Sizzlin'

Speeding through life in the fast lane is where we've been. July has been busy for us! For the past 2 weeks I think we've gone non stop. Nothing seemed to come to mind as I've been trying to tie the last couple of weeks together into one post. Until it hit me- like a ten pound sack of blazing Florida heat. This weather has been beating us down every. single. freaking. day. I think the humidity followed us all the way to South Carolina, and then hitched a ride back home. Non stop busy bee-ing it with a toddler in tow is exhausting and a sticky mess in this Florida summer heat.

We kicked off our busy bodying with a road trip to South Carolina. To see daddy. I just had to let those words sink in as I tried to think of something to type next. Something to really explain or muster the inexplainable feeling of seeing dada after his 3 months away in BCT for the army. The precious moment when the boys first saw each other, these pictures really don't do it justice. The very second that families were given the "GO" to run and find their soldier on the field, our massive stroller served its purpose as it plowed over holes, rocks, and feet (whoops) towards our boy. 

We were given two short days with Juan before he was sent to his next training in Virginia. This countdown will be 6 weeks longer, but just like the heat, he will be finished in time for the holidays :)

We then hit up our Georgia families and visited with them for a few days. Austin was in heaven playing with his cousins, and I may have been, too, with all of the mommy company! We've even been lucky enough to have Tyler visiting us in Florida this past week! They are the sweetest baby boys.

I'm already hearing talk and seeing posts about Fall- and though I do love obsess over a good seasonal Starbucks treat as much as the next gal, I can't help but wish we had another two months of beach trips here in Florida. Oh wait. We do.

Give me one more month and I'll be knocking on Fall's front door, begging for the cool weather to come out and play. Until then, we will be soaking up the sizzling heat, poolside with a cold one.

On the Ball

Since the day of Austin's very belated Father's Day photo shoot, I have been constantly crossing tasks off of my consistently growing list. I have been mentally high fiving myself all day, despite the twenty six more to-do's that appear at the bottom of my list each time I cross one thing off.  Yesterday I organized my old bedroom at my parents' house, preparing it for a craft room makeover. SWOON. Does anyone else find it hard to part with certain items, solely because they might serve a purpose in the future? I've gone through that room about three times since high school, and it seems like I'm always trying to justify keeping certain items. I'll end up needing this tiara for a bridal shower or Halloween. I should keep this giant American Girl doll in case I have a daughter. Yesterday's raid definitely compensated for my years of hoarding, and I have an incredible "garage sale" pile to prove it. An ocarina made in art class and birthday cards from old boyfriends aren't comparable to the keepsakes I have made over the past couple of years. And let's face it, I was running out of room.
I kept the tiara.

This morning I was still very much in the groove. I woke up to an alarm, entirely too early, and was one hair brush short of being out the door before realizing that Austin's doctor's appointment isn't until tomorrow morning. If you're following on Instagram, you already know what we did instead.
Donuts.

On Friday we will be attending a Fourth of July party, which saves me from any and all eleventh hour planning. That's not to say that come Friday morning I won't be desperately rummaging through the kitchen, making last minute attempts to whip up some sort of festive red, white, and blue breakfast.

While going through boxes in the bedroom craft room, I found Austin's outfit from last year! Naturally, I squeezed my toddler into the same romper he wore as a wee little 6 month old. Just for a few pictures. Or, you know... the entire rest of the day. And then I sat back and melted into a million pieces as I watched him parade around like he owned all of America.

Wishing you a festive and firework-filled Fourth of July!

Father's Day Pictures: A Little Late

The idea of these pictures as one of Juan's Father's Day gifts was anything but last minute. I ordered Austin's shirt weeks in advance and the chalkboard has been good and ready, sitting in a corner for quite some time. I can't even tell you why we couldn't manage to get our my shit together and actually sit down and do the thing- it just never happened.  

So here we are, almost two weeks late, finally having our Father's Day photo shoot! I was only able to capture serious cheekies, that boy wouldn't crack a smile for anything!

Per the usual (and convenient), all pictures were snapped on my phone. The natural lighting wasn't great, and my attempt to blur out the folds of the sheet definitely shows. But nevertheless, I really think daddy is going to love these! 

