Mama Musings 1

Hey everyone!

Well it's been 3 weeks and about 2 hours since we welcomed our sweet little boy into the world. And everything feels different.

It's insane to me that 1) in one instant my whole world could change 2) that I could hold this tiny person in my arms and feel as if I've known him forever and 3) that I could love someone so much that sometimes it's completely overwhelming. I look at his little face and see my nose and Parker's ears. We literally made a human. Isn't that mind boggling? I know that we as a human race have been making more humans ever since we've existed so it shouldn't be that surprising and neat... but my brain can't really seem to get over it. 

Our little guy has been SO fun... and SO exhausting haha. He still loves listening to Louis Armstrong and the Beatles. Instead of cooing, as you would expect a baby to do, he growls and squeaks like the little (adorable) monster that he is. 

He loves flailing his little arms and legs around like he's treading water. His little hairs are turning red and his eyes seem to be getting more blue. 

I mean he's seriously adorable and yes he cries (and by that I mean screams) during the night and I often feel like a milk cow that needs a break but I love him so much. I get it now. I get why my mom does some of the things that she does. I get why my grandmothers did and do the things that they do. To be responsible for this tiny little person's life is an incredible responsibility. I think about him all the time. I worry about him all the time. 

I wonder what kind of man he's going to be. I wonder if he is going to be creative. Will he like seafood? Is he going to be an adrenaline junkie like his dad? Everyday I feel like I am discovering something new about him and myself and I can't wait to watch him grow... and a small part of me wants him to stay teensy and perfect and safe in my arms forever. It's conflicting and slightly confusing but I'm figuring it out. 

Oh before I go, here is the song that without fail makes my little guy smile or fall asleep. I can always count on John, Paul, George and Ringo.

So those are my thoughts for today. I hope all is well! Nursery pictures coming soon! I've just got a few projects to finish. 

Much love!

Sydney L

Nursery rEvolution

Hey All!
So as with most things in my life, the more I plan the more things turn out NOT according to plan... and that is A OK. My only concern is that, like a crazy person, I do the same thing over and over expecting a different result. Anyways, thankfully for me this not plan, plan has turned out pretty well and in all reality it's not that big of a deal.
This is about... the nursery. Yep, that room where we will place our sweet little wailing baby in the hopes that he will sleep and not blow out of his diaper. There's something about putting a nursery together that makes this whole bizarre scenario of becoming parents all the more real. Maybe it's because you're actually assembling the cradle and rocking chair that you will use and that you're now assaulted by the sight of changing pads and onsies in dresser drawers when you walk into the once spare bedroom. The totes of fabric and patterns, as well as the golf clubs and Parker's "piles" have been stowed away. I mean it's real. There's a real person in me who's going to be really sleeping in the cradle under the window. It doesn't help that my body has reached house sized proportions and that our little man could show up literally at any time. I'm torn between elation and excitement and terror.

Anyways.... sorry about the mom tangent. Back to cute decor... When we had first talked about getting the room all ready for little Jude, Parker and I had decided on modern neutrals with a woodland kick. We wanted foxes, bears and a tee-pee. So I tailored our registry accordingly and kept an eye out for adorable creatures. Well it turns out that our dear family and friends (despite all of our hopes and dreams) did not use the month and few months since our wedding to learn how to use a gift registry... and so the random concoction of baby paraphernalia piled up and to our lovely family's credit, it's adorable albeit slightly non cohesive.
So as I organized clothes by size and looked at the adorable blankets given to us and made lists of the things still needed, inspiration struck in the form it usually does. As with the naming of our child, John, Paul, George and Ringo came to the rescue. No, there will not be yellow submarines hanging from the ceiling... nor will it resemble an octopus' garden... in the shade or the sun. Unfortunately for you, we aren't quite finished which means no reveal for you yet but pictures will be coming soon. Trust me. It's going to be adorable... almost as adorable as the probably ginger kid in my tummy.
Much love,
Sydney L

Baby Snaps

Hey! 

