Wednesday, April 24, 2013

vacation all i ever wanted, vacation had to get away

This vacation could not have come at a better time.  I promised to bring Michiganders back some warm weather but instead it snowed tonight. Meh.  Next week looks a little better.

In true obnoxious form, I'm going to break the vacation posts up.  Mostly to spare you from photo overload.

We left on a jet plane very early Saturday morning.  Our flight took off at 7:30am therefor I got about an hour and a half of sleep on Friday night.  Packing, cleaning and general excitement really ganged up on good old fashioned rest in the situation.  The trip went perfectly.  Could not have asked for a better flight.  The airport was incredibly helpful and we ended up being in a row all to ourselves.  Henry took a bottle on the way up and slept almost the entire flight.  When he finally woke up we were starting to descend and he played with his little football and it wasn't until we really got close to landing did he cling very tightly to be and laid his head on my chest.  I'm not a particularly good flyer, motion sickness overcomes me.  This time though I was most concerned with the safety and comfort of Henry.  When he grabbed my arm and held himself close to me I practically balled my eyes out.  Henry knows I am there to protect him and it feels really really good.

My brother in law, Jay, picked us up from the airport and he showed us a few places around town.  We headed back to his condo.  We walked in and could not believe how much Jay and his fiance, Amanda had done for us.  The room they had set up for the three of us, the basket in the bathroom filled with toiletries, it was all so sweet.  The two of them made our trip unbelievable.  I was so nervous to travel with Henry, but they made it so easy.  We unloaded our luggage and headed down a few condos to DJ's, Aunt Sandy and Uncle Bill's condo.  They were a huge part of making this vacation awesome.  Aunt Sandy gathered a ton of baby stuff together for us and let us borrow all kinds of beach stuff.  It was so great to be able to visit with family.

We took it easy on day one.  We were all exhausted in preparation.  We headed to the grocery store to stock up for the week.  Once we got back we got in our bathing suits and took Henry for his first dip in the pool.  He loved it.  Henry and I got out of the pool and while I wrapped him up in his towel his eyes started to close and within seconds he was sleeping.  Adorable to say the least.


Day two was a trip to the beach.  Henry woke up at about 7:45am.  We sat on the lanai with coffee and a bottle then took a walk around the pond in the middle of the condo complex.  It was gorgeous.  Peaceful.  Once DJ woke up I told him I was destined to live in warm weather.  Destined.
We headed to the beach somewhat late and it was super busy by the time we got there.  We probably should have considered bringing a pack mule with us with all the stuff we brought.  In true six month old baby form, once we actually set up and walked down to the ocean, Henry lost his marbles.  He cried and cried.  He was not impressed with the big bad ocean.  It was a scorcher so DJ held Henry underneath the umbrella we brought and Henry took a half ass nap.  I layed in the suns rays while Jay and Amanda got drinks and did some serious people watching.  Always good people watching on the beach.  After a nap, Henry woke up, still just as unhappy as before the nap.  We decided it was probably time to go.  Right about that time the wind blew our umbrella inside out (just as it had about 4 umbrellas around us) and so it was a mad scramble to fix it.  We packed up and walked back to the car.  We were all covered in sand, hot, a little cranky and Henry was d.o.n.e. done.  We drove back to the condo and ordered take out.  Take out was just what the doctor ordered.  Especially once we saw the serious sunburn DJ got.  Everyone is always worried about my "fair skin" because I'm a red head.  Well my husband that sat underneath the umbrella the whole time, besides the walk to and from the car was the only one with burgundy burnt skin.  I was tanned from laying in the sun.  He was practically purple.
Day three was back to the pool.  In the morning, Henry and I stuck with our routine.  Coffee and a bottle on the lanai followed by a few laps around the pond.  This morning, daddy joined us.  Perfection.  After a little play time and a nap we went down to the pool. 
 most favorite picture ever
Henry is a big hit with friends, family and strangers alike.  No one has a bad thing to say about that kid.  He floated around in his pool float from Nana and his Tigers hat.  All the beach toys Amanda bought him the day before for the beach were way cooler to Henry now that they were in the pool.  After the pool we decided to go out and get sushi for dinner.  It was the BEST sushi I have ever had.  Henry was super excited about throwing his keys on the floor for the entire dinner but I inhaled that sushi every chance I got.  We spent an astronomical amount on said sushi, but it was entirely worth it.  After sushi we got some ice cream to make sure that there was not even a centimeter of space available in our tummies.  Another great day in Florida for the Bloomingburgs.
Vacation to be continued tomorrow...

