Five on Friday

After a long week I thought it would be a good idea to lighten things up with a fun link up to celebrate my many blessings. So here we go!

1. My two biggest boys, John and Jack, are just melting my heart constantly because they are best buds. Jack adores his Dad and when John was out of town for work this week for two days Jack asked about him constantly. John is such a hands-on dad and is always so attentive & engaged when he plays with Jack, which I just love. We got Jack a few matchbox cars as a stocking stuffer for Christmas and they are having a blast lately playing, "Ready, Set, Go!" (as Jack has named the game) with them. Of course it was quite the adventure when a car found its way under the stove. Luckily Bacon Papa saved the day and quickly rescued it!

2. The weather here in the Central Valley has been pretty darn great considering it's January! And that means that most days we've been going for short walks and Jack is having a blast doing so in his new car (which is way more fun than a stroller!). It took me awhile to convince him to take the car outside, interestingly enough, because right after Christmas when he got it he was so sick that we weren't leaving the house, and we were just pushing him around the kitchen/dining room/living room. Now he understands that we can take this awesome toy out into the great big world and he's having even more fun. Of course it's ten times better when his awesome Uncle James is the one pushing him. :)

3. Liam is just killing me with cuteness lately - every day I stare at that full head of black hair and those chubby cheeks and just can not believe that he is ours! He is the sweetest little baby and is growing so fast. This is him sleeping away in a 3 month outfit...based on what we've seen in the past few weeks I don't know that it will fit him for long! He is such a great little nurser and his thighs are starting to show that with a few adorable rolls. I just love chubby babies! 

4. As we adjust to life with two little ones our bedtime routine has changed a bit! I took some advice from a friend and we made bathtime a family affair - Liam came in too and we all hung out with Jack while he bathed. He loves to have the baby nearby and I love every minute that our little family of four is together so it was a nice change. John sat on the side of the tub holding Liam and they only got splashed a few times so it worked out pretty well!

5. Liam still sleeps a lot which is great. Most days I'm still waiting for him to pop out of that newborn all-I-do-is-eat-sleep-poop phase and start doing crazy baby things like refuse to nap, cry for no reason, etc. But for now he is still an easy baby and that is a blessing for sure! I love to just watch him sleep because sometimes he makes the funniest little faces or baby sounds. I took him to adoration with me again yesterday which was great except that he decided to randomly do his noisy breathing while he slept - I'm hoping we didn't distract anyone too much! I love that he is my little buddy who comes with me everywhere. It's so easy to pop him in the sling and go anywhere. Aside from the usual sleep deprivation and constant nursing, this is definitely a fun phase with baby!

5 Years Ago

On a Sunday at the very end of December, five years ago, John (aka Bacon Papa) and I went out on our very first date! It had been a long time coming and when we finally saw each other I felt so blessed, because I knew in just a few moments that I had made the right decision in dating him. We started by going to Mass with my family, then grabbed a Starbucks (John ordered a skinny Vanilla Latte and asked me not to judge him for ordering a girly drink) and then went out for Mexican food. Then we went back to my parent's house and played board games with my brothers! Quite the first date if you ask me...because guess what...it didn't end there. We were having such a great time that John also joined us for dinner at a family friend's house, and after a 12 hour first date, he finally headed home. Here's my favorite part: as he left, he gave me a hug. No kiss. Guess who he did kiss though (on the cheek)? My mom!!! What?! I remember coming inside and being slightly disappointed (I really liked him!) and I said to my mom, "I think he likes me, but he's such a gentleman...he just gave me a hug goodbye. Not even a kiss on the cheek." She of course laughed her little butt off. :)

Lest this blog post become too mushy, and since our wedding anniversary is coming up in just 10 days and I will probably write more about how much I love my husband then, I thought I would just share some awesome throwback pictures of the two of us over the past five years. It's amazing/crazy how much has happened in this relatively short amount of time!

This is from the weekend we got engaged - John's romantic engagement plan was foiled by the 12 inches of snow that (surprisingly) covered Dallas, so he ended up proposing to me in my dinky college apartment the night he arrived (after having his flight delayed for hours). It wasn't until the next day that we could even go anywhere attractive to take some "engagement" pictures! This is us in downtown Dallas. Our photographer was a random passerby. He/she (I can't remember) did an adequate job capturing our love, right?

