Getting things done...

I haven't been reading the book, but spending my evenings trying to get ahead of my task list.  From past experience, I know the time between October and December goes by in an instant - and I am not sure when this baby will join us, so I need to get things done ahead of time.

I ordered our holiday cards (I know I am crazy, but it will be nice to have that ready to go), made thank you cards with Mia (I just need to write them now), started Mia's photobooks for her first two years (I am behind the ball on that one), organized a mini-babymoon and I am now looking into starting christmas shopping and organizing the babyroom..

I know - seems like it is early, but I swear I will wake up in what feels like one week and it will be end of November!

Things I want to do...

As I go through this project, I keep thinking of new things I want to do (the links are where I can go to do it)..

• Zip-lining
• Rock Climbing
• Yoga/Pilates

As time goes on, I hope to grow the list to see what things I may be interested in.  Any ideas of new things I could try?

Girls Weekend

This weekend was one of those weekends that made me think "I am so lucky to have friends like these".

For some of us, it was the first weekend away - leaving baby and husband at home.  There were various "checkpoints" to see how things were going, but all-in-all I think we really took the time to enjoy eachothers company and detach from "mommy life"

We spent a lot of time catching up, laughing, playing board games, shopping, and generally just having a nice time together.  The weather wasn't great, but we did make it to the beach for a short walk (and picture): 

As far as the happiness scale goes, this was exactly what I needed.  It is so nice to take off the mommy hat and spend a few days relaxing without worrying about taking care of the little one and being able to get back to myself.  I feel rejuvenated and now need to get back to reading the next chapter in the happiness project :)

Girls Weekend - At long last!

This weekend, I am heading down to Maryland for a girls weekend to have a reunion with some girlfriends from college.  I can't wait to see everyone and catch-up (and be goofy)!

Think Happy Thoughts

We have an Au Pair (Jenny) that takes care of our daughter while we work.  She is amazing with her and it really makes it much easier for me to go to work knowing that she is in such good hands.

One of the things I really love about Jenny is she is great at keeping us updated with what happens while we are at work.  It is hard not being there for every event and the feeling that I am "missing out" or I am a "bad mommy" for going to work.  Today was one of those days - it was my daughters birthday celebration at school.  She brought in a book to donate (school tradition) and cupcakes for a snack.  They made her a little birthday crown and sang her "Happy Birthday"  She was so excited to go and be with the kids, too.  Jenny took this picture before they left and sent it to me.

Today could have been a day where I focused on negative, wishing I was there and giving myself a "bad mommy" guilt trip, but because I am focusing on being happy and I look at this picture and see how happy my daughter is.  I am now thinking:

"I am a good mom - my daughter is happy, she is being well taken care of while I am at work!  This picture makes me happy, too:  even though I am not there, I still get to see the things I miss in-person"

I think I found a new commandment to add to the existing 8:

1. Play more/Laugh more
2. Live Healthy
3. Don't let fear make decisions
4. Follow Thru
5. No day but today
6. Be Positive
7. Love more
8. Phone family and friends
9. Think Happy Thoughts

Birthday Weekend - No sleep

I haven't written a post in a while because we had a busy few days.  My family came to down and we had 2 birthday parties, so I could not keep up with any reading and de-cluttering let alone writing about it.  Hopefully now things have slowed down because the birthday weekend has passed..

It was a good "happy" weekend though (even though it felt busy)!  I got to spend time with my family - they came up to visit for my daughters 2nd birthday!  It is so great to see my daughter playing with my nieces and nephews - she loves being with them so much! Another benefit: with the kids playing so nicely together, it actually gave me time to talk to my Mom, Dad, Sister, and Brother-in-law!  We hung out on our patio with a firepit, the kids went out on the boat with my husband and father-in-law AND we just played around the house for most of the time.

The bad news - my daughter has decided to wake up for 1-2 hours in the middle of the night for the past 1.5 weeks.  She isn't getting sleep, we aren't getting sleep - and it just makes for a very tired family!  All of this means that no matter how early I go to bed, I always feel tired with low energy...

On Sunday, we had the kids birthday for my daughter at a little gym in the area.   She had fun playing with her friends and eating pizza and cupcakes..but we barely avoided a big meltdown halfway into the party (I think she was just exhausted from no sleep and alot of play).  The gym was a great place for the birthday because I didn't worry about them running around AND the gym sets up and cleans up - Whew!!

I took some pictures of our weekend:

"Mommy, No go work, stay with me"

Some Mom's may feel guilty when they hear that, but I LOVED it!

I normally hear "Mommy you go work, Daddy stay with me", BUT I have been making an effort to be playful Mommy and really put aside what I may be feeling from pregnancy, and tiredness, and stress.  Guess what?  It's working!  If I just act a little more playful, I feel better and my daughter is much happier with me (not as many tantrums)

So, I got some extra hugs and kisses today, a plea to stay home, and she also asked me to cuddle!  Needless to say it took a little extra time to get out the door to work, because it was just too hard to leave her today!