Happy Things for a Wednesday

Halloween orders are doooooone and I feel so free!  I can't forget that there are still pending orders...just not that have to be there by Friday. ha!  I can't totally sit back and relax.  But for a day I definitely did.  :)

Honestly lately I've been dealing with some anxiety.  I mean, not like REAL paralyzing anxiety.  More like the unsettled heart type of anxiety.  The type of anxiety where you are trying to hold on tight to things instead of giving them to the Lord.  One of which is Jason's job that is ending in 1 1/2 months.  And we still haven't received an offer. 

SO!

Let's think about some happy things that I am loving right now.  Sound good? 

-freshly carved pumpkins
-a 16 month old who doesn't understand why you can't eat the pumpkin "guts".  I mean...you use a spoon and all to scoop it out.  Spoons=food. 
-a little bit of "crisp" in the air...that sorta makes it actually feel like fall.
-yummy smelling candles (I am highly partial to Yankee candles bought cheap at Marshalls)  :)
-oranges in a teal bowl
-freshly brushed teeth
-craft stores
-red and orange mums by my front door
-clean sheets
-early Christmas shopping.  Last year I waited until the last minute and it certainly wasn't as enjoyable.
-cake with sprinkles
-creating
-homemade chicken noodle soup
-an empty sink and clean kitchen...which has been a rare sight lately.  :)
-toys trains and cars zooming over every surface in the house...even my face sometimes.
-crayons.  Jack loves them...and I secretly do too! ;)
-blogging.  I feel like I've been a bit busy lately but I'm enjoying it...still.
-Jack's Halloween costume which is uh-dorable if I do say so myself.
-encouraging strangers.  I've had many people in San Francisco stop me and tell me that being a Mom is the most important/valuable thing there is. 
-Little legs that are too short for all his pants.  Cuffed jeans on a baby...melt my heart.

And that's it for now!  Happy Hump Day everyone.  :)

Sweatpants and Underwear

How's THAT for a title?

I mean...any title that mentions "underwear"?  I'm all over that post.  Oooh, will it be scandalous?  Will it be funny?

Well, not to disappoint buuuut...this post is kinda neither of these.

They are the two things I bought at Target today.
And can I say...there are some purchases that you never regret.

I have bought MANY clothing items and then in turn took them back upon further reflection.  You just don't reeeeally need some things...no matter how cute/cheap they may be.

But the perfect pair of sweatpants...ones that you MIGHT even be able to get away with wearing outside of the house...paired with the right shirt and shoes.
And new, full-bummed comfy cotton chones.

There is just no regret.
Especially when bought at Target.  Where the prices are "cheap".  Mostly at least.

And we won't even mention the fact that I haven't bought new underwear since before I was pregnant with Jack...BEFORE!  So wrong.  And TMI.  But take it or leave it because I'm willing to bet that I'm not the only one who is in this boat.

So.  There you have it.
Want to feel like a million bucks?  Want to feel super comfy and cozy and happy about a purchase you made?

Go buy some new sweats and a pack of cotton undergarments.
Yeah...I buy mine in packs.
I'm classy like that.
Take that Victoria Secret!

And just for a little reference...in case you want to be choney twinsies...these are the one's I got and seriously the bomb.  Yes, they are worth bringing back that word for.  Unless you are my Dad who still actively uses it like it's 1999.  Probably not in regard to his underwear though.  Love you Dad!

Hanes Cotton Boyfriend Underwear
Oh so Comfy, Borderline Wear them in Public Sweats (that's the advertised name right?!?)

P.S. The sweats are way cuter in real life.  :)

P.P.S Not a paid advertising...not that you thought so because let's be real and honest here and say it like it is...Target does not know my blog exists...and I'm a-ok with that.

The Missing Debit Card (insert sad face)

Can I tell you how many posts I have waiting in my draft box?!?

THREE!

And why are they not posted for all to see?

Because I have apparently turned into a crotchety, cranky lady who is apparently a little negative at the moment. 

You don't want to be reading that.
So be thankful that I have even a speck of discernment and chose to let them simmer as drafts...where they belong!  :)

Anyways, what's up guys?!?
How you been?
Good good.

Just thought I'd let you know that I lost my debit card today...stellar.
Well, it was yesterday.
Sometime after Safeway but before I got home.
Really that leaves the library.  Plllleeease be there pleeeease!

Yeah, I figured this out when I was at the pharmacy counter trying to pay for my SECOND set of UTI antibiotics.  Because the 1st set didn't work.  And of course this set is more because they always recommend the cheap generic thing first and when that doesn't work they bust out the big guns...and big guns COST MORE!  And can we talk about how annoying it is to make a wasted trip when you have a kid?  I mean the loading and unloading of the carseat (is carseat really TWO words?) almost makes me want to poke out my left eye.  I mean seriously.  Public trans guys.  What will I do if we ever move from this place?  I'll actually have to put children in carseats EVERY time I need to run an errand.  And what if we have more then ONE child?!?  Aaaaaaaahhh!  Worst nightmare.

