A Look Back on the Year of Hustle

 Rather than adopting resolutions for the new year, I started declaring a one-word theme that would consistently point me in the right direction throughout the year. Last year's word was HUSTLE, and hustle I did. 2016 is considered another great year in the books for the Bianchi fam, but I'm not going to lie, it was tough. It was a good  kind of tough in that we truly hustled towards our goals but not without challenge. For more details, challenges stated below.

• While I absolutely love my job, traveling every other week when you have a family can be hard. Sure, Mommy's not having to cook, getting to take up as much room in the bed as she wants, and taking a shower without disruption every time she goes on a vacation business trip. But rather than taking advantage of the city I'm in by exploring the sites or binge watching HGTV (which I NEVER get to do at home), I spend a good portion of the evening watching videos and combing through pictures of my child. I miss Anthony & August terribly while I'm away, but that's not something that was new to 2016. The tough part was the fact that August is now aware that Mommy's gone and is old enough to see my suitcase and say, "No leave, Mommy." Whew, that's tough y'all. 

• Anthony had a big year as well. Studying like a MADMAN for boards, taking boards, 30-day audition rotations away from home, and interview season. For those of you guys not in the know--that's A LOT of time away from home. You can't just take your boards anywhere--no, that would be too easy. You have to fly to Philadelphia--which was an AWESOME mini-vacation for Mommy and Daddy. Anthony did not live with us for 2 consecutive months while he was doing his audition rotations. That's right, I was single-momming it up. (Shoutout to the single moms out there. Respect!) As if that wasn't hard enough, we had to abruptly pull August from daycare and the ONLY respectable center that actually had an opening adds 2 hours to my daily commute. Whew! Hard times. But enough about how hard that was on me. This may be MY blog, but this post is about the fam. That's a lot of change for a 2 year old. He doesn't understand why Babbo isn't going to be  home in a little bit. He has no clue why he's being dropped off with all new people in a new place with a new schedule. Also, let's not forget to discuss the fact that poor Anthony doesn't get to come home to his family each night for TWO months. Let me remind you how ridiculous I am when I only have to leave for a couple of days. NO WAY I could handle two months. As soon as the audition rotation period was over, interview season began (which is also when the holiday season began.) Anthony and I wanted to tackle these interview trips together since we both need to feel a connection to the city and program since it will dictate our lives for the next five years. I wasn't able to go on all of the interview trips since I always double up on travel weeks for work during Nov and Dec because I don't want to be trying to prepare for my trips on holiday weeks. That alone can be enough to pull my hair out. But try this to really make you go cross-eyed: Monday: Board a flight to Texas. Thursday: Fly home. Well, not actually home. Fly to my parent's house so I can see August. Friday: Drive to Birmingham to see Anthony. Saturday: Board a flight to Kansas City for interview. Monday: Fly home to Birmingham. Tuesday: Fly to Charleston. Thursday night: Fly to Birmingham. Friday: Drive to get August and bring him home. Spend a couple days at home then drive to spend a few days with the fam for the holidays. That was our life for a while. Whew, that's tough y'all.

  Now don't you go feeling sorry for us. Anthony and I both went into all of this willingly. We are both very passionate about what we do and knew the pursuit of our dreams comes with some sacrifice. We knew 2016 would be a tough year. Hence, the HUSTLE theme. Looking back, it was the perfect word for that time in our lives. It took HUSTLE to get through it. 

Birmingham Views

  We moved to Birmingham about a month or so ago, and guys let me tell you, we absolutely love it here. Anthony lived here for six years getting his undergrad and grad degrees so it's like returning home for him. I've only visited Birmingham in small spurts for work or shopping.

  I was most excited that there's plenty to do around the city so there's no such thing as saying, "I'm bored." While we enjoyed our time in Dothan, there was plenty of times where we sat around because there was nothing to do other than a visit to Target.

  Even if you just want to go outside and check out the beautiful elevated views of the city or watch the sunset from our loft, it's a great place to be and good times to be had.

What To Do When Your Baby Wipes Dry Out

  We have a wonderful wipes warmer which we leave on 24/7. August doesn't really care if his wipes are chilled or warmed, but we have it so we use it. The only issue is that he's out of town once per month when he's visiting Grandparents and I'm traveling for work.
 
  We forget to turn the contraption off so, of course, the wipes dry out since they're continuously heated and not being used. Everyone who has ever had a baby knows there's nothing worse than having a serious Numero Dos on your hands and dry wipes. Without going into the details, it's just a mess.

