Andrew: One

Happy 1st birthday Andrew John Nullmeyer!

It's so hard for me to believe that my baby is turning 1.You are turning into a big toddler right before my eyes, and I feel like the past year was kind of a crazy blur.

You are getting better and better at walking. You toddle all around the house now with your bow-legged walk. When you do crawl, you still use one leg and one foot. I guess it's your signature crawl.

Lately you have become a huge Daddy's boy. When he comes home from work you walk over to him and squeal. You will willingly go to him, even if you're upset. The other night you were playing with him on our bed and he got up to leave. You immediately burst into tears. You definitely love your Daddy!

Overall you are a happy-go-lucky guy. You smile and laugh easily, but you also seem to have a little temper, and you get upset really quickly. You are happy as long as you're getting what you want, whether that means being held by Mommy or walking around and exploring. I would say your personality reminds me most of Lucas, although I don't think you'll have quite the crazy temper he has! You aren't as serious and quiet as Ryan always has been. And yet you aren't quite as content as Jenna. At this age she wouldn't fuss too much about being strapped into seats but you hate being contained! You can be really goofy, especially when Lucas is playing with you.

Your words include Dada, Mama, "dis", "dat", "Hi Dada",  yaya, nana, and most recently you have been saying outside. Except it sounds more like "Ow-Sii". You don't speak a lot, but you make a lot of noises. You are a really loud baby!

You are finally taking two good naps every day. Praise God! You average 1 to 1.5 hour naps twice a day. Nighttime is still awful and that is my next challenge. Once you are healthy I'm going to start letting you cry it out for longer periods of time in your crib. I feel like I haven't gotten a good night's sleep in years.

Your favorite toys to play with are balls. I think you've got a pretty good arm on you for a 1-yr old! You absolutely love playing catch with yourself. (Or your crazy siblings!)

You are a voracious eater....except when you're not. I feel like you either stuff all your food into your mouth, or you throw everything on the floor. In general you love ground meat, bananas, cheese, cheerios and broccoli. Unfortunately it seems that some foods don't love your tummy. I'm still trying to figure that one out.

I just love so many things about you. I love the way you pat my shoulder while I'm holding you. I love your crazy head of blond curls. I love your deep giggle when someone plays peek-a-boo with you.

I love you so much Drewski! Happy Birthday!

And now for a trip down memory lane! Here are your siblings on their first birthdays.

Ryan

Lucas

Jenna

Who do you most look like?

Stitch Fix Review #33

It has been 3 months since my last Stitch Fix review, and I'm excited to share this one with you. We had a week of absolutely beautiful weather and I was itching to get my hands on some cute new Spring clothes. My only request this time was a pair of white jeans. Let's see if my request was filled!

Psssst: Stitch Fix will waive your $20 styling fee if you use my referral link here:

https://www.stitchfix.com/referral/3168832?sod=w&som=c&g=b

Mirabella Capri Skinny Jean by Liverpool

These capri jeans are exactly the same as the full length Liverpool jeans I received and kept from Stitch Fix a couple years ago. They have been my go-to jeans ever since; however I find myself getting tired of the "jeggings" trend. I need pockets on my jeans, people! I would love to find a pair of carpris for the spring, but these just weren't the right ones. Status: RETURNED

Binks Crochet Yoke Knit Top by Daniel Rainn

My stylist knows that I love white tops, especially ones with a flowy look to them. So I got excited when I pulled this out of the bag. But something about it was just a little too "sweet" for me. I think it was the fluttery sleeves. It just wasn't quite my style, so I passed on this one. Status: RETURNED

Ozella Laser Cut Sandal by MIA

I didn't get a great picture of these sandals....sorry! They were actually quite cute and comfortable. I just wasn't sure about the color. I figured they would be much more versatile in a brown or tan color. But now that I'm thinking about it, they'd probably look good with a lot of my spring/summer clothes. Too late now! Status: RETURNED

Alex Skinny Jean by Lakeview Denim

I did an awful job at pictures this time, but that's what happens when you have a sick child. Anyways, I got my white jeans! These fit great and they were at a very reasonable price point. I put them on and ended up wearing them the rest of the day. Status: KEPT

Rossano V-Neck Top by Kaileigh

I was sooo close to keeping this top. I love florals, especially as it warms up. I ended up deciding the fit of it was a bit too loosy goosy. It didn't show off my shape at all. Ultimately I could only keep one item this month, so I chose the jeans. Status: RETURNED

Ryan wanted to model his shirt that he picked up at Target. He loves the way the blue highlights his blue eyes. Oh and he loves being goofy and jumping into my pictures.

