For Father's Day, I booked an overnight in Cleveland, OH to go see an Indians Game. We planned to leave our house by 9 a.m., get to the Cleveland Zoo by 12:30 p.m., check in the hotel by 4 p.m. and head over to the game at 5 p.m.
Reality: The day started off good. We left our house at 9:15 a.m. Went to drop Marley off at Eric's parents at 9:30 a.m. Went to my parents house to pick up a double stroller at 9:40 a.m. Tried, unsuccessfully, to break into my parents house, because I thought my nephew would be there so I didn't bring the house keys at 9:50 a.m. Went back to our house to get the regular umbrella stroller at 10:05 a.m. and off we went.
The trip down was pretty uneventful. We arrived at the zoo by 1 p.m. and started our trek through the park. I did not realize how vast the Cleveland Zoo is, nor that we'd be walking 5 miles between exhibits. We saw elephants and pandas, walked another mile to see the gorillas and lemurs, walked another mile up a long ramp to see the giraffes and zebras. I started really regretting not bringing the keys to my mom's house about an hour into the trip when Matthew got tired of walking in 85+ degree weather. At one point he got onto my shoulders, because walking for miles and holding a 33 lbs toddler can be exhausting.
I complain, but the kids had such a great time that it made it all worth it.
Eric and I had two very different takes on the heat. He lost his appetite and I went into full on beast mode. I was pretty hangry by the time we checked into the hotel, and I wanted to get a nice dinner before heading to the stadium, but my husband was anxious to get to the game. He won the battle, and we got food at the stadium. Once I ate, my mood lightened and I was ready to watch The Tribe play ball.
We made it through the National Anthem and about 3 pitches into the first inning before Matthew started saying that he wanted to go to the hotel. Avery was fighting Eric, because she wanted to get down and run around (we were in the nose bleeds), and it was still really hot outside. We managed to stick it out to the third inning, but after I accidentally flung a chip at the lady in front of me because Matt wanted to sit in my lap and then accidentally kicked her, I thought we should probably walk around a bit.
We left after the bottom of the fifth and headed back to the hotel, watched the rest of Beauty and the Beast that was playing on Freeform, and then went to bed.
It wasn't the picture perfect night away that I had imagined when I booked the trip, but the memories and excitement I saw from my toddlers made the trip 1000% worth it.
Tuesday, June 13, 2017
Tuesday, February 14, 2017
Winter Sickness Be Gone!
This winter has been brutal on Matthew. A few weeks ago, he had his first ear infection and first round of antibiotics. In three years, I thought this was a pretty good record until we quickly found out he was allergic to amoxicillin. Full body hives, swollen eyes, puffy cheeks and a swollen wrist earned him a trip to the ER or the "hospital hotel" as he called it.
That was the scariest night of my life. The 17 minute trip to Children's Hospital was the longest 17 minutes of my life. Luckily, he wasn't struggling to breath, but he was congested and itchy. He was scratching so hard that I thought he was going to scratch his skin right off. After 3 days of steroids and new antibiotics, my Matty Matt was back to his old self.
That was until this past Sunday morning. He's sick again. This time with a terrible cough, fever and mucus overload. It just keeps coming. With each sneeze a flood of thick mucus pours out. Last night, we slept a total of 2.5 hours. He couldn't get comfortable and every time he laid down the coughing fits began.
He just can't catch a break this year. God was kind to me last year with the new job, because Matt was barely sick. This year, it's been a rotating cycle of illnesses.
Thank goodness he's still in pretty good spirits... all things considered... because this tired mama could not handle it if there were any more obstacles to conquer this year.
I know things could be so much worse and I'm grateful for the good health of both of my littles, but when your running on coffee and fumes, a cold seems like your conquering Mt. Everest.
Cheers to all the moms who are having it rough this disease-infested winter. Here's hoping for a warm and sunny summer.
That was the scariest night of my life. The 17 minute trip to Children's Hospital was the longest 17 minutes of my life. Luckily, he wasn't struggling to breath, but he was congested and itchy. He was scratching so hard that I thought he was going to scratch his skin right off. After 3 days of steroids and new antibiotics, my Matty Matt was back to his old self.
That was until this past Sunday morning. He's sick again. This time with a terrible cough, fever and mucus overload. It just keeps coming. With each sneeze a flood of thick mucus pours out. Last night, we slept a total of 2.5 hours. He couldn't get comfortable and every time he laid down the coughing fits began.
