Fall Fashion Week - Day 1

Its that time of the year again...time for me to show all three of my faithful blog readers just how truly un-fashionable I really am! Or time for my mom to be happy because she gets to see a picture of me everyday! Either way, I always love taking part in fashion week...meeting fellow bloggers, getting inspiration to get myself dressed, and the compliments...oh the compliments! If you so dare, I invite you to join in the fun. Head over to Emery's blog to participate and enjoy yourself.

Just to give you a preview of what is to come. It has been raining every day and the temps are in the mid 30's, so I will be bundled up all this week with boots on my feet! Not too exciting, but I will try.

Sweater: Gap
Shirt: Worn it so much, it is now tagless...but still my favorite
Jeans: True Religion...that I got for free a few years ago!
Boots: Camper...the one new thing I added to my wardrobe this season

Also, we were in Edinburgh over the weekend where it wasn't raining and it was beautiful. I got some great fall pictures that I will share with you throughout the week. So without further ado, fall nature fashion Monday:

Look what Daddy Did!

Daddy did Connor's hair this morning! It looked totally cute and lasted all of 10 minutes...and made me realize that it is about time for Connor to get another hair cut.




Also, I am amazed how hair makes a baby look so grown up. I have seen baby boys the same age as Connor without any hair and it makes them look like babies. That full head of hair Connor has makes him look so old for his age. And yes, I realize I sound ridiculous saying he looks old for his age!

One Sick Week

It's been a rough week in our little household. First Ian was home sick for 3 days. And when I mean sick, I mean practically bedridden for 3 days. As soon as Ian was starting to recover, Connor got sick. It started with him waking up constantly throughout the night and has turned into a sick little baby with a rash all over his body. Makes me so sad.

I realize you can't really see the rash in the pictures...but trust me, it is there!

And it frustrated me to take Connor to the doctor and have them act as if it was no big deal. They told me if the rash was still there on Monday, to bring him back in. Didn't help with my fears about the rash at all. But thankfully, we went to the pharmacy and spoke with a pharmacist who was much more helpful. She gave Connor as prescription to help with the rash. I am so thankful for the uber cool program over here where you can see a pharmacist for minor sickness and they can prescribe medicine on the spot...and even if they are prescribing something over the counter for Connor, because he is under 16, they give it to us for free!

Our one little glimmer in the week came yesterday. Connor got a package from home! He was so excited about it!

The funny part was, he was looking at the stuff and clapping.


Thankfully there were 2 large bags of peanut butter m&m's in there for Ian and I. We won't be sharing our bags with each other as that never works out well!

Shopping for Food

Whenever I hear people talking about grocery shopping once a month (I have even heard of doing it only twice a year), I scratch my head. I want to ask questions, but am generally afraid my questions will turn into some sort of rude questoments (question/comments) on my part. So, I don't ask.

You see, my pantry is practically bare. In fact, we don't even have a pantry. We have one cupboard next to the refrigerator used to food. We have another one used for spices. And we have Connor's pre-made baby fruit (I make everything but the ground up fruit) sitting on the counter.

My refrigerator is full. And then it spills out onto the counter tops with my produce. I make a meal plan for a week at a time and do the shopping. So, at the beginning of the week, we have lots of food and by the end, practically nothing.

Because of the amount of fresh food in our house, I question how someone can shop for a month. What exactly are you buying that doesn't go bad? Or, do we eat weird? I do know we eat way more veg than most. We've ran into people we know at the grocery store who always seem to make comments about our cart of food.

This doesn't mean we don't have pantry staples, because we do. Open my pantry any day and you are likely to find

pasta
rice
tuna
canned sweet corn
canned chopped tomatoes
cheerios
granola bars of some sort

But I can't think of any meals I make without some sort of fresh product in it. And my real question is for people who shop less and buy more, do you do this because you save money? And how are you saving money? Because you buy in bulk? Please, someone explain this to me!

11 Months

Weight: 20 lbs, 3 oz

Accomplishments:

held the phone up to his ear
dancing
standing not holding on to anything
waving
walking
7 teeth

It feels like every month (or really, everyday) I find myself saying or thinking, IT GOES BY SO FREAKING FAST! Not so long ago, I held a baby in my arms who didn't do much besides eating, sleeping and pooping. Little by little, he has begun to learn. And each step along the way, I have gotten more and more excited about the person he has become.

I find myself spending countless hours clapping just to see him clap, putting him in the window to watch him get excited when he sees Ian coming home from work. Getting joy out of watching him bang on the toilet cover. All of it brings me great joy.

I love listening to Connor babble. He does it in the car, while we are walking, at home, everywhere. And I think he is actually starting to understand the difference between "mama" and "dada". At least, I notice him using them correctly when one or the other of us is playing or holding him. And I must say, it is a nice change from hearing "dada" all the time! Sorry Ian.

After having a set back last month with his weight, Connor is back on track for the 25th percentile. Unfortunately, when I used to hear the doctor positively say that he will "grow out" of his reflux, they were definitely less than optimistic when I went in last week. But I am optimistic about how happy Connor is, even if my carpeting is covered in stains! And I also know that whether medical intervention is required or not, things will work out and my boy will be (and is) healthy.

YUMMY!

While strolling around town yesterday, I saw an adorable cafe that caught my eye. I made Ian walk over to it with me to check it out. The closer I got, the more adorable it looked. So, we went in.

At the counter, our eyes came across some scrumptious looking carrot cake. We ordered a piece to split. OH-SO-GOOD! The cake part was so most and delicious. And the frosting, not too sweet, just perfect. We ended up getting a second piece to split. Seriously. It was just that good. And it has been occupying my mind ever since.

I think I will be headed back there this week for some more carrot cake goodness!

Stuck in a Rut

Do you ever feel like you are stuck in a rut? I am deeply entrenched in a clothes rut. After wearing through my closet a few months back, I was excited to re-discover many great things in my closet. Problem is, I basically took some of those pieces and turned them into my new normal, my rut.

No matter what I do, I find myself wearing the same things over and over. I become obsessed with one pair of jeans in my closet and wear them day after day even though I have plenty of others. I put on the same coat for weeks…usually the once closest the front door. I wear the same shoes every day. So really, when you think about it, I only change my shirt every day! And even then, I am probably rotating through the same few shirts!

Its as if I am not motivated. I am. Well, I want to be. I just find something that works and stick with it, over and over and over again. Well, I also find something that is comfortable, easily washable and can get baby spit up & snot on it and still be fine.

I want to look like I try. I don’t want to look like I just rolled out of bed and chose the closest thing to me to throw on and leave the house. Maybe it’s time to wear through my closet again. Or maybe it is also time to move to some warmer weather where I don’t have to wear the same three sweaters over and over and always leave the house with a winter coat on!

P.S. Last night we went out baby free for the first time since July. We went to celebrate our friend’s birthday. In honor of the occasion, I got dressed up…strapless bra, jewelry and all. It felt great!