Halfway

So apparently I'm 20 weeks now, which is pretty cool. Full on into that blessed second trimester and feeling a little bit more human-like, despite the stomachaches that hit every few days and the exhaustion that just keeps hanging around. I told Jason last night that I was just going to complain about always being tired and then realized that this might just be my life now. So I really shouldn't even talk about it, right? Of course right.

I must confess that I'm sort of a silently-neurotic pregnant woman. I like to keep it cool and collected on the outside, but really I worry about every little twinge and ache that comes along. Luckily {for my midwife} I'm good at talking myself down from my "what if??" scenarios before rushing to the hospital. After going through this twice, I've come to accept that this is how pregnancy after miscarriage goes. I usually ride the high of hearing baby's heartbeat for a couple weeks after each appointment and then spend the remaining two weeks quietly panicking until my next appointment. My best advice for anyone else like this {or my future self}: stay away from Google.

Despite my sometimes-tormented mental state and constant exhaustion, things have been good on the pregnancy front. So far I feel less uncomfortable than I did with Milo, who sent me to physical therapy for hip pain that drove me to tears. Staying active and doing yoga helps, though I haven't been as great at this as I should be. I'd love to be able to commit fully to either regular pants that usually still fit in the morning but are a no-go by afternoon, or maternity pants that are still just a tad too big to stay up all day. Most clothes look sort of ridiculous on me, maternity or not, so I'll be happy to be out of the 'tweener stage.

This summer has been a wonderful mixture of slow and busy, with camping trips and beach days, a little work and a lot of play. My summer class ends next week already {!!!}, which is exciting, but also a bit disappointing since it means that fall is quickly approaching. I'm not ready to let go of my endless Saturdays yet. Somehow I always am once the time comes, but this year it might mean giving up my daily nap, so a bigger protest may be in order. Anyway, as my niece used to say, "I'm walking away from that talk." Here's to the last month of summer and the last 5 months of pregnancy!

that time we went out west

Here we are at the end of July, so naturally I'm giving the people what they want: a very timely and relevant post about our Spring Break trip that we took four months ago. I aim to please. And I'm clearly right on top of my blogging game...along with every other type of game. Cleaning game, grading game, cooking game, haircut and yard work games - the person right there on top? That's me.

So, Spring Break!!! At the beginning of April we went out to Portland to visit my brother, Justin, and sister-in-law, Jamie, and had such a great time. They completely spoiled us by making tons of kid-friendly plans and making us feel so welcome, despite the fact that my sister-in-law was leaving for a month in Nicaragua the day after we left!

Before flying out, we stopped for a night in Toledo to spend time with Jason's brother and his wife. The kids were thoroughly entertained by their cat - I think Milo spent the majority of our time there either chasing her or asking where she was {hiding from Milo} - and thoroughly freaked out by the number of stairs in their house. The next day we walked down to the Mudhens Stadium and the farmers market before packing up and heading to the airport.

I don't want to brag too much, but the boys were completely awesome on our flights. I had prepared myself for the worst {meltdowns, vomit, embarrassment, and tears}, and there was literally none of it. Gehrig spent the entire first flight looking out the window exclaiming, "This is amazing!! I can't even believe this!" And Milo, while he was freaked out by take-off, just clung to me and Jason for a while before settling in with an iPad and snacks. The worst thing that happened was a spilled Sprite all over my lap, but I'm fairly sure that was my fault. You can't take me anywhere.

We arrived late the night before Easter {the boys were troopers with the time change and still woke up around 6:30 Portland time every morning, which was another pleasant surprise}. The next morning Justin & Jamie set up an egg hunt for the boys before we trekked out to see the Columbia River Gorge and Multnomah Falls. All the green was a welcome sight when everything was still so gray and leafless in Michigan.

We did a lot of walking around their neighborhood {Gehrig loved the goats in the front yard of a house down the block}, drinking delicious coffee and eating amazing food. Those food trucks?? I'm still craving more of the Hawaiian pork stir fry I had on Easter. Jason said he'd fly back to Portland just to have another Dutch turkey club sandwich on a waffle. Not to mention the free malasadas Gehrig got for finding an Easter egg outside the Hawaiian cart. Dreamy.

The next night we had dinner at Mississippi Pizza where "Mr. Ben" performed kids songs and we got to eat amidst an entire restaurant full of families with 1-6 year-olds and it was so loud and so fantastic, especially because that was our kids' crankiest night. Meltdowns are no big deal when literally everyone in the restaurant has kids with them. Other fun things included a stop at Powell's and a park {grass! green grass!}, staying up too late playing Settlers of Catan, a trip to OMSI, which had so many awesome things that captivated the adults right along with the kids, and watching Milo go crazy every time he saw a dog, which happen to be everywhere in Portland.

