Whew...

So this week I was supposed to travel to Santa Rosa Beach in Florida with my employers. I wasn't loving it because when I travel for work it means being away from Ethan for a week or longer, and I already have to go to Savannah over Easter and then to rural Virginia for 10 days in July. The beach trip ended up falling through because the house had been double booked...oops. It ended up working out just fine though. My employers decided to take their older two to the mountains, and left the Symmester with me. We had an uneventful day on Tuesday... I spent the majority of the day completing major house projects and was exhausted at the end of the day. Since I only had him, I just brought him home with me and set him up in the pack-n-play that I keep at my house for naps, overnights, etc.

Wednesday morning, we woke up and he ate his breakfast, and we were about to go back to his house for the day to finish up more projects and play.... when the vomiting started. Oh boy. Fever was 101 at the highest point, and baby boy was just miserable. :( He threw up a grand total of 4 times throughout the day and we never made it back home because I wasn't about to put him in the car when there was a chance of him throwing up, and I didn't think riding in a car would make him feel any better. I spent the day giving him lukewarm baths, holding him, comforting him, pretty much holding him 24/7 because he didn't want to sleep if I wasn't holding him. We ended up taking a nap together as a result which my husband caught with his camera phone upon returning home from work. Note my Williams-Sonoma kitchen towel which doubled nicely as a burp cloth, and the towel he is wrapped in. He threw up all over me twice, so the towels were the precautions... go figure, he didn't throw up on me again after I had the towels. They always get you when you're not prepared.



Today was a repeat of yesterday, only he was even more clingy and I was up all night... I finally just brought him into my bed around 6 AM because I was so exhausted and mercifully, he fell asleep, so we both slept until 10 AM. I definitely feel zonked today...takes me back to when he was a newborn and I was waking up every 90 minutes to 2 hours to feed/change/etc. The rest of the family arrived back home at 6:45 PM and I left at 7, after politely informing them that I would not be coming into work until 8:30 instead of my usual 7:45 AM. I will use the extra 45 minutes of sleep, and tomorrow is a late night for me anyway. Plus, I have to work Saturday and Sunday... we were supposed to be gone, so we have no other backup and I would have been working those days while we were at the beach anyway. Not the most ideal situation but at least I'm only working 11-7 instead of the typical 8-8 that it would be while traveling. :)

Wow, delirium just hit me....I do believe it is time to hit the sack!

The weekend so far

So yesterday I was on Facebook and saw that my photography teacher had posted that there was an opening for her Advanced Digital class, and that the first person to email her for the spot would get it. I emailed her with lightning speed and got into the class! I was so excited since her classes have been filling up so fast or have been during times that I can't attend, and I REALLY wanted to take the followup to Digital 101. I left work at 4:30 yesterday and spent the rest of the evening just chilling out at home. Our state refund came through which was exciting to see! Now I'm just waiting for the federal refund to come through and then I'll set up the money transfer for our savings account. (yay!) Ethan left for work and I ended up staying up way too late...eating popcorn and watching Criminal Minds. I hadn't had popcorn in quite some time, I forgot how good it was!

This morning we woke up at 11:30 AM... and since my class was at 1, we headed to Chick-Fil-A for a quick lunch together beforehand. Then he headed home and I headed to class... I learned so much in two hours. The most important feature that I learned about was light metering, which has already markedly improved my photos. Monica, the instructor, had us outdoors practicing light metering and answering any questions we had to make sure we didn't leave without a full understanding of how to control and apply it to our photography. Simply awesome. We also learned about AI servo focusing, which will come in handy the next time I'm at the playground with the kids and they're in motion. It basically is a focusing mode that tracks the subject in motion, so you don't have blur or an out of focus picture. I'm going to start carrying my camera to work with me so that I can be practicing all the time. I have the perfect subjects to practice on! They're totally photoghenic. Proof? Why, sure! As a disclaimer, I didn't shoot that photo - Emily did, but it was with my camera, so I guess I get 5% of the credit. Haha.



Tomorrow is going to be low key... I'm going to get back to my Couch to 5 K which I neglected for a week (that's going to hurt tomorrow....) and then video chat with my dad. I'm working the next three nights at the Ritz Carlton for a family who booked us through our babysitting service, so that will be fun. Hopefully it won't sap my energy for the rest of the week... I have a flight to catch to NYC on Thursday night with my love.

