It's a cycle

A few weeks ago, I bought some amazing shoes. They are a beautiful light brown color, leather, with the perfect heel-height. And not uncomfortable.

Then I realized that other than jeans, I didn't have any pants to wear with them. My nice pants were black. Or a blue/black color. So I bought some nice brown pants. Almost a brown-gray, really, but they would work with the shoes.

Except the pants are only long enough to be worn with flats. And I don't have any brown flats.

So now I need both brown flats and brown pants that are long enough to wear with heels. Shopping FTW!

Mini-Vacation

Last Thursday Andrew and I celebrated our fourth wedding anniversary by going on a mini-vacation to Weston, MO. It was our first time to go away together since we became parents and my first night away from Milo.

And it all went really, really well. Of course I missed Milo and wondered what he was up to. How was his bath? Did he get a bedtime story? Did he wonder where we were? He was with his nana, my MIL, and I know he adores her. But still. Obviously no one can take care of him quite as well as his daddy and me.

Andrew and I had a great time. We desperately needed a night away from our daily grind. It's wearing, working all the time, constantly doing chores and being responsible for a tiny person's well-being. We didn't have the time or the funds for a huge trip, so a single night at a B&B it was. We've never really spent any time in Weston, so it was all new to us. We wandered into every single store, sampled the local wine and beer, had a couple of great meals, and watched about half of a dull video on Lewis and Clark. But mostly we just had fun being together.

Happy Anniversary to us!

We saw this shop: Old Geezer's Mantiques. I thought it would surely be the most awesome shop in the entire town, but turns out not so much. The smell in that place made me nauseous, literally. It smelled like incense and cigars and body odor and a moldy old basement, all rolled into one overcrowded space. Gross.

Exploring Weston made us T-I-R-E-D. We had to stop to rest at least five times in a two-block stretch of shopping. Perhaps we should have napped instead?

When we got back, Milo was not nearly as excited to see us as I hoped he would be. He was happy we were back, even though he didn't give me the huge grin and excited welcome that I had imagined. But who can blame him, when going home meant leaving Nana and Grandpa Mark?

(Side note: I'm still nursing Milo in the morning and before his bedtime, but when I'm away from him, he just goes to bed without any milk. So while we were gone, Milo didn't get anything to replace his breast milk snacks. But I took my pump in case I needed some relief. And, well, I did not. At all. In fact, I went about 36 hours between nursing sessions, and still felt like there wasn't really any milk in there. Crazy. Makes me wonder if Milo isn't nursing so much as just hanging out and being close. Perhaps complete weaning will come soon?)

All things considered...

My ten-year high school reunion is coming up in a couple weeks. I'm feeling a little anxious about it, in a purely superficial way. I have become sort of obsessed with making sure I look good that night. Not "good for having just had a baby." Just good, period. (UGH, pet peeve. I HATEHATEHATE it when people tell me I look good considering I just had a baby. That's like telling me I don't look quite as good as I used to, but hey, "A" for effort!!) I know it shouldn't matter that much. And to stress over it? It's illogical, really. But there it is.

I'm generally a fairly confident person, but there is something about socializing with a bunch of people I went to high school with that brings out all the old insecurities. It makes me nervous just thinking about it, and when I get nervous, I say stupid things and my face gets all red. Then I start sweating and end up with gross rings under my armpits. And that makes me self-conscious and sweat even more. It's a vicious cycle, really. And I am no doubt embarrassing myself further by writing about it. Several people I went to high school with read this—and who knows how many might read it on facebook? (Perhaps writing about it will make it go away? Like carrying an umbrella so it won't rain.)

I went to the mall this afternoon to buy something that would make me look hot. It was a complete failure. Nothing fit. Loose, flowy tops clung to my round, post-Milo belly. Fitted tops didn't look good with my breastfeeding giganto boobs. And forget jeans. Maybe my expectations were too high. I wanted to find something that would make my body look like it did when I was 18—and that is completely unrealistic. I have been losing weight—only 13 pounds to go to reach my pre-pregnancy weight—but seeing myself in those unforgiving dressing-room mirrors today made me feel huge and gross. It's funny, too, because I've been working out a lot and actually think I'm getting to be in the best shape of my life—just with a few extra pounds hanging on.

