My two loves

I bet when you saw this title you thought "ahh - another sappy post about Jimmy and Charlie because those are Brittany's two loves".  Psych.  I got you on this one.  While they are absolutely the two loves of my life, this post is not about them at all.  It's about two things I'm loving in life, today, tomorrow, whenever.

Number 1: Leggings

Source (don't worry, I don't wear them like this...)

So when leggings first started to get popular a while ago, I was that girl that was like "omg who are these girls/women that think leggings are pants?  Come on."  Well - fast forward to being pregnant and then not being pregnant (obvs that is the next step).  I pretty much lived in these Target black leggings my entire pregnancy.  I wore them whenever and wherever I could.  It was nice because maternity shirts are longer and usually cover the junk in my trunk (which I think was my original concern and the reason for my judgey comments as a non-legging owner).  I had 2 pairs.

And after you are pregnant, there is this baby that rules your life/world/sleep/everything...but guess what?  There is also something still there that no one tells you will still be there.  Something that I thought in my magical little head would somehow completely disappear and even get tighter (*gasp*) when I left the hospital with my little baby.  That something is your stomach that still pretty much looks like you are pregnant right after the baby comes.  So all those pre-pregnancy clothes that you were like - "OMG I'm so happy to not be pregnant anymore and have more clothes choices"...yep, forget about those.  Some will fit, but none of my pants fit good and if they buttoned I had a serious muffin top going on.  Enter these $8 leggings.  My best friend (not to be confused with my brest friend).  I wore them pretty much like every day of maternity leave.  Because they were like sweat pants, but nice for summer time and kind of sorta looked like you actually changed out of pajamas (even though many times they WERE my pajamas - yes, I was that new mom).

But anyway - I loved them and still love them.  Leggings.  I know they are very in and stylish now and I could buy other colors and be trendy.  But I'm boring and stick with my faded black $8 mossimo leggings.  I even wear them to work - but I usually wear them only with dresses.  No hootchie-mama pants to work.  That's in the dress code.  Do you like leggings?  Do you wear with normal shirts and let your bootay show/hang out?  Just wondering if anyone else is obsessed with these ok-in-public-pajama-pants.


Number 2: QuikTrip

Source

This is no secret at all.  Every summer I look forward to the day when QuikTrip starts selling their fountain drinks for 69 cents.  Well, it was 49 and then 59 but I'm pretty sure last summer was 69 (dang inflation).  When Lauren and I lived together it was almost a nightly thing that one of us would go get QT drinks for each other.  Jimmy and I looked at a house right next to a QT and I seriously considered buying the house because of that location.  I didn't even like the house.  No lie.  I like QT that much.  The fountain drinks, hot dogs and taquitos - what else does a girl need?  Oh yeah, and they have free air for your tires and clean bathrooms.  Score.

Well today I went to Party City over lunch to spend way too much money on buy some decor for Charlie's baptism party this weekend (I will tell you it's weird to be almost done with a post and that was the first time I typed Charlie's name...) and on the way back to the highway there was a brand new QuikTrip that was now open that Jimmy had just been telling me about the other day.  So I had to stop in and get a drink.  And they are the only place that has diet coke caffeine free in a fountain drink WITH cherry that I can add - YUM - so it's pretty much my favorite.  What was different about this stop?  Well this was a brand new QT, as I mentioned, but it was like a whole new concept store.  And it was SOOOO nice.  Oh my.  QT's are always clean (which is awesome), but this was laid out almost like a self-serve restaurant (if those exist).  Fountain drinks on one side, tea and coffee on the other, a coffee bar and a spot for the hot food.  I walked in and felt like I was in heaven and wanted to just walk around looking at all the cool stuff.  Lucky for me, I have a job and couldn't spend the afternoon walking aimlessly around a QuikTrip, but man oh man.  It made me want to go back.  Bad.  And the drink?  Well that was perfection as always.

Anyone else love QuikTrips or is that just me?  We eat dinner there sometimes (don't tell anyone....)



So that's it. My two meaningless loves of the day.  If you made it through this whole post, I commend you because it was pretty random!!  But I was reminded of both today because I wore leggings and I went to QT.  It's a deep love, if you cannot tell.

An now I'm nodding off...so that means it's bed time.  And that also means it's almost FRIDAY!  Wahoo!!

Week 15 flew by

Ok this week just came and went with a flash.  Not sure what happened to it.  But lots of stuff happened in the mean time...

