Currently: Where's Fall?

Current Book

One could seriously be a Hallmark Channel movie...and the other couldn't.

Current Song

Shawn Mendes There's Nothing Holding Me Back {Drew asks for it on repeat!}

Current TV Show

Season 3 is SOOO good - not shocking since book 3 is probably my favorite!

Current Drink

The last thing I had to drink today was water!

Current Shame-Inducing Pleasure

Did you see that cheesy book up top? Yeah, I've read FOUR other books by Kristan Higgins this month. I am pretty embarrassed about that fact!

Current Outfit

I meant to take a picture today because I was dressed relatively nice. Now I'm in pajama pants and an old t-shirt of Brent's.

Current Celebrity Crush

I seriously can't wait for an engagement announcement for these 2!

Current Mood

Current Anticipation

Mine and Brent's 13-year anniversary is just a few weeks away!

We have an overnight trip planned, and I'm really excited.

Current Wishlist

Nothing fits. UGH. So a new wardrobe...or losing the last of the baby weight. {grin}

Current Film

Allison and I had to cancel our date to finally see Pirates 5 when she got strep throat {seriously, having kids is the worst}, so I think we'll switch gears pretty soon to likely Oscar contenders.

Current Picture

Hahahahaha

9 Month Comparisons

I'm not sure that anybody but me enjoys these posts, but I sure do love seeing how my babies stack up!

Trent:
Weight: 18 pounds, 6 ounces - gained 9 pounds, 13 ounces
Height: 28.5" - grew 8"

Drew:
Weight: 16 pounds, 14 ounces - gained 7 pounds, 14 ounces
Height: 27.5" - grew 7.5"

Paige:
Weight: 17 pounds 3 ounces - 7 pounds, 4 ounces
Height: 27.5" - grew 7.5"

*I'm most surprised that Paige has now gained the least amount of weight, although I guess with her being the biggest that shouldn't really be a surprise.

*I think Paige still looks the most like Trent, but I think that is largely due to her face shape - she has the same perfectly round face with big cheeks where Drew's face is more narrow. You can definitely tell they are all siblings though!

Grow Baby Grow {Paige} - 9 Months

We had such a busy month with Ms. Paige! I can't believe she's 9 months old - the last 3 months have really flown by, and she's changed so much. This month the list of new skills is amazing!!

Stats:
Weight: 17 pounds, 3.5 ounces {25-50%}*
Length: 27.5" {50%}
Head circumference: 43.5 cm {40%}
Clothes size: 6-9 months or 6-12 months
Diapers: size 3 in disposables, 1 snap up and 1-2 snaps open in cloth
Hair: dirty blonde {she might be my lightest}
Eyes: same blue/brown/green/gray hazel as the other 2 but WAY more blue

*Paige was consistently weighing about 1 pound more than Drew {sticking with the birth weight difference}, but this month, that gap narrowed to about 5 ounces which surprises me. I did note in Drew's well check at 9 months she was weighed with her diaper on, but that wouldn't account for THAT much of a weight change. So this surprised me this month!

This has been a big month for Paige with lots of new tricks! She can wave, clap, sign, mimic, blow raspberries, stand unassisted {WHAT?} - See? New tricks!

I would say there are 2 main things to note about Paige: First, she is just the absolute sweetest girl! We get so many comments on how sweet she is, how smiley, she is truly JOY personified. Second, this girl LOVES food. She is always down to eat, starts kicking her legs with excitement when I open the fridge...I think her favorite place is her chair at the kitchen island, ha.

Speaking of food, she eats so much and has never turned her nose up at anything. We've added meat to her diet this month! She's had spaghetti with zoodles, deer breakfast sausage, and grilled chicken. She's had rice, a tiny bit of pasta, beans, a couple of cracker sticks, but we've mainly still stuck with fruits, veggies, and simple proteins {like eggs}. Very little carbs and only a teeny amount of dairy {a tiny piece of a cheese stick}. Her teachers at school comment on what a great eater she is, too! She eats usually 3 meals a day, although breakfast on weekdays is usually just some fruit since she's not up for very long before we leave. I've also learned the way to keep her happy in the car - I pass her raisins, ha!

