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Bachelorette Rachel Week 5

The showdown continues. Two nights this week-so much drama to analyze.

  • Lee is acting like he doesn’t know why Kenny is confronting him. No one is buying your crap.
  • I cannot watch Bryan and Rachel kiss. It’s gross. I like him, but how they kiss is just too much.
  • Lee is trying to provoke Kenny. He is so slimy. You can tell he is just trying to aggravate him.
  • I wonder if the transitions are as awkward in real life as they make it out with what the produce.
  • Lee is admitted that he is just there to mess with everybody.
  • Jack Stone..Jack Stone. He just seems silly awkward.
  • Oh Shagging! One of my regrets from grad school is not taking Shag lessons.
  • She is going to dump Jack. And he doesn’t have a clue…
  • Lee is really ignorant. He is playing a game, and it is sickening.
  • Jack seems like a guy who is living in rainbows and sunshine, who is always happy and doesn’t see the bad side of life. Which I find interesting since he is a lawyer.
  • Holy Moly that black dress is stunning on her. I just can’t get over how beautiful she is.
  • They didn’t show the men’s reaction to Jack leaving like they normally do when someone leaves on a date. That means that he was not really entwined in the house dynamics.
  • Lee, you don’t like conflict? You are stirring the pot and making comments about you being there to mess with people. How is playing this game not conflict?
  • Sparks are going to fly on this date with Bryan.
  • I wonder if people notice them when they are in other countries. I mean there are cameras, but are they celebrities like they are here in the states?
  • They are obviously going to grow closer doing this repelling thing.
  • She is going to scare herself out of liking Bryan.
  • Anthony is very insightful with his conversation with Eric. It is about the trust.
  • Wow Bryan is throwing the L word out there. They have been there for only a month and spent maybe an hour together? Super fast!
  • Why is Dean wearing a cup on the outside of his outfit? And why are they in wrestler uniforms when the professional hand-ballers were in short sleeve shirts?
  • So do they allow the parents to talk to their kids? I don’t feel like we have seen that before that much. I thought they couldn’t have phones.
  • Lee is a douche. Lifting weights and writing toasts? Toasts for what? I don’t imagine you are invited to very many parties.
  • Josiah seems like another smooth talker. He doesn’t even let her finish a sentence before butter is coming out of his mouth.
  • How is her hair perfect after being in the hot tub with Peter. I would look like a frizzball!
  • Peter don’t worry and get in your head! Group date roses generally go to poeple who need validation. She was just making out with you in the hot tub, and after your conversation obviously she is into you.
  • What is Lee talking about? Unless there is a lot that the show is withholding, he is making up stories about Kenny’s dark side. Why doesn’t Rachel just ask the producers what happened?
  • Josiah-“No one in this house saw me leaving.” Rachel-“I did.”
  • NOOOO! I liked Anthony!
  • I like that Eric asked real questions. They don’t show that enough that they are actually talking about real life. He is super nerdy though, trying to act all cool. I don’t feel like he really went in depth about his past. It all seemed buszzwordy and surface level.
  • Tom and Morton. I love them.
  • I feel like a lot of these guys are just saying what they think she wants to hear.
  • I think Matt is in the friendzone.
  • Kenny needed to go home. Bye boo.
  • Why are the leads always surprised how emotional this process is?
  • Oh Will…this date is painfully awkward.
  • If you can’t be romantic at a castle, where can you?
  • I am sad to see Will go, but you could tell there was nothing happening between them.
  • Either Matt or Adam are going home at the end of the rose ceremony.
  • Huh. I did not think that Alex was in jeopardy at all.
  • On to another week!

My favorites: Peter and Dean.

And for those of you who follow the Bach in Paradise story:

 

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Bachelorette Rachel Week 4

My Monday night last week was so empty! Here are my thoughts after the hiatus.