• Presidential election coincided with your first "sick" trip to the doctor.  GOod thing that it was nothing and your parents were just paranoid. Just a bad cold.  No ear infection yet.
• Your little dog siblings - they made quite the mess getting sick all week.  It was gross and no fun
• Mom took too many naked baby pictures.  But you are just so dang cute in the nude.
• We have officially entered milk overload.  I'm pumping TWICE as much as what you eat during the day.  Whoa mama.  And then after hearing from a friend that it's better nutritionally to take the fresh milk to day care I'm like what the heck do we do with all the frozen stuff?!  AH!
• More family visitors came to see you from Iowa - was so fun to see Denny and Sandy.  That meant lots of Bruns family time over the weekend.
• You were STILL sick and got worse over the weekend.  That meant lots of saline drops and lots of snot sucking.  It also coincided with little sleep for poor Charlie (and parents)
• Since the doctor said it was best for you to be elevated and suggested you sleeping in your car seat - you are back sleeping in the newborn napper for now because it's got a good incline.
• The weather got COLD all a sudden
• And your mom and dad finally started getting stuff ready for your baptism this next weekend!

As always, it was a busy week but looking back this one truly flew by.  I feel like they do now.  I mean only one more full week of work and then it's Thanksgiving.  What the heck!?!?  The holiday's are the best, so lots to look forward to!!!!  Love you little man!!!

Charlie's 14th week!

Well obviously this mama is running behind on these.  However, I seem to get them written and with pictures in a timely manner but just not posted.  Hmmm...

This was what seemed like forever ago already (Halloween week).  We were busy with lots of holiday activities, picture day at school, parties with our friends and then on the weekend some good old hanging out with mom and dad (as usual).  That hanging out time is more a requirement from mom because she still is "hogging" you on the weekends according to your dad.  I tell him to just get used to it.

I'm not quite sure who you are starting to look like Charlie, but the picture of you and me in your jack-o-lantern shirt - well I think we look like twins.  Same nose, same smile, same head positioning.  But the jury is still out on that one.

The big accomplishment this week was you rolled over for the first time.  It was pretty exciting and unexpected.  We were so proud of you!! However, your dad wasn't there to see it so I kept trying to get you to do it again and catch it on video...and well, you just weren't having it.  Hopefully at some point it will become a trend and won't be a one time thing.  It made me think you are so big and independent now  Totally freaking me out.  Speaking of independence - when we picked you up from school on Friday they were just getting ready to give you a bottle when we came so it was all heated up.  We just took it and thought you might be able to last until we got home.  No such thing so I just tried to give you a little while you were riding in the car seat.  Since you used to take forever to take a bottle, I figured it would take the whole way home.  Nope.  Apparently you take a bottle now like a champ.  10 minutes and the 4+ ounces was gone and you were ready to be burped (that means we pulled over to do that, don't worry).  The crazy thing?  I was holding the bottle for you but you put your little hands right up there and acted like you could hold it yourself.  Too soon for that Chaz.

Other highlights from this week:

• You love Jackson a lot.  It was so obvious at our dinner date with him.
• You look amazing in a tie.  
• Baby giraffe costumes are super cute.
• You love seeing mom's friends!!!
• You are a rock star in church.
• Your parents are freaking obsessed with you.

And without further adieu...

Twinsies?

So cute in your "picture day" outfit

Favorite 3 month shot

"Methodist" man sweater - according to your father

Hanging with Aunt Jules and Aunt Kristen

Zookeeper father?  

Family halloween picture!!

Just chillin.....

Date night!

My favorite new thing - bottle labels!!!

Crooked smile and stripes

I think Toby will be excited to play football with you when you are older

What is it about a babe in stripes?

Mom and son

The first cold

Oh jeez.  In retrospect I'm so happy that it took my little baby this long in his life to get his first cold, but boy oh boy it's hard to watch him deal with it.

Here's how it started. The Sunday morning after his first three days of day care, he woke up with a stuffy nose and I was so sad.  We started the sucking snot and he was feeling ok.  Took him to school on Monday and told his teacher Linda about the stuffy nose.  (I wasn't surprised because there is this one kid in his class that literally every time I went to visit Charlie over lunch he sounds like he is coughing up a lung and is so stuffed up).  Linda suggested the saline drops, so we got those and tried them.  They did work.  A few drops and he will usually sneeze twice and get some of that snot out and then the sucker comes into play.

