4th of July... better late than never, right?

July was a crrrazy month for us with moving and Dan traveling back and forth every weekend so here are a couple pics I didn't share yet from our 4th of July weekend.  It will be better for me emotionally just to post these and then move on.  They just make me miss everyone way too much!  On a positive note though, I actually met 4 neighbors today :)  It's amazing who comes and talks to you when you're out pulling weeds.  And let me tell you there were a TON of weeds.  One of the wonderful things about this house is the beautiful flowers and plants she has planted everywhere.  And one of the bad things about this house is the beautiful flowers and plants she has planted everywhere... since I don't really have a green thumb.  This home is going to force me to learn a lot about hostas and roses and all the other plants we have in our yard because we don't want to be THAT couple that moves in and lets their home get out of control- especially when the previous owners did such a good job keeping it up.  Seriously everyone that I talked to today said, "Anne sure did such a great job keeping this house looking nice on the outside didn't she?  She sure was a great gardener.  Do you know much about gardening?"  To which I replied, "No. Nothing." and then laughed nervously.  I'm trying to keep their expectations reeeallly low :)

Ok, onto the pics!

where's your ear?!  Do you see Rach and I being paparazzi in the background?  We are totally THOSE parents.

This is Jake very sad that dad won't pick him up lol

Jake saw dad and wanted him to pick him up :)

We've Arrived.

We made it.  As we speak I am sitting in our new home in New York.  It was a long road to get here.  I battled back and forth about what to say about these past two weeks but I decided not to say much.  Needless to say, it's been rough and Dan and I have found ourselves very frustrated and came close to walking away from our home but in the end we're very thankful we didn't have to do that.  Not only because we really do like our home, but really... who wants to walk away from their home 2 days before their closing?  Not us. 

I'm excited to post pictures of our new place.  I don't have them uploaded yet because we've spend the past week unpacking and cleaning and we already had some house guests which was SUCH a treat!   But Dan thankfully took "before" pictures of our house.  We're not going to make too many changes, though.  A lot of painting probably and we hope to redo the upstairs bathroom at some point, but it's fun decorating a new home and we have this awesome dining room with the original 1920's chandelier in it so it has been fun to have that space for our new dining room table.  And we have a really fun wrap around porch.  Now we just need some furniture to go on it... if it wasn't $275 for a porch chair we would have been on top of that already...

Although there are some really fun parts of our home, it's an old home.  So there are door knobs that fall off.  Paint that's peeling.  Water that occasionally decides to only get luke warm at best during our showers.  Doors that don't close unless you really, really pull.. hard.  And lots of creaking floors.  It's hard to be quiet when a baby is sleeping if you're walking around upstairs :)  Oh, and our box springs didn't fit up the stairs. Soooo we had to purchase new "split ones" so we're currently sleeping on the mattress on the floor.  But it's all good.  We're thankful for our home and ultimately excited to make memories here for the next couple years :)

Needless to say we're adjusting.  Where we live is very different from Chicago.  And Miami. And Hudson.. so really anywhere else we have lived.  We know this change won't be easy but we're taking it one step at a time.  We know God has a plan for us here and we're praying He uses us in a new church, in our new neighborhood, and in Dan's new job.  And if anyone ever finds themselves in the middle of upstate New York... you're more than welcome to stay with us in Binghamton :) 

And I know this is weird.. but I have pictures from Chicago that I want to post because it seemed like it's been so long since we've seen them... and let's be honest... we're really missing all of our friends.  So here's a boating adventure we did with our good friends Jenny and Ryan before we left :)

A rough start... but a good lesson

There were some serious moments within the past two days where I literally screamed in my mind, "God.... it seems really difficult right now to make it to NY... are these supposed to be signs that we shouldn't be moving there?!"  It all started at good old O'Hare.  With our flight leaving at 7:15pm and me being the prepared mom traveling alone that I was, I made sure to arrive at the airport with plenty of time.  By 4:45 I was through the security line and checked in.  I got Jake a smoothie and since Jake was sitting so nicely sipping his smoothie in the stroller I even braved a mocha from Starbucks.  (Dan and I have learned from previous experience that we normally need all hands on deck when dealing with Jake in planes and airports)  "I got this" I said to myself.  And I am even cringing as I type this.. but I also thought "people must be looking at me traveling alone with my son and thinking I have it all together."  Pride is seriously so ugly.

