Gender Reveal: IT'S A........

The time finally came yesterday for the gender reveal for Baby Harrington. I've been excited all week; I even left my laptop at home yesterday morning because I was distracted remembering my camera for the big reveal dinner. Whoopsie. Anyways, I wore my pink cardigan in support of my Team Pink choice. Don't get me wrong; I'd be happy with either a niece or nephew, but we need to bring some girls into this mix! I've got two boys and Jordan's sister has three boys, so I was hoping my sister could bring some estrogen to the mix.  

Kat & Lo brought cupcakes to dinner, topped with both pink and blue frosting. But the secret was in the filling!  We all anxiously peeled back the cupcake wrapper and bit into it to reveal the gender.Well, the verdict is in...........

IT'S A BOY!!!!!

Crap! I was wrong! But I'm super-excited about my new little nephew! And I love the name they picked out for him! (I don't know if I'm authorized to release it yet, so you won't hear it from me!)  Needless to say, I'll be cleaning out the attic and handing over boxes of little boy clothes, blankets, and toys to my sister. Eeeeeek! I can't wait! Aunt Jen Jen and Uncle JoJo are so excited, as are cousins Austin and Chase! I'm sure my boys will show Baby Boy Harrington the ropes! Now time to get going on throwing a super-fabulous baby shower. You know how much I like to throw a good party/shower. ;)

**UPDATE-----I can share.......his name will be Connor William! Love it! He already sounds like an all-American baseball player; just what Logan has wanted! :)

Catch Up Time

Geez, time has really gotten away from me lately and I've been falling behind on my blogging duties. So forgive my rambling as I provide an overall update on our crazy life.

Work has still been pretty hectic, but I'm hanging in there. I've still been able to from home about 2 days a week, so that's been pretty sweet. However, staring at my computer screens at eAudIT for 12 hours a day has started taking a toll on my eyesight. Finally broke down and went to the eye doctor last week and got me some new specs; it's amazing what I can see now!  I made some goodies (red velvet whoopie pies) the other night and went out to visit my old audit team after work. It was great to see them and fill their bellies with some sweets to keep them working.  I miss them and my duties as 'homeroom mom'!

The boys are getting crazier by the day.  Chase is starting to talk alot more and is such a giggle monster. Although, his favorite word.......No!! And he's still a big ol' Momma's Boy and latches onto me like a little monkey at any chance he can get. We're going to be looking to move Chase out of his crib here pretty soon and upgrading him to a big boy bed. I'm sure he'll love that new freedom, and I'll hate the fact that he can get out of his bed anytime he wants!  Austin is 4, acting like he's 10 years old lately. He's so independent, that it's frustrating at times. He called me 'Jennifer' the other day, that little turkey! And boy, can he be cranky in the mornings; but I think he gets that from me! But overall, they are both the sweetest boys.....my boys. Last Sunday I had sat them down at the kitchen table to eat lunch, while I went to put some laundry in the wash. When I walked back through, they were holding hands at the table saying their prayer. It melted my heart and I just had to stop and stare. I can't even hardly remember what life was like before they were in it. 

Things with Jordan and I are great. We try to sneak in some alone time whenever we can. If he has a day off, I try to work from home if possible, so that we can go to lunch or something. I still can't believe that in a few months we will have been married for TEN YEARS! That is freakin' crazy! Not many people get married at the age of 21 and remain together for this long. The divorce rate in this country is out of control. But here we are, still together. We were different people back then when we got married and we've both done some growing up, learned more about each other, give each other what we need, and love unconditionally. It hasn't always been smiling faces and roses, but we're in a better place right now than we have been in a long time. And I'm thankful for that.  (Eeeek, we were so young here!)