  • I mean I get Eric being mad, but I also think that he is being a little dramatic about how he is confronting the other men.
  • Lee is definitely an instigator! He just seems to be a little slimy.
  • Oh no Dean…don’t get pulled into the Lee drama.
  • Bryan is charming.
  • Chris Harrison- “I can facilitate anything.” He really has a fun job where he doesn’t really do much but does everything at the same time.
  • When Rachel walks out to hand out roses, they all look like they have their tails between their legs.
  • Tickle monster stays???
  • Diggy is out and Lee is in? Is this part of the producer magic? Just why? And she is putting him on blast on social media, so there has got to be something coming.
  • Yes South Carolina!
  • I predict, Kenny and Lee will be on a 2 on one.
  • Riding in a blimp would be pretty cool. They were super cute up there.
  • Why are they all clapping for Jack getting the 1:1? Then Lee’s comments about the one one one. Why would he say that?
  • I miss the south and their trees!
  • Why is 25 too young to get married? Tom and I met at 22, and got married at 26.
  • Whew, I am glad the age didn’t get in her way. I am glad Dean opened up.
  • It would be so awkward to dance in front everyone like they did at that concert. I felt a little weird dancing at our wedding with all those eyes on you.
  • Look at all those phones recording them dancing. Nothing is sacred any more.
  • Nothing says trouble like a group of men vying for one girl all stuck on a boat.
  • A push-up contest? Josiah seems to be really full of himself. I am liking him a little less after this date.
  • BHAHAHAHA. They all look terrified to do the spelling bee. This seems like a horrible dream.
  • I love that they picked out three young ladies to “judge” the spelling bee. #girlpower
  • Eric went way off with facade. That was awful! That was the worst one.
  • Ok Josiah, just because you could spell a couple words doesn’t mean that you are the smartest one. And this conversation with the trophy is weird.
  • Peter seems to be hesitant about moving to Texas, and she seems more open to moving to Wisconsin.
  • Iggy do you have a good relationship with anyone? You and Lee both like to stir the pot.
  • WHAT? Iggy you are making stuff up, unless they are not showing parts of Rachel’s words. She did not ask specifically about tension with Josiah.
  • Eric handled that well talking about the energy of the room shifting. Amen.
  • Oh my goodness. These men are horrible gossipers. Lee is gross and an instigator.
  • Lee, why are you surprised that Kenny is confronting you with your ridiculousness?

My favorites:  Will, Peter, and Dean.

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Daphne-1 Month

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Weight:  She is 9 lbs. She is gaining weight much faster than her brother.

Health: We had some issues with her digestion these past couple weeks. She has had some projectile vomit. So much that I am not sure how she was gaining weight. She also was constipated and wasn’t pooping for a couple days. She has some serious gas, and she looks like she is in pain when she is trying to pass it. I am not convinced that she is allergic to something I am eating. I don’t have the same diet every day, and her symptoms are not consistent with similar food items. We took her to our chiropractor before calling our pediatrician to see if an adjustment would help clear her out. I wasn’t sure if there was anything our ped could give her since she was so little, so I figured we would try this non-med way first. I am not even joking when I say it was less than 5 seconds after she was adjusted that she let out a huge poop. She also gave us some stretches that we can do with her to keep her immune system up, so I was thankful that we went this route.

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Diet: She is exclusively breastfed. She does really well, but she does like to comfort feed in the afternoon/evening time. So that makes it really hard because she will just cry until I give her the boob. She is a little better these past couple days after getting her poop clear, but it’s still every hour or two hours during the day. She will eat for 15-30 minutes each time, so you can imagine how my day goes when she wants to comfort feed.

Clothes: She is in newborn clothes and diapers. She can’t fit into any of her shoes right now.

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Sleeping:  I really cannot complain about our days of comfort feeding because she is an awesome newborn sleeper at night. She will sleep anywhere between 4-7 hours over night. I know, I know, we are super lucky. During the day she won’t nap for more than 45 minutes at a time, unless I have her in the wrap carrier. I do wonder if she just sleeps better flat because she is in the pack and play in our room at night and the rock and play during the day which is at an incline.

Likes:  Feeding. The wrap carrier. Riding in the car.