Sign up for Stitch Fix here!! https://www.stitchfix.com/referral/3168832?sod=w&som=c&g=b

Dude, Sunburst and Jenna-Girl

I would like to introduce the 3 new additions to the Nullmeyer household.

 Dude. Sunburst. Jenna-Girl.

We surprised the kids this weekend with their very first pets. Someday I think it would be fun to have a family pet. Someday. For now, we are starting small with some fish.

 This is Dude and he is Ryan's fish. He chose the name immediately, before we even picked out the fish, and he is firm in his choice.

Meet Sunburst, Lucas' fish. He was the last to choose a name, and he chose it because that is the type of fish he is.

His best feature is his black mustache!

Finally, we have Jenna-Girl. In Jenna's little world, she only knows a few names. And for her, Jenna-Girl is the perfect name. Her fish is a mickey mouse fish because it has black markings near its tail that look like a sideways mickey head.

Smile kids! Let's try to keep our fish alive for longer than a week!

Couch to 5K and a Messy House

A few weeks ago I began a training program called the Couch to 5K. I'm sure you've heard of it....it basically takes you from sitting on the couch to being able to run a 5K in just 8 weeks. You do run/walk intervals 3 times a week (approximately 30 minutes per day) and gradually work up to being able to run for longer periods of time. The bonus is that some of my Mops friends are also training for various races and logging their runs online, so I try to do the same so we can encourage each other.

Fast forward to this morning. The house is a mess, the kids haven't brushed their teeth in a couple days because we ran out of toothpaste, I have 7 loads of laundry to do, and I have no idea what we are eating for dinner after baseball practices tonight. Oh, and don't get me started on all the red and pink Valentine school stuff that is literally scattered throughout my house from yesterday. I was lamenting to Adam about all of it, saying "Why is it so hard to just stay on top of the BASICS? I feel like I am always trying to play catch-up". And he said something genius. He told me we can't keep up with the basics because we've added some extra non-basics to our lives lately. And it was like a light bulb went off in my head. During the past couple weeks we have added 5 weekly baseball practices to our schedule. 3 of those are on weeknights right before dinner. I have also started up at Mops again, which puts me out of the house for an entire morning every week. Add in my 3 30-minute trainings per week, and that's a lot of time spent on "non-basics". It is all really great stuff, but it pulls me away from spending time on the boring basics like dishes, laundry, meal-planning, and shopping for toothpaste.

Just yesterday at Mops the speaker did a demonstration. She had 8 moms stand in a circle, tossing bean bags back and forth. One bean bag represented spending time with our kids. Another was quality time with the husband. Another was cooking and grocery shopping, one was volunteering/working. Another was exercising, church/Bible reading, house cleaning, etc. The Moms were not supposed to drop any of the bean bags. As you can imagine, a few started to drop as the speaker added more and more bean bags to the mix.

Unfortunately, something's got to give when we add extras to our schedule. And with 4 little kids, sometimes the "basics" can fill up 95% of our time. I know I've blogged about this before, but clearly I haven't figured it out because it is an ongoing struggle. I am often left with this lingering feeling of "if only I get up earlier, try a little harder, stay up later, get more organized....".

How do you make time for the "extras" without sacrificing the "basics"?

Have you ever trained for a 5K?

Flu Fears

Ugh. Most of you know I have struggled with anxiety in the past, and these days it isn't nearly as bad. But certain things trigger it, specifically health-related worries. I dread this time of year, when colds and flus are rampant. Honestly, just talking (writing) about it is hard. It's almost like mentioning the words will somehow bring sickness upon us. Which I know isn't logical, but hey....anxiety isn't usually logical.

