Sunday Funday: Slow and happy about it

What a lovely day it is! 

Finally the heat is not making me want to dive off our second story balcony, and my boys have had a significant amount of man time this morning since I picked up two classes from one of my Purebarre ladies to help her out during an insane move across country.

{Amen to a quick workout in the morning!}

{Although super sad we didn't make it into church today. Me no likey.}

Almost as soon as I got home, we decided to high-tail it for our new favorite Sunday spot:

the Farmer's Market and all the glorious food trucks they have lined up there.

{There's some serious heavy hitters in that line up! Today I got what I had last time, which was a margarita pizza, and then followed it up with Crepes Bonapart....Anyone ever seen those specials on Food Network and the Cooking Channel? Yeah, they were definitely featured, and it was awesome.}

The rest of our day is up in the air, except for a very necessary trip out to purchase a wedding gift {wooohooo}!

Wedding shopping definitely is one of my top five favorite things to do.

It makes me want to have a wedding all over again!

{Minus the stress.....}

Sad news, though: Carter was crying hysterically before bedtime last night for a good chunk of time. The bath didn't even cheer him up! Anyway, Chad said he didn't wake up until 9:45 this morning.

9:45!

He must have had some sort of bug or something, poor little dude.

Anyway, it reminded me whenever he was a tiny little man......

Aww.... Back when he slept the days away..... So precious.

<3

Project.

My life is one big fat need-for-a-project cycle.

Truly.

This is how it always goes:

*Nicole has project going on at current moment.

*Nicole feels invigorated for a few weeks.

*Project starts sucking the life out of her.

*Project eventually comes to an end.

*Nicole is very happy when it does.

*Nicole spends one week feeling good and accomplished.

*More weeks pass, Nicole is content and feels normal.

*Then one-week-long lull strikes.
*Nicole does not know what's going on.
*Nicole realizes she needs new project.
*A project that will consume her.
*A project that will overwhelm her.
*A project that will make her cry and berate herself for taking on such a thing
while caring for Babe #1 and incubating Babe #2.
*Nicole finds new project anyway, because that's what she does.
*Nicole feels invigorated for a few weeks......

Proof of cycle? Easy! Almost a year ago, while tying up loose ends with the ole' undergrad, I decided that I needed a new project, so I went out there and got myself a one-day-per week job. {I now work two days per week, but at the time, that's what worked with our schedule}. At first I was patting myself on the back for nailing such a deal, and then I turned into a big, emotional, crying mess because I was so overwhelmed with learning all the ins-and-outs while juggling my remaining few classes and keeping our home life balanced!
It was nuts!

Anyway, after I felt like I had everything under control at work a few months later, it was time for a new project once again.
Hello, Babe #2!
{Which, along with Babe #1, has been the best "project" to date}
{Honestly, having kids is great for many reasons, one of which being that it gives me a twenty-year-long project. Doesn't that sound weird? It's true though!}

I know my next project will make it to my heart sooner rather than later. That's how it always is. I send out vibes that I'm looking for something, and God shoots challenges over my way. It always works out perfectly.
{Although it would be nice if we could just skip the whole "crying" and "berating myself" portion of the process}
{It would also be convenient if I was a crafty woman, that way all I would have to do is whip out the ole' glue gun and be satisfied, but alas, I am not, and that's just the way it goes!}

Ahhh.... To be crafty, content with even the most simple of needle work.....

Instead, I put myself through projects which results in my looking more like this......

.....Yeah.....

Student loans and a few other randoms

My men are having man time right now in the living room, so I decided to sneak away for a little me time on the ole' com-pu-tar...

On the twenty minute drive home from my parents' house, I got to thinkin'....

*Student loans are no fun to decipher. Today my mama and I got down to business and started really figuring out the crazy web that is government loan-age, and I have to say, no bueno. Why wasn't anyone tapping me on the shoulder while I was meeting Chad at the fraternity house to say that I should instead be working my butt off at that very moment in order to avoid paying back those things? Oh, to be young!

*I have a love/hate relationship with Living Social. Every morning I wake up to all these awesome offers, but for outrageous things. The other day I got one talking about how a few nights in Hawaii will only cost me $300 for four people. Hmm....tempting, but no. Thanks for opening my eyes to such a wonderful deal, and one day I will click on "purchase," but as of right now, don't tease me!

