Five on Friday

 

Hellooooo, Friday! Where did the last week go?? Oh yeah, out the door with all of our empty boxes. I'm extremely excited to announce that this week's Five on Friday is posted live from the new condo! I say "all of our empty boxes" like we are done unpacking. Not even close.

One.

I recommend this for every new mommy out there. I honestly had no idea something so large could still be a choking hazard. This is a "No Choke Testing Tube"- if it fits inside, it's a choking hazard. Plain and simple, and definitely a life saver. Literally. 

Two.
The last few days in the apartment Austin turned into a planking climbing fean. Boxes, bumbo, Duke's hindquarters- you name it, Austin climbs it.

Three.
Due to our floors (finally) being installed, and our extremely unorganized home, our "first night in the new condo" turned into a Martinez fest in a La Quinta. La Quinta because God forbid Duke sleeps in our condo without us. Remind me to thank whoever came up with the idea of pet friendly hotels.

Four.
The condo is slowly coming together. It will get better with time, lots of time- thank goodness for classes only two days a week. Here are a few piccys of our progress.

Notice the toilet in the bathtub? It was like that for a good couple of days before Juan found the "perfect" replacement. Men and their toilets. You can see a little glimpse of the laundry room- a mess. Look, pink! But yes, it's an absolute mess, it's the condo "catch all" for the time being. 

Five.

 Juan is (oddly) infatuated with moose- so I knew this fan was coming home with us the minute he pointed it out. Love love love it!

Here's to another weekend dedicated to boxes and moving trucks- and maybe, just maybe, the husband will decide to go get our furniture from the storage unit. 

Over and out from the new floor of our (furnitureless) home!

Our final day

This is it- the final stretch. Our last day in our first apartment.
These walls that were once freshly painted and completely in tact are now left with holes, chipped paint, stains and memories. Holes from darts that were way (wayyy) off target, from one too many picture frames and shelves. Dirty handprints and a messy paint job by a husband who had to paint the baby's room in a day. Chipped paint from command strip fails and cutting corners while carrying Austin in his activity saucer.

If the walls could talk they would tell you that their ears hurt from the laughing, the singing, the fighting, and the screaming. (Assuming that if walls could talk, they would automatically have ears.) Laughing so hard a snort (or a couple hundred) knocked the husband off his feet the first time he heard it. Laughing so hard we couldn't breath. Laughing about Austin, laughing about Duke, laughing about Austin bothering Duke, laughing about laughing. Austin's first laughs were inside these walls.

These walls have heard our ridiculous songs and misspoken lyrics. Whispered Spanish love songs, singing our angel to sleep, and endless hours of Johnny Cash karaoke on the tv.

The walls would tell you they were hit one too many times out of frustration- and about the tears and struggles that the first year brought. They wouldn't hold back- we never did.

They would tell you that they are happy to see us go, taking our clumsy hands and non-existant bladder control dog with us. But they would also tell you that they're sad- that these tenants of theirs were the most interesting and entertaining tenants they have ever had.

Our new condo is not quite finished undergoing renovations, but our lease is up so we're packing up and getting out. It's bittersweet. We are totally excited and ready to start making memories in our new place.

So long, 526.

Oh, and for the record, we have moved about 7% apartment and have to be completely out today. Pack up, load, move out, and unload all in one day? Challenge accepted. 

It's a Sale!

It's (one of) the happiest days of the year. Seventeen and a half hours until the madness begins. It's the Lilly Pulitzer annual Summer Sale. For those of you who commented and emailed me regarding my love for Lilly Pulitzer and your disappointment in the prices- I have great news. Lilly's annual Summer Sale starts tomorrow morning at 8am sharp. And by sharp, I mean sharp. As in, the site crashes every year because there are so many people adding items to their carts like madwomen. Fingers crossed it goes smoothly this year- but on the plus side, if the site is running slowly, or it crashes, you get a little free gift (if you buy something, of course)! Austin is already scheduled to go "night nights" a little late tonight to ensure that I am at the sale on time tomorrow morning. It really does take complete concentration and patience, things go fast. 
Coincidence that the summer sale falls on Austin's 7 month birthday? I don't think so. This is definitely a "congratulations on keeping your kid alive longer than your goldfish" from Lilly headquarters. More the reason to treat myself to an extra fancy ;)

Happy shopping! And may the odds be ever in your favor.