  I finally had an A-ha moment today. I still have a travel-sized spritz bottle of witch hazel from post-delivery. It turns out August loves getting spritzed; who knew a good spray on the fanny was so fun? Double dudy (get it, du-dy?!), it's soothing to his newly developed diaper rash.

  Score!

In the Moment

  As I walk into the door from a long day's work, Anthony hands me our half-sleeping baby. I hold him, arms lazily wrapped around my neck and body melded to mine, and I melt. Heart and soul. I carefully walk to the rocking chair where I whisper hushed "I love yous" in his ear as I do my very best to memorize the feeling of 19.2 pounds of my baby boy sleeping on me. I know my mind will never be able to replicate this exact feeling so I remind myself to stop stressing that this moment is fleeting and banish the need to memorize it. I remind myself to be in the moment with him, to cherish it with all my heart.

2014 Made Me...

 2014 was a continuous string of treasured moments that flew by so quickly I'm not sure that I'll be able to remember all of it. We fit a good many milestones into 2014. It was beautiful. It was wonderful. It was epic, and it was life-altering.

  2014 made me a wife. I got to marry the most absolutely beautiful man. Anthony is seriously the most beautiful person I've ever met--outward,  and more importantly,  inward. He makes me a better person and our partnership brings out the best in me. I am so proud to be his Mrs.

  2014 made me a mama. The first half of the year was spent in preparation for our bundle of joy, and the remaining half was spent wrapped in parental bliss. This son of ours is such a blessing! He is so happy, so healthy, and so fun. I am so proud to be his Mommy.

  2014 made me a nervous wreck. I stressed more this year that in all my years on this earth combined. I have stressed about things that matter so much, and I've stressed about things that mattered not so much. In all that anxiety and worry, I learned a lesson that I hope to return to each and every day: God's got this. I remember talking with my Dad early in the year about all the stress. There were a million things on my plate at the time, and I had very little control over any of them. My Dad said something very simple and yet so profound that it didn't sound profound at all. He said, "Whatever is meant to happen will happen." At the time, I thought he was being so cavalier about it all, and I couldn't understand how he could seem to so nonchalant. But he was right, as most parents always are. Everything worked out in the best way it possibly could have. There was absolutely no point in my worry. Let go and let God.

  2014 made me an observer. I find myself observing others in their everyday lives and taking note. I watch spouses' interactions with one another, and try to learn something from it. I observe mothers with children older than mine. I try to wean as much knowledge and insight into the future as I possibly can because I am hyper-aware that mine and Anthony's choices today will shape our son's tomorrow. I can read all the books in the world and not learn as much as I could simply by observing my peers.

  2014 made me grateful. I have so much for which to be grateful; my cup runneth over.

  I hope each of you can look back on 2014 with fond memories. Whether it was the best or a wash, may 2015 be your year!

 

10 Things I've Learned as a Working Mom

10 Things I've Learned as a Working Mom

1. Lunch breaks spent at the gym has become a laughable thought. Prior to becoming a mother, I could often be found at the nearby Pure Barre during my lunch hour. The thought of that happening now is more comical than Chelsea Handler's Instagram feed. Lunch breaks now consist of hooking myself up to a bunch of tubes to produce baby food while stuffing my face with enough food to produce a food-baby. But I guess the end results are the same, 500 calories burned. Take that Pure Barre!

2. There's no such thing as date nights. If you read mommy blogs or parenting articles, you know the importance stressed about making time for your spouse. But as working parents you already sacrifice your days with your child to go to work. You certainly don't want to give up a night, too. Our solution to this is date lunches where we each come home to lunch together. As I mentioned earlier, I'm hooked up to a bunch of tubes and stuffing my face at this time. Mmmm, romantic.

3. If you look really hard, you can find elastic-waisted dress pants. They do exist. Granted, they are as rare as a four-leaf clover, but again, you can find them if you look hard enough. Maternity pants ruin you for regular clothes. You get to spend 9 months of your life in the softest, stretchiest pants that were ever manufactured--you can't just go back to muffin-top producing pants cold turkey. It's not like riding a bike; it doesn't come back to you that easily. The best part is no one can tell that you and your baby basically have the same pants on. True story. 