I embarked on a new adventure yesterday... I did my first newborn photo shoot! I was incredibly nervous but I think they turned out super cute SO I thought I would share some of my favorite photos. 

Isn't she just precious? All of the bows and lace made me a little jealous. Boys only get bows in the form of bow ties. I'm not convinced that I want to do MORE newborn photos but it's definitely a good skill to have I think... and it will definitely come in handy when our little nugget decides to show up. 

While I wait for him to arrive, I guess I'll just have to continue putting together the nursery and reupholstering chairs. Pictures of the nursery to come! As a hint... it may be slightly more British than we had originally intended. 

Love,

Sydney L

Managing May

Hey guys! It's been a while since I've made a "things that are making me happy" list. This could be a combination of business and laziness (you should probably believe it's laziness) but I think it's about time to do one again.
This week has been pretty rough between Parker being sick and me passing kidney stones... then there's the pregnancy exhaustion mixed with Parker's work exhaustion. So I think it's time to take a moment to talk about happy things and remember that I have a LOT to be grateful for.

1) ANNIVERSARY! It's crazy to think that it's been a whole year and almost a month since our delightful wedding day. I feel like I can finally think about it without left over angst and stress... which is a minor miracle. Not only has our anniversary given me a chance to do that, it's also let me reflect on the year. Everything has changed so much! Not only that but everything is 10 times happier than I could have imagined it being. If you would have told me last year that at this time I would be pregnant, we'd be in Indiana of all places, I would have laughed at you. Anyways, back to our anniversary.

Parker is always the champion of surprises. He LOVES surprising me... and he hates being surprised. Needless to say he went "all out" for our anniversary. He was nervous about planning anything because we weren't sure how I'd be feeling but luckily for us the morning sickness dissipated just in time. We stayed at the Grand America in Salt Lake City (which is definitely in my top 5 favorite places EVER). It was so beautiful. There's something about staying there that makes you feel as if you've been transported to a different life, where you may not be a princess but you are definitely some form of lesser royalty. We ate gelato and explored the hotel. That night we went to Desert Star Theater to see Provo Cop... which was hilarious!

The next morning we woke up to breakfast in bed and then we went to the ZOO!! I know there's those anti zoo people. I'm not one of them. I love being able to see the monkeys and elephants and roar at the lions. Parker and I got to squeal at all the cute baby animals. It was perfect!

2) Sour Cream and Onion Chips. This seems to be my most consistent pregnancy symptom besides medium rare hamburgers and enchiladas. There's something about the way they crunch in my mouth... just thinking about it makes me hungry but that could just be that I'm always hungry.

3) Target Baby Registry. I had no idea that deciding what you wanted/needed for an upcoming baby would be so time consuming and frustrating! There is SO much stuff. Target's online registry though, is wonderful. They have it divided into categories. It makes it way easier to not lose track of what you've already looked at. Their reviews are generally helpful and they even have a "mom's choice" section that has a group of mommies' top choices in any price range. It's been great and useful and stress relieving.

4) DeBrand Fine Chocolates. This place is right here in Fort Wayne... about 5 minutes away from our apartment. I've yet to go BUT they do tours and I have the boys talked into it for next week. Just thinking about going is making me salivate. Click the link to check out some gorgeous chocolate porn. Be warned though, it's going to make you hungry for the rest of the day.

5) The Paradise. I'm almost a fan of period pieces done by the BBC. This is no exception. For those that watch Mr. Selfridge on Masterpiece, this will remind you a lot of it. However, I never got into Mr. Selfridge. Anyways, back to the Paradise. The show is set in 1875 and is centered around an English department store. If you like accents, beautiful clothes and some romance, look into it. There are only going to be 2 seasons. The first is on Netflix.

and finally 6) Chasing Grace- Run and Ed Sheeran- Small Bump. Both have been playing in my head all month. Listen in and let me know what you think.

