Yesterweek

Why hello, lovelies! I am happy to announce that I am full of energy at this very moment simply because I haven't blogged for almost a week! (Pardon my M.I.A.-ness) Blogging when inspiration is at its peak and when I am not pressuring myself is fabulous. Anyways, reflecting on my yesterweek seems like the right thing to do with a new week ahead.

Monday:

I visited my grandparents and my Aunt. It turned into quite a sad visit with my Nonno (you can read more about it here).

Tuesday:

I gave my hair a treat! I have been chemically abusing - a.k.a. dyeing - my hair since I was 12 years old and every season I crave a new hair color. Well, instead of giving in to my most recent urge to switch up my hair color, I opted for a treatment. My hair has grown SO much in the past year that I just couldn't go and kill it again. I got a formaldehyde-free keratin hair treatment. It has made my hair silky, smooth, less-frizzy, and it has almost completely reduced my messy curls/waves. It's supposed to last for about 12 weeks and I can already see myself going back to get another treatment when the time comes. My hair hasn't felt this healthy in years!

Wednesday:

Oh hey, management exam. I studied a lot for this bad boy and went into the lecture hall feeling quite confident. Luckily, I walked out still feeling confident and I hope that stays the same when my grades are posted.

Thursday:

This Thursday was probably one of the most significant school-related days of my life. I attended an alumni networking night for my program and finally got an idea of what I want my majors to be and what position I want when I am done school. I think that I have always known what kind of work I'd like to do but I didn't know what the position was called or how to get there. Well, when this woman was describing her job as Assistant Editorial Producer for a magazine, it did not take long for my heart to jump at every word she was saying. She described my dream job. Now, I am stoked that my dreams are back on track - especially since the craziness of being a mom and student at the same time can kind of make them falter.

Friday:

I woke up Friday morning with crazy back pain! Back pain has become apart of my everyday life since having Carter but this was different. I couldn't bend down to pick up Carter's clothes and it was just painful. I rushed to get an hour-long massage. Thank goodness! It helped so much! The only problem is that massage therapy is too temporary of pain relief for me - the pain relief only lasts about a day - and so I have arranged a doctor's appointment to take a deeper look at this back issue. By the evening, I was in better spirits spending time with Carter and the hubby's family. Low-key Fridays are underrated.

Saturday:

More family time! Yay! We went out to an italian pizzeria and followed up with some window shopping to walk off the big meal - and sweets - we had just gobbled down. I snuck in a bit of me time late at night with a trip to the grocery store. I've never really thought of grocery shopping as a way to relax but I guess it can be one of those me time type things.

Sunday:

Mother nature must love us because the sun was out and the weather was perfect. Sadly, I only got to enjoy it from my window. School work took control of my day. My mom helped me out with Carter and took him out to the park. It was obvious that he had a blast because he conked out for a few hours afterwards!

Regularness

While I'd love to give you guys a bunch of amazing pictures, I don't have any right now. Sometimes - when moments like these come around - I get that 'my-post-won't-be-good-enough' feeling. It's a feeling that derives from what content control can't hide - the regularness (a new word that I just made up) that I tend to tell myself isn't worth sharing on my blog.. because it's too regular and too boring and too self-explanatory to my readers. When that feeling comes around, I know I need to step out of my whiny, perfectionist box and just push myself to write. Plus, an update never hurts.

To start, this week is my reading week - a week off from school to read slash a university student's excuse to sleep in. For me, it's a time to go insane over planning Carter's 2nd birthday party which is coming up very soon!

I can't believe that I have such a handsome and lively toddler who I could swear I was just swaddling and cradling in my arms five minutes ago. It is crazy how fast they grow. And that line may sound seriously cliche and over said and just so 'mom-ish.' But it's true! And it doesn't help when motherhood makes you the biggest sap (like in my case). It's like my heart keeps whispering, "Stop growing now, baby. I just want to enjoy this for a little while longer." What other kind of love can make you so crazy to the point that you want to deal with tantrums? I can't say that there is anything like motherhood.