Needless to say everything started great but went down hill quickly.  I was that parent.  The one you either felt bad for or judged as a bad mom from afar.  I can say this because (sadly) I have done both to other parents.  With every resounding "no" that came from my mouth Jake decided to throw his body on the floor and start crying.  "No Jake you can't take that lady's drink.  No you can't take that Sprite from the vendor.  No you can't go down the escalator... Or in the men's bathroom... Or through that gate."  Jake is a curious kid that gets frustrated easyily when he can't do what he wants and since he's a baby, he expresses that frustration in the form of a temper tantrum: screaming and arching his back.  And an airport is such exciting new territory for the little guy that hearing mom stop him from exploring was devastating.  I get it.  For a one year old that's hard. 

But we're not done.  Our flight started out being delayed to 7:30pm.  No big deal I thought.  Maybe that 15 minutes will be better because it's later so Jake will fall asleep on the plane sooner.  Oh the irony of that last sentence.  Jake sure did fall asleep.  After 7 hours of being in the airport and numerous delays and gate changes, 10:30 at night, right as we started boarding, is when Jake fell asleep.  I seriously think every single person on our flight to Syracuse breathed a sigh of relief.  When we finally made it to our baggage claim at 2:00 am I almost fell to my knees as I handed Jake off to Dan.  (Yes poor Dan was stuck at the airport waiting for us as well)

This was quite the humbling experience.  God knocked down my pride on more than one occasion these past couple days.  I try to come across as the "cool, chill mom" and even told my friend that flights aren't really a big deal to me.  Even if Jake is bad for 2 hours on the flight it's just 2 hours I would tell people.  I can handle it.  Well, on Saturday I almost lost it.  There were multiple occasions I needed to hold back tears because I was about ready to fling my body on the ground and start crying right along with Jake.

Looking back though, God seriously was good to me.  He used multiple people to show me that I don't have to be that mom that has it all together and doesn't need any help.  Literally on 5 separate occasions someone offered to carry my stroller up and down stairs, through the gate, or even set it up for me after the flight so I could put Jake in it.  The sweet lady next to me on the flight let Jake put his feet on her as he slept and let me share her tray table so I could get a diet coke.  The guy at curbside check in watched Jake as I weighed our 74 pound bag (yes.. 74 pounds) and checked our pack n play and car seat.  Someone got a maintenance worker for me when Jake dropped his smoothie on the ground and it spilled everywhere... in the middle of what seemed like hundreds of people rushing to get to their flight.  And what was even more appreciative were the people who said numerous times, "I understand.... you're doing great." 

My people pleasing has been taken to a whole new level as a mom.  I so desperately wanted to appear like that put together mom at the airport who is organized and calm.  She planned ahead and has plenty of toys for her child to play with so her son never gets upset and she even has time to pick up a Starbucks.  I don't know what world I imagined myself in but it wasn't reality.  To many people I most likely appeared frazzled, worn out, tired, and at the end of my rope.  Not the ideal mom that I pictured above.  But as God continuously teaches me, my focus as a mom is not on other people and what they think of me.  My job is to be a mom to Jake and to be patient with him.  To put myself in his shoes as a little guy who's in a new place, hasn't slept in his own bed in a couple days, who is tired and just wants to run around. 

God's changing my heart.  Sometimes it takes 7 hours in an airport into the wee hours of the night, but He's changing me and sanctifying me and ultimately it is good.  It's hard in the process, but thankfully God is true to His promise when He says "God opposes the proud."  Lord help me to be a humble mom who realizes just how inadequate she is and how much she needs You in her life.

Recipe Update

So remember that little challenge I posted a little bit ago? Well, I have already been making recipes.  And seriously, I have yet to make something I haven't liked!  Here are a couple recipes I've tried:

Dark Chocolate Sea Salted Toffee.  Umm.. how can that NOT sound amazing?  This recipe was super easy and it made more than I thought it would so I had them at three separate occasions (ok one was when Dan came home but he really liked it!).  And there were only 4 ingredients: butter, sugar, dark chocolate chips, and coarse sea salt.  I'm not going to post the exact recipe since I want you to go and get her book, but seriously, this is a keeper and one I will probably have around when company is over because it would taste really good with coffee or Shauna recommends with ice cream.

Goat Cheese Scrambled Eggs.  Ok so there isn't really a recipe for this.. it's just scrambled eggs with goat cheese.. but I really liked it. I never thought I would like Goat Cheese.. it tasted a little strong for me at first but it's definitely growing on me.  Don't judge before you try it.