*We got our new Netflix in tonight! Woohooo for a new movie! {Tonight was Chad's pick, so we'll see what has shown up for us.....}

*I haven't tried out pinterest yet, but I hear it's amazing. I'm just scared I'll be sucked in to yet another addicting website......{has anyone ever heard of www.blogspot.com?}. Anyway, I'm sure I'll hop on the ole' bandwagon, but as of right now, I'll just see what all my bloggers put up on their posts :)

*I love when my men have their man time. It's so gosh darn cute. The only thing I hear from the living room is a bunch of giggles. Happy, happy, happy.

:)

Instafriday!

So I'm cheating on Instafriday this week.

I'm going to post ONE non-camera phone picture because it is delightful and purrty. 

Who does said picture feature?

My beautiful sister, Gina, of course!

Look at that beaut!

{She's the one on the left. Yeah, she inherited all the Italian-looking genes, as I've discussed many a-time before....No, I'm not bitter about my burn-proned complexion.....I mean,why would ask such a thing....?}

Anyway, Gina is my best pal, my compadre, my call-at-all-times-when-in-doubt right hand man, if you will, and I couldn't be more thankful for her. She told me what to do when Carter hadn't pooped in about a million years, {nice visual, eh?}, and will forever be my impromptu stylist, because her style blows mine out of the water {Hello Gina, in your designer boots, just lying around the house. Hello me, in those yoga pants you bought from Target, just lying around the house. Ya see what I'm saying?}. 

All in all, she is amazing. AMAZING. 

Love her beyond words.

Since I'm not a total cheater, though, here are some adorable, 100% camera phone pictures of her two-and-a-half year old daughter, Tessa!

Tessa's another little lady I couldn't be more thankful for. She is Carter's best pal, and those two play beautifully together.

So thank you, Tessa, for letting Mommy and Auntie Coley talk about important topics such as The Real Housewives of New Jersey while sitting on the couch, while you and my son make each other laugh by running Carter's dump trucks into various walls. 

We love you both around these parts!

I'll be linking up in two places today!

Bow chicka bow wow.

First over here at Life Rearranged:

And then over here with Casey:

Join the partay{s}!

Vacation confessions

So, I feel a tad bit guilty for writing about my somewhat selfish vacation thoughts, but the hormones are making me do it.

{How much longer do you think I can blame the ole' 'mones for selfish thoughts? Maybe they just come out to play as soon as I sit down at my computer? Probably.......ahem......}

Anyway, a couple of weeks ago, after the Cart Man had been put down for the night, Chad and I were talking about when our next vacation will be. Nothing too deep, just a "Hey babe, when's the next time you want to go on a vacation?" type of conversation. Purely hypothetical. 

As soon as the words airily came out of my mouth, Chad did one of those 

"HA!-'s"

Now me, being my cool, sporty self, asked what the heck did such an enthusiastic "ha" mean?

And then he started talking logistics.

That's right, it turned into a logistics talk.

{There was still a light-hearted tone floating about the room, but as soon as you turn the ole' logistics corner, it's sayonara, hypothetical situation. You know you know what I'm talking about!}

"Well, babe, if you really think about it, I'm probably going to be staying home with you and Babe #2 for a good portion of my PTO {blessed paid time off, how I love you!}, and then I'll use the rest of it for Christmas or some other cool holiday, so chances are we probably won't be taking any plane rides until half way through 2013, don't ya think, babe?"

Woah, woah, woah, woah, woah.

2013?!

No!

And this coming from a guy who loves to travel!

As soon as that wretched year came out of his mouth, the hormones came out of hiding.

"What?! No way! We are young and fun and we are not waiting until the end of time to go on a simple vacation! That's just not happening!"

Now, I'll admit, psycho girl over there {me} hadn't really thought that response through. Of course what Chad said had been perfectly logical. What made me think I was even going to want to leave my two perfect children during the year of 2012 anyway? But 2013?! It might as well be 2062! 

Bottom line is this:

I feel guilty for wanting to go on a vacation with my man less than a year after Babe #2 makes his/her appearance, but I refuse to let us lose our fun, spontaneous, cool-beyond-all-doubt selves. That just is not going to happen around here! I don't care if I have to threaten to shave my head in order to force the situation, it would be worth it!

So, in response to my hormonal outburst, I informed him that if the two of us were not going to be jet-setting anywhere any time soon, then we were packing up the kids and taking a few gosh darn long road trips, because life without vacations is just not happening over in these parts.

