Happy Halloween

So I took a couple "action" shots for you today. I thought it would be a special way to end fashion week. Sure, they may be blurry, but you know you love them!

Sweater: Banana Republic
Shirt: Junk Food
Jeans: Topshop
Belt: Oldie but a goodie
Boots: Uggs

So I realize that I wear practically the same things over and over throughout the week. Fashion week has made that glaringly obvious to me. The thing is, I know you do it too! Come on, just admit it.

And I thought you would like to see an adorable picture of our little family.


And a picture of Connor and his friend Luca dressed up like pumpkins.

Thanks to all of you who commented and made fall fashion week so much fun. I now have some new blog friends to stalk read up on.

Cutest Sock Monkey EVER

Last year a very nice person sent the future baby Connor a sock monkey outfit and a little sock monkey. This person had no clue that I had a not-so-secret obsession with sock monkeys and this was the most perfect gift ever for my unborn child.

I have been patiently waiting for the day that Connor got to first wear this adorableness. Every few months I would pull the outfit out and look at it. As halloween was approaching, I knew that it was the perfect occasion for Connor to sport his sock monkey outfit. Sure it is a tad too long, but Connor looked great in his outfit and sported it all day long...even to get his hair cut for the third time. The kid has thick hair that grows like weeds!

Fall Fashion Week - Day 6

Wow, it is so much a harder to post a blog on Saturday! It's almost 9pm and I am just getting around to posting this bad boy (and to eating dinner...oops!). So, here is my cute outfit that I was supposed to wear yesterday but sported today instead...

Sweater: Primark
Tank: North Face
Skirt (with pockets=score!): Target
Tights: H&M
Boots: My newly beloved...Camper

And in lieu of nature fashion, I can't help but force you let you see the adorableness that is my son...dressed up as a sock monkey non-the-less!

Fall Fashion Week - Day 5

I actually had an outfit all picked out for today. I had plans. Plans that involved leaving the house. So I thought I would look cute. Alas, the morning didn't go as planned, so I opted for jeans...again. Don't worry though. I will wear my cute outfit tomorrow.

Beanie: Billabong

Shirt: Urban Outfitters
Belt: Don't know...had it for 10+ years and there isn't a label on it
Jeans: Topshop
Shoes: Converse high tops...another staple in my wardrobe
Jacket: Abercrombie from 100 years ago (when it was still "cool" in my eyes)

Connor trying to get in on the picture action...or more being angry that I wasn't holding him!

When I got to my friend's house, her husband told me I could take my hat off. I kindly explained to him that I in fact could not, as I han't done my hair. I guess my cover was blown.

And for fall nature fashion Friday, some pretty leaves. I think if every day were like last weekend, I would like the fall. But most days I have to endure rain and wind and that makes fall not a fun season for me. And wet leaves matted everywhere are kind of gross.

Fall Fashion Week - Day 4

A few years ago, I loved it when it would get cold. I loved pulling out my scarves, boots and sweaters that got used all too little. For the past 3+ years, I spend 3/4 of the year in scarves, boots and sweaters. The bundled up look has gotten a little old. I never even knew summer jackets existed before I moved to Scotland! Reading one of your blogs yesterday, I saw that someone was all bundled up because it was in the 60's...and I was thinking, if it was in the 60's, I would have pulled out my summer clothes! Oh well.

If weather were no option, I would spend every day of my life in a tank top, jeans and flip flops...with the occasional sun dress thrown in. That's the truth.

I wish I could dress to impress all the time. It just isn't me.

Now, without further ado, my outfit for the day...

Scarf: my Mom brought it back for me from Cambodia
Shirt: J Crew
Jeans: True Religion...also worn on Monday
Boots: Uggs...also worn on Tuesday

Connor wanted to get in on the action.

Onesie: Carters
Adorableness: his mom and dad

And a little something special for fall nature fashion Thursday. Me torturing chasing some geese. Get over my cruelty and look at the beautiful orange tree in the background!

Fall Fashion Week - Day 3

Wow, I can't believe the week (well, work week) is half way over! After being so inspired by all of you, I looked through my closet for something a little more girly to wear...perhaps a dress, skirt or even shoes that aren't boots. Alas, the weather won out again and I bundled up. Its just hard to dress cute when I have to bare the elements everywhere I go (my feet are my mode of transport).

Scarf: Primark

Vest: Old Navy
Shirt: Michael Stars
Jeans: Topshop
Boots: Camper...as seen on Monday

And now for fall nature fashion Wednesday. The pictures may not be super fall looking, but it is a cute little church. This church was completely surrounded by a graveyard. Not my thing, but interesting non the less.

