Lets train: Mom

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Sunday, August 13, 2017

Moms Make it Work Kendra Full Time Working Mom in Management

Today on the Moms Make it Work series we have Kendra posting as a full time working mom in a management position. I had a few requests for this type of mom to post and Kendra came through for us via Instagram. She is a fellow Wisconsin girl in healthcare, who suffered a miscarriage so automatically I could relate to Kendra (even without the management-type career). And then the sleeeepp issues. Oh, the sleep. I feel you, girl!! Enjoy;)

momsmakeitwork

Hello, my name is Kendra and I'm a full time nurse coordinator (think of it as mid-level management) and mother of a one year old (July 8th!) living in a suburb of Madison, WI. I've been following Julia since somewhere around her 1st pregnancy and it's just worked out that topics she has shared ended up having relevance in my own life (miscarriage, cloth diapering, pumping, etc.) later on. This series has been so interesting to me, as it began shortly after I returned to work and I feel like my pumping sessions wouldn't be the same without all of these awesome guest posts! I don't currently blog, but I'm on Instagram as kendraoc.

What is your background story?

I grew up in a suburb of Milwaukee, but always dreamed of going away to college. I did a health care apprenticeship in high school where I worked as a nursing assistant in a hospital and then a nursing home, so I knew early on that I wanted to be a nurse. I loved helping people, getting to know all sorts of patients, and I also knew that there are so many different job opportunities in nursing. I went to the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia for four amazing years. While I was there, my mom was diagnosed with stage I breast cancer and while attending radiation treatments with her, I realized that oncology was where I belonged. I worked on an inpatient oncology and bone marrow transplant floor at a major university hospital back in WI after my junior year of college, and ended up with a job there after college when my best friend from home asked me to be her roommate.

I only planned on being back in WI for a year or two, but as the end of my first year approached, I met my husband at a co-worker's party. We dated for 4 years before getting engaged, and have been married now for almost 5 years. He now works for his family's business that is based here, so we're pretty much settled here for quite a while.

I always somehow "knew" that conceiving a child would be challenging for me. Long story short, I don't ovulate on my own for unknown reasons. My husband and I embarked on fertility treatments in November 2011 and were overjoyed to get pregnant on our third cycle in February 2012. We had planned a trip to Paris and Nice, France in March as sort of a last hurrah before babies, so it seemed that things were falling into place. Unfortunately, on our second night in Paris, I had a miscarriage. Our first views of the Arc de Triomphe were in a cab on our way to the American Hospital in Paris. It was an experience that I can't even begin to describe here We got pregnant again our first cycle after the miscarriage, but had a missed miscarriage in June 2012.

We took a small break from things and got pregnant again in October 2012. As if the emotions of the year had not been enough, I got the positive pregnancy test result for my third pregnancy less than 24 hours after sitting at my grandmother's bedside as she passed away.

My husband, fertility doctors, therapist and the OB I chose were so great in supporting me through the vomiting, anxiety, and impatience of this pregnancy. I gave birth to our daughter Elsa on July 8, 2013.

What was your career before you became a mom?

I've worked at the same academic medical center since college, changing roles a few times, but always staying with oncology. I'm currently a nurse coordinator, managing the clinic where patients receive chemotherapy and undergo procedures. I've been in this role for 2 1/2 years.

-What are the best parts of your situations?

Unlike some jobs in nursing, I don't work any holidays or weekends, just M-F. I love the field that I'm in and I'm constantly learning new medications and technology. I've maintained my clinical skills so that I can jump in to do patient care and cover staff for breaks. It can be so satisfying to be able to place an IV on the first try for patient who has been through some rough times.The people are who really keep me coming back: I have a great manager who is also a working mom, a lot of staff that I'm friends with from before I took a management role, and of course some pretty awesome patients.

What are the challenges?

I'm sort of obsessed with my daughter and spending time with her, so obviously I'm thinking about her all day. I mean look at this face:.

