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Five on Friday: The One with Noah’s First Chiropractic Appointment

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5 on Friday ~ Plumfield Dreams

  1. I got new glasses this week. I love ’em. My sister described them as “nerdy chic”, which I think is apt. They’re adorable and they’re turquoise, and I feel more like myself when I wear them. Also, they make my hazel eyes look perpetually green, which is an interesting side effect I hadn’t considered.

    I do not like this picture of me, but you can see the glasses and the cute appendage that is always attached to my hip, so I decided to go with it. Also, because I am HORRIBLE at taking selfies. I need to take a class or something.

    I do not like this picture of me, but you can see the glasses and the cute appendage that is always attached to my hip, so I decided to go with it. Also, because I am HORRIBLE at taking selfies. I need to take a class or something.

  2. We had a lovely Father’s Day, spending time with both Andy’s and my fathers. We got to feed my family, which you know I love. And then we spent the evening just hanging out with Andy’s parents. The kids and I got Andy two tickets to Alton Brown Live!, which is the best Father’s Day gift I have ever given myself. šŸ˜‰
  3. I just got this little beauty. I think it’s really going to help me as I start really working on getting myself back in shape. I’ve even worked out – get this – two days in a row! Which really is remarkable, and I don’t like that I’ve gotten to a point where that’s an announcement. But I really have, and I’m determined to change that now that Noah is more independent.
  4. I took Noah to the chiropractor this morning. I went myself on Monday and mentioned that my back is tight because I have a fussy guy who doesn’t go to sleep easily, and my chiropractor said, “Have you thought about getting him adjusted?”. Huh. Duh. No, I had not thought of that, which is quite silly of me, because I believe in the power of chiropractic care. So, today we went, and Noah didn’t care for it one bit. It startled him, but he got over it quickly. Our chiropractor was excellent with him. He showed me that Noah’s left side is weaker than his right and gave me some tips for helping him strengthen it. Apparently he was pretty markedly out of alignment, so hopefully this will help.
  5. A new HelloMornings session started this week, and I am participating, as usual. The difference this time is that I am adding the exercise component, in addition to my usual Bible study and planning. I have high hopes! I’ll report on progress soon.

Five on Friday: The One with all the Parenting

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5 on Friday ~ Plumfield Dreams

  1. So, Wednesday night I let Aria get her very own iced latte at Starbucks. She’s never had her own coffee before, and she said, “That’s mine?! Thank you!” with awe in her voice. Unfortunately, as I handed it to her I realized I had been so consumed with figuring out if it was possible to get her an even smaller size (it wasn’t) that I forgot to order decaf. It didn’t cause us any behavioral problems that evening, though, because Aria is amazing like that. However, it did cause her to become very worked up about her blankets at bedtime, and then she started to get nervous about everything. For example, when I went in for the umpteenth time to check on her and discovered she needed a diaper change, she was afraid to lie on her changing pad because she said there was a cat up there. I don’t know why that would be scary, but it was. I felt badly for her. And, let’s be honest, for myself, because I wasn’t done working for the day. She finally wore out at about 10:45, thank goodness.
  2. Thursday she woke up at her usual time, and she was in trouble before she even got out of bed. That poor child. We had a rough day yesterday. We had visitors in the morning, and she was lovely, but then she started to MELT. DOWN. I have never been so happy to see bedtime come. So, we did our bedtime ritual, and I put her down like normal, and she was pleased to go in bed….and within 20 minutes she was upset and calling for me. I went in and determined the best thing for us was to go through our bedtime ritual again. So we did, and it was such a sweet time. Somehow her little attitude had reset, and she was engaged and snuggly. And then, when we got to the end of our routine, we had this exchange (shared from Facebook).

    Closing our nighttime ritual, I said to Aria, as I do most nights, “Time to go in bed now. Do you want to be carried like a big girl or a baby?” She leaned in close, looked deep into my eyes, and replied, “I want freedom.”

  3. Y’all, parenting is anĀ adventure. Also, we make most of our own problems. At least I know I do. I am learning a lot about myself through this whole parenting thing. For example, I’m learning that when Aria is just incapable of listening to me and the tension is mounting, I start to shut down. Apparently my coping mechanism is to emotionally withdraw so I don’t lose it. I don’t like that in myself.
  4. In other news, Noah has been teething. He has two molars coming in, and I think a couple other teeth, as well. He’s had some roughs night and days this week, as well. Today seems to be better all the way around. And, I think I finally have a strategy for approaching changing his sleep arrangement. I’m sure I”ll be updating you on that next week. I am really hoping it will be a good update, and not five paragraphs about how I’m exhausted, and I need a break, and the kids are miserable, and Noah’s just going to sleep in our bed until he moves out.
  5. We also have plans to start work on the inside of the house, feed various people we love, get family pictures (we’ve not done that yet at all), and go to the zoo, in the coming week. Isn’t that lovely?