Paige still loves water! Anytime I turn on water - washing dishes or her diapers - she tries to jump in. She loves her baths or being in the shower with Brent or me.

She loves her siblings - especially Trent. I think Drew is sometimes an accidental tormenter a little too often still, ha. She and Trent have a special song I made up that they dance to before bed, and Paige will jump out of my arms to get into Trent's when I start singing 'their' song. I love it!

Paige sleeps pretty good. This month she slept through the night EIGHT times with a 5-night streak! This brings her total to 10, so month 9 was huge! Bedtime fluctuates a lot based on day of the week - she sleeps so much more at home than at school, so on school nights bedtime is sometimes as early as 6:00 and on weekends can be as late as 8:00. It's also hit or miss whether she'll go right to sleep or cry and need extra help falling asleep.

Another tooth {top right} broke through bringing Paige's total teeth to 3 - so cute!

Paige is not nearly as interested in nursing as Drew was. Paige's nursing habits revolve around sleep - either before bed or just when waking up. If I try to nurse her any other time, it ain't happening. So on the weekend, it's usually about 4-5 nursing sessions.

She is still consistently napping twice a day - about every 2.5 hours. At school, naps are 30 minutes {ugggggh}, but at home, they are easily 2 hours.

Paige signs 'all done' and understands when I sign 'more' and 'water' and 'eat'/'food'. She is still saying 'ma-ma', 'ba-ba', and 'da-da', but I still don't think she's associating any of it.

We are having such a blast with Paige, but she really needs to slow down this growing up business!

The Last 24

Well, I am back from Chicago. Had a great time meeting my co-workers, the meetings we had were fantastic for talking about the future of our organization with some really great leaders, and Brent and the kids rocked life without me. BUT...the last 24 hours or so are worth sharing in detail because sometimes you just gotta laugh...and blog about it. {grin}

Wednesday
6:00 PM - Arrive at the airport for my 8:00 PM flight. Get through security - always a fun experience and adding 30 ounces of breastmilk to the mix is an added pleasure. Find out my flight is delayed until 11:00 PM. Womp, womp.

6:45 PM - I was hoping to just push through and not pump until I got home, but knowing my flight was delayed 3 hours...it isn't going to happen. Try to pump in a family bathroom because my flight is in Concourse A and the Mother's Room is in Concourse C - how is there only 1 room? But I get interrupted after less than 10 minutes by a woman in a wheelchair needing to go to the bathroom. The kicker? Aunt Flow has returned after an 18-month hiatus, and I am 0% prepared - isn't that just the icing on the cake?

7:00 PM - Double check at my gate that I didn't misread something - yup, flight is truly delayed 3 hours. Go pump sitting in a stall in a regular bathroom. Enjoy one lady next to me who is farting up a storm.

7:30 PM - 11:20 PM - Read, buy snacks, find a vending machine with Aunt Flow products, talk with other passengers, calculate how much sleep I'll get, get ice for my milk, clean out my email inbox {get it down from over 600 to 35!}...all such super exciting stuff!

11:20 PM - We take off for Austin! Get more ice for my milk because what I had from before has melted and leaked all in my suitcase. I try to sleep the whole flight and am pretty successful.

1:30 AM - Land in Austin. Walk a million miles to my car, stop to get gas {of course I'm way past E}, drive the 45 minutes home.

2:45 AM - Get home! Best feeing in the whole world. Find roses from Brent {pink! my favorite!}, a note from Trent and a drawing from Drew. Cue the waterworks!

Trent's note said: Dear mom, hope you had a great trip we missed you! We got flowers for you thanks for being my mom. Love Trent

3:20 AM - Finally get in bed!

6:30 AM - Alarm goes off. BOOOOOOO. Get up, get kids up and get them ready for school. Trent comes out of his room with a blazing stye, so we decide to keep him home since those suck. Paige has her 9-month well check, and Drew wants to come along since Trent is now getting to go.