Confessions

I'm in way over my head with boxes, newspaper, dust, and Lysol wipes. Our lease is up in less than two weeks, and I haven't even made a dent in the packing. It's completely stressful, to say the least, and on top of it all- we slept in an 82 degree apartment last night. Our air conked out in the midst of my packing and running around hunting down a clean bottle (which, by the way, doesn't exist.) The air is fixed now, praise God. 

Confession of a mommy who is paranoid

No matter what it is, no matter how far across the room- if it's not his, Austin wants it. The dozens of toys sprawled out in front of him are simply not enough. He wants that computer cord, over there. And those plastic bags, next to the garbage can. Everything hazardous and totally off limits. If I forgot to put it out of reach, he finds it. He's really keeping me on my toes over here.  

Confession of a dog mommy
No matter how many times I vacuum the carpet, no matter how many times I brush the dog, Austin still finds dog hair hidden in the carpet or under the couch. He gets it caked on his little face and stuck in between his fingers. I even find it in his diaper from time to time. It's gross. Doesn't seem to bother Austin much, but I have a total conniption when I find Austin with a mouthful of fur. Thank goodness for wood floors and tile in the new condo.

Confession of a mommy with great reflexes

Austin has recently become very skilled in his hand movements and very agile with his little body. It's cute, to say the least. You know when it is not cute? When I'm changing his diaper. It's absolutely not cute when I'm changing his diaper. It's downright annoying and a complete pain in the poopy butt.

Confession of a mommy who is tired of packing
This is the extent of the decor that is adorning our lovely apartment at the moment. #movingproblems
I especially love the toy monkeys hanging from it- this piece just screams interior design.

Confession of a proud and lucky wife (who totally has the right to brag)
My husband works 65+ hours a week to keep up with our craziness, wants, and needs- at a job he might not particularly like, I might add. He is incredibly smart, a total stud who speaks four languages, and about to graduate with double degrees- yet he stands on his feet all day taking drink orders just to provide for this (early start) of a family. I couldn't be more proud of him. I love you, Juan!

Oh, Great Pumpkin, where are you?

Oh the joys of living less than 2 miles from a Publix- and having a sidewalk conveniently line the path all the way there. I have made it a goal of mine to walk to Publix (and back) at least 5 times a week until we move out. That's 2 weeks, 10 days, 30 miles. More than I've walked in the past year, I'm sure. Tomorrow will be day four, and I'm already looking forward to stopping at Yogurt Co. on the way. Austin and I stopped yesterday, and it is for sure my new favorite frozen yogurt shop. White Chocolate Mousse frozen yogurt. Guys. This is serious.

On our first Publix run walk, I treated myself to new nail polish- Wicked. The color is called Wicked by Essie- I think it's time to pop in "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" and chow down on some Candy Corn. It's August... please? Turn the air conditioning off, open the windows, and curl up with a blanket... Oh fall, please come soon. Yankee Candle seems to think it's time. I picked up these little guys last week. First cool day of the season and these suckers will be lit in our kitchen, melting faster than a popsicle in the summer.
Pumpkin, Banana Nut Bread, and Apple Cider, oh my! 

Popsicles aren't the only things that've been melting this summer. Austin's rosy cheeks have just about had it with this season. We were going stir crazy this afternoon in the apartment, so we went outside for a little picnic fun. We lasted about 20 minutes before the bees and sun became too much.

After Labor day, wearing white is supposedly a huge faux pas. I don't really follow that rule, but I am definitely using it as an excuse to break out the fall wreath. Who's with me??

Five on Friday

I'm poking my head back in for the Five on Friday link up! Just coming and going as I please, sorry! 

One.

We are loving our daily walks more than ever. It's still pretty hot outside, which is totally worthy of double thumbs down, but walks really are so much more enjoyable with a 6 month old. He is so curious and smiley, he never gets tired of strolling. Mommy took him out of his front row, sightseeing seat for a photo shoot. Lord, look at that mean mug.

He obviously got over it quickly.

Two.

This pretty much sums up Austin and Duke's relationship. I initially wrote that, but honestly, it's not very true these days. Lately, Duke can be found either stealing Austin's Mum Mums or trying to get him to throw his slimy toys. But either way, I love this picture so so much- if it wasn't 3 cent camera quality, it would seriously be in an 8x12 frame. 

Three.

Apparently I am a very difficult person to sleep with. I don't know why my husband keeps telling me this- his son had no problem sleeping with me for 2 months... but, alas, I we blamed it on the mattress. But really, it dips down in the middle! Nevertheless, we are now owners of a brand spanking new Tempur-Pedic mattress, complete with a remote control to raise and lower the head and feet.
Grandma status. 

