It's been a bit!
We've been just barely staying afloat ova' here; basically our entire winter season has consisted of groggily going through the motions...punily pushing through day by day...persistently praying that we can just keep our heads above water high enough for our pupils to see the light of the next weekend dawning so we can rest up and recoup a teeny bit before diving in to a new week full speed ahead. Phew! Mannnnn. I don't know if Harper goes to daycare and licks the damn floor or WHAT, but the poor child has [more or less] been ailed with some degree of disease since October, and the continual sickness swirling through this house is no joke. NO. JOKE.
Anyway! Sickness aside, January still produced a few archive-worthy things [something! There's always something!] and I would love nothing more than to subject you to a play-by-play that is sure to lull you right into a peaceful post-dinner nap. *zzz emoji*
Brian has been tirelessly working on Harper's playroom in the basement, and it's really starting to look nice! He has the chalkboard wall finished and the playhouse is 78% of the way done; we just set up the kitchen from Great Aunt Stephanie and Great Uncle Mark, and turns out that Harper is quite the chef! ;) She really enjoys boiling hot plastic pots of water and also nosing in to help her Dad lay the rubber floor mats. She is crawling everywhere and into everything and I just can't get enough of how FUN and interactive she is these days! More posts [many, many more, muahahah] of the finished playroom and all Brian's handicraft to come!
In much less exciting news, Harper Cecilia is the owner of TWO new big girl car seats... For like 3.7 seconds, we thought we would just buy one seat and transfer it back and forth between our cars, then HAHAH no. We had our picks narrowed down to Britax Marathon and Graco 4ever and [thanks to a few friends' genius recommendations] decided it would be best to try Harper in them and see which one was the best fit for her. And Target baby sale for the win!!!
Dude lovesss to shop! She daintily browsed the clearance clothes rack while Brian and I furiously finished our decision-making process by iPhoning a few last car seat reviews... Britax Marathon got the blue ribbon!
...so drifting into a much more exhilarating topic...
...THE BACHELOR!!! Please tell me I'm not the only one who lives vicariously through trashy TV? Oh, good. So... Oh hey, Ben. Can we just talk about how sweet, genuine, charming, sensitive, funny, attractive, caring, and all-around-wonderful Ben is?!? Seriously, he is a legit dude. I've been a VERY loyal member of Bachelor Nation since Jill's season [showing my age, I know], and...not to jump the gun...but we're pretty far into Ben's journey to find love and I'm pretty confidently thinking that this might be the greatest season of all. And these episodes have me on edge more than ever, because there's this Bachelor Bracket that a bunch of nurses have going at work [and $$$ is on the line!]...and I'm falling behind and I just don't understand because...#bachelorfanatic and I thought I was right inside Ben's brain and had things all figured out...
My pick for "The One" is Joelle, though I think Lauren B. is also a strong contender and Becca will probs be second runner-up... Caila is like a little vixen that just strikes a weird chord in me [goodbye, you won't be missed] and who else is left??? Oooo yeah, Amanda and Emily...they're the next two goners fo sho.
[If you think I'm crazy, well, maybe you're right...but let me halfway redeem myself by blabbing that Brian is just as cray. He was eager to fill out his own Bachelor Bracket, and when asked if he wanted to be part of the nurse pool, his response? "Oh no, this is a husband/wife bracket... There's MUCH MORE at stake than a $5 entry fee." Whaaaatever that means, I don't even know...but I just hope I pull ahead and don't have to find out! ;) I'm currently winning the husband/wife pool by 3 points so! Pray for me, friends. Pray rull hard. And speaking of Brian... When I was hopelessly-romantically gushing about Ben's personality and charm during the very first episode, Brian piped right in and [very seriously] said, "I know, he actually reminds me a lot of myself!" Ok, baby. Ok. :) ;) :-*]
Brian and my Dad both took a skiing/snowboarding vacation the last week of January [not together! Brian in Colorado, Dad in Canada], so naturallyyyy the baby and I packed up for a little 4 day stay-cation at Grandma's! Dude wasn't spoiled or anything... Sleeping in til late hours of the morning on flannel sheets and taking luxurious baths with new bath toys in the kitchen sink....
...learning to play the piano like Mommy and Grammy!...
...and hanging out with her favorite person 24/7... [I'm surprised she even came home with me at the end of all this!] My mom went to a funeral that afternoon and I had to remind her to take Harper's pink bow out of her hair before she left the house... :)
Andddd before we knew it, Brian's vacation was over, too, and he was back home to play! Harper had a few new tricks to show her daddy when he got home: standing up by the railing (!!) and she alsoooo discovered her closet and the hours of fun that lie inside those sealed doors............... Hey-o, Daddy-o, come see what's inside here!
Alright, fo rizzle, this post is getting out of control even for the heartiest of hearty readers. If you find it in the kindness of your hearts, please pray for us and our sickly selves! Harper accompanied me to my first ever Urgent Care visit last week [double ear infections! Amoxicillin horse pills x 10 days, rawr.]
...and I took her to the pediatrician yesterday [also has double ear infections! Yummy strawberry Amoxicillin liquid x 10 days + more antibiotic eye drops for her green boogery eyes, double rawr.] But negative RSV swab, praise the sweet Lord for that. And Brian's on the verge of flu slash sinusitis too, but he hasn't been to the doctor in 20 years and also claims he's "never had a prescription in his entire life," so why start now? Hashtag: men. With your prayers and a little binge of warm weather, I am trusting we'll be back on the mend soon and also be able to open some doors and windows and air all germs right out of this house.
Winter 2015-16: 1 ....... Fleming fam: 0
A plethora of green snotty coughs and kisses from us to you! :-* :-*
Xoxo, bye now.
