Life Lately

Ah, yes.

The old 'completely stop blogging after a month of daily posting' trick. Whoops.

Seriously, life is just moving by at a frightening pace and I'm not sure why I feel panicked when I think about all of these memories not making the blog. I certainly hope I can remember the details of a particularly good or bad day, something sweet Truman said to his sister, or a fun weekend with friends. But something tells me I'll never recall all of life no matter how frequently I document it here. That's ok, too, since one's brain can only handle so many details.

And yet, I feel the need to catch up with a few things in this hodge podge post.

Last weekend my college roomie/long-distance bestie Hannah came to visit us from St. Louis, bringing along her husband and two precious girls. I haven't seen them since April, when Cecelia and I went to MO for Kim's baby shower. Since then Hannah found out she is pregnant with their third and due in December, so I have a feeling it's going to be my turn to make the trek down south in order to squish on that newborn baby as soon as he/she arrives. I cannot wait. Babies!

Hannah and I have been through lots of ups and downs in the past (OMG) fourteen years of our friendship. We were practically babies ourselves when we met and now look at us---all married, with kids, all grown up and stuff. It's awesome to have friends that have seen you at your worst and still love you for it, and it's even better when your husbands get along like besties themselves. Double bonus when both of your kids get along with each other's offspring, too.

It was a fabulous visit that went by way too quickly of course. We hung out and had pizza Friday night, watching the kids warm up to each other in record time. Also, Cecelia and Lucy have very similar tastes in jammies. Not planned, seriously.




Saturday the boys golfed while us mom and kids went to the playground then walked to Qdoba and Starbucks.








We had a little informal get together at our house that night so that Dizzy (and fam) and Erin (and fam) could finally meet Hannah (and fam). And it was awesome--one of my favorite 'parties' we've had here just because it was so cool to see our MO and WI worlds collide like that. Everyone got along, had lots in common, and there were s'mores by fire pit in our backyard. Yes.
















When everyone left, I was high on life (and sugar) because we have the most amazing friends.

The only downer of the weekend was that starting on Friday night, Cecelia's diapers were just not right. She was pretty clingy and fussy Friday night but I figured she was just tired and out of sorts from having visitors. But when I changed her diaper I was highly offended and her butt was really red, too. Saturday she pooped way too frequently and again, it was not normal and she had some majorly fussy moments. Sunday morning she woke up at 5:30 am and as soon as I walked into her room I knew it wasn't good. I have finally been initiated into the club of moms that have given an early morning bath because of disgusting bodily fluids strewn across the baby and the bed. Lots of laundry this day, along with lots of (gross) diapers. So tired, so worn out from all of the poop that Nate and I didn't even run our long 9 miles over the weekend. Again, a first---we are rule followers when it comes to long runs and half-marathon training but apparently we just couldn't muster up the strength this time around. With good reason, I'd say.

Sunday didn't include a run, but it did include these adorable pictures of our offspring being total hams and heartbreakingly cute. Why are they so big? And how can they be this adorable?









I was hoping CC would be done with that nonsense for work on Monday and all was well Monday morning. Until I got out of the shower and Nate informed me that it happened again. Ugh. Truman was in our bed half of the night so of course he slept until 7:30 or something nuts so it just wasn't mean to be for daycare that day. Lori said a few of the other kids had upset tummies, too, and she also got hit a bit with it. I can't ever complain about an extra day at home with my kiddos but it still really does suck to have that responsibility of a job hanging over your head when you are at home instead of working. It's not a huge deal because obviously my kids come first, but it does mean added stress throughout the rest of the week to make up for lost time. Oh well. Monday was a nice day with the kiddos. Even if it was a freaking war zone here with each of them getting (minorly) injured at least twice. Very weird how those things happen in clusters (ie CC fell out of T's bed onto her forehead, Truman slipped on monkey and hurt his toe pretty badly, and CC's hand somehow got shut into ANOTHER door by big brother). Sigh. It was also really cold and our evening stroll in 55 degree weather was a little uncomfortable but necessary. Also, Cecelia likes to say 'cheeeeeese' for pictures. And I found a butt-load of new clothes consignment shopping for them.













Today (Tuesday) was a day CC seemed to turn a corner, getting back to her old self. Of course, Truman got a touch of the bug and didn't feel himself but we all pushed through somehow. It looks like Nate will stay home in the morning tomorrow and if all goes well he can take them to Lori's for the afternoon so mommy can work. I truly despise sickness in my kids, man. One of the worst parts of parenting, for sure.

But I wanted to share a really sweet moment from this morning, in case you don't follow me on IG (mrsjuliagoolia).

Nate is still home on Tuesday mornings until about 8:45 because of his summer schedule when he was golfing in the evenings. That will change back to the normal start time fairly soon but for now we are all loving that extra daddy time. I usually use that Tuesday morning slot for running and told Nate I would go at 6am and he could go at 7am, then get ready for work with plenty of time to spare.

Well, CC woke up crying at 4:40 am today. Shoot me now, it's getting earlier and earlier. I let her cry a bit and I *know* I have to stop nursing her back down but poor bug has been sick and I don't have the heart to be a hard ass just yet. So I nursed her back down and went to sleep until 5:45 when she woke again. I asked Nate if he would rock her a bit since I needed to get out on my run and he obliged through a sleepy haze of grunting. I got ready and hit the road for a beautiful sunrise run of 5 miles, and it was one of those times when I spent the run thinking about how blessed I am to have legs that work. To have the ability to run at all. To have a healthy body, to have time on my side (for the most part), and to have more blessings than most of my patients could even fathom. I think a lot about my very sick patients when I'm running and know that sure, back in their 30s maybe they were physically fit and able to enjoy life a bit more. But right now a lot of them are really struggling physically and it helps me not to take anything for granted. I've had many patients tell me 'Don't wait to enjoy life once you retire, do it now. Life is short and life can change in an instant.' You better believe I take advice like that to heart. One of the reasons I love my job so much is feeling like I can actually help someone with my profession. I also love my job because it puts things in perspective for me on the regular.

Anyway, back to the morning run. I got back home right before 7 and figured Nate was probably up with both kids by then. But the house was eerily quiet, so I took Henry out for a little walk. When we got back it was still really quiet. I looked into the family room and saw my husband and daughter passed out on the couch together like this.





I held my breath for a second because it was such a sweet sight that I didn't want it to vanish before my eyes. Especially not before I could snap a hundred pictures, sneak-attack style.



Cecelia looked so peaceful and content laying on her daddy's chest and Nate looked like the best daddy that I've ever laid eyes upon. Tired, obviously, but snuggling with his girl that needed him. Oh, the sacrifices we make for our children. And oh, what an amazing man I married. Not just because he was asleep on the couch with an overtired baby. But because he later said this: "I'm not going to run anymore, it's a little too late for that. But that's ok. It was worth it. Snuggling with Cecelia was totally worth it."

He's lucky I didn't make out with him right then and there. That's practically pillow talk for a mom---proving what a devoted daddy he is to his kids. ;)

The rest of our day went a little something like this: library for 'Rhyme Time', Target, and REI for some new sandals for Truman.













Life lately is a blur, as always, but it's good. Really good.