Friday, April 5, 2019

Currently: April 2019

I can already tell April is going to fly by. We have our Florida trip next week, then it's Easter, and then we'll be at the lake the last weekend of the month. My nephew has first communion that last weekend and my parents' lake home is about an hour from my sister's house so it makes sense to stay there. I'm looking forward to lots of family time this month!

Here's what's currently going on in my world.

Reading: Less by Andrew Sean Greer. This book won the Pulitzer Prize in 2018. I usually avoid award-winnings as they tend to be too high-brow for me. But I've been assured that this one is very readable. It's definitely a quirky read but so far it's very readable.

Loving:  the daily walks I've been taking with Paul. Sometimes Phil comes with if he's home in time from work. The fresh air is so good for all of us! The weather has been nice enough most days for us to get out for a post-work walk. We did get caught in a weird rain/hail storm on Tuesday night, though! Luckily we weren't far from home when it hit.

Our family walk to Lake Harriet last Sunday


Feeling: down about the environment at work. We just had a series of layoffs and they were done over the course of about 2 weeks with small groups of people getting laid off every 2-3 days. I'm pretty sure the way it was done should be a case study for an HR class on how NOT to go about laying people off. People have been pretty vocal about how poorly the layoffs were executed. I hope we don't go through this again, but if we do, hopefully it's handled better. I'm definitely looking forward to a little break from work next week!

Anticipating: our Florida trip! It can't come soon enough! It's a short trip as we are there Wed-Sat but I figured that was the right amount of time for our first getaway. I'm really glad we get back on Saturday so we have Sunday to do laundry/grocery shop/etc. Gone are the days of returning from a trip on Sunday night! I never liked doing that when I was kidfree but now I really want to avoid Sunday night returns if at all possible!

Grateful: that my parents are able and willing to join us for our Florida trip. It will be nice to have an extra set of hands to help with Paul. Phil and I will probably sneak away for a date lunch, dinner or drink during our trip since they'll be able to watch him. Plus I know how much my parents enjoy spending time with Paul so it will be nice for them to get to see him experience his first beach trip!

Working: out pretty consistently these days although my definition of a "workout" has really shifted as a mom. I consider long walks a "workout" now that I am a mom. I try to mix in some running intervals on those walks but sometimes I just walk the whole time. I'm slowly losing weight so I think considering walks as workouts is working out just fine!

Listening: to podcasts as usual! One podcast I'm looking forward to starting is Startup's season about a charter school in NYC. I know that charter schools can be problematic (ask a public school teacher about this - many of my public school teachers are well-versed on why they are problematic) so I'm looking forward to this deep dive look at one in NYC.

Watching: Longmire on Netflix. It's sort of a western, which is not my typical genre. We decided to check it out as my parents and another friend raved about it. It's been entertaining so far!

Wishing: Paul's molars would be fully in and stop bothering him. He's been getting his molars for a month+ and he's been miserable during the process. One has pushed through and 2 more are close to pushing through. He wakes up super early, I think from the pain of his teeth? Many days he wakes around 5:30 which is way too early!!

Bonus Paul pics!
We got together with my mom's group to celebrate the babies first birthdays. Getting 8 babies to sit for a picture was tough! One baby was especially unhappy to be away from her mom for the photo. Paul was very concerned about her crying!
He loves smiling for photos!


Our little monkey
Paul has learned how to play "catch" with a ball, which involves rolling it back and forth.

This little guy LOVES milk. The transition from breast milk to whole milk was a cinch!

What's new with you? What are you currently loving, wishing for and grateful for?

8 comments:

  1. What a cutie. :) I hope you guys have a good trip to Florida. It helped all three of us to get away for Spring Break. I am ready to retire and spend winters in a warmer environment!!!

    Loving - That I am not working. I have literally been spending every minute of feeling good time reorganizing our house/sorting stuff/turning our office into a baby room. When you have used a room for an office/guest room for 12 years, you realize how much stuff you have crammed into the attics/desks/filing cabinets haha. I need to get this cleared so I can get paint and new flooring done in there.

    Wishing - for summer

    Grateful - For our wonderful road trip. We had a great time visiting 3 new to us states and the beach!

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  2. I love that you go on vacation with my parents.
    I always love traveling with my parents and I know so many people who would never consider vacationing with their parents.

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  3. Haha, with YOUR parents... not mine :)

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  4. Ooh, yes, I too consider long walks to be a workout. Whatever gets your body moving is a workout, in my opinion! It doesn't need to be super intense and get you all sweaty. Movement is movement. :)

    I hope you have such a fun time in Florida! The weather has been insanely beautiful here lately and I think you're going to get some great days. YAY!

    I am currently loving the weather we've been having here in Florida, wishing for the end of the month so I can finally be in IRELAND, and grateful for my kitties who make me so darn happy.

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  5. Enjoy your vacation!! I agree Saturday returns are the best! If I have to come back on a Sunday or weekday and am going to work the next day, I try to be flying in by 3 pm or so to get prepared. And vacationing with parents is a great idea! On a couple of trips my parents had a babysitter fly with to make it easier. It was definitely an investment, but I think it helped everyone enjoy the trip more.

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  6. I'll have to check that podcast out. After Katrina, New Orleans revamped to almost entirely charter schools. It helped rebuild a broken school system, but there are drawbacks, too. The topic comes up enough for me to feel like I should learn more about it.

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  7. He's so good at smiling for the camera! Awwwwwwe <3

    Sorry to hear about they lay-offs at your workplace. That's awful, especially since they were poorly executed.

    Have an amazing time on your trip!

    I am loving that we're on holidays right away, and that I'll be able to explore such a different place. I am wishing for the flights to "fly" right by - haha! I haven't ever had so many connections, and have never been on a flight longer than about 6 hours, so I'm curious to see how looooong it will feel, or if TV shows/Movies, books and Internet access will do the trick for me. I am grateful for my amazing year at work this year - the best of my career so far. I don't really want this school year to end.

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  8. Love all the Paul pics! I still find the one of him peering over at that other little girl SO funny! He's like "what's happening over here, how can you not be excited to have your photo taken" ha!

    My workouts look a lot different as a mom as well! Most days a 20 minute workout + a walk is all I do!!

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