Fight Club Play Dates

What a weekend. All week, I had so much to look forward to... most of which did not happen. Sadness.

Last Tuesday, Grandma came with my mom to watch Lil Man. She did some baking while he napped and during my lunch, got to watch him enjoy his first chocolate chip cookie. Mama's proud. Brody also apparently enjoys Janet Evanovich novels. Who knew?

Thursday also started at 4 AM. Not cool, Lil Man. He's been passing out between 5 and 6:00 at night lately, so waking up prior to my 5:00 AM alarm happens quite often. You know it's early when everyone's already dressed and fed when your alarm goes off for the first time.

Went to my mom's Friday night and stayed through Sunday morning. It was great quality time and Lil Man loves hanging out with Grandma and Aunt Z. Saturday night, my grandma watched Brody after church while Mom, Ashley and I went to the Station for dinner. Those old people are hilarious. They gave Brody their cell phone and kept calling it from the landline. Hours of entertainment apparently.

Watching the pups nap is quite interesting. Zayla's buried under a foot of snow sawing logs, Peanut takes up an entire lounge chair and Zora apparently likes napping on top of a Frog Tape container. Crazy dogs.  

So needy.

...and there's also THIS napping configuration. Zayla's on Zora's bed, Zora took over the couch, my mom gets the floor and Peanut is snuggled in mom's belly. Such deprived fur children. 

Wait, take the back... my fur child did ^this^ to my face. I bent over to pick up Peanut and Zora ran in between and threw her head back. Knocked me to the ground, saw stars and heard my own brain splat against the back of my skull. Thankfully my eye didn't swell shut, but it is quite um... beautiful. Or something. 

Oh dog. You're lucky I love you. 

My friend Moose, who I haven't seen in almost two years, made the trip to Holland with her daughter to have a play date! It was wonderful having time to catch up and the children (furry ones included) played so great together. Get this... Brody, who notoriously flirts with the ladies, was SHY! He curled up on my lap and just stared her down. What a crazy kid! But he eventually got over it and they played pretty well together. (Two wiggle worms result in very few in-focus pictures.)  

So yeah, even though my original plans for the weekend flopped, I am so glad I got to spend time with my mom and Moose. It was a very relaxing few days, but now it's time to haul ass on Ashley's save the date cards, Etsy orders and life in general. Have a great week everyone and stay warm fellow Michiganders!

Taking Time for Giggles

Some days I simply cannot get over the amount of personality crammed inside this 25 lb bag of giggles. Most nights, our post-dinner routine includes reeking havoc around the kitchen until it's time for a bath. Lil Man loves to empty out my cupboards, but he's pretty good at putting everything back. I'm pretty sure he's cured me of my OCD. Organization no longer lives here. My life is a series of messy cupboards, dust covered furniture and dog hair stuck to everything. 

But that's ok.

At the rate this lil guy is growing... "the cleaning and scrubbing will wait till tomorrow, for children grow up, as I’ve learned to my sorrow. So quiet down, cobwebs. Dust go to sleep. I’m rocking my baby and babies don’t keep."

We love the fuzz from Zora's toys. Provides hours minutes of entertainment. 

Brody was fascinated with putting the fuzz on Zora's face and watching her try to brush it off. Oh the simple joys.

A Not So Lazy Sunday

Parents/pet owners... you know those days when your child(ren) are so incredibly needy that you walk around all day yelling things like "what the eff do you want?" and "use your words!"... knowing damn well you're not going to get a response?

OMG.

My children today... the crabbiest, neediest, life-sucking little piss ants.

Minus the fact that Brody doesn't stop moving for more than a second ever, he couldn't make up his mind what he wanted today. So I decided to chronicle this very crazy day in the Archambault household with my phone. The only thing these pictures aren't capturing are the bags under my eyes, my disaster of a house and the screaming that has been taking place... all day. Thanks buddy.

So backup to last night... Brody was running across the kitchen, his feet started getting away from him and he face planted on the sliding door track. Poor baby! So I'm sure a lot of today's issues stemmed from one hell of a headache.

