our week by iPhone - week 62

holy schmoly.

this week has been nutso my friends.  nutso.  and it continues to be.  let me start off by saying that snowmageddon?  was real.  it was ruthless & took the pacific northwest by storm... fer reals.  we lost power at our house thursday morning & as of this moment on sunday morning there's still no power at our house.  it's awesome you guys.  awesome.

ok not really that awesome.

but actually we are so lucky.  we've been staying at sam's sister's place since thursday night & have been made to feel totally at home & are probably gonna be here til our electricity gets fixed {which isn't estimated to happen til tuesday!}.  i'm just so grateful we have a warm place to call our home-away-from-home!

so here's what our week looked like:

monday morning we woke up to a blanket of snow & spent most the morning watching more come down.  we played inside & snuggled until we finally got our teeth brushed & headed out in the snow to get some provisions.  parker reallllly thought he needed some cool big boy toy story underwears.  some day p-ray... some day.

tuesday.  snow continued to fall most the day so i bundled us up for some good ol fashioned snow-play.  parker had to spend some time recovering on the couch before heading out again for more provisions.  it's a tough life that kid has.

i took a quick snapshot of the snow tuesday night before bed as it started to come down in sheets as predicted.  i still never expected to wake up to as much snow as we did wednesday morning.

wednesday morning we woke up to thirteen inches of snow.  that's a lot for the pacific northwest you guys.  we're not well equipped for that much snow & it basically shuts cities down.  sam worked from home & p-ray & i did a good job of letting him be productive by playing puzzles & staying busy with other indoor shenanigans.

after sam finished his work, he spent about an hour shoveling our driveway so we could get out & stock up on necessities.  like pizza fixins & chocolate milk.  just the essentials.

the roads were horrrrible & not even the interstate was plowed.  we managed to get to the store & back in our two-wheel drive sedan but not without a shovel & some de-icer in the trunk just in case.

thursday.  this is when it got really crazy.  our power went out at about 7:00 am & we spent most the morning in our cold house listening to branches crash down due to the weight of their ice & snow covered branches.  it for reals sounded like gun shots & made me jump every time.

we ended up heading over to our good friends' tim & lindsey's for most the day since they were one of the few lucky ones in town with power.  parker & their little girl spent the day playing {he was SO excited to finally have another kid to play with for the first time all week}, sam got some work done & the rest of us watched movies & enjoyed the warmth.

so then, after finding out that most hotels in the area were without power & not wanting to not drive all the way to portland to sam's sister's place in the crazy weather, we headed home to get stuff to stay the night at tim & lindsey's.  we were stopped by a huge tree in the road on our way home & realized just how bad things were.    power lines were flung about the streets like litter & trees were snapped left & right like twigs.  it was unlike anything we'd ever seen.

we grabbed enough stuff from our house to last us a few days & headed back to tim & lindsey's only to have the power go out five minutes after we got there.  awesome.

we made the trek down to portland & have been here ever since.

friday.  sam spent a good chunk of the day getting some work done but somehow found the time for wrestle breaks.  parker relaxed by snuggling with his blanket & baby & then later begged us for a bunny at the pet store.  ok maybe he wasn't really begging but i'm pretty sure he needs one.

that was our crazy week!  how was yours?  i wanna see, so link up!

Game Rules:
1.  your pictures have to be taken by your camera phone. that's it!  you don't even have to have a picture for every day.  got one camera phone pic of something fun from this week?  link up!

2.  if you want to grab the code below & put it in your post to have the linky with all the thumbnails show up on your blog do it.

and please post a link to my blog so others can come here to grab the code, too.
the more kids who come out to play, the more fun it will be, right?