Baby boy was certainly one tough critic!

Four.
Random Conversation I had with the husband early this morning: (Watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse)
Me: Since when does Toodles have a voice?
Juan: Didn't you see?
Me: What?
Juan: The professor gave him a face and a voice for his birthday.
Me: They didn't just show that...
Juan: It was on another episode.

I really had no idea if he was being serious or sarcastic, but come on, you know you're a dad when....
Had to be there moment? Quite possibly. 


Five.
I've been gathering ideas for Austin's birthday. Why can't it be as simple as "pink, glitter, frills" and be done with it??? Blue ombre is high on my list. Close behind is Mickey Mouse, of course. A few inspirations via Pinterest...

 

 

It's a definite possibility, folks. A definite possibility. 

And then we found a kid

My husband stinks at surprises. He lacks nonchalance, big time; maybe it's because I know him so well, I'm not sure. If he's super excited about something, anything, he just can't keep it in. So I'm telling you all this because last night this man did the impossible. He woke me up around two to go "look at something" on our balcony. I was positive I would be playing doctor again, checking out his latest bump or cut- but to my complete surprise, this was waiting for me.

A donut date. At 2 in the morning. With milk. And straws. Candles and music. It was perfect.
I dare say it was better than Valentine's Day 2012- which brought 40 tiny candles in the shape of a heart in front of my dorm and a Peterbrooke chocolate basket the size of a small toddler.

Hey, speaking of toddlers. We found one- we found a kid. This morning we were downstairs loading some furniture onto the U-Haul when a little blonde haired, blue eyed babe peaked over the balcony at us. We went back upstairs, and there he was, just wandering around. He even tried to get into our apartment. Juan scooped him up and we started to take him to the front office when we noticed a door in our hall slightly open. We opened it, and called and called- no one answered. Creepy, right? I totally felt like Nancy Drew. We flagged down a maintenance man and he golf carted blondie and myself up to the front. Austin and Juan followed. Long story short, they called the police- the "babysitter" showed up, and Juan and I went back home. I tried my hardest not to make judgmental eyes towards blondie's babysitter, but it was so hard. I'm scrapping a ton of details, but the point of the matter is- I'm baby-proofing. NOW. Any suggestions?

Happy Tuesday!

Home Depot, hot dogs, and handy husbands

Holy grout, renovating is a huge project that I was not prepared for. An initial, round-condo paint job turned into "please, can I have a striped accent wall in our bedroom and laundry room", which turned into a chair rail in Austin's room and a Nautical compass painted on the ceiling (I'm still fighting against that one), which somehow turned into new tile throughout the bathrooms and kitchen. 

We were at Home Depot all day yesterday.  Do all HDs have a hot dog stand out front? Our local one does, and I can honestly say we haven't been to Home Depot in the past 4 months and not gotten a hot dog.  There's just something about a fresh, hot off the grill hot dog that makes wandering the aisles of HD with your overzealous husband a bit better. That, and iced coffee.
 Okay, and maybe this face.


Though we did spend a pretty penny on the supplies for flooring, we managed to save a lot of money by doing some of the labor ourselves. And by ourselves, I mean this man. *Points down to the hottie with his shirt off.* HD will really kick you in the butt with prices. Carrying the tile inside... disposing of the old tile... and I'm pretty sure I heard the sales rep correctly when she told me that they charge extra for diagonally laid tile. Charging for 45 degree tile rotation, well done HD. We saved a lot of money by taking all of the prep work into our own hands, and then hiring outside contractors to install it.

Oh, and I am in love with the new paint in the living room. This is only the first coat, but it's just so warm and inviting!

We went to Chick Fil A for lunch, and I can't pat myself on the back enough for that decision. It was loud, and full of screaming kids- just perfect for muffling any screams or meltdowns Austin may have had. Of course, he didn't. He was a perfect gentleman. Leave it to my kid to be a little angel in Chick Fil A but completely lose his shit in Longhorn. The night before we went for a nice, relaxing dinner to Longhorn- it lasted about 4 minutes. After switching booths a couple times and bouncing our sobbing baby around like a Johnny Jump Up, we left. The teething troll won this time.

This morning he is a little angel again, obviously ready for more trips to Home Depot and renovating! Before and after pictures will come soon!