Which, on a side note, it's funny to show my parents and aunt and uncle the new "nose sucker" these days because they are always in shock.  "You do what?"  Yep, the parents suck the snot out, but don't worry...it's impossible to get snot in your mouth.  Sounds gross, but it's not.

Source

Well a whole week went by and he seemed to be doing better...but then the following Tuesday when we were dropping Charlie off at school, his classmate's mom walked in and told the teacher that he had a double ear infection.  I butted into the conversation and asked about his symptoms and she said he was a bit wheezy when he was breathing and stuffed up and that was it.  Well shoot.  I could feel that wheezy breathing in Charlie and he was still stuffed up, so I told Jimmy we had to go to the doctor just in case.  Luckily, our pediatrician's office has walk in appointments 8-9 every morning and 5-6 every night...so we picked him up a little early on Tuesday and got there right at 5.  After a quick appointment, the doctor confirmed it was in fact just a cold and his ears were good.  Which was great.  Especially the next day when we dropped him off, we found out another kid had a double ear infection and another one had a bronchial infection.  Jeez louis!!  At least we were dealing with just a cold here.

But I'm telling you that doesn't make it any easier because he's still so stuffed up and it just sounds like he's miserable.  Two whole weeks later.  What makes me even more sad is that he acts fine for the most part and is the same smiley, happy go lucky baby.  I just hate hate hate the fact when he wakes up and is so stuffed up he is like crying and sounds like he's in pain.  Poor little baby.  We have been letting him sleep in his napper because it's elevated more versus his crib and that is helping a bit I think...but still, part of me wants to just hold him on my chest and sleep in the glider all night long if it makes him feel better.  So now we are googling like crazy random ideas to help with infant congestion.  Got some Vick's things to put in his dehumidifier.  Going to try to steam up the bathroom and hold him in there awhile.  Any other ideas??  Ugh, I am so happy that it's not an ear infection, but still makes me just oh so sad.

I'm guessing that the colder weather is not going to help or the fact that the has to go back to school on Monday with lots of other sick kiddos.  So he still is sick and going on the third week of it.  Poor little baby boy.  But everyone keeps telling me that he not be sick in kindergarten...haha 5 years from now!!

Date night sans the baby

So Jimmy and I used to go on dates all the time. I have actually blogged about them and they have their own date night label (very sad the last one was last November right before we found out little Charlie was on the way...) because we wanted to do surprise date nights and they were super fun!!! When little Charlie came into our world, especially during the previous (and first) 3 months of his life, we all went on our dates together. That looked a little like this:

Brittany: I don't feel like cooking tonight. Want to run to Salty Iguana/Maloney's/Johnny's? (All bars/hopefully quick in and out places within a 2 mile vicinity of our house)

Jimmy: yes (this guy never passes up a chance to go out to eat...)

Then we feed Charlie, put him in his car seat, rush there, sit down, order immediately, pray he doesn't get fussy, one of us holds him after our food comes (as he started to get restless in his car seat the minute they brought the food out if course). One person scarfs their food down without speaking, Charlie is passed to the other person and then other plate of food is inhaled without a breath. "Check please". Strap Charlie back in, pay the bill and run to the car.

We are probably a waiter or waitress's dream because there's not a spare second to complain even if they bring out the wrong item. Seriously we have this down to a science.

Well two Fridays ago I got an email from Groupon informing me that the groupon from Plaza III Steakhouse that I bought before this sweet little booger was born was about to expire. I noted the expiration date (which is Nov 12) prior to purchasing thinking to myself and saying to Jimmy "we will have PLENTY of time to use this after Charlie gets here". Ha.  I severely underestimated how much work AND just how much in love we would be with this little man.  Because in the beginning, I just refused to leave him.  We went out for 2 hours for lunch on my birthday weekend, but hurried home.  With the groupon expiring and some anxious family members to watch Charlie, we bit the bullet and decided that last Sunday was the day.  A dinner date without Charlie.  Bittersweet, right?

Here are some pictures my mom snapped before we hurried out.  I would have liked to get more dressed up and did my hair - but you know, I would much rather spend time with Charlie so there you have it.

Wife and husband (wearing my necklace for the first time!)

Before leaving our babe - he liked TV...