More practically speaking though, my commute can take anywhere from 30-60 minutes, and since almost every major roadway is under construction this summer in WI, driving and parking can sometimes be very stressful. On the days I pick Elsa up from daycare, my husband knows I can call with 15 minutes notice because I am stuck in traffic and won't make it. The one and only daycare "event" they had for us around Christmas I missed because it was snowing and it took me an hour and 45 minutes to get there. I cried for about 15 minutes, and then realized at least this year she wouldn't remember that Mommy wasn't there.

Keeping the household in order from cooking, cleaning, bills, grocery shopping, etc. also stresses me out a bit. There just never seems to be enough time, and I've had to lower my standards significantly in the cooking and cleaning departments for sure.

At least one night per week, my job requires me to be the late manager on site. This means I am there until the last patient is gone, which can be anywhere from 5:30 on a great day, to 7ish when we have an emergency patient situation or someone who needs to be admitted to the hospital. I know that's not horribly late or anything, but see the above about my commute, and then factor in a child who is not the best sleeper and pretty much refuses to go to sleep until Mommy is home and can breastfeed her. This means I pretty much fly in the door, grab the child, change my clothes, pull out the boob, and do the bedtime routine.

Is this how you expected it to be pre-kids?

I never really pictured myself SAH, although it is a nice grass is always greener sort of fantasy I have, I think I'll always be working. I did however, think with a job in nursing that I would work part-time once I had kids, but once I took a management position, it sort of locked me into a full time job, at least for now.

-Is this your ideal situation? If not, what is?

I think my ideal situation would be my same job but working 4 days a week instead of 5, in order to get all of the household stuff done during the week instead of letting it take over our weekends.

-Do you see yourself making a career change (whatever that means) in the next 5-10 years? Or is this current set up staying put for the long haul?

I had actually started graduate school for a masters in nursing administration while I was pregnant, but I've put that on hold since I think it's pretty much impossible with my current set up to be doing school while working full time with a child. I think I'll stay in my current role for at least the next 5 years, but at some point I would love to finish my masters to open myself up for different career opportunities.

-Tips on how you make your situation work for you:

1. Daycare: We love the center Elsa goes to, and I have full confidence in her teachers. She is a pretty social child and she lights up when she sees her main teacher and all her little friends. We picked a center that is 5 minutes from our home and my husband's work. He has much more flexibility in when he goes in or leaving early to pick her up if she's sick. When I was pregnant, I assumed he would do most of the daycare drop off and pick up, but after I went back to work, I realized that I enjoy interacting with her teachers and learning about what she's doing. Now I try to do a mix of 5 pick ups or drop offs per week.

2. Hour flexibility: About a month after I went back to work, I had a talk with my boss and told her I was really struggling with the days I was the late manager. I was gone from Elsa from 7 am to close to 7 pm, so we worked out a plan that I come in around 9:30 am the days I am expected to work late. I mentioned that my husband's hours are flexible, and he can even work at home if he needs to, but it also helps that my manager is also very understanding of the need to leave early or come in late for doctor appointments or if Elsa is sick.

3. Use "shortcuts": I use online shopping for a LOT of things. It's just so much easier to order stuff on my Amazon app on my phone while I'm pumping or stock up on clothes on sale online with free shipping and returns than trying to schlep to stores on the weekend or after work. We also used this site Plated for meal delivery a lot this winter, when I was struggling with meal planning. You pick at least two meals for the week and they deliver all the food you need to make it, with things like spices already measured. I love cooking, but deciding what to make, so this worked well for us. In the summer, we use a local farm's CSA, so we have big bags of produce that I actually pick up at work, so I can throw together meals from whatever is fresh that week.

-How do you handle mommy guilt?

Well, I try not to compare myself or my child to anyone else's---I know that we're all just doing the best we can, and that every child is different. I've learned to trust my instincts as a mom and do what my husband and I feel is right for Elsa and right for us, rather than try to read through parenting books or feel bad that I'm not following the latest unsolicited piece of advice. I've also learned that along this parenting journey, things go much better when you don't start saying, "oh, I'll NEVER do xyz".