{I know, I know. I sounds selfish and spoiled. You know what though? Too bad! It's important to do fun things with your man/fam, instead of turning into old folks during your twenties! IMPORTANT, I tell you!}

Luckily for Chad's well-being, he agreed with me and we shook on it. 

Cheers to keeping the young and fun flame alive, albeit via bullying the husband into submission! 

Woohooo!

Thank goodness there's no other group of people I'd rather be on a road trip with than my family. Whew!

The horizontal one-two step, if you know what I mean

Okay, so I was debating even writing this bad boy, but guess what? 

I just so happened to have stumbled upon a ridiculously hilarious post made by Mrs. T, and I was sold.

Plus, I decided that it's okay if I discuss these things out in the open because I'm a married woman and that's just that. 

So! Are we ready?

{Here goes......}

There's this convenient little myth floatin' around the ole' universe, created by the We-Hate-Marriage club, a club which just so happens to have an amazing PR agent, because it has spread all over the world. What is said myth, you ask? Well! It is quite atrocious, and goes a little something like this......

Boy meets girl. Boy likes girl, Girl likes boy. Girl thinks of holding hands while walking on a beach, Boy thinks of back rows of movie theaters. Years go by. Girl thinks of pretty bouquets, white dresses and china sets. Boy now thinks of holding hands while walking on a beach. More years go by. Boy asks girl big question. Girl gets giddy and calls her mom and plans get going. Boy and Girl are like Ken and Barbie. Girl puts clothes on that makes her look pretty. Girl does her make up. Boy drives a pink convertible and wears ascots. {Well, no, but...}. Boy and Girl go to the chapel where they get ma-r-r-r-r-ied. Boy and Girl come back from honeymoon. Years go by. Girl stops wearing make up. Boy does not wear ascots anymore. Girl falls asleep at 9:30. Boy does not mind because he can now play video games. Girl takes care of babies. Girl has spit up on her clothes. Boy chuckles and life goes on. Girl now wears sweats. Girl is forever in sweats. Girl does not wear pretty lacy things when going to bed. Girl does not think that's practical. Boy becomes okay with this. Boy and Girl are not okay with the fact that they are okay with this, but they are okay with that fact, too. Boy and Girl are now married. The End.

Nice little myth, the We-Hate-Marriage club came up with, eh?! 

It's the Marriage=Death myth!

And it's not okay, because it scares away all our single counterparts from the institution of good ole' marriage!

{Well, the boys at least}

But guess what's even worse?

That "myth" could easily become a "non-myth."

That myth could become some poor married couples reality.

{......ahem.....}

You want to know why?

Because Girl's sweats does not lure Boy to take part in the horizontal one-two step.

Lack of Boy's ascot equally does not lure Girl to take part in the horizontal one-two step, either.


Moral of the story?

So, in the words of Casey Wiegand, let's pursue our husbands!

{or our wives, in the case of you Ken's}

Aww, love.....

Thanks, Mrs. T! Awesome post!

Here's where I'll be linking up at:

Hi coffee, my name is Nicole, and I am obsessed with you.

You know, I hate to say this but.....

Coffee and I are way too good of amigos for my own good.

Really.

It's horrible, actually.

If I skip my mid-morning cup of coffee, I start acting like a hooligan. 

My brain goes a little bit bizzerk, and I either start looking forward to nap time with an unhealthy passion, or I act as if someone has glued me to the couch. 

Both scenarios are not okay.

My coffee need is so high maintenance, that if I try to drink my blessed cup after my usual allotted hour for coffee-enjoying, then my day is still at risk of being thrown for a loop! 

Such is the case this morning. 

I accidentally skipped my 10:30 goodness, and am now trying to make up for it by guzzling down a tardy cup-o-joe. 

It's just not the same.

{Yeah, I'm comparing my coffee drinking to an emotion usually felt by people involved in high maintenance romantic relationships, not beverage relationships!}

Not cool, Nicole, not cool.

Time to get a grip.

But I really can't afford to "get a grip" because no cup of coffee {or McCafe} in the morning means endless amounts of headaches, and dare I even say it? Migraines! That doesn't work while trying to take care of a 19-month-old! It just doesn't!

Anyway, cheers to feeling like this for the rest of the day.....

Ay yi yi....