happy friday and answers to some questions

matt is taking me out tonight on our first real date since phoebe was born. nursing and being the worst at pumping has pretty much kept us home these past 4 months...but tonight! tonight we throw caution to the wind and sneak out once she's asleep and grandma comes to sit. (max is away adventuring with his dad this weekend)

we have a curfew of midnight (when she's been waking up to eat again) and i have my fingers crossed that i don't fall asleep on matt by 9 o'clock. regardless, this calls for some heels and a little lipstick. 

happy happy weekend, friends!

i've spent some time answering a few of your questions...thank you so much for all of them!

i'll get to the other's next week...

Q&A after the jump
(click on "read more")

 Section 1- Mothering

What is your schedule like these days with the baby and max?- Each day is a mixed bag...my main objective is to stay super flexible! Bee is starting to form a small routine with her eating and napping but just when i think i've got it figured out she'll switch it up on me. That said, Max is up by 8 each morning for school and sis and i drop him off at 8:30. Right now Bee is eating every 2 hours and taking 1-2 long naps during the late morning and afternoon (if i'm lucky). I try to work while she's napping but most days you'll see me frantically pushing a cart around Target trying to get her to sleep. haha. Max is home by 3 and off playing with the neighbor boy most days. Bedtime is 9 and sis isn't too far behind him. She used to sleep through the night for me but is now waking up every 3 hours (midnight/3/5-6/7...ugh). 

How do you juggle being a mama and working from home...painting, blogging?- Being a mama of course comes first..and some days there isn't time for anything else. I try to create pockets of time for myself to work or decompress...but those usually come with some interruptions to change a diaper or fix a snack. The key again is to be flexible. I have to be ok with not having the dishes done or to skip a blog post one day or call in reinforcements to get out and drive around alone for 20 minutes. Prioritizing and taking my pulse and the pulse of the house is something i have to reassess every day. Needs and wants change daily. It truly is juggling...and i drop quite a few balls (usually the house cleaning/organizing/washing my hair/ balls)

What did you decide to do with Phoebe's vaccinations?- Matt and I are still undecided. We're doing the research and weighing our options but we've come to two different conclusions...and are at a bit of an impasse. Luckily, her Dr. is ok with us waiting. And while i'm breastfeeding we feel like that is buying us some valuable time. (Since antibodies are passed along through the milk). I will say though that the Dr. Sears book has been a real help!

What happened to max's "dear baby" posts? -  haha! they fizzled quick! I started to feel like a stage mom making him write those every week! he would be sad and wouldn't want to do it...and if i bribed him enough to sit and write they would become the wackiest letter you'd ever read. just nonsense and crude little boy humor. anyways, it was fun while it lasted. again...flexibility! haha.

Section 2- Relationships

Can you post wedding photos? Are you and Matt married?- Matt and I aren't legally married...although it's funny i forget that fact all the time! We are very much a team and committed to each other...a family! But we have let things grow in our relationship a little more organically than what is considered traditional. After getting divorced from Max's dad, i wasn't sure i would ever want to get legally married again. I believe in marriage wholeheartedly...what it symbolizes. But sitting in front of a judge and a stenographer and a lawyer....watching strangers decide what the fate of our marriage was when it was already decided in our hearts and with our God....changed the way i look at a legal marriage through the state. I could go on and on...but it's a pretty personal thing and very specific to my situation. Suffice it to say...maybe someday! haha. I'm pretty proud of where I am today, emotionally-speaking. But a ceremony in front of our friends and family would be pretty amazing...

How do you keep a good relationship between you and max's dad?- The only word i can use for this answer is love. Love for Max, love for each other...each other's family. Divorce didn't take away the amount of respect and love we had for each other. And while it wasn't the easiest to find our footing and there were times when we've been at odds and i never thought we'd get here, not being on the same team has never been an option. Max sees us as one collective family...and that's because we are! One big, crazy, unconventional family! On the more practical side of the question- there are things I do to make sure there is peace. Picking and choosing battles, deciding to trust, working together/being flexible, finding happiness and joy for each other's personal and professional lives. It's all very possible when you make a decision to love. 

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i'll pick back up next week with your questions about my professional life!

xoxo