My best example of all of this would be Elsa's sleeping: I remember when I was pregnant telling people that she would be in our room in a pack and play until 3 months old. Well, 3 months came, and after an awful night of trying to transition her to her own room/crib, my husband and I realized that neither of us actually wanted her out of our room, we just felt like that's what we were supposed to do. We brought her back in the next night and we all slept much better. Around 5 months, I came down with an awful flu and she started teething and we were just not sleeping. I ended up bringing her into bed with us, and she slept better than ever before. Now, at 11 months, she usually sleeps in her crib until about 10:30 and then sleeps with us in bed the rest of the night. I've had lots of advice on how to get her out of our bed, stop nursing her at night, sleep through the night, and on, but my husband and I are okay with our situation for now, so we're not trying to change anything at the moment. Unless I can find someone giving advice who wants to come to my house and wake up with my daughter throughout the night, we'll probably figure things out on our own.

-Advice for new moms struggling with returning to work outside of the home? Or struggling to decide if staying at home is the right choice?

I guess see above about trusting your own instincts, and know that what's right for you might not be right for the next mom. I also agree with what others have said about giving your situation some time to settle before making a big change. I think it's always hard the first few months you go back to work, but then you get into a groove and figure out what works and doesn't work for you and your family.

-How do you keep your house clean? Power cleaning after bedtime? Staying out of the house as much as possible? Cleaning while kids are awake? Purging often? Cleaning schedule?

I never really feel like it's up to my standards anymore, so I suggest lowering these significantly :) I really hate spending a lot of my Elsa time on the weekends cleaning, so I usually have my mom or mother-in-law watch her at our house for a couple hours so I can do a big clean all at once. My husband usually cleans up any toys while I'm nursing Elsa or doing the bedtime routine. I'm not good at doing a whole lot during the week other than dishes and washing cloth diapers. I actually think I finally convinced my husband that we need a cleaning service twice a month, so I think this will make me worry even less about house maintenance.

{Thanks, Kendra! Find the rest of the MMIW series here}

Tuesday, August 1, 2017

Moms Make it Work Priscilla Full Time Working Military Mom

Today on the Moms Make it Work series is Priscilla, and her sister-in-law is a blog reader that suggested she write for our series. Priscilla works full time and part of those hours are spent working from home, along with traveling a bit for her job. Her husband is in the military (we've had so many awesome military families featured in this series!!) and she doesn't have family in her area, so that means she does a fair share of solo parenting, too. Priscilla just started blogging at Lola's World Unveiled and is very honest about her current situation: it's harder than she expected but worth it! Enjoy!

momsmakeitwork

I found out about Julia’s blog from a good friend of mine, my sister-in-law actually. She was the one that told me about the “Moms Make It Work” series. When I looked into it I thought it was such a great idea. Showcasing different moms from all over and sharing their story and how they make it work. So I decided to give it a try and tell you my story. I actually just started blogging, my sister-in-law was the one that got me into it. I do enjoy it and when I have the free time I sit and just write about my life experiences. If you want to check out my blog and read my story you can find me @ “Lola’s World Unveiled.” Until then, this is how I make it work….

What is your background Story? What was your career/schooling before you became a mom? And where are you now?

I waited a long time before I even entertained the idea of becoming a mom let alone a wife for that matter. While I was going to school for my Bachelors and throughout primarily my whole life I had a vision of who I thought I was going to become. I have always envisioned myself becoming a great success. I didn’t know where my journey was going to lead up entirely, but what I did know was that I was going to live in New York City and make a ton of money. I never saw myself getting married or let alone having children until maybe my thirties, if at all. Everything I did in life I tried to succeed at and be the best at it. So when I thought of having a family it wasn’t something that I was looking for, even though I did want one eventually. I always felt that having a family would have hindered me from my goals in life and it wasn’t what I pictured for myself. It’s hard enough for a woman to achieve great success in the working environment and I didn’t want anything to get in my way. But then one day HE came along, and that all changed.