This morning, I decided to pull a few toys out of the playroom and into the hallway so Brody could entertain himself for a bit while I finished up in the kitchen and I could keep an eye on him. He also started drinking out of a new sippy cup without handles. Big boy!

Toys didn't interest him for too long. Thanks Aldi for your super cheap tupperware -- providing 47 seconds of entertainment. 

After the kitchen was cleaned up, we all squished into the playroom and shut the door so I could keep an eye on both demons children at the same time. The played very nicely together for the most part.

Brody discovered my CD rack and it now trumps the 2,048 other toys as his new favorite. Carried around Britney Spears' first album for quite awhile, but threw my Nickelback CD behind the toy box. Not entirely surprised, I guess.

FUMBLE! Let's see who can chew on it first...

Usually we get in two 1.5-2+ hour naps each day. Both naps were roughly 45 minutes. We tried several times to lay back down... it was not going to happen despite the fact that he was rubbing his eyes the entire day.

Zora finally stopped begging to be let in and out and laid down for a nap... but Brody pestered her. So yay, no naps for either kid.

Could not keep Brody off the window ledge today. He'd climb up there and run across it... straight off the edge. There were a couple diving catches made. So I threw him and some Cheerios into his crate pack 'n play. Silence lasts only as long as the Cheerios do.

I try to avoid sweets, but I finally gave in and handed cranky pants a sucker. A Dum Dum buys me roughly 6-8 minutes of peace.

A little bit later, we ate a super early dinner. He got done eating and decided to show me what a healthy set of lungs he has. So at 4:30 in the afternoon, we started his bedtime routine with a bath.

In an attempt to prolong bedtime for as long as possible (so my morning doesn't start at 3 AM), I let Brody go completely ape shit on my cupboards. I had food, tupperware, pots/pans, small appliances, cookie sheets, etc. EVERYWHERE. But ya know what, I was able to at least inhale my food (standing in the middle of the kitchen like how most parents eat) with only one set of eyes staring into the depths of my soul.

Success story of the day... I was able to find a new workout that I can squeeze into my day AND while the children are awake! I subscribe to the BeFit channel on YouTube and found the 30 Day Fat Burn video. It's 10 minutes, makes me break a sweat and I can't feel my legs afterwards. So even if I do it twice a day, sure as hell better than nothing. 

So there I was... working out in the middle of my kitchen, in my underwear (sorry, neighbors) with two sets of judgy eyes watching my every move. Yes, I straight up told Brody it was his fault I was squishy. And nothing gets you totally psyched about working out like Disney music pumpin' through the overhead speakers. Thanks, Jungle Book... I Wanna Be Like You too.

So here I sit... too exhausted and sore to move. My kitchen is still a mess, Brody's bath toys are still floating around in the water, diapers have been in the washing machine since noon... my goal is to at least see that they make it into the dryer tonight. That's it.

After my busy work schedule last week, I was hoping for a relaxing weekend... but right now, bring on Monday! 

Snowed In

Hunker down, fellow eskimos! I ventured out this morning to pick up Brody and that was it for me. Thought about shoveling, but what's the point... should stop snowing by Wednesday, right? Now if only Gentex had a snow day tomorrow...

Nothin' new to really report. Spent my entire weekend working on a project that's due Monday. Get this fellow designers... had to lay out a 30+ page book... in Powerpoint. I know, I know. I broke so many laws this weekend and I feel a bit sick to my stomach. What a god awful program.

Other than that train wreck... my week has looked a bit like this:

Zora and Zayla decided to make a New Year's resolution of getting along. Usually Zora is biting Zayla's legs and pissing her off, but on NYE, they spooned. It was adorable.

My mom brought out a dish of ice cream and instantly became the most popular person in the room.

These two are going to be BFFs someday. I just love watching them play together. Adorbs.

Cookies 'n milk.

I decided to start a 365 project again this year. Follow here.

Snowy day means lots of playtime and napping. However, Lil Man passed out for the night at 5:15 PM. Any insomniacs or breastfeeding mommas want to keep me company when he wakes up at 3 AM?

