I Heart Weekends

Even though I'm "technically" a SAHM, there's just something about weekends that make me happy. Probably because A is free from work and we can do whatever we want whenever we want...as long as it's baby friendly and is over before 8 pm. Wild and crazy times, let me tell ya.

However, this weekend we did not have to follow those strict guidelines, because mama left her baby overnight for the first time EVER. Seventeen and a half months later, I finally spent a night without that sweet baby cuddled up beside me. (Yes, he still sleeps in our bed, it's totally fine, mmmmmk?)

So let's discuss my fab weekend of freedom, yes?

On Friday the husband took a half day off work and we went to Dallas to meet up with his siblings and their spouses for lunch at Perry's Steakhouse. It was seriously absolutely amazing. We'd neither one ever been, but apparently they're sort of famous for their pork chops. That is something that I literally would never ever consider ordering, but his sister ordered for us and that's what we got. And it was so good. So, so good. My mouth is watering a little bit right now actually...

After that we made the horrendous mistake of going to the mall. A trip to the mall might be the thing that causes our marriage to crash and burn. I, obviously, love shopping. It's one of my favorite pastimes. I could do it for hours upon hours. I enjoy browsing, taking my time leisurely strolling around the store, even if I don't need anything. A likes to get in and get out. He'll find a shirt, grab it, pay, and be back to the car in approximately seven minutes. So you can imagine how well we do shopping together.

Once that catastrophe was over, we made it home and enjoyed a quiet evening of TV and horribly unhealthy food. Since we were so full from lunch A had cheesecake and I had a red velvet bundt cake. That was our dinner. It was pretty heavenly.

Anyway, on to the good stuff. Let me explain to you the reason I left my infant (not really at all) child at home. Our good friends Melissa and Donnie were getting married in Dallas. We live about 30-45 minutes outside of Dallas, depending on traffic. We both wanted to be able to enjoy ourselves (aka drink) and we are much too intelligent to drink and drive. So quite awhile ago we decided that we would just get a hotel and this would be my first night away. So I've had time to prepare. But I was still a little emotional about it.

My mom kept Grayson for the night, and luckily she knows his routine and he's so comfortable with her that it doesn't phase him if we're gone. She said he was perfectly fine the entire time. On Sunday morning he was asking about us, just looking at her and saying "Mommy? Dada?", but never really all that concerned. Talk about relief!

I actually handled it like a champ myself. I was a little concerned I would become slightly inebriated and emotional and end up crying about how much I missed him, but I didn't! I had a freaking blast, and it actually felt so good to just be myself again. I mean, obviously I talked about Grayson to pretty much everyone I spoke to - but most of the time it was because they brought him up! We drank, we danced, we laughed, we stayed out until almost 2 AM...it was so much fun. Then we woke up around 8, packed up, went to Starbucks, where I walked in with big hair, sunglasses, and probably looking as if I was hit by a bus, and made it home to see that sweet bebe.

Too busy having fun to take pics. This is it. And I stole this one.

THEN, I spent most of the day Sunday out with my mom celebrating her birthday! We went to downtown McKinney, which is this adorable little town square with shops and restaurants. We had lunch and walked around the shops for a few hours...finally, someone who will wander aimlessly around stores and enjoy it with me! After that, we went to see Gone Girl. Umm, I loved it. I haven't read the book, so I had almost zero idea what it was about. And it blew my effing MIND. I mean. I don't even know. If you've seen it or read the book you know. I just. I don't know why, but I loved it and now I'm dying to take hubsy* back to see it with me. Anyway, my mom and I don't get a lot of time just the two of us. Usually we have a little 17 month old tag along wherever we go, so it was really nice to have a fun girls day.

Next weekend, Sunday, is actually my birthday. My 30th, to be exact. So there's that.

Honestly, 30 doesn't seem to be effecting me much. I feel a little bit like my youth is over, but I think the whole having a baby thing really sealed the deal on that one, so I'm not too broken up over that. I always hear that your thirties are a pretty amazing decade for most people, so...yeah. Hopefully that's true.

Hope you guys had a pretty phenomenal weekend yourselves. Fingers crossed we all make it through the week and are enjoying the next weekend before we know it. Just a few more days!

*BTW, I'm sorry about saying hubsy. Now that I can't use his name, I'm really running out of things to call him. A is confusing because it looks like I'm starting a sentence about something totally different and then you realize it's his "name" and I don't know. So I'm sorry, that was terrible and I'll try to do better. 

A Busy Weekend in Oklahoma

We went to Oklahoma last weekend to visit family and go to a wedding of a college friend of Arsen's. I'd been looking forward to this trip for quite awhile now, simply because I always like getting away for a few days. We were planning on staying with my Guncles in Norman, which is always fun, and I knew the wedding would be a good time as well.

Well...I forget how different things can be with a baby on board. Arsen took Friday off, so my goal was to leave town by about 10 or so to get to my dad's pretty early to visit with him for a few hours. After finishing up packing, giving Grayson a bath, getting myself ready, etc., we ended up leaving right around noon.