16 & 17 Months

"He will be a year and a half next month." That's been my answer for the past few weeks when asked Austin's age. How is he already almost a year and a half? Just one more half and he will be two?! Sometimes I do forget that he's still such a babe- he could fool anyone into thinking that he's well on his way to preschool with his blatant attitude and urgency to brush his teeth twice three times a day. (Wonder how long that will last.) But then I remember that a few weeks ago he tried to down a bottle of bubbles, and just this morning he mistook his snot for lotion. Yep, he's definitely only one (and almost a half).

This past week was the first of Austin's month long "Summer Vacation." We're giving him a four week break from morning school to enjoy some extra time with his grandma who is home for the summer... I may also have secret hopes that he will decide to sleep in one of these days... Austin if you're reading this- hint, hint. Oh, and he's been sick every month since January. Soooo there's that. Pediatrician three times just this month. Yeah. So I hope this time off gives his immune system a break!

Sick or not, the kid can rock it.

Favorite Activities: Reading- mostly I Ruff You. I have it memorized. Swimming in the big pool, as well as sliding down his slide into his baby pool. Imitating everything I do. He is obsessed with headbands and carrying shopping bags around the house on his shoulder. Juan, you need to come home and take this boy fishing. ;)

Babe is an excellent shopper. Lately he's been going on his own little shopping trips around the house. What's a trip to "Target" without our Starbucks? And can we please talk about that "purse" he wrapped around himself? Thank goodness he couldn't actually find one and grabbed a lifeguard whistle instead. But really, Juan. Come. Home.

Austin is finally down for his morning nap, then we'll be on our way to the weekend Farmer's Market and later hit up a ginormous sale at the kid's consignment shop! #bargainhunters

Happy first day of Summer! Cheers!

Bedrooms and Nail Clippers

Over the past few weeks I've been feeling a bit creative. Nothing too crazy, just a moderate amount that I've recently noticed. Since leaving Jacksonville, I'd say my drive to craft and create has been, well, nonexistent. My thought process has been looking a bit like: Why am I even decorating this bedroom that isn't really mine? It would make things so much easier if I could use this giant ass (empty) gun cabinet taking up a fourth of my room as an extra closet- but it smells. Bad. And I should set up my scrapbooking station- but to do what? Document all of the pictures that I am not taking?

 I've slowly been crafting little projects for Austin's room, as well as adding piece by piece to the gallery wall in my own room. Basically the contents of Austin's entire bedroom are still in Jacksonville, so we are making do with what was already in the guest room. Luckily we had an extra crib already down here!

In addition to improving our bedrooms, I have also noticed this burst of innovation in my "gift giving." More specifically, in my "it's my husband's birthday- Father's Day is also coming up- and I'm not allowed to send our soldier diddly-squat- wait, you say nail clippers are allowed? Thank God. I'll send nail clippers" giving. You can bet Juan received some of the finest nail clippers for his 26th birthday. The man is for real about his nail clippers. We also sent some pens (per his request), cough drops, a few pictures, and a promise to celebrate soon. One of the pictures that I sent had our song typed on it- I was so proud that I then had it laminated and made an extra copy for myself! We first sang this song to Austin when he was in my belly. And one of my favorite memories is of Juan and I conga lining in and out of our kitchen, singing this song on repeat. Three month old Austin was in Juan's arms, soaking up every little bit of silly.

So it's now Father's Day and Juan's package has yet to be mailed. I was early with his birthday, so this was expected. I can't be on top of things on a regular basis, it's just not happening. No nail clippers this time, at least. Austin had a little Father's Day photoshoot at school, so we'll be including that in Juan's package, along with the sweetest painted baby feeties with the classic "Walk With Me, Daddy" poem, and a few pictures of Austin from our own photoshoot that also has yet to happen. Austin will be rocking this shirt. Perfect.

Happy Father's Day to all of the wonderful dads out there, including the two best grandpas that Austin could have asked for!!!

