Just a little addiction

So I'll admit it, I have a new addiction.  When I have it, I use it all the time and when it's gone, all I can think about is getting another.  I'm addicted to audiobooks.  I was able to surprise  this addiction when I was pregnant with James but in the past couple of weeks, it has come back full storm.  For any of you that haven't tried audiobooks, I would totally give it a try.

I first got started about a year and half ago when I started running.  I got tried of listening to the same songs over and over again on my ipod/iphone and didn't want to use all my data listening to pandora. So one time when I was at the library, I stopped by the audiobook section and rented my first one.  I like to load them to my computer then transfer them to my phone so I can listen to them wherever. And I use the library ones because I'm not gonna pay $20 to own the book.  Sorry, for the amount of books I can go through,  that would just be too high of a price tag.

One of the reasons that I love and find myself addicted to audiobooks is just how easy it is for me to 'read' a book.  Especially now I don't have a lot of time to just sit down and read a book and if I want to read the new book that everyone is talking about, I'm gonna have to listen to it, which is perfectly fine with me.


The second reason why i'm obsessed is that I can listen to it pretty much anywhere.  I don't do this so much in the beginning of the book as I do in the middle and the end where it's all I can really think about but I'll listen to it while I clean the house, while we are doing our errands around town and it's really nice when I'm traveling and I don't want to deal with the changing the radio channels or having to switch stations because of all the bad songs and commercials. I can just hook it up to my car and drive and no worry about it.  A friend of mine uses it on her 45 minute commute to work because it seems like when you are stuck in the car at the same time of day you end listening to the same songs over and over again and with audiobooks it a nice escape.

Third and final reason that I jones after audiobooks is the fact that I can't really look ahead and see whats coming up in the book.  The best example I have for this is with the book Gone Girl.  I proudly like to say that I did read it before it became a movie and before everyone became a obsessed.  Yes it may have been just a couple of weeks before but it still totally counts. For everyone who hasn't read it and wants to read it, I would skip to the next paragraph.  I'm serious because I'm gonna ruin it for you in the next sentence, so please just close your eyes and skip.  Thank you.  The book is divided into two parts.  The first part is past Amy and present Nick and you think the whole first part that Nick did kill Amy because Nick comes off as a guy that would totally kill his wife.  But then part two hits you and in the first couple of minutes and I guess pages too, you find out that she is alive and has down this all herself.  It just hits you in the face and I don't think you really get that when you are reading the pages.  There is no surprise, no shock value that you had no way to see coming.

Here are a list of the audiobooks that I have read.

Dark Places - Gillian Flynn
Sharp Objects - Gillian Flynn
Gone Girl - Gillian Flynn
Fault in our stars - John Green
Girl with the dragon tattoo - Stieg Larsson
Heart of the Matter - Emily Giffin
Something Blue - Emily Giffin
Orange is the new black - Piper Kerman (the only audiobook that I never finished)
Time Traveler's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
The Help - Kathryn Stockett

The most recent one that I just finished is Heart of the Matter.  It's a pretty easy book to read/listen to.  It's by the same author that wrote the book Something Borrowed that got turned into a movie about 5 years ago.  It was about a women who left her job as a professor to become a SAHM and how she handled with the big change in her life and how it has changed her marriage.  I won't go into much more detail because I don't want to do two spoilers in one post but it did keep me on my toes on what the main character was going to do.   While the books don't cover the deepest and most thought provoking ideas or full of mystery like other books, I do think that Emily does a good job of not revealing what the characters final decision is going to do until the last chapter or so.

 I haven't decided on what my next book that I'm going to listen to is, a lot of it depends on what I'm in the mood for and what is available but I think I'm gonna pick it up tomorrow, If I make it that long.

Little things that make the day happier

Before I became a SAHM, before James came along, before I went through the 'nesting' period, I will admit it my house cleaning skills could have been better.  There was always that dash to clean up as fast as you could before guests came over; sweeping, vacuuming, making the bed to give the appearance that you didn't live like a total slob.  But since I am inside my home about 23 hours a day, hey thats almost like solitary confident in jail, the house as really turned around.  It's still not perfect and still doesn't look like my mom's house does.  My sisters and I have already decided to give up trying to reach that level of clean all the time but for me, it works.

Keeping the house pretty clean is one of the many things that I try and do through out the day to make time here at home happy. I don't always get around to all these items or are able to have them all the time but they always seem to put a little smile on my face when I do.

Making the Bed

I view I see almost all day long. 