8:15 AM - Well check for Paige! I love these appointments so much since I am such a stats nerd. Today should have been her 9-month post, but this post was needed, ha. Leaving the well-check realize Aunt Flow has overflowed. Super. While making a u-turn due to road construction, I hit a traffic cone and get it lodged under my car. A random stranger pulls over to help me get it out. Take D to school, but decide to bring P home for a good morning nap.

12:15 PM - Load T and P up because Trent is starting with a new behavioral therapist today. Take P to school and go to T's therapy appointment. Also, go to Academy to get him new tennis shoes and Drew some soccer shorts.

3:00 PM - Get D and P from school.

4:30 PM - Leave for D's soccer practice. 

5:30 PM - During practice, Trent's eye looks worse. We'd been doing warm compresses and I had him take some omega-3, but there isn't much else to do for a stye... I was kind of surprised it looked worse, so I texted a picture to our eye doctor {her older daughter and Drew are besties at school}. She lets me know she thinks it's infected and to bring Trent in for an appointment in the morning because he probably needs oral antibiotics. 

6:30 PM - When we're home keep texting with our doc, and she suggests giving him antibiotic eye drops first which we have some leftover from Trent's eye infection in the summer. Keep doing warm compresses on the couch, repeat eye drops at bedtime.

9:00 PM - Trent in bed, eye still looks awful. :(

Isn't that a super fun last day???

Emmy Fashion 2017

I didn't watch much of the Emmy's because I don't watch that much TV anymore {am I 37 or 87, not sure}, but I did catch maybe the last hour or so and was excited by Sterling K. Brown's win {I watch This is Us!} and The Handmaid's Tale/Elizabeth Moss since that was a book club book {even if I haven't seen the show}, and Nicole Kidman's win for Big Little Lies {another one where I've read the book but haven't yet watched the show...but plan to!}. 

However, you know I was scouring the internet for the Red Carpet pictures! And sadly, I didn't recognize a lot of the people...I felt like my granny who had a subscription to The National Inquirer until the day she died, but as she got older she didn't know a lot of the celebrities, ha. So I decided to just focus on who I think was Best and Worst Dressed. The one caveat was I had to either know your name or recognize you - if I had no clue who they were, I just didn't care enough to include them! It's my list, so it's my rules.

Best Dressed

{In no particular order, except my #1 pick}

The Top 10 Runners Up

10. Claire Foy

The Emmy's is the place to go out on a limb a little. I like that Claire wore pants but also wasn't doing something crazy. Love the sparkly knot and her red lips for some color.

9. Emmy Rossum

This dress fits her so well - she looks super feminine and just pretty. I love the green accessories that don't take away from the simple beauty of the gown but add just a little something. 

8. Issa Rae

At first the sleeves threw me off, and I didn't love it. But with time, it grew on me {again this is the place for something unique}, and it fit her perfectly and the color couldn't have been better.

7. Jane Fonda

She's in her 80s people. She looks amazing. I love the bright color!

6. Kiernan Shipka

I am a sucker for a Grecian-inspired dress. She looks so beautiful - the dress is simple, I love the little bit of sparkle, no issues with cleavage, simple hair. Love.

5. Lea Michele

She was the first picture I saw and I just thought 'Bam, nailed it.'

4. Millie Bobby Brown

If she just isn't the most adorable little thing, I don't know what is!

3. Nicole Kidman

I think she looks really good, but I also think she's looked so bad for so many awards shows I got excited by this for NOT being bad! I like that it is a bit shorter, I like how it fits her, love her hair and the little details. 

2. Thandie Newton

Very feminine, love the little bit of sparkle, mostly happy with the fit {small boob issue}, looks amazing with her skin, very nice.

1. Yara Shadidi

Again just a great fit, color looks great on her skin, a little unique, simple hair and make-up...overall just very nice!

And my absolute favorite of the night...

Jessica Biel!

This was so unique, fit her AMAZING, love her hair {simple yet not}, make-up is awesome, leg is gorgeous, no boob issues, clutch and accessories are perfect. Totally 100% flawless!

And now...

Worst Dressed

10. Ariel Winter

We do not need 2 leg slits that go ALLLL the way up - WE GET IT, YOU AREN'T THE NERD YOU PLAY ON TV. PUT YOUR BODY AWAY.

