This Week in Pictures

The highlight of last week was my hubby's 30th birthday!  We originally thought we'd plan a whole day's worth of fun activities for him and his friends to celebrate the occasion, but then we realized how much work that would take and just how tired and busy we both have been lately!  We decided we'd save the major celebrations for a later date, when we feel less overwhelmed.  In the meantime, I had a bunch of cookies and brownies delivered to Meezy's work on his birthday from Tiff's Treats.  He had no idea they were coming, so that was a fun surprise.  I also created a custom sampler from Amazing Clubs so that he'll receive something cool once a month for the next 6 months.  I'm excited to see what the first delivery brings! Here's Dutch's contribution to Meezy's birthday:

Happy birthday, Dad!

The lowlight of last week, which unfortunately also fell on Meezy's birthday, were the tornadoes that hit our city.  This was probably the most scared I have been while living in Dallas.  I was watching the coverage on TV, and saw the live footage of the tornado plowing through Lancaster, and started to freak out.  The sirens were going off in my neighborhood.  Meezy was at work, and it was just Dutch and me at home (with 3 dogs!).  I wasn't sure where the safest place in the house would be in the event a tornado touched down nearby, but my best guess was our pantry that is situated underneath our stairs.  I put Dutch in his carseat and put him in the pantry, while I stood right at the door to it, watching and listening to the news to see if we were in imminent danger.  I was in contact with Meezy on and off, but his building made them get in the stairwells, where he didn't have cell coverage.  We've had tornado threats in our area before, but this was the first time I was directly responsible for someone else's life at the time, and it really hit home.  I was terrified for my child, not for myself.  If ever there was a time where the overwhelming feeling of motherhood could be encompassed, this was it.  I'm so glad we were spared from the tornado's path, and my heart goes out to the families who lost everything.

    Where Dutch rode out the storm

Sweet boy was oblivious to Mommy's terror!

Needless to say, the rest of the week was much more enjoyable!  We received an awesome onesie from one of Meezy's poker buddies with the Dutch lion on the front that represents KNVB (Royal Dutch Football Association).  I just had to snap a pic of my cutie reppin' his heritage.

Hup Holland!

The day after the storms, the weather was beautiful, so I took the little munchkin on a walk around the neighborhood.  When you have a face like this staring up at you, you have to remind yourself to watch where you're walking!  I have a hard time concentrating on the path in front of me when I see this:

Hi Mom!

Lastly, this past week also brought us a rare event - a stress-free bedtime routine one night.  Lately it seems like Dutch really fights going to sleep, and some nights we'll spend a couple hours trying to soothe him and calm him.  We can't put him down; we constantly have to change his position; he won't fall asleep; he's fussy; he won't take a pacifier, etc.  It's so stressful, and it exhausts us.  Some nights we don't all get to sleep until 1 or 2am, and we just feel so beat down.  But, alas, we had one night this week where Dutch effortlessly fell asleep on the couch next to me at 10:30pm, slept until 1:30am, woke up and fed, then quickly fell back asleep for another 3 hours. It was glorious! It also happened to be the night he was wearing some adorable jammies. Babies in footies are like the cutest thing ever!