The Small Moments

Milo has been whining nearly non-stop all day. I'm pretty sure he's teething, like one does before a big trip. Seriously... It was a rough day. It's been a rough couple of days. I'm stressed and nervous for the flight/rest of the trip, I'm tired of listening to so much whining all day, and I wish Sean could be home more often so things can be easier.

But that's not how it works. And I'm here rocking a kid back to sleep after not letting me put him down twice already.

The thing is, I love rocking him when he's asleep. It's the only time he will ever cuddle on me and I love it. I am wishing, though, that I could go to bed. And as much fun as it seems to co-sleep, I am such a light sleeper and I just don't want to deal with all that.

Right now, Milo has his arms out on either side of me, his head down and asleep on my chest, and the rest of him cuddled up under his baseball blanket in his monster jammies. It's adorable and I wish I could take a picture.

There was one time today where I made Sean take out the dogs and the boy do I could get dinner started uninterrupted. It was magical besides that I had to touch gross raw chicken.

Anyway, what I'm saying is that every time I want to start freaking out or moving forward with things, I need to be better at remembering to breathe in the small moments surrounding the big things. That's where the best memories are made.

I'm going to go ahead and attempt to put him down again because my back is aching. Wish me luck.

Miss Ellen

HAPPY 1ST BIRTHDAY, MILO!

Today, Milo turned 1. My little boy is almost not even a baby anymore!! I'm so excited and so sad. Watching babies grow up is incredibly bittersweet.

Milo LOVES:

• Playing with absolutely anything
• Avocados and baby cheetos
• Reading stories
• Going places
• Paw Patrol, Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood, Doc McStuffins, Dinosaur Train
• His stuffed animals 
• Mom, Dad, and Strider
• When Dad comes home

Milo HATES:

• Staying up too far past his bedtime
• Leafy greens (vegetables are usually okay, though)
• Having his face wiped/nose blown
• Sitting in his high chair after he's done eating

Here are some pictures our friend took for us! 

 

ISN'T SHE SO GOOD??! I'm obsessed with these pictures. 

Anyway, I'm going to get back to celebrating. 

Love, Ellen

The Up and Down days

It's commonly known that being a SAHM has good days and bad days. There's days where your house is clean and the kids get along and it's great, and there's days where there's nothing but whiny kids and a constant mess.

I don't know about other moms, but my days are more often full of highs and lows rather than an entire good day or bad. For example, here was my day today:

I woke up at a reasonable time (7:15) to Milo waking up. I got us up, baked bran muffins for breakfast, and then we played for a bit. I made a menu for the next 2 weeks and figured out a list of things we'll need. Then I got Milo and myself dressed and we went shopping. In the baby section, I helped a lady buy things last minute for her daughter whose water broke with her 4th kid after they moved here recently from Chicago. Then I helped get a half gallon of milk for a wheelchair-bound woman. I checked out, got home, put away groceries and got Milo down for a nap. I unloaded the dishwasher, showered, and took a little personal time. When Milo woke up, I made lunch and we played a little more.

And somehow from there it spiraled and now I'm in a state of exhaustion. That doesn't seem like too much to me, but all plans of going swimming or taking the dog on a real walk or anything flew out the window and now I'm lying in bed typing this on my phone. I don't know whether or not Milo ever fell asleep, the tv is still on downstairs, and the dishes from lunch are still on the table. I've been kicked in the head, screamed at, and hit in the face with a plastic baseball bat (while talking on the phone), and I'm soooooooo ready for Sean to be home already. And I know he's exhausted too, which makes me feel even worse that there's leftovers still on the counter from days ago and I'm probably just going to nap.

And the problem doesn't even stop there. I have a serious phone addiction and it really puts a toll on my emotions when tragedy strikes, which has seemed nonstop lately. I want to stand up and fight for justice and peace and equality and there are so many worthy causes, but if I'm beat by 2 pm (and often a lot earlier) with a 1 year old, how am I supposed to be able to handle activism on top of that?

Some days start out with me knowing the day is going to suck and then somehow magically things get turned around and it ends pretty well, so that's fine, but all of this roller-coastering is making my head spin and my need for a nap even greater.

I guess what I'm trying to say is I probably need to get off my phone.

Anyway.
Thanks
Love, Miss Ellen