He just can't catch a break this year. God was kind to me last year with the new job, because Matt was barely sick. This year, it's been a rotating cycle of illnesses.
Thank goodness he's still in pretty good spirits... all things considered... because this tired mama could not handle it if there were any more obstacles to conquer this year.
I know things could be so much worse and I'm grateful for the good health of both of my littles, but when your running on coffee and fumes, a cold seems like your conquering Mt. Everest.
Cheers to all the moms who are having it rough this disease-infested winter. Here's hoping for a warm and sunny summer.
Friday, February 10, 2017
Balancing Super Mom & Work Mom
I haven't posted in a more than year. Life's been busy. New job. Kids getting older. Stresses always evolving. It's not the obstacles that define your life though. It's how you conquer them.
Last year, when Avery was just 4 months old, I left my cushy state job where I was coasting. To be honest, I had become a robot. I came in, checked my email, gabbed with coworkers, answered letters, wrote press releases and attended meetings. I watched the clock tick the hours down until the hands reach 5 pm. Each night I went home, took care of my kids, went to bed and started again. I was bored.
I needed a change. I needed to restart my career before it was too late. Before I fell so far down the rabbit hole that I wouldn't know how to succeed once that cushy job ran out. I decided on a whim that I needed a reboot. I needed passion again.
One day I noticed a job posting on LinkedIn and thought why not? A high-tech start up company sounded exciting and fun. Some travel would be involved, but not overwhelming, and I'd be the head of the public relations department. I updated my resume. Hit send. And never looked back.
I wanted excitement, and excitement is what I got. I work 50 hours/week, sometimes more. Travel a few times a year and earn the hard work that I put into making a small technology company globally known. Balancing being a mom to two toddlers and a bad ass working woman is hard though. It can be exhausting and I sometimes find myself questioning if I am doing the right thing. Am I there enough for my two young kids? Am I able to work hard and be a good mom?
Every day I come home to two amazing kids and a wonderful husband who holds down the fort when needed.
Matthew, now 3, is such a joy. He is funny and witty and sweet (most of the time). We had trouble potty training him until Santa took his diapers away, then magically he was potty trained within 24 hours. Did I mention he's stubborn?
Avery is an active 17 month old, always dancing and chasing her brother around. Although she isn't saying many words, she has "mama" down pat.
They can be exhausting and frustrating some days, but they are the greatest achievements of my life.
Eric and I haven't slept in 4 years, but the love and support we share are values that I treasure and thank God for every day.
Life is always changing. We are always growing. I just hope that along the way our children know how much they are loved and how proud I am of them.
Last year, when Avery was just 4 months old, I left my cushy state job where I was coasting. To be honest, I had become a robot. I came in, checked my email, gabbed with coworkers, answered letters, wrote press releases and attended meetings. I watched the clock tick the hours down until the hands reach 5 pm. Each night I went home, took care of my kids, went to bed and started again. I was bored.
I needed a change. I needed to restart my career before it was too late. Before I fell so far down the rabbit hole that I wouldn't know how to succeed once that cushy job ran out. I decided on a whim that I needed a reboot. I needed passion again.
One day I noticed a job posting on LinkedIn and thought why not? A high-tech start up company sounded exciting and fun. Some travel would be involved, but not overwhelming, and I'd be the head of the public relations department. I updated my resume. Hit send. And never looked back.
I wanted excitement, and excitement is what I got. I work 50 hours/week, sometimes more. Travel a few times a year and earn the hard work that I put into making a small technology company globally known. Balancing being a mom to two toddlers and a bad ass working woman is hard though. It can be exhausting and I sometimes find myself questioning if I am doing the right thing. Am I there enough for my two young kids? Am I able to work hard and be a good mom?
Every day I come home to two amazing kids and a wonderful husband who holds down the fort when needed.
Matthew, now 3, is such a joy. He is funny and witty and sweet (most of the time). We had trouble potty training him until Santa took his diapers away, then magically he was potty trained within 24 hours. Did I mention he's stubborn?
Avery is an active 17 month old, always dancing and chasing her brother around. Although she isn't saying many words, she has "mama" down pat.
They can be exhausting and frustrating some days, but they are the greatest achievements of my life.
Eric and I haven't slept in 4 years, but the love and support we share are values that I treasure and thank God for every day.
Life is always changing. We are always growing. I just hope that along the way our children know how much they are loved and how proud I am of them.
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