1. Jones Family News (new jobs and baby updates)
2. Potty Training (could fall into news category, but there is a lot of Sh*t to talk about....literally)
3. Fitness update
Let's get started:
Jones Family News:
Since the beginning of the year, Dans company announced they were liquidating. There was no date as to when, but there was certainty that his time at Flexi was coming to an end. Dan started the year job hunting. This is a difficult task for most, but I am proud to say that my husband (and also one of the smartest people I know - if not THE smartest) is a highly sought after individual. He was recruited by a company based out of Houston for a Treasurer position. (Let me rewind about 5 years. Dan sets career goals. He ALWAYS meets his goals. When we started dating, Dan told me he wanted to be a Treasurer before he was 40. His 40th birthday is May 27.) While accepting this position would mean a huge change for our family, it was something we were entertaining based on the salary, the title and the doors that would open for him and our family later, and the fact that Houston, while not Dallas, is a short enough trip to make keeping in touch with family very attainable. He was flown out twice in 2 weeks, 2 weeks after that was given an offer. The offer was far less than we could validate relocating our lives for, so he continued to search in Dallas while they "came up with a counter offer" (aka interviewed more candidates in Houston that would take the salary they were offering). Dan was interviewed for another position in Ft. Worth. This position was a small step down from where he was....and the company, while CLOSE to Dallas, would still mean at least double the commute and the salary was not compensating for that. Although it was not a position/company he loved, we were considering it because after all, I may work, but Dan pays the bills. He is the head of our house and the provider in the financial sense of things. He knows that he has to have a job and is always very proactive about his career. The Ft. Worth company offered him the job, and while we were still holding out for Houston, and Dan was still actively searching for options closer to home, he managed to delay his answer for a few days. He was offered the job on a Tuesday. On Thursday, his recruiter called and said they had a position he would be perfect for in Plano. The title was Treasury Manager (a step down), but salary was competitive and the location could not be more perfect. He interviewed Friday at 11. They called his recruiter back immediately and set up another meeting with the rest of the Board members (this company is set up more like a law firm than a corporate office). Long story short, they offered him the position of Treasurer (after meeting him and realizing what he would contribute to their company), and he accepted. In an ironic turn of events, Houston came to Dan and offered him exactly what he had asked initially along with a bonus for relocation. He turned them down as we decided that being close to family was worth a lesser salary. So, there you have it. It was a stressful few months. The prospect of moving had my stomach in knots. The prospect of Dan not finding something had my stomach in knots. There were lots of stomach knots around here.....but we are settled now. This company is going to be very good for our family in the long run, however, sometimes that comes a long with some sacrifice in the beginning. At the moment, we are sacrificing time together. Dan works long hours and of the 5 weeks he's worked there, he's been out of town for 1 full week, and is leaving again tomorrow for another week. I don't have to tell any mommy how hard it is to go it alone for a full week.....the travel is something neither of us expected and honestly, we're not sure how much will be involved total. So, we're just doing it day by day. And so far, Dan's work at the company has made a huge impact and his value is apparent to everyone who hired him. So, for now we suck it up and wait for the big pay off ;)
As for the rest of us, we are getting along fine. Bella is such a good tempered baby. I just can't get over how much she smiles and coos. Her whole face literally lights up. She loves watching her sister jump around and be silly, and I can't wait to see them interact even more. She is now sleeping very well at night. She will still wake up once or twice, but mostly to have the paci (that stupid God forsaken paci) put back in her mouth. As I was blogging in my head one night, I was going to share with all moms my thoughts on paci's. As I got up for the 900th time to put it back in her mouth (this was a rare night, but one that I really wanted to sleep), I was going to ward off paci's in general. I was going to rave about their pointlessness and how they contribute to sleep deprivation in the early months (for mom only). But then, that 901st time I put the paci back in her mouth, she went to sleep until morning.....and I ended my blog o' rage against pacis and remembered that without it, I would have actually had to try to soothe her ;) We took her 4 mo pictures last week and I am waiting for the edits to get back to me, then I will make one big post just about her, as Dan calls her - our little PortaBella :) She's kind of a chunk. The cutest kind. She is really moving around more lately, loves the little bouncy play things and is scooting to the point where I feel like she could follow me around the house if she were so inclined. She is still not rolling from her stomach to her back yet....and I am still OK with that. Mia started sitting around 5 1/2 mo, so I feel like that is our next milestone (and eating solids) and I am really looking forward to it :)
On to the next bullet point:
Potty Training:
So, about a month and a half ago, we started actively potty training Mia. We had her in pull ups for several months before that, but we noticed that honestly she treated it just like a diaper, so we were basically just paying triple what we should have been paying for diapers. She would go tee tee on the potty whenever we put her there, but she had no interest in telling us ahead of time. Finally, when Bella started sleeping through the night and I felt like I had finally woken up from a 4 month coma, I decided to go balls to the wall and send her to school in panties. How is it that these things are so much more traumatic for me than for her?? I had anxiety about it all day! I kept checking to see if they had changed her clothes at school and I even called a couple of times (I think my crazy girlfriend came out). But, as it turns out, my kid is a rock star :) She did have 2 accidents the first week and they were both within the first 30 minutes of the first day. Since then, she has had one or two, but mostly if they are outside playing and she doesn't think to tell someone she has to go because she's preoccupied.