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Dislikes:  She does not like pacifiers. We tried to get this to work so I wasn’t feeding her constantly, but to no avail she has not taken to it. She hates the hours between 5-10pm. Dinner to bedtime is a struggle in our house right now.

Nicknames: Sister Friend, Girlfriend, Sweet Cheeks, DC, Daphie, Daph, and Daphne June. 

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Quirks:  She looks at you with only one eye open. She has started squeaking/humming in her sleep. It is super cute.

We parents are:  doing pretty good. I have my check-up this week, so I hope I get the go ahead to exercise fully again. I am getting antsy. I have been walking a lot with Daphne, but I want to start adding some weight workouts to build my strength up again. Working out really helps me feel more like myself. I am back in my pre-pregnancy pants, but I still have some stuff I would like to lose around the middle to feel more comfortable. Tom went back to work this week. I know he was so ready to get back at it, but it has been really nice to have him home this past month. I have successfully taken the two of them out solo to and from our sitter, but I have yet to try a place where we all have to get out of the car as a threesome where it wasn’t someone else’s house. I was going to attempt church today on my own with them, but it was down-pouring and that shook my confidence. Baby steps. Our house is just about done. We just have a few minor things left from the contractor, but we are fully living in the new wing. I want to do tours of the rooms here on the blog as soon we get all the decor up on the walls. It has been a huge stress relief to get settled into the new part of the house.

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George is:  doing amazing. I have been so proud of him this past month. He has had minimal issues with our newest addition. We have had to work on being gentle and not so crazy around her. He just has so much energy sometimes and has a hard time containing it when he is near her. 

The dogs are: doing ok. They are actually the two that have had the hardest adjustment this past month. Between the house changes, having strangers in our house daily, and Daphne coming home, it has been a lot for the dogs. We have had some behavior issues, but it is getting better with lots of outside time. Our vet also found a cancerous tumor on Crosby’s hip this week, so he will be having surgery here soon.

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Here is George at one month.

We love you so much girlie! We can’t wait to see the person you become, but for now I will enjoy all these newborn struggles.

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Year 6

Today marks SIX years married for Tom and I, and about this time 10 years ago we went on our first date.

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10 years ago, a summer romance turned into a lifetime for us.

I really don’t even know where to begin writing this post on our 6th year of marriage. It seems like last summer was a lifetime ago, and so much has happened since our last anniversary.

Towards the end of the summer, we were able to pay off all our remaining debt and our finances really stabilized because of the incoming cash flow.

We started talking about the next steps for our family. We knew we wanted to have another child, and now it seemed like a good time to start. We felt ready financially, and we also felt like George was at a good age where we could manage two.

However first, we wanted to look at our living situation. We had some serious conversations on what we wanted out of a house. We really loved our property, but knew in the long run we would outgrow it. We decided to just go for it and add on to the house before we had another kid. Unbeknownst to us, we were already cooking baby 2 when we started drawing up the plans with our contractor.

In August, we celebrated George’s 2nd birthday. I loved how all of this came together to honor the little man. A week later, we gave him his first big boy haircut and lost those curls.

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We started another school year, which had me teaching in a classroom again. It was definitely the type of teaching that I enjoy, and I am so grateful to have that experience with the freshmen class.

George saw a train in real life for the first time, and we experienced Silver Dollar City a couple times that fall.

We traveled to Iowa a couple times to see old students and friends tie the knot.

We had a great fall season with many things happening:

  • George was George Brett for Halloween and went trick or treating for real.
  • I went to my Alma mater for Homecoming for the first time in a long time and marched on the field with George. #bandgeekforlife
  • I  ran a 10k with my sister-in-law.
  • We went to pumpkin patches, corn mazes, and did all the fally things.
  • George also got to experience his first Chiefs game.

But all of this pales in comparison to the news that we were expecting baby 2.

The year became about preparing everything for her arrival:  our hearts and minds, our house, our finances, and George. We needed to prepare for the ultimate expansion of our family.