On our last day we headed to the Oregon coast with Voodoo Doughnuts in hand. I was so excited to see the ocean {large bodies of water calm my soul} and it did not disappoint. We had fairly rainy weather all week except for our day at the beach, which was sunny and peaceful and magical. We dug in the sand, gathered shells, played frisbee and baseball, and almost had to leave when Gehrig scream-cried over a dead crab. We left with sun-kissed cheeks, sand in our shoes, and the memory of the boys' first time at the ocean.

After a home-cooked meal that night, we packed our things and got ready to leave early the next morning. It's always a bummer saying goodbye to family, especially when we don't have a "next time" in mind. Milo especially misses Victor, their cat {notice a theme with him?} but I'm so glad we were able to take the boys on this little adventure to visit our far-away family.

Happy Spring Breaking! {If you're into that sort of thing in the dead middle of summer....}

A Third

I'm not a frequent Facebook poster, aside from my sparse blogposts and pregnancy announcements every couple years, so I forget how lovely people are when I share such happy news. In case you weren't waiting expectantly for my post and missed it, I am due with babe 3 around Christmas. We are of course thrilled to be welcoming a new baby this winter and I am so grateful for everyone's well-wishes. 

This pregnancy was a bit of a challenge for the past 3 months since I felt sicker and much more fatigued than I did with any of my others. Not to mention some heavy, uncontrollable emotions that just kept dragging me down past the point of rationality. But I really don't want to complain because it of course could be so much worse and things are definitely beginning to look up {as in, I'm not spending half the day alternating between the couch and the bathroom and I don't break into tears as much as I did for the entire month of May. Woohoo!}

I'm also ridiculously lucky that Jason is home for the whole summer, so after weathering the storm of baseball season {so long, five straight weekends of tournaments!}, I've had more chances to hide from the kids and nap than I deserve. Also, let's talk for a minute about how happy the boys are to have this guy around. Finally they have someone here who will wrestle with them, build them a fence for hitting home runs in the backyard, and buy them donuts at the grocery store. What a lucky group we are.

He's also been telling me for weeks to sit down and write a blog post because he knows that writing is one of my happy places. I'm really going to try taking his advice more often. He's a smart man and the fun parent and I can't wait to see him with another babe in arms.

Musings for the Weekend

Why is it that when I have so much I have to do, my brain is bombarded with a thousand things that I want to do? Sure, I have 50 essays to grade, but isn't it more important that I nail down a capsule wardrobe for Spring and purge all my winter socks?? Yes, we still have to do our taxes, but I've got this meringue recipe that's just BEGGING to be made, so... I guess that's my weekend plan. {This is a real struggle for me. Priorities. Sticking with them. Tell me I'm not alone!}

Have you seen this SNL sketch yet? I reference it daily. I'm pretty sure my neighbor still thinks my name is Brianne after almost 3 years, so it's like, do I correct her at this point? "Say what you wanna say" girl.

My cousin, Kelsey, just started a blog and you should start reading it immediately. She's a teacher and current stay-at-home mom who has some awesome ideas for littles and her kids have the cutest cheeks. Go forth and enjoy.

I've inadvertently given up pop for Lent because Jason did and I'm a nice wife who no longer brings it into the house. I had some today for the first time in a while and...gross, kinda! I think I'll be happy to continue not drinking it, but ask me in a month because I'm sure I'll grow accustomed to it again and convince myself it's delicious.

What is with the trends of adult overalls and full-size rompers and why am I slightly intrigued by them? Is it because I'm a 90's kid and the heart wants what it wants? I just don't think I'll ever wear them, but I said the same thing about skinny jeans, so...

There are so many sewing projects I want to start/finish {see that first one again}. Also, why do I all of a sudden need to become an expert cookie decorator? Maybe because Alison makes everything look so fun.

We're flying with our kids for the first time next week and I'm waffling between renting car seats once we arrive {expensive, convenient, horror stories about dirty or non-existent seats, etc.} and taking our own {bulky, safer, horror stories about damaged car seats after flights, etc.} We're leaning toward taking our own and checking them at the gate, but advice is welcome.

Have a great weekend!

St. Patrick's Day

Minus 1 sibling - 2012

St. Patrick's Day 2012

St. Patrick's Day was always sort of a big deal at my house. My German/Swiss mother really took her job of raising five Fitzpatrick kids seriously and basically became more Irish than the rest of us. Every year on March 17 we were awoken by the songs of The Irish Rovers and The Dubliners sang to us as we ate green oatmeal or toast sprinkled with green sugar. By dinnertime our house was filled with the smell of Irish Soda Bread and the wreak of corned beef and cabbage. There was dancing, dessert, Guinness, and the viewing of an Irish film (Secret of Roan Inish was my personal favorite, but we often switched it up with Darby O'Gill and the Little People or Angela's Ashes). Even when I went away to college I'd get care packages every year filled with shamrock stickers, treats, and a note from my mom written in her best brogue. My college roommates still ask me to send along my mom's Paddy's Day greetings because...they're just the best.