I am terrified of the flu. (Not the stomach flu. Surprisingly, that doesn't really concern me. I'm talking about the awful annual flu that's going around.) I can't open my internet browser without seeing a new headline about its latest casualty. And it puts me in panic mode. Fears of getting sick not only consume my thoughts but dictate my actions. Because in my mind, certain symptoms or complications that go along with the flu will certainly lead to hospitalization or worse. Truly. I'm not exaggerating.

You know what else puts me in panic mode? A cough. A sneeze. A headache. Anything out of the ordinary. Being around anyone who is displaying symptoms of getting sick. I know, I know, it's ridiculous. And don't even get me started on the whooping couch email I received from the school last week. Oy vey.

I'm the Mom who can spout out every fact about the local viruses, who can spot a sick kid a mile away, and who is militant about not letting my kids share food or cups or anything that could pass along potential germs.

So this time of year I turn into a crazy woman. Every morning I give my kids a multivitamin that also contains a probiotic. Then they each get a Vitamin C tablet. And then after school the kids get elderberry syrup to drink.

And then of course there's the hand-washing after being anywhere out of the house. And the flu shot? We all got it the first week it was available. I also diffuse immunity-boosting essential oils throughout the day. 

Because Germs!!

We also try to avoid going to indoor events with lots of people. Church? We tend to avoid it this time of year because every time we go, one of the kids is sick a few days later. If only I could homeschool for part of the year.....

Doing all these things makes me feel like I have some control over whether or not my kids will get sick. And shockingly.......we have barely been sick this season! Like, just one yucky cold last month and that was it.

But the tricky part is that getting sick is inevitable. No matter what I do, we will eventually get sick. And I know there are people like my sister who didn't give her kids the flu shot, who lets them eat off the floor, who doesn't give vitamins.....and they're been pretty healthy this season!

So I don't really know what the point of this is. Except to tell you I am terrified of all things flu. So please don't tell me if you've had it and it's awful. Please tell me that the season is over and I can relax a little, and everything will be okay.

*Excuse me while I go sanitize my hands and drink some green tea with a shot of apple cider vinegar.

A Simple Saturday

We had a simple Saturday yesterday. Here are the highlights!

Andrew and I got up before everyone else. I had grand plans to get a lot done.

 But just a few minutes later we were joined by Ryan, and then Lucas and Jenna 5 minutes later.

 I finally jumped on the 2-ingredient dough bandwagon. It's a very popular recipe that uses just self-rising flour and nonfat greek yogurt. I tried my hand at bagels. They turned out okay, but I'm going to play around with the recipe a bit more this week.

 Lucas and I made a quick grocery list and made it to Safeway before 9am. Adam stayed home and cleaned with Jenna and Ryan while Andrew napped.

We hurried home and unloaded groceries and then got everyone dressed and ready for Lucas' t-ball practice at 11.

Lucas was asked to show them his batting stance. They coached told him he looked like a pro, and told his teammates to look at him. Even though it was positive attention, it totally embarrassed Lucas and he refused to practice after that.

Ryan practiced on the sidelines.

 Back at home we had lunch.

And watched some Olympics! My clean laundry continued to grow. And Adam chose 2 items to keep from his latest Stitch Fix!

 Adam took Ryan to Big 5 to buy more baseball stuff.

And I got to work making muffins.

 While Lucas and Jenna jumped.

 I did more laundry, and my pile grew.

I bought these cheese snacks at Costco this week and they are good! They are kind of like the mini babybel cheeses.

 Andrew woke up from his second nap and wrestled with the kids.

 Ryan came home and showed me his new baseball pants.

And I made muffins. So many muffins. Lucas likes carrot-applesauce, Ryan likes chocolate banana, and Jenna prefers blueberry.

Adam and the big boys went to the park to try out their new baseball T. I cleaned up with playroom with the two littles. Then we played and messed it all up again.

 Adam hung up our new sign above our bed. I love it!

 After dinner I headed out to the movies with my MOPS friends.

 I have only been to the movies twice since having children.....to see Finding Dory and Moana. I haven't seen a grownup movie in a theater since before Ryan was born almost 8 years ago!

 We saw The Greatest Showman and it was so fun!

The End.