Grab the code here:

<script src="http://www.linkytools.com/thumbnail_linky_include.aspx?id=126686" type="text/javascript"></script>

...and get on the linky here:

let me tell ya bout my best friend.

i don't think sam gets enough face time on this blog.  and i think that's exactly the way he'd have it.  but this post is necessary... this is p-ray's baby book after all.

first, i need to get this out there:  i have never, EVER heard sam complain about parker.  not once.  he's never complained about changing a diaper, he's never complained about fussiness, & he never tries to get out of any dad duties.  ever.  period.

sam almost always gets up with parker on the weekends.  and this last weekend?  i pretty much got the whole thing off.  while i spent the day at a bridal shower with girlfriends, parker & sam hung out at home & even went grocery shopping.  sam may or may not have locked parker in the car {that's another story}, but i won't hold that against him.

and after he spent a whole day playing "mr. mom," i kinda expected him to give me a hard time about staying out late & to start talking about how gross parker's four poopy diapers were that day {i mean freak, i would have}.  nope.  when i came home he showed me all the groceries they bought & how he was gonna make crepes in the morning.  no, seriously.  he had genuinely enjoyed his day with p-ray & didn't have a single complaint.

parker & sam are genuinely best friends.  a little switch inside of parker flips when sam gets home every day & parker fuh-reaks out.  i try to wrestle with him during the day, but it's not the same.  i just don't have the dad factor i guess.  and i'm ok with that.

i don't say this to brag, i say this because someday i want parker to look back & see how involved his dad has been since day one.  this is just the way it is.  i'm pretty sure to sam, the sun rises & sets on that little boy.  i'm pretty sure that will never change.

and i'm pretty sure my best friend has a new best friend.  and i'm ok with that too.


also?  i'm pretty sure i'm ok with your votes.  yup, definitely.

we're home!

after fourteen hours of traveling, we made it back home last night.  that's the good news.  the bad news is that i've been super sick today.  boo!!  luckily parker doesn't seem affected {thank you flu vaccine?} and sam has been taking good care of me.  like, making-me-drink-orange-juice-like-it's-my-job care of me.

being sick sucks.  swallowing is super painful, i have a fever of 103+, i go between shaking with chills to ripping off clothes because i'm sweating, there's a constant ring in my ears, & my head feels like i was smacked with a two by four.  poor me!  at least i'm not nauseas, right?

someday life will resume as normal around here, i promise.  in the meantime, here are a few pics from our road trip.  parker was a rockstar.  when he wasn't sleeping he was sitting in the back singing to himself & playing with toys.  he has morphed into such a little boy these last few weeks & we've been having so much fun with him.  it is such an amazing privilege to get to spend my days with him & i am so lucky to be his mama.

and this last picture is just to remind me of a time when i wasn't sick.  those were the days.

i may be sick but your votes make me feel better.  really, they do!

spring fever + parker's got talent

it was a gorgeous day here in the pnw.  the kind where you look out the window & say "...ooooh, the sun is out & i'm gonna rock some flip flops."  and then you put them on, go outside, & your toes want to fall off.  because it's barely forty degrees out & you were totally deceived by that strange bright thing in the sky since it rarely comes out around here this time of year.

but when it does, you gotta take advantage... even if it means frozen toes.

i headed outside in search of something blooming & pretty to take pictures of.  the closest thing i found was some fake flowers inside my house.  but aren't they pretty?  i posted bigger, prettier shots of these happy flowers on my photo blog.  and yes, they are happy.  i know this because i can't look at them without feeling good about life.  it's true.

anywho, parker has been doing some pretty hilarious things lately.  he's totally discovered his tongue & some of its talents.  i mean, he's always blown raspberries but now he's taking it up a notch.  we're talking noises that would make a whoopee cushion blush. loud, juicy, wet ones.  oh yeah, you know the ones.

this kid cracks me up.  every day he is funnier than the last & i can't wait to see what he does tomorrow.  i am so lucky to get to be his mama.


also? i'm so lucky to get your votes. i really do love them.

paparazzi & some mom stuff

so on christmas eve sam & i decided to start our christmas shopping {yes, s.t.a.r.t. our shopping.  oops}.  first stop?  cabela's.  only because we had a cabela's giftcard burning a hole in our pocket from forever ago & decided to see if there was anything we could put it to use on for parker.  like ya know, a gun, some ammo, or a bow & arrow.  joking.  we were looking for a new coat & thought we might get lucky.  we didn't, so sam bought some under armour.