My love of Ireland exponentially increased when I studied abroad in Dublin and did things like cartwheel in front of a castle, get my nose pierced, and drunkenly Riverdance in a pub in front of the whole program, including my professor who mentioned it in class the next day. But, maybe more on that trip another time.

One of the most exciting {and sometimes frustrating} things about parenting is establishing new traditions and deciding which ones from your own childhood you want to continue. My family's St. Patrick's Day traditions are filed under "continue," which Jason agreed to long ago, while I agreed to establish an annual MLB Allstar Game party because marriage is about blending our lives and interests and aren't we the models of compromise?

So yesterday my kids woke up and were immediately roped into a dance party in the kitchen and were pretty amused by me singing about pigs making "lovely household friends" and "whack fol the daddy-o." They ate green pancakes, helped me bake Irish soda bread, listened to me talk about a cool country called Ireland, and asked if leprechauns are real.

When they're older we'll add a movie after dinner {we'll start with my old favorites, but someday add The Wind that Shakes the Barley and Once to the rotation}. Someday I may even make corned beef and cabbage {we had steak this year since no one else would come near a pot of stew in this house} and they'll hear stories about my visit to Ireland and how their Swiss grandmother helped instill a love of this Irish holiday in me that I hope they'll want to pass down to their kids, too.

Positive Thinking

Baseball season started last week, which means my husband is about to be gone every night for games and most Saturdays for tournaments and I'm in danger of slipping into a big fat mope-fest because I'm a total wimp and have no idea how single parents or spouses of people who work 60 hours a week do it. But I'm trying to be a real adult, so I'm putting on my best smile and assuring myself that this will be fine. The season will fly by. It won't feel that lonely. Right? K. Anyway, some positive thinking is in order...

I'm calling it now: the end of the frigid winter is here. Spring is in sight. We'll be putting the boots and hats away soon. {Yes, I've lived in Michigan my whole life and, yes, I know there will probably be a snow storm in April and, yes, I'm aware that it's only March and this is totally wishful thinking. Don't harsh my vibe.}

I've finished more books in the last 3 months than I read maybe all of last year. My secrets?: audiobooks and the OverDrive App. With a 30-minute commute to work, it's so great to have books read to me and feel productive even though I'm just driving. I'm excited to get Gehrig hooked on them, too, because Janssen is my reading role model and her kids are into it. 

There are only about 3 piles of snow left on the ground and we are totally going outside to play with our jackets unzipped this afternoon. We're livin' on the edge, baby!

Two high school girls told me I looked "beautiful" yesterday. Really. During two separate encounters! The ability of 17-year-olds to impact my self esteem apparently did not dissipate after 2004, because I'll been riding that high all week.

Jason will be at a conference all weekend, so I've packed our menu with food I never get to make for dinner with a picky husband. Casseroles, tacos, and soups, oh my!

2.5 weeks until we jet off to the west coast and I.cannot.wait.

It's St. Patrick's Day - one of my favorite holidays! My mom always made St. Paddy's so fun for us growing up and it's one of the things I am so excited to continue with my kids. I'll post all about it tomorrow. Until then, enjoy the craic!

According to Gehrig

These gems just keep rolling in, faster than I can write them down. I think everyone should have a 4-year-old in their home to help boost moods. 

Jason and I were talking while Gehrig sat in the next room playing:

Jason: Hey, did you see your mother's....

Gehrig {under his breath in a mocking tone}: Instagraaaam

After assessing the state of our refrigerator: 

Gehrig: Mom, you need to send dad an Instagram and tell him to pick up apple juice on his way home from work.

{Clearly we need to calm down with the Instagram talk}

During a pout session:

Jason: What do you want to do, buddy? We could play with play dough.

Gehrig: No.

Jason: We could color.

Gehrig: No.

Jason: We could do a puzzle.

Gehrig: No.

Jason:……….

Gehrig: We could play with the cash register.

Jason: Yeah, you want to play with the cash register?

Gehrig: No. That’s just something we could do.

During the opening song of The Lion King:

Gehrig: I think it’s God singing because no one else's mouth is moving.

After I scolded Milo for biting a tire off a toy car and he started crying:

Gehrig: Mom, I think he’s upset.

Me: Well, I’m upset, too. That’s dangerous for him.

Gehrig: But, see how he’s crying? I think you did that. 

Me: Buddy, you really need a haircut today. Your hair is starting to cover your ears.

Gehrig: Mom, your hair is really already covering your ears!