Feels Like Summer

Lately we've been getting little tastes of summertime- and I absolutely love it. I think this past three day weekend really got us into the groove. We had a pretty traditional Memorial Day: backyard, barbeque, beer. Okay, so no beer. In that case, can I even call it a traditional, American Memorial Day celebration? Nevertheless, it was pretty freaking awesome.

Our day was alive with the summer season. Big pool, baby pool, and Fourth of July Pandora on the cutest retro radio you ever did see. (Austin really knows how to pick his Mother's Day gifts. ;)) Did I mention chalk and bubbles? In the mouth. Both the chalk and bubbles. Just when you think your kid has turned into such a little adult, he takes a giant bite of the calcium sulfate.

And of course, we held in our hearts and minds some of America's truest heroes, our fallen soldiers. Something pretty neat that I learned the other day: Israel's Memorial Day includes a one minute siren that sounds throughout the entire country, signaling everyone to stop what they are doing in honor and remembrance of their fallen soldiers. Highways stop, people get out of their cars. Talk about an honorable tradition. A girlfriend of mine has spent the last several months exploring Israel, and I love the vicarious thrill that her blog gives us. Us, meaning we who sometimes consider handing the tot who insists on making dessert out of our limbs over to the neighbors and high tailing it for the nearest airport. I joke. We are, however, three days "bite free." #success

Though it'll be hard to top last weekend, we do have a bit to look forward to over the next couple of days. A wedding, decorating Austin's latest nursery big boy room, bathing suit shopping (wait, I hate that), and the HALF HOUR PHONE CALL WITH JUAN that I've been promised may just do the trick. I'm not quite sure what's going down on his base, but I am fairly certain that the highlight of my week was the surprise phone call that I received during my Wednesday night class from the little whispering Colombian hiding in the supply closet who  "pulled a few strings" to call and check in.

The Choice to Dwell

For every one in this small hometown of mine it has been no secret that I have been living in the same two pairs of shoes and monotonous nail polish colors for the past few months. I'm going to be a total hypocrite for a flash second and use the phrase that's at the top of my Blacklist... First World Problems. (You know, the list where you can also find "legit." Barf.) It has been killing me knowing that three hours away, my collection of nail polish, workout clothes, and shoes have been waiting for my return in my overpriced storage unit. Among other (I guess somewhat more important) items like dishes, furniture...

Juan's Army process began in December, so it was around that time our house slowly began losing its "homey feel." Four months of enjoying our new little space, that's all we had. The realization that I would have to temporarily move back to my hometown quickly became a reality. I love the extra help with Austin, I love his school, and of course, all of the attention he gets from his grandparents. But after living on my own for so long- having my own life and home- it's hard to come back to this.

I miss the responsibility of living on my own. I miss making decisions for myself and for my son- without twelve and a half different points of view distorting my judgment.
I miss stand alone Chick-fil-A's on every corner, dammit. 

This current chapter of the Martinez family life is what is best for each one of us, and that is what keeps me grounded. I could lie in bed each morning, dwelling on the fact that I have no one to share with the equal disappointment and hilarity that is our son biting his friends at school. Because the only person who can truly parallel my feelings for Austin is hundreds of miles away. I could dwell on the frustration that comes each time I sit down to write a letter, knowing that by the time any news reaches Juan, it will be old news.

 Or, I can keep reminding myself that this new part of Juan's life is so important, and will pave the way for so many new opportunities. I can hug our baby a little tighter- thanking God for his life, and for always having a part of Juan with me. And that's what I try to do.

I could dwell on the absence of that giant, wet nose that once reminded me that I was on mom duty at the crack of dawn. I do dwell on the thought of Duke, without his daddy and unable to understand why he is living in a new home or when daddy is coming back for him.

Again, I have to constantly remind myself that not only does Duke now have a house versus a condo, but that he is also living with one of Juan's closest friends, and another dog! This arrangement is the best one for him, and I'm sure that when Juan returns at the end of the year, Dukie won't be quite ready to leave ;)

It's all a choice. Every day, I try to make the choice to stay positive. Some days are better than others. (I can't blame it all on the fever when I broke down on Mother's Day.) But today, I'm choosing to share this with you, and I'm choosing to keep in mind the big picture. This new chapter in our lives is definitely testing us, but I know that it will prove to be worth it.