Fall Fashion Week - Day 2

Just to make me eat my words, it is incredibly sunny out. And when taking my picture, the husband failed to mention that it was so bright that I looked like I was glowing. Seriously. Not one picture that the sun wasn't crazy bright in. Oh well. I am not in the mood for a re-shoot. And don't worry, I am doubting the sun will be a problem again this week!

Sweater: Hollister
Tank: Michael Stars
Jeans: Citizens
Boots: faithful Uggs

I saw this sweater in my closet this morning and haven't worn it in forever. Seriously, like a couple years. So I decided to wear it. Putting it on, I totally wasn't feeling it. I mentioned to the husband that I was going to get rid of it, but he apparently loves the sweater, so it is getting a reprieve and I am keeping it for now.

And now for fall nature fashion Tuesday. These pictures are of the same tree, just a different angle. And I was actually taking pictures of a tree in someone's front yard...a front yard on Old Church Lane...the same street as the picture from yesterday.

Fall Fashion Week - Day 1

Its that time of the year again...time for me to show all three of my faithful blog readers just how truly un-fashionable I really am! Or time for my mom to be happy because she gets to see a picture of me everyday! Either way, I always love taking part in fashion week...meeting fellow bloggers, getting inspiration to get myself dressed, and the compliments...oh the compliments! If you so dare, I invite you to join in the fun. Head over to Emery's blog to participate and enjoy yourself.

Just to give you a preview of what is to come. It has been raining every day and the temps are in the mid 30's, so I will be bundled up all this week with boots on my feet! Not too exciting, but I will try.

Sweater: Gap
Shirt: Worn it so much, it is now tagless...but still my favorite
Jeans: True Religion...that I got for free a few years ago!
Boots: Camper...the one new thing I added to my wardrobe this season

Also, we were in Edinburgh over the weekend where it wasn't raining and it was beautiful. I got some great fall pictures that I will share with you throughout the week. So without further ado, fall nature fashion Monday:

Look what Daddy Did!

Daddy did Connor's hair this morning! It looked totally cute and lasted all of 10 minutes...and made me realize that it is about time for Connor to get another hair cut.




Also, I am amazed how hair makes a baby look so grown up. I have seen baby boys the same age as Connor without any hair and it makes them look like babies. That full head of hair Connor has makes him look so old for his age. And yes, I realize I sound ridiculous saying he looks old for his age!

One Sick Week

It's been a rough week in our little household. First Ian was home sick for 3 days. And when I mean sick, I mean practically bedridden for 3 days. As soon as Ian was starting to recover, Connor got sick. It started with him waking up constantly throughout the night and has turned into a sick little baby with a rash all over his body. Makes me so sad.

I realize you can't really see the rash in the pictures...but trust me, it is there!

And it frustrated me to take Connor to the doctor and have them act as if it was no big deal. They told me if the rash was still there on Monday, to bring him back in. Didn't help with my fears about the rash at all. But thankfully, we went to the pharmacy and spoke with a pharmacist who was much more helpful. She gave Connor as prescription to help with the rash. I am so thankful for the uber cool program over here where you can see a pharmacist for minor sickness and they can prescribe medicine on the spot...and even if they are prescribing something over the counter for Connor, because he is under 16, they give it to us for free!

Our one little glimmer in the week came yesterday. Connor got a package from home! He was so excited about it!

The funny part was, he was looking at the stuff and clapping.


Thankfully there were 2 large bags of peanut butter m&m's in there for Ian and I. We won't be sharing our bags with each other as that never works out well!

Shopping for Food

Whenever I hear people talking about grocery shopping once a month (I have even heard of doing it only twice a year), I scratch my head. I want to ask questions, but am generally afraid my questions will turn into some sort of rude questoments (question/comments) on my part. So, I don't ask.

You see, my pantry is practically bare. In fact, we don't even have a pantry. We have one cupboard next to the refrigerator used to food. We have another one used for spices. And we have Connor's pre-made baby fruit (I make everything but the ground up fruit) sitting on the counter.

My refrigerator is full. And then it spills out onto the counter tops with my produce. I make a meal plan for a week at a time and do the shopping. So, at the beginning of the week, we have lots of food and by the end, practically nothing.

Because of the amount of fresh food in our house, I question how someone can shop for a month. What exactly are you buying that doesn't go bad? Or, do we eat weird? I do know we eat way more veg than most. We've ran into people we know at the grocery store who always seem to make comments about our cart of food.

This doesn't mean we don't have pantry staples, because we do. Open my pantry any day and you are likely to find

pasta
rice
tuna
canned sweet corn
canned chopped tomatoes
cheerios
granola bars of some sort

But I can't think of any meals I make without some sort of fresh product in it. And my real question is for people who shop less and buy more, do you do this because you save money? And how are you saving money? Because you buy in bulk? Please, someone explain this to me!