Girlfriends

Today was absolutely beautiful and so much fun. I met Aneli, Ryan, Emily, and Hallie at Top Nail, and we all got pedicures. I went back to my favorite O.P.I. color, "Dulce de Leche". It's such a neutral color but so pretty at the same time. I have my own bottle since I love the color so much! After our pedicures, we walked over to Menchie's Frozen Yogurt and sat and gabbed for an hour or so...it was just so much fun. Menchie's has the BEST flavors... today I had red velvet cake, milk chocolate, and dulce de leche (I put three flavors in one cup) topped with mini chocolate chips and a little hot fudge. HEAVEN. I love this group of girls - they have my back, and there is no drama or jealousy within the group. Everyone genuinely likes each other and cares about each other, and it's just a really neat group of friends. I'm fortunate to be a part of it! Hallie is Aneli's younger sister so today was the first time I had met her... and she is not in the photo since she was the one taking it!

After I came home from my girls' afternoon, Ethan and I spent some time together before heading out for date night at Gekko Sushi (another date night out courtesy of ScoutMob!) It was absolutely delicious and is definitely our new sushi spot. We had a rainbow roll, crunchy california roll, and another roll that I cannot remember the name of right now.... in addition to edamame and teriyaki chicken. In hindsight, Ethan would have skipped ordering the chicken because the rolls and edamame were so filling!

I'm going to have to spend some extra time in the gym this week from all the eating out I did this weekend...oh well, it's worth it! :)

Brunch, office chairs, and taxes...

This morning I woke up at 9:30 to Ethan standing over me staring at me. I wasn't really planning to wake up that early since I didn't get to bed until 1 AM, but since he was awake, I forced myself to get out of bed.

We decided to go to brunch and headed to Highland Bakery, a place I've always wanted to try. It was an absolutely BEAUTIFUL day outside, so we sat outside and enjoyed the views of downtown Atlanta. Highland Bakery is actually known for their peanut butter stuffed French toast topped with bananas, but we settled for their breakfast platters with bacon, eggs, and sourdough toast. It was really goo - I'm actually going back there next weekend for a girls' brunch so maybe I'll try that French toast if there are people willing to split it with me!

After brunch, we went to CB2 to check out their office chair selection which was quite sad... and then headed on to By Design. Ethan's office chair is 10 years old and starting to fall apart since he spends so much time sitting in it! I've tried to get him to buy a new one several times over the past few years but he wasn't willing to spend the money... I guess after spending 6+ hours a day prepping for the CPA over the last couple of months he decided it was time! By Design had a great selection of chairs and he chose the Lider High Back Chair by Zuo Modern. I love it as well and I think it's going to look awesome in the office - it will really pull the room together since the office chair we have now is honestly pretty sad looking with everything else in there being sleek and modern. It's also super comfortable so I'll enjoy sitting in it too every once in a while. The best part? It retails for over $500.... and I found it online for $175. Sold. It should arrive sometime next week.

When we came home, I finally finished and filed our taxes...we were waiting on one last 1099 from Ethan's extra job and FINALLY got it last night! Hopefully we'll have our refund direct deposited by the end of the month - it all goes straight to savings, of course. We've really worked diligently on shoring up our savings account and it's exciting to see the number increase every month... I'll put it this way... we don't worry about money with what we have in the bank. Money isn't everything, but it sure does give you peace of mind when you have it! :) Most importantly, it's security that will allow me to comfortably be a stay at home wife whenever we decide (I could do it next week if I wanted), and that's what we love most about it! For now, I will continue to work since I do love my job and we're not done with our travels yet!

Girl's night out and TGIF

Last night was soooo much fun.... I spontaneously met up with Aneli, Lily, and Emily and we headed to a Mexican place called Across The Street. I had goat cheese enchiladas, sangria blanco, and a LOT of fun. Our waiter treated us to free tequila shots at the end of our meal and then we wrapped up the night at Yogli Mogli, a yogurt place up in Virginia Highlands. It was awesome to just hang out with girls and talk. Ethan also surprised me and asked to come along with me to New York in two weeks... of course I said yes, and I booked his ticket today. The awesome thing is that the seats next to my selected ones for the flights were open, so we'll be able to sit together!!!

Ethan and I together in Manhattan again.... I am really excited that we'll be able to spend a weekend with our dear friends together - but I'm also so glad we have a day to explore the city together again.... we're going to pick a different area to canvass on foot this time. We had so much fun together there in October for my birthday. I just love being with my husband...he is so funny and so adventurous. He truly makes me a better person. Not a day goes by that I'm not so, so, so thankful that I got to marry him!