I need to snap out of it. Surely I won't be the only one at the reunion who looks different than she did at graduation. And surely I won't be the only one trying to look fantastic. I'll find something fab to wear, and I'll look good in it. Especially considering I DID just have a baby....

That Wasn't So Bad

Andrew and I took a class last night called "Newborn Care Essentials." I was a little nervous going into it. For the last several days, I seem to cry at the drop of a hat. Sometimes I'm frustrated, sometimes I'm tired, sometimes that one girl's story on American Idol was just too tragic. So I was worried that something in the class would seem overwhelming to me, and I would have some sort of breakdown right there in front of fifteen infant-sized dolls.

But it wasn't bad at all. In fact, I don't think I really learned much of anything. And not even because I was too busy staring at the basket full of Rice Krispie treats (our mid-class break snack) to pay attention. It was because I already knew this stuff. Apparently my very small amount of baby experience and all those books and blogs I've been reading have taught me more than I thought. I almost feel ready to take on this whole caring-for-a-baby thing. Almost. Of course there will be much to learn and figure out. But it doesn't seem so scary.

Now, my suddenly swollen feet and ankles are another story. Those are scary. I now have two pairs of shoes that fit comfortably—my tennis shoes and my snow boots. So that's fantastic. Sometime this weekend I'm going shoe shopping, looking for one versatile, comfortable pair that I can wear every day for the next six to eight weeks. Preferably a pair that just slips on and doesn't require me to tie any laces or use my hands in any way. Also, if the shoes could manage to not be terrible ugly, that would be a bonus.

Happy Birthday to Me

Last Friday was my birthday, and it was lovely. I received some fantastic gifts, including a fancypants camera and lens from Andrew (I’ve been talking about taking a photography class forever, and now I have no more excuses), a gift certificate for a prenatal massage, some lovely notepaper, some tasty goodies, an adorable brooch, and lots of cards. Oh, and with some birthday money from my parents (and a hefty discount for being a Hallmark employee) I bought this lovely bag for myself.

The gifts weren’t the only good part. Two of my best work friends took me to lunch (which included a stop at Sheridan’s!) and talked me into buying the fabulous bag. That’s what friends are for—getting a girl frozen custard on her birthday and helping her make good shopping decisions.

We also went to dinner at Potpie, my fave restaurant, with two fantastic people whose names easily become one (one of whom will be mad about the fact that I am about to call them this) (and on the INTERNET, no less), Jeffanie. Since I am expecting/knocked up/have a bun in the oven/pregnant, I refrained from having wine with dinner, which has always been one of my favorite parts of going to Potpie—sitting for a long time, sipping the wine, and talking. But Andrew—my lovely, amazing husband—somehow snuck in a bottle of sparkling grape juice just for me. He gave it to the server and everything, who brought it to me as if it were any other beverage. (Of course, Andrew got lucky that I went to the restroom first thing upon entering the restaurant, so he didn’t have to be THAT sneaky.) I was confused at first, because the grape juice looked just like wine. But only two people at the table ordered wine, and there were three glasses, so… Confused. It was a wonderful birthday surprise and a wonderful 28th birthday.

Quick Weekend Update

We had quite an industrious weekend. We bought this table. ($100 off, BTW!) I bought these glasses. (Okay, these might not be the exact pair…I had trouble finding a good picture. But I’m pretty sure these are the ones. And look! Blue!) Andrew bought a bunch of clothes, and I borrowed a bunch of maternity clothes from another recently-pregnant friend, Monica. I cleaned out my closet and piled up a bunch of stuff to go to Goodwill, and I boxed up the stuff that is either too summery or too small to wear for the next five or six months. My mom came over and helped me remove the teddy bear wallpaper border that was in our future baby room. We also took down the eyelet-lace-pink-gingham valance. I will not miss it.