Motherhood has changed me so much. Or wait. Let me rephrase that. I think that motherhood has brought out a really great part of my heart, the part of me that is loving and compassionate and self-less. As a teenager, I thought I didn't have any use for that part of myself and it just remained locked away. But now, it is everything to me. And my life is really centred around being whole-hearted. You know, not being perfect but just doing everything with good intentions, appreciation, and faith. I guess it is also called growing up.

Take now as an example. I am undoubtedly tired. But I cannot put my head to rest. I don't want to close my eyes and I don't want to fall asleep (sorry! Had to add a little Aerosmith in there) because I would rather gaze at Carter while he sleeps. His cheeks are still chubby and they are quite rosy right now thanks to his eczema. He looks extremely peaceful. I wonder what he dreams about.

I may not be able to see into his dreams but I do know that when he is awake he is full of joy. He's always laughing and he loves his family. On my birthday last Saturday he walked into my room while I was asleep. I woke up after hearing his little footsteps and I said, "Good morning, Carter! Guess what! It's my birthday today!" He cuddled beside me and he softly said, "Happy birthday, Mommy." Oh man, did that make my day or did that make my day?! It just shows how pure and precious little ones are.

Another thing that I am enjoying right now is Carter's huge love for music. Last night he was singing Stereo Love while I sat there both amused and surprised. "What? You know that song?" Actually, he sings when doing almost anything. He sings to himself while he plays or when he is really focused on something. I get a good giggle out of it when he adds a high note or his own made up words to a song.

Aside from motherhood, there's not much else going on here. I am just doing my best to take care of myself and my family, to force myself to get dressed and made up when I am not feeling my best, to stop stressing over the little things, to keep up with cleaning, to keep up with the regularness as I call it. And that's the beauty of it: what I began this post with, the thought of my boring life that is unworthy of sharing, may not be exciting but because it is plain and ordinary it can be related to. We all have our own boring stuff and tough stuff that we want to mask or spice up or prettify. Interestingly, if we just lay it out as it is, it all suddenly makes sense and is worth sharing.

Hope you guys enjoyed this small update and I am wishing you a wonderful week from my corner of the internet! Hugs and kisses!

Learning to thrift

Lesson of the week? Thrifting is a skill and a thrill. I can already hear you guys saying, "Obviously! How did you not know that?" You see, I have been to thrift stores before, but every visit - before this week that is - involved lazy and impatient wandering.

If you asked me a week ago, I would have told you that my thrifting skills were sucky and that I'd rather click through etsy vintage shops and adore all of the finds there. I envied the pro thrifters, the people that had the 'eye' for those kinds of things. But when I decided to randomly step into a thrift store this Wednesday, I actually picked up a cute blouse and thus discovered my thirst to thrift.

It was like being awoken! *GASP* This blouse for only $3.00?! A purse for $3.00?! Books for $0.99?! I began to strategize - shoving hangers left and right, carefully inspecting every item that possibly had potential. All of this made my brain go crazy with ideas like, I could get better at this!

Anyhoo, it was a wonderful out-of-the-blue learning experience. I pretty much sashayed to my car, bag in hand.

Survivor

Note: this post is pretty much an update of my "sickies" post from last Sunday.

I held Carter's hand as he toddled beside me. A paper clung to the classroom door. I couldn't see what it said but its yellow highlighter marks gave me that "oh no" feeling.

ATTENTION PARENTS:

There is 1 confirmed case of stomach flu in our class.

My initial thoughts?

1. Yikes!

2. Carter is just recovering from his last illness.

3. I bet he's going to catch this bug...

4. Which means I will too.

Only a day later, I was right - Carter had the stomach flu. I won't get into the gross details because I am sure you can imagine. Well, a few days after that both sets of grandparents got it too. Oh, and then the hubster. Then the hubster's brothers and sisters. And just today, my brother is sick with the stomach flu too.

Where my assumptions went wrong: so far I have SURVIVED! Yup. Capital letters for this miracle and I am forever knocking on wood. I usually get sick so easily and it's interesting that I, the person who has been taking care of Carter the most, am flu-less. All of this has sparked a little OCD-ness slash germaphobia in my corner. Lysol and I are BFFs and I have been washing my hands like crazy.

Fierce mom mode it is this week. Got to get these bad boy germs out of my house!