Monday, April 22, 2013

weekend inventory

I will be getting to our vacation starting tomorrow, but today is just a wrap up of this past weekend.

Friday we all slept in.  Even Hank.  We had a slightly nightmarish flight home on Thursday night so we all really needed the extra shut eye.  Once our bums rolled out of bed, DJ and I made coffee and a bottle for Hank.  We were immediately inundated with the Boston bombing updates.  We had not been able to shake the awful events that occurred at the marathon.  We kept the news on most of the day and not only did I get our suit cases unpacked but I also got our laundry done. (pick your jaw up off the floor)  We did some running around, groceries, Target for general odds and ends and Lowes for veggie seeds and to look over some flooring options.  (we've made some big decisions regarding our home and we're not hesitating to start the remodel process)  Once we got home, Hank was nearly ready for bed.  He was still so exhausted from vacationing and teething has reached a wicked stage.  I gave him an early bath and got him in to bed.  DJ and I ate dinner while we sat glued to the tv and were over joyed when they finally caught the suspect.  I planted my veggie seeds and when DJ left to play late night hockey, I struggled to keep my eyes open beyond 11pm.
Saturday, we did not leave our house.  Partially because we really needed a day of full on vacation recuperation and partially because April 20th is my unluckiest day of the entire year.  All bad things happen to me on this day and it's all related to being in a vehicle.  It's my best friends worst day also.  We've been in accidents together, accidents apart, tickets, etc.  Therefor I battened down the hatches this year and crossed my fingers I wouldn't choke on a chicken bone or something.  Luckily nothing bad happened, unless you count Hank's rotten awful day of teething.  That's been going on for days though so I didn't sweat it.  We spent the day in jammies and ordered chinese food to be delivered.
Sunday, we all went to the winter farmers market in the morning and bought damn near a case of jam.  It was our local jam lady's last market in Michigan so we stocked up on her raspberry jalapeno jam and a few others.  I was thrilled that there was lots of fresh produce to choose from.  I planned on buying a ton of fresh produce but was sorely dissapointed to find that they were nearly sold out.  That left me to buy spicy turkey jerky and gluten free sweet treats.  After the market we headed to Henry's friend Will's first birthday party.  It's incredible to see how at one year, Will is such a little man.  Not so much a baby, but a boy.  Hank is six months, a half a year.  Six months flew by.  I'm certain the next six months will fly by just the same and we'll be watching our son smash into a cake just like handsome Will.


It was a great weekend that ended with yummy dinner and a little swinging on the back deck and only a little bitter sweet knowing that I had to come back to work today. 





I have the day off tomorrow so it's only a little awful to have to return to the working world.  Happy manic Monday!

Friday, April 12, 2013

a blog about mostly nothing

I'm warning you that this blog has no relevant material whatsoever because I have the attention span of a flea this week.  It also contains no links where links should be.  Sorry not sorry.  One more sleep until Florida.  Speaking of irrelevant, it used to annoy me when people said how many "sleeps" until a big event but now that I just used it, I'm perfectly comfortable with it.


I've been trying to pack for vacation all week and last night I basically just dumped a stupid amount of bathing suits, shoes and clothes in my suit case with no organization to speak of.  I always try very hard to put together outfits for each day of a trip away from my home and closet, but then my mind starts to wander and I think things like, "what if that's not what I want to wear that day?" or "will I need my running shoes just in case?".  The answers to those questions are always going to be, no. No you won't want to wear that on that day because you will feel fat, it will not be appropriate for your plans that day, etc etc and no you won't need your running shoes because you won't be exercising on vacation, nice try though.  In the end I end I will probably wear the same pair of denim shorts everyday and one black bikini because it's my favorite.


I won't even talk about the weather again and how depressing it is to look out the window at the charcoal grey color that covers, um, everything.  Instead I'll talk about how every state around Michigan is in the 70's and 80's.  What.The.Hell?

I have a problem lately where I forget to put on deodorant.  I can't really pin point where this step in my daily routine dropped out, but it's been happening so much that DJ thinks I'm doing it on purpose.  I'm not a sweaty person, but there is always a point mid-day that makes me ask myself if I remembered to put on deodorant that day.  If the answer is, no, that's the minute that I will perspire. 
I've been spending a lot of time envying the shape and size of other women's lips.  I really love pink and red lipsticks. How great would it be if I had more of a foundation to cover?  DJ is not a fan of cosmetically altered lips but I'm slightly fascinated.

