Amanda’s kids are adorable. Ben did a good job with them on the beach. But the real questions is, how does Amanda wear that top with two small children. I can’t even wear normal tops without George trying to pull them off, let alone having a strapless get up…What IS your secret Amanda?
I feel like anytime they have a “meet the kids” date, it is always on a beach.
Why do I not live somewhere where there are food trucks?
Whiskey Library? Missouri you are missing out on a lot of things!!!
I love the hard questions of skepticism of the families. How can they not wonder how the experience goes of dating more than one person?
Ben said that his relationship with Caila was the deepest, and that shocked me. I would not have said that from what we have seen.
My heart is exploding over the toy house building. That is such a great idea! However, how come we never see those types of colors in what is sold in stores?
Do all these families have little nooks in their houses with perfectly symmetrical double seating? Does anyone else notice that?
This season has been relatively drama free, and then there is this letter from JoJo’s ex. I wouldn’t even know how to react. You wonder if they are just trying to ride the 15 minutes of fame train.
Also how did she not recognize his handwriting? She read the first page before she questioned it. Nooo.
JoJo’s mom is adorable. She is so sweet and totally a cheerleader for her daughter.
Ben held his own in that tough family cornering, but I think they have valid points. You can’t blame them for being over-protective. And I do think that the contestants are coached in some ways especially with what they are “allowed” to say.
Did anyone else notice that JoJo’s sister never made another appearance after the initial introduction?
None of them have said I love you yet going into the rose ceremony.
My heart is pounding waiting to see Amanda or JoJo….AHHHHH.
I knew that Amanda wouldn’t make it to the end, and it is sad that her girls had to get in the middle of that. Although I guess I am not good with math, but she keeps saying she has never introduced anyone to her kids. Hasn’t it only been a year since her divorce? Her youngest is only two right? How many people has she dated in that time? I guess that statement confuses me.
Is it weird to say that was a sweet breakup between Ben and Amanda?
I for sure think Lauren is in the final 2, but now after JoJo and Caila’s hometown I am not sure who will be the other! I am still going to go with JoJo. Also I totally called these three being in the final four!
Only a couple more weeks! Who do you have in the final two?
Days go by so quickly, and I want to remember the little things.
I saw another blogger record just a random day for her family, and it prompted me to do it for us. Our days change so much with our schedules, and with an ever changing toddler, but I thought it would be nice to see just one day of our lives laid out.
And I also happened to do it on a Monday. The day that I rarely have my crap together. Sounds about right.
My alarm goes off at 5:10, but I hit the snooze until about 5:30 when I grudgingly get out of bed. This day, George was still asleep so I rushed into the shower to get done before he decided to join the day. Every day is different though. Some days he wakes me up before my alarm, other days I have to wake him up 15 minutes before we have to leave.
This Monday however, he stayed asleep until I got out of the shower and dressed. He EVEN read his books quietly for about 5 minutes before I went to get him up for his milk.
One of my favorite parts of the day is when I pick him up out of the crib is that he hugs you so tightly. Seriously the best. It warms my cold morning heart right up.
First thing on the agenda for little man is getting some milk. He is barely awake so he usually gets upset when I put him down so I can get his cup ready.
He is obsessed with this chair. He carries it around with him, and he will sit so proudly in it. He looks way to big sitting in it. I do not approve.
Most mornings though he isn’t done snuggling, and this morning was no exception. So he crawled in my lap as I ate breakfast and did my morning devotion. However, I think the snuggling is all food motivated because he generally gets some cereal in the process. (He eats a full breakfast once he gets to the sitter’s.)
Every morning George shuts us in this room to get ready. I have the door open, but he feels so proud of himself that he can shut the door on his own so he does it anytime he can. Even though all his toys are behind the door, he usually finds other things of mine to play with, like my scarves. He LOVES my scarves. He is often carrying them around like Linus in Peanuts, or he wears them as scarves are meant to be warn. He is infatuated with them.
He also loves this box and that he can sit on it like a chair. Surprisingly, he will sit on it quietly for about 5 minutes just content with the world on a box.
At about 7am, we are finally getting George dressed for the day. And I take the opportunity to get some good snuggles in.
And in the car we go. Folks this Monday, for some reason I decided to make this the day that we no longer use a pacy in the car. It might have been because my car stash had all made it into the house, and I didn’t feel like running back in to get them. But hey, Mondays already are the pits so why not endure a screaming toddler in your backseat.
(He did really well actually. He only cried for maybe 3 minutes on the way there and on the way home. This was our week I guess!)
I also need to mention that I got all the way down the street before I realized I was not wearing real shoes. So we had to turn around so I could grab work appropriate shoes instead of my slippers. #Mondays
This Monday apparently was like the heavenly Monday because I made it to work on time as well, even with the lack of shoe debacle.