Brody's new thing is he loves to be tickled. He'll lay down and wait for it. What a goof... but who can resist baby giggles? Not me. 

Lastly, a quick update regarding the tragic accident that happened on New Years Eve... his dad had to undergo emergency surgery to get the internal bleeding under control. In order to give his injuries time to heal and the swelling to go down, he was put in a medically induced coma. The doctors tried bringing him out of the coma a few days ago, but his vitals dropped and he was put back under. Yesterday's attempt to wake him up was successful and he is currently recovering in the ICU. Thank you to everyone who said an extra prayer for this family. Even though my heart still breaks for their loss, I am so relieved to see them finally have some good news. xoxo

Matthew 5:4 – Blessed are those that mourn, for they shall be comforted.

2014 Goals + Saying Goodbye to a Horrible Year

Well, hello 2014... I, for one, am ecstatic that you're finally here. Other than counting my blessings for my perfect little boy, incredible family and a job I love, I don't have much to look back on and celebrate over in 2013. It was a year that tested, yet strengthened my faith in God, taught me who the people I can trust are and forced me to re-evaluate my own life and relationships.

I pray the emotional scars from 2013 will only serve as strength for the future and as a reminder to keep the faith and those important to me in the center of my heart. In the last six months, my family and I have been dealt so many setbacks to which there are no obvious solutions... only time and prayer can guide us through these rough waters into a, hopefully, much better 2014.

We've been faced with unanswered medical complications concerning my dad's kidneys, demanding work travel schedules that continue to keep us from those we love on a regular basis, a nightmare of a divorce that seems to never want to end and we concluded the year with someone near and dear to our hearts losing his brother to a drunk driver early yesterday evening. Please say a prayer for his family and for his dad who is still in critical condition.

So it is with a tired soul and heavy heart that I trudge into 2014. Despite the worry and fear that carries over from last year, I have a lot to look forward to and celebrate... my sister and cousin are marrying two terrific guys, my dad is semi-retiring which means he'll be home half the year, new acquaintances and I am blessed to watch Brody continue to grow and learn.

For me, this year isn't about empty resolutions and unrealistic aspirations. It's about personal growth, relationship building and independence. With that said, my goals for 2014...

• Stop multi-tasking during Brody time. Those few precious hours he's awake after work are devoted entirely to playing, dancing, singing and being crazy with him. Housework, freelancing and life in general can just wait until after that sweet face goes to sleep.
• Surround myself with influential, uplifting, positive people. People whose company I enjoy, make me laugh and have my best interest at heart. Whether than means rekindling old relationships or making new ones... I'm putting myself out there.
• “Respect yourself enough to walk away from anything that no longer serves you, grows you, or makes you happy” -- Robert Tew
• As a working single mom and homeowner, independence and self-reliance are crucial. I will forever be in debt to my incredible parents and family for their selflessness, support and help (especially this last year), but it's time I sever my reliance on them in some areas. I want to be able to do my own taxes, take control of financial opportunities on my own, YouTube the hell out of anything that needs fixing around the house, etc.
• Take control of my debt. Mortgages, a car loan and legal fees have caused quite a bit of anxiety this year, but with a modified Dave Ramsey plan, I'm anxious to get my finances under control.
• Free my mind. As a social media nerd with a phone glued to my hand, I'm making a big effort from here on out to remove myself from the Internet a little bit more and devote that time to pursue other creative outlets.
• Become friends with my body. Now that I've gotten back down to pre-baby weight and we're past the holidays, it's time to start eating cleaner, breaking a sweat, drinking more water and learning to love and be proud of what I see in the mirror.
• Take more pictures. The number of pictures I took over 2013 decreased significantly over the year. Largely because Brody became this busy bee and never stops moving, but regardless, I need to get out the Nikon, stop settling for iPhone quality photos and capture all of life's little moments. I may even start a 365 project like I did in 2012.

So friends and family, I wish you all the best as we enter a new year with high hopes and a thirst for change. Say an extra prayer tonight for our dear friend and remember to tell those important to you how much you love them. Every day. 

2014, here goes nothin'...