And guess what?  We went down to the plaza at 4PM, shopped some at H&M (where we bought 2 sweaters for Charlie, duh), talked about how weird it is to be out without our little man, and then had to have real conversations with each other (what a concept, right?).  It's funny how fast your marriage can become so focused on the everyday to dos and making sure everyone gets to the right place at the right time with all the right stuff.  Easier said than done.  But it was nice to walk around, talk about Christmas presents, how nice it is outside, how we are each adjusting to parenthood, how much we miss Charlie at that moment and wonder what he's doing, and eat dinner at a normal pace.  However, I still found myself inhaling the food...but had to force myself to slow down.  Especially since we were the first ones at the restaurant right at 5PM...we could take our time.

It was nice.  Nice to be on a date and know our baby is being well taken care of.  We are thankful that we have our families in town also so we can get little nights away and come back refreshed, remember why we fell in love with each other and started this whole family and come home to our sweet little boy right in time for bathtime and bedtime.

In the mean time, we will stick to the majority date nights with the little man.  They seem to be more entertaining anyways and keep these special nights in our back pocket.

Menu planning, making it simple

Oh my goodness - just add nightly meals to the many things on the to-do list.  Right before I went back to work, Charlie did his one and only 2 hour long nap and what did I do?  Make freezer meals of course.  Well, I made like 10 freezer crockpot meals so I could just throw them in the crockpot in teh morning and have them ready by the time we got home from work.  Because when I get home from work I am STARVING.  Not sure what it is, mental or this whole breastfeeding thing, but I'm one hungry girl at the end of the work day.  So now that I am a seasoned working mom (haha, not really at all), I'm trying to get better at planning because Lord knows preparation is everything because who knows what the morning will bring.

We have kind of liked the crockpot freezer meals, but just kind of.  Like some of them have been a little BLAH and then I find myself eating chocolate instead.  Just like any healthy person would do, right?  Lots and lots of chocolate.  I'm sure Charlie appreciates those sugar highs.  And then when I do that I feel like I wasted time, money and some calories all in one.  Not a great feeling.  And even though Jimmy always says "it was good", I know he's lying.  Especially if he says to me at 9PM "want to go to McDonalds?". Haha. 

So here's the Carter family's new approach.  We shall see how it goes.  I think it will do a couple things:

1. Save me time in thinking of new "creative" meals that we might not like.  Go with the theme and some of the same old dishes that are easy and we both like and are somewhat healthy.
2. Bring Jimmy into the cooking responsibilities - at least once a week and if not more because it will be easy things to make (aka spaghetti is go to on pasta night.  He can do that)
3. Save us money.  Instead of buying all these one off items for these "creative" and new recipes, we stick to the same old stuff. Like stir fry, quick, easy, cheap and healthy.  Done and done.

And here you have it.  A "themed" meal night that both husband and wife have put thought into.  I want to make it more fun too because while we love going out to dinner, it's hard on the week nights because if we do it's less time with Charlie - which I'm not ok with.  So dinner in it will be!

Still going to stick with our menu and plan the exact meals each Sunday like I usually do...but at least this way the creativity part is cut out and we will both know what to expect.  What do you think?  Are you more of a "boring"/this is what we always eat family/household or are you a "I like to cook creative stuff"???

Lucky 13?

(This is a week late...and week 14 is already in the works.  This whole working full time thing seems to get in the way of blogging...so forgive me!)

Week number 13 came and went with a bang. It started off with our very last day together of my maternity leave and then the big first day of school. Oh my. I was so worried that you were not going to eat or you were going to cry all the time. Nope - none of the above. Your teachers love you and you seem to love them right back.

And how is mom doing back to work?!! The first 3 days were great- especially because you allow me to get some rest at night (bless you child). And with lots of preparation the night before, our mornings seem to go smoothly, which is also a huge sigh of relief. I thrive off schedules and I think you do too little man!

What else?!! Well we had lots of fun with friends watching football and then another big first- your first stuffy nose. Yep, just after 3 days in day care you were a snotty, stuffy mess. But with some extra love and snot sucking you seemed to be just fine!

And Monday we started it all over again....whew! You started taking lots more from a bottle too and are getting into a routine which is great. Even if 13 was our first week apart I'm still calling it lucky because it went as good as it could and when the weekend came...I didn't have to put you down. You were all mine!!!

One thing that is sad is the drop in number of pictures I take of you Charlie.  Since I'm not around you 24/7, when I am with you I tend to soak up the moments more and hold you a little closer instead of always snapping pictures of you.  Don't worry - I still get at least one a day but that is compared to like 50 per day.  Such is life though, right?