Oh well.  Wasn't able to pay for the antibiotics, went home to look for card, couldn't find it, realized the 3 things that HAD to be done today...all that involved money.  Loaded Jack in the car, trucked across town to my bank...which is at USF and has NO parking, finally got cash, went and ran my errands and was some how able to keep Jack awake even though it was totally passed his nap time.  Score. 

So that's been my day so far.  Still haven't gone back to get the antibiotics.  That's saved for after Jack wakes up.  Phew.

Anyways, just thought I'd stop by this little space and make my presence known.  Still hanging in there.  My pending Halloween orders are a leetle long and slightly overwhelming but they are getting done...and I'm still having fun :)! 

And that's it.
No pictures.
Just a bunch of nonsense words.
But you know you liked it.

I'm out!

***DEBIT CARD FOUND!!!  And would you like to know where?!?  At the stinking pharmacy that I supposedly originally realized that I had "lost" my debit card.  I basically feel like an idiot.  I know exactly what happened.  I took my debit card out to pay...where she then proceeded to ask for my insurance card.  I guess I set down my debit card to look for the insurance card.  Then went to take my debit card out of my wallet...again.  And thought that it wasn't there and that I had lost it.  When I went to pick up my Rx this evening they had taped my debit card to my meds.  Duuuuh.  The best part is that I verbally said, "Oh no!  I don't have my debit card!!!"  Looked for it, told her I had to run home to get it, and THEN LEFT IT ON THE COUNTER right in front of the lady.  She probably thought I was the biggest doof ever.  The ONLY thing that half makes me feel better is the fact that the counter had this weird ad on it that was the exact same color as my debit card...so you know, it was totally camouflaged ;).  That and I was making sure that my crazy 16 month didn't pull down all the bottles of cough syrup and start "organizing" them.  So you know...there WAS the distraction factor.  So there you have it.  The debit card is found.  And I feel a little dumb.  But it's found sooooo, I'll take it!

A Little on Working From Home

So...

You probably know about my little Etsy shop (link on the right side of my blog page).  I've had it up and going for a couple of years.  It's evolved a bit for sure.  Back before Jacko came along I was working full time while my husband was in grad school.  As a bit of a creative outlet I opened a little Etsy shop.  It had a few bags, zippered pouches...nothing crazy.  I would sell one every couple of months...at the most.  I was NOT invested in it at all.  Eventually I just did nothing with it.  It just....sat.  I mean, who really wants to work 40 hours a week...plus an almost 1.5-2 hour commute round trip on TOP of that...and then come come and do MORE work?  Um.  Nobody.

Then Jack came along and I dropped my work down to part time.  Then eventually I quit altogether to stay home with the little guy...and let the husband bring home the bacon instead.

We kept this up for a while.  Then Jack's birthday came along and I decorated his party with lots of felt items.  They were a hit.  Jason in particular loved them.  :)  Soon after that it seemed like a good idea to try to figure out a way to bring in a little income on my end.  We have Jason's grad school student loan and the university system pay is a little weird...slightly irregular.  It seemed like a good idea to find something that brought in a little income during the long stretches between Jason's pay checks.

I applied to a few work from home jobs.  One looked really promising...but I didn't get it.

Jason kept telling me to post my felt stuff to Etsy.  I kept putting it off.  Finally I did.  And it did well.

So that's where we are at.

And how is it going?!?

Good...?
I mean YES...good, great, I feel very blessed!

I think though that some how there is this glorified idea that all your problems will be solved by finding a job where you can work from home...not putting your babies in daycare or whatever.  You can sit back, do your work while your children play blissfully at your feet...ALL while making money. HAHAHAHA!

But you know?  It's not that fantastic always. (Surprise, surprise)
Sometimes I think that maybe Jack would be better off in daycare then at home with me while I try to work.  He'd definitely get more attention that's for sure!  I try to keep my work to his nap times and after he goes to bed but if I get too many orders stacked up then I'm forced to work during the day.  I make an extra effort to still leave the house and go to the park but yeah...he has to entertain himself at times...which means that a) my house falls victim to his boredom and b) there is usually a fair amount of whining because let's face it...15 month old's don't exactly entertain themselves well...at least MINE doesn't.  :)

I mean, don't get me wrong...I love that I can stay home with him and make some money.  I love that we can save money by not putting him in daycare.  But...it's not always a perfect situation.  Like everything.  I guess I just want to be real and honest about it.  I'm guessing I'm not the only one who thought that there was something altogether magical and beautiful about working from home?

In the end I feel very blessed and if I HAD to choose I would choose this situation over working outside of the home but it's still...work?!?  I will say it's very gratifying work.  It definitely feels special to receive so much praise from people after receiving their orders.  Sometimes I just want to throw in the towel and then I'll get an email that makes it all worth it.