Answer Me This ~ Edition One

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  1. What’s theĀ scariestĀ thing that’s ever been in your yard?
    I hate crickets and grasshoppers, and big, hairy spiders – they freak me out. I’ve dealt with all sorts of rodents, insects, and a few snakes in the lawns I mowed as a teenager. The more you interact with the less savory aspects of nature, the more you get used to them. Not too much bothers me these days.
  2. Beards. Thumbs up or thumbs down?
    Thumbs up. My hubby has a beard, and I like it.
  3. If stuff breaks, can you fix it?
    That depends on what it is. Yes, if I decided to fix something, I could fix it. I’m blessed that I don’t need to fix things I don’t readily know how to deal with – I’ve got a great support system to help me out, and we draw on each other’s strengths.
  4. What was your first car?
    Hmm…I first drove my mom’s Ford Aerostar. The first car in my possession was my then-boyfriend’s ’92 Mercury Sable. (I married the boyfriend, dumped the car.)
  5. How often do you eat out?
    An embarrassing amount, honestly. It depends on the week. We try to eat out one evening a week (well, we eat in, actually). I also get fast food for lunch after my staff meeting each week. But we often end up eating out more than that. If the week gets busy and I get overwhelmed, our menu plan is the first thing to go.
  6. Why is your hair like that?
    Because I am SO disinterested in my hair. It’s always been difficult to deal with, and I’ve never learned how to manage it well. With limited hours in the day, managing my extremely thick, textured hair is not a high priority. I’m still trying to find the easy hairstyle I like the best. Right now I’m growing it out.

5 on Friday: The One Where We’re Boring and Loving It

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5 on Friday ~ Plumfield Dreams

  1. Last weekend was lovely. Noah had a very rough night Friday, and I had to miss a rehearsal and then was a few minutes late to another. That was a bummer, and also embarrassing, since I had to walk into rehearsal in front of the entire Phil organization late. Anyway, things picked up after that. It was a busy Saturday, but the concert went off swimmingly. I don’t enjoy every performance in the moment, but that one I enjoyed thoroughly. I think everyone did – musicians, singers, conductor, directors, audience. It was really wonderful.
  2. Mother’s Day we did our typical thing most of the day – church and lunch with my family. My brother was home, and that’s always great. We spent the evening with Andy’s family. We were at his brother’s place in the country, and Aria loved it. She was still talking to me about it today, actually. “I went Kirby’s ‘n payed [played] on the swing ‘n had steak!” I loved the entire day.
  3. Noah hit ten months last week. He’s becoming increasingly independent. He pulls himself up to everything now, and is quite steady on his feet. This week he’s started trying to walk on his hands and feet, so he’s thisclose to walking on his own. He already moves along the furniture and follows walking toys around the house. His favorite foods so far are any and all fruit, asparagus, cat food, and bird poop. (What?) Yesterday we took him to get his first shoes – 4 1/2 extra-wide. We were told his feet may thin out as he gets older. Let’s hope so, ’cause otherwise we are going to drop some major dough on this kid’s feet over the years. Blessedly, Andy’s parents have enjoyed getting the kids’ shoes for them thus far.

    10 Months ~ Plumfield Dreams

    The kids didn’t have naps…these were the best pics I could get. You’ve been there, right? (See Noah’s new shoes? He doesn’t like them AT ALL.)

  4. Aria and Noah have started seeking one another out to play together. It isn’t the smoothest sailing, since they often don’t understand how the other wants to play. Also, they accidentally injure one another regularly. I feel as though I spend half my time refereeing, even though they are both usually trying to play nicely. Aria has a large vocabulary, and loves to talk and ask questions. She wants most of life narrated right now. There are a lot of other little areas where things have shifted significantly in the past few weeks. She’s moving rapidly out of the baby phase. That’s a little sad, but she’s becoming a lovely little girl, inside and out.
  5. This week we spent our first mornings out on the deck, soaking in the beautiful spring air. We’ve also had some serious rain, and some downright cold days/nights. It’s definitely springtime in Indiana. But, hey, summer is coming soon! (And then I’ll be whining about how hot it is…) If you’re a reader, you may want to check out Modern Mrs Darcy’s summer reading guide. Anne is one of my favorite book bloggers, and I trust her recommendations.