9. Ellie Kemper

The sheer panel at the bottom kills me. I think I would have been happy if it had just been knee-length - it's still too busy at the top but at least it wouldn't have been so bad.

8. Heidi Klum

She's becoming the new J. Lo for me - if I see this much of her body again...I might lose it.

7. Kathryn Hahn

This is just a sack that does nothing for her.

6. Reese Witherspoon

Something about this isn't right. It's like the material is too thick to really work as a dress? I just felt like this doesn't fit right. And I HATE her hair - her roots are bad and her hair looks yellow. So sad.

5. Uzo Aduba

The boobs kill me. It's like torpedo boob overflowing the top. It's how I look in some of my nursing tanks, so trust me, I know it's not a good look!

4. Zoe Kravitz

FEATHERS...RAINBOW FEATHERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

3/2/1. Sarah Paulson, Priyanka Chopra, Tracee Ellis Ross

Sarah's 1980s prom dress married Priyanka's feather dress and together they birthed Tracee's metallic feather disaster! Yuck, yuck, yuck!

There you have it...my highs and lows for the Emmy's! What made YOUR lists?

For me, the highlight of the Emmys is it means Oscar season is right around the corner, so Allison and I have lots of ecxiting movies to see in the coming months...yay!

Deep Thoughts on Work Travel

In my former life at my company, I traveled some. When I first started out, I was on the road quite a bit. In my first 18 months, I traveled to Scottsdale, Washington D.C., San Antonio, Dallas, New London, WI, podunk Kansas...that's what I remember at least. As I progressed, my travel typically stayed in-state and got less frequent. By the time I became a mom, I only traveled in-state and was never away for more than 1 night at a time.

In my current role, I have traveled only a handful of times. 2-3 times a year for day trips to Dallas and Houston. HOWEVER, this week I am going to Chicago for 2 days with my WHOLE TEAM. This is significant because I've worked on this team for 3 years and have met 2 people in person {our team is now 11 people} - my boss once when she was in Dallas for a meeting and a teammate when I was in NYC on vacation {she used to live in the City and met us for dinner}.

Risa and me

We are all so excited to be getting together, and I absolutely love Chicago! BUT as a working mother who is the primary parent, it is tough to leave! Here are all the thoughts I've had and planning I've been doing/thinking about in preparation - notice that none of this relates to me, ha.

• Organizing pickup and dropoff - I do 99% of the shuttling to and from school. Brent leaves for work by 7:00 and is home no earlier than 5:00. If he doesn't work, he doesn't get paid, so that is not typically what we try to do and the fabulous grandparents are always happy to step in. But adding Paige and her infant carrier adds another layer. Brent is having to take off Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons to get the kids, and Brent's mom is going to take them Wednesday morning.
• Lunches - I am super anal about what the kids eat 90% of the time {don't ask me what they ate this weekend though}, so I make their lunches always. So Monday night I will make double lunches and have to organize them in the fridge so Brent knows which containers belong to who. I'm thinking they will need post-its??
• Breastmilk for Paige - I have done a great job of not pumping like a maniac for Paige like I did for Trent and Drew. But now that she's in school, I am obsessed with making sure I keep up with what she eats during the day and pump exactly that or slightly more each day. I probably only have AT MOST 200 ounces in the freezer, and I've been giving some of that to our neighbors who adopted a baby 2.5 weeks ago {and is just the cutest little guy}. I really don't want to getting into the freezer stash because I want to make sure my supply is matching her demand. I know that sounds a bit psycho since she's 3 months shy of 1, but my goal is 2 years, so she and I still have a ways to go! {Sidebar: it's just so crazy how different of a nurser she is compared to Drew. Drew nursed alllllll the time - even when she was 2, I bet she was nursing 8-10 times a day. I have to nurse Paige in an empty room with no one around and if it isn't before or after she sleeps it is quite likely not going to happen. Sunday she nursed 3 times, that's it! When she woke up, when she took her nap, when she went to bed.} Anyway, I am super rambly here, so let me try and get to the point - I am trying to do the math of what she'll need while I'm gone - I'm guessing about 40 ounces. So I want everything already in bottles and all ready for Brent. And yes, I'll be pumping while I'm gone. I'm exhausted thinking about breastmilk!
• Paige's sleep - Until a week ago, Paige had slept through the night a whopping 3 times, and I was the only person to ever go in her room at night. I have been stressing about her waking up while I was gone overnight {my first time away!!!} and not being happy to see Brent in the middle of the night. Yes, she loves her daddy...but he's not the one to come to her in the night! But...but...BUT she has slept through the night the past FIVE NIGHTS! All the praise hands emojis!!! We'll see if the streak continues, and I really hope it does!
• Kids after-school activities - Tuesday afternoon Trent has Ninja Zone and Drew has gymnastics, Tuesday evening Trent has soccer practice at 6:30, but Paige will need to go to bed about 6:30. I need to ask Brent's dad to take Trent to soccer!