And then the best part of the weekend (by which I actually mean the worst part of the weekend) was when Andrew spent all of last night laying on the floor of the bathroom with the flu. Or something terrible. Remember last year? Yeah, this is eerily similar. Cross your fingers that this year we won’t need a trip to the ER.

To Williams-Sonoma: Get a watch, please.

Last week I went to Williams-Sonoma to purchase a wedding gift for my cousin. I picked out a lovely set of mixing bowls from the registry, then went to the counter to check out. The salesperson forgot to scan the registry, so she voided the purchase then did it all over again so that the registry would show that the bowls had been purchased.

But it did not work. A week later, the registry still showed that the mixing bowl set was available. Sigh. I hate dealing with stuff like this. It should just work the way it’s supposed to, you know?

So yesterday I called Williams-Sonoma and told them what happened, then made vague threats about how I could purchase my several-hundred-dollar Le Creuset Dutch Oven and my 49-dollar-but-everyone-knows-that-really-means-50-dollar Molcajete someplace else even if you did give me a delicious sample of mango-margarita-flavored cheesecake, thankyouverymuch. And, seeing as how it was 4:55pm, the store was closing and the person on the phone told me that the store was closing and she would make a note to call me in the morning between 9:00 and 9:45. (But not before asking for the bride’s name, which I gave her, even though it was quite difficult to pronounce and even harder to spell, and having phone lady sound all put out when I told her the groom’s name was Sam Jones.)

Even though I assume the store was closing at 5:00 and NOT 4:55 like phone lady would make you think, she refused to take three minutes to deal with this registry issue right then. She took my phone number and asked me three times (THREE TIMES!) if that number was one she could reach me on in the morning, between 9:00 and 9:45. I assured her THREE TIMES that yes, I was reachable on that number.

And then phone lady called at 10:15, asked me what the item was, and took care of the whole deal in less than 30 seconds. Why, why couldn’t this have been dealt with yesterday evening? I have such a love-hate relationship with you, Williams-Sonoma, with your overpriced-but-lovely kitchenware and your appealing visual merchandising.

Surprise!

Last week I decided to go to Chicago. I didn’t plan it, exactly. I got an email invitation to my best friend Emily’s birthday party, and I thought, Hey. I should go to Chicago. And I should surprise Emily, because she totally won’t be expecting me to come. So I recruited Stephanie to go with me, made a road trip playlist, and four days later, we were off.

"I love parties! I'm in!"

And let me tell you, was it ever a surprise. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Emily look that confused. For about five minutes, she didn’t say much besides “I can’t believe you’re here.” If you’ve never surprise-visited someone out of town before, I recommend it. Very gratifying.

BFFs since 1986. (I know. I can't believe it, either.)

Love this picture. Don't you?

Kenny made cake! Funfetti, no less.

While we were in Chicago, we did some shopping, obviously. I can’t go to Chicago and not make it to at least a couple of the stores I love that we don’t have here in KC. We went to Design Within Reach (though it’s not actually within my reach), Room & Board, Bloomingdales Home, Crate & Barrel Outlet, CB2, and Trader Joe’s. Lots of home stores. I had furniture and accessory shopping to do, after all. I found some great stuff. Cute vases, a lovely tray, some placemats. And curry sauce and lots of organic wine from Trader Joe’s. Ahhh, Chicago shopping . . . I love you so.

I luuuuurve this table. And the chairs. And the lights. *sigh*

The damage.

While I was gone, Andrew picked up our newly purchased coffee table. It looks fantastic. Couldn’t be more perfect for our room. With the new accessories I brought home and the new table, it’s beginning to look almost finished. Amazing. I thought this day would never come. We’ve still got a long list of home renovations we’d like to do, but it feels good to have one nearly completed room—especially when that room is the one in which we spend the most time.

What did you do this weekend?