The sickies

The sickies are over-staying their welcome at our house. I am starting to get super concerned - or perhaps more concerned than my normally super concerned state - because Carter has been catching illnesses quite frequently since December. It feels like he's sick every other week. He's had a few little colds, a virus, and now he has the stomach flu. I feel terrible and so guilty but I have no idea how he catches these so easily. The doctor's going to hear about it for sure.

Right now, I am being very cautious with his meals and am making sure not to give anything that could make his stomach go ballistic. I have to admit that I completely focus on his health of course and then totally disregard mine. I get sick every single time he gets sick so I can already see what's coming. (Please, please immune system! I have so many assignments and midterms!)

Both of our immune systems need a boost! I wish I could blame it on the winter (because I hate this season with a passion) but it is just one of those cases where the mom cape has got to go on.

Living for the weekend

Waking up on a Sunday is amazing - especially if it is a designated relaxation day for the family. Aside from dancing with Carter this morning to Moves Like Jagger, our day has been pretty quiet and serene. It's also a great day to appreciate all the awesomeness that ensued from Friday and Saturday. Our weekend was super busy. Let me recap.

FRIDAY: My cousin's 23rd birthday

This called for a night downtown! We went to this cute, chic pool hall that had a bar and a small but convenient dance floor. I say convenient because when our favorite songs came on my cousins and I rushed to the dance floor and laughed our heads off at music we used to love when we were younger. Plus, the dance floor gave me a reason to avoid the pool tables (newsflash: I am the WORST at playing pool). Anyways, my cousins and I grew up together like sisters so any time with them is fabulous.

SATURDAY MORNING: Hateful wisdom teeth

Unfortunately, my wisdom teeth taught stubborn me a lesson this Saturday. You see, a few months ago, I sat unamused in the dentist's chair while my trusty dentist showed me the x-rays of my wisdom teeth. "There is no room for them to grow. The sooner you get all four out, the better." I smiled back and agreed while my mind set that appointment to a much later date. The thought of having my gums cut into is not cute. Plus, I never thought that my wisdom teeth could hate me enough to cause me problems.

Well, Saturday morning I woke to four wisdom teeth still chilling in my gums, a swollen cheek, and a lovely dose of pain. I should have listened. Immediately, I called the dentist's office to make an appointment. Of course my schedule didn't match their openings so I have to wait a few weeks. That will be enough time to tame my fear of getting my teeth pulled and to keep telling myself "Get it together, woman! You had a c-section for goodness sakes!" Best case scenario is that when I plop myself into that dentist's chair a few weeks from now I'll have a sliver of bravery thanks to child birth, a desire to kick my evil wisdom teeth in the arse, and the thought of some hilarious post-extraction YouTube videos. Hopefully, I'll be as hilarious as the girl in the video below.

SATURDAY NIGHT: Hubby's cousin's 18th birthday

Another side of the family, another birthday. We all got fancied up for this red carpet themed party and I even got to take a picture with Brad Pitt (see below). Oh, and we got married on the spot because we're soul mates. Take that, Angelina! But yup, that was my second favorite part of the night.

My first was Carter looking all dapper in his first full suit and his Burberry tie. Just too cute for my eyes!

Also, my hubby's aunt and uncle made a slide show of their daughter's pictures growing up. And it made me realize how sappy of a mother I am. I had to seriously hold in the tears because I kept thinking of Carter growing up and I can't stand it. 25 days until he is two *sniff sniff.*

Refresh!

You know when the clock says 2:16 PM and you feel seriously overwhelmed because your day is barely over? Insert moi. It is one long day today! And since I can't avoid a few whiny complaints, I'm going to squeeze them out now and get it over with: went to bed at 2, woke up at 6, school until 9, just had a test for psychology (mini complaint: I hate science), and I miss my son. So, now that the annoying things about today are out there, what do I do with them? Should I just bury myself in self-pity? I feel like that's such an easy route for a bad day yet it doesn't get anybody anywhere. If I were to just switch my way of thinking upside down, there is bound to be a better side. So, scratch the sleep debt and the brain overload and my day has been full with a caffè mocha from Starbucks, a few giggles with friends, a completed test, no snow on the ground, and the excitement to see my little guy when my day is finally done. Looking at things from a different angle refreshes everything.