We're two weeks away from finding out the gender of my future niece/nephew and I can barely contain my excitement. I've got my money on a girl; maybe I'm just secretly hoping for some estrogen to try to even out all these boys in my life! Needless to say, once the gender is revealed, I'll be shopping to spoil this little one in no time. My sister definitely set a precedent with my boys, so now it's my turn! So stay tuned for the big announcement (once she gives me the green light). ;)  The boys spent the night with MeowMeow and LoLo last weekend and had a BLAST! They did so much in 24 hours and were completely pooped. I have to get every minute of babysitting out of them before they have their own kid!

My thyroid (or lack thereof, I guess now) is still causing me some problems. Since having surgery back in November, my body is still out of whack. I can't get my body temperature regulated and am constantly freezing cold. I walk around the house in a hoodie all the time and crank up the heat until Jordan yells at me.  And my sleep patterns are thrown off; it's usually one extreme or the other. I'm either completely exhausted and can barely keep my eyes open, or I'm exhausted but my mind won't shut off and I'm up til 2am. So it's definitely a vicious cycle and hard to catch up. I've been going back to the endocrinologist every 4 weeks for updated bloodwork to try to get my dosage right on my meds. Hopefully it will happen soon! My incision is still pretty tender and still feels a little weird if I touch it (or if one of the boys throw me an elbow!). I've also joined the weightloss challenge at work. And let me tell you how not-excited I was when I found out that it was a male HR employee that weighed us in; I was completely expecting a woman. So now it's go-time. Time to start eating better again and making time to work out. To help motivate me with the workouts, I signed up to start another boot camp in two weeks.......at 5am. Ugh, oh how I am dreading getting up that early again! But I need a group atmosphere to get me going. The bootcamps I did last spring really helped me slim down for Kat's wedding, so it's time to do it again and stick to it this time!

On a happier note, we're trying to finalize our vacation plans for June. But we're rethinking Hawaii and considering going on another cruise instead. We've been on five together and really liked the idea that everything is all organized for us and we can get to visit multiple destinations. We've been to Grand Cayman, Puerto Rico, Belize, Cabo, Puerto Vallarta, Cozumel, St. Thomas, etc.  So many awesome places!  We know we like cruises, so we may just do that again and renew our vows on a beach at one of the destinations. And let's face it, a beach is a beach. And Hawaii is expensive as hell. And I want my new Tahoe this summer! :)

That's it for now; off to finish my glass of wine and then heading to bed (hopefully)!

It's a Love Fest!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Are we really in mid-February already?! Goodness, it seems like Christmas was just last week. I sent the boys off to school this morning with Avengers valentines for Austin and Mickey valentines for Chase, complete with M&Ms. As I was writing out the valentines, Austin and I had a very interesting conversation about all of the girls in his class that he was going to kiss. What?! He was giggling when he was telling me about the each of the little girls. He can't be girl crazy yet, right? I don't even have to ask about Chase, because he's such a little cuddle bear, I have no doubt that he's passing out hugs and kisses left and right.  Those boys are crazy and are sure to be heartbreakers.

Jordan came downtown to my office to take me to lunch today.  He even wore a shirt and tie on his day off for me! I also had some amazing tulips (my fave!) and a card waiting for me this morning before I went to work.  As you can imagine, finding time for a meal alone can be challenging with two rascals running around. Tomorrow we've both got the day off and are going to have a date-day. Yay! I think I've got Jordan talked into going to see the new movie based on a Nicholas Sparks book (I'm a sucker for a love story!) The last movie we saw was Zero Dark Thirty, so it's my pick this time!

Alright, back to work! I'll give more of an update on what's been going on in our lives soon!

Not much....

Just checking in here for a quick post. Not much new going on. I've been working alot lately, so not too much downtime for blogging. :( However, I have been able to work ALOT from home lately (at least 2 days a week), so that's been pretty great. I've resorted to my 'work clothes' consisting of yoga pants and a t-shirt. :) I'm actually pretty productive at home; it definitely takes discipline and self-motivation. But it saves me time commuting to the office, $$ parking, and $$ going out to lunch. And on most days Jordan comes home for lunch to see me, so that's an added bonus. ;) My 'plan' this month has been to work from home a few days a week and go upstairs to workout on my would-be lunch break. Well.........constant conference calls and tight deadlines have derailed that plan. Hoping this week is the one to get back on that horse! Otherwise, I'll be forced to sign up for another 5:30am boot camp to kick my ass back into shape!  