I'm so glad it's Friday.... I'm working until 11 PM tonight, but it's been an easy day so far and will be an easy evening. We're taking the kids out to dinner and then they'll go to bed... and I will be going home to CRASH in my bed... I'm totally sleeping in tomorrow....with MY HUSBAND! (still not used to it, can you tell?!)

I'm pleased to report that it looks like I will get my life back after all... the part-time nanny is working out beautifully and her trial period is over next week - I am hoping that we'll sign her into a year long contract and then my worries are over. It means I'm off of work by 5 PM latest Monday through Thursday and only work late on Friday nights (as long as I choose to do so anyway). I've had to stay late this week to train her and get her acclimated, but next week she's on her own - I have things to do, places to go...haha. :)

I can't believe it's almost Thursday already. I'm so ready for the weekend.... Ethan and I will take the kids to do something fun Friday night and then sleep in together on Saturday morning....which I'm so looking forward to. It's supposed to be a beautiful weekend! I'm getting a pedicure with my gal pals Ryan and Emily on Sunday and other than that I don't really have any plans. I have to run for a total of 20 minutes on Sunday ... straight.... without stopping. I will do it. I will hate every second of it, but I'll do it and then I'll feel impressed and proud of myself when I'm done. That's just how it goes.

I'm really looking forward to April. I can't wait to go to the beach for a week from the 4-10th, and I'm excited about going somewhere with Ethan the weekend of the 15-17. Then I get to go to Savannah, GA (somewhere I have never been) on a work trip over Easter weekend, and the 28th I jet off to Mexico for a girls' weekend. So much R&R.... how will I ever survive? ;)

So March.... in like a lion....out like a lamb! I'm so ready for warmer temps!

So, yesterday was a lot of fun. I met LD at Sun In My Belly, and my wooorrrrd. The food? Delish. I had the Kirkwood breakfast, which was softly scrambled eggs with Boursin cheese mixed in, 2 strips of honey glazed crispy bacon, and a buttermilk biscuit with butter and jelly. It was soooooo good. The conversation was even better, and LD and I spent two and a half HOURS talking.... we didn't even realize it had been that long, because neither of us checked our phones once the entire time we were there. I hate when I go out to share a meal with someone and they're constantly checking their phone...drives me crazy, actually. If I'm "on call" I don't have a choice, I have to keep my phone with me, but I always make sure that the person I'm with understands that so they won't be offended. When LD and I were leaving SIMB, I ran into a friend that I hadn't seen since Christmas. It was really cool to see her, and she lives in my area now. Hopefully we'll get together soon with our mutual friends... I can see Sunday brunches becoming a regular thing!

After I left, I headed to San Francisco Coffee to meet Lindsay. Lindsay is my business partner (more about that in future posts when we actually launch) and also a really good friend. So when we meet, it's half business meeting, half catch-up. It's always a good time. We're able to balance the two pretty well and we work well together too. I spent about two hours with her and then we said our goodbyes.

Next stop was Publix for the weekly grocery shopping. Ethan hates to grocery shop, and I don't mind it. Plus, I know exactly where everything is, so it never takes me very long. Then I came home and spent some time with Ethan before we had dinner. Then I helped myself to dessert...BAD.... Nutella and peanut butter....so delicious, but I definitely paid for it today because my stomach was so messed up and grumbly. Won't be doing that again. I don't eat very much sugar at all normally (by choice) so when I do, it throws me all out of whack. I might sometimes say "It was worth it", but not today.

Today the new part-time nanny started... it was more about orientation today, but she did manage to give all the kids a bath by herself. I'm hoping that she picks up quickly this week because I don't want to stay until 7 PM every night this week while she orients herself... we'll see how tomorrow goes since she's going to have a lot more responsibility than she did today. I genuinely like her a lot, and I understand that this job is not a simple or easy one. I'm just used to being able to dive right into something and picking it up super fast but I realize that not everyone is me.

Tomorrow Ethan is in class, so I'm going to do week 5 of C25K...I was going to do it tonight but my day was long and exhausting, and getting off at 6:45 instead of 4:45 made that not really doable for me because when I got home I just wanted to eat and take a shower... and get into bed. I was in my bed by 8:30....it's a little past 9 PM now, and I'm hitting the hay. Night folks!