11 Months

Weight: 20 lbs, 3 oz

Accomplishments:

held the phone up to his ear
dancing
standing not holding on to anything
waving
walking
7 teeth

It feels like every month (or really, everyday) I find myself saying or thinking, IT GOES BY SO FREAKING FAST! Not so long ago, I held a baby in my arms who didn't do much besides eating, sleeping and pooping. Little by little, he has begun to learn. And each step along the way, I have gotten more and more excited about the person he has become.

I find myself spending countless hours clapping just to see him clap, putting him in the window to watch him get excited when he sees Ian coming home from work. Getting joy out of watching him bang on the toilet cover. All of it brings me great joy.

I love listening to Connor babble. He does it in the car, while we are walking, at home, everywhere. And I think he is actually starting to understand the difference between "mama" and "dada". At least, I notice him using them correctly when one or the other of us is playing or holding him. And I must say, it is a nice change from hearing "dada" all the time! Sorry Ian.

After having a set back last month with his weight, Connor is back on track for the 25th percentile. Unfortunately, when I used to hear the doctor positively say that he will "grow out" of his reflux, they were definitely less than optimistic when I went in last week. But I am optimistic about how happy Connor is, even if my carpeting is covered in stains! And I also know that whether medical intervention is required or not, things will work out and my boy will be (and is) healthy.

YUMMY!

While strolling around town yesterday, I saw an adorable cafe that caught my eye. I made Ian walk over to it with me to check it out. The closer I got, the more adorable it looked. So, we went in.

At the counter, our eyes came across some scrumptious looking carrot cake. We ordered a piece to split. OH-SO-GOOD! The cake part was so most and delicious. And the frosting, not too sweet, just perfect. We ended up getting a second piece to split. Seriously. It was just that good. And it has been occupying my mind ever since.

I think I will be headed back there this week for some more carrot cake goodness!

Stuck in a Rut

Do you ever feel like you are stuck in a rut? I am deeply entrenched in a clothes rut. After wearing through my closet a few months back, I was excited to re-discover many great things in my closet. Problem is, I basically took some of those pieces and turned them into my new normal, my rut.

No matter what I do, I find myself wearing the same things over and over. I become obsessed with one pair of jeans in my closet and wear them day after day even though I have plenty of others. I put on the same coat for weeks…usually the once closest the front door. I wear the same shoes every day. So really, when you think about it, I only change my shirt every day! And even then, I am probably rotating through the same few shirts!

Its as if I am not motivated. I am. Well, I want to be. I just find something that works and stick with it, over and over and over again. Well, I also find something that is comfortable, easily washable and can get baby spit up & snot on it and still be fine.

I want to look like I try. I don’t want to look like I just rolled out of bed and chose the closest thing to me to throw on and leave the house. Maybe it’s time to wear through my closet again. Or maybe it is also time to move to some warmer weather where I don’t have to wear the same three sweaters over and over and always leave the house with a winter coat on!

P.S. Last night we went out baby free for the first time since July. We went to celebrate our friend’s birthday. In honor of the occasion, I got dressed up…strapless bra, jewelry and all. It felt great!

Connor Fun

I thought you would like to see something that makes you smile today. This is a little video of me showing Connor his picture on my phone and him laughing at it...now that I say it, I realize this may be something only a mother finds cute!

In other Connor news, he seems to have a love/hate relationship with other kids. When at the movies yesterday (a mom & baby screening) we were sitting by a mom with a 15 month old. I thought Connor would have so much fun playing with her. Nope. She wanted to play with him so bad and he just completely ignored her...well, except when he used her to stand himself up or poke her in the eyes! And today I watched my friend's 2 1/2 year old. Connor was so excited to play with her and she would scream and cry when he got close! Everything she was playing with, he wanted to play with. It was drama!

Transition

I don’t do good living in limbo. Not knowing what is happening next just stresses me out. And I literally feel physically ill. I hate it. That is what has been going on for the past few weeks in our lives.

Basically it became apparent that Scotland was no longer the place for us. It was sudden, yes, but not necessarily unexpected. For a long time now I have been praying for our future. Praying that God’s will be done in our lives and things happen in his timing. I guess his timing has come!

After knowing we were going to leave Scotland, doors started opening up. Possibly too many doors. Options create stress…for me anyway. Ian and I talked over and over about which “door” was the best fit for our little family. The problem was, no door was bad and no door was perfect, making it difficult to make a decision. We weighted the pros and cons, talked about our personal feelings and came up with a decision. A decision that shocked some of the people closest to us (well, close to me anyway).