I decided to wax my bikini area at home all by myself.  It was not a very pleasant experience and far harder to inflict pain on myself as opposed to allowing someone at a salon to do so.  I despise body hair in the worst way possible.  I tried the Sally Hanson "painless" version and after one strip I wanted to hunt down Sally herself and ask her if she is delusional enough to believe anything about her wax makes it "painless" or even "less painful" than any others on the market.  I made 3 attempts and gave up.  I went to the store the next day and bought the wax strips that already have the wax on them.  It worked way better than the spread-on style wax from the night before, but it was still extra painful, requires a certain amount of flexibility and took forever.  It made me appreciate the women in the salon that remove hair for a living a lot more.  The good part is that, this nightmare project experience was almost 3 weeks ago and I am just now seeing any hair growth.  Now, I'm having another internal battle with myself to decide if I should wax again or go back to shaving.  #firstworldproblems

I have a tendency to kill living plants in my house regularly.  Outside too if I'm being honest.  DJ is actually the one that takes care of my flowers when I bring them home, for both inside and outside.  BUT, my grams brought me a violet on Thanksgiving and against all odds I have kept that pretty little thing alive and it's even bloomed again this week.  I am so proud of myself.  *pats self on back* It makes me feel super confident about planting a vegetable garden this year.  I'm going to start my seedlings when we get back from vacation.  Speaking of  getting back from vacation, that's been my go to response to everything over the past two weeks.  I act as if nothing can or should be started before vacation.  Every project I want to begin (or task that I don't really want to begin) must wait until we get back, because clearly it would be a waste to start right now. 

DJ swears he's going to finally make me a raised gardening bed, but I swear if the ancient ground hog that has been building tunnels for centuries in our neighborhood thinks he's going to snack on my veggies he's got another thing coming.  Many a neighbor has tried to take him down and he has outsmarted the whole of them.  (Ground Hog 18 - Neighborhood Men 0)  It reminds me of that movie "Big Fish".  Everyone tried to "catch" the fish, but he wouldn't be fooled with the average methods to catch a fish.  The ground hog is much like this, big fish, and I respect his ramblin' gamblin' ways, but I still won't share my veggies with him.

OK, that's all for now.  Hope you made it to the end without falling asleep.  I'll bore you with more about nothing at another time.  I'll be back after vacation, probably with a crap ton of pictures of my awesome family soaking up warmer days.  Follow us on instagram though! #bloomsflysouth @laurabloom & @djbloom13

Monday, April 8, 2013

6 months

My goodness he's getting so big so fast.  Time is flying by.  I sound like my mother.

Here is your 6 month update:
16lbs 15oz - 50th percentile and 27.5inches - 75th percentile

Cause and effect is the worst best game.  Nothing is funnier than playing with a toy for two seconds and then throwing it on the ground to watch mommy bend down to pick it up.  Repeat these two steps 21654854321546854231 times.

No.Teeth.Still.  Still teething, drooling and putting everything including your shoulder in his mouth, but no actual tooth to speak of.  Really glad the doctor said at his 4 month appointment that he would have a tooth poke through "any day now".  I guess I misunderstood any day now.

Henry likes the bouncers more than ever.  He gets really wild in them.  Especially if he is bare foot and can get a really good foundation to push off of.

Face smooshing and skin pinching.  He likes to grab at things these days and neck skin is no exception.

Standing with assistance.  We hold his hands and he gets the baby butt wobble. 

While he lays on his tummy he pulls his little knees up and bends them, but still has his face planted on the ground.  He really wants to crawl.  It's hard though guys.
I refuse to try to carry his tubby buns in the car seat anymore.  Stroller or baby wearing is the only way to go.  The weight combination of the car seat and his 6 month self is enough to take me down.

Henry is still a very good sleeper.  He is getting to the point where he feels like he may miss something though if he takes a nap or goes down for the night, so he fights the actual process pretty hard. 

Separation anxiety has begun to a degree.  Not horrible by any means, but he is very aware if DJ and I leave a room and depending on which one of us left the room, he will get a little whiney until whom ever left the room comes back.  It's not all the time, here and there though.