 I know a report just came out that making your bed isn't healthy and it traps in bedbugs and what not but I feel like there are always those types of reports coming out and soon making your bed will be the healthiest thing that you can do, mark my words.  I give it about 3 months.  Before staying home, I was never a bedmaker,  of course I would make it when guests came over or when I washed the sheets but 8/10 times the bed was never really made.  But now it's rear that I will get past noon without going in and making the bed.  Our bedroom is right off the kitchen so any time I leave the babies room or just in the kitchen,  I can see our bed.   When it's not made, I feel like it's just staring at me 'come make me, come make me' and after I do,  it's always nice to look in and see it freshly made.  I think it kind of gives me the feeling that even if I don't get anything else done for the day (which sometimes happens) at least I made the bed, I tried.



Flowers on the table

The flowers just keep blooming on this thing.

I love fresh flowers.  I not really into the smell of them,  I don't hate the smell of fresh flowers but I guess I find that a lot of flowers that I get at the store or the farmers market doesn't really have that flowery smell but I do love how they look.  Our kitchen/dinning room is the center of our home and from any doorway I can see the dinning room table and it always brings me joy when I see flowers on the table.  I feel like this need for them really peaks around the summer time when the farmers market opens and I can go to my favorite flower place.  I'm not sure what the name of the business is but their flowers last forever.  I can get 7 stems of sunflowers for $10 and they will last two weeks.  Two Weeks!!!  So that means if I go there every Saturday I get to have two bunches of sunflowers around the house which makes me even more happy.  But due the amount of energy to takes to take a newborn to the farmers market and weave through the people, we haven't been hitting it up lately but I was able to find these great flowers at Meijer this week.  I'm very happy with them and they were only $2.50.  They are slowly blooming and making my table looking really awesome.

Having the dinning table set

This one, I will admit is kind of strange.  I got the idea from a article about how to keep your house cleaner.  And yes, while my house is cleaner now then it ever has,  I still need help from wherever I can get it, especially with Wes who likes to drop things places for long periods of time.  I'm sure many of you can relate, your kitchen/ dinning table is a dumping ground for things, groceries, mail, projects that never seem to get put away or finished so I took the table out of play.  I keep the table set at all times.  The placemats, plates, bowls and cups are all from our camper that we sold awhile back. I bought them before I ever went camping and before I realized how much easier paper items where to camp with.  Live and learn.  The sets are really colorful and plasticish and we don't use them to eat but they are nice to look at.  When we do eat at the table, which happens about twice a week,  I group the place setting up and move them over to the other side of the table.  I know it seems ridiculous but it makes me more aware of what I put on the table, which makes me clear it faster, which makes me happy.

The time 6:15 or lately it has been 7:00 pm

All clean, cozy and quiet after our
nighttime bath.

First let me begin this one by saying that i love spending time with James.  He makes me laugh and so so happy and I couldn't imagine spending my days any other way but when the time hits to start his bedtime routine, it makes me happy.  Anyone who has had one or watched a newborn/infant knows that you are pretty much attached all day long. I'm always checking, feeding, singing or rocking this incredible little boy but when the bedtime routine starts, I know there is an end in sight.  That for about 5 hours, I can relax and not worry about if Truman is licking James or if I have enough time to get this chore done.  90 % of the time, once he is down for the night he won't wake up until the next feeding.






Catching Truman sleeping in a crazy way

I like the call this one, "Mom, I swear I'm
watching the baby."

Whenever I walk out of the babies room, I never know which sleeping position truman is going to be in.  I've found him underneath our bed or laying beside our bed (this usually happens when there has been a lot of crying),  sitting in the spot that I just vacated about 5 minutes ago even though there is 5 other spots to choose from (he is a known seat stealer),  or my favorite, when he is upside down and legs in every which way.  I never really knew he slept like this until I started staying home but I never fails to make me chuckle.










James

He was looking at himself in the camera.
I can't get over the eyebrow raise.

And the biggest thing that keeps me happy and smiling through out the day is this little guy.  I don't think there is a need for more details on why.   But this kid has some serious jokes and is always willing to share.
















So here are the list of things that keep my happy and sane through out the long day at home.

What do you put in your house to keep your happy or sane?

What do you find yourself doing now that you didn't a year ago?

Thanks for reading and enjoy this wonderful day.

Megan

What we have been up too.