Before I became a Mom I had a Bachelors and was going for my Master’s. I graduated with my Master’s when my baby was only a month old. I was also working as a Sales Manager for a high end Fashion Company while living in New Jersey. Life was good, I was making good money and living a pretty fantastic life. Everything seemed to be going in the right direction, I had a wonderful husband and a fabulous life, what more could I ask for.

The million dollar question, where am I now?

I am living across the country in the furthest place I’d ever find myself from where I started (California), with a three year boy and a husband who is in the U.S Marine Corps. That’s right, this girl right here is a military wife, who would have known?! I work as a Sales Manager for an Engineering Company in San Diego. Life is good right now, I can finally say that things are getting back to how they use to be. It took some time to get to where I am now and the journey was a bumpy one, but it only made me a stronger person. Having a child has really put things in different perspectives but also made me view life differently. Being a mommy is probably one of the best things that could have happen to me. It definitely had its challenges in the beginning because it was uncharted territory for me and I had to give up a lot of myself for it. I made a ton of sacrifices with work and my career moves but it was all worth it.

The Best Parts and the Challenges of my situation?

Best part of my situation is being able to see my baby boy grow up, while managing my career and being a wife all at the same time. I’m so blessed to have a job that gives me the flexibility I need to still be a mom and still get my job done. I do have to travel at times for work but the perks are being able to work from home half the time. So I’m still able to spend that quality time with my little one. Not to mention that being a military wife doesn’t make matters any better for me and sometimes puts a significant strain on life. Being able to travel the world and go to places I would never live in, if it weren’t for my husband’s career can be pretty cool at times. But this too is a great challenge for me, because I find myself living in his shadow and following his dreams rather than mine. It’s a catch 22.

Not to mention my husband has a strenuous job and crazy work schedule. At the moment he is a Drill Instructor, so what that means for me is that I have to play the role of mommy and daddy 80 percent of the time. I basically play the role of a single mom with a husband, if that makes any sense at all. He is always gone and sometimes is away for days at a time. Luckily this is only a three year duty so once it’s done he will go back to a regular schedule, but for now it’s all work and no play. It definitely puts all the pressure on me to balance the household and everything in it. It can be hard at times but my motto is "what doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger." Luckily it’s not forever.

Is this what I thought it would be like and is it my ideal situation?

This is not what I thought it would be like at all, considering the fact that I live 3000 miles away from my friends and family. However, for the moment it works for me. This is where God and fate led me and I strongly feel that my future was destined to be where I am at. I’m with the love of my life and have a beautiful healthy boy so I can’t complain.

My ideal situation would probably be to have another baby. I think about having another baby at times especially now more than ever because my three year old is getting so big. What do they call it, “baby fever” but with baby comes a ton more responsibility, which I know I can handle. However, at this point in time it probably wouldn’t be the smartest move for me. I am finally getting to a place in my career that can bring great success and having another baby might delay things for me, which scares me. It’s a catch 22 for women that want to achieve success in the workforce but still maintain a family. I guess my situation is a bit more complex because my husband’s career can sometimes battle mine without meaning to. Moving every so often because of the military is really challenging when you’re trying to make a name for yourself as a working woman. Being a mom and wanting to have a successful career is difficult to begin with but I never thought I would be going up against my husband’s career and his success too. I wasn’t oblivious to the military life and I knew what I was getting myself into when I married him, I just didn’t think it would be this hard. However, he is the man of my dreams and just like having my son, putting myself on hold is what I would do for the two loves of my life. I just hope I don’t have any regrets in the future.

Tips on how you make your situation work for you?

I honestly don’t know. I feel like I am super mom. My situation is tougher than most because I live across the country from my family and close friends. So having the ability to say “Mom I’m dropping off your grandson” is not an option. One thing I will say that works for me is communication, communication, communication with the husband. Since it’s just us two and I do majority of the work when he is not around, I make sure that he knows everything that goes on at home and work. So whether it’s texting or leaving voicemails, my husband is always in the loop. And because I work from home half the time it’s not too bad for me. Daycare is always a big help! Not to mention a glass of wine at night while the little one is sleeping, keeps me sane!