Thanks be to God, I received a promotion not long after the news of the baby. If anything, this year really solidified that God blessed me with the most amazing work life. I love the job that I get to do, and the people I get to work with.

In January, we found out that we were having a girl. I realized I never shared the video of how we told Tom’s family we were expecting a little lady.

We also started potty training George in January. I am so happy this went over well, but it was a trying time in our house that first month. If Tom and I can overcome potty training, I feel like we can overcome a lot more!

In February, I went to my first work conference since having George. It was the first time I was away from him for more than 24 hours in his entire life. These are the moments that make me grateful to have a partner like Tom. He took off that entire week to be with George and made it a special bonding time for the two of them. He made it so I could go focus on my professional self more, which is something I have not done in years.

This spring I also went on a ladies only trip with my favorite women. Again another time that Tom knew I needed to foster my relationships outside of our marriage.

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April brought us our baby shower, and then we settled in for the last few weeks of enjoying time as a family of three.

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May was a big month for us. Our house was getting near the end of the renovation. I was diagnosed with pre-eclampsia again and trying to get everything settled at work for my leave.

Then on May 18th, Daphne Christine made her way into the world swiftly.

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I had a traumatic experience the day she was born. I thank God every day that I look into my family’s faces that I came through that fully back to normal. By His grace alone was that possible.

Daphne has been with us for a month now, and we are adjusting to life as a family of four quite nicely I believe.

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This year has been so full of changes, but also was an opportunity for us to be still. Tom and I have had to have hard discussions about our future whether that be our investments or how we decide to parent. (Parenting a toddler brings out the best and worst in people.)

This year we really tried to make sure that each other’s needs were being met so we could be the best for each other and our children. It is still a work in progress some days, but marriage will always ebb and flow.

We have really come into our own as a couple this year. Our jobs are good; our family is good; and we love our newish house.

I was talking with a friend recently about how it seems like this is the time that we are no longer working towards something. We aren’t in school; we aren’t waiting for something to end like the Army; and we have the family and jobs we hoped and prayed for. We have everything we ever wanted and dreamed of right now. This is the time that we are supposed to just enjoy the fruits of our labor and to be normal and settled.

I can’t wait to see what this next year brings.

Especially with these two leading the way.

I am so thankful for the years we have had together. While every day is not a piece of cake, I am glad that I am in the search of that cake with you.

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I love you more than yesterday. Let’s settle in to enjoy year seven.

If you want to read more about the past 10 years for Tom and I, you can go here to see several posts about our relationship.

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The Kind of Dad

Tom went back to work today after four weeks at home with our baby girl.

(Also how was this four weeks ago?)

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My first day completely alone with the kids makes me really grateful for the partner I have in life. It has been really nice to both be home for this past month, and I am so thankful he had the opportunity and support to take that much time off. Many fathers do not, so I count this past month as a blessing (in more ways than one).

And as another Father’s Day approaches, I am so happy to watch Tom as a dad.

He is the kind of dad who drives the lawn mower to the mailbox just so his son can pick up the mail.

He is the kind of dad who makes wood replicas of his power tools so George can feel involved when they are in the shop.

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He is the kind of dad who spends hours outside playing in the dirt and doing special projects with George.

He is the kind of dad who builds forts and make believe caves.

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He is the kind of dad who drives to the back of our house so George can wave to Daddy from his window when he is on the night shift.

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He is the kind of dad who puts on a red headlamp in the middle of the night to check on the kids…like every hour.

He is the kind of dad who teaches George things all kinds of things and doesn’t stray away from a subject just because he is two years old. Hence why George knows how to build a fire…

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Most people know Tom as the tough guy, and very few people get to see the gentle side of him. Our kids get that side every day, and I love that I get to witness these moments with them.

He is definitely a fun dad, and has more patience than I do most days. He reminds me to not be so structured and enjoy every day moments with our kids. I have had many proud moments as Tom’s wife, but seeing him as a dad is probably one of my favorites.

And to think he didn’t want kids when we first met, and now he has two.