This is my view from 'working from home'.....

In between working alot, the kids have been keeping me on my toes. The weather was beautiful today, so we played outside in the cul de sac. We're so lucky that we have awesome neighbors (some that have become incredible friends) and our kids love to play together.

Jordan and I are also trying to plan our Hawaii trip for this summer. We had originally planned to go the actual week of our anniversary in late July, but that's the same week that my sister's baby is due and there is NO way I'm going to be across the ocean then! So, instead we're looking at early June now. But coordinating childcare for 7 days while we're gone is pure madness. (I'm not even sure how I'm going to handle being away from the boys that long, but I'm sure laying on the beach losing myself in tropical drinks will ease my mind.)  Not to mention we haven't decided where we're staying, or figured out the whole vow renewal thing. Although, I think I have convinced Jordan that we should write the vows ourselves. Needless to say, that should be interesting!

Back at It!

Christmas break is over. :( I immensely enjoyed my 17 days off; it was definitely much needed! Unfortunately the fun must end at some point, and return to the reality we call work. Ughhhhhh! My last day off was spent with Jordan and Chase for a fun day with him for his 2nd birthday.  I kicked off my first day back to work in 2013 with a day trip to Houston to help teach a workshop. Whew, flying in and out (even just to Houston) in one day is exhausting! And now I've just been trying to get back in the groove of things and stay motivated.

It feels kinda weird that I'm not about to embark on another busy season at work. Don't get me wrong, I have lots of projects going on that are keeping my eyes glued to my laptop and my ears to conference calls, but it's different. I know that I get to go home at 5pm each day (or if I'm lucky, I'm working from home already!).  Although I have to admit, I have been doing quite a bit more stuff in the evenings for work than I would like to, but I know that since I'm actually full-time now, I gotta earn my pay. I'm definitely better off in this role, so I'm thankful for sure. 

Jordan's been pretty busy with work too, currently on a 9-day straight work schedule. It's exhausting for me to be here with the kids without him, just as it exhausts him to be working so much.  The boys are good, running around like crazy, getting into all sorts of trouble. It's still kinda hard to believe that we have a 2 year old and a four year old!  Our life is crazy, hectic, and stressful, but I wouldn't have it any other way. Lately, my life has been making me think of one of my favorite songs, Freeze Frame Time by Brandon Rhyder.  This song has been one of my favorites for a couple years now. I remember being at Gruene Hall on New Year's Eve six years ago when we heard this song live. At the time, we were struggling to conceive, mix that with lots of alcohol, and we were both brought to tears in a bar. I know our life is crazy, but I need to do a better job at 'freezing time' and enjoying everything that I have and being thankful for it. That's my goal this year!

Party Time with Elmo!

Okay, finally time to quickly blog about Chase's 2nd birthday party. It was only last weekend, so I feel like I'm not that behind! :)

Let me tell you, I threw this party together in a jiffy. I didn't even start anything until after Christmas, which left me less than 2 weeks to get my act together.  I had debated back and forth between Mickey Mouse and Elmo. Ultimately, after Chase constantly ran around the house shouting Elmo for the past month, we decided to go that route.  And obviously, Pinterest provided me with plenty of ideas and inspiration. :)

I still can't believe that he is TWO!!

And since I'm here, I'll update on his stats from his check-up too. He weighed in at 29 lbs. 10oz. (70%) and measured 34 1/2" short tall (50%). He got a clean bill of health, and two shots! :)

I made Elmo & Cookie Monster cupcakes, which seemed to be a big hit with the kiddos

I made this custom street sign with my Silhouette and was thrilled with how it turned out. We also scattered our many Sesame Street characters throughout the house to add to the decor

Always gotta have yummy snacks!