After a few hours at my dad's we left for Norman. We unpacked, got Addie situated, I fed Grayson, got him ready for bed, changed clothes, and were finally ready to meet my mom and uncles at dinner. We went to a Mexican restaurant that was loud and bright. So incredibly bright. It was like sitting outside in the middle of the day at 9 pm. Needless to say my hopes of Grayson sleeping through dinner did not pan out. So after dinner we headed home and I tried to get Grayson to sleep. For like an hour. He just wasn't having it. Everyone else sat out by the pool and had a few drinks until around midnight, and I laid down with G and ended up falling asleep.

Saturday was my mom's birthday, and a pretty fun day. I was running around like crazy, trying to find a jacket to wear with the dress I packed since Oklahoma decided to realize it was fall that day, buying a wedding gift, buying a clutch since I forgot to pack one, going to lunch with mom for her birthday, etc., etc.. Busy busy, but fun!

That night was the wedding. It was absolutely gorgeous. The bride's family has a home outside of Oklahoma City where they apparently have a ton of land, and they had the wedding outside. They had a large building that was beautiful that the reception took place in. The rumor around the wedding was that they had it built specifically for the wedding. It was pretty incredible.

Several couples that we are friends with were also at the wedding, so it was a lot of fun. It was really the first time I've been "out" since Grayson was born, and since I knew he was in good hands with my mom, I decided to relax and let myself have a few drinks and have a good time.

Well....I ended up regretting that decision. When we got back to my uncles place around midnight, Grayson was still awake. Apparently he just couldn't rest until I was home. So I had the pleasure of rocking a baby to sleep, off and on, until 3 AM. He just couldn't stay asleep for some reason. Let me tell you, after an evening of drinking that was not easy. I was soooo tired.

So all in all, I chalk this weekend up to a lesson for me. The days of relaxing by the pool with drinks and going out with friends for a night out on the town are long gone for this little mama. At least for awhile. I've gotten my wish of having a mama's boy, and he needs me, and only me, when it comes time for bed. Be careful what you wish for, am I right?

But as frustrating as the weekend may have been, I really wouldn't have it any other way. I love that he is most comfortable in my arms. At 3 in the morning I might wish that someone else could take over for a bit, but knowing that he needs me is pretty amazing.

But it may be awhile before I'm ready for another trip :)

Random Life Happenings...

I don't think I will be able to get my mind to slow down long enough to create much of a post, so this may be a bit random. I have been so super duper overwhelmed and busy at work the past couple of weeks that I haven't had a second to think. I wake up, head to work around 7, work until 6 or 7, come home, eat, and then work until bed most days. For some reason every single department that I work on (I work on the website for Michaels Stores) is going through an insanely busy season right now. So my mind is consumed with nothing but work.

In the midst of all of that craziness, a few fun things have happened. I'm officially at 26 weeks as of Wednesday, so little man is growing up a storm and will be here before we know it. I hope I always remember what it feels like to have him moving around in there. He's pretty active throughout the day now, and sometimes when I'm sitting at work he will kick me so hard that I gasp. It still catches me off guard from time to time when I realize there is a human growing inside of me, and those little reminders can be funny. He also has decided that around 10:30 pm or so when I decide it's time for sleep is his very most favorite time to have dance parties. The past few nights he has been bumping up against me over and over and over, nonstop, for 10 minutes or so before he settles down. One night I fell asleep while he was still going. A got to experience it one night, and he couldn't believe how powerful those little kicks can be! It's just such an amazing, crazy, fun thing to experience. Love love love.

Another completely random but yet very cool thing that happened is that A and I were in the Wall Street Journal. I was contacted through my blog email by a reporter who had stumbled upon my stories of our weddings. (For anyone who might be somewhat new here, A and I had two weddings, an American one as well as an Armenian one. You can read all about those here, here and here.) She was doing a story over people who had previously had two weddings, and wanted to know if she could interview me. Of course I said sure, so we went through that process and ended up being in the story. Our families thought it was just about the coolest thing to ever happen, so at least we made them all happy. It was definitely a fun thing to be a part of. You can check out the story here.

So basically, we're famous. I was pretty sure someone would be calling about a reality show after seeing the story, but alas, I received no calls. Ah well.

Other than that, not too much excitement going on. I'm very much looking forward to this weekend so I can think about something other than my job for awhile. You know it's bad when you're dreaming about it....I can't escape it! We have plans to hopefully find a chair for the nursery, hang the curtains, and I'm hoping I can work on some little DIY things I'd like to do for decorations.

Also, I mentioned last time that I have carpel tunnel now, and it's causing my joints to swell. At least, I'm assuming that's what is causing it. Regardless, my knuckles are now massive compared to what they normally are (maybe "massive" is a stretch) but this morning I couldn't even come close to getting my wedding ring on. My hands don't look swollen at all, just kind of weird and knobby....sexy, right? So anyway, I'm hoping that I can convince A that I need a replacement ring for the remainder of my pregnancy. Nothing fancy, even just a simple little band. I just don't like not having one now that I'm so used to it. I told him people are going to think I'm his pregnant mistress since he's still wearing his, but that didn't seem to phase him. I'll have to take another approach. I'll keep you posted on my success (or lack thereof).

So hopefully I'll return in the next couple of days with my 26 week update. I'm not making any promises, but it is a goal. Now everyone go out and enjoy your weekend....and do something fun in honor of the preggo lady who can't :)