Well, that paragraph was terribly misleading.....I should probably have specified that this was for tee tee ONLY. My child now has a fear of going #2. For a while she would still go in her pull up at night (we are using them until I run out at night), but now it is at the point where she just doesn't want to go. At all. Anywhere. Well this is concerning. She went about 3 days without a poop, so finally after camping out for an hour in the bathroom with no action, she waited until just before she got in the bath and pooped all over the bathroom floor.....perfect. I think the night after that, she pooped on the floor downstairs somewhere. Let me just tell you, there was about a week where all i could remember was how mad I would get at Luci for pooping inside, but here I was, assuring my 2 yr old that "everyone has accidents every once in a while" and "it's no big deal, see mommy cleaned it up!" because every time this happened, it was a super dramatic tear filled 30 minutes of screaming. Oh....did I mention this was the week Dan was out of town??? Yea. Super. So, here we are. Now, not only will she not go in the potty, she does not want to go in her pull up either. Our routine at night generally consists of about 3 trips to the bathroom lasting anywhere from 15-30 minutes at a time, where we (being myself, Mia, Bella and Regan the pup) sit in the bathroom and hang out while Mia sits on the toilet and tries to convince me through tears that she is "done" because "it's plopped!" which it never has, and she never is.
Seeing as how we have lots of time to visit every night I have tried to psychologize her and figure out where this fear is coming from. One night she told me "there is a tiger in my tummy, and it's trying to get out of my booty!" well, there you have it. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't poop either if I thought a tiger was going to come out of my butt. Not really sure where to go from here. I guess we just keep camping until something happens. The good news is, she went last week on the potty one night. Kind of made those hours spent on the bathroom floor worth while....almost ;) I'm hoping by the next blog I have much better news on the poop front. In the meantime, I could use some prayers....for patience, and for poop ;)
And on the last note:
Fitness update:
Lets talk ladies. Do you remember before you got married and you had time to work out before you headed up to meet your friends for hh on an average Wednesday night? I seem to recall actually getting up BEFORE work, going to the gym, then coming home after work and running. Wow. Just wow have times changed. Here's my update....I ordered Focus T 25, because let's face it, we ALL have 25 minutes a day!! No, no we don't. I get up at 5:30 every morning and don't stop working (either job) until my last child is in bed asleep by 8:30 on a good night. Now, at 8:30 I still have not washed bottles, straightened up my house or eaten. I would have to be pretty dedicated to do all of that and then STILL do a 25 minute workout.....some nights I am that dedicated. Others, not so much. So let me sum it up.....I'm still working on finishing up week 2 while in all actuality I should be wrapping up week 5. Mind you, me and everyone in my house have been sick for going on 8 days now and my husband was out of town for another one of those weeks making my "free" time even more non-existent, so I'm not going to be down on myself about that. And honestly, if you are a working mom of two or more whose husband works long hours leaving you to do most (ALL) of the childly/housely duties alone and who also travels (what has now amounted to) 1/3 of the time and you find the time to work out 5 days a week....write a book. You will sell AT LEAST one copy.
Since I came to the realization that until my little one goes to bed and stays asleep 100% (or even 90%) of the time and my other one poops daily to avoid the getting up after bedtime to scare me into thinking she's about to poop, then I'm not going to work out 5 times a week. I will literally be thrilled if I do it twice a week.
Despite this shift in my reality, my body image has remained the same.....and that is something that I still want to work on. I saw a friend post online about Plexus Slim. Its a drink you take with an accelerator once a day and people have been shown to have amazing weight loss results on it. I have done a lot of research on the product and it is all natural and the benefits in addition to weight loss are pretty incredible. Anyway, I plan on making a whole separate post about it once I have some before and after to share from mine and Dan's experience, but if anyone is interested in checking it out and trying it with me go to my site: plexusslim.com/margaretjones
I joined Plexus, but mainly so I could get the products at a reduced rate. Don't worry, I'm not going to be bogging down emails or fb pressuring anyone to try it, but if the claims this company makes show up for Dan and myself, I figured it might be a product worth sharing with those who are interested. So....don't unfriend me! :)
I guess you're noticing there aren't any pictures in this post.....That will come soon (see I told you I'd promise an unrealistic new post soon ;))