anywho, i played paparazzi & followed them through the store.  i thought p-ray might be impressed with all the stuffed animals but apparently it wasn't his thang.

but you know what he did get excited about that day?  yelling his lungs out through a tube of gift wrap at target.  i'm sure all the other shoppers thought it was as hilarious as i did when he was laughing hysterically & screaming from the sound of his own voice amplified through three feet of gift wrap.

people without kids love that sort of thing, right?

and while we're on the topic of what people with no kids think, can i just say i have totally turned into "that mom"?  ya know, the one you swore you wouldn't be.  the one that plans her day around nap time, who is lucky to have at least put mascara on that day, who finds herself tripping over toys in an unkept house, while complaining about laundry & making up lyrics to her kid's toys' songs?

and if you don't have kids & you're reading this right now & you don't think you'll be that mom... you're wrong.  you will be. {well,  unless you're a guy}

the thing is, i'm also that mom who thinks she has the coolest, funniest, cutest, smartest, most advanced kid in the whole world.  and i wouldn't trade any of it for a second.

and you know what?  i compensate for all those other things, too.  life isn't bad. at all.  i find excuses to occasionally get dressed up, my house might not be in perfect order every day but i usually stay on top of things, sam helps me with the laundry, & parker may hear "twinkle twinkle little star" one hundred times a day, but he also listens to death cab for cutie, elliot smith, coldplay, band of horses, arcade fire, & bright eyes with me.

turns out there is nothing wrong with being "that mom".

and?  i looooove nap time.  there is nothing wrong with needing to be home for nap time, either.  don't know why?  you'll find out when you're a mom.


and? i looooooove your votes. always have, always will.

wordless{ish} wednesday: not mom of the year.

before ya'll start thinking those "no wonder your kid is sick" thoughts, i did wipe down the handle with a clorox wipe upon entering the store.  that makes this not so bad, right?  RIGHT?


please vote. for the sake of us "sometimes-less-than-perfect" moms. thank you.
also, i'm linking up with the paper mama,  a beautiful mess & on cloud nine because this photo secretly makes me smile. oops.

wordless{ish} wednesday: photobooth fun

at {almost} seven months, this little boy is so. much. fun.

he's a giggler, a thumb-sucker, a crawler scooter, a babbler, & a cuddler.  he's in such a fun stage that i told sam yesterday i'd be ok if he stayed this age forever.  he is incapable of doing anything intentionally bad, he can self entertain with his toys around him for a pretty decent amount of time, he gets so excited when he sees us, & everyday he is doing something new.

so this is why people have kids, huh?


your votes are pretty fun, too.  they make me a happy, happy girl.

on having another + {sponsor spotlight}

i swore it would never happen.  in between contractions while walking the halls of the hospital, i distinctly remember telling sam "i am never doing this again. EVER."  while caring for my newborn, i sometimes wondered how moms of multiple kids kept their sanity & figured i was destined to be a mother of one.

but somewhere between p-ray's birth & his {almost} seven month birthday, it has happened.  i can actually-kinda-maybe-sorta think about seeing myself have another baby.

i see girls with cute belly bumps & my heart beats a little faster.  i watch parker interact with other kids & imagine a house full of baby laughter.  i pack up his newborn clothes & get misty eyed wondering if they'll get put to use again some day.

this isn't a post to say we're trying.  oh h-e-double-hockey-stick no.  we are not trying.  now is not the time.

but maybe someday.  that's all.

________________________________________________________________

sponsor love.

i am so excited to introduce our newest sponsor, turtle & rye!  after the holidays, we'll be hosting a giveaway from turtle & rye, as well as learning a lot more about kim {the talented mastermind behind the animals} & her amazing story of how she got started.  but for now i would love for ya'll to go check out this super cute etsy shop full of handmade sock monkeys, giraffes, dogs, zebras, & whatever else your heart may desire, because she does custom animals too!

AND, kim is offering 25% off to our readers on black friday when you use checkout code "turtlefriday".  that's 25% off everything in the shop - even custom orders - this friday.

