We heart Easter

Before we had a kid, Bryan and I used to switch off who would hide eggs each year and laugh as the other tried to find them. Then we would do our favorite tradition: chocolate for breakfast.

This year, our kid is old enough to get the concept of find the eggs (we hope), and we will try tomorrow. I'm debating whether Bradley should get to forgo his usual Cheerios and fruit breakfast...

It's been a good but crazy week. Bradley had his first awful tantrum, his first bloody face (running too fast on the sidewalk), and Bryan skipped work yesterday to hang out and play.

I've been a little under the weather this week, and I've enjoyed the extra help from Bryan. We even made Mac and cheese for dinner last night...rebels!!

I lost 15 pounds. I'm impressed with myself. All it took was 3.5 months at the gym 4 days a week for an hour and eating right. It has actually had a positive effect on our bank account because we don't/can't eat out and make healthy choices. I am only 5 pounds away from what I was before I had Bradley. While it took me much longer than most moms to lose the weight, I'm proud that I finally have! Bring on the shorts and tiny dresses and bathing suits, baby!

So today, we've started a new Easter tradition, for the Saturday before to go to breakfast with our friends-turned-family Isaac and Julia and their kid. Tomorrow, we will go to the best brunch place in the morning and come home to find eggs (or vice versa). 

For us and our odd perspective on the world sans religion, Easter is a beautiful reminder of spring, fertility, dress season and chocolate. Bring it on! Happy Easter!

Bits about Bradley

He is quick to laugh. Sometimes, like today, I said, "Oh yea!" and he just lost it like it was the best joke ever. Or in the car, Bryan made a good joke and we high fived and Bradley thought that was hilarious. So we high fived, listened to him crack up, high five, laughed. His laugh is adorable and we can't help ourselves.

He has always been attached especially to me, and lately, he's become a serious sidekick. Mama everything and like a puppy, follows me almost everywhere. 

After months of not using sign language, Bradley started back up. He signs milk, all done, help, and more whole speaking them. It's interesting that he started without anyone signing to him. It's like he remembered he could sign. It's cute because they are slightly off, but they are surprisingly close.

I wish Bradley ate everything we put in front of him, but he doesn't. He will eat any fruit, bread, cracker, bacon/salami, French fry, cucumber, rice, hot dog, pasta, peanut butter and obviously chocolate/ice cream. 

He's EXTREMELY sensitive (mostly dramatic) if anything he eats is remotely spicy. I am talking crocodile tears, tongue out, wiping tongue with both hands while weeping "Picey!!" It's so sad when it happens (I may or may not have accidentally given him a chile pepper straight on his tongue). Buuuuuuuuut 9 times out of 10, it is not spicy at all. Sometimes it is plain bread that he just doesn't want to eat. 

We watched Frozen (like everyone else in the world) and there is a part (SPOILER ALERT), a really quick scene, where a boat is out to sea and then a wave crashes over it and you don't see the boat anymore. Bradley always speaks up during this part, saying "Boat! Boat" and then, every time, "All gone." When the wave pulls the boat underwater. I don't think he fully understands the scene, but I was surprised at his ability to understand what he saw and then speak what he's thinking. 

He's a weird kid. Sometimes he has OCD tendencies. We visited a museum where they had lots of pretend ears of corn. There were several baskets with maybe 10 corn cobs in them. Bradley would take them all out and line them up on the floor, side to side. Bryan would mess with his line whenever he turned around, and Bradley would fix it. Every. Time.

He figured out how to knock on doors this weekend. He just walked up to a door and knocked on it. Out of nowhere and then said Hoo Hoo. It took me a bit, but he's referencing Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can You? 

This kid is happy to be traveling, and is usually pretty good. But man, he's probably the most happy to be home out of all of us. Crossing my fingers for him to be so so happy that he sleeps in!

Bubbles!!

Random moments

Tying shoes, fluffing pillows, prepping dinners, prepping lunch, prepping breakfasts, driving, helping.

"Gimme some fucking fried rice."

"If you eat my tiramisu, I will literally kill you. Or smack your face."

I'm so ready for peace. This week has been weird. Good, but really weird.

Today.

Today could be another six sentence story if only I would allow myself time to process. 

Hit the reset button.

It's Monday after spring break. Before spring break, it was a Vegas trip and before Vegas, a bachelorette weekend. It has been an amazing two and a half weeks.

But, it's real life again. It's mopping the bathrooms and the kitchen. It's working out in the gym until child watch texts that your kid has a dirty diaper. It's scavenging the pantry to save on the grocery bills. It's folding up heavy sweaters and fleece tights and long socks and putting them away until fall. It's correcting Bradley when he yanks on the blinds for the hundredth time.

Literally, everything is being reset: our diets, our fitness, our budget, our schedule, and even the season.

I love finding chapters in my life. This is the start of a new chapter, definitely. The last one ended with a bang.

This last few months, we visited friends and performed at a comedy festival, saw Bryan's parents. I flew to Florida to celebrate one of my best friends' future marriage in one of the best bachelorette parties.

Days later, I flew to meet Bryan in Vegas (sans baby) to drink, gamble, see shows, love and enjoy the city with Bryan.