My day at work was a pretty light day. I only had one student meeting. We also had a huge event planned for Tuesday (that I was co-running), so I had a lot of prep work to do for that. Bulletin boards, last minute emails, random printouts, and event set-up were on the docket to make it successful. I also have been working through a personal financial planning course for the last 6ish months, and the final exam was this week. I blocked out a lot of time to study for that, and my test anxiety came back real strong. But I passed it! Now I will be able to talk with students about their personal finances more effectively since our office sees so much of these struggles and looking for options.
I am loving that it is still daylight once we get home which is sometime between 5:45 and 6:30 depending on the day.
We are trying to teach George how to get from the car to wherever we are going. It is a process. Sometimes he loses footing or his focus.
His hugs. Can’t.Get.Enough.
George looks like he is having a very important meeting.
We generally play a little bit before dinner, or while dinner is cooking. He loves his puzzles.
I have started letting George record himself while holding the camera. He thinks it is great, and I find the videos hilarious to see his viewpoint.
George knows how to feed himself a banana, but some days he will only eat it if I hold it. If I try to give it to him, he throws a tantrum. Some days I am up for dealing with the tantrum. This Monday, I was not.
We had spaghetti and meatballs with brussel sprouts for dinner. Truth: the meatballs were from a bag in the frozen aisle.
George needed some reassurance before getting in the bathtub.
Sometimes toddlers are odd.
George just climbed up on this chair to assist his daddy with getting ready for work. Tom was on the midnight shift, so he gets ready after we do bath time.
It’s not easy to say goodbye, but at least we have these moments.
He may not be talking much, but he can follow instructions.
He does a really great job brushing his own teeth now. It makes me so proud!
Whenever Tom is home right before bedtime, George gets to jump on our bed. HE LOVES THIS! Jumping is a new development in the past couple weeks.
Before we go to bed, we have to say “night night” and dole out hugs to everyone.
We usually read two or three books each night. I let George pick out at least one of the books each night, and he ALWAYS picks the “That’s Not My” series.
Once Gdubs is in bed around 8, I get my me time since Tom went to work. Monday nights I don’t worry about any dirty dishes or the toys every where. Whether it is Dancing with the Stars or the Bachelor franchise, Monday nights are my nights. I am a bump on the couch and enjoy my ice cream watching the drama go down.
I start getting ready for bed around 9:30/10pm. I am asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow.
Pretty good for a Monday if I may say so. Every day is a new day trying to make this thing work. But we all made it to where we needed to be…on time…and eventually wearing shoes. So that is something!
Are you ready for another installation of my thoughts while I watch the Bachelor? I know you all have been just hanging on the edge of your seats waiting for this.
Lauren Bs date was adorable. Seeing men with kids is adorable. I may have teared up a bit when he consoled that little boy who was crying on the sidelines.
Also Lauren and Ben looked like a real couple. So sweet in their little leather jackets.
I would have LOVED that baseball date. How much fun? I would fall hard and fast if I was on that date. No reservations. Put me in Coach.
When he sent Becca and Caila back to the house during the group date was so awkward. “Amanda and I have a date to continue.” You could just tell the other two were just fuming.
Tom was skeptical about the size of Warsaw and its small townness. So we had to look it up. It’s close to big cities, but not close enough that I would consider it a suburb. (And yes Tom watches this show with me!)
Oh Emily. She just couldn’t stop talking with Ben’s parents. You could tell they were trying to be nice but were a little annoyed by her. Ben’s mom trying to describe her nicely was priceless. I would agree with Ben’s mom that she is not quite mature enough for this process. She still has so many things she wants to accomplish for herself, as she should! She seems like a really nice gal and she is funny. I do think her and her sister may make an appearance in the future in other Bachelor Franchise things. I mean how could they not try to drum up more stuff with the twins possibly on Bachelor in Paradise?
Ok so I love that the women are all consoling each other when Emily was sent home, but they have to be excited at the same time.
“Thanks for coming back to my hometown. I will always remember this courtyard as the place I broke one of your hearts.” is what Ben should have said at the beginning of the rose ceremony.
I am thinking Lauren and JoJo for the final two. I think that Caila is going to get in her own way, and I think that Ben will be overwhelmed by the thought of being a dad to two small children for Amanda.
I wrote this note before Becca got jilted. “I have some suspicions if Becca doesn’t get the final final rose, she may be up for being the next Bachelorette.” #beccaforbachelorette Tom hates her and thinks she is an attention seeker, but I like her and think she is sweet. And has a killer fashion sense!
Chris Soules was so awkward. You can definitely tell that he is trying to get as much screen time as possible. Enough already. I feel like he is overstaying his welcome.
So many babies that are coming! Pomegranate Ashley is getting married and almost ready to pop! She seems a lot more down to earth when the show isn’t in play.
I love Tanner and Jade, even more so because they live in KC!
It was really interesting to see some Bachelor favorites and not so favorites for this event.
I didn’t realize so many people wrote books over their experience. I need them all!
I started watching during Trista’s season, so I love anytime Trista and Ryan come on the show. Obviously this can work for some folks (Team Sean + Catherine over here!), but the track record still isn’t that hot guys.