4. Coffee never tasted so good.  If there's one thing we invest good money in around our home, it's good coffee. Well, that and good diapers. Well, those and good beer. Yep, those might just be our top priorities in the purchasing department. Never underestimate the power of a strong cup of Joe; it isn't quite the equivalent of a full night's sleep but it'll do.

5. Sacrifices have to be made. I'm not talking about time with your child; everyone knows that's an obvious sacrifice for the working mom. No, I'm talking about with your appearance. I can either spend my finite amount of time in the morning doing my hair or doing my makeup. You can't get both; there's only time for one or the other. Well, that's not true. You can get both, but I'm going to be late. Also, my child will still be in his pajamas. True story--I felt so triumphant the other day because I managed to do my hair and makeup and I was projected to arrive early to work. When I dropped August off at daycare, one of the little girls asked the daycare worker, "Why does August still have on his pajamas?" Triumph deflated. I had to stop myself from sitting down to teach the little girl a life lesson about making choices and the consequences of each choice made. The conversation went a little something like this in my mind. "Well, little girl, I chose to look like an actual professional at my profession today, and as a result, August gets to spend the day in his puppy-feeted pajamas. Just think of him as the class pet and cut me some slack."

6. Your house will look like a hoarder's home that just got struck by a tornado. As I sit here typing this, I'm looking around. The ratio of square inch of carpet to clothes/shoes/bibs/blankets is about 1:30. There just isn't enough time in the evenings to wash, dry, & fold laundry. We've got the washing and drying part down pat, but folding and putting away is just over-the-top. Sweeping and mopping? Ha, you've got jokes I see.

7. You will take extreme precautions to keep your child well. You have to; maternity leave ate all of your sick time. No, you cannot hold my baby. Don't even think about giving him a kiss, and I swear, if I even so much as sense a sneeze coming on I will whip out a tissue and hand-sanitizer faster than you can say, "Achoo".

8. Buns, updos, ponytails, & braids will become your best friend. These hairstyles have two characteristics that are great for the working mom. They're fast, which is great since investing time in your hair is a luxury you can no longer afford. Secondly, they require a bit of texture to hold the style. This is great since actually washing your hair when you get in the shower is basically a crap shoot. Seriously, I've grabbed the shower cap a time or two since having a baby because there's just not enough time to wash it, condition it, towel dry it, & brush out all the tangles. I feel comfortable saying this because I am literally sitting here with a deep conditioning treatment in from HOURS before. Yes, the directions say to wash it out after twenty minutes, but who has time to get in the shower TWICE in one day? For some really cute and quick hairstyles, check out Twist Me Pretty.

9. Suddenly, processed foods don't seem so toxic. We used to pride ourselves on using fresh produce and cutting processed foods from our diets. After having August, I've weighed the probability and decided that an occasional meal of Hamburger Helper is most likely not the way we're going to die. Of course, we want to make his baby food ourselves using organic fruits and veggies. During the incubation period that sounded great. Now that he's actually here, well, let's just say I'm not holding my breath for that one.

10. You eat your words. We found out about our little one pretty early so we basically had 8 1/2 months to prepare for his arrival. We spent hours reading family planning books and discussing how we wanted to raise our child. Fast-forward to the present when our child is nearing 5 months old, and I want to take that stupid parenting book and slap my former self across the head with it. Ridicuslousness. We set soft rules for our unborn child and learned just how soft they were upon his arrival. One of these was that we didn't want him watching television. Turns out, he loves it so guess who gets to watch it everyday? In fact, I walked in the living room today to find him watching Sports Center all by himself in his Bumbo seat. Sometimes plopping him in front of a good football game is the only way we can get the housework done. Crow, anyone?

I

My Cat is More Popular Than Me

  If you haven't noticed from my Facebook wall or Instagram feed, I love my kitty. He is the absolute cutest and naughtiest little creature I've ever encountered. He is my first Persian cat, and I am utterly and irrevocably convinced that Persians are superior to any other breed of cat. This little guy is chock full of personality and somehow manages to remain a top conversation topic in our home, despite me having a demanding job, Anthony being in medical school, and our four month old. This cat....

  As much as we love him, ol' Georgey-boy has a habit of taking over everything. He takes up the bed; he takes up the bathroom. And now, he's taking over my Instagram. I looked through my photos the other day and realized that pretty much all of my photos are of  this cat, and I decided NO MORE. He now has his own so I can have my own once again. Feel free to follow Georgey__cat.