Then, Bryan had a week off work and we spent most days sleeping in (thank goodness for the growth spurt, Bradley slept in to 8:30!!!). We got takeout and watched movies and took naps and played games and drank some more.

It was fabulous!

But our pants are tighter, our bank accounts smaller, our house messier, our energy recuperated. We are ready to reset. 

Today, I handled Operation Clean House. Tomorrow will be Taxes. Wednesday will be meal planning. We had a big budget discussion, and we are cutting back all spending. 

We have literally nothing but gymnastics on the calendar. No trips, no birthdays, nothing right now. It's the time for us to save money, eat better, be more active and be more at home, enjoying time where we are. 

Peace.

My day has been ordinary but wonderful. I'm sitting, relaxed, freshly showered while my dishwasher runs, the reds are in the washer, my king cake is rising, my husband and baby are both asleep (2.5 hr and counting), my floors are freshly swept and mopped, and then it started snowing tiny little flakes outside.

I am happy. Things aren't perfect or extraordinary, but I am at peace. This is the good life, a calm chapter in my life right now.

Putting down roots. And eating root vegetables.

I probably sound like I am repeating myself, but we love it here. And it's the dead of winter and we haven't met many people or gone to Chicago.

We are laying down roots, setting our family rhythm and finding our normal in this new place.

This weekend, I instituted a family Sunday where we dress up, hit Target (returning a bento box lunchbox that I brought for Bryan but he said it was lame) when target was so quiet! Then we went downtown champaign for brunch (my favorite meal!). We even parked on the street and walked to the place. It was so city. Let me just say, that was cool.

Brunch was amazing, and we need to go back for lunch or dinner sometime to see if those are also amazing. Then we came home for naps (all of us slept!), Bryan went to the office while Bradley and I played until dinner. Bradley picked 101 Dalmatians (my childhood favorite) and I got started chopping veggies for soup.

Side note: 

We had an amazing weekend in North Carolina. It was fun and full of drinks and food that was buttery and valentines day chocolate and airport snacks. This past week, we ate half healthy, half not so great. So this week, THIS WEEK, we go healthy.

I have a big thing of salad, three lunch portions of chicken soup, grapes, blackberries, pears, apples, cucumbers, grape tomatoes, and homemade bread (made a whole loaf with only 2 cups of flour instead of the typical 4-6 cups thanks to a secret ingredient). I can do this!

I am also working hardcore with my trainer again. I got lazy and did less and less with him. Not anymore! I'm three weeks away from a bachelorette party of one of my best friends and four weeks from a Vegas weekend (Ahhh!). 

This is my time. This is my crunch time, so here we go. Current stats: lowest weight was -8 pounds, currently at -6 from starting weight. My goal is -28. I will take any amount of - pounds.

Soooooo excuse me while I do a plank on the floor. 

Life at home after a comedy festival

We just returned from a comedy festival. It's kind of a non-negotiable trip for me and Bryan. We just love it. We went all through college, in Philly, in Oklahoma and through pregnancy and baby. Of course, we took Bradley.

I love travel. I remember my first plane ride at 7 or 8 when we flew to my uncles wedding, and I was hooked. I flew home and back from college. I had a job where international travel was my job. And our families have always lived too far to drive for holidays and trips.

Bradley has been on too many flights for me to count. I stopped counting at 50 flights which was last summer. 

So for this trip, since Bryan had a new job and Thursday classes, I flew alone with my toddler, got the rental car, checked into the hotel and attended shows with my toddler.

My mind is blown and my heart is happy. We had a fantastic weekend of seeing shows, hanging out with friends, doing a (KICKASS) show as our duo Red Letters,

and seeing Bryan's parents (who live only 4 hours away). 

Also, we got our pictures taken at the festival and I took all three and made this. Love it!

You win some, you lose some...in public

Sometimes my kid is really good in public at dinner. I love taking him because I love going with Bryan.

(Old picture, but we had a great dinner that night, with a calm baby)

Tonight was not a good night for baby in public at a restaurant. 

As soon as we were seated, Bradley started hollering to anyone within fifty yards "Milk! Milk!" No amount of shushing could stop this.

In hindsight, this is where we should have decided hmmm maybe let's just go home.

But we stayed and ordered the mother effing milk. We gave Bradley a choice between hot dog, burger or chicken. Hot dog. Of course.

We wait and he happily is sucking on ice (classy) and drinking milk. We are actually enjoying an adult conversation with a well behaved toddler.

Until the food comes. Bradley doesn't want his hot dog. He wants French fries. But Bryan and I aren't giving in. "Eat some hot dog and then you get fries," we explain.

Commence screaming.

Omg. My kid has never done this. It was soooooo embarrassing! 

Screaming.

In a moment of stress, I offer him a French fry to stop the screaming. It works.

Then he grabs his milk, and instead of sipping through the straw, he tips yr cup back and spills milk all over himself! 

More screaming. Because: wet pants.

I'm so frustrated and Bryan's ready to leave. Bryan grabs Bradley and takes him to the car and returns with a pacifier and a calm, milk-soaked baby.

We get te check and get the hell out of there. Good lord! Whyyyyyy?! Toddler tantrums are the worst.

For the record, that was the best hot dog I've ever had.