Fascination with babies and dogs.  There was a little boy at the baby shower and  he came up to Henry and kissed him right on the nose.  Talk about cute.  After that Henry couldn't stop watching him.  And last weekend after Easter, we stopped by to visit close family friends and Henry giggled and smiled at the little girl Sophia when she was talking to him.  Also he laughs so hard when Bella and Bowie are rough housing.  Baby laughs are so contagious. 
Each month sure seems to get better and better. 


weekend inventory

Happy Monday!  How was your weekend?  Ours was packed and went by far too quickly. 

Saturday we got dolled up and headed an hour east to see my friend Megan get married.  She looked so beautiful.  Long ago were the days that my most dear life long friend, Rachel and I would pass along to her little sister, Megan, the amputee Barbies that the dog had got a hold of, or the ones that we attempted a beauty school hair trim on, or the dog biscuit sandwiches.  Now the three of us are married, Megan has a beautiful daughter, Ryan, Rachel has a baby girl, Emma, on the way and I have my little Henry.  Rachel and Megan are more than friends to me, they are my sisters.  I am so lucky to still have them in my life and over joyed to celebrate all these milestones together still. 
The beautiful bride and groom did the cutest thing.  After all the traditional dances the groom and his mom busted out a really fun dance, cut to the grooms entire immediate family and the bride joining in.  It was so awesome!  I was extra proud of my little Meggie poo for choreographing the whole thing!  A former clutz, leading the pack ;)
Sunday, DJ headed downtown for the Tiger's game while Hank and I went to a baby shower.  I stopped at the mall on the way to the shower to pick up a baseball hat for Henry.  How bummed was I to realize that for the second time in the past two months I have gone to the mall on a Sunday and it wasn't even open yet.  Thankfully the sports store I needed to go opens early and I bought the cutest Detroit Tigers hat for him.  We got to the shower and as I picked up Henry I felt a curiously wet spot on his backside.  Of course he had leaked through his diaper and had to be changed out of his super adorable outfit.  I changed him, he smiled and showed off for the ladies, took a brief nap and then charmed some more.  He met his newest girlfriend and sat quietly and listened as she discussed her recent purchase of a farm in North Carolina.  Henry is looking forward to the day he gets to come visit.
After the shower the two of us went home and I started getting things packed for Florida and doing some laundry.  DJ came home from the game and was super excited to show me the hat he bought for Henry.  A Detroit Tigers hat. Figures.  The worst part is that his was way cooler than the hat I bought.  He one up-ed me.  Great minds think alike though I suppose. 

5 more sleeps until Florida!

Friday, April 5, 2013

easter...spring cleaning...vacation prep

I have so many posts stacked up that are "drafted" but need photos (or "gasp" videos) added before they are officially posted, so it's not for lack of trying that my posts lately have been few and far between.

Last weekend was Easter and Sunday was the hoppiest of days.  Us Bloomingburgs' went over to my mama's house for linner (between lunch and dinner) and I basically walked in, Hank was promptly passed to my grams and from there on out he was in the possession of my family all day.  He is quite a social butterfly so he's happy to hang with just about anyone.  I forgot to bring the cookies I made.  Darn it.  My Aunt V had given me a great idea to make these Easter sugar cookies with frosting between, so I made them and then forgot them on the counter.  Normally I would be thrilled to have a bunch of cookies on hand, but I'm workin on my fitness peeps.  Easter was lovely regardless of my cookies being forgotten.  My mama made lots of pinterest inspired desserts and Hank had a GIANT Easter basket waiting for him.  He got movies, clothes, toys and it was all sitting in a baby floaty for the pool.  So cute. 
In total Hank received 4 Easter baskets.  One at our house, one at each of my in-laws houses and one at my mamas house.  That Easter bunny must really love him.  Maybe Hank would have been more happy to meet him had he known that he would be treating him so well just a week later.  He looks so nervous in Mr. E. Bunny's arms.  Oh well, at least he didn't cry...
This week flew by the way weeks usually fly by when there is a to-do list a mile long.  Next Saturday we are leaving for Florida to see my brother in law and his fiance.  Much preparation needs to take place in order to take a six month old to another state for a week.  My little sister in law came over and stayed the night Tuesday, I worked 10+ hours most days and the time that I did spent at home was spent deep/spring cleaning our house.  Now it's all done though. Friday has arrived and almost just as quickly gone, tomorrow we have a wedding to attend and Sunday Hank and I have a baby shower to go to while, DJ goes to the Tigers game.  Next week will surely drag though.  That's just how it works.  My mind will already be out of vacation which will make works days terribly long.  Ho hum TGIF.