We decided to move to Modesto, California. Only one of the most miserable cities in America (according to Forbes)…and the car theft capital of America. But, it’s where we are from…well, Ian anyway (I actually only spent 6 years of my life there). And given how much we have given our future to God, I am thinking it is where he wants us as well.

There is a sadness in my heart about leaving Scotland. We have created a life here. Made friends here. Saying goodbye to most of these people is exactly that, goodbye. We won’t see most of them again. And that is sad.

There is also an uncertainty in my heart. Moving is never easy. And with this move, we are temporarily moving in with my parents…talk about feeling like a kid again! We have to sort out a loan and find a house to buy in this buyers market. Also, we have to face another 3 month wait for our stuff to arrive from Scotland. Once all that happens and we settle into our new home, I will be content. The moving will be done (hopefully) for a while.

Also, we are used to living in a different culture. Now we will have to get re-acquainted with the culture we left behind. I don’t want to loose the good characteristics I have picked up in these past three years.

But looking ahead, I am excited. I get to live by my family again. I haven’t lived by my parents since I moved out of their house! And I haven’t lived by my brother since 2004. I get to actually hang out with my friends in Modesto that I have kept in touch with through all these years. Good friends. Friends who have been thru it all with me. That is probably the most exciting part for me.

I don’t do good living in limbo. But I am keeping my eyes on the future. December 9th will probably come quicker than I want it to, but at the same time can’t come quick enough.

Veggie Man

Connor loves his veggies and that makes me so happy. We give him pieces of red pepper, celery, carrot and cucumber and he eats it. Watching him eat it warms my heart. Ian and I love our vegetables and its definitely nice to see Connor do the same.

This weekend we gave Connor some corn on the cob for the first time. I think he had fun eating it because it was messy. He seemed to mostly gnaw on the end and I wasn't sure how much corn he actually got off. But, I saw a bunch of it in his poop the next day, so I know he got some!

Connor's facial expression in this next picture is too funny. It's like he is saying, "What the heck are you trying to feed me?!?"

When Sickness Strikes

It started with Connor and soon followed to me. We both have some sort of cold/flu bug and it isn't fun. Connor is about two days ahead of me in the process. At first, I didn't understand why he was so cranky over a little cold. He stopped sleeping through the night and wanted to be held constantly during the day...and even then was cranky.

My understanding changed on Friday. I was in so much pain. My head and sinuses were throbbing in pain. I finally had to call Ian and have him come home from work to take care of Connor. And I proceeded to spend the rest of the day in bed. It was awful. I then started feeling bad for my little snot-faced boy and all he must have gone through, cold medicine free.

The worst of the pain may be over, but the sickness is now moving down into our throats and chest. Enter the coughing and the ever present snot has not given up. And, Connor loves it when we try to wipe his nose. Just coming at him with a cloth, he freaks out.

Given that I didn't want to be judged, we skipped church today. I was afraid people would say something about me turning up at the nursery with a totally sick kid.

So instead, our sick little boy gets another day of mommy and daddy all to himself...it still counts even if mommy is doped up on cold meds, right?

Mama Bear

Today my friend and I took Connor to a soft play for kids. They had a section for babies and a section for older kids. We took Connor in the section for babies and immediately put him in the ball pit. I was a little concerned that we would have a bubble bath type incident on our hands, but was pleasantly surprised to find that Connor loved the balls. He hit them with all of his might and squealed with delight.

However, in this section was also a little 4-year-old (I'm guessing his age) annoyance of a child who I will refer to as Bubba from this point on. Bubba was not in the ball pit, but was throwing the balls at us. Every time he threw a ball, his mom would tell him not to. He even hit me with all ball and his mom said to him, "How many times do I need to tell you to stop?" but didn't get up out of her chair to do anything about it. By the time Bubba hit my friend, his mom didn't even bother correcting him. The kicker came with Bubba hit Connor in the face with a ball. His mom this time told Bubba to apologize, to which he just ran away...and being the great mom that she is, she did NOTHING.

Honestly, I don't know why Bubba was in the baby section in the first place. Also, I don't understand how his mom couldn't be mortified by his behavior. I would be seriously embarassed if Connor acted like that and it wouldn't have gotten to the point that it did. It just urks me that Bubba can hit my baby in the face with something and totally get away with it. No time out. No nothing. That isn't okay. And in 15 years when Bubba is a menace to society, his poor mom will be crying her eyes out to her friends saying, "I don't understand, I wasn't a bad mother." Sure, you weren't a bad mother, but do you really think you are doing any favors to Bubba or society by allowing him to already be a brat and not listen to you at such a young age?

Oh and seriously, Bubba better watch out. If I run into him again and he does something to my precious little boy...that Bubba is going to have to deal with me throwing balls in his face!