Much love from my home to yours!
-Sydney L

New Growth

Hey everyone!
Now that it's finally March, I feel as if winter is gone. I'm sure that we will have several more random snow storms and I'm sure that the sun won't warm us up as much as I'd hoped but I'm full of hope for this month. Really I'm just full of hope for this life. I find myself in good spirits today, despite the mountain of homework I've been avoiding... I look out our huge sliding glass door and see green grass sprouting and hear birds chirping. It's simply beautiful. I love the new life and wonder that spring tends to bring. There is something amazing about taking off a layer or two for good... at least for a couple of months.

Now it's been a busy and wonderful week. I thought I'd give you a quick update!
We finally have a summer plan! Wahoo! Parker and I will be travelling to Fort Wayne, Indiana with Now Communications. Parker will be selling satellite TV. And in happier news, this will be our LAST summer of sales. It's been an amazing experience to travel to new places and meet new people but the time has come to transition to grown up life. Oh! And Boone is going to come and sell too! It's going to be great to see my two favorite boys working together. It should be great!
SPRING BREAK is next week. I'm headed to Tooele land for some wonderful adventures with my family and friends. I NEVER thought I'd miss that place but I certainly do. I'll keep you posted on my adventures and discoveries while I'm there.
On a side note, I've just started rereading My One Hundred Adventures by Polly Horvath. It's a beautiful book. It's written for children BUT I love it. I thought I'd close with a quote from it.
"Suddenly I realize that everyone in the whole world is, at the end of a day, staring at a dusky horizon, owner of a day that no one else will ever know."
Take advantage of the opportunities today holds!
Love from my home to yours,
Sydney L

Annie Oakley and Pistol Pete

So the strangest thing happens when you get married... you change. And I guess that's life really BUT I've found myself doing things I didn't think I would EVER do... for example I was anti digital scrapbooking until I ran out of time to do the physical book. I also never used to brush my teeth before bed. I feel like it makes my breath taste like mothballs in the morning but now I do it anyways. I never understood why people talked about baby names or whined when their husband was out of town. I get it now. I hate it when Parker isn't home and our list of baby names has grown exponentially. It's ridiculous, I'm aware because chances are we really aren't going to name our kid Roanoke Jupiter Alleman but it's fun to giggle about now. That brings me to the giggling. I love playing with Parker. I knew that we would play, but I don't think I realized that sometimes we would be literally 5 years old playing tea party or whatever I talked him into. It's happy. 

I've always thought of myself as a free spirit, in the general sense of the word. I do what I want, I fight for what I want and I do my best to make myself happy. It would seem however, that I am perfectly comfortable with my comfort zone and I don't want to go too far out of my bubble. I always order the same thing at Applebees, La Frantera, and the Pastry Pub. So Parker has been trying to get me to "try new things..." which really means do something that he's comfortable doing... but it's good for me. The biggest fight since marriage has been about... GUNS! My mom NEVER allowed guns in our home. Until we were married I'd only held a firearm two times and I'd only fired it once... with my eyes closed.... supposedly pointed at some target. Hand me a bow and arrow and I'm a Native American Princess. Hand me a gun and I look like some poor Victorian Era socialite with a poor constitution that whimpers when made to walk to the stables. The point is, the make me uncomfortable and scared and when we got married I most definitely did not want them around. I mean it seems completely unnecessary. 

Anyways, after much persuasion Parker has taken me shooting several times, the latest time with some of our "married" friends. We at "man-burgers" and shot our pal Bryce's handgun. I'm more of a rifle kind of girl but to my surprise I'm kind of getting the hang of this whole gun thing.. and I'm even starting to like it. Am I going to go out and kill little living creatures? Probably not. BUT I've definitely learned that knowledge is power. I'm not scared of them just going off because they feel like it anymore and I know what I'm doing, so that's a huge help in accident prevention. There is a kind of power in being able to protect yourself and your family if something happens. Besides that it's kind of fun and it turns out I'm a pretty good shot. I guess the point is maybe we should be more open to trying new things... You might surprise yourself.

Happy trials on all of your new adventures!

Love from my home to yours!

-Sydney L