Fix You

When you try your best but you don't succeed

When you get what you want but not what you need
When you feel so tired but you can't sleep
Stuck in reverse..."

 I recently heard Fix You again; it had been awhile. Now it's in my head for so many reasons! I thought the above lyrics fit so well with the week that I had. Particularly the "feel so tired but you can't sleep"...though in reality, I don't often feel tired. I just should be based on my schedule and my bedtime.

Classes started this week so Stillwater and OSU 'traffic' and parking have significantly increased and the discretionary time I found over the last 2-3 weeks has dramatically decreased. Emails and requests are starting to trickle in related to my new position as Director of Clinical Training so the (accurate) perception that I don't know what in the world I am doing is in full force. Just when I started to think that impostor syndrome might have moved toward the backseat (or not), it pops right back up out of hiding. Still not quite fixed.

This impostor is pretty cute.

I mentioned previously that I am trying to "fix" the house. This means I've finally hung some photos on the walls in the hallway and bedrooms. Things are looking much more homey around here. It only took 6 years. I need to take pictures of the master bedroom and bath but Chad is sleeping so I will save that for another day. But below is the collage in our foyer hallway. 

And speaking of fixing the house, we finally hired someone to come every other week and deep clean the house. She has been once and I think we will really like having this service. I am still trying to move past those pesky feelings that I should do it all myself/ourselves and recognize that nope, I'm never going to consistently clean the garden tub (no one really uses it but it collects dust and dirt unbelievably quickly) and I hate sweeping and mopping with a fiery passion. I didn't find that it has really saved me a lot of time but I know those tasks will be completed much more frequently now, which is exciting. It also pushes me (and Chad) to keep the house clean in other ways, which has made me much happier!

In other fixing news, I went to the dermatologist recently. They referred me to their cosmetic nurse to help address redness and milia on my face. So apparently my face needs fixing as well. ;) It was one of the most surreal experiences of my life as this medical professional vacillated between being a bit patronizing to hugging me and holding my hand calling me "my pretty." Very bizarre. I was laughing to myself as she talked about the importance of research and she confided that she "goes to national conferences" on skincare. She chided my use of Olay lotion/face cream due to how toxic it is, while I happen to know that one of the services she provides is injecting faces with neurotoxins (botox). Very odd. Anyhow, I am hopeful that the regimen (yup, I bit/bought into it) will help fix some of the issues I'm having. But not too hopeful. Like how I feel about the chances I'll keep running on our treadmill each week...

As I prepared for the new semester and my new role, I realized that my wardrobe definitely needs fixing! This is clearly going to be a work in progress. I took a day off the first week of August and went shopping with my sister and niece, which was a lot of fun. We got some new clothes. Additionally, I finally decided to sign up with stitch fix, the subscription clothing company who sends you 5 articles/accessories per month. I honestly don't recall a time when I've been so excited to get mail!

The company obviously has a great business model with amazing customer service (this story is amazing and totally made me love them even more).

My stylist this month picked out 2 shirts and 3 dresses that I really liked. When I saw all of the items, it  made me feel like she really understood what I identified I was looking for as well as my general style. However, she chose things that were slightly different than I would choose for myself, which is a big part of the fun--expanding your horizons. The stylist fee + shipping is $20 and that fee goes toward any purchases you make that month (if you don't make a purchase, you lose the $20). While I absolutely loved everything she sent, not everything looked/fit perfect so I decided to only keep the navy striped dress. The clothes are on the more expensive end of what I want to pay for clothes so I tend to be a little more picky. But I am super excited about next month's box already! If anyone wants to try it, I'm including my referral link. Full disclosure, the referrer receives a $25 credit for everyone who receives a shipment. I can also give you more thoughts and tips on getting a good box (give them SO much information!!), if you're interested! Chad is actually considering thinking of signing up for "the trunk" which is basically the male version. I have a friend who loves the trunk as much as I liked stitch fix.

It should be obvious that A clearly needs no assistance in the fashion department.

Miss A and Chad are doing great. She stays in her same class so the only school changes we have seen is with teachers changing schedules and a few of her friends switching to a different pre-k. Otherwise, we don't yet have a need for concerns about the new school year. I feel so fortunate for that. Chad's work is going well and he continues to love it. Also, Jasper is doing pretty well. Thanks to those who reached out to talk about your experience or share ways you have been annoyed with your dog! We will start his second round of medication next week and we are keeping him in his kennel during the day but in many ways, he totally seems like a different dog.

While I am sure there are many other "fixes" I could use as examples disguising the real purpose of sharing adorable photos, I'll leave it that. Clearly, fixing my sleeping habits should be high on my list.

Just breathe

It's hard to believe that summer is wrapping up so soon. Grades are due on Tuesday so as soon as I finish this stack of grading, I will be officially done with my crazy academic summer. Baby A finished her gymnastics class and got her "score card" for progress, which was cute. We will take a break for a couple of weeks and then start the first Fall class. She is saying she wants to be a ballerina princess so we may also start a dance class. Dance is more of a commitment than I really want to make, though. We will see.

We took Miss Madeline in to A's class for pet week. She did amazingly well with 24 sets of hands petting and poking her. No surprise there, though. 

She was pretty wiped out afterward, though!

The next day we had to take A for her routine pulmonology appointment. She has been doing fairly well but since our last appointment, she did have two coughing attacks that were more difficult to manage. Due to those along with the upcoming start of germ season (with back to school and winter just around the bend), the doctor decided it would be best to switch her Flovent to Advair (any other parents have littles on Advair?). We just finished the last of her Flovent this morning. As luck would have it, she seems to be in the middle of another episode. Hopefully, the Advair will help control it without having to use prednisone.  

In terms of stats, she is 28.4 pounds (20th percentile) and 36 inches tall (5th percentile)--still tiny and adorable (99th percentile in our book!). It's so funny that people continue to tell us how much she has grown when they see her. I'm not sure what optical illusions she has developed but they seem to be working.  

Of course in the midst of work stress and appointments and such, we also continued to deal with stress from Jasper. Since the beginning of May, we have had to keep a very close eye on him as he has been very destructive, with the purpose of eating everything in sight (I'm not even kidding--he has destroyed a door frame, my laptop bag, a conference bag, etc. and has eaten garbage, chewing gum, and a tube of sunscreen). This has lead to multiple visits to the vet, lots of ruined bedding and stains, restructuring our schedule and interactions with the dogs, etc. Chad and I have both been at our wits' ends, not knowing how to handle this. It turns out that he has a severe case of whipworms. He had been tested previously but apparently false negatives are really common. We have completed the first round of treatment but will have to do another round next month. We are hoping this helps with the behavioral and medical problems.

Otherwise, things are pretty good. We were hoping to be leaving for a trip to see family this week but with Chad's job and the cost of flights, it just wasn't feasible. Hopefully in the fall!