{just in time for christmas}

check it out, & expect more good things to come from turtle & rye in the dang near future.


your votes are always a good thing & i love ya for it.  no really, i do.  no. really.

steppin' out saturday {& sunday} + our second first date

it had been six months since sam & i had been out on a date without parker.  ya know, alone.  at a big kid restaurant.  and by "big kid" restaurant i mean one that doesn't even have high chairs available & you drink your water from a stemmed glass. 

that changed this weekend & it was a blast.

parker picked out his favorite toys & headed to the sitter's {thank you heather & isaiah!} & i got my hair all fancied up & curly.  sam even wore a collared shirt... on a weekend!  big deal.

we dropped parker off & headed to our favorite local restaurant. mmmmm, lemongrass. the best thai food this side of thailand.  the lights are dim, the tables are small, & the singapore noodles are uh-mazing. oh, & the seven flavor beef.  and the crab cream cheese wontons.  i digress.

we enjoyed lots of adult conversation {read: no talk of diapers, spit up, or sleep training}, ordered spicy food, & took our time.  this is gonna have to become a regular thing. 



since this is a "steppin' out" post i attempted to take a picture of my outfit.  and for the record, i am obsessed with this new vintage style sweater from forever 21.  i {love} it.

do ya remember two weeks ago when i liked my saturday night outfit so much that i recycled it on sunday to church with a skirt?  you know, same outfit, different group of people?  yeah, repeat this week.  i just don't have it in me to come up with two cute outfits in one week.  maybe i'll build up to that.  for now, i'm lazy.

parker

collared shirt - baby gap

navy dress pants - old navy

shoes - old navy

amy

sweater - forever 21

shirt - thrifted

jeans {saturday} - nordstrom

skirt {sunday} - old navy

boots - macy's

necklace - nordstrom {brass plum}

purse - thrifted {kenneth cole}

if you have no idea what i'm talking about with all this "steppin out" talk, you should hit the badge to the left & head on over to check out mandy's blog at "harper's happenings" where moms all around the blogosphere have linked up to share their weekend's activities & their style.  i am LOVING these posts.  it is so fun to put a little more effort into what ya where & to see what other moms out there are wearing & what they're doing.

and with that, i am off to go play with my little family & enjoy a lazy sunday!  



care to spare a click {or two}? your votes keep us ranked & i love ya for it!

"breastfeeding is so convenient" ...really?

something you often hear when people find out you breastfeed your baby is, "oooh, isn't it wonderful? it's so convenient!"  i have now exclusively breastfed parker without supplementing for six months & one word i would not choose to describe my breastfeeding experience is "convenient."

i am very grateful that i've been able to nurse parker for this long.  i know i'm lucky to have been able to provide enough milk to fill those chubby cheeks & grow those pinch-able arm & leg rolls.  it's pretty cool to see my body produce something that my baby can live off of all on its own, but it has not been easy. it's been a battle.  a sometimes sleepless, sometimes painful, sometimes time consuming, & sometimes inconvenient battle.  there's nothing convenient about pulling your shirt up & fighting an awkward cover in a restaurant booth to quiet your crying child while simultaneously trying not to flash onlookers {trust me, there's always onlookers}.  there's nothing convenient about having to stop & nurse for twenty minutes when you are trying to dash out the door to get somewhere on time.  there's nothing convenient about being the only person who gets up with the baby in the middle of the night when he's hungry because, well, your husband just doesn't have the required equipment to take care of it.

and, when parker was about two months old, we got thrush.  oh. my. gawsh. the pain.  we dealt with that for two weeks & i nursed through blood, sweat, & tears.  literally.  that was not convenient.

and while going through all that, sam often asked me why i didn't just wean & start parker on formula.  to be honest, i really don't know.  i just always figured i would breastfeed, & so i did.  seriously.  i'm not someone who will side-eye a person when i hear your baby is formula fed... i really couldn't care less.  i hate that there is so much hostility between breast feeders & formula feeders & that you often hear arguments by one that it is better than the other.  everyone chooses what they do based on their own & their baby's best interests, their abilities, & their personal situations.  seriously none of my business.

for me, breast was best and i'm glad.  i'm glad that i was able to set a goal & achieve it.  i wasn't one of those people who just breezed through six months of nursing while loving every minute of it.  it was freaking hard.