How do you handle mommy guilt?

When I first put my son in daycare, I was so devastated. He is my baby and I didn’t want anyone taking care of him but me. But I couldn’t stay at home forever and money doesn’t grow on trees. Although staying at home started to drive me a little stir crazy and I found myself longing to get back in the real world having adult conversations. Luckily after a couple of weeks the mommy guilt slowly faded. Besides, he loves daycare and just to see him smile as he says goodbye to me when I drop him off makes me realize I made the right decision.

Advice for new moms struggling with returning to work or if staying home is the right choice?

It will get better! It’s always difficult in the beginning because you are not sure if going back to work makes you a bad mom, but trust me it doesn’t. I feel that it’s good for us to get back to work, because it balances life out. Don’t get me wrong I know plenty of stay at home moms that love to be at home with their kids all day, and hey I commend them. But if you don’t have the luxury to stay at home because you need the dual income or if you just want to work because it’s what you love to do. Just know it does get better and only makes us working mommies that much stronger.

What will the next 5-10 years bring?

Hopefully, the next five years is going to be about me and my success. I have followed my husband long enough and now it’s my time to shine and luckily he is more than happy to join me in the ride to our success as a family. Fingers crossed that all this education I have, will be my ticket into all my dreams that I left behind the moment I said yes! And hopefully somewhere along the lines baby number two comes along. There is no telling what the future will have in store for me. Hopefully the possibilities are endless, and if you want to read along in my journey you’re more than welcome too. It’s an interesting story to say the least.

{Thanks, Priscilla! To find the rest of the MMIW series click here}

Friday, July 7, 2017

Newtown 1 Year Later A Guest Post from a Sandy Hook Mom

Many of you who have been reading my blog since last December know that my friend Laura lives in Newtown, Connecticut.

I have never met Laura in real life. We have mutual friends, and started reading one anothers blogs in 2009. In fact, when I opened my Etsy shop in Fall of 2009, Laura was one of my first Etsy customers and I designed her family Christmas card that year (and have also made a couple more of her beautiful family since she first ordered from me in 2009).

Her 2 youngest children attend Sandy Hook Elementary School and her youngest son Luke was a 1st grader last year. As you know, the shootings happened in the 1st grade classrooms....but not his.
His class was next door. His class was hiding in their cubby as the shootings happened.
He was safe, but 5 of his friends were killed and his Prinicpal.

He wasn't physically scarred that day, but the emotional scars for him, the surviving parents & the community of Newtown run deep.
Life will never be the same.

Last year, after the shootings, I decided to to 26 Acts of Kindness in honor of the 26 lives that were lost. I knew for 1 of my Acts of Kindness, I wanted to send dinner to Laura & her family, but since I am in California and they are in Connecticut, I thought I would order them pizza from their favorite pizza place. She told me not to worry about it, but I wouldn't take no for an answer.

I felt so helpless last December and wanted to help.

Read this post HERE to and the awesomeness of the 26th Act of Kindness & then come back to this post.

Laura & I email back & forth often.

As the 1 year anniversary of 12.14 approached, I emailed her to see what the people of Newtown needed. How could I help? Did they need more gift cards? ;)

Laura wrote back and said that their community needs prayer.

Just keep on praying for Newtown & the families of Sandy Hook.

Laura also asked if she could do a guest post on my blog to share about their experience.

I know many of you who read my blog donated to "gift card madness" so I know you will love reading her post.

Laura has a true gift with words.

Please welcome my friend, Laura:

***************************************

We sat.

Luke and Annie with their peanut butter panda puffs cereal, me with my third cup of coffee, and we shared our ideas of how we want to spend the date on the calendar that we can not avoid; the one that is quickly approaching.

December 14.

My son's therapist suggested a beautiful way for him to honor his friends that have gone home to Jesus. We all feel good about this. We will write notes or draw pictures to our loved ones, tie them to a balloon, then send them up to heaven. It's a good idea I think, and my children have responded well to this. Luke, with more cereal on the table now than in his bowl, offers a suggestion; something he wants to do.