What I haven't thought about for this trip:

• What to wear since nothing work-related fits
• How to get to the office from the airport - my co-worker in Chicago says I need to take the L...I also don't know the address of the office as of yet
• Packing - will I need to check a bag or not? I will be taking my breast pump, laptop and suitcase - can I squeeze it all into 2 bags?
• What time I need to leave on Tuesday for the airport
• I need a fridge in my hotel room

All of these thoughts for being gone not even 48 hours. I'm exhausted!

A Check-In on the Mama

I thought it would be a good idea to give an update on how I am doing as a relatively newly minted mom of 3, and I'm back at work, and and and... {grin}

Physically

I am completely healed from delivery, which should be expected given Paige is almost 9 months old, ha. HOWEVER, I have a lot of weight to lose. Womp, womp. One of the Zoloft side effects {that I didn't have with Trent} was weight gain. I gained over 20 pounds! Before I started taking it, I was barely eating because the post-partum had me anxious so much I was nauseous, so I lost almost all my baby weight. Then I packed a lot of it back on. So I would say physically my biggest hurdle right now is the weight. I've been eating better and exercising - Orange Theory Fitness opens tomorrow - and have lost 5 pounds. I still have a long way to go, but you gotta start somewhere!

Mentally/Emotionally

I stopped taking Zoloft right around when I went back to work and have been great without it. Every time, my PPA hits with a vengeance but is pretty short-lived. I guess I can be thankful for that?? I would say I'm back to my normal, slightly off-balance self. {grin}

Being Back at Work

I am so lucky in my job - it is THE BEST. I may not feel like it is a calling or anything, but it makes being a mom with a full-time job so much more manageable. 9/10 people on my team have kids, so we get what it is to have the day-to-day challenges - sick kids, school conferences, soccer practice, etc. My company is also super flexible about when you work - as long as you get your work done and are around for most of the 'regular' business hours, it's all good. That is such a blessing with the kids' school day ending at 3:00!

Relationship with Brent

After Trent, I was really worried for a while I was never going to feel connected to Brent again. We didn't go out on a date for a long time, and my 100% focus was on Trent. But as Trent grew and was less needy, the tide turned and we found a balance. The same has happened with Drew and now with Paige. I think PPA plays a part in this because I do basically become obsessed/overly protective about my babies. So we're in that place where the new normal is starting to settle in. We've had a few dates and it's feeling easier to leave Paige, we've even got an OVERNIGHT trip planned for next month!

Balancing Three Kids

This has been easier than I thought. Brent and I both agree that the transition from 1 to 2 the hardest for us. Yes, at first, figuring out 3 was tough, but it was a quick transition into a balance that still seems to be working. Paige is SUCH a good baby still and is SO easy-going that it makes it very easy to juggle the big 2. She is happy all the time {unless she is protesting bedtime}! Early in my pregnancy, I was already stressing about getting 3 ready for school in the mornings since Brent is gone before I even get the kids up usually - I mean that was over an entire school year ago if that tells you how worried I was! But it's been pretty easy. I think a big part of that is last school year I was staying home after Paige got here and Brent was able to take the big 2 most days, so I got them ready and then he took them and now Paige is so much older. I basically put her in her high chair or the Bumbo with food if I need both of my hands for something and she's happy as a clam. It also helps that the big 2 are so helpful with her!