Mommy & Daddy with the birthday boy!

Big thanks to Jordan for helping to assemble my cute favor bags for the kids! (He loves getting crafty with me at 1AM!)

He was so shy at the beginning about opening his gifts!

He LOVES his Cozy Truck from Mommy & Daddy!

Happy 2nd Birthday Chase Cooper!

Oh man; this day has certainly snuck up on me. When did my baby grow up?!  After we had Austin, we knew we wanted to start trying again for another child when he was one, anticipating that we would have a struggle on our hands getting pregnant again.  But Chase wanted to make things easy on me, as I became pregnant just four months later.  We were thrilled and ecstatic about the news. Of course, he didn't make the pregnancy easy on me at all, as I had all-day sickness for about 6 months straight. But the sickness was worth every bit of it once we finally held him in our arms.  Chase seemed so tiny when he came into the world on 1/7/11 at 6lbs. 4oz. We had expected him to be a little bigger, but being 3 1/2 weeks early, we were just thankful for a healthy baby.

Since we knew he would be our last baby, completing our family of four, we have tried to soak up every last minute of it all.  It's hard to remember life before he was in it.  From the get-go, he was a sweet, snuggly little thing. His teachers at school have nicknamed him 'the teddy bear', and it fits perfectly.  Here we are two years later, and he's still as sweet as can be. In alot of ways he's just like his older brother, but different as well.  And every time I look at this kid, I can't help but think that he is the spitting image of both his daddy and big brother. Although he was small when he came into this world, he is only a couple pounds behind his 4 year old brother and is a hoss!

After consulting the hubby, we've come up with our favorite things (in no particular order) about our sweet Chase Chase!

• Like I mentioned before, this kid is so sweet & cuddly. I love that even at this age, he loves to sit in my lap and cuddle with me. In the few times we've allowed him into our bed at night when he's been sick, he literally gets in my 'nook' and cuddles right up to me.  One of his favorite things is to grab a few books and plop down in your lap for you to read to him.  He used to be a Daddy's boy, but he has turned completely 100% into a Momma's boy and I'm eating it up!
• I love how excited he gets when he sees us (me, Jordan, or Austin for that matter!)  When I walk in to his classroom at school, he runs right up to me shouting my name. It's definitely just what I need after a long day at the office.  When we're home and he hears Jordan's truck pulling into the garage, he runs from across the house yelling Dada! Dada! and bangs on the window. Once Jordan is in the door, he runs right up to him and gives him a giant hug.
• His overall personality is just awesome. Jordan just described it to me as a 'silent badass'. :) Yeah, he's more of the strong silent type. And he loves to strip. Many mornings lately, I've gone to get him up, and he's been either completely naked or without pants on. He is soooo much like his Daddy!
• I love to watch Chase interact with Austin and see the love he has for him and how much he looks up to him. It is seriously 'monkey see, monkey do' with those two. If Austin is doing something, Chase wants in on the action too. My favorite part is in the evening at bedtime, when they give each other goodnight hugs and kisses. It is the cutest thing ever! I just wonder how long it's going to last.
• And those blue eyes......awwwww! I'm not quite sure where he got them from (somewhere from Jordan's family, I think), but they are just amazing. With eyes like those, I have a hard time saying no to anything. I can't imagine what he's going to do to the ladies when he gets older. :)

We had his birthday party on Saturday and it was quite the success. I will get around to blogging about it later this week!

Happy 2nd Birthday to my sweet Chase Cooper!!

Here's a few pics from a recent photo shoot!

 I think he looks JUST like his Daddy here!

Love this one!

So handsome!

Oh, those blue eyes get me every time! 

Giving Mommy kisses

Playing in the tree with his bubba