"I want to send a balloon up for everyone who died."

Then I, failing to remember his age; forgetting the little brain of his that has no way of truly recalling the horror of that day; my own ignorance to his innocence, reply,

"Sure. We can do that. We can get 26 balloons."

His spoon stops moving.

His eyes grow wide.

He has concern all over his face.

And in his seven year old voice, he asks in disbelief, "Twenty six people died????"

It's been nearly a year.

A year unlike any other.

He was right there.

He heard it. He lived it.

He mourns his loss of friends and teachers and school.

And yet, he had no idea. 26 people did die.

For our family, watching the news is not an option. We simply don't do it. It is not helpful. It is rarely accurate. And it changes nothing. Nothing released or reported will ever give us back what we lost. No news reporter, no hoaxer, no conspiracy theorist, no NRA representative, no anybody will ever do or say anything that will change the evil events of that day. Details and images will never heal those directly affected. Twenty six people died. Twenty six families hearts were dug out of their bodies. Twenty six balloons will go up to heaven. December 14 happened. We live with that, and we live on.

But it is a dark, true and ugly story.

Horror at its best.

Death and violence, the young and innocent the target.

What happened here was the work of the devil.

What followed with the conspiracy theorists was the work of the devil.

All the fear, sorrow, doubt, chaos, and confusion was, you guessed it, also the work of the devil. That's the bad news.

But the good news?

The devil is not the main character in this story. God is.

And this, my friends, is where you come in.

Still in shock. Filled with fear. Crying out to God. You heard our cry.

But you did more than listen.

You cried with us.

And then, you responded.

You responded in the only way a human being, born in the image of Christ our Lord, could possibly respond.

With love.

Within days after the shootings, the boxes began to arrive.

Mel, who I had never met in real life, just through our blogs, organized a world wide mission of compassion.

The simple goodness of her heart & her friends hearts to reach out to our community in an enormous way. She got the word out, opened hearts, and we were flooded with an overwhelming amount of generosity.

As we sat together, reading cards, and counting gift cards, and hugging teddy bears, my children would look at me and ask, "Mom, who sent this to us?" And shaking my head with my hand on my heart and tears wet on my cheeks, I would tell them, "I don't know. People who know what happened and who want to help us." And innocently, they would press me for more information..."But why mom???" And I would look them in their eyes and say, "Because everyone loves you."

It's always been about love.

We can not breathe or smile or walk or sing or sacrifice or eat or engage or contribute or be intimate or cry or help or support or laugh or encourage or teach with out it.

LOVE.

We need it to survive.

And in our moment of feeling like barely surviving, you poured out your hearts upon us.

You. Total strangers to me. Total strangers to my community. You reached out.

You dug deep into your own sorrow, and gave and gave and gave because you knew that the only way to heal your pain was to try to ease the pain of another.

You knew that the only response to evil was goodness.

You knew that the only way for us to see our way out of the dark, was to be the lamp at our feet.

You knew that if we felt too week to shine, you could be our light.

At a time where hatred and anger could so easily be born, you chose what our hearts are made for:

love.

The ice cream, the jewelry, the cards, the blankets, the bears, the sneakers, the footballs, the artwork, the toys...they provided a great distraction for my little ones, and forced us to to not let go entirely of the Christmas feeling.

But as I sit here, a year later, the true works of goodness that you bestowed upon us truly have yet to be fully recognized. My brain still has yet to wrap itself completely around this picture.

What a blur it has all been, and looking back, I can only guess that it was nothing short of grace that carried us through.

Please know that many of the gift cards were handed out directly to our friends; to the siblings who lost a dear brother or sister.

We did our best to spread the love you so generously bathed us in.

My children took delight in dressing the bears up in green and white bows and handed them out to children they passed by.

Cold Stone Creamery's business here in Connecticut no doubt soared above their goal, thanks to all of you!

The Starbucks cards fueled us all and kept us warm in the cold winter.

