, not because of any fancy lotion scent I'm wearing, but because of the Fenugreek I'm taking to help build up my breastmilk supply.  I'll have to leave early because the kids will start to get super-cranky and will need their naps.  I'll debate on how to spend their nap time....Should I clean house?  Should I hit the treadmill?  Should I shower?  Should I answer emails?  Should I do something crafty?  I'll spend the evening at home with the kids and husband, because being a family is what we do now.

It's how we roll.  Social life be damned.