George has been really sick the past couple weeks. I blame it on the teething, but then it turned ugly when he also got RSV (which is a respiratory infection).
We have had a couple rough nights where George won’t stop screaming, which is really not like him at all. When this kid can’t be consoled by being held, you know there is an issue.
These are just some of my thoughts on one of the nights that he thought it was a good idea to be awake from 12am-5am.
12am-*Hear George crying across the hall* Does he know this is not appropriate? How did I stay up at this hour in college?
*Tom attempts to get him to sleep, but all George does is scream.*
1am- Ok this kid has some pipes.
1:12- Have you tried milk? (talking to Tom)
1:32- Have you tried milk? (talking to Tom, and clearly I am half asleep because I don’t remember what you told me before.)
1:42- Seriously you tried milk and it didn’t work? Hmm…that normally works.
2:05- Ok let me try and hold him…
2:10- I have to pee, and he is falling right asleep right on my bladder.
2:12- Ok seriously I may wet my pants. I can totally put him back in the crib, he has been asleep for like 10 minutes right?
2:13-Successfully put him in the crib. High five self!
2:15- Well George does not feel that it is appropriate for me to relive my bladder. How can he still be crying?
2:16- Whew Tom got him. Thank God he is home tonight. Only 3 more hours of sleep time.
2:30- Why are you [Tom] bringing him into the bed?!?! He thinks we are jungle gyms!! He won’t sleep in here.
2:40- What did I tell you!?! That is a baby hand slapping my face.
3am- Ok really just 2 more hours. That’s a solid nap.
3:20- Let me try again.
3:23- Let’s bring him into the bed. (I get that I just yelled at you an hour ago, but I am desperate.)
3:45- Sweet! He has slept for the last 30 minutes on my chest. My arm is asleep though so maybe I can move him now. Please Lord let me move him without him waking up.
3:47- Why are you [George] awake again and staring at me like that!?!?! This is terrifying. Yes, TOM I WOULD LIKE YOU TO TAKE HIM.
4:15- WHY ARE YOU STILL CRYING? How is it possibly for you to cry this long?
5:15- BEEP BEEP. What the hell. BEEP BEEP. Why can’t I turn that stupid alarm off? Tom’s not in the bed, where is he? *Look at baby monitor* No baby in crib. Someone kidnapped Tom and George!!!! Oh what is that? They are asleep on the floor. George is asleep on the floor! Bless that man. How did I get so lucky? Am I crying?
5:20- *Dogs start barking.* Shut your mouths! (said through clenched teeth)
5:23- Maybe he will sleep long enough so I can shower and get ready for work.
5:25- Ok I should stop starring at my sweet boys on the monitor, and get in that shower!
5:35- Did I use the shampoo or body wash on my hair? Better wash it again to make sure I am clean.
5:45- Shower is done, and he isn’t crying. Yes. Yes. Yes.
6:10- *Dogs bark at nothing.* What are you [dogs] doing!?
6:11- Awesome. George is crying. Tom is a zombie. This is my life today I guess.
6:13- *Give George a bottle.* This is what silence is like. I told Tom that milk would help.
6:20- George, you have got to be out of tears? What is happening?
6:23- Trying to put makeup on while George is in the Tula is not easy., but God bless wearing babies. #wearallthebabies
6:40- Ok he is burning up. Where is that thermometer?
6:45- Crap. It says 101. So how does this work to stay home with a sick kid?
7:00- Call work and baby sitter about sick day. Cancel all appointments. Darn it, those students were not easy to get in the first time, hopefully they will be on it to reschedule.
7:30- He will only fall asleep in the Tula. This is going to be a good day. Lord help us.
7:45am- How does he sweat this much? I look and feel like I just got in the shower fully clothed, but instead of feeling clean I am covered in baby snot and saliva.
And all that on repeat until we can finally get George to successfully nap for more than a half hour.
It’s been really fun around our house. We had to take George to Urgent Care last week because he had almost a 103 temp. There we found out that he had an ear infection (which he did not show any particular signs of besides screaming his head off), and he picked up RSV somewhere. So he is on antibiotics plus we have to do a breathing treatment several times a day. Poor guy was miserable. He is just now getting back to himself a week later. He has never had a fever like that, and it totally wiped him out.
And it wiped us as parents out as well. Luckily, we have been a good team and will tag team trying to make George feel better. I love George, however, it was exhausting to have him inconsolable and screaming for 5 hours in the middle of the night. Maybe 30 minutes here and there, he did not stop crying. I don’t care who you are, that is tiring for anyone.And we felt utterly helpless. It also made me realize how far we have come from the newborn days. I honestly don’t know how we didn’t sleep through the night for months on end.
This sickness though has made him extra cuddly. He is handing hugs out like he is Oprah on her Favorite Things show. You get a hug, you get a hug, and YOU get a hug. Except it’s just me all day, YES. For a kid who has avoided any affection, these snotty hugs are making me feel better about only getting 2 hours of sleep.
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