I found comfort in dropping gift cards in mailboxes, hanging bags off of doorknobs, and passing the love on.

There is great healing in that.

And I am blessed to wear the most beautiful handmade necklace, reminding me to always SHINE. You, total strangers, proved that we are not total strangers at all. We are all brothers and sisters.

Many people, one body of Christ.

As we get closer to the anniversary of December 14, I wanted, on behalf of myself and my family, to say thank you.

Thank you for your generosity.

Thank you for your kindness.

Thank you for the selfless giving and beautiful example of what this world needs more of: Love and compassion.

I ask that you continue this mission you so willingly accepted; to spread the word... that God is good, and people are good, and that love conquers all.

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." - Rom 8:28

***************************************

Thank you, Laura for sharing your heart.

In 10 days it will be the 1 year anniversary.

In 21 days it will be Christmas.

Know that we are praying for you, your family, your school, your town and your friends who lost their precious children.

May you feel God's presence during this difficult season.

Keep Loving Others and Keep SHINING.

Tuesday, July 4, 2017

Mom AF New Fence Playground Van!

You guys. So many mom life updates. In the past two weeks we added a fence, playground, and I now drive a van. And I couldn't be more excited about all of these!

I am so mom AF. I need my cute friend Alison's t-shirt. :) Don't tell my mom what AF stands for. She would say it is crass. :)

First up - the fence! I have been hounding (not kidding) Nate for years for a fence. When we were looking at houses before we were even engaged, I told him I must have a fence! I grew up with a fence when I was little and I love the safety and privacy aspect of it. When we bought our house and it didn't have a fence I told him someday we will! Fast forward to having Bradley and I literally wouldn't go outside with him here pre-fence because he is a darter and loves running towards the street. I told Nate it was a must get, and he slowly was coming to my side. Then we found out we were having twins and it was GAME OVER. Seven years of harassing him later, we have one! Nate said the best part of the fence is no more harassing from me. :)

Check out that beautiful chain link behind Bradley. :)

It has been up less than a week and we have been outside every single day! Even on the rainy days! It was actually supposed to be installed before Thanksgiving last year but the company kept pushing it off and then it was winter. I was sooooo mad. But at least it is up now!

Another reason we needed the fence - we got Bradley a playground for Christmas! My dad and Nate spent the entire weekend a few weekends ago putting this together. Like 13 hours on Saturday and 10 hours Sunday. Yikes! Thank you Papa!! But it was worth their hard work because Bradley loves it!

Testing out Dada and Papa's work.

These pics crack me up. While Papa and Dada were working on the playground and I was at dance, Grandma and Bradley hung out. Bradley literally eats NOTHING for me but crackers and pancakes and he cleaned an entire plate that included chicken and sides for Grandma! Grandma FTW!

Bradley is obsessed!

Great yard for friends to come hang out!

Nate's handiwork. :)

This is so needed because I can't walk very far without feeling like I will fall over and my hips/pelvis might break so now I can pull up my lawn chair and watch Bradley run around having so much fun.

And my last Mom AF moment...I now drive a van! We couldn't make the car seats work in my previous vehicle and being 30+ weeks pregnant with twins and a toddler in tow, everything about a van seemed magical. We test drove a few styles and ended up with the Chrysler Pacifica (for those that were asking on Instagram) and I literally am obsessed. Like why didn't I get this when I had one kid? Or just had dogs?? Sliding doors are life.

Pic from pre-van shopping.

We brought our three car seats when test driving vans to make sure they fit!

So much space! Come to mama!

I'm so sad this bumper sticker is not sold any more. I told Nate for my birthday all I wanted was this sticker since the van is already an amazing birthday present!

Checking out the new van!

Nate's favorite spot in the van because we stowed one of the seats - stretching those long legs!

Thumbs up for vans!

And I love this cute pic of Bradley. All of these changes and playing outside has made us work up an appetite so we have been getting lots of froyo, too!

The only way I think I will be more Mom AF is when the twins arrive and three car seats are filled in the van! Eek! 5.5 weeks or less!

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