but now that we've reached six months, the minimum amount of time i had hoped to exclusively nurse for, i am wondering... are we done?  after six months of hard, grueling nursing, and spending lots & lots of time thinking about how nice it would be to be able to just shake up a bottle & let p-ray go to town on his own while i continued to go about my day, i'm wondering... can i quit now?  and to be honest, i don't think i can.

for those fifteen minutes, five times a day... it's just parker & mom.  it's our time.  it's the time i hold my little boy in my arms, away from anyone else (usually), & we bond.  it's really amazing.  he still wraps his little hand around my thumb while he nurses & i still hold his little head in my hand.  i seriously get teary eyed just thinking about losing that time with him.

so yeah, the day will come when we'll wean.  someday i will totally & completely get my body back to myself one-hundred percent.  there will be a time when i won't have to lock myself in the nursing mothers room at work to pump two times a day for twenty minutes, or when i won't have to fight parker to keep a cover over us for decency's sake while nursing in public.  my life will become a little more convenient.  but i now realize that this inconvenience has been totally & completely worth it.  that it's just another one of those worthwhile sacrifices you make as a parent for the sake of your kid.

so, here's to a few more months of being pleasantly inconvenienced.


guess what is totally not inconvenient? voting for us. two clicks & you're done. wasn't that easy?

parker rules & some other messed up stuff

when i was pregnant, i swore i wasn't gonna be one of those people who let having a kid slow them down.  i was gonna do a triathlon in august & we were gonna go to australia around new years.  although i think we do a pretty good job of still being on-the-go types, i am realizing now i was a bit naive.  go figger. 

this summer's triathlon didn't even make it on the calendar & now i'm wondering why i even thought we might want to attempt a fourteen hour flight down under with an eight month old. 

but having a kid isn't all about your life ending.  or not getting to do cool things like triathlons or traveling.  you just learn to adjust, adapt, & be flexible.  and yeah, maybe a few things get put on hold for a while, but it's a small price to pay.  totally worth it.  totes.

today was one of those days where that reality of my life isn't really just my life anymore set in a bit.  i had my day planned out the minute i woke up.  11:00 - go to gym, 12:00 - lunch with a friend, 1:00 - visit work friends, 2:00 - errands, 3:00 - go home, parker naps & amy blogs.  parker wasn't having it.  by 10:45, my day was completely rearranged & plans were shuffled all around.  a baby who really needed to take a nap in his own crib & not while being toted around by his mama was snoring away in the nursery.  that's just the way it goes.

and you know what?  that's ok.  i can adjust, adapt, & be flexible.  but that doesn't mean i'm gonna stop doing things either.  that triathlon will just have to wait til next summer, & our trip to australia has now morphed into a four hour flight to hawaii.  i think we can handle that.

and now, for some messed up stuff.

you guys.  you guys.  i joined twitter.  WHAT?  i know.  i never use caps & there i just did.  this is serious!  i have never understood what the big deal was with twitter, twittering, tweets, & tweeting.  what is the deal with all those @'s and #'s and why does it always look like everyone is just talking to themselves?  and really, i still don't get it.  but i'm trying.  but i have virtually no followers so i kinda feel like all this great tweeting material is getting wasted in space {or, just my new live tweet feed on my sidebar}. 

oh, & ya know how i said i have virtually no followers?  i actually have four.  two are spam, i'm pretty sure & the other two are both mandy from harper's happenings {technically one is kidlet, her newest venture}.  thank you mandy for taking me under your tweeting wing & having mercy on a newbie. 

so, if you're a twittering fool puh-lease add me so i'm no longer tweeting into no man's land!  i would love to get to know ya'll.  find me at:

@amy_agoodlife

wanna know something else messed up?  today i saw a hitch hiker wearing a top hat.  i really wanted to pick him up because i thought he might be an illusionist.  parker gave me the side eye & then i thought i'd better not, but ooooh the blog post that experience might have made.  or it coulda been the end of this blogger.

we'll never know.


i do know that i love your votes.  we're in the forties now & still climbing.  huzzah!