When we first started dating we did fun stuff like go dancing at the world's largest honky tonk, Billy Bob's Texas! John is a great dancer so we had so much fun. He came out to visit me in Dallas so many times and I'm so glad we got to explore the great state of Texas together.

When we first started dating we also did corny things like dance all by ourselves. This was at my graduation lunch (a Mexican restaurant) - since there was music playing, John grabbed my hand and pulled me up to dance with him. I remember being embarrassed at the moment but now I look back at this picture  and I love him for being so romantic!

Once I moved back to CA (we had previously been dating/engaged long distance for six months while I finished college) we got to spend our weekends together which we loved. This night we went out with John's sisters and played darts. You may notice that in this picture I am wearing stylish high-waisted shorts...long before I had two children, I had a slender waist. It was great.

The two of us at our engagement party - we had so much fun celebrating with family and friends and hearing some great toasts! One of my favorite things about John actually is his ability to give a great toast. In just a few words, or sometimes quite a few words, he shares how much he cares about a person and it is so special. And pretty rare nowadays - not everyone can do it with a big smile on their face like John can. :)

Johnny & I in Nebraska for a friend's wedding - this was the second big trip we took together after getting married. The first was our honeymoon! I love traveling with John. He has such a great sense of adventure, and he is so easygoing that he doesn't get bothered by delays or inconveniences. He also has a great sense of direction so he makes sure we never get lost!

The next big trip we took together was our babymoon (while I was pregnant with Jack) to San Diego. We had such a great five days and since we went out to dinner every night, and went to the movies, the zoo, and for long walks on the beach, it definitely felt like we were dating again!

As I was writing this post and I reflected on the fact that five years ago we went on our first date, I was thinking about how John shows me that he loves me today (five years later). He no longer showers me with red roses, or dinner out, on a weekly basis (mostly because I am much more frugal now!) but instead, he does things that are so much more important to me. Things like changing the air filters in our house. Or replacing the batteries in all of the smoke alarms. Or bathing our dog, who was really, really smelly and really, really annoying me because of his doggy stench. And guess what? I feel so much more blessed to be loved by him today than I did back then.

(Correction: it was only four years ago!!! Oops. We counted wrong. I could edit this whole post accordingly but that would be such a bummer. I guess it just goes to show how quickly the years have flown by...so quickly that four seemed like five! :))

Bacon Papa for the Win....

Here's a list of Bacon Papa's wins this week - I have to share these because I have a tendency to just share the hilarious/annoying things that my dear husband does, but he really is SO AMAZING. I am so blessed to have him be mine. I can hardly believe that this January we will celebrate 3 years of marriage (4 years together total since we only dated for 6 weeks and had an 11 month engagement :)).

Ranked (In order from greatest to still-awesome)

1. What he said last night: "Babe, you are just so pretty. I mean you just have a glow about you today. I think you are going to have the baby soon!!!" (Update - no baby just yet.)

2. His response shortly after that, to the question I unfortunately asked  him ("How much do you think I weigh right now?"): 20 lbs. less than my actual weight. (He guess this number with a genuine look on his face...which leads me to believe he was serious....which makes me love him even more for not seeing the very large pregnant woman that I am.)

3. What he brought me at work today: A brownie blitz cupcake!!! Basically a chocolate cupcake with fudge-y frosting and brownie bites and chocolate drizzle on top, and who knows what else. Oh, I know what else...lots of calories. Either way, DELICIOUS.

This is a great picture of Bacon Papa from a year ago or so.
Notice that he made me breakfast. It includes bacon!
You may also notice, if you have discerning eyes, that his plate is an egg white/veggie scramble thing (super healthy). Mine is a stuffed omelet, smothered in cheddar cheese and topped with avocado. YUMMY.

Business Travel

This week I am out of town for three nights at the National Employment Law Institute's Annual Conference. Believe it or not, I am very excited to be here! Missing my boys (like crazy) but I really do love my job (which for those of you who don't know...in simple terms...it's a mixture of Human Resources (recruiting, so external hires and internal transfers/promotions) and Compliance (legal stuff). I love that I get to work with our employees directly, but that I also am doing data analysis/strategy, and that most of the time, it feels like I am "back in school" because I am learning so much about employment law/federal regulations/best practices. Anyway, it's nice to spend 3 days training so that I can be even better at what I do.

This view (our conference is on the 32nd floor of the Westin St. Francis) isn't too shabby either...