So maybe the moral of all this is...nothing comes easy, but there is a lot of gratification in fighting through the hard stuff.  I feel proud that I'm helping to contribute to my family (mostly because I HAVE to ha!).  I also hope that Jack will one day understand that a little hard work is okay.  Sometimes you just have to put your nose down and grind it out.  And there is so much more joy in it when you do it with a glad heart and without complaining (still working on that one ahem).  And maybe I won't work one day?!?  Maybe I'll keep doing it?  Who knows.

For now though...
I just feel a little blessed that God chose to allow me to serve my family in this way.

NOTE:  If you ever do start a work from home gig I think it's REALLLLLLLY important that you sometimes get away from everything for a few hours and just...relax.  When I worked part time I didn't feel this need quite so much.  There was something about the fact that I was away from home and away from Jack that sorta made me able to cope better.  This probably sounds odd.  I think it was almost a bit of a "break" in it's own way (mostly because I worked very part time and my job wasn't stressful...and ended when I left the office).  The thing with working at home is you are doing TWO jobs at the same time (mothering and working).  Something about the constant, mixing of the two jobs is really exhausting.  I literally was at a breaking point last weekend and I just needed to LEAVE.  I needed to leave the house and do something completely and totally relaxing.  So I did.  I got a pedicure which I have done twice in my life.  But it's what I needed.  I literally sat there and just zoned...and read.  So yeah.  Taking a break is a valuable, necessary thing.  :)

Mama Confessions

So first off there are about 10 OTHER things I could be doing right now...that are way more productive but instead...I sit here.  Eating chips and salsa.  Typing away.  Meh.

I've been thinking lately about how it's funny the way I've sorta "evolved" as a mother.  Before you have kids you think you will do things a certain way.  Then you HAVE the kid...and it all goes out the window.  So here are my confessions.  10 things that are "questionable" that I do as a mother...

10. At least 2...maybe 3 times Jack has played in the backyard and had completely filthy hands.  He comes in, sits in his highchair for dinner, and goes to town eating with his hands.  About 5 minutes into the meal I notice just how gross his hands are but you know...at that point...the damage is done.  So...eat up little buddy.  Dirt never hurt anyone (that I know of and if it ever HAS...just let me remain ignorant please :) )

9.  Pretty sure Jack slept on the same sheet for at least a month once.  I can remember to change our sheets...because I sleep in them.  And usually when I change OUR sheets, he's napping soooo...yeah not going to touch that.  Just can't remember to change his.  One day friends...one day.

8.  On that note.  Back in the day Jack would sometimes leak through his diaper at night.  When this happened I would change his pj's and his diaper and then throw a thick blanket over the peed on sheet so that he could sleep dry again.  Way too tired to mess with changing his sheet in the middle of the night.  Plus, he gets really mad if you set him down on the floor when he's half awake.  Like really mad.  So, our system worked...more or less.  Once though Jason pulled the blanket out of the crib not knowing my system and I proceeded to put Jack into bed TWO nights...on a dry pee pee sheet...before I remembered that the sheet had been peed on.  He had sweet pee scented dreams for two nights.  :-p

7. I let my kid watch TV.  And he loves it.  And I don't feel guilty.  I mean not hours on end but yeah...a half hour here and there.  Bring it.

6.  We have one bottle because Jack breastfed for the first year of his life.  Now he takes his milk before naps and bed in that one bottle.  Sometimes I don't wash it out after every use.  Sometimes I just rinse it, make sure it looks mostly clean and call it good.

5.  Jack eats a decent amount of fruits and vegetables but...he eats processed food too.  Like graham crackers...and gold fish crackers...and other things I can't even think of.  Again.  I feel no guilt.

4.  I don't always seat belt him into the cart.  First the seat belt placement on those carts at the store are really weird.  Second...he's not a jump ship type of kid.  Doesn't move from his spot.  Third, I'm close enough to him that I would imagine I'd see what he's doing before he gets out (I don't ever walk away from the cart leaving him there).  One day I'm sure I won't be able to get away with this buuuut...I do it.

3.  When Jack drops his binky I blow it off and call it good....even in public.  Exception to that rule...downtown SF streets, public restrooms, and Muni (public trans).  Blak.

2.  Sometimes I give into his wants just because he is SO DARN CUTE and how do you say no to that oogy boogy cutey baby weetle wuver face?!?  I also figure now is the time to spoil a kid if I'm going to do it.  He doesn't remember much and it'll be too expensive to indulge with more then one child.  :)

1b.  I start looking forward to Jack's bedtime at oh...4:00pm.  It's funny how you can love someone SO much and simultaneously want to be away from them haha.  Even more so do I love seeing that little bouncy face in the morning...as long as it's after 7am.  :)

1a.  This one deserves two parts.  On the weekends I sometimes fake being deep asleep when Jack wakes up at the butt crack of dawn.  Jason is a much lighter sleeper and will usually wake up and get him...though I know he would LOVE to sleep in.  Sshhhh.  Don't tell.  (Sometimes it IS legit though.  Those nights at least when I stay up way too late doing orders.)

And that's it!  10...well 11 Mama Confessions.  :)