Green Well Salad.  This salad is apparently similar to a salad she had at a place in Michigan.  It was really good and I made my own dressing for it!  I've never made my own salad dressing- I felt so domestic.  She gives the recipe for her Maple Vinaigrette dressing and it's mixed with greens, pears, grapes, dried cherries, walnuts, and GOAT cheese.  And I made some grilled chicken for it as well.  I even made it for some friends for lunch and they all really liked it.  And just like that I have a new go to salad :)

Breakfast Cookies. So I really liked these for a morning breakfast cookie.. but Dan didn't love them.  I think "healthy" and "cookie" are two words that don't really go together for him.  Instead of eggs she used mashed bananas and for the first time I purchased coconut oil.  Oh, but I didn't use the almond meal.  Quick question.. have any of you ever purchased almond meal?  For one small bag it was $11.99!  I feel bad for my gluten free friends.  (I used flour and it turned out just fine :)  And.. I added more chocolate chips and less walnuts.  After all.. it's a cookie :)

Annnd lastly Mango Chicken Curry.  So we went over to our friend's house and they go to Willow so I asked her if she read Shauna's new book.  And lo and behold it's sitting there on her kitchen counter and she's making us a recipe for dinner from that very book!  And this is what she made us.  And it was soooo good. Seriously.  And Dan isn't a big curry fan and he liked it as well.  Double win.  I never thought that curry and tomatoes and mangos and raisins would go together (there are obviously other ingredients as well :) but they did- and I have been eating the leftovers for 5 days now.. and they're still good. Definitely a keeper.

So, these are the new recipes I've tried.  I honestly am definitely cooking "outside my box."  I'm not used to using half of these ingredients but a lot of them are turning out really good and I'm excited that I have new "go to" meals to use :)

I'll keep you updated with more in the future!

Last trip to the city

Dan is HOME.  YAY!  I can't tell you how nice it is to have Dan back home.  Jake is happier. I am happier.  We are just all much happier :)   He got back Wednesday night and had 4 days off and we definitely took in those 4 days to rest, eat out, "travel" a bit, visit with friends, and watch movies.  Yes, I have the best husband ever as he let me redbox Safe Haven.  Gotta love those Nicholas Sparks chic flicks.

Anyway, this past week we really wanted to go into the city one more time.  Dan wanted me to visit the Sears/ Willis Tower skydeck.. but we were pushing Jake's nap time so we didn't make it.  I'm terrified of heights so the thought that this is what I was missing didn't make me too sad :)

We did however eat at the Millennium Park Grill, hang out at the Bean and Millennium park and watch Jake run through the fountains.  It was a perfect day to walk around the city and we're so glad we made the drive.. oh and we didn't hit ANY traffic.  It was totally meant to be.

Jake loved the Bean!

Jake practically running into the water.. this kid LOVED it.

This is me running back to Dan.. I was getting a little too wet ha

Summer has begun

It's starting to really feel like summer, but it's definitely bittersweet since we knew we only have 2 weeks left here in Chicago before we make the big trip to New York.  Although Dan has already started his job there, the idea of living in New York to me sounds so far off... almost like a dream that I can hardly believe is happening.  In the meantime, we are trying to soak up everything about this city that we can- which is mainly hanging out with our friends.  These past couple weeks we've gone to weddings, birthday parties, our sweet friends threw us a going away party, and we've been doing a lot of hanging out outside.  Oh and did I mention Jake started walking?  Crazy.  I fracture the kid's femur and he starts walking.  If I knew that was the trick I would have done it earlier.. just kidding :)

There is so much to catch up on... it's hard to know where to start.  I had to turn in my work computer (which became my everything computer...) so it took us some time to get a new laptop and for me to get acquainted with it so now I'm slowly uploading pictures.  Here are a couple ones I found on my camera and a couple that our friends took at a wedding we went to this past weekend.  Hopefully I'll be able to blog a little bit more now that life is getting back in order.. but don't hold me to that as I'm sure so many last minute things will come up before we need to pack everything up!

At our friend's Cam and Lisa's wedding

being silly at the wedding :)

This woman has a 2 and a half week old and ventured out to the pool today with her 4 kiddos.. mom of the year award

In the pool!

He loved the fountains!

At Claire's first B day party :)

Cake time!

Claire did not disappoint and dove right in.. cute as always :)

My boys :)

At our going away party.. with Krysten and Joey :)  We should have taken more pics..

Looking so cute in his tie!