 

But on to more important things. I wanted to share some of my "best practices" for business travel, because the first time that I left Jack as a new mama (he was 4 months old and I had to head to Indianapolis and then Orlando, two weeks in a row!) I was so overwhelmed at the prospect of leaving him. (What complicated that trip more was that I was still exclusively nursing...that's a blog post entirely of it's own though because I have lots of learnings/advice when it comes to transporting...oh say...200 oz. of pumped breastmilk across the country for your precious baby.) I don't travel often (2-4 times a year probably?) but I think even if I was just on a day trip, it would still be challenging to leave my family if I didn't have some good things in place.

 

So here's how we make it work:

 

1) Leading up to any travel - I spend every minute that I can with John & Jack. I snuggle, read books, and play play play! I can never get enough of my boys but it is especially important to fill up the love tank before you head out of town. Here's how I spent my Monday night:

 

How cute is this little man? Just playing on some homemade drums. (I'm not crafty...but I am creative! He loved when I grabbed this stuff from the kitchen cabinets and realized that he could make lots of loud noise with it all!)

 

2) The day that I leave - we make sure that the refrigerator is stocked, laundry is clean/put away, Jack's back pack is packed for his 3 days at daycare (including his lunches...the kid eats well! This week he had polenta & pork, black beans & carrots, corn bread, yogurt, cheese, grapes, peaches, and avocado), etc. Part of this pre-work makes John's life easier...but he is incredibly capable and could totally handle it on his own...so part of it just gives me piece of mind and reminds me that even when I'm away, my boys are taken care of. It always feels great to leave things "in order" so even if I am tired, or worried about other priorities (projects at work? washing my hair? calling back a friend that hasn't heard from me in weeks?) I don't let this priority slide.

 

3) Planning time to video-chat! I had an issue with my iPhone's wi-fi, and luckily a friend came to the rescue with an app I could download so we could video-chat without it (I can only FaceTime with wi-fi...booooooo AT&T!) which was great because seeing my baby's face is a NECESSITY. I love to talk to him in the morning & evenings and just watch him play and run around. Now that he can talk video-chatting is even more fun; it melts my heart when he says "Hi Mommyyyy!" and I love that he can hear my voice and see my face. Sometimes I think about how bad it is that we (John & I but also society in general) are so connected to our phones & the internet...but other times I see the benefits (like video-chatting with your 16 month old son with a few quick clicks) and I am so grateful! (How could I not be grateful when Jack kisses the phone screen?! So adorable!) John is also the best Bacon Papa there is and sends me videos (of Jack just hanging out & playing, or of him sleeping, because we are obsessive parents like that and we love to watch him sleep, haha) which is so fantastic.

 

4) Embracing a little "me" time. Believe it or not, I have a hard time taking time to myself because I just adore my family and want to be there for them/with them any chance I get. But sometimes mamas need to recharge too. Johnny does his best to encourage me to do this even when I'm home (a pedicure here or there, lunch with a girlfriend, or a solo trip to Target) but half the time I feel guilty taking "me" time so I fight it or push it off. Since I'm away from my family on a necessary business trip anyway though...I try to let myself sip my morning coffee while reading the newspaper with a great view, or I enjoy a leisurely meal with colleagues, or I just watch some girly TV (while answering emails!) because I can.

 

My homemade ravioli (stuffed with beef short ribs and smothered in an amazing sauce) definitely hit the spot...

5) Family. Honestly the only other thing we do/have to make business travel work is reach out and/or accept help from our family (this includes our dear friends who are like family!). My mom always steps in to help John & Jack while I'm away, and this week, our friends (& baby #2's godparents :)) invited John & Jack over for dinner two of the nights I'm away which is just the sweetest thing. It brings me so much joy and comfort knowing that they are with people they love, eating a great meal and playing and hanging out, while I'm away. I feel so blessed to have people who love and support us as we raise our little family.

 

Anyway, that's all the advice I have to share for now! Time to head to bed before another busy day!



 

 

Let's welcome Bacon Papa!!!

I can't tell you how excited I am to share this post. What a wonderful man I am married to...

