My little guy is 3.5 years old :)

My little man is 3.5 years old :) He is so smart and spunky it blows my mind some times (and tries my patience at times).  He is so tall and looks older that it's hard to believe he is only 3.5...which can be a blessing but a curse as well because when people interact with him, they think he's older.  We had a great labor day weekend.  We were supposed to hit Warren Dunes State park over the labor day weekend but weather was iffy so we decided to hotel it and hit Chicago.  It was a must needed trip as I was totally crispy fried from a horrible oncall night so we needed a guaranteed good weekend.  Besides the hotel being arg (we will never stay at the Palmer House again...ever) it was amazing.  We took the kid to the Lincoln Park zoo and let him climb all over the childrens area.  We also hit up the children's museum on Navy Pier which was totally utopia for children.  They have this cool ship where the kids can climb from one floor to the next.  The kid was in heaven.  So needless to say, fun times were had by all in our family.

I'm battling some burnout from work....I'm tired.  I've been stretched thin for the past month since we are so bare bones.  Luckily, it went back to normal this week but I've essentially been in hiding at my office and nose to the grind stone until I get caught up.  I've had to cover 3 other co-workers jobs so it's been tiring.  I'm grateful that I'm getting this break but I know the surge will be coming soon again.  We have two days next week off for a get away so hopefully it will be restful and not stressful that I took a few days off.  Our vacation time this past summer was off because Chris had trial.  I can honestly feel that I'm due for a decent break.  Self care and time off can be hard in my life of work...I'm trying...and I'm looking forward for some days to regroup.

I'm in love with both of these dresses.  I really am.  I've been really good about not buying anything from GB but I was so tempted to buy both of them.  It was hard to send it back.  But I did and I'm sure I will get another cute one in it's place :)  The one thing I love is getting out of my comfort zone and trying something new.

Maybe...?

Chris was at a trial for two weeks so I was a single mom for a bit.  All I have to say is kudos to the single mom's out there because that was hard.  He was home on the weekend but he was doing some major prepping so he was around but technically not available.  Luckily, the trial ended Friday so he is back but whosh!  In the middle of that, I was socked with oncall where I was out from 6pm -  3am in the morning.  All I can say is "I'm getting too old for this"...bouncing back after 3 hours of sleep and putting in a whole day's worth of work is not good.  I'm finally feeling semi-normal again but it throws me for a loop.

Here's me in this cutie.  It's something that I would normally not wear but sometimes it's nice to go outside of my comfort zone.  The day I wore it, I paired it with this killer statement necklace.  Back in the day, I would have stayed away from this dress but the new me is like "bring it on".  I almost bought the dress but it was $45 dollars off of Gwynnie Bee but I'm trying to be good this money and I'm not allowing myself to buy anything...which can be really hard.

Chris is applying time work from the home on Monday.  I'm hoping that he will get it because if he does, we can move back home eventually.  We're done with Kalamazoo.  We've given it two years and it's still doesn't feel like home to us.  Our house is gorgeous but there is no attachment to it.  Luckily, we chose well when we came down because it's looking at this point we would nearly enough money to put down about 60- 75% of what a one income home in Grand Rapids.  Then I could decide what I want to do.  A Costco cashier job is looking pretty good at this point.  I have a couple of options so it would be nice to spend time with the kid before he goes off to school.  Maybe it's a pipe dream but I'm ready to go :)  A house down the road in the older subdivision went in one day so there is no question about our home.  It's pretty unique for the subdivision and we have all the little fancies that someone would want.  I know I'm semi-dreaming but in our case, it's nice to dream :)

Exploring...

One of the coolest things that I get to do lately is to explore the new area that I work in.  I'm really digging the South Bend, Indiana area. I'm always hunting to do awesome activities with kids so finding some in the area that I work is always fun.  I was out last week and I look over and there's a pottery shop.  Having some time on my hands, I decided to go in and just browse.  After seeing the awesome prices, I decided to do some painting.  For the first time in my life, I got to paint some pottery and it was an absolute blast.   Growing up, I never had anything with my name on it.   When I saw the coffee cup, I was like "Oh yeah!".   I'm not artistic what so ever but I have to say, it was one of the most relaxing experiences ever.  To spend a Friday afternoon, relaxing, and just having a new experience is amazing.  It's what every Friday should be like, right?  My creation will be done in 7-10 days after they fire it up so I cannot wait until I see the finished product.

Today was an interesting day.  The morning was filled with a meeting to discuss wither or not my work opts back into social security.  To watch the emotions going on around me was amazing because I saw true fear from others that they will not be retiring like they thought they would.  I have to say, thank goodness for all of the wise saving we have done.  I can't even begin to imagine being 62 and "having to work until I die" (which one co-worker reported).  One of the reasons that we went with Chris's job is that not only does his company have a defined pension, which is truly rare in this day in age but he also has a generous 401 that his company contributes to.  I can only hope that we will make it to retirement to enjoy it :)

I sported the lip print maxi dress from Gwynnie Bee today.  I must say for 90 degrees, this was the perfect dress for me.  I spent half the day outside/in warmer areas so it was perfect.  I also sported my Taos Shoes that had a slight heal and I was rocking it out. Though, by the end of the day, my feet were saying "WTF Kellie?"  Yes, I'm 38 years old and probably on one hand could count how many times I have worn something with a heel.  They were amazing and comfy but by the end of the day, I feel like I am losing my toe. Not a good feeling at all!

The kid was in an amazing mood today.  I have to say that this age is absolutely fun.   Three is good! To hear what he feels and what his joys are in life just warms the heart.  We have been taking him to swim lessons since the spring and to see his confidence grow in the pool is amazing.  Watching him glide from one side to another just keeps me in awe.  Like this proud moment of "that's my boy".   Awe what a feeling!