Sorry about not posting anything in over two weeks,  it has been a rough couple of weeks.  James went through a growth spurt and any mom knows exactly what that means,  eating more and more often,  waking up more during the night and being very fussy and needy.  To make matters worse, I tried experimenting with James' bed time which was a terrible terrible idea.  So as we were recovering from the bedtime fiasco we went into our 12 week growth spurt, talk about timing.  So for the past couple of weeks, I haven't had much time to keep up with the housework or take a nap let alone write a couple of blog posts. But I'm gonna try and keep up better.  I know i've already said that before but I feel like everyone is understanding.

If it's any consolation,  just in the time it has taken me to write that paragraph above,  I've gotten up and tried to get James to go back to sleep during his nap 3 times.  We (I really mean I) are trying to get James to put himself back to sleep if he happens to wake up before the nap is over.  So far its not going very well but it's only day one and i'm trying to still be hopeful.

So here is a little recap on what has happened the in past two weeks since I last wrote on this blogosphere. 

Wes was able to squeeze out a little time and we made it to the state fair.  We enjoyed some way over priced pulled pork sandwich and the ice cream for the dairy barn. I was on the hunt for an elephant ear but couldn't find one as we were leaving the fair so I took it as a sign and said forget it.  The main reason why Wes and I like going to the state fair is to the watch the percheron and clydesdale horses do their showing.  Every time we watch them I can't get over how large they are and how large their feet are.  We always playfully talk about what it would be to own horses like that.  James enjoyed the fair, I think so, in his typical fashion ate and slept but thats least he is predictable in that way.  

And in big news on the James front, besides the visit state fair and zoo trips, the little guy turned 3 months.  With three months came a lot of new things that seemed to just happen over night.  Our napping cycle changed from little nap, medium nap and then big nap to medium nap, little nap and big nap.  But as long as we get naps in, it doesn't really bother me what order he takes in.  Another big thing is we are eating pretty regularly every 3 hours instead of 2 and staying awake for an hour and half, which is a nice relief and allows and a little more play time.  

 James had his first visit to the zoo.  My dad took a week of vacation during the last week in August.  My sister had bought my mom Billy Joel tickets for her birthday and the concert was on a Thursday so they took the week off to be able to relax and go see the concert.   The day we went to the zoo couldn't have been better,  it was a nice cool day about 70 degrees and while the zoo does have a nice amount of shade, you can get hot quick.  After spending a couple of hours at the zoo, we walked over to Victory Field,  the Indianapolis minor league baseball team.  James took a nice long nap during the game and finished it up by eating.  I think thats really how he likes to spend his time at the ballpark.  

This labor day weekend, the Indians finished up their season at home and though I'm said that the season is over and i'm going to miss going to the games I'm excited to be able to get James on more of set schedule.  I've learned that he is the type of baby that has to have some sort of schedule and if they schedule is messed with, it's gonna be a rough couple of days.  So that is where we are right now, trying to fix what two night games in a row and a cookout afterwards messed up.  

Last weekend was a rarity,  Wes was home Saturday, Sunday and Monday.  I don't think I can really remember the last time that happened (excluding Wes' paternity leave).  He went to the shop for a little bit on Monday and he came home because he claimed it was too hot outside but I think he just really missed us.  I personally think James, Truman and I are pretty easy to miss so I understand.  It was just a nice weekend at home,  we went to the grocery store together which hasn't happened in a very very long time and just hung out and shared the James responsibilities.  Which is pretty hard for me to do and it's not because I think Wes would do a bad job or would do something wrong it's because the majority of the time Wes isn't home and there is no one there to help with him.  No one else to put him to sleep or to change his diaper so after 3 months of doing it solo,  you get used to doing it yourself and don't really ask for help or leave space open to help.  

Speaking of doing it on your own,  James is becoming a pretty independent kind of guy and is only ready to do stuff when he is ready.  Which scares and excites me at the same time aka the potty situation with that arrives.   Since he was 4 days old, we have used a nipple shield to nurse. It's this soft plastic cover that helps the baby latch and we used it religiously up until about one week ago when James all of the sudden decided that he didn't want to use it anymore and wouldn't even think about nurse with it on.  So we stopped using it and haven't had any issues yet.  And I think the same goes along with this sleeping thing ( see how i'm wrapping it all together) I can push him and push him to go to sleep on his own or to sleep without being swaddled and even sleep through the night but he's not gonna do it until he's ready.  I really hope he's getting ready for the first two and I think he is because we have a countdown until he outgrows the swaddle he is in now and I don't really want to buy new ones.