Bacon Papa here, taking the plunge into a desire I’ve had for some time, writing a blog for The Bacon Mama or being a guest blogger? I think that’s what you bloggers and readers call it. When I say being a guest blogger, I mean writing with some major grammatical errors and then passing it over to the talented Bacon Mama to edit and post. :)

You might be asking, “Why do you want to blog on the bacon mama’s blog spot?” Well, I want to share what it is like being the bacon papa and maybe inspire a person or two. First and foremost, I love God the Father and aspire to be the best earthly father to my children and the best Joseph to my beloved wife. So what’s it like to be a (kind of) stay at home father? Even though I am working 4 days a week in my family business as a health insurance provider (half the time out of our home office), I still make it my job to support my wife in the area of home duties, in order to allow for her to focus on loving and spending quality time with the family. After working all day, she needs to refill her batteries during the weekday evenings and on the weekends. I love taking care of my family in this way. Just like any human, I am not perfect and there are days that I fail at this and Kelly ends up having to pick up the slack, which she does gracefully with a smile and plenty of love. She is truly an amazing person who I look up to, a lot. She inspires me to be better at everything I do, because she does so much and she does it pretty awesomely. 

So back to what it’s like for the Bacon Papa. I try to ensure our mornings on the weekdays are as peaceful as possible. Especially on the days that we are getting Jack ready to head off to either Nana’s or school/daycare, which he absolutely loves, I see how important it is that our mornings are peaceful, joyful, and smooth! Lately in order to be St. Joseph to my family, I have been spending a lot of time weekly/daily in prayer, whether that is in adoration, saying a novena or doing the morning prayer out of the Magnificat, which normally takes longer than just the guided prayer, because I definitely pause throughout and enter in to deep personal prayer and spend time on my daily intentions. I love praying for my family and our surrounding influences in our lives, whether that be Nana and Jack’s uncles, or our great group of friends near and far, or Mima and Papa and the Flynn family. I love praying through our struggles and lately I have really been being called to a deep reliance on faith as we navigate life, with all that it brings.  

Okay, so some more on what it is like being married to a working mother and wife. Our lives are a bit different than most of our surrounding friends. With two working parents it can be pretty chaotic at times and aside from trying every day to be centered on Christ, in order to get through the busyness that each day can bring, I also plan, plan, plan! (The Bacon Mama is Type A so I’ve learned a lot from her.) It is such a blessing that Kelly has the career that she has and that she is very passionate about her vocation as a wife, mother and employee. Anyway with my more flexible schedule, my job in life is to support and cheer on my rock-star of a wife, who (as you all know) has multiple jobs right now, with the most important one being brewing our baby #2.  Having a pregnant wife who has a lot of responsibilities at work (but also a big heart for her family) often means grocery shopping, helping with dinner (although Kelly’s been cooking most of the meals lately, she’s just way too good of a cook) and always handling most of the post-dinner clean up. Together we bathe Jack and then as a family read books, pray and tuck our little train-loving monkey into bed. I say train-loving because last night we dressed Jack in his PJ’s (handed down from Aunt Lisa and Uncle Mike) and this pair had Thomas the Train up and down both legs. I think Jack was either too tired or was having too much fun playing peekaboo and getting swooped up in mama’s arms and sung to, because he didn’t notice that he had trains or “choo-choos” on his legs as he went to bed. But this morning when I went in to get him out of his crib, he was sitting up in his crib playing with his blanket (known as “nigh-nigh”). I turned on the light and he finally saw the trains and was immediately happy. He found each train, pointed to it and said “choo-choo”….it was great. Next he wanted to share it with mama so we shut off the amazing sound machine (highly recommend one of these for any expecting parents), turned off the light and went to go show mama, which he was super excited about. Typically every morning we walk to mama and papa’s room and jump in bed with mama before we get our day going. It’s a pretty special moment. Family is such a gift and I am so thankful for our little bacon clan and really looking forward to bringing into our little home bacon #2.

I would like to close this with a shout out to other bacon papas, first, it’s okay to be a bacon papa and support your wife, as long as she is happy with what she is pursuing. Take pride in your vocation has a husband and father and do it with passion, because your role in your family is as important as being the main earner in the family. Now to all the readers out there, life is full of many different experiences: joys, sorrows, tears, and laughter, so I end with this…I encourage all to read the book of Psalms. Scripture is truly a gift from God and I encourage you to get in and read those words. I promise you that it will bring you joy in times of sorrow and it will bring you even more joy in the times of joy. Give thanks for this day and the very breath you are breathing while reading this. I hope you enjoyed this little interjection from the Bacon Papa.

Bacon Papa, out.