Overall Thoughts

PPA sucks and is really the only big hurdle I had this time around. Paige is an absolute JOY, so I give her a lot of the credit for how easy this has been. Trent and Drew love her so much, Brent being home for a big chunk of my maternity leave - and that being most of when I had my PPA - was a blessing, too. I can't believe she is almost 9 months old. Our family is complete, and after years of feeling unsettled when Brent and I didn't agree, it feels amazing!

Soccer, Splash Pads, Swinging, Sturgill, Selfies, and Swopes

I think if we had crammed any more into this weekend, we would have had our heads explode! We had a great weekend for sure, but it was super busy!

First up, we signed the big kids up for soccer, and they had practice on Saturday to meet their coaches and teams. Brent and I divided and conquered because we also had Beau's birthday party in the middle of their soccer practices, so I took the girls with me, and he took Trent to his practice.

Drew spreading out to do some soccer drills (second from the left)!

4-year-olds are too cute

Beau's party was at a splash pad across town, so we left soccer practice early to make it late to the party, ha.

There was a park next to the splash pad, so of course, Paige had to do some swinging.

Superhero Drew

Singing to the birthday girl!

Brent took this pic of T looking so enthused for practice.

Saturday night, Brent and I went to a Sturgill Simpson concert. The venue was about an hour from our house, and there were 18 people going, so we rented a van to shuttle us there and back.

Neighbors who are also close friends are the best!

#TexasStrong

We didn't get home until about 1:30, and Paige decided to make Saturday night a party for us from 2:00 - 3:00, so I was NOT ready to get up Sunday morning!

I love finding evidence of the kids' shenanigans on my phone!

My mom told me on Saturday {she and my dad watched the kids during the concert} that my sister and her kids were coming over on Sunday, so we asked to crash their party. We hadn't seen them since my birthday!

Sweet cousins!

And a rite of passage for Paige - riding in the red car!!!

Drew's newest pose cracks me up!

And another first for Paige - a big kid bath at Babs and Pops'!

See? A very busy weekend indeed!

JW Marriott

We took our annual Gurley family vacation a few weeks ago with Brent's entire family and went to the JW Marriott in San Antonio. The timing was kind of yucky because Paige was going through something developmental, and her sleep was a disaster, but big 2 stayed in a room with my mother-in-law, so it was just Brent and me who had to suffer with Paige. Basically, our days consisted of pool time {the big guys golfed 1 time} and relaxation and lots of family fun, and our nights consisted of trying to get Paige to sleep, ha! The resort was so nice and HUGE with so many pools, water slides, a lazy river, kids areas...amazing!

On the way there, I rode with the 3 kids and Brent's parents because Brent worked a full day the day we left {a Thursday}, so he met us there in the late evening. About 20 minutes into the ride I thought my father-in-law was going to kill us because the big 2 were so noisy and Paige was so fussy!

We got checked in and immediately suited up!

Doesn't get much cuter than this!

Since we were there later Thursday we only spent a little bit of time in the water and then did dinner {my mother-in-law brought enough food for an army which was so nice to not have to take 3 kids to a restaurant}, movie time, baths, etc. Brent got there and he, his dad, and his brother spent some time in one of the sports bars since I had our room locked down trying to get Paige to sleep. She was up 42 times, and we were both pretty miserable, ha.

Friday the guys golfed, and the rest of us spent more time in the water, eating, watching movies, Paige took a nap, just lots of relaxation!

Brent's view on the course - 

He shot a 76 and the next closest score was a 99, ha.

Who needs sleep? Or clothes?

 Lazy river time with Nana!

Kiddie area! Drew loved the slides here and surprisingly Trent did too!

 There were some pretty impressive tube rides, and Trent loved them!

There was a 'family friendly' tube ride that I did with Drew a couple of times. We also made S'mores both nights! Friday night involved more bedtime shenanigans from Paige, so, unfortunately, Saturday morning I wasn't too upset that it was time to go home. {grin}

BUT the trip itself was a good one, and I think it'd be